Best place to live?

[North of Mouse]

Just don't trade your miserable winters for hot, humid 'extended' summers!! Take a long trip down south during Jul/Aug and see what it's like!! Not trying to discourage you as I couldn't take the weather up north - just want you to think realistically!!

I am a deep south person, and totally love the heat, but it's not for everyone! We are in NC now, as a compromise with dh. He loves the seasons - it's really pretty nice here, but we do have winter - not to be above freezing this week - and we also have hot humid summers, but we neither will live any further north.

Good luck finding your place - none are perfect!!!

 

[melissakrichards]

Harmony FL! harmonyfl.com A rated schools, 25 min to Disney, 25 min to the beach! Awesome green community. Miles and miles of trails to hike or bike ride, 2 lakes to fish on, 4 restaurants, Dr's office, adorable market place, and a Johnny Miller golf course...if your into golf, I'm not but enjoy living on it. We're also a nature preserve. Houses in a lot of different price points

 

[barkley]

Seriously considering escaping the harsh New Englad winters and relocate, but have no idea where to go? Would like to live somewhere with beautiful warm weather all year that won't break our bank. Important things to consider.....great friendly community, great school system, lots to do, low crime etc. We have a high schooler and middle schooler to consider. All of us in my family are on the same page. Southern California would be a dream but the cost of living is so expensive there. Does anyone have any suggestions on great places to live without freezing snowy winters?

no suggestions where to go, just some on other aspects to consider that can impact how much bang you can/cannot get for your $$$$ (we moved to a new region/state 8 years ago w/kiddos)-

check out the tax costs. in California we paid MUCH more property tax wise and had state income taxes. here despite lower wages in comparable professions the cost savings levels it out. some states extend sales tax to include groceries-might not seem like a big deal, but it adds up month to month. check within a potential state about local taxes/levies-we were in really nice low crime area of northern California with good schools. people didn't realize till they started reviewing purchasing documents for their homes the 15 year special bonds and levies that afforded us the good schools and public safety which added a significant amount to their home costs.

check out costs for misc. expenses-yearly car registration can be a huge shocker in some states, same with auto and homeowner's insurance (and auto and homeowners can vary greatly within areas of individual states). utilities-despite a hefty tax that's incorporated into our monthly electricity bill our rates are much lower than we paid elsewhere.

finally-schooling. neither of my kiddos were in high school yet when we moved, but here's some things to consider. check to see what the graduation requirements are of a school district/new state (our district has higher requirements than our state mandates so it's best to check). we have some that are strict and uncommon in other states so a kid transferring in high school may find that they will need to play catch-up getting those requirements done to graduate on time (some have to take an additional year of school since summer school isn't offered). if your high school student is within a year of graduating at the time of the move-check what the residency requirements are for in-state tuition where you're moving to as well as where you're leaving (if they/you want the option of state schools with resident based tuition). I think the most any state requires is 2 year established residency for a dependent student-but most require at least a year and the cost for schooling while establishing residency can be CRAZY HIGH (dd's in state university's non resident tuition/fees cost is 265% of the resident cost which is about the same as the state university in California we lived near charges).

we in no way regret our move, but we've lived in 2 areas that seemed to draw transplants from other states-and the ones who seemed happiest/acclimated the best researched prior to relocation.


happy hunting!

 

[Minnesota!]

Harmony FL! harmonyfl.com A rated schools, 25 min to Disney, 25 min to the beach! Awesome green community. Miles and miles of trails to hike or bike ride, 2 lakes to fish on, 4 restaurants, Dr's office, adorable market place, and a Johnny Miller golf course...if your into golf, I'm not but enjoy living on it. We're also a nature preserve. Houses in a lot of different price points

Looked it up and it all sounds amazing!!

How is traffic going in either direction, where do people go for work (commute to?), and since you are surrounded by lakes...how is the snake population???? My biggest fear..

 

[SC Minnie]

Fort Mill SC. We have great schools (better than Char/Meck IMO), climate is good-- expecting snow/ice tonight but that's rare. We do get all 4 seasons. We are a suburb of Charlotte so jobs are more plentiful. The Charlotte airport is 20 min away so easy to travel. We are 3-4 hours from the ocean and 3-4 hours from the mountains. Best of both worlds. We have a lot of transplants here.

 

[robndani]

We are looking at relocating to Florida. We love the Westchase area. Elementary schools are rated 10s on Great School Ratings (my kids will be in Kindergarten in the Fall). It's near Tampa, but not IN Tampa. We have a few friends in that area, but no family. Probably putting our house (which is in NJ and covered with ice and snow right now) on the market in the Spring. Nervous and excited!!!!!

 

[robndani]

This is a pretty neat site: findyourspot .com. I've used it a few times. Don't worry about entering your email address; they don't ever send spam

Such a cool site! I ended up with about 4 cities around where we are looking to move!!!!

 

[Eureka]

I grew up in New England and have been in Maryland for 17 years now. It's cold in the winter not going to lie, but we rarely get that much snow and have shorter winters for sure. The summers, on the other hand, are much more humid that those in NE, but everyone down here has central air conditioning. And you can't beat the cultural opportunities of the DC area...my kids have had some awesome field trips going to museums, Mount Vernon, etc. That said, the affordability of buying a house and level of schools varies widely throughout the MD/VA/DC area.

 

[supersnoop]

Here's Money Magazine's 2014 list of best places to live. I'm in #20, and we've been steadily moving up the list for the last few years.

http://time.com/money/collection/best-places-to-live/

 

[FLmomof2]

My husband and I are both from New England (MA/NH). At age 30 with 2 little ones, we had enough of the snow and cold and moved to FL. After 6 months we knew it wasn't for us and a year later we moved to Simpsonville, SC (Greenville area). Beautiful area, beautiful houses, pretty downtown, and mountains to hike. Beaches are not close, most people are transplants, very cliquey, and schools are hit or miss. We were going to move to Cary, NC and had found a home but decided the grass isn't always greener and being away from family is hard! We moved back to NH last year and are still adjusting after being gone so long, but my kids are happy being near family, the schools and education is great as well as the medical care.

I'm glad we had the adventures we had and that we took a chance (or a couple of them..ha ha), but wish we had stayed here all along. We have decided that after the kids have finished school we will go to somewhere warmer.

Good luck!

 

[FINFAN]

Here's Money Magazine's 2014 list of best places to live. I'm in #20, and we've been steadily moving up the list for the last few years.

http://time.com/money/collection/best-places-to-live/

I'm in #33 and can't wait to bolt. Been in this town 25 years, in IL my whole life. Time for a change~but since aging is a biggie we need to focus on medical over school at this point on our lives. That and sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine

 

[melissakrichards]

Looked it up and it all sounds amazing!!

How is traffic going in either direction, where do people go for work (commute to?), and since you are surrounded by lakes...how is the snake population???? My biggest fear..

Traffic isn't a problem at all. People work in Melbourne, about 25 min away, St Cloud about 10 min away, "Medical City" Lake Nona about 20 min away, UCF area is about 25 min away, lots of people work at Disney 30 min away.

We've been there 4 years & I've never seen a snake. I see TONS of deer, wild turkey, Sandhill cranes, armadillos, & gators!

 

[DVCcurious]

There's more to worry about than weather.

Do you care about politics at all? My wife and I left Seattle because we couldn't stand the extreme politics of Washington State (it's the most "extreme" state in the union as judged by single party dominance - it's true, look it up if you don't believe me, they haven't had a Republican governor since the 70s or a Republican senator since the 90s). So we moved to New York. Many people think New York is liberal, but after living in Seattle our whole lives we think New York is shockingly Republican. It's a refreshing change. Even if you don't think you care about politics just imagine how you'd feel if you lived in a city where EVERYONE disagreed with your core values. Does that bother you? Maybe, maybe not.

I'm mentioning this because if you are a die hard Democrat and you move to a radical right wing city in Texas you may hate it regardless of how "sunny and warm" it is. If you are a Radical Right Winger and you move to a liberal city in Florida you'd hate it as well. So my first piece of advice is to find a city whose politics fits your own personal opinions. There are a decent amount of liberal warm cities (all of southern California, parts of North Carolina and Virginia, and a lot of Florida) and a lot of Republican warm cities. So based on my life experience I'd definitely consider politics in your decision.

I'd also say you should consider Sports if that is an interest. I love NFL and MLB (not really NBA or NHL) so I'd hate to move to a city without pro football or pro baseball. Being warm is great but make sure it has a lot of other things you like.

 

[wishing4PA]

Even if you don't think you care about politics just imagine how you'd feel if you lived in a city where EVERYONE disagreed with your core values. Does that bother you? Maybe, maybe not.

I'm mentioning this because if you are a die hard Democrat and you move to a radical right wing city in Texas you may hate it regardless of how "sunny and warm" it is. If you are a Radical Right Winger and you move to a liberal city in Florida you'd hate it as well. So my first piece of advice is to find a city whose politics fits your own personal opinions. There are a decent amount of liberal warm cities (all of southern California, parts of North Carolina and Virginia, and a lot of Florida) and a lot of Republican warm cities.

Absolutely! This feeling of "everyone" disagreeing is one of the reasons I can't stand where we are now. There is no way my vote will ever count as the majority on the other side is so strong here that the minority party doesn't even bother to field candidates in many elections. It gets old quickly.

 

[Colleen27]

How do the kids feel about the idea? I have a high schooler and a middle schooler and even today, with temps well below zero, they absolutely do not want to start over somewhere new. I am dying to move somewhere warmer, especially right now with every winter colder and more miserable than the last, but we've agreed to stay put at least until the 8th grader has graduated. We'll likely end up waiting until the 1st grader is done too, if only because not having to look for great schools will open up more options for the kinds of places we'd like to live (I like big cities; my husband likes small rural towns. Neither tend to be known for excellent schools.)

 

[karenbaco]

Ideally I would like to be within 30 minutes of the ocean. I guess that rules out a lot of states then doesn't it? lol However, I would consider Colorado or Arizona. Big cities tend to be very epensive to live in so I would prefer a suburb. Politics are not an interest of mine and would not have any importance on my decision, but taxes would. Would not want to pay high property taxes or at least more than what I pay here for something equivalent. I like the idea of Florida not having income tax. Afterall anything is better than Taxachusetts! I do know how sweltering HOT Central Florida gets and that may be an issue being a born and raised New Englander, but at the same time I would rather be sweating than freezing. Loving all the suggestions....keep them coming folks!!

 

[karenbaco]

How do the kids feel about the idea? I have a high schooler and a middle schooler and even today, with temps well below zero, they absolutely do not want to start over somewhere new. I am dying to move somewhere warmer, especially right now with every winter colder and more miserable than the last, but we've agreed to stay put at least until the 8th grader has graduated. We'll likely end up waiting until the 1st grader is done too, if only because not having to look for great schools will open up more options for the kinds of places we'd like to live (I like big cities; my husband likes small rural towns. Neither tend to be known for excellent schools.)

The kids are mixed. My 8th grader doesn't want to leave but my 6th grader says sure! DS11 could make friends with a cardboard box while ds14 is more of an introvert.

 

[Savanna]

We live in Greer, SC (Greenville County). We love the area we live in. Greer is a small town with a quaint downtown area. Greenville also has a very nice downtown and is a 20 minute drive. We do have mild winters and hot summers but I am native to this area and I love it. Also, your are only a short drive to the mountains and a 3-4 hour drive to the beach as well!

We live in a very good school district as well. The elementary, middle and high school are all graded as A schools. The high school is ranked #14 in the state.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We can't wait to move. We also live in New England and I can't stand this weather anymore.
We have a vacation home in FL and will be moving when my 8th grader graduates from H.S. Although he would love to live in FL, he can't move from friends and start all over. I wish he didn't care bc we'd be there in June right after DS17 graduates in the spring.
He's waiting to hear from UCF!!!

 

[tzolkin]

I have found my kids to be one of the most surprising aspects of our move. Two were willing and looking forward to move. My youngest (DS8) was the only one who was hesitant and cried a bit. Ironically, he's the only extrovert in the family and the one I hadn't thought to be concerned about him making friends.

We had lived in a very rural area for 15 years, so it's all my kids knew. My oldest (a junior in HS) went to school with the same 50 kids since kindergarten. Her class at her new school is over 450 kids, so it's quite a difference. She is an extreme introvert and if she did anything a few times a year that was a lot. She was open to the move because she recognized that it would provide more opportunities for our family, but I was worried how it would work out for her socially.

My parents called on a Friday evening to see how the kids were adjusting to their first week at their new schools. They were shocked when I told them that "all three kids were out with friends, so it must have went well".

Almost everyone we knew was rather negative about the move, specifically that you "cannot" move a teen that close to graduation and that we were being "cruel" to our children for imposing an unnecessary move on them. Dispite the concerns, all three kids have had tremendous personal growth over the last few months, we are all extremely happy, and have never had even a fleeting second-thought about the move. I think most people tend to let their fears hold them back, but I am so glad we took the risk.