Where do we want to live?

[Renee in NC]

My dh is a blue collar worker and it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to live in the Raleigh, NC area (we are a large family.) We are committed to staying here for another 3 years until my oldest graduates high school and then our horizons are wide open.

 

(My dh is not likely to ever be anything other than blue collar, so no suggestions that he go to college or anything please.)

 

Does anyone know of an area where a family of 9 could live on approx. $30K a year? We don't need much - a modest house, a used car or two, etc. We are no strangers to frugality!

[Renee in NC]

Or, places that offer more blue collar jobs at higher wages would be okay, too!:D

[Danestress]

Does he have a particular skill set? I would think different parts of the country would have different industries, and maybe people could suggest something if they knew better what kind of employment he might seek.

 

I do think that some areas of NC have lower costs of living then Raleigh. Have you thought about some of the smaller but still not too small towns in Eastern NC? I used to live in Onslow County, and some of the communities in those areas seem to have lower costs of living. I'm not sure how large families do it, but military people often have about that salary and live in those communities.

[Jami]

Western Nebraska. Housing is cheap in the smaller towns and Burlington Northern Railroad pays decently, though the work is hard with long hours. I'm sure there are other states with middle-of-nowhere towns near some sort of industry where you could manage. Of course...then you have to *live* there. ;) For example, my sister and brother in law are about to have their 6th child. He works for a loan company and she teaches piano lessons (and barters for meat, milk, etc. with lessons). They're currently trying to sell their 4 or 5 bedroom house in a small town in the NE panhandle for under 60k and there are several houses for sale under that price, though they may be smaller. So yeah, those places are out there, but if one loses their job there aren't a lot of options to replace it. So that's a catch.

[Renee in NC]

Does he have a particular skill set? I would think different parts of the country would have different industries, and maybe people could suggest something if they knew better what kind of employment he might seek.

 

I do think that some areas of NC have lower costs of living then Raleigh. Have you thought about some of the smaller but still not too small towns in Eastern NC? I used to live in Onslow County, and some of the communities in those areas seem to have lower costs of living. I'm not sure how large families do it, but military people often have about that salary and live in those communities.

 

Military salaries are higher (we used to be military.) Much of that is also non-taxable.:D

 

My dh has warehouse experience, forklift experience, and his CDL-A. Unless we are desperate, we do not want him to drive over-the-road.

[Jugglin'5]

Texas. Cheap living, lots of jobs. Many blue-collar guys are getting very good pay in oilfield related work.

[Renee in NC]

Texas. Cheap living' date=' lots of jobs. Many blue-collar guys are getting very good pay in oilfield related work.[/quote']

 

He's seen the TV show where they follow the oil field guys.

 

Right now his choice is Alaska, but I am not sure I could handle the "darkness."

[Renee in NC]

Another thought - the job situation is pretty important. We live far enough outside of Raleigh that things are cheaper, but there are NO jobs out here. In fact, the area has lost 1000+ jobs this year alone!

 

That's why Eastern NC is out - there are no jobs.

[Jenny in Atl]

He's seen the TV show where they follow the oil field guys.

 

Right now his choice is Alaska, but I am not sure I could handle the "darkness."

 

That's what I was thinking or Canada but both are so dark and cold for so many months. Other areas, Texas, South Carolina, Southern GA, and some areas of the Mid-West.

[Melora in NC]

Friends of ours moved here from Raleigh and say that the costs are much lower here. (We are in Surry County, NC.) We moved up from Florida a couple years ago, and housing seemed like a wonderful bargain to us. The cost of lessons (piano, ballet, etc.) is lower as well. And it is really pretty here!

[MJN]

place to consider moving to. I'd surely want to find somewhere else in NC to live or in the US for that matter, than the Raleigh area. I'm in eastern NC, near Greenville. If we could afford it, we'd move up near the VA border, near Melora.

[Jean too]

Friends of ours moved here from Raleigh and say that the costs are much lower here. (We are in Surry County, NC.) We moved up from Florida a couple years ago, and housing seemed like a wonderful bargain to us. The cost of lessons (piano, ballet, etc.) is lower as well. And it is really pretty here!

 

Melora, my dh's family owns land in Surry Co.(grandparents old home place where his mom grew up) and dh dreams of someday moving there again. May I ask about the job situation in your area? Dh is in IT.

[Julpost]

He's seen the TV show where they follow the oil field guys.

 

Right now his choice is Alaska, but I am not sure I could handle the "darkness."

 

That's where I'm praying we'll move soon too, to be closer to family. I actually find the darkness kind of soothing....winter is a time to wind down and relax. I prefer night skiing! And summers are a blast because there's so much daylight....I remember fishing at midnight one summer.

 

Also, the state permanent funds are a nice perk. My sister also told me that every resident is going to be receiving $1200 (I think) to help defray increased energy costs!

[laylamcb]

But I was under the (mistaken?) impression that Alaska was a relatively expensive place to live, despite the kickbacks to residents....

[Julpost]

But I was under the (mistaken?) impression that Alaska was a relatively expensive place to live, despite the kickbacks to residents....

 

Actually, yes, you're right, sorry I forgot about that...it is pretty expensive. I wonder if the salaries coincide w/the cost of living at all??

[AmyB]

but if your husband is skilled, I would recommend living a town or two away from a university town. You can get top dollar and good business at a university town because nobody wants to work with their hands, and few people know how to do it. Housing is usually expensive in those towns, but a couple towns away it is more reasonable.

 

Dh and I were academics, and got to know academic towns all over the world. We used to pay a lot for plumbers, electricians and carpenters, and had to wait days for the repairman to come. Now we have retrained in the trades and have our own business, but we still have the international contacts, so we are able to do very well, move where we wish, and work when we want.

[nakitty]

Kansas....right outside the Wichita area.

[Another Lynn]

I don't know any areas to recommend, but just wanted to add that just because a town is small doesn't mean it's cost of living is always less. We lived in a medium-small town in KY before moving back to Lex (medium/large - by Ky standards, LOL) - and the smaller town was just as (if not more expensive). There were particular issues that caused housing to be higher, and I think it's "out of the way" location caused groceries/gas, etc. to be higher too. Of course you would find out about housing costs long before you committed to move :)

 

Best of luck!

[Renee in NC]

place to consider moving to. I'd surely want to find somewhere else in NC to live or in the US for that matter, than the Raleigh area. I'm in eastern NC, near Greenville. If we could afford it, we'd move up near the VA border, near Melora.

 

 

We already live in the Raleigh area - that's why we hope to move.:D

[Renee in NC]

but if your husband is skilled, I would recommend living a town or two away from a university town. You can get top dollar and good business at a university town because nobody wants to work with their hands, and few people know how to do it. Housing is usually expensive in those towns, but a couple towns away it is more reasonable.

 

Dh and I were academics, and got to know academic towns all over the world. We used to pay a lot for plumbers, electricians and carpenters, and had to wait days for the repairman to come. Now we have retrained in the trades and have our own business, but we still have the international contacts, so we are able to do very well, move where we wish, and work when we want.

 

Actually, we live near plenty of universities right where we are. There are plenty of blue collar workers vying for jobs in these areas. Americans have branched out from construction due to the large immigrant population (that has severely depressed wages), so there are more people in line for other jobs.

 

My dh doesn't have any skills in the trades anyway and isn't likely to anytime in the future. He is not really mechanically inclined.

 

Also, we have lived a "town or two over" for 5 years now and the 40 mile commute is too expensive. When you only make $12-13 an hour, spending 25%+ on gas to commute isn't viable. If he's going to make $12-13 an hour, I wish it would be somewhere we can afford to live on that.

 

The problem we are finding, though, is that many places (like Surry County) that are inexpensive to live do not have jobs, so people have to commute long distances and whatever savings we might find will be eaten up in commuting costs.

[Renee in NC]

Actually, yes, you're right, sorry I forgot about that...it is pretty expensive. I wonder if the salaries coincide w/the cost of living at all??

 

My dh said he'd rather be poor in Alaska than poor here!:lol:

[MJN]

a while back to find a new place to live in the future, where Melora lives is actually cheaper than where I live. I found a wonderful home with some land and a horse barn for the price of what we paid for our present house. I have a vision for living off the land and that piece of land/house was my dream. Dh couldn't get transferred though at the time, so that's why we didn't move there.