In a van, down by the river.
Posted on 06/16/2006 7:54:24 AM PDT by SantaLuz
Freepers I need your help. We're very seriously thinking of moving out of Southern California. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1636409/posts
We've read the books "50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family" and the comprehensive "Cities Ranked and Rated". We've used the websites www.bestplaces.net and www.findyourspot.com. We've received the travel guides from over 40 states we're thinking of travelling or moving to. But I think the people of FreeRepulic might be the best resource of all for recommending places to raise a homeschooling family in the US. Many of the people here travel quite a bit and have noticed trends that affect families.
So if you could move your family to any affordable city (median home prices < $400,000) in the US where would it be?
Thanks so much!
shhhhhhh....*whispering* you might check out Oklahoma...
You don't mention job needs, whether you want largecity/smallcity, whether you'd like to go semirural, climate, etc.
I have moved 11 times in the 29 years I am married. There are only two places we would "go back" to. One is the greater Richmond, VA area. We loved the living there, although we did live west of the city. Short trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the beach or Washington, DC. Good, affordable private schools. Delightful weather 10 months of the year (July and August are miserably muggy).
The other is the Laurel Mountains in western Pennsylvania. Charming small towns (Ligonier is especially nice) and a simple, less complicated lifestyle. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Come join us in the U.P (upper peninsula of michigan), it's cheap and there are only like 50,000 people in the entire U.P yah!
Well, if you are looking for a very conservative, friendly, but hot in the summer place, look into Bryan/College Station. Housing is one of the best bargins in the U.S. Private schools are great. Homeschools are popular. Churches are conservative. Winters are mild....summers are hot. We are located 1hr away from Houston and 3 hrs away from Dallas/Ft.Worth....which is close enough for big time shopping if you desire, Opera, museums, etc. George Bush Library located here...they always have great stuff going on.
How about no humidity?
And mosquitos smaller than sparrows?
Hey. On second thought ...
I'll be watching this thread, trying to pick up ideas.
Thanks I should have been more specific. I'm not looking to retire so I will need to work. I currently work in the Software industry but have worked in Aerospace, Telecommunications, Medical, and Computer industries for over 25 years. I'm also looking at perhaps starting a new career as a consultant so having some high-tech companies nearby would be helpful.
forgot to mention...if you want a $400,000 house, you will get a mansion. Oh...Texas A&M here also, so it is a football town, if you so desire.
In a van, down by the river.
Wherever you go, try not to live west of your work, that way you won't have the sun in your eyes on your commute.
Northern Mississippi or Tennessee. I'm seriously thinking of leaving Wisconsin. I can't handle the high heating costs in the winter anymore.
Well, check out East Tennessee. [And I have a house for sale here with 3400+ sq ft, dbl garage, 3/4 bdrms, 3 1/2 bths, 1/2 acre lot, appraised for $305,000, can be purchased for $280,000 ... and my house is typical for the area, with houses available for more and newer (min's ten years old), and houses (some newer) for less.] Cost of living is very reasonable and the people are an eclectic mixture, with excellent healthcare facilities. Weatherwise, we have a pleasant range of all four seasons.
Southern coastal Oregon. Anywhere between Gold Beach and Depot bay. The most beautiful area I have seen.
We're from Southern California so we wouldn't even notice a 3.1 earth quake. But I should do my due diligence since NC is on the list. Does anyone know what the name of the fault is and where it runs through? When was the last major quake there?
Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach or Atlantic Beach, FL. Grew up down there and love it. Plus an added extra bonus: my beloved Jaguars!
Fort Bend or Montgomery County, Texas. SW or North of Houston.
Austin Texas and surrounding area. Living in Toronto now, but it is a longer term goal. Nice city, great weather, fabulous food and excellent people. (Of course, I like to wear my hear big, too)
How often do Hurricanes affect those areas? Is it harder to get flood insurance near the beaches in Florida? Can you but a house there for < $400K. Don't get me wrong I love the ocean and I surf and used to live 1 mile from the beach near San Diego. But my wife is afraid of Hurricanes and Tornados. But we'll definitely be traveling to Florida so we'll check those beaches out.
Friends of ours live in Brookings and love it. I've only seen pictures but oh my it *is* lovely.
1/6th gravity, a good night's sleep and all my Earthly cares far behind me!
Is that Brookings Oregon?
Say ya to the uppers there too eh?
Sounds like you need one of these.
Whispering back... what city in Oklahoma?
You like snow?
Brookings is beautiful, I like Bandon myself but then again I am partial to small coastal comunities.
However, they sometimes have big quakes here anyway. Not all quakes are a result of lateral fault slippage. You have to go to California for that.
Bedford Street. West Village, near Chumley's Speakeasy.
I like Christmas snow, and some dusting now and then. But my wife is from Phoenix and We've lived in southern US for most of my lives. On the other hand I've traveled to Denmark, Sweden and Finland in the wintertime and enjoyed it. So I'm keeping an open mind if everything else about a city is great.
We're looking to move (somewhere) w/in 5 years so this thread is of interest to me. Thanks for starting it. :o)
As others have said, Texas. I live north of Houston in a rural part of Montgomery County. I bought the land (50 acres) and built a 4300 sq ft 4 bedroom house about eleven years ago for about $250K. Even with the improvements I have done (2 wind generators, second water well, others) the property value is under $400K. Annual taxes (including school) run under $1K.
Hmmm....off to check Bandon.
With both Kennedy and Kerry in the same state -- they've changed the name to: MASSOFTWOSHITS
Semper Fi
The upper peninsula of Michigan is pleasant, not crowded, and land is cheap. My folks retired up there. Don't know about the job thing though.
In that case, I agree with the person who was in northern Virginia. Beautiful there. Humid, but beautiful.
If you have a clerarance, try North Central West Virginia (i.e. the strip of I-79 between Clarksburg and Morgantown)
Low housing costs, lots of tech jobs (IF you have a clearance), and more coming all the time.
OTOH, it is a Blue state, albeit a conservative one. . . the taxes are not much worse than Virginia, but a lot less crowded. . . .
STAY THE HELL OUT OF WASHINGTON STATE. WE ARE MOVING OUT ON JULY 1ST, NEVER TO RETURN TO THIS HOMOSEXUAL, HELL-HOLE OF SOCIALISM EVER AGAIN!!! GONE, GONE, GONE, GONE, GONE. SENTENCE OVER. WE ARE GONE!!!!
What you said is sooooo true!!
Actually washington State is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, BUT it is filled with CRAZIES and PERVERTS!!! I'd like to move out also.
Whoop! GoAggiesGo!
I'd say come to Western WA, but we already have too many Californians here. :~)
There was one big hurricane in the 10+ years we lived there. As far as housing costs, near the beach is expensive, but there's loads of undeveloped land around the area that's reasonable.
Well, good then :~D More room for the rest of us :~D
We traveled through Oregon and Washington years ago. It is indeed very beautiful, but so many cloudy days and so much rain knocked it off my wife's list. The politics along the left coast are consistent from California to Washington. It is moving to the extreme left along a fault line, away from mainstream America. What a terrible shame!
It's true you have to be able to tolerate some rain to live in the pretty part of the state. Our trees need it. But when it's sunny here, it's heaven and not usually too hot to be outside in, the way other climates are.
I'd argue with your assessment that the politics are the same as CA.
WA has better gun law than many states, including Texas. We've been a shall-issue state since before it was trendy.
We also have no state income tax.
If you stay out of King County, the government leaves you alone in most of the ways that matter. I live life exactly as I want.
Maybe there's a lot of environmentalist chatter, but, as a person who appreciates the outdoors more than I appreciate most people, I can tolerate them.
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