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Time to stop traveling and settle down but WHERE? Any experience with any of these places? Know a hybrid school?


nomadicmama
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So we've been traveling in our RV around the country for 3.5 years and we think the time has finally come for us to begin thinking about settling down. My DH and I are super sad about the pause in our gypsy life but we think it will probably be best for our 12 and 15 year old boys. (The oldest one is for sure ready to settle.) The problem (which may sound good to some) is we are having the hardest time deciding where to settle because we can go anywhere since dh works from the road. It's actually maddening not having any sort of direction. We are from Ventura, CA and don't want to go back there because of the cost of living, distance from family, and pace of life. My family (where I grew up) is from the Indianapolis, IN area and we don't want to go there because there aren't a ton of outdoor activities, the weather, and...well...it's flat and gray half of the year. Ideally, we like to find a hybrid school where the boys can go to school part time. So here are our our criteria in order of importance. Does such a place exists? 

 

1. Hybrid school where the boys can go to school a few days a week. We prefer a Christian school but it's not a necessity. We care more about it being part time. This is our first priority. Although we'd consider a full time school if it was the right fit in the right location.

 

2. Within a day or two drive to Indianapolis.

 

3. Plenty of transplants. We don't want to live in a place that's clannish. :-)

 

4. Affordability. This should probably be higher on the list because we dont' want to go back to our crazy trying to keep up life we had in southern CA. I don't want o *have* to work outside of the home.

 

5. Pretty with lots of outdoor activities. Snowboarding is our favorite sport but realize that we'll most likely not be able to live in the mountains. We don't mind cold as long as there are fun outdoor activities.

 

6. DH is a freelance multi-media guys (mostly web designer and video production). He has a steady flow of work but we'd like to grow our business once we settle so we would like to be near a town with a decent amount of businesses.

 

7. Clean air and water

 

8. This may sound strange but we'd like a decent amount of precipitation. We've been dreaming about giving hobby farming a try. 

 

9. Politically we aren't too concerned about being in a red or blue state. We are libertarians and tend to lean towards the less regulation the better. We do prefer lower taxes.

 

 

Places we are considering - If you have any experience with any of these places I would love to hear them.

 

1. Colorado Springs. We are here right now visiting. There is an great little 3-day university model school here. Our biggest concern here is that it's pretty far from IN and lack of water. But we like the people and outdoor activities. 

 

2. Rogers AK - We are heading there next. There is a part time classical school there. Honestly, being from CA we are worried it might be a little clannish but we are just assuming. Any experience here?

 

3. Nashville TN - I think this might be our first choice BUT I can't find any part time schools there. I've scoured the internet with not luck. If you know of anything or of a homeschool co-op that meets multiple days PLEASE let me know. We'll be heading there early April to explore some more.

 

4. Knoxville TN - There is a part time university model school but we've never been there. It seems like it would be pretty with plenty of water but again worried about not fitting in/clannish.

 

5. Chattanooga TN - We visited there last summer. I thought it was super pretty and it seemed like an active mid-sized town. Again worried about it being "clannish".<==== I hope that's not offensive. The only experience I have with the south (aside from visiting) is my VERY clannish family that lives up in the Appalachian Mountains in NC. They are nice people and all but aren't crazy about outsiders. Everytime I have visited they act like CA is a foreign country. It's endearing (and interesting) but not the type of community I want to raise my kids in.

 

We are OPEN to about anything at this point. Do you know of any place that fits some of our criteria (particularly the hybrid school) that I didn't list? I'm ALL EARS! 

Thank you,

Jenn :-)

 

 

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I'm from Bloomington, IN and it's not as flat down there (I've lived as far North as Ft. Wayne so I know what you're talking about).  We've lived in Tennessee and the people there are very nice and helpful but as you say, clannish.  This really only applies IME to those in smaller towns (we were in Bristol).  Knoxville is nice,  lots to do outside with hiking and aquariums/attractions in Gatlinburg and the National Park.  

 

Ashville NC isn't far away neither is Nashville,  or Chatt.  From Knoxville it took about 5 hours to get to B-ton, so you'd be looking at less then 6 hour drive.  

 

While we've lived in other states like NC, FL, KS, and KY, Dh's favorite by far was TN (I liked Charlotte).  We are currently back in S. Indiana but will, if everything works out, be moving to either Chattanooga or Knoxville in about 2 years.  There are actually a lot of transplants from Indiana in TN.  Better/milder weather, bigger "hills", but it still feels like home.  Similar values and attitudes, friendly but it does take a bit of time to truly make friends.   

 

TN also has a grant for DE while in H.S. and tuition is free for graduated students at CC no matter what your income, this includes HSer's (this is new and I'm not sure of all the particulars).  

 

I know nothing about AK, but I  think the COL in CO is much higher then in TN. Check craigslist and usnpl.com for rental/home sale prices.  

 

HTH and good luck on your new adventure.

 

ETA: Louisville has a couple hybrid schools, they're Christian so I have no personal experience with them. 

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Well, it is a little further away, but my suggestion would be Toas NM.

There is a great hybrid charter school (Taos Academy) that I really wish we lived close enough to attend. The kids attend 2 days per week and work from home 2 days. It runs on a 4 day school week. It has lots of elective/enrichment classes. Skiing or snowboarding count for PE credit.

Taos is very artsy, some long time locals, but has many people moving in. It is a little expensive for me, but still much cheeper than California. Lots of outdoor activities

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Nashville - yep, this is the place you want. :D If you don't want to live right in the city, I will recommend the county just south, Williamson County. There are several homeschool tutorials in the area that are like what you describe - kids attend 1, 2, or 3 days a week for classes and then are home doing work for the rest of the week. Off the top of my head, you can check out Franklin Classical School, Franklin Christian Academy, The Academy Tutorial ("Whitver") plus Ala Carte Mondays, West Harpeth Tutorial, Ironwood Academy. A couple of these may only meet once per week, but I think most are at least twice.

 

You will have to travel a bit for winter sports, though there is an indoor ice center in Cool Springs. Lovely hiking, boating/fishing, camping, etc locally and within short driving distance.

 

Chattanooga is lovely. We go to the traditional Lessons and Carols service held at The University of the South in Sewanee every year in December and it is always beautiful.

 

FWIW, we have lived in this area for over 20 years and rarely meet anyone who is actually "from here".

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You might take a peek at the "Kentuckiana" area (Greater Louisville, KY and southern IN).  There are some areas, not all by any means, but some areas that may fit what you are looking for.  About 2.5 hrs from Indy, close to lots of outdoor activities, lots of transplants in SOME areas of the city, a few choices for part-time schools/co-ops, clean water, and pretty affordable IMO.  One drawback is the environmental allergies in the Ohio River valley are HORRIBLE! 

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I don't think Rogers, AK even exists and I'm pretty sure Alaska isn't on your list, though I could be wrong as there are plenty of villages that I can't remember the names of. Internet is spotty though in the villages so your DH might find work difficult.

 

Rogers, AR is a beautiful place. I would move there in a heart beat if I ever leave the frozen north.

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Boise, Idaho has a half day school with ties to Micron, they say homeschoolers are welcome. I think there is also a cool classical school that has some homeschool options. COL and outdoor activities are golden.

 

Cheap skiing, day AND night ski ticket in Boise for less than price of regular skiing in Colorado!

 

A bit of a haul but you COULD make it in 2 days or take longer and see cool stuff on the way.

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I don't think Rogers, AK even exists and I'm pretty sure Alaska isn't on your list, though I could be wrong as there are plenty of villages that I can't remember the names of. Internet is spotty though in the villages so your DH might find work difficult.

 

Rogers, AR is a beautiful place. I would move there in a heart beat if I ever leave the frozen north.

Haha!!! How embrassing considering I travel full time! You're right! I meant Rogers, AR.   Although we spent last summer in Alaska and if it wasn't soooooo far from family we would move to Homer or Seward in a heartbeat. :-D

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I think Rogers/Bentonville, AR (aka Northwest Arkansas) may be a good choice. There are tons of transplants and businesses because of Walmart. And it has great climate to have a hobby farm. We live an hour from there now but use to live in Fayetteville, which, by the way, has one of the best farmers markets in the country. :)

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You might consider the Atlanta area. About 10 hours from Indianapolis with several hybrid schools: Kings Academy, Veritas Schools, and a couple of University Model Schools, Cordis Academy. I think there are one or two others that I can't remember the names of; these are just ones on the northwest side of the metro area. KSU has an excellent dual-enrollment program. And there is the HOPE Scholarship for college. Weather is decent, good amount of rain, good state parks system. Air quality in summer is not always best, though.

 

 

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I was going to suggest Colorado. I know it's on the drier side but summer is the wettest season. It also has the added advantage of fewer insects. I found it easier to grow a garden there. No Japanese beetles or mildew or the dozens of other things that affect crops.

 

I'm familiar with several of the places on your list and Colorado is the most outdoorsy. The climate is well suited for it and the area promotes it.

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I was going to add that I know a family who loves to ski. They used to live in Dallas close to family and spend all of their vacation time going to the mountains. Now they live in the mountains right outside of Denver and spend their vacation visiting family. They can go to a ski resort easily any weekend but seeing family is a bit further. They are much much happier with this arrangement.

 

All of Tennessee would be far from snowboarding. If it something your family loves Tennessee or Arkansas might not be the best fit. They are both lovely sections of the country but it is not the lifestyle you are looking for.

 

Since Arkansas and Tennesee are on your list you should check out Kansas. I'm specifically thinking of the Lawrence area for you. It's a hilly, tree-filled, college town near Kansas City. The south side of Kansas City is also very nice on the Kansas side. I don't know about hybrid schools there.

 

On your way to Arkansas you should stop at the salt mines and cosmonout museum in Hutchinson. The Tallgrass Prairie is not too far from there and quite nice. I went in late May and saw amber waves of grain. It's the only place that allows me to appreciate the beauty of the prairie.

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1. Colorado Springs. We are here right now visiting. There is an great little 3-day university model school here. Our biggest concern here is that it's pretty far from IN and lack of water. But we like the people and outdoor activities. 

 

Can you tell me the name of the university model school?  I am moving to the Springs next month.

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I've lived in Knoxville for the past 17 years, so I can help you out there.

 

1. Hybrid school where the boys can go to school a few days a week. We prefer a Christian school but it's not a necessity. We care more about it being part time. This is our first priority. Although we'd consider a full time school if it was the right fit in the right location.  We do have those here, one that I've heard a lot of good things about is River's Edge Academy.

 

2. Within a day or two drive to Indianapolis. Yup...drove there once.  Didn't like it there, but went none the less. :)

 

3. Plenty of transplants. We don't want to live in a place that's clannish. :-) People tend to be very friendly here, and being a college town we get plenty of transplants that often end up staying.

 

4. Affordability. This should probably be higher on the list because we dont' want to go back to our crazy trying to keep up life we had in southern CA. I don't want o *have* to work outside of the home.  We have a very low cost of living here.  It's nice. :)

 

5. Pretty with lots of outdoor activities. Snowboarding is our favorite sport but realize that we'll most likely not be able to live in the mountains. We don't mind cold as long as there are fun outdoor activities.  Lots to do here year round as far as outdoor activities.  It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter.  We live about an hour or so from the mountains, where you can ski and snowboard.

 

6. DH is a freelance multi-media guys (mostly web designer and video production). He has a steady flow of work but we'd like to grow our business once we settle so we would like to be near a town with a decent amount of businesses. Knoxville can be a bit hard on new businesses to be perfectly honest, but I'm not super familiar with the multi-media business and their success here.

 

7. Clean air and water.  Clean air, not so much.  Living in the valley, it all kinda gets trapped here.  In 2011, we were named number 15 on Forbes 20 Dirtiest Cities list (based on air quality).  I also never had allergy issues before I moved here.  I really dislike our tap water (it smells very much of chlorine, especially after it rains) but we filter all water that will be consumed, through our Berkey filter...and it's delicious.

 

8. This may sound strange but we'd like a decent amount of precipitation. We've been dreaming about giving hobby farming a try. I think we get about 45 inches of precip a year.  Sometimes it drives me insane.  It's wet in the Autumn, Winter and Spring and dry in the Summer, (but humid).

 

9. Politically we aren't too concerned about being in a red or blue state. We are libertarians and tend to lean towards the less regulation the better. We do prefer lower taxes.  I don't keep up with this much, but I think our taxes are decentish...9.25% sales tax and no state income tax. People around here to tend to be very political though.

 

Hope this helps...I'd be more than happy to help you out with any other questions. :D

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1. My area of Florida has a couple of great hybrid school options: Harvest Community School and Providence Extension Program.

 

2. I am from Indiana and drive back regularly. It's an easy 14 hour drive to Bloomington, same to Indy.

 

3. Because it's Florida, everyone is from all over.

 

4. COL is reasonable.

 

5. Well snow-related activities are out. But there's the ocean as well as lots of water activities on the St. Johns River.

 

6. Jacksonville is a huge area. You'd probably be more interested in the St. Johns County/St. Augustine area if you are interested in land, but lots of people commute.

 

7. I don't have clean air and water data. I know the area had difficulties in the past with some paper production plants, but that was cleaned up before I got here (20 years ago).

 

8. Lots of humidity here. Rain is a given almost every day through the summer. Our growing season is nearly year-round.

 

9. No state income tax in Florida.

 

Added bonus--dual enrollment is free for homeschoolers, and in-state college tuition is one of the cheapest in the country, in case you are considering the future perks as well.

 

So while you will have to travel to get to snow and you will have to adjust to heat and humidity, I suggest North Florida, mainly because it hits your first "must-have" so well.

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Thank you so much for all the replies. It's been helpful and very much appreciated. To those of you who said Portland...oh how I wish it was closer to Indiana because I do think it would be a perfect fit in every other way! We are going to head east and I'll be referring back to this list. Thank you!

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What about Lexington, KY? It's reasonably close to Indianapolis, has a more cosmopolitan and transplant culture than most KY cities because of the universities, and is smaller with better air than Louisville. They have a hybrid school and there's plenty of farms. There's no skiing really close by but there's some slopes within a few hours' drive. It's not clannish.

 

 

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