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Which state?

FrugalFannie

FrugalFannie

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If you could move tomorrow (okay maybe next month) what state would you move to and why?

Let's assume that your immediate family is on board with a move (spouse, kids, etc) and you don't feel the need to stick around for extended family - parents, siblings, in laws, etc.

What state is on the top of your list and why?

I would consider:
individual freedom (including gun ownership)
weather - warmer but lacking major hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes
job opportunities in my husbands profession (I am rather flexible)
overall tax burden
cost of living (thankfully [rolleyes] living in New England my whole life cost of living is generally cheaper every where else)

My list leads me to Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma with job opportunities being the deciding factor.

What is your wish list?
 
Tennessee, but I'm biased. :) Personal freedom is a lot better there. Job opportunities are pretty fair, depending on your profession. Weather is nice. Winters aren't bad and the summer is tolerable with central AC. The people are *much* nicer and friendlier than in the north east. You have to deal with some religious fruitloops, but they're well-intentioned.
 
NH, only because my entire life, family, and most of my friends are here in SE Massachusetts. Close enough to drive to, far enough away to be comfortably aloof. [smile]
 
Born and raised in TN. I like my home state. I like my home town. I don't like the heat. I have to admit that I'm also not a big fan of southern culture. It's a bit "fake", I guess. Or can be, at least.
 
knfmn said:
Well, bless your heart. :D
Click to expand...

Haha.

I don't really agree that personal freedom is better there. It's a bit of a nosy neighbor culture. Everyone knows (or wants to know) everyone else. But I grew up in the suburbs, so YMMV.

ETA: Go Vols.
 
dlarge said:
Haha.

I don't really agree that personal freedom is better there. It's a bit of a nosy neighbor culture. Everyone knows (or wants to know) everyone else. But I grew up in the suburbs, so YMMV.

ETA: Go Vols.
Click to expand...
I do agree with that. I'll take snoopy neighbors over a culture of deliberate rudeness any day, though. all depends on what you like, though.
 
knfmn said:
I do agree with that. I'll take snoopy neighbors over a culture of deliberate rudeness any day, though. all depends on what you like, though.
Click to expand...

I live in NH. Basically rural NH. Deliberate rudeness just doesn't fly up here, just like it doesn't fly down in Knox Vegas. [grin]
 
Here's the thing. I have lived my whole life in Mass, Maine, Mass (again) and now NH. As soon as I moved to NH I had NOOOOO desire to ever leave the state even though I have to nearly every day for work.

But what if I could go anywhere? What if the other half gets a great opportunity in another state? I never disliked the snow. But I've been thinking that warmer would be better. This white stuff definitely gets old the older I get. And none of us is getting any younger, right?

Now I find myself thinking its time to see more of the country. I would like my son to see other parts of the country as well, experience different places.
Just taking a vacation isn't experiencing a place.
 
My job and my wife's job really limits where we can go:

Colorado, but it's too dry, and starting to look like Mass with bigger mountains.
California - great to visit, no way I'd live there.
Upstate NY - no upsides besides jobs

So that leaves Mass and NH. I'd probably do NH if I'd known better but don't feel like moving the family right now.
 
Montana. I like the wilderness, I like the cold. Too many people in one square mile give me the rash. ask me how I feel living in 25 miles from Boston.

After living in NM for three years, I'd like to note that state as a good one to live in, it has everything, harsh desert, snowy mountains, it's a beautiful state, freedom minded, too. We moved up here to be closer to family, by and large, one of the worst decisions I have ever made in my life.
 
I really wouldn't mind moving back to Colorado, I wasn't on the front range with the loonies.

Close enough to a lot of the spots I would love to regularly get away to on the weekend or vacation. Just over 3½ hours to Moab, 5½ to Arches, just shy of 7 to Bryce, just shy of 8 to Zion, 8 hours to Canyonlands, just over 8½ to Grand Teton, just shy of 9 to the Grand Canyon, just over 10 to Yellowstone, 16 to Glacier, and 16½ to Yosemite(all these times are from where I was located at the time). And those are just the big ones, I'd have plenty to do with the less visited parks.
 
I lived in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh PA. personal freedoms good, tax rate was low (no clue now) . real estate was lower cost than here. People were great if you liked football, deer hunting etc... went to a gun bash where you paid $100 and they brought in a catered meal which was all you can eat. While you were there they raffled off 25 firearms.

Winter was January . most other times the snow melted by noon and you didn't have to deal with it '

I did miss the mountains and the ocean however
 
New Hampshire . Retired a couple years ago after working in Keene for almost 25 years . I know I'm a nut but I like the Winters and I would still be close enough to my kids to visit. Plus I could have a suppressor
 
Oregon or someplace in the Pacific northwest. If you ever go do yourself a favor and get over the Casades, it is a completely different environment on the other side.
 
The wife and I are going to scout South Carolina in April, also on the list is North Carolina and western Virginia upper Shenandoah valley. We would consider NH, MT and ID but too cold, we want to move to warmer climes. We have to wait for my son to graduate from High School before we can go though. 5 more years of the MA nanny state blues.
 
I grew up in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate NY and had a Camp on a lake in the Adirondack Mountains which we would go to each summer. Then when I figured out that the Demorats had to suck everything out of the state I moved to Lousyiana to make more money (great fishing). When I couldn't make any more money while working 2 & three jobs I moved to Georgia. Best move I ever made. Only down side is the heat in summer. The upside is decent lively hood, low real estate taxes, good fishing, good turkey and deer hunting. Limit of 3 toms and 2 bucks and 10 does a year. Can hunt 7 days a week and very long seasons. Can hunt with suppressors and as many bullets as you can fit in your Ar if you want. Also you can hunt hogs and coyotes at night with lights and thermal scopes if you wish. I own a 3,000 square foot home and since I am over 65 years old my taxes on it is about $700.00 a year. When I was younger my taxes were less than $2000.00. (I had a smaller house in Albany, NY and the taxes were $9,000.00 a year.) Lots of people from the northeast have moved here.
 
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My criteria

Personal freedom
Personal freedom
Personal freedom
No or limited cold weather/snow
500+ feet above sea level (no hurricanes, flooding, impact from rising sea level)
green, must have natural readily available water (no dessert)
Not too hot/humid in summer

All of this has lead me to eastern Tennessee east of the i75 corridor. Somewhere between Chattanooga and Knoxville, like midway to maximize distance from large population center.

As soon as the kids are out of college (3.5 years)
 
PennyPincher said:
If you could move tomorrow (okay maybe next month) what state would you move to and why?

Let's assume that your immediate family is on board with a move (spouse, kids, etc) and you don't feel the need to stick around for extended family - parents, siblings, in laws, etc.

What state is on the top of your list and why?

I would consider:
individual freedom (including gun ownership)
weather - warmer but lacking major hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes
job opportunities in my husbands profession (I am rather flexible)
overall tax burden
cost of living (thankfully [rolleyes] living in New England my whole life cost of living is generally cheaper every where else)

My list leads me to Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma with job opportunities being the deciding factor.

What is your wish list?
Click to expand...

If you have kids, also consider their potential for edumacation and career opportunities when they leave your nest. Don't doom them by your choices. By way of example, don't move to Alabama.

Consider availability of decent healthcare. Are you at an age where a nice, modern hospital with a good rep for cardiac cases would be a plus?

Consider things like drug culture. Parts of TN or KY are alleged to have lots of meth labs... Portland is ... special...

Personally, I think PA, TN area would be nice.

For reasons of family and commutability to my current work, southern NH is my my most likely next home, though.


Final thought:

734ef68922a0e3221230e27bcfa7522b.jpg
 
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If I didn't have family here I would probably be in Arizona or someplace else that was warm. I don't think I would go south as I am not a fan of Red Necks or hurricanes.
My ultimate spot would be Aruba but it is next to impossible to become a resident there.
Unfortunately with a lot of close family and friends here in MA I think I am stuck here.
 
Chet0729 said:
If I didn't have family here I would probably be in Arizona or someplace else that was warm. I don't think I would go south as I am not a fan of Red Necks or hurricanes. ...
Click to expand...

Arizona in a 2010 snonwstorm:

9160286-large.jpg


I kind of like rednecks, but sometimes they can't get past the fact that I'm a damned Yankee.

I do have family from the south, though, including one whose name is on a bridge in Virginia.
 

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