Where should I move to?

[tannji]

I was hating the humidity in NC, but I was from NM, so it was a big difference. Depends on what you are used to, or acclimatized to recently. I rather like NC in general, lots of family history there, including one of the Borden families "Summer Homes", which now a historic site, as well as a pretty nice B&B. There is a bit of a clannish or stand-offish attitude to some of the locals, but I actually kinda enjoyed it... as I was "with" locals, I almost fit in. If you like Sea Food, fishing, racing (left-handed racing, that is) college basketball... and dont mind some bugs, humidity, and the occasional hurricane, its a nice place.

[gogriz91]

Maybe starting out with a list of places you know you won't be willing to move to will help move the process along. What kind of cost of living are you willing to absorb? I know it ain't cheap in Seattle but if you've owned your house there awhile then you may have beaten the bubble. Rumor has it the housing bubble will burst in the next 6-12 months which may help your decision too.

[JMortensen]

Funny that this thread should pop back up. I think as of last weekend I've talked the wife out of her #5. We were even talking about taking a trip to Boise in April. Gogriz, I don't own a home here. I owned a home in CA, but had to sell when it didn't rent very quickly after we moved to WA. That whole rent + mortgage + no job thing really sucks down the finances quickly. Sucks too, because it's gotta be worth at least twice what I paid, probably 30 or 40% more than I sold it for.

 

I do kind of worry about the housing bubble, but then I really want this move to be my last move for the next decade or so, so I'm not going to be worried about the short term value in the next place.

 

Thinking really hard right now about ID and NM. Those are appealing due to cost of housing and cost of living, but don't really know too much about them other than that. Just a lot of anecdotal "its a great place to live" type stuff. I think we're just going to start visiting different places we're interested in.

 

She also mentioned buying a ~$200K house and a used RV and taking extended vacations (which I can do with my biz), so that's kind of an interesting development.

[cygnusx1]

As I get older, I am learning not to like leaving my Z locked in a frozen shed for 3-4 months every year. I am also getting tired of the attitude of the people, and disgusted with the local taxes. NY has everything including mountains, city, oceans, great roads, food,....you name it. Flip the coin and it has too much hustle and bustle, too much cost, and too many people fighting for the same thing. Sometimes I just don't think it's worth the price we pay to live here. At least once a year I go through the phase, "Let's move from here!". Someday maybe we will. We are looking for the right moment or situation. We are looking at NM, NC, CO, UT. I love mountains, hate humidity, and have to have good windy roads. Of course, in reality, both my wife and I need good jobs/schools wherever, if ever, we move. The rest of our families are here in NY; making it a tough decision. We are about an hour North of NYC in the woods. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome place to live but there are a few annoying drawbacks like long winters, humid summers, high cost of living, and occasional crowds of obnoxiuos people.

[280Z28]

My location speaks the truth

 

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[silicone boy]

I lived in Raleigh/Durham for nearly a decade and grew to really like it. It's humid but housing is really cheap. Lots of folks to work on your engine too, as long as its a Ford or Chevy V8. Everything else is "furrin".

 

 

Colorado is fairly nice. I grew up here. Hardly ever snows in Denver and the Springs and never rains. Lots of outdoors things to do. Housing is not super cheap but not bad by Seattle and LA/SF standards. I know that the wife wants to be around relatives, but considering how half of Orange County has moved out here, it'll feel just like home.

 

On the automotive front, quite a few nice tracks around. One thing blows, though, and it might just be a deal breaker. At this altitude, you lose about 20% of your horsepower!

[76brkracer]

well i live in hell (really) it gets about 120 in the summer,winters not to bad but still theres aaaaaaa yeah summer,but heres a thought kingman az

is pretty nice year round and its growing fast real estate is still cheap

comparitively to havasu also you have the river i:e havasu great boating

and laughlin about 30 min away,las vegas hour and a half away

[mark]

I don't klnow what all the fuss is about with the humidity in NC. Sure it gets a little sticky in the summer but the beaches, mountains and the nice people more than make up for it. If the humidity is really a concern, try Ashville area. In the mountains of NC, beautiful place, fairly mild winters but the real estate is getting pricey there.

[Silent]

kansas city missouri. because we need more z people here who actually know something about the cars

[olie05]

5. Within 2 hours of friends or family

I'll be your friend

 

+1 vote for texas (houston, austin, DFW area)

 

you are close to Texas world speedway, Houston motorsports ranch, err.. the other motorsports ranch http://www.motorsportranch.com/

 

besides, there is at least 1 autox every 2 weeks somewhere close...

 

did i mention houses are relatively cheap here?... and we get the cheapest gas prices!!!

[dr_hunt]

Well, it's snowing for the first time here in NM, at least for me. Makes me wonder about the weather in Georgia. NM sucks, too far from SEZ so don't move here, besides, we like being alone here.

 

Notice that all the replies are related to motorsports?!!!

 

Silicone boy, since there is less air pressure up there then the boobies must be bigger in your neck of the woods? Well, at least they are when they leave your office huh!

 

KC, MO. Humid, I don't like humidity, I don't like taking a shower and never getting dry. All my family is from that area, I can't say where cause you all would dog me to heck and gone about being a real redneck and having no family tree.

 

Wherever you move, build your own track and we'll all move there so we have our own race facility. Now that's a good idea!

[Silent]

KC' date=' MO. Humid, I don't like humidity, I don't like taking a shower and never getting dry. All my family is from that area, I can't say where cause you all would dog me to heck and gone about being a real redneck and having no family tree.

 

[/quote']

 

some people i know over in england and the netherlands give me crap about living in missouri, they seem to have us confused with the state above us, and below us.

[True School 240Z]

I was thinking about the Lancaster/Palmdale area north of L.A. you've got plenty of land at a relatively low cost, and Los Angeles County Raceway right there, but almost anywhere in the greater LA area it's a

 

 

So my suggestion is to look in the suburbs surrounding the Northern Cali Bay area like Pinole, or Hercules or around Sacramento or Davis. Good Luck Jon.

[JMortensen]

We were considering MO for a bit, as my sister-in-law lived there, but then she moved back to CA, so now there's just no reason to go out there. I think the wife is starting to focus on Idaho. I'm still thinking CO or NM might be good options. I'm also interested in the Flagstaff area, but I'm guessing it's beyond my means. I had an uncle who lived there and in Phoenix. Would never ever consider Phoenix, but Flagstaff was pretty nice as I recall.

 

The only thing good about Palmdale/Lancaster is the proximity to Willow Springs. Other than that, what a friggin hole!!! I don't think my wife would appreciate the commute on the 14 either. I've driven against the traffic going to Willow Springs a couple times, and you can't help but feel sorry for the schmucks as you drive past 20 miles of bumper to bumper traffic.

 

You know what is a nice little sheltered place though is that road between Palmdale and Valencia, San Francisquito Rd. At least it used to be 10 years ago. There's a bunch of beautiful areas in there, Bouquet Canyon is one that I remember. There's even a lake back there. Beautiful. I guess that is supposed to be where Mulholland built his dam that failed and killed a bunch of people back in the 20's or 30's IIRC. Anyway, it's nice back there, I really like it, but it's surrounded by crap.

[Guest 73Turbo240z]

if your wife can overlook #5, honestly, Texas... it's hot, no doubt about that, but aside from that, living is dirt cheap, you can build a freaking castle for $300k out in the outlying areas north of Houston, which keeps you close to medical, an hours drive from 3 different race tracks, 2 drag, 1 course. 2 monthly SCCA competitions in Houston, the medical center is world renowned.

 

Only downside to the whole deal is the heat, the rest is all up sides...

[Z-Dreamer]

Only downside to the whole deal is the heat, the rest is all up sides...

 

AND THE HUMIDITY!!!

 

Mark

[Guest 73Turbo240z]

AND THE HUMIDITY!!!

 

Mark

 

Shhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sparky]

Shhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

and the mosquitos.

 

BTW 73turbo240Z, you should PM me, I might have something for you.

[Sparks280zt]

Bump...This is a great thread. Keep them coming guys' date=' I love reading these posts!

You guys in NC....is the humidity really terrible in the summer?[/quote']

 

I live closer to the mountains and the humidity has never really been as issue IMO

[Michael]

Just an observation on the meaning of “high cost of livingâ€â€¦.

 

High taxes – sure, that’s a high cost of living. But high housing prices? Bubbles aside, if you move to a place where houses are inexpensive, that’s probably because they have not been appreciating in recent years – and they probably won’t be appreciating in the near future. So the net difference between what you get out of the house when you sell it, vs. what you paid for the house when you moved in, would be lower in areas where the housing costs are lower. If you can afford larger monthly payments, the true cost of living is actually LOWER where the housing is more expensive!

 

Example: my house in semi-rural Southwest Ohio now costs a little over $200K. That’s what it cost about 5 years ago, when I bought it. The net appreciation is zero. The same house in a “working class†neighborhood in Los Angeles would have cost around $500K in 2001. And today it would be worth - $1M?

 

Also keep in mind that wealthier areas have a better tax base. If you earn $100K/yr in Ohio, you’re the local aristocrat, and will be taxed accordingly. If you earn $100K in Northern Virginia, you’re just an average Joe – and again, will be taxed accordingly. If there are lots of affluent people in a given area, then the burden of funding the schools, the firehouse, the police department, and so forth, is spread collectively.

 

So, my point is, that if you’re going to settle in a new place for quite some time, it might make more financial sense to seek a more “expensive†area.