Where would you move?

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Colorado is actually cold as hell. If you want to freeze your butt off, you move there lol.

Legal weed though so hey, nothing to complain about!

That must be relative to some much warmer areas because I've lived in Colorado and it is no colder in winter than New York or Connecticut or New England in general. Actually, Colorado winters are notoriously mild for the amount of snow.

Want to talk about cold? Where we live, you need to plug your car in in winter and it can get to -40 F and below. My outside thermometer doesn't really know what to do past -20/-25. Close to two months out of the year, the low is below 0 F. So yeah, Colorado has warm winters. I could wear shorts or t-shirts in winter there. Here, you might be in trouble some days if you spend too long outside without your face covered.

[ManCharsey 254]

That must be relative to some much warmer areas because I've lived in Colorado and it is no colder in winter than New York or Connecticut or New England in general. Actually, Colorado winters are notoriously mild for the amount of snow.

Want to talk about cold? Where we live, you need to plug your car in in winter and it can get to -40 F and below. My outside thermometer doesn't really know what to do past -20/-25. Close to two months out of the year, the low is below 0 F. So yeah, Colorado has warm winters. I could wear shorts or t-shirts in winter there. Here, you might be in trouble some days if you spend too long outside without your face covered.

-45 F?? Darn, do you live in Alaska?!?!?!

Native Oregonian here and I won't trade the light rain and beautiful weather for anything lol.

As a matter of fact, the Portland school district shuts down schools if there's an inch of snow and I'm not even joking! ask any Portlander. Snow is very infrequent here. We got just a single day of snow last year and same as the year before.

Anything below 45 F is too cold for me!

Edited November 1, 2016 by ManCharsey

[bcking 3,157]

-45 F?? Darn, do you live in Alaska?!?!?!

Native Oregonian here and I won't trade the light rain and beautiful weather for anything lol.

As a matter of fact, the Portland school district shuts down schools if there's an inch of snow and I'm not even joking! ask any Portlander.

Anything below 45 F is too cold for me!

I have fond memories of life as a child in Portland we had awesome snow days when there was essentially no snow on the roads. There were a few blizzards in the late 90's/early 00's that were newsworthy though.

I just want to say for all the Texas naysayers that I am the furthest thing from a Texan (Oregonian), but I happen to live in Houston right now. I can still find many many nice things to say about it so far. It's not nearly as bad as all the people who have never lived (some never even visited) in Texas had to say when I told them I was moving here. I imagine Austin/San Antonio is even better. There are way more Clinton/Kaine signs out on my commute to work than Trump/Pence (I actually don't think I've seen any Trump/Pence). Houston has a lot of scientists, doctors, engineers and geologists so a fairly educated bunch. Plus even the right-wing "Texans" are generally incredibly kind to strangers as long as you don't start talking about politics. Everyone says "Good morning" to strangers, people call me "Sir" (Never been called Sir in my life) when they have no idea who I am.

[millefleur 5,039]

Weather/climate is a huge, huge deciding factor for a lot of people.

It's why I could never live in Florida again. Being in a humid, muggy, mosquito, roach and spider-infested swamp where it can be 90+ degrees year round, plus the added danger and annoyance of hurricanes....yeah, no thanks.

But yeah, Nola, -45 F??? I currently live in NW Russia and it's never that cold here! Seriously, is it that bad in MN??? I love snow and wintery wonderland scenery but that sounds like even too much for me! Sounds like Siberia level harshness there!

[Allison/Robert 43]

**All temperatures shown here are in fahrenheit**

Charlotte has very mild winter weather. Yes it can get down to the teens some nights in the middle of winter, but usually the days in winter can range anywhere from the upper 30s to the mid 60s with an average in the upper 40s. If it snows, which is becoming more and more rare (it used to snow a lot when I was a kid), it will snow anywhere from a light dusting to several inches but it will melt that same day or the next. AND the schools close when there's snow or ice on the roads. Same for Seattle, actually... the city shuts down because contrary to how it may seem in photos, Seattle is very hilly so the city shuts down, or tries to. Some think they can handle it because they grew up in a flat part of the country, so they try to drive somewhere. Transportation systems remain in operation, though they tend to scale it back to only the main routes. There are some pretty entertaining (no one gets hurt) and crazy youtube videos of people driving on Capitol Hill in Seattle during a little snow.

But of course during the summer in Charlotte, it is quite humid, extremely hot, in the 90s on average, but most places have air conditioning, so it can be tolerable.

On a more personal note, even though my family is in the Charlotte area, once my fiance is here, we're going to begin looking at other places to live. Some come to Charlotte and love it. I liked it before I moved to Seattle, and upon returning to Charlotte, it's just... difficult for me to see past some things, but that's all just opinion. I like a more artsy scene, more liberal, etc, and those places do exist here, but it takes more energy to go find it as I don't live in the city limits of Charlotte. As i'm sure you know, it's not only about what an area can offer you, but what you can bring as well. Hmm... I didn't mean for that to sound like a JFK speech. >.>

[RobertM54 36]

Wow:

Portland Oregon native who has lived in Seattle, California desert, Omaha, Phoenix, Colorado, Washington DC area (Germany and Korea in the Army). I have real estate in DC, near Bend Oregon!, and Colorado Springs. And I worked for Texas Instruments for 6 years and spent a lot of time in Texas.

The Colorado Front Range - Springs north to Fort Collins is a great place to live. Climate is mild compared to DC and points north. One black MCI engineer described moving to the springs as moving to a loaf of Wonderbread. More diverse now but not much. Strong US military presence. More diversity in all respects further north. Also more expensive. Traffic not bad in the Springs, worse in Denver and Boulder. Better in Ft. Collins. Real estate is going crazy everywhere. After the 2008 crash, it was the only property that did not decline in value. Now increasing 6% year. Property tax not horrible.

From a climate perspective - Texas is hot and humid (very humid) in the summer -nice in the winter.

I like Phoenix a lot - low cost, dry heat in the summer and nice winters. Decent job market. Schools not too sucky. Arizona politics are on the funky side. Phoenix traffic is a dream

LA basin has everything. Sitting near Ontario airport right now and the air pollution is so much better than 25 years ago. Progressive politics means a high tax state - but you get progressive politics in trade. Traffic is the best of the great West Coast cities.

I adore San Diego but need a lot of money to live where I want.

I love Seattle, Portland and SF, but could only live there with a special commuting situation. In Seattle, I took the ferry from Bainbridge Island and walked to work. Traffic was unacceptable in 1998 and is much worse now. You need some sort of mass transit.

Omaha might be a sleeper for you. If you are OK with the winters, then it is a fantastic community, great schools, decent job picture, great traffic. Many technoids move back to Omaha to raise their family. Nebraska is NOT a low tax state (see great schools above).

I like the DC area. You can find high cost communities with great schools or lower cost communities with not so great schools (but recovering). My county is the highest income majority black community in the USA. Fantastic diverse community. One of the great public universities in the world is a brisk walk away. Mass transit decent. Traffic bad - so I live close to work. Getting to an airport can be a ####### shoot. anything from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours.

Edited November 1, 2016 by RobertM54

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

But yeah, Nola, -45 F??? I currently live in NW Russia and it's never that cold here! Seriously, is it that bad in MN??? I love snow and wintery wonderland scenery but that sounds like even too much for me! Sounds like Siberia level harshness there!

We were actually I think 10 degrees colder than Fairbanks Alaska the winter before last. I think last winter we might have been even or 5 degrees warmer, but last year was one of the warmest winters we've had.

That is only the rare day though that it gets that cold, like very rare for that to be an actual temperature and not the wind chill. I think the weather in winter is pretty close to Novosibirsk. We are pretty similar geographically.

[LJ75 3]

I have a forum I can suggest to you. I have been reviewing it a very long time to make sure we decide perfectly where to go.

http://www.city-data.com/

Yes, great source of information, and some great discussions too. I comb through it extensively.

Btw, we are caucasians, but really prefer diverse communities - our friends - expats come from all over the world, and in all colors and sizes, and our kids' school here has more than 70 different nationalities. And I find that bigger cities are generally more open-minded and receptive.

We have 'exotic' names and accents (our kids less so), so we'll certainly contribute our share of diversity.

Anyway, Chicago is out (several factors), as is Seattle (COL). Syracuse and Rochester too (Economy, mainly). I looked at Washington DC, but prices are just crazy, so it looks like it's not going to work. Currently looking at:

• Charlotte
• Atlanta
• Austin
• Plano (lots of positive reviews, though not very big)
• Portland

[millefleur 5,039]

Yes, great source of information, and some great discussions too. I comb through it extensively.

Btw, we are caucasians, but really prefer diverse communities - our friends - expats come from all over the world, and in all colors and sizes, and our kids' school here has more than 70 different nationalities. And I find that bigger cities are generally more open-minded and receptive.

We have 'exotic' names and accents (our kids less so), so we'll certainly contribute our share of diversity.

Anyway, Chicago is out (several factors), as is Seattle (COL). Syracuse and Rochester too (Economy, mainly). I looked at Washington DC, but prices are just crazy, so it looks like it's not going to work. Currently looking at:

• Charlotte
• Atlanta
• Austin
• Plano (lots of positive reviews, though not very big)
• Portland

Some things might might help you make your final decision: state income taxes, city taxes (if any), local property taxes, average gas prices, cost of insurance/Obamacare in that State (if that applies to you), crime rates in the neighborhoods you're looking into, if you'd need air conditioner (a must for most places in the South) and how much extra that would be for your electric bill, etc....just in case you hadn't factored any of those in yet.

If you're considering Portland, (Oregon I'm assuming) you could check out Vancouver, WA as well....slightly cheaper although less cool/hip than Portland.

Edited November 2, 2016 by millefleur

[bcking 3,157]

Some things might might help you make your final decision: state income taxes, city taxes (if any), local property taxes, average gas prices, cost of insurance/Obamacare in that State (if that applies to you), crime rates in the neighborhoods you're looking into, if you'd need air conditioner (a must for most places in the South) and how much extra that would be for your electric bill, etc....just in case you hadn't factored any of those in yet.

If you're considering Portland, (Oregon I'm assuming) you could check out Vancouver, WA as well....slightly cheaper although less cool/hip than Portland.

Vancouver, WA is not a bad idea. It's getting better, and honestly is very close to Portland. The benefit living there is you pay Washington state income taxes (lower), but can go to Portland for shopping where you pay no sales tax. At least the last time I checked. They may have "closed" that loophole but when I was growing up my parents always talked about moving up there because of that.

[ManCharsey 254]

Vancouver, WA is not a bad idea. It's getting better, and honestly is very close to Portland. The benefit living there is you pay Washington state income taxes (lower), but can go to Portland for shopping where you pay no sales tax. At least the last time I checked. They may have "closed" that loophole but when I was growing up my parents always talked about moving up there because of that.

True.

Washington doesn't have state income tax so if you work in Vancouver, WA you don't pay. You only pay income tax is you stay in Vancouver but work in Portland and it will be at the same tax rate as Oregon as that tax will be paid to Oregon.

About the sales tax loophole where you drive across the bridge to purchase stuff in Portland, there are plans to set up a toll gate on both bridges.

Regardless of that, Vancouver WA and Portland are both great places to live! The traffic from Vancouver, WA to PDX in the morning is horrible though (especially on i205). Vancouver, WA has beautiful, large homes that cost very little (despite the sales tax) and they have cheap property taxes too!

I personally prefer living in Portland though..but it's only because of the traffic :-)

[millefleur 5,039]

Vancouver, WA is not a bad idea. It's getting better, and honestly is very close to Portland. The benefit living there is you pay Washington state income taxes (lower), but can go to Portland for shopping where you pay no sales tax. At least the last time I checked. They may have "closed" that loophole but when I was growing up my parents always talked about moving up there because of that.

It seems the shopping without sales tax loophole still exists, but if you work in Portland but live in Vancouver, WA, you still have to pay all the Oregon taxes. So there's that. But I guess if you're job is actually located in WA, you would be exempt from the Oregon taxes.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

You will love it here if it's open to consideration..No Californians allowed here though!

Legal weed too if you smoke!

Just an overall caution. I wouldn't recommend smoking until you're naturalized. Weed is still illegal on all federal levels, so even if you're in a state where it's legal to smoke weed, if USCIS comes knocking at the door while you're smoking, you're going to have a bad time. Until you're a citizen, you're under federal guidelines, so just be careful with that.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Austin is booming right now but luckily, the house prices haven't caught on yet. ? You can find a good sized house in a good neighborhood for under $300,000. Plenty of job opportunities in Austin, I had job offers pouring over me when I moved here. The atmosphere is relaxed and people are very open minded. Our motto is Keep Austin Weird. ? Schools are good. A lot of green areas and things to do on your spare time. A lot of big companies are here, like Apple, IBM, Dell, huge hotel complexes... The bonus is that most Austin companies are used to working with foreigners so they know the requirements. The only downside, or at least it is to me, is that it's plus 90 degrees for at least six months out of the year with several months in triple degree heat.

Edit: Austin really has the best of the US and the best of Europe tucked into one place. ?

Edited November 3, 2016 by mallafri76

[mindthegap 2,538]

It is a conundrum that many of us have been through ourselves.

Honestly, I didn't move from Europe to base myself in b*tt****ville somewhere, where although it may be cheap as chips on paper, it would make me utterly miserable. I could reel off the top of my head a big list of places that I would never live in a million years for all sorts of reasons, but others on here would disagree vehemently with me, some may well be on your maybe list, and ultimately it isn't me that is making the choice for you.

Only you can determine the overall quality of life that you and your family need, and the compromises (you will probably have to make SOME) that you will need to achieve that balance. You sound pretty well travelled, cultured and adaptable, which is good.

As you have seen from the responses, everyone has different recommendations and reasons, and there is no right or wrong answer.

America is a vast, vast, place, and even a hundred miles away in the same state can genuinely feel like another planet in some cases.

The number one thing is you should at least visit the ones on your shortlist before you choose one. Some places may appear to be on paper fantastic and your figures check out, but you may absolutely hate in reality. One brutal NE winter for example could have you thinking 'what the hell am i doing here' , or ditto for a summer in southern humidity hell.

Also bear in mind that looking at just the figures for the cost of housing may not give you the true picture. For example, the cost of housing in NYC is very high, but so are salaries. In contrast, you could buy a house in Detroit for (literally) a couple of magic beans, but there are less employment opportunities. In somewhere warm you may not have to pay for any winter heat, but if you have to run air conditioning all year and the electricity is expensive in that area, then maybe not such a huge saving.

For me, quality of life and life/work balance trumps everything, and if that costs a little more to achieve, then so be it.

Oh, and don't discount California either.....a big & varied place, with a great consistent climate.

Edited November 6, 2016 by mindthegap