Where should I move to?

[JMortensen]

My wife and I are trying to figure out where to move when she's done with school at the end of this year. We had been thinking CA, and that has long been my goal, but in looking at houses it seems that we'll be "house poor" if we go back to any of the areas we'd even consider living in. Maybe there is an area that is still cheap enough for us to buy in???

 

She is a Registered Dietitian and will have a MS degree when we leave. I have my own business and I can work from pretty much anywhere as long as I can get to a UPS or FedEx drop off.

 

My priorities are as follows:

1. Better climate than Seattle, not too hot, not too cold. No Phoenix, AZ, no Bangor, ME

2. Less traffic than Seattle, it's REALLY bad.

3. Lower latitude

4. House at least 1500 sq ft.

5. Garage an absolute must, separate shop even better

6. Road racing / autox venues within a couple hours tow

7. $300K or less

8. Safe community

9. Land???

 

Her priorities:

1. Must be within commuting distance of major city

2. Structurally sound fixer upper OK -- notice this is HER priority, as if she'll be fixing anything

3. Close to medical care

4. 3 bedroom / 1.5 bath minimum

5. Within 2 hours of friends or family

6. Safe community

 

Now if I could somehow wipe out her #5, then that leaves us WIDE open. We could go pretty much anywhere in the whole country. I've got basically a year to do that, but it's hard to convince someone without a destination to point to and say "Let's look at Boise, or Albuquerque, or Little Rock." I don't want to live someplace that is so expensive that I can't do anything more than pay the mortgage. Unfortunately, our family and friends are all in CA in the Sacramento area, San Luis Obispo, and LA.

 

We did LOVE San Luis Obispo, CA. Couldn't really ask for anything more, but since we sold our house there the market has just about doubled, and that precludes us from going back unless the market dips pretty dramatically.

 

So anyone from anywhere in the US that has a good suggestion, let em rip. Whereever we go we're planning on staying for a good decade, I'm tired of all this friggin moving and want to grow some roots and start a family.

 

Thanks for any and all input.

[Tim240z]

#2, #7, #8 will put you out of anything south of Camarillo and north of Tijuana! I would love to also get out of CA, but to buy back in (like you are finding) would be difficult. My house has more than trippled since I bought it 7 years ago.....I cannot afford to buy my own house!

Good luck with your search!

[MusPuppis]

Kentucky, heh.

 

300k willl buy you a damn nice spread outside Lexington or Louiville. My aunt is also based here in Richmond (25min. from Lex.) so who knows, maybe a job for your wife with her? You said your wife's a dietician, so she probably knows who Caroline Breeding is - good work to be had around here in that field.

[Mike kZ]

How about the Atlanta area.

 

Has four seasons, but winter is mild

Traffic sucks for about 2 hrs at rush hour

1000 ft above sea level

housing is still cheap

Road Atlanta, Atlanta dragway nearby, close to SEZs event

still plenty of land to buy

 

I have lived hear since 1990, I can see it has grown, but it's not terrible. Just north of the city is the Blue Ridge Mountains

[CruxGNZ]

Damn, I was going to say look at the outskirts of Milwaukee, WI (seriously, everything you need is here plus Blackhawk farms, Road America ), but then I saw what she needs and well, good luck.

[Lunar240z]

east bay area is still relatively cheap...oakley, brentwood, etc... they're really starting to build up around here more though. if you waould have came here about 5 years ago you would have been in good shape. my parents house quadrupled in value.

[Mikelly]

Jon, My guess is you're not going to find it out there in Ca.

 

I've never been away from family and friends more than 4-6 months at a time (Travelling for work abroad) so I can't comment on the pain of leaving loved ones behind for what seems like EVER.

 

That said, Flights back and forth to visit family and friends do come cheap enough. If you guys can get past that whole number five, then you'll likely have many more opportunities. I'd move to the Raliegh/ Durham North Carolina Area in a second, if it weren't for the current job situation.

 

Close to everything car related for me (VIR is 40 minutes, and CMP is 90 minutes or less, Road Atlanta is only about 5 hours and Roebling in Savannah is probably 4 hours!) and there is everything else you're looking for... Housing in and around that region is still extremely affordable and you could buy a nice home on a large lot (Multiple Acres) for less than $250K

 

I'll likely never leave the east coast... All the good things you guys have out west, without Mudslides, Earth quakes, forest fires...

 

Mike

[MONGO510]

Portland/vancouver area.

[BrandonsZ]

Portland/vancouver area.

 

If you don't mind 336 days of rain a year.

[JMortensen]

Uh, yeah... that would be a problem for me...

[vashonz]

In the last 4 years I've moved alot.

Pacific Northwest (Vashon Island) - really nice, rains a bit, temperate.

Flint, MI - Really not good. Depressing. Weather is bad. Cold.

Charleston SC - Hot and muggy during the summer, freezes during the winter, I didn't like it at all.

Saratoga Springs NY - REALLY nice. Land can still be cheap (I have friends who lived on 100 acers for $1800 a month). Close to albany. Lots of $ in saratoga, gets cheaper fast outside. Not too far from Watkins glen, Lime rock (I like it the same as Laguna Seca), Loudin (Lots of bike stuff), and theres also one in pensylvania.

Groton, CT - I don't like it, seems too much like Tacoma.

Next is Guam. Should be interesting.

[tfreer85]

Okay so I'll make a pitch for my town Bakersfield. We are 30-45 minutes to the drag strip, and about 45-60mins from Buttonwillow race way. We are also, 1hr 45min away from Pismo/San Luis area (I'm headed there in 5 minutes) about an 1hr and 45min from LA/Malibu/Westwood area. And about 4hr 30min from Sacramento. We are close by to camping, mountains, snow, beaches, deserts, and have a large portion of automotive activity. You can still get housing for relatively inexpensive and if you move to the right places you can get land and shops. It is considered a great place to raise a family, conservative, good schooling, and a lot of expanding business. Personal trainers and Dieticians pull down some big dough here, especially the large influx of LA people moving here. I have trained with some of the best in town and can put you in contact with them if you'd like. We are considered the middle of everywhere, because anything you could be interested is near by. The only downfall is the summers can reach triple digits, however its not that bad. The winters are cold, fall is cool, and spring is perfect temperature. You don't have to worry about a whole lot of rain, just a little bit of fog. So I'd highly recommend it it seems to fit most of your requirements. In comparison for the cost of a house 2400sq. ft goes for close to 500,000K in a NICE neighborhood. Consider look into it,

 

Tyson

[David K]

John,

 

The only place in the country that is not too hot and not too cold is Southern California. All other places have major weather issues each year. I would recommend Utah or Colorado. Ive been looking at houses and attending open houses for 2 years now. The prices are very good and you can get a large chunk of land for a reasonable price.

 

You also have access to http://www.millermotorsportspark.com just right outside Salt Lake City. Being in Utah, all other tracks on the west coast and southwest are just 1/2 day drive.

[Phyxius]

To me, North Mississippi is one of the US's best kept secrets. We have mild winters and 90* summers. Land is cheap, and Memphis, TN is close, as is Birmingham, AL. Atlanta is only 4 hours away. I've been looking at cost of living here vs. CA. If I made 35k a year here, i'd have to make 55k a year there to maintain the same standard of living. Not worth it IMHO.

[Mr.INSANE]

Turlock, California

 

1. Good climate

2. Very good traffic

3. In the valley (duh)

4. Yes

5. Most likely

6. Versailles z club, Sacremento z club, Many other clubs Race track in versailles

7. My house 3 bedroom 2 baths and garage 239,000 ( I think )

8. Very vey low crime rate

9. Surrounded in country

 

1. Modesto, Sacremento, San fran

2. Depends

3. Yes

4. Depends

5. Depends

6. Very very low crime rate

 

Thats basicly just the town though we have alot of schools aswell Very nice town overall. Plus your near me Heh. I doubt youll chose on are opinion i would do a little research and such to find a nice little area.

[Pop N Wood]

I seriously considered Colorado Springs for a period of time. Housing is still cheap (a coworker moved there and bought a house with a hanger and access to a community runway). The weather there is draw. It is remarkably good. Check it out. You can race your Z up Pike's Peak. You have mountains on one side and semi arid desert on the other. In my case finding a job proved a little iffy.

 

I lived in upstate New York for a time, Saratoga Springs no less. Beautiful country but the winters are absolute killers. New York State also has horrendous taxes because of the tax suck of the city.

 

Why not the California central valley? Visallia-Fresno-Bakersfield. Probably don't have to tell you how beautiful the Sierra Nevada's are.

[2003z]

How about the Atlanta area.

 

Has four seasons' date=' but winter is mild

Traffic sucks for about 2 hrs at rush hour

1000 ft above sea level

housing is still cheap

Road Atlanta, Atlanta dragway nearby, close to SEZs event

still plenty of land to buy

 

I have lived hear since 1990, I can see it has grown, but it's not terrible. Just north of the city is the Blue Ridge Mountains[/quote']not to mention Little Talladega road course, 2 hrs.

Silver Dollar drag, 2 hrs

Roebling Road, 4 hrs

Rockingham, Carolina Motorsports, 5 hours

VIR, Moroso, Sebring, 6-7 hours.

 

Lots of tracks around atlanta

[wheelman]

John,

Have you considered the Spokane Wa. area?

Medical industry is huge there, good climate with relatively moderate winters and perfect summers. Local drag strip and active Auto-X club. 4.5 hours to Seattle and Portland, 30 minutes from Lake Coure D Alene in Idaho (Sp) for water sports and Mount Spokane for Skiing. Land/housing is very reasonable and the city is large enough to offer good services but not so large as to be called a big city. The traffic can be a pain there though. When I lived there I planned my route around making right turns as making lefts across traffic was an act of god.

 

The Tri-Cities Wa. (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) is also not to bad but gets pretty hot in the summer (desert climate) and not quite as large as Spokane (which has it's pluses like basically no traffic). I've lived here for 13 years and it has grown on me although someday I plan to move to an area thats a little more green, like the Lake Cour D Alene area.

 

Wheelman

[JMortensen]

I really appreciate all the feedback guys. Keep it coming. I guess I'll address some of our concerns/questions about some of your suggestions.

 

Kentucky - thought of that one. Have to go check it out. I have preconceived notion in my head of hicks with no teeth fueding, but I know that isn't realistic or fair. Looked up Caroline Breeding, my wife didn't know who she was, web says she's in the Dietitian's PAC. I didn't even know there would be a PAC for dietitians. Learn something new every day...

Atlanta - isn't it muggy as hell in the summer?

Portland - NO. Maybe southern Oregon though. I think it drys out a bit south of Eugene.

Milwaukee - I'm such a pussy I can't handle the Seattle winters. No thanks.

East Bay area - Seems too anthill-ish for me. The few times I've been through the bay area that weren't at 90 mph at 2:00AM I remember being stuck in hellacious traffic.

Raleigh/Durham - we have a couple members out there. Everything I've seen of NC looks pretty damn nice. NC has been bouncing around our conversations for a while. I'm sure it will make the short list.

Bakersfield - suprisingly possible. I hadn't thought of Bakersfield. Only about 3 hours from family, but far enough away from LA.

Charleston - this crossed my mind. Sounds like summers are miserable.

NY state - too cold

Utah - my dad's side of the family is Mormon. I probably have 300 cousins in UT. My dad was one of 15 and his dad was one of 21. I know all about UT. Maybe southern, St. George-ish area...

North Mississippi - hadn't even considered it. I'll have to do some investigating on that one.

Turlock - I'll have to check it out. I kinda think that if I'm going to the Sac area I'll end up in the foothills as opposed to the valley though.

Colorado Springs - need to figure out more about Colorado. It seems like the west part of the state is pretty mountain-ish, but the right side is plains-ish. Not sure where Colorado Springs is. Colorado has been mentioned a couple times...

Fresno - Lots of gangs last time I was through there. Fresno-Bakersfield-Visalia is a pretty widespread area IIRC. Been a while since I been though. Maybe I need to look at a map.

[b__sosick]

come to florida. doo eet