We want to relocate to the south..does this place exist?

[dancer67]

We live in the Northeast. All of my life I have lived here. AND, I have always hated it. I hate the weather, the people are rude, taxes and cost of living are enormous, the schools stink, and there is nothing to do here.

 

We just got back from Florida. I have been many times, and I love the weather there.

 

I am not sure Florida would be the place for us, and if so, it would be in the northern part.

 

We are going to relocate. Hopefully by this time next year. This is what we want in a town and state.

 

1. A conservative state

2. WARM weather. No bare trees!!!! NO snow.

3. Jobs. Especially in the electrical industry.

4. Family friendly with parks.

5. No houses on top of one another. At least an acre of land or more.

6. More house for your money. Can you get a 4BR house to rent uner 1500.00 a month to rent? Or under 200,000 to buy?.

7. Churches

8. Palm trees would be a bonus

9. Low crime

10. Although we have none in school, schools are a priority because of resale. Also, close proximaty to private schools.

11. Within a half hour of a lake or an hour of the beach.

12. FRIENDLY PEOPLE!!!!

13. LOW taxes

 

Okay, does this place even exist???

 

We are mainly looking to stay in the Eastern side of the country.

 

Love to hear your thoughts!

Edited August 30, 2010 by dancer67

[SailorMom]

Sounds like Southern Alabama to me....

[asta]

Sounds like Southern Alabama to me....

 

That's funny, I was going to say "well, Birmingham is nice..."

 

LOL

 

 

a

[Wyndie]

Charleston South Carolina fits the bill for most of those. :)

[dancer67]

any specific areas of Southern Alabama? We do not want a city.

[dancer67]

Oh, and SC was one of our choices as well. Where in SC was the issue.

[Gooblink]

Hello! Look up Austin, TX in your U.S. Atlas. I'm pretty sure that's the description you'll read. :)

[H.S. Burrow]

Texas. :cool:

[TXMomof4]

South Texas. Not many palm trees, but you're relatively close to the ocean, so you can go visit them. I wouldn't recommend living *in* Austin, but around Austin is beautiful.

[Ellie]

Hello! Look up Austin, TX in your U.S. Atlas. I'm pretty sure that's the description you'll read. :)

Or some of the surrounding communities. Real estate is more affordable in, say, Round Rock than in Austin itself. For example, the house next door to me--3 bedrooms and a pool--is on the market for less than $175,000.

[Ellie]

It's also hard to beat the homeschool law in Texas. The only real requirement, as far as I can tell, is that you have children. :D

[kbed0849]

Northeast, GA. Specifically Hall County,GA. Lake Lanier is there. It is close to mountains and other lakes. Lots of land in the Northern part. But, you are close enough to the Buford,GA for shopping, Dawsonville,Ga for a very nice outlet mall. You are also close to SC. Greenville,SC is nice to visit. I also have friends who love Birmingham,AL. Good Luck!

[rootsnwings]

we're about 20 min south of b'ham & that sounds just like this area! I even worked for Alabama Power for 7 years, in my former life! ;)

 

nak!

 

eta, this is a super easy state to hs in too--fl has TONS of requirements, etc...we don't have anything like that here...

[TravelingChris]

Brevard County Florida.

[MaMa2005]

Northeast, GA. Specifically Hall County,GA. Lake Lanier is there. It is close to mountains and other lakes. Lots of land in the Northern part. But, you are close enough to the Buford,GA for shopping, Dawsonville,Ga for a very nice outlet mall. You are also close to SC. Greenville,SC is nice to visit. I also have friends who love Birmingham,AL. Good Luck!

 

:iagree:

[mom2att]

fl has TONS of requirements, etc

 

Nah, Florida's easy. Just submit a letter of intent and have some kind of eval at the end of the year. Not as easy as some states, but not difficult, either.

 

I love NE Florida, but it doesn't fit the bill on some of the OP's requirements.

[babysparkler]

It's also hard to beat the homeschool law in Texas. The only real requirement, as far as I can tell, is that you have children. :D

 

:lol::iagree:

 

We are in the suburbs of Dallas... no palm trees, but everything else fits... well, we get some flurries here and there.

[athena1277]

Sounds like Southern Alabama to me....

 

My thought also. Check out Lake Martin in central AL. Also Lake Guntersville in N AL is really nice too.

[Julie in Austin]

Hello! Look up Austin, TX in your U.S. Atlas. I'm pretty sure that's the description you'll read. :)

 

Austin is very liberal. But pretty much anywhere else in Texas would fit the OP's list.

[Tutor]

I PM'ed you. :)

[Adrianne in TX]

The Austin suburbs--we are 10 min from a huge lake-affordable housing, no state taxes, friendly people--a big small city. BUT IT IS HOT--ask me as my AC is on the blink (working barely) so we are a balmy 85 INSIDE-96 outside

[runmiarun]

I'd like to throw my 2 cents in for the Golden Isles of Georgia (Glynn County), halfway between Savannah, GA and Jacksonville, FL. The cost of living is a little lower if you go west by 1 county. I am 10 minutes from the beach and have 4 palm trees in my front yard. Granted, the beaches are not gorgeous white sand like So. and Gulf Florida, but they are beaches. We kayak 10 months out of the year through the marshes. We haven't had measurable snow fall since 1989 when literally everything shut down. Before that, it was the 1960's for snow fall. The one draw back is hurricane season but we haven't had a hurricane hit this area since 1898 (I'm knocking on wood, praying, everything that Earl stays in the Atlantic). We do get tropical storms occasionally but that's about it. Georgia homeschool laws are not too rough-keep and forward attendance records to local school district and standardize test every 3 years and hold those scores.

 

Ok, so I am a little biased since I have wanted to live here since I was 12. I finally got down here at 30 and am doing everything possible to keep from leaving.

[Chris in VA]

Brevard County Florida.

 

Nah, FL schools are carpy.

[dansamy]

I think if you want a small town feel, somewhere around dothan or enterprise might be nice. (AL) Mobile is pretty big. But, Saraland AL is not big and they have a newly formed city school system that is pretty attractive to home buyers. We don't have palm trees, but FL is a stone's throw...,

[gpsings]

Cumming GA!

 

And the schools are carpy, but you hs, right?

[Shellydon]

Texas. San Antonio is fab. The Hill Country (Kerrville, Fredericksburg) is beautiful. Great weather, no snow, close enough beach. Good cost of living.

[1bassoon]

That's funny, I was going to say "well, Birmingham is nice..."

 

You described my house and my town!!! (just south of B'ham)

[ciyates]

We live in the Northeast. All of my life I have lived here. AND, I have always hated it. I hate the weather, the people are rude, taxes and cost of living are enormous, the schools stink, and there is nothing to do here.

 

We just got back from Florida. I have been many times, and I love the weather there.

 

I am not sure Florida would be the place for us, and if so, it would be in the northern part.

 

We are going to relocate. Hopefully by this time next year. This is what we want in a town and state.

 

1. A conservative state

2. WARM weather. No bare trees!!!! NO snow.

3. Jobs. Especially in the electrical industry.

4. Family friendly with parks.

5. No houses on top of one another. At least an acre of land or more.

6. More house for your money. Can you get a 4BR house to rent uner 1500.00 a month to rent? Or under 200,000 to buy?.

7. Churches

8. Palm trees would be a bonus

9. Low crime

10. Although we have none in school, schools are a priority because of resale. Also, close proximaty to private schools.

11. Within a half hour of a lake or an hour of the beach.

12. FRIENDLY PEOPLE!!!!

13. LOW taxes

 

Okay, does this place even exist???

 

We are mainly looking to stay in the Eastern side of the country.

 

Love to hear your thoughts!

 

Pass Christian Mississippi fits all of the statements I put in bold. I am not sure about the jobs but do know that Stennis Space Center and Dupont on are right there and those are the big companies to work for. Not counting all of the casinos. I grew up there so if you want more info let me know.

 

Carrie

[VA6336]

East Tennessee fits all of those requirements except for they do get occasional snowfall, but not much. Homeschooling is very easy in TN, too. School system good/bad will depend entirely on which county you're in. The elections this fall will cement our conservative status for years to come.

[Samiam]

You are not going to get those house prices in SC, at least not within 45 minutes of the coast. Not WITH a good school system (and by good, I mean, relatative to the rest of the state, of course). Well, maybe now, with the economy/foreclosure, but doubt it.

 

You are not going to find the job market you are looking for in Florida, there is no job market in FL...you might find the house, just cuz of the whole real estate bomb that went off in the last few years, but there's just no jobs, period.

[JenC3]

I can answer YES to all of those questions! Greenville SC! We have one of the most stable economies so there are jobs, but I don;t know the specifics of the electrical industry. PM for more info.

[My3Boys]

Well, be prepared for culture shock. We just moved from east TN back home to PA. Our experience was quite the opposite from yours. We had a great deal of difficulty making friends. People were nice but wouldn't let you get close. No invitations to their house for coffee, etc. I had one person tell me they couldn't understand why someone needed friends outside their families. That seemed to be the general line of thought. We were told when we moved there that all our friends would be people that moved there from somewhere else, and that's exactly what happened.

 

Another problem we ran into was the attitude toward "yankees". Hateful letters to editors in the paper, rude comments, meanness towards my kids, etc. One of my friends, who was from upstate NY, heard someone say that northern mothers don't know how to nurture their children. You get the picture.

 

I'm not saying that all places in the south are like that by any means, but that was our experience. Now we are in SE PA, the people are very welcoming, accepting of newcomers, and I have already made many friends in the 6 weeks we have been here. The kind that invite you to their house! :)

[dansamy]

Well, be prepared for culture shock. We just moved from east TN back home to PA. Our experience was quite the opposite from yours. We had a great deal of difficulty making friends. People were nice but wouldn't let you get close. No invitations to their house for coffee, etc. I had one person tell me they couldn't understand why someone needed friends outside their families. That seemed to be the general line of thought. We were told when we moved there that all our friends would be people that moved there from somewhere else, and that's exactly what happened.

 

Another problem we ran into was the attitude toward "yankees". Hateful letters to editors in the paper, rude comments, meanness towards my kids, etc. One of my friends, who was from upstate NY, heard someone say that northern mothers don't know how to nurture their children. You get the picture.

 

I'm not saying that all places in the south are like that by any means, but that was our experience. Now we are in SE PA, the people are very welcoming, accepting of newcomers, and I have already made many friends in the 6 weeks we have been here. The kind that invite you to their house! :)

 

I agree that OP may experience some geographical profiling, but it tends to be worse in small old towns. Citronelle is fairly close-minded.

[Ellie]

Austin is very liberal. But pretty much anywhere else in Texas would fit the OP's list.

If you're not *in Austin*, though, things are pretty conservative. So I've found in the 6 years I've been here. :-)

[Samiam]

umm, Greenville SC....scary, plus 3 hours from the ocean :).

 

I am about a hour northeast of Greenville, and so the Greenville news is our news as well...although we have our own newspaper...it covers Greenville as well....and ALL of the major crime is in Greenville/Spartanburg....we get the minor stuff here, but the scary stuff is there, at least in the news..

[MindyD]

I can answer YES to all of those questions! Greenville SC! We have one of the most stable economies so there are jobs, but I don;t know the specifics of the electrical industry. PM for more info.

:iagree::iagree:

 

Greenville is exactly what you're looking for. You can easily find homes in that price range, lots of private schools and some decent public schools. Greenville is an up and coming city with some of the best job prospects you can hope for right now. Google the city and you should find lots of articles where it's been picked as a top 10 city for different topics. The parks are great, downtown is very family friendly! I love it here if you can't tell!

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

Austin is very liberal.

 

And we like it that way. ;)

 

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. :D

[TKDmom]

Brevard County Florida.

 

I don't think Brevard County fits all those requirements. Especially with Kennedy Space Center shutting down next year. They're looking at losing 7,000 jobs in the north end of the county, plus another 14,000 who will lose jobs as layoffs ripple through the economy.

 

There seem to be a disproportionate amount of sex offenders in the area. Or maybe people are just really good at pointing out who they are.

 

On the upside, you can get a 4br house for under $120,000. ;) Maybe a little more if you want land.

[dancer67]

okaaayyyyy. So looks like I have a few things to look into. I have heard that *some* southerners can be unfriendly to us Northerners. But where I live, people are just unfriendly to everyone. They drive crazy, they would let an old lady lie half dead on the street(seriously), the weather stinks, and we are literally taxed to DEATH here.

 

I do here quite a bit about TX. It is a little far from New England, but everyone I run across has good things to say about(certain areas). rineds of ours moved to Flower Mound TX from here and they LOVE IT. Something else to really look into. Even though really not on the east coast..LOL

 

I do like FL alot. But I have heard the job market there is really lousy.

 

I have never looked into MS or AL because I was told the both states were depressed. And that the *demographics* would not be so welcoming to us.(Not trying to sound prejudice, honestly.) But they sound wonderful and will look them up.

 

 

You ladies are great. Thanks for sharing all of this with me. Anyone else that would like to share please do so!!:D

 

I will probably be back with more questions.

 

I just know we are getting the heck out of this lousy state we are in. I am SO sick of it.

[fhjmom]

It's also hard to beat the homeschool law in Texas. The only real requirement, as far as I can tell, is that you have children. :D

 

Actually Ellie, I don't even know that that is a requirement, since it is legal to homeschool for someone else here. :D

 

(I have considered sending my 6 YO DD to my former 1st grade teacher for reading.)

[MindyD]

umm, Greenville SC....scary, plus 3 hours from the ocean :).

 

I am about a hour northeast of Greenville, and so the Greenville news is our news as well...although we have our own newspaper...it covers Greenville as well....and ALL of the major crime is in Greenville/Spartanburg....we get the minor stuff here, but the scary stuff is there, at least in the news..

 

 

Spartanburg does have a lot of crime, I'd never move there. But Greenville is a whole different city. You're 3 hours from the beach and less than an hour to the mountains. How many places can claim that?:001_smile:

[Oak Knoll Mom]

I can answer YES to all of those questions! Greenville SC! We have one of the most stable economies so there are jobs, but I don;t know the specifics of the electrical industry. PM for more info.

 

:iagree: Greenville is an awesome town and I'd move back in a minute.

[mommaduck]

I was going to say SC and TX. I have to say that I have not heard anything good about schools around Charleston. I've never attended any, but my dad/aunt/uncle and three of my siblings went through the education system in that area. My niece and nephews in Hollywood are sent out of district because of the school. I'd have to say that if you are around Charleston, you may want to consider places out by Moncks Corner (?) Everything is smaller out there.

 

There are a lot of people that like the Greenville area. BJU and a couple of seminaries are there. Of course, there are people that don't like Greenville because of BJU being there.

 

I have a friend in Jacksonville, FL and she loves it there.

Edited August 30, 2010 by mommaduck

[The Girls' Mom]

TX is good :) We just moved here and really like it so far. People have been VERY welcoming to us. We live in Fort Worth, and even though living in a bigger city has taken some getting used to, it's been nice.

 

We are FROM East TN. (And I'm so sorry to the previous poster that had a bad experience! But it can be kind of family centered in some places) I loved it there, and we may move back some day.

 

Neither of these places are very close to the beach, but do meet a lot of your requirements. And there's rarely any snow any more in the Knoxville area..especially in the valley. Even when it does, it doesn't hang around long.

[Wyndie]

I was going to say SC and TX. I have to say that I have not heard anything good about schools around Charleston. I've never attended any, but my dad/aunt/uncle and three of my siblings went through the education system in that area. My niece and nephews in Hollywood are sent out of district because of the school. I'd have to say that if you are around Charleston, you may want to consider places out by Moncks Corner (?) Everything is smaller out there.

 

There are a lot of people that like the Greenville area. BJU and a couple of seminaries are there. Of course, there are people that don't like Greenville because of BJU being there.

 

When we transferred here, we were warned about the school systems. Of course we HS so it doesn't affect us but this are has a reputation for very bad and substandard schools.

[lynn]

N alabama. Especially low taxes and more house for the money, parks, churches to many to count really, hs friendly, great parks and library's.

[DawnM]

North Carolina

 

They call us the "half-back state" as those who moved from the NE to FL and can't handle FL move to NC.....half way back to the NE! :lol:

 

We have TONS of transplants here from the NE. We are the odd-balls who moved from CA. :tongue_smilie:

 

Dawn

[ElizabethB]

We liked Alabama, and were welcomed there, although we lived in Montgomery, where they were used to a lot of outsiders because of the Air Force base there.

 

You can get land on the outskirts of the city for cheap.

 

We also liked Texas and Arkansas, although I'm not sure about the current job market in Arkansas, and some of their smaller towns may not be outsider friendly.

[lynn]

okaaayyyyy. So looks like I have a few things to look into. I have heard that *some* southerners can be unfriendly to us Northerners. But where I live, people are just unfriendly to everyone. They drive crazy, they would let an old lady lie half dead on the street(seriously), the weather stinks, and we are literally taxed to DEATH here.

 

I do here quite a bit about TX. It is a little far from New England, but everyone I run across has good things to say about(certain areas). rineds of ours moved to Flower Mound TX from here and they LOVE IT. Something else to really look into. Even though really not on the east coast..LOL

 

I do like FL alot. But I have heard the job market there is really lousy.

 

I have never looked into MS or AL because I was told the both states were depressed. And that the *demographics* would not be so welcoming to us.(Not trying to sound prejudice, honestly.) But they sound wonderful and will look them up.

 

 

You ladies are great. Thanks for sharing all of this with me. Anyone else that would like to share please do so!!:D

 

I will probably be back with more questions.

 

I just know we are getting the heck out of this lousy state we are in. I am SO sick of it.

don't believe everything you hear. Not all places are depressed. There are a lot of companies here in N Al. Some just won some big contracts and we are having Brac(base relocation somethingor other) coming here which will open more govenment jobs.

[JenC3]

Greenville schools are pretty good and there are a lot of great private schools and the HS atmosphere is VERY friendly. I don't hear much in the way of crime and I feel VERY safe here. We bought a 5 bedroom house with an in ground pool & MIL apt close to Furman University on 1 acre last year for 152k. Now our school district is so so, but we would pay for private if we weren't hsing so it didn't matter. We liked our old house, but need an upgrade without an upgraded price b/c I refuse to be saddled with a mortgage for more than 7 yrs. So a good house for cheap is possible. Our taxes are like 1,500 a yr I think.

 

My IL's live on a lake 1 hour away and we go to the beach twice a year 3 hours away. The mountains are less tahn 45 minutes away and Charlotte is 1.5 hrs away. We continue to get more and more biz like the Apple store and Trader Joe's is opening soon. The whole area is soo family friendly I can't even list it all here.