Where should we move?

[TravelingChris]

My dh has decided to retire from the USAF. He is a PhD physicist. He told me I could choose up to five areas for him to look for jobs. SO far, I have NM (that is actually three areas but he will count it as one), Huntsville, AL, and Raleigh-Durham NC (this area mainly because he is already up for a job there). I get to choose two more areas. I have arthritis, asthma and migraines. We currently live in Florida and all the rain and thunderstorms don't help anything.I don't want long hard winters since I won't be able to move well then. Since he will go to work, we need to be in an area with physics, or high-tech or defense type jobs. We don't want awful traffic problems (rules out DC area, for one). All suggestions are welcome. Convince me why your area is great or why I should stay away.

[Jenny in Atl]

My dh has decided to retire from the USAF. He is a PhD physicist. He told me I could choose up to five areas for him to look for jobs. SO far, I have NM (that is actually three areas but he will count it as one), Huntsville, AL, and Raleigh-Durham NC (this area mainly because he is already up for a job there). I get to choose two more areas. I have arthritis, asthma and migraines. We currently live in Florida and all the rain and thunderstorms don't help anything.I don't want long hard winters since I won't be able to move well then. Since he will go to work, we need to be in an area with physics, or high-tech or defense type jobs. We don't want awful traffic problems (rules out DC area, for one). All suggestions are welcome. Convince me why your area is great or why I should stay away.

 

NEW MEXICO! The weather would be much better for your health. The other areas are wonderful too but humid and hot. Northern NM is gorgeous!

[Closeacademy]

I love Huntsville, AL but it sounds like NM is really where you will want to be for health reasons. There are a lot of storms that go through Huntsville. But I love that city with all the pretty houses, safe streets and good food.:001_smile:

[freethinkermom]

La Cañada, CA. Near Los Angeles and the home of JPL. Glendale, La Crescenta, Montrose, and Pasadena are all close enough for an easy commute. CalTech is a few minutes away too. The area is not cheap, but it is warm year round. It is where I grew up and lived until I was 30 :)

 

Burbank is also nearby. I know Lockheed used to have a research facility there, but I am not sure anymore.

[sdWTMer]

I would also like to add San Diego to the mix. As well as probably Colorado Springs, CO or something like that.

[genie]

Well, we moved from Florida to Colorado, and I can't describe how much better I feel without all the humidity! It makes a HUGE difference. Neither my daughter nor I have nearly as many aches and pains as we had in FL. So I would suggest New Mexico. Someone else mentioned Colorado Springs, and while it is a beautiful place, the winters are very cold. I also lived near the Raleigh/Durham area for a while, and would choose Colorado (or anywhere out west) any day. NC still gets way hot and humid in the summer, and then their winters are humid, too, and the cold just pierces through to the bone. Ouch! New Mexico would offer the dry air without as cold winters, so that sounds like a great place for you!

[lynn]

We have lived in Hsv, AL for about 15 years and really like it. It is so cheap and nice to live here. Good hsing community. Lot's of nice places for day trips.

[Jill- OK]

...I'll have to agree with those who vote NM first, and then suggest CO as a close second.

 

Both are beautiful! Not sure about the cost of living, etc., but with your health concerns, those two would get my vote.

 

I have great skiing memories, as a kid, from both places. :001_smile:

[Danestress]

Depending on your living situations, RTS can have some major traffic BUT I think it's probably less than a lot of larger cities. I live in Charlotte but both my sisters live in RTS and love it. There is a lot to be said for the area! Dana

[Caroline]

A lot of wonderful science goes on at ORNL. Now, I have never lived there. But we did look into it as a possibility after grad school. (Both my DH and I have Ph.D.'s.) I also like the Research Triangle, NC area. My DH works for a company that is located there. We are in the Atlanta area, though. Anyway, I love to visit the Raleigh Durham area. I love being near all of those college campuses.

[nancypants]

I've heard that people with allergies fare really well in Arizona. I personally wouldn't want to live there for how hot it is in the Summer but at least it's a dry heat:tongue_smilie:, unlike the deep south.

[mommylaw]

I'm in Colorado Springs too.

 

Our winters aren't too bad. We do have a few subzero days, but they are mixed with lots of 40°s and 50°s days. We can get snow from October to May but it melts within a day or two. For the most part our winters are pretty mild. It isn't unusual for it to be 70°+ in February or November.

 

Also, it's beautiful here. :)

[Mom2legomaniacs]

A lot of wonderful science goes on at ORNL. Now, I have never lived there. But we did look into it as a possibility after grad school. (Both my DH and I have Ph.D.'s.) I also like the Research Triangle, NC area. My DH works for a company that is located there. We are in the Atlanta area, though. Anyway, I love to visit the Raleigh Durham area. I love being near all of those college campuses.

 

Yes, yes, Oak Ridge! It's a fabulous place. Hmm, wonder why I might think that? Oh yeah, I live there!

 

One bad thing is the allergy seasons can be tough. But it is a wonderful place to be. Dh works at the lab. Lots of stuff going on there.

[oakmom]

http://www.findyourspot.com/

[lynn]

I've heard that people with allergies fare really well in Arizona. I personally wouldn't want to live there for how hot it is in the Summer but at least it's a dry heat:tongue_smilie:, unlike the deep south.

 

Have you lived there? Do you know how beautifully it cools down in the evening and you can enjoy an evening without getting carried off by misquitos or being drenched in sweat from the humidity. It may get hot during the day, 108 didn't slow us down, but the nights are perfect 60/70 degrees, not infested with bug like the south, or unbearabley humid like the south. Don't go putting down on of my favorite places to live unless you lived there and experienced it first hand.....:D

[genie]

Have you lived there? Do you know how beautifully it cools down in the evening and you can enjoy an evening without getting carried off by misquitos or being drenched in sweat from the humidity. It may get hot during the day, 108 didn't slow us down, but the nights are perfect 60/70 degrees, not infested with bug like the south, or unbearabley humid like the south. Don't go putting down on of my favorite places to live unless you lived there and experienced it first hand.....:D

 

Yes, yes yes!!! I never understood how anyone could wax poetic about summer nights until I moved out west. But, oh how wonderful summer nights are here.

 

And there wasn't a repellent in the world strong enough to keep 'em away in Florida, so even IF it cooled down enough at night and you didn't mind still sweating anyway due to humidity, you couldn't get out to enjoy it without getting abducted by ginormous mosquitoes.

 

Go West!

[Danestress]

I've never lived in Arizona but I *loved* visiting it when my in-laws lived there. We spend a lot of time there, and it's a great state to see, to drive in, and to visit. Visit. Despite my fondness for it, I would never want to live there. I personally found the summers pretty miserable compared to the south, and I missed what passes for four seasons in the south, even though I know someone from the northeast might laugh at my suggestion that we have four seasons here.

 

Anyway, I pretty much let DH know that Arizona was *out* as far as places to actually live and raise children, though I would love to still visit there. I do think these things are very personal and hard to explain. Te me, not living under a canopy of big green trees seems very sad, but to someone else, not seeing the horizon might be the problem.

[dalynnrmc]

Texas and Georgia seem to have some of the lowest costs of living. NM I've no idea about, but they're probably comparable.

 

Texas has great, easy homeschooling laws. New Mexico's are listed as "low" but require yearly notification, immunizations, and the compulsory ages are 5-18. Georgia's are listed as moderate, including yearly notice, attendance and hours per day records, and even monthly reports to the superintendent.

 

OK also has decent costs of living as well as pretty easy homeschooling laws.

[asher]

I would vote NM, too. Being from there. :D Also, Many folks moved there back when diseases like TB were rampant (a LONG time ago) just because of the conditions there. The winters are mild (probably a lot like FL). The only thing is getting used to the lack of green :) being you're moving from FL. :)

[DIY-DY]

http://www.findyourspot.com/

 

It is a fun way to narrow down the choices, isn't it?

 

And for Christina, we *love* Huntsville. It's clean, safe, scads to do, great hs'g communities, wonderful weather almost year-round. (Summers, though, are a lot like FL - hot 'n sticky. Ew. The price we pay for long, glorious falls and summers, and mild winters, I guess.) The cost of living is reasonable, and we're only a few hours' drive to quite a few things, much like in NM.

 

We *loved* NM, too, though. I could go on and on about NM, and all it has to offer. *happy sigh* For us, Huntsville offered a quality of life that we wouldn't have been able to find in NM (Abq was the only place on the table at the time we had to pick - if we'd have been able to do Cruces, or Socorro, or even Roswell - we might have headed back that way!) For your health, I'd have to grudgingly vote for NM. Grudgingly only b/c I'd love it if you lived closer to us, instead!

[rafiki]

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[cin]

Area 54 ;) :D. Nevada is really nice too. Of course, Las Vegas is Fun :D but the surrounding area is nice, along with Az, NM and even up into Southern Utah. The climate is wonderfully dry. As you go up into Utah, you will start getting some cooler weather, but it is BEAUTIFUL!