Where would you move and why?
 

I'm seriously trying to convince the wife that we should pack up and GTFO of here while the New Orleaneans are buying up houses.

I'm completely open to suggestions as to where to go at this point. I want to move somewhere where my kid can go to public school and still have a chance. I also want to live somewhere near a decent airport since my job is 100% travel. The cost of living is not real high where I'm at right now so that is a big consideration as well. Taxes, political climate, extreme weather, and possible exposure to yearly catastrophic natural disasters all carry heavy weight in my consideration.

The best suggestion I have come up so far with is Nashville. Ive done a lot of work there in the last year and I really think its a great city. The metro 'city' part of Nashville is just the right size and is not too far away from a lot of great residential areas. It has a nice climate with four distinct seasons, and its not too far South or North. It also has a decent airport.

So where is the ideal place to move and why?

Have you considered Houston? While we do get smacked around from time to time by mother nature, it usually isn't too bad. Especially if you live on either the far north side or the far west side of town. And those areas also have great school districts.

And you can't beat our 2 airports for having convenient access to any conceivable destianation.

what about austin texas? wonderful city.

a good friend suggested that i move to philly. i may visit just to see what she was talking about.

I always liked the coast of North Carolina. Not as humid as Louisiana or Houston, the Outer Banks are beautiful. Raleigh/Durham is a nice city, near the Smokey Mountains.

Cost of living in Austin is pretty high. Especially relative to Baton Rouge. He said that was a big consideration.

Nashville would be my choice! Great music (blues, jazz, rock, everything...), great food and people and lower cost of living. The problem is the wages are lower there than where I live (Detroit).

Negative on anywhere in TX. I want out of this heat.

NC, SC, and VA are all states Ive considered. Going back to Florida (Jacksonville area) is another place Ive considered. Any of these places are pretty much a guarantee for getting routed through Atlanta for work which is a big negative for me.

After hearing of the KRAP in New Orleans...and I'm not talking the storm? Near a major airport would be a difficult requirement. I'm thinking somewhere in the mostly undesirable boonies...far beyond a tank full of gas from any major metropolitan area. I'm thinking of forgetting about owning a P-car in order to accomplish this. Perhaps Nevada? Away from Reno or Vegas, of course...far away.
Let's face it guys...we all just learned that today's form of Government cannot maintain order in the face of a disaster, whether the disaster is made by man or momma nature. In such case, you need to depend upon yourself, and I wouldn't need to live where "looters" could further complicate an already serious situation.

Western Massachusetts or Southern New Hampshire and northern Connecticut are all great choices. Cost of living might be higher than what your looking for, though. For natural disasters sometimes it snows and ices, but that is only during the winter. Airports, There is Logan in Boston, and then there are three smaller airports, Manchester airport in southern New Hampshire, Bradley outside of Hartford, and someplace in Rhode island. For entertainment you’re near NYC and Boston. For vacation you have Maine and cape cod if your into the beach. If you into the woods you have Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Racing wise we have Lime Rock Park and New Hampshire International speedway, not to mention Watkins glen is a days drive away. I realize it might be a major change but it looks like what you might be looking for.

Yeah, W. Mass etc. would be my second choice after western N.C. or somewhere close around the Smoky Mountains. I like mountains and seasons. Warmer seasons in the south=less snow.

Ed

We love Seattle.

But cost of living......errrrrr.....yeah....housing is a bit crazy.

-Decent weather (despite what you have heard.....)
-Seatac is nearby
-John Walker
-Down right liberal.....gun laws that is. Right to carry state.
-BEAUTIFUL. A 20 mile long lake on one side with the ocean on the other. Mountains all around.
-Porsches everywhere. You can't belive how many 911s you see on the road. Only S. Cal. has more.
-Did I mention John Walker?

I've considered leaving the northwest to get away from the dreary grey skies. But I will stay west of the Rockies to stay away from excess humidity. Possibly Colorado, Arizona maybe.

Tenn, Indiana, Rhode Island are all really nice states - seem to be well priced.

Where are you at?

Seattle gets a bad rap for weather, but Oregon is way worse. I don't know about rain fall, but the weather is down right gray an dreary.

In seattle, it rains, but then it with frequently clears out a bit and you will see sun. Its a mix.

We did the corporate relocation thing for 25 years, living all over the US: Arkansas, Maryland, Virginia, NC, Indiana, Texas. In the end, we came home to NC and started our own business. We LOVED D/FW but you have ruled out TX.

Charlotte is excellent. Great airport, lots of sports going on, more and more restaurants, decent cultural scene. The only negative, IMHO, are the public schools. Fortunately, there are lots of choices for private schools. We also just had a P-car wrench move his operation from Florida up here. That makes at least 4 independent shops here now as well as the dealer, who claims to have hired a guy that knows older cars. I guess I am saying the Porsche scene is improving all the time here too.

This post will be of no practical value to the orginal posters query..

If cost of Living were NO OBJECT...Santa Barbara, CA would be the choich....it's a town with PERFECT weather, large enough to have all the ammenties and close to a large metro area for it's amenties. The downside is the Liberal CA environment...

Las Vegas is a Desert City and has that hardscrabble look and feel that common to the harsh environment. Also Vegas is a one horse town and if your not into the Resort/Casino scene there really isn't much to do here. Living in LV is like living behind the curtain at a carnivel.

PWD says he's thinking about Nevada, but not LV or Reno and far away from them....there really isn't anything else in the state...Mesquite which is 80 miles up the road is built around a Golf Course and is going to be a retirement mecca....as LV becomes more and more expensive...right now LV is running close to the Riverside/Ontario area of CA. There are a host of VERY VERY Small towns in NV...where it is hours to the nearest medical facillities....and NV is largely treeless...

The option though is St George, Utah it is supposed to be a very pretty town that is growing by leaps and bounds tons of CAil's are moving there. The only thing about St George is that it was DOWNWIND from all the Nuclear testing that was done in the 50's and 60's at the NV Test site.

I have to mention that I love LA....or what it used to be anyway...it was home for most of my life. Now the Liberal environment and SOOOOO many people have basically ruined paradise. That and the fear that if I bought into the housing market the day after I clsoe would be the bursting of the bubble.

thanks guys!

Tabs, you know I cant live in CA. Ive got too many guns, they would never let me across the state line :). I cant do Vegas. I dont have the money and Id rather visit than live there.

I really like Dallas. That is a realistic option for me, just not my first choice because of the weather. Ive had enough of the prolonged 100+ degree weather. I pick up the homes books everytime Im in a new city for work or whatever and Im surprised at how far your money can go when purchasing a house in Dallas. However, Ive heard that your property taxes more than make up for the intial savings.

As far as the rain goes, I really dont think I could move anywhere that sees considerable more rain than we do here. Maybe Singapore, but thats not an option. Rain doesnt bother me. I would just rather see rain in 80 degree weather than rain in 100 degree weather.

What about Indianapolis area? Anybody live in a decent area near Memphis?

Im wide open for ideas.

thanks again!

Where can I look up things like ratings on public schools, standard of living, cost of living, weather, etc, in various cities/states?

Re: Where would you move and why?
 

There's always one deal-breaker:)

When we moved here from So Cal, property taxes were the only thing that wasn't cheaper. But no state income tax made up for many times what we pay in prop taxes.

Walla Walla, WA
Intercourse, PA
Climax, MN
Moreheadsville, PA
Dyckesville, WI
Beaver, OK

and for some reason, I'm drawn to Magnet, NE.

I'd say Sydney except the commute would probably be a bit of a stretch for you. But just think, your 911 will appreciate about 100% overnight when you bring it over.

Palm Springs, California.

Hardly ever any rain = clean car all the time.

Yes, hot summers, but cool breezy evenings. Nice winters.

3 hours from San Deigo, LA is even closer and LV is close as well. Nice central location. Dullis (SP?) Airport 40 minutes away.

Here's a cost of living converter

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html

We have lived all over the country. Ended up in N.C. and love it.

My future wife was going to school in Nashville while I was working in Atlanta... Spent many many weekends there over three year period.

I always considered it a very nice place to be. Beautiful environment, especially during season change. SUPER nice people. Plenty of fun things to do. etc etc etc...

Only real negatives I can think of is Vandy football. ;)

- Skip

I know you are not looking at Calif., heck if I wasn't born here, own a house here, and been working for the state I would be looking to get out.

Cali:
Love the central coast, last time I stopped in Santa Barbara it was crowded, expensive, and parking was a nightmare.

Palm springs is a fun town to visit but hot, smoggy, and not much entertainment.

Best deal here IMHO is San Diego.

Personally I'm thinking of retiring to Morro bay but that is just me, been a city boy all my life and they have a small town feel with lots of stuff to do.

I lived in Indianapolis area for 6 years. Cost of living is one of the lowest in the country. I just sold my wifes condo there...it took 14 months, and lets just say the check I brought to closing was larger than the buyers....the market is very depressed in the area. I moved south of Denver and I can't figure out why I ever lived any where else. This place is amazing.

I said Santa Barbara because of it's size...it has amenities that San Luis Obispo doesn't and is easier to get to LA for it's amenities...

However the Central Coast of Califoria up around Cambria is the spot Daddy...

i've really fallen for wilmington NC, i want to relocate there within the next 2 years :)

Maine is GREAT. The snow from last winter is almost gone now!!!

The answer is simple Charlottesville Va
Voted the #1 place to live
We have what you are looking for just recerch it

I've lived in:
Rural CT
Suburban MN
scrubtown TX
Western MA (Northampton)
Boston area
Chicago
NYC
Westchester NY (Pound Ridge)
Boston area.

Of all these places, NYC is my favorite for the energy and fun things to do round the clock.

But if I had a family, Western MA would be high on the list, so would CT, both mostly due to the schools and the weather/country, but for ultimate quality of life, nothing can beat MN. It is very cold in the winter, but good schools, great people, lots of recreation fun and it's just got this liberal yet conservative slant to it that strikes just the right balance on so many issues.

Actually Wilmington is a GREAT area. As a matter of fact it is on our short list of cities we would move to and retire.

There are 2 issues for Shuie as I see them: Schools and airport.

Temecula CA. Pacific ocean, mountain skiing/lakes/camping, LA, San Diego, and 3 major airports, all within 1 hour's drive. Wineries, unlimited golf, and Indian gaming (buffet for Tabs) all local. Hot in summer but absolutely perfect weather the other 8-9 months. Leave your guns at home though - you won't need them here.

I hate snow and I hate cold. Those 2 things factor greatly in where I would live.

I grew up on Long Island and know all too well what winter is. I tough out the hurricane seasons in Florida because I cannot live without the ocean. Just wish it would rain less here. Right now we have gone 7 days without a drop. The Targa top has not been on that car at all.