Where should we move??? Any cool cities???

[tommygirl79]

Okay, so due to some unforeseen issues, my DH and I have decided we probably need to switch his job and move somewhere. This is the first time we've been confronted with the ability to not have any huge attachments towards one city over another and see this as some sort of fun journey we could be on. What we are having a hard time with is trying to decide if we are going to stay in the midwest where we have lived our whole married lives or branch out somewhere TOTALLY different!

Just a little background - we have 2 girls - 5 and 2 1/2. DD5 will be starting K in the fall so we'd like to move sometime this summer if at all possible. We of course thought of Orlando so I could work at WDW but the cost of living and hurricanes kinda of are a turn off there. I don't want to live directly inside any kind of HUGE metropolis but we are not turned off to suburbs or whatever. We are trying really hard to get rid of some debt, so housing would need to be very reasonable in whatever area we pick.

Any fun suggestions?????

 

[Tigger&Belle]

What type of job will your DH have? Is there a better area for him to be? Do you want to avoid all winter weather or do you like seasons?

I love where we live, in Maryland about 45 minutes from Washington DC, but the cost of living is very high. I love the seasons, though, and the fact that winter does not last forever here. The cost of living would stop you, however, since you mentioned that being important.

We've thought about retiring in Charlotte, NC, but I've never been there even (been close, but not quite there), so I don't know what I'm basing it on other than more mild winters and being closer to Orlando. I also like to be able to be a days drive from mountains (hills, I suppose, since I'm from the west where there are actual mountains ) or the ocean, so that's important to me.

 

[SC Minnie]

We've thought about retiring in Charlotte, NC, but I've never been there even (been close, but not quite there), so I don't know what I'm basing it on other than more mild winters and being closer to Orlando. I also like to be able to be a days drive from mountains (hills, I suppose, since I'm from the west where there are actual mountains ) or the ocean, so that's important to me.

I live basically in the suburbs of Charlotte. I love it here.

But OP, what type of job your DH is looking for and what you consider reasonable housing to be would both be a factor.

With you kids nearing school age you would also want to consider the school system in the area.

 

[tommygirl79]

My DH has a Marketing Degree (oh to go back and change THAT one! ) Right now he works for a local Fox station doing much more than the money pays. He's the Research Director (researches demographics/ratings/etc for the station)/Executive Sales Assistant/Web Administrator/Account Executive. He's getting paid utter crap right now, even for the midwest. He would enjoy a lot of different things in either the marketing/sales field and would love something connected somehow to either computer or software. Yes, school systems and culture would be a HUGE factor for us.

 

[ktulu]

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is reasonably priced as far as housing goes, Houston is not too bad either. Cost of living is pretty low in both areas, then again I could be biased I did just hire a new employee and he moved from Washington State, he likes it so far.

darren

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

I'd say Southern CA but the cost of housing and living is insane.

If I were to up and move I'd move to GA. I'm not sure why, I just feel a pull to that state. Well GA or Vegas. But with 2 small kids I don't think Vegas is the ideal place for you. So I say GA.

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

Pittsburgh!! seasons, 10 ten friendliest city, cost of housing depends on the area, it'sa city rich in culture and history. we live about 25 min out of the city, and we love it! if we could, we would move somewhere a little warmer. but if you want seasons, superbowl champs and a great city, then look at Pittsburgh!

 

[bananiem]

My dh and I grew up in SE Iowa. We have lived in Rochester Minnesota for the majority of our 17 years of marriage. I cannot say enough good things about Rochester. We have awesome health care, good shopping, cultural diversity, awesome schools, and we're only 1 hour from the Twin Cities suburbs. We get some decent shows come through at the Civic Center and some really good restaurants. Everybody seems to be from someplace else so nobody is really the "newbie" in town. It s a town of about 93,000, but was only 72,000 when we first moved here in 1988 and 1989.
My dh works for the Mayo Clinic, which is a first rate employer. The benefits are outstanding and if you do your job well there's job security. There are some other great companies in town too.
http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/
http://www.rochestermn.com/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/jobs-rst/

 

[Jpgirl]

I second Houston or Dallas/ Fort Worth or even San Antonio. We moved here from Ohio 4 years ago and absolutely love it. Housing is much more reasonable here. Bought basically the same house but with a pool for 20K less than we sold ours for in OH. We live a little north of Houston in Kingwood. There's no state income tax but the property taxes more than make up for it. You must LOVE heat. I do so it's not bad for me. That also means no winter to speak of. Didn't have one frost this last winter. We did have Hurricane Rita last year-but I've been through far worse with the blizzard of '77 and winter weather. We lost power for a little less than 24 hours. Some did loose power for a couple of weeks. You just need to have a generator and be prepared. I wouldn't let a hurricane dissuade you unless you're going to live within 10-12 miles of a coast. Good luck-how exciting!!

 

[Robinrs]

There are a LOT of things to take into consideration when you're moving to another area.

Weather?
Cost of living?
Schools?
What do you consider "cool"? It's different for different people AND you can like a place as a tourist but what's it like to LIVE there?
Where do you live now?

Check out www.homefair.com for some comparisons. I did the move but I did a LOT of homework first and it STILL was rough. And I just moved ME here!

 

[budbeerlady]

How exciting!!!! I dont have much advice or ideas. We live in South West Michigan and love it most of the time. (I love it a little less in Late Feb snow storms, but its comes with the territory!) We are 10 min drive from Lake Michigan, about an hour and half drive to Chicago. Grand Rapids, Mi is a big hour north east of us if we want to go to a concert. Its small town living and affordable. But for schooling I do drive DD 30 min. to holland as rural living has rural schools, they just dont have the tax money to improve alot. We were about to buy 10 acres and build our little house.

http://www.southhaven.org/ We love South Haven. The farmers markets, the local artists, they have it all. We really do take the lake for granted having it so close, I've never lived more than an hour away from the lake.

Some day I keep telling Dh I want to move to the outskirts of Rochester, Minn. Near Oronoco. Everyone is so laid back and friendly! It just seems to be almost 10 years behind our life in Mi. Close enough to a "big" city but still in the country. And they have Cheese Curds!!!!!!!

And it I won the lottery I could afford to live in Breckenridge Co all year and that would be wonderful. It is so beautiful there! (And I dont ski but I still could live there)

 

[heidica]

I love where we live, in Maryland about 45 minutes from Washington DC, but the cost of living is very high. I love the seasons, though, and the fact that winter does not last forever here. The cost of living would stop you, however, since you mentioned that being important.

Unfortunately - as with Tigger&Belle, I would not recommend where I live because of cost of living. As much as I love the Seattle area, buying a house is just too expensive and the rest of cost of living if high. It is beautiful here, the weather is mostly mild and there is lots to do, but the traffic is one of the worst and as I mentioned housing costs are sky high. As Robinsrs suggested I would do some comparisions, especially on cost of living.

 

[bananiem]

Some day I keep telling Dh I want to move to the outskirts of Rochester, Minn. Near Oronoco. Everyone is so laid back and friendly! It just seems to be almost 10 years behind our life in Mi. Close enough to a "big" city but still in the country. And they have Cheese Curds!!!!!!!

You'd be 15 minutes from me! Have you been there for Gold Rush?

 

[tommygirl79]

Well, theoretically, I would love to have a house in a small community. We live in a rural town in Southern IL right now. However, we are far enough away from any major cities (2 1/2 hours from St. Louis) to really benefit from living there. We would love to live closer to one to enjoy more cultural things - shows and concerts, family activities/attractions, etc.

Weatherwise we would like all of the seasons. Too hot would not work for us but DH great up in NJ and I don't mind winter so the north wouldn't be bad for us. I think TX is out for that reason.

Cool to us right now would be somewhere we could do thing affordably yet still enjoy the area around us - but it would have to have a decent job market for DH - he really is at the point where he DESERVES to make about double what he's making now (even his boss tells him that!). I'm ready to watch him really flourish in a job he loves!!!

Keep them coming - I'm sending your suggestions to DH.

BTW, about Rochester, we actually already talked about that. DH had thyroid cancer 2 years ago and he went to Mayo Clinic for a couple of diagnositc appointments and we did really like the area.

 

[golfgal]

There are a LOT of towns in Minnesota where you can by a nice house for under $100,000, have good schools and a good way of life. There are towns near us where you can buy a home for under $50,000 but then you live in a town of about 200 people.

Missouri, around St. Charles/O'Fallon is a great area with a lot to offer. I think the schools are ok, but I don't have any personal experience with them. Housing is pretty affordable in a lot of areas and there is enough industry to support finding a new job.

Some companies pay big bucks to their marketing people it is just a matter of finding the right company. I know DH's old company paid their marketing manager about $100,000 plus bonuses ($30,000 or more) each year. The average cost of a home in our town is about $150,000 so that is a good salary in our town.

 

[golfgal]

Well, theoretically, I would love to have a house in a small community. We live in a rural town in Southern IL right now. However, we are far enough away from any major cities (2 1/2 hours from St. Louis) to really benefit from living there. We would love to live closer to one to enjoy more cultural things - shows and concerts, family activities/attractions, etc.

Weatherwise we would like all of the seasons. Too hot would not work for us but DH great up in NJ and I don't mind winter so the north wouldn't be bad for us. I think TX is out for that reason.

Cool to us right now would be somewhere we could do thing affordably yet still enjoy the area around us - but it would have to have a decent job market for DH - he really is at the point where he DESERVES to make about double what he's making now (even his boss tells him that!). I'm ready to watch him really flourish in a job he loves!!!

Keep them coming - I'm sending your suggestions to DH.

BTW, about Rochester, we actually already talked about that. DH had thyroid cancer 2 years ago and he went to Mayo Clinic for a couple of diagnositc appointments and we did really like the area.

Rochester area is a great place to look. The nice thing about that area is that it has it's own offerings but then it is only an hour from Minneapolis/St. Paul. Like someone else said Oronoco and some of the surrounding towns are great too. I lived in Rochester when I was in 7th grade, it's grown enormously since then. Another town that I love not too far from there is Waseca (Wa-see-ka). It's a town of about 10,000 people about an hour from the Twin Cities and about the same or a little less to Rochester.

 

[corie161]

Rochester area is a great place to look. The nice thing about that area is that it has it's own offerings but then it is only an hour from Minneapolis/St. Paul. Like someone else said Oronoco and some of the surrounding towns are great too. I lived in Rochester when I was in 7th grade, it's grown enormously since then. Another town that I love not too far from there is Waseca (Wa-see-ka). It's a town of about 10,000 people about an hour from the Twin Cities and about the same or a little less to Rochester.

I live only about 15 min from Waseca...another small town MN girl. I like our small town location, only 1-1 1/2 hours to the Twin cities, and hour to Rochester, Mankato is close by too with good shopping.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Another thing to consider is family. Are you in the same town now, how far would you want to be away, do you want your kids to be close to grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousins. Do you need the family to watch the kids for you?

 

[MsLeFever]

Pittsburgh!! seasons, 10 ten friendliest city, cost of housing depends on the area, it'sa city rich in culture and history. we live about 25 min out of the city, and we love it! if we could, we would move somewhere a little warmer. but if you want seasons, superbowl champs and a great city, then look at Pittsburgh!

Gina beat me to it. We moved to the "burgh" about a year ago and I LOVE it here! So many great things for kids here, reasonable housing, great cultural stuff - theatre, dance, music.

 

[flaps]

Where should we move??? Any cool cities???

Pretty cool!