Where shall we move?

Mazeroth

My wife and I are still young (25), don't have kids, and really don't want to spend the rest of our lives living in Ohio. We both have great jobs and are saving almost all our money for a down payment on a house. She completes her master's degree in 18 months and after that we're thinking of getting the hell out of Dodge.

What I'm looking for are suggestions of places that you guys feel are the best places for a family to live? We do plan on having kids in 3-5 years, and no way would I raise them in a city, so something suburbish/rural is a necessity. I'm sick of the cold/snow and the lack of sunshine this state has to offer and was really considering something out west. My parents, who still live in Ohio, own a house in Prescott Valley, AZ, rent it out, and plan on moving there in 2 years after my father retires. I've checked that place out, along with all of Arizona and New Mexico 2 summers ago, and I could see myself living in northern Arizona, but no way in hell would I live in New Mexico! I'd also like to check out Colorado and might be taking a trip out there in a next year to go skiing and such.

Anywho, if you guys know of a place that you think kicks so much **** that you'd move there in a second if you could, let me know. Also, if possible, astronomical housing costs are not what we're looking for. We're hoping to have $75,000 in the bank for a down payment in the next 18 months and would like to keep the house under $250k.

Thanks!

shack

Whatever you do...DO NOT come to East Tennessee/Western North Carolina! The area is already getting too many northern midwest folks from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, etc... They're driving up the price of R/E and they talk funny. I'm not going anywhere and I don't need anymore neighbors.

JK

You know you live in a nice place when you have lots of people move in because of the "area" and not just because of a job or a specific destination. We seem to have a lot of that where I live. People are discovering what I've known for a long time. This is a great place to live.

VR3

NC Baybe!

Shizelbs

You can cross Seattle off your list. 250k don't buy much around here. Plus our weather probably won't be that appealing to you.

MacLeod

Im with Shack! The East Tennessee area is my favorite in the country.

Great scenery, plenty of big cities with great economies and low cost of living and low taxes.

Personally I prefer Chattanooga as I was born and raised here but Knoxville and Nashville are great towns too.

dorokusai

Maryland.

MacLeod

Maryland is nice too. When I was there for Polkfest we went touring around and it is a beautiful area. I especially love DC and all the history there.

Demiurge

Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana would be my top choices if I had an option to move. Just beautiful country up that way if you're that type of person that wants to have a way to get out of civilization once in a while, but still have access to all the creature comforts. You could always pick a border community in any of the states instead of being centralized. Good luck to you and your wife, it's going to be real exciting buying your house.

MacLeod

Those are beautiful states but I dont care for the weather. Winters are extremely harsh up there. I drove a truck up in those parts for a while and Ive never seen as much snow!

Demiurge

Definitely, gets that way up where my parents live here as well. I wouldn't mind being down in Tennesee either, myself. The only thing I couldn't stand is the heat. It gets hotter than hell up here, but that's only 2-3 months out of the year. Still will never forget my road trip to the Jack Daniels distillery with my friends and then a week in Memphis. We stayed at a hotel that had 'trolley' access right to Beale St, pulled right up to the back door of the hotel.

brettw22

AZ is nice, but it's practically about to be renamed "California II". House prices have skyrocketed due to a reported 15000 families per month transferring out there from the motherland.

Northern AZ is ok, but I would rather live in the Phoenix area and have the option of doing the 1.5-2 hour drive north to Prescott Valley when wanted because there's not a hell of a lot goin on up there that I could tell (Prescott is a collegish town).

karpiel666

durango colorado

ledhed

East Tennessee. Never very cold. Never very hot. BEAUTIFUL country. Where I live, Athens, is roughly an hour from Downtown Chattanooga nd Downtown Knoxville. I am alos about three hours from Atlanta and Nashville. Fairly small but, not too small. Nice place, nice folk

masanz1

Move to Vancouver Washington, houses are on the rise but not extreme yet, starting to boom though and equity will climb fast, no income tax and cross the river to Oregon for no sales tax. Weather is fair, no tornado worries, hurricane, once in a while volcano, little earthquakes. I'd say Oregon but the house values are skyrocketing

RuSsMaN

North Texas.

Cheap real estate (out of the metro areas), no state income tax, great shopping, great eating, great roads. Far enough inland out of hurricane's way, but still close enough to hit a beach within 4 hours. Gets a little warm in the late summer - but spring like weather 7~ months out of the year. (It was 68 today) Casinos 1 hour north, 3 hours east. Some of the best fishing and recreational lakes in the country. Wide open spaces. The biggest sky you've ever seen.

The Alamo (and other missions)
Sea World
Six Flags
State Fair of Texas
Nasa
Dallas Cowboys Football
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motorplex (drag)
World class museums, aquariums, zoos
Great car / boat / air shows
etc etc etc

Unlike Tennesee, and the Carolinas - we grew up on a dirt floor, but have been cultured since. Not a lot of inbred mouth breathers (it is funny, the more east / north east you travel, the frequency tends to increase).

Cheers,
Russ

$250K? That'll get you a NEW house, oh 3000 sq ft or so, 4-5 bedrooms, 2 living areas, media / game room - 3 car garage, lots of upgrades on the interior...etc

janmike

Tough decision. I have moved to a few nice, small areas that are great to visit, but a lot different when you live there. My questions may be different that yours, but here are some things I asked and considered.

1) What is the education system like?
2) Any hurricanes, tornadoes, or earth quakes? (Cold weather not a factor for me)
3) Economic conditions and market growth in the area?
4) Business opportunities in the areas?
4) Are the people friendly and how do they treat outsiders? Like I said, nice to visit, but.... Watch this one.
5) Recreational infrastructure?
6) Medical System?
7) Per capita income?
8) Cost of living index?
9) Crime rate and the types of crimes?
10) Population demographics?
11) What is the fishing like and how far do I need to travel to get there?
12) Sorry, had to list it again, The Friendliness & Acceptance of the people?

It took me a long time to find the place where I was happy. I think age probably has something to do with it and the fact that I hate cities. Most people would probably not what to live where I do. Take your time and select what is appropriate. Chances are your criteria will change in another 25 years. Good luck.

F1nut

I think you should stay put in Ohio. Some of the nicest people I've ever met live there or came from there, lots of beautiful countryside, midwest values and a little snow is a lot better than 110 in the shade.

avelanchefan

brettw22 wrote:

AZ is nice, but it's practically about to be renamed "California II". House prices have skyrocketed due to a reported 15000 families per month transferring out there from the motherland.

Northern AZ is ok, but I would rather live in the Phoenix area and have the option of doing the 1.5-2 hour drive north to Prescott Valley when wanted because there's not a hell of a lot goin on up there that I could tell (Prescott is a collegish town).

Brett is right about AZ. In Phoenix you can get a nice place for 250K now. But in 18 months I would venture to say maybe not. Northern AZ (Prescott/Flagstaff) is off limits in that price range, I think it is safe to say that a minimum of 400K to get you into a nice pad there. Right now AZ is slowing in housing, but in the next few years the second large wave of baby boomers are retiring and that will drive up prices again. (I feel we just went through the first big wave of BB)

If AZ is CaliII, then Colorado is CaliIII. BUT I talked to my uncle last night and he said the Denver market has really cooled down. So you may see a little trend reversal there for the next 2 years, which may fit into your plans. Denver is huge, a great place for single couples, plus it has a good school system (Jefferson County, Douglas County), if it snows it stays for 1 day. 300+ days of sunshine a year.

I don't think AZ living is for everyone, it certainly has not been for me, but I have family here and my wife refuses to go back to the midwest. So I am stuck here until at least my kids are graduated, then it maybe a knockdown drag out fight on where we go. :rolleyes:

markmarc

I grew up on Colorado, runaway developments are killing the beauty of the frontrage. Plus, in many developments you are required to sign a piece of paper understanding that in 50 years you may not have water.

Spent a year living in Phoenix, way too hot, the nights don't even cool down anymore since the metro area is so big anyway.

Oregon, is nice but like everywhere it has its problems, lousy school funding system is its biggest problem.

I know where I want to live next, but I ain't telling anyone!!

danger boy

doesn't some magazine each year put our the top 20 places to live? i don't remember what mag that is. but i clearly remember hearing about it each and every year.. they rank things like housing prices, quality of schools, household income and a few other categories.

maybe search the ol internet for the info.. sometimes though.. the places they choose.. are pretty small cities.. cities with low crime rates.. only because no many people live there.

If i could live anywhere and make a living, I'd pick the Oregon Coast.. stunning beauty, nice relaxed beach atmosphere, and who doesn't love the Pacific Ocean? and you can get crabs any time of the year!

BIZILL

danger boy wrote:

and you can get crabs any time of the year!

heck, i can do that in the hot tucson desert heat. just hit up any of our various pubs/bars or strip joints.:)

actually, on a serious note, i've never been too happy in tucson arizona myself, but it's not the venue. if you like to worship the sun and get a tan, this is the spot. if you never wanna worry about snow and the issues that accompany it, this is the place. if you have an historic vehicle and worry about rust, this is the spot. if you like not wearing your seatbelt, come on over. (can't touch the damn things in the summertime nor your steering wheel. too damn hot!)

POLKOHOLIC

BIZILL wrote:

heck, i can do that in the hot tucson desert heat. just hit up any of our various pubs/bars or strip joints.:)

actually, on a serious note, i've never been too happy in tucson arizona myself, but it's not the venue. if you like to worship the sun and get a tan, this is the spot. if you never wanna worry about snow and the issues that accompany it, this is the place. if you have an historic vehicle and worry about rust, this is the spot. if you like not wearing your seatbelt, come on over. (can't touch the damn things in the summertime nor your steering wheel. too damn hot!)

hahahaha thats awesome. i wish we had that in nyc.

madmax

It's a shame, 30 years ago you could find a super nice house for 40K, 20 years ago for 100K, 10 years ago for 150K and today... 400K+. I sure would hate to be starting out on my own today.

I personally like Ohio. I also like PA. South Carolina is probably where I would look though. I remember traveling there a LONG time ago but don't really know much about it today other than several people I know have headed that way.
madmax

aaharvel

Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida.

In 18 months the cost of real estate might come down by 1/4.

mlhm5

janmike wrote:

Tough decision. I have moved to a few nice, small areas that are great to visit, but a lot different when you live there. My questions may be different that yours, but here are some things I asked and considered.

1) What is the education system like?
2) Any hurricanes, tornadoes, or earth quakes? (Cold weather not a factor for me)
3) Economic conditions and market growth in the area?
4) Business opportunities in the areas?
4) Are the people friendly and how do they treat outsiders? Like I said, nice to visit, but.... Watch this one.
5) Recreational infrastructure?
6) Medical System?
7) Per capita income?
8) Cost of living index?
9) Crime rate and the types of crimes?
10) Population demographics?
11) What is the fishing like and how far do I need to travel to get there?
12) Sorry, had to list it again, The Friendliness & Acceptance of the people?

It took me a long time to find the place where I was happy. I think age probably has something to do with it and the fact that I hate cities. Most people would probably not what to live where I do. Take your time and select what is appropriate. Chances are your criteria will change in another 25 years. Good luck.

Sounds like Philadelphia to me. Salt water fishing is what you ment, isn't it? Trout live in salt water and the speckled kind are the best. What you mean tuna, no problem going offshore.

I don't live there, I live in Boston, which is colder but has more to do. Manageable big city like SFO. COL is high unlike Phila and surrounds.

Jstas

mlhm5 wrote:

Sounds like Philadelphia to me. Salt water fishing is what you ment, isn't it? Trout live in salt water and the speckled kind are the best. What you mean tuna, no problem going offshore.

I don't live there, I live in Boston, which is colder but has more to do. Manageable big city like SFO. COL is high unlike Phila and surrounds.

Trout live in salt water? Maybe some but most that I know of are freshwater fish. Or at least so I thought.

As far as Philly and it's surrounding area, stay away, this place sucks! The people suck, the schools are full of stupid kids, the taxes are high, the medical system is inept, the cost of living is through the roof, economic conditions are horrendous, the job market stinks, the crime rate is the worst in the country, we get hit with Nor'Easters all the time (worse than a hurricane), there is absolutly nothing to do here and don't listen to any Bostonians, they just don't want you moving to that picturesque and beautiful city full of lovely, talented, smart people with great jobs, gigantic houses, fat paychecks and so much stuff to do in thier free time they don't know what to do first!

Lousy Bostonians, always trying to stear people wrong so they can hog all the good stuff for themselves! Just remember, not everybody in NJ/Metro Philly area is as nice as me and willing to let you in on all the dirty secrets! Stay away! You don't want to live here! No...seriously, stay away. Find some place else to live. Like Boston, that's a great place to live!

Early B.

North Carolina is the only state worthy of consideration.

Good people, great school systems, southern charm.

bobman1235

Jstas wrote:

Trout live in salt water? Maybe some but most that I know of are freshwater fish. Or at least so I thought.

From Wikipedia:

Most trout are restricted to freshwater, but many, like the steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) – which is the same species as the landlocked rainbow trout – spend their adult life in the ocean and then return to spawn in the streams in which they were hatched.

bpadget

If you're looking for smaller communities, southwest CO from Pagosa Springs to Durango is worth looking at.

BlueMDPicker

RuSsMaN wrote:

$250K? That'll get you a NEW house, oh 3000 sq ft or so, 4-5 bedrooms, 2 living areas, media / game room - 3 car garage, lots of upgrades on the interior...etc

I'll take three! Man, this is gonna' work out great (adult's house, kid's house, audio retreat)!!!

$250K in this market might get you a 1/2 acre lot and a garage.

Frank Z

bpadget wrote:

If you're looking for smaller communities, southwest CO from Pagosa Springs to Durango is worth looking at.

Nope, no longer true. Just read it in the paper this morning...COLORADO IS FULL, PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER STATE!!




































J/K