Where should I move to?

[Z-Dreamer]

Jon, I live in Sacramento and I love the climate, almost never freezes and while the summers can be hot, it's nothing like southern California. Anyway, you can pick up a 3/1 home that's not a toilet, if you search, for under $300K, not a problem. There are four MAJOR hospitals in Sac Town. Also Sacramento Raceway (drag) and Infineon Raceway? (used to be Sears Point Raceway) about an hour & half away. Rush hour traffic can suck, but I'll bet it's better than Seattle! I would only consider moving out of state for CHEAP land and good business opportunities, I'm a general contrator. Finally, if you have any questions, e-mail me, I'll be happy to help!

 

Mark

[Sparky]

Austin TX? within hours of Texas World speedway, motorsports ranch in Dallas. it does get a little hot though, but there are so many lakes/rivers and greenery in the area that sometimes you dont notice it as much as you do in San Antonio or Houston.

 

Colorado Springs is very nice, home of NORAD. Pikes Peak, and its associated races. it gets cold there, it snows, but its not that bad. hours from the slopes and Denver. its a nice place, I considered moving there once.

 

 

Charlottesville Virginia? I cant tell you much about it but was very impressed the few times I've been. Historic, Beautiful

 

thats all I've got, there are several nice places to live in this country, a lot of them have very enjoyable moderate climates..but you might have to forgo some of the things on your list.

[2003z]

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

Actually, no, not compared to the rest of the south. I think our 1000ft elevation must help some. As an airline pilot, I've flown all over the southeast (world, actually), and Atlanta is a lot less humid than the rest of the south. We get 2 months of pretty hot weather, but it passes quickly.

 

We moved from Oxnard, and my wife is born and raised in socal. She won't go back.

[phil280zxt]

Hey, what's wrong with Bangor ME? LOL

[Here comes trouble]

Ashland (southern Oregon college town) close to Medford or Grants Pass.. All in the Rouge River Valley (Bear Creek Orchards). Further up north there is Roseburg (banana belt from Sutherlin to Canyonville) Don't even bother with a damp foggy rainy armpit like Eugene where I am located near. Continously growing Bend in central Oregon is quite popular for rec and skiing with nearby Sisters, Redmond and Madras and sunshine. Klamath Falls is a little isolated and winter cold by it's self.....................The Rouge River Valley is my ideal spot with my birth place in Grants Pass...............I got stuck here in the "world class river city" and former mill town that hosts a university. You can take the mill out of the university town but never the mentality of over compensation in a back water

[Tim240z]

Bakersfield, and the San Joaquin Valley in general has terrible air quility issues, in many cases worse that here in the LA Basin.....As a matter of fact, many of the rules and regs in the SJVAQMD jurisdiction are more stringent that those in the South Coast AQMD due to the SJVs non-compliance with clean air standards.....just food for thought....

[DavyZ]

Austin TX? ...San Antonio...Colorado Springs...Denver...Charlottesville, Virginia...

 

Wow, just about every place I would consider. If my company asks me to move, I'd move to one of these places in a heartbeat.

 

As far as moving back to the Bay Area, I doubt I would have desire to do so.

 

Davy

[Metro]

As far as Southern Oregon goes, there's a huge housing bubble going on in the Rogue Valley. Prices of houses have been pretty crazy for the last few years. But other than that it, it's a pretty decent place and you can autocross on a go-cart track in Medford

[beren]

Another vote for Kentucky. I know for a fact that a major airline located it's main operations there due to the *statistically* good weather. No snow (to speak of) yet this winter, and the summers aren't bad at all. Heck, it was 65 degrees 2 weeks ago. Which means that I can do practically year round grilling! Plus, Louisville is nice. I'm about 15 miles northeast of Louisville, and the neighborhoods are great! I just got an acre of land and a 3000 sq ft house with a 784 sq foot garage for around 240k-ish...

[Guest bastaad525]

#2' date=' #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![/quote']

 

 

yeah what he said. Even 2 bedroom condos anywhere in the area Tim outlined (Camarillo to mexican border) go for well over $300,000. Me and my wife have been sorta shopping around over the last year and have found that there seems to be nothing in our price range (we initially were hoping to get away with $300,000 or less) that is in a halfway decent area or isn't excessively small or some other compromise.

 

 

And Tim, I thought you loved it here? What's this about you wanting out of CA?? Didn't you give me guff when I was saying how much I hate it here? Where are you considering moving to if at all?

 

This is a great thread, by the way

 

personally, me and my wife are also considering moving to Virginia, or Oregon, since those are the only two places either of us have any contacts. But, after some research they also sound like nice places to live.

 

Georgia sounds kinda nice, have to look into that.

 

The only real issue that has kept us from moving... we both make decent money here, but have no real connections for work away from here. So while we can afford a really nice house in many other areas of the country, who's to say we wouldnt' both be MAKING less money after moving and would then be stuck only being able to afford the same kinda stuff we can afford here?

[DaleMX]

Altanta's ok, but I'm planing on retiring to Maggie Valley N.C. Population is small, traffic is non existant, 3 hrs from road Atlanta and it's right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Housing is still cheep and its so quiet.

[Mikelly]

Where my wife and I have considered our next move down the road:

 

South of Charlottesville Va.: Lexington or just North would be nice. The land is still inexpensive (comparatively speaking) and the traffic isn't bad until you get into Charlottesville. They still have rush hour though, so don't fool yourself.

 

Clarkesville Va. is a VERY small town (Think Mayberry-ish) on the Virginia - NC Border that is within 40 minutes of VIR. We've actually talked about buying a retirement/ investment home here only becuase of the "feel" of the small town and the location as it sits on John Kerr Lake Reservoir. It would also be within about an hour 15 minutes to Durham/ Raliegh area, or 45 minutes to Danville.

 

Savannah GA. is one of our favorites. I'd been there back in 1986 when I was at the Federal Police Academy down in Brunswick. My wife and I spent a fair part of our honeymoon in Savannah. And we've gone back since to visit the town and stay out at the Beech resort just east of town.

 

Raleigh - Durham area would be nice. There is still a large population and plenty of motorsports activities, and if you look in the rural areas outside of the triangle, you can afford good deals on large tracks of land.

 

Charleston South Carolina... That southern Charm. Still a LOT like Savannah. We plan to visit there this coming year IF our finances get turned around.

 

Pretty much all of the North western Corner of North Carolina/ Eastern Tenessee border is a favorite of mine. I love that whole area, but I hear they get an aweful lot of rain there every year.

 

Ozarks Arkansas. I've never been, but plan to. I hear the place is wonderful and there is LOTS of recreation in the warm months, and the cold months aren't THAT cold. We have it on our list of places to explore.

 

Gettysburg PA. Other than the tourists, that town is wonderful. Small feel, and great hospitality. Close enough to DC (less than two hours) and far enough way that you still feel like your in the mountains.

 

These are just some of the places we're looking at. I would also love to call Arizona home (Flagstaff), or maybe Southern or mid-eastern Utah (Moab), but the wife isn't into the "lack of greenery!"

 

Mike

[grumpyvette]

jmortensen

 

I think your missing a good option by not looking SERIOUSLY at FLORIDA, It s the state I sellected to live in, for several reasons

 

its a state with NO STATE TAXES. no cold winters and average temp year round is in the 90F-60F range over most of the state most of the year, hurricanes are not the huge concern some make them out to be PROVIDED YOU SELLECT A WELL BUILT HOME WELL INLAND, AWAY FROM THE COASTAL AREAS and in the UPPER MID state areas. think ocala, lake wales,sebring and surrounding areas

theres a reasonable 6%-6.5% sales tax (depends on area/city) its growing so theres LOTS of job options, land and house prices vary wildly over the state but most of the mid to upper state is fairly reasonable, Id look in the areas north of orlando-to- tallahassee area

careful shopping should allow you to find a home on 1-5 acres in your price range and youll be within reasonable driving range of several larger cities and famous race tracks like daytona,sebring,etc.

while maintaining a more rural life style , and cost of living, yet decent traffic and good job opertunities

http://www.househunt.com/florida/

 

then theres the added benifit that house prices/land cost is moving up, so almost anything you buy will aprreciate in resale value allowing you a good proffit if and when you move

[JMortensen]

Anyone have any thoughts on Idaho? Southern Idaho specifically, like Boise or suburbs thereabouts. My wife found an article and it was named in the top 100 "Kid Friendly" Communities. Looks like suburbs are going in with $400K houses at 2700 sq ft. Figure if you buy a used house it would be EASY to get all of my requirements in at $200 - $250K.

[David K]

or maybe Southern or mid-eastern Utah (Moab)' date=' but the wife isn't into the "lack of greenery!"

 

Mike[/quote']

 

IMO southern Utah is the most beautiful area in this entire world. The sandstone and slickrock formations and towering pinnacles are just amazing. The greenery during late winter and spring is fantastic! Even when it snows, its beautiful. Every season is wonderful in southern Utah.

 

Ive been looking for houses in St George, and Cedar City. I think the main thing holding me back is my age. Id like to be in or close to a big city for a few more years until im ready to settle down into the quiet, less populated areas. I enjoy multiple day long backpacking trips, archeology, fishing, camping (REAL camping...bow drill fires, trapping food, etc), biking, photography, etc. Southern Utah provides unlimited opportunities for such activities.

 

BTW, St George is known for its golf courses and retirement communities. If any of you are looking to settle down, check out St George. Its about 2 hours from Vegas too, hehe.

[wheelman]

John,

Several years ago I was almost transferred to Boise by the company I worked for at the time. I liked it, especially the Eagle area. The winters are much harser than Seattle, the summers can be hot and traffic is a nightmare depending on where you live (well compared to where I live now but not Seattle).

Idaho is a very conservative state law wise and the Boise area has a high concentration of Mormons, housing costs are reasonable especially if you buy in the Nampa area (about 30 miles west of Boise). Meridian and Eagle (western and north western suburbs) are the areas that have the most growth and the highest prices, east of town towards Mountain Home AirForce base is very desert like but the prices are better.

Overall I really like the area and have kept it on my list of places to consider when I move out of the Tri-Cities.

 

Wheelman

[tfreer85]

Bakersfield, and the San Joaquin Valley in general has terrible air quility issues, in many cases worse that here in the LA Basin.....As a matter of fact, many of the rules and regs in the SJVAQMD jurisdiction are more stringent that those in the South Coast AQMD due to the SJVs non-compliance with clean air standards.....just food for thought....

 

Yes bakersield is in the top 5 for worst air quality in the nation. The problem for us is all the bay area smog gets blown into the valley then gets trapped in our basin which in return does make for bad air. Also we have a lot of farm land that was until recently, could kick up as much dirt and have tractors as dirty as they wanted. However I have lived in Bakersfield for 20yrs and the most amount of problems I've had was MINOR activity endused asthma as a kid. My grandma who is 90yrs old has lived here since the age of 15, the air does "look" dirty as so it does in most major metropolitan areas. You get used to it, but the pros of Bakersfield and the number of criteria that it meets of yours IMO makes it a good option for you.

 

Tyson

[Sparks280zt]

I cant say enough good about NC, if you live in the Raleigh area, you are 3 hours from the Outer Banks and 3 hours from the Blue Ridge Moutains and the Great Smokeys. I am from the mountains but live in Charlotte right now for college, but I love NC and really never plan on moving. I live in the biggest city in the state and traffic is not bad at all, I love NC and never plan on moving out of this state. And if you smoke, are cigs are cheap as hell!

 

And for 300K, in say the Hickory area like Z-Dreamer was thinking about moving to, you can have a 2500 sq ft house with 20 acres or so.

[mark]

Check out the areas surrounding Charlotte NC. Concord, Harrisburg, Both near Lowes motor speedway (10 mintures). Great schools, low county taxes, near enough to Charlotte that the communte is easy but out of the city.

[Wagz]

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

 

Portland = 151 days of precipitation/year on average.

Seattle = 150 days of precipitation/year on average.

 

Generally, it's beautiful in the Portland area from May through mid-October. But, the winters are dark and wet, no question. The housing prices aren't at SoCal levels yet, but they have really gone way up the last several years. I couldn't afford to buy my own house at today's valuation. Traffic generally sucks in all directions. I do love being within one hour of the beach, 1.5 hours of good snow skiing and .5 hours to good watersports, windsurfing, etc. in the Columbia Gorge. That being said, my wife and I have been talking about moving out of here too.

 

I've considered the Spokane/Couer d'Alene area - beautiful place. Not enough high-tech jobs to make it attractive to my wife and I. We both were born/raised in the Tri-City area and have no real desire to go back although we did like it Ok there.

 

Boise, Id. - Like Wheelman said the traffic is getting worse, but I really like the area. Nice suburbs, really nice downtown area, plenty of high-tech jobs. Lots of outdoor activites. We'd consider it.

 

Raleigh/Durham, NC - I have friends that have moved there and love it. My wife spent some time there while on assignment for her job and loved it. I've heard nothing but good things.

 

My brother spent the last two years in S. Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area) and hated every moment. He bought 6 acres an hour inland from Myrtle Beach S. Carolina a few months back and loves it there so far. The downside is that he is a few hours from any major metropolitan area.

 

My wife and I are curious about Colorado. Denver, Boulder areas. We've been surfing the web a lot lately try to find the next great place to live. We figure we've go one more big move in us before we're ready to stay put.