s/o of my own thread: moving far far away...

[Nakia]

If you have ever moved to another state, how did you even begin to figure out where to go? I know a lot of people move for jobs, but if you were just moving for "personal reasons", how would you decide where to go? How do you research job opportunities, housing, cost of living, etc?

 

Thanks!

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I don't know, but let's go visit Negin in Grenada! ;)

 

:auto:

[Quad Shot Academy]

Think about what climate you would like to live in. If you want to live by the ocean, mountains, forests, city or country. Then start job hunting in those areas. If you get a job offer there are lots of cost of living calculators on-line where you type in your location and the location you want to move too and it lets you know how much money you need to make in order to have the same standard of living.

:grouphug:

[elegantlion]

You can use the forum http://www.city-data.com to read on areas you might be interested. The forum is set up like this one, and the opinions run as rampant. :lol:

[Nakia]

Think about what climate you would like to live in. If you want to live by the ocean, mountains, forests, city or country. Then start job hunting in those areas. If you get a job offer there are lots of cost of living calculators on-line where you type in your location and the location you want to move too and it lets you know how much money you need to make in order to have the same standard of living.

:grouphug:

 

Thank you! We love living in the mountains but within a reasonably short driving distance to the ocean. And we want to live in the country, but kinda close to the city. I don't want to live anywhere where it is always hot or always cold. And I detest humidity. Sounds like we want it all. :001_smile:

 

And it would be nice to get as far away from the Southeast as possible, so the Northwest? LOL! Or at least west.

[Nakia]

I don't know, but let's go visit Negin in Grenada! ;)

 

:auto:

 

Yes!! Or Heather in Malaysia!!

 

You can use the forum http://www.city-data.com to read on areas you might be interested. The forum is set up like this one, and the opinions run as rampant. :lol:

 

Thank you!

[Parrothead]

Every time we have transferred we have had a small choice of stations we could possibly transfer to. In the beginning we moved where to stations/states that would further dh's career quickly. We took a couple of really horrendous towns, but they eventually got us where we are.

 

We knew eventually we wanted to be some where with very mild summers. We wanted to be in a state that was fairly simple to homeschool in. And we wanted amenities to be within a day trip.

 

Dh is a small town guy so these last few places we have been in are 'his turn." He has told me when he retires he will get me within 30 minutes of a major metropolitan area.

 

So to make a long post short. make a list of what you want in your new area. Do you want heat or cool? Mountains, coast or prairie? Check the home school laws in each state that you are considering. Big city or small town? Small town close to a big city or very rural? Check crime rates with City-data.com. Median housing and cost of living can be found there too.

 

If all else fails. Throw a dart into a U.S. map.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Thank you! We love living in the mountains but within a reasonably short driving distance to the ocean. And we want to live in the country, but kinda close to the city. I don't want to live anywhere where it is always hot or always cold. And I detest humidity. Sounds like we want it all. :001_smile:

 

And it would be nice to get as far away from the Southeast as possible, so the Northwest? LOL! Or at least west.

 

The Northwest might fit your wants, but it is humid! It is a cold humidity though. I personally would like to move to a suburb of Portland.

 

Other than that Virginia or someplace by the Appalachians and the ocean come to mind.

 

Also think about natural disasters like Tsunamis, Earthquakes and Tornadoes. ;)

[Ester Maria]

If you have ever moved to another state, how did you even begin to figure out where to go? I know a lot of people move for jobs, but if you were just moving for "personal reasons", how would you decide where to go? How do you research job opportunities, housing, cost of living, etc?

 

Thanks!

If changing country, check out the school system, homeschool policies, how health care and insurances work, visa / work permits / citizenship regulations, and get an overview of the legal system. The latter one is quite important, lest you get into some uncomfortable situations along the way. Also check the diplomatic ties the country has with other relevant countries in your life, immigration policies, and general statistics (employment, ethnic and educational structure, etc.).

 

Next, contact people. You surely know somebody approximately from the area, and if you don't, somebody you know probably knows, or knows somebody... And after all, there's internet nowadays, forums, etc. Check out what's living there like, get first hand accounts, and read all you can get on various regulations, job market, etc.

 

When it becomes serious, visit the place in advance. NEVER go on a "blind date" of arranging house and job and all without visiting first the concrete city and neighborhood. Check out climate and weather considerations, traffic situation, likely jobs, and if you have one, commute and distance from the work place.

 

We moved for job, but we had - and still have - options to live in different countries and states. Nowadays it's a lot easier to research than before, when basically travel was your first step - now you can rule out many options right away from the internet and travel as your final step.

[sheryl]

If you have ever moved to another state, how did you even begin to figure out where to go? I know a lot of people move for jobs, but if you were just moving for "personal reasons", how would you decide where to go? How do you research job opportunities, housing, cost of living, etc?

 

Thanks!

 

Nakia, My dh and I have moved 2 times after marriage. After we were married, I moved to where my dh was employed in WI. He was laid off, and an opportunity presented itself in MI so off to our neighbor to the east and we moved to MI. My dh was laid off again and he interviewed for a job in NC and that's where we've been for 20 years. MI and WI were about 5 years each...they are beautiful states.

 

NC is beautiful too. Which leads me to answering your question.

 

I just believe there are many factors to consider based on preference (deciding to move):

1. How far/close to extended family

2. How will you travel to visit family and friends if it's cross country? Is money a factor? How many times? Will you be sad if no one is there to celebrate milestones?

3. What region of the country do you like? Culture, terrain, climate, etc.

4. Do you like it cool, warm, or HOT! I'm boiling right now typing this.:glare:

5. Will you be in tornado alley or hurricane path? Does it matter?

6. Do you want your state to be rich in history? Perhaps one of the original 13 colonies?

7. What is the liklihood for gaining employment?

8. How expensive will it be to actually move?

9. Cost of living?

10. How does it rank in safety, health, friendliness? Believe it or not you can check these stats out? Some states are healthier to live in than others. I do agree with that to a point...industry, water, etc.

11. People....does the state/city have a reputation (kind of) for being a friendly place?

12. If you go to church, are there enough to visit to find the one.

 

You can research and gain much insight from USNews and World Report. Every now and then there are these studies: best places to get a job, best housing markets, etc.

 

Start on-line. Try your library. Hopefully you'll get alot of responses here. HTH. Blessings. Sheryl <><

[Renee in NC]

We're asking the same questions, but we are discussing traveling around a bit to figure out where we want to be....

[....]

We moved "far away" twice in our 9 years together... One time, we just went on Apartment Finder and found an apartment, called and talked to the lady in the leasing office and she said they were in a "great area". Good enough for me! :hurray: It actually turned out to be a wonderful area and we bought a house there.

 

The second time was in December, we moved to Texas. I know where a lot of stuff is...but we're still trying to find things... I have to say, it's safer to rent somewhere for a year or two until you get a feel for things and then buy a house. I'm very glad that we're renting.

[creekland]

Both times we moved states away without knowing a soul in the area we took a vacation and visited first. Rather than seeing the tourist sites, we looked at houses for sale, visited stores (esp grocery) and generally drove around getting a feel for the area. We also subscribed to local newspapers, but now you could just look at those online.

 

To figure out which areas to visit we considered other factors like weather, proximity to things we wanted to do, etc.

 

Once we found a generalized area we liked, hubby found a job, we rented a house for a year (to better know the area prior to buying) and we moved.

 

The first time we thought we wanted to move to Orlando, FL, but ended up in St Petersburg, FL instead and consider it a blessing instead of a second choice.

 

The second time we ended up in our area of South Central PA (a little east of Gettysburg) and absolutely love it. We've been here 14 years now after having moved oodles of times before (just not always to totally new places).

[Margo out of lurking]

If you have ever moved to another state, how did you even begin to figure out where to go? I know a lot of people move for jobs, but if you were just moving for "personal reasons", how would you decide where to go? How do you research job opportunities, housing, cost of living, etc?

 

We did this three years ago. Growing up in Colorado, my dh had always wanted to move "east" (good memories with his relatives). We looked off and on for ten years, praying about it off and on. We visited western PA/eastern OH, even putting our house up for sale before changing our minds.

 

We pored over books like Places Rated, and other books detailing areas and statistics. Money Magazine comes out with an annual list, and there are countless internet resources, including realtor.com. We talked a lot about what categories were truly important to us, and we considered the weather.

 

My dh took a trip to the Knoxville area and decided against it.

 

We sometimes considered other locations. Maybe we should move near both of our families in WA state (which thoughts lasted about 2.5 seconds, haha). Maybe we would never leave Colorado.

 

Dh began talking about a city in VA, and I was shocked. We'd never considered VA, didn't know anyone there, had never been there. I looked at the stats, just to prove him "wrong," but they matched perfectly. He visited a few months later, we put our house up for sale, moved six months later.

 

We chose a house that turned out to be a little too remote and moved closer to the city two months ago. But that "isolation" time was a huge blessing for our family, pulling us together in a way that never would have happened otherwise. Colorado was home, and we loved it--now VA is our home, and we love it too. We've never regretted this move, and our kids are very happy here too.

[DawnM]

I grew up in another country, so maybe that is why I don't find moving within the USA as big of a deal.

 

When I came back to the states at age 18 for college, I went to Seattle. After college I moved to Los Angeles (single) and stayed there for about 20 years. I got married during that time.

 

DH, even though we met in LA, never really liked LA. I DID! :glare: But we continued to live there until 5 years ago.

 

Here is how we decided:

 

We got out a big US map and discussed where we would live and where we really didn't want to live.

 

DH:

 

1. Didn't want a high cost of living, but would consider the Pac. NW as that is where I wanted to go. He did try to get a job there and nothing happened. So, I gave up on that.

 

2. Didn't want anywhere too cold in the winter. He grew up in Michigan and said he had his fill of shoveling snow.

 

ME:

 

1. I said NO to about 3/4 of the USA. I didn't want the middle of the country unless it was a place like Denver with lots of lakes, mountains, and things to do.

 

2. I wanted a place I could ski in the winter and close enough to an ocean that I could drive in a couple of hours.

 

3. I wanted friends nearby that I already knew. I have a great network of friends from growing up overseas (I went to an American boarding school).

 

4. I didn't want the South. :tongue_smilie:

 

Here is what happened:

 

We did search for quite a while. DH searched Monster and called firms all over. Even though I didn't want "the South" I did agree to Raleigh, NC. I had several friends in Raleigh from my boarding school and I was close friends with them. DH and I visited Raleigh twice, flying all of us out to look at houses, he had job interviews, etc....

 

I still wanted something WEST coast, but was willing after visiting, to try it out.

 

Well, turns out Raleigh did not really have the job that suited him best, BUT, they recommended him for the Charlotte office, so he flew out again, alone, to Charlotte. He got the job.

 

At that point I think I realized we would have to move out of LA. DH asked me to consider staying at home (I had always worked) and then he asked me to consider homeschooling. I really would have had a much harder time doing all of that in LA as our mortgage was based on two people working. We could have made it work, but our house was tiny and it would have been far more difficult.

 

Turns out, this area is a fantastic area to homeschool! There are so many activities I say no to 90% or more of them! There are just SO MANY homeschoolers.

 

We could afford a much larger house and we have 2.5 acres for the boys to run around.

 

My DH has a great job and they like him. DH loves it here, the boys love it here, and I am ok with here. I miss the West Coast a LOT, but I am trying to stay focused on the positives.

 

We have been here 5 years now and I don't think we will be moving.

 

Dawn

[vonfirmath]

We lived in the Puget Sound area (east of the lake) We knew we wanted to move to Texas (to be closer to family)

 

We didn't have a job, so we looked at the big cities in the state. We had our preference, but at first we left it open if we found a job. When we didn't find a job,we landed in Austin (fairly centrally located and not quite as hot and humid as Houston -- though we may yet end up in Houston). And found a job after we got here.

 

We did all this with a lot of prayer for God to open doors, etc. to help us know where to go.

[bluemongoose]

Nakia...your description sounds like the Pacific NW to me. That is where I am at. In the country, with a view, on the side of a mountain, under 2 hours to the coast, and under an hour to the big city. 1/2 an hour to the nearest smaller city.

 

The pros of my area: beautiful, great hiking, cooler weather, not too cold winters, 4 seasons, stuff grows here.

 

The cons- there are a few months that just stay cloudy and this can get people down sometimes, it gets misty rainy a lot in the fall and spring, and the people here are not great drivers during snow/ice weather as we do not get it a lot.

[vonfirmath]

The cons- there are a few months that just stay cloudy and this can get people down sometimes, it gets misty rainy a lot in the fall and spring, and the people here are not great drivers during snow/ice weather as we do not get it a lot.

 

I found people in the Puget Sound were not good drivers on the first day of rain, despite how much they get of it, either.

[Maddysmom26]

Im always googling places I think Id like to move to. You can find a lot of info from the city's chamber of commerce. I havent made a permanant move yet.. Someday I hope when I get done with my degree and can hopefully get a decent career started. ;) Id choose the south west.. I love the warm! ;)

[elinnea]

I found people in the Puget Sound were not good drivers on the first day of rain, despite how much they get of it, either.

 

That's just the people that have moved here from out of state not the native Washingtonians. ;)

[Nakia]

You guys have been so helpful. IF we do move, it would be at least a year so I have lots of time to get ready. My brother, who has traveled a lot, says we need to move to New Mexico because it is so beautiful, but I don't want to live in the desert. IF we move, it will most likely be Northwest. That's where we have always talked about traveling after retirement, maybe we will just get a 30 year head start and make it permanent. Haha. My heart is here in Western NC, which will always be home. We have a lot of praying to do!