Miss Sisyphus Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Hi everyone. I was fortunate to sell my house in Phoenix for a decent profit. But now my family needs to find a new place to move. We were originally going to move to New Orleans, but my daughters decided they were too afraid to live there. So, my 14 year-old daughter and her dad want to move to Chicago. They like the fact that there's a lot to do in the city. But I want to live somewhere that it doesn't snow. Having lived in Phoenix most of my life, I don't know the first thing about living in a snowy climate. My brother lives in San Antonio and I would like to be near him. I would also like to own some land--just an acre would be fine. My family agrees with owning land, but NOT with living in Texas. But I think Texas would be a better value for the money. I don't want all of our cash to go to a tiny house in a cold climate where the taxes are the highest in the nation. I want my daughter to go to a good school and I know that isn't going to happen within Chicago city limits; we would have to live in the suburbs where the property taxes start at $3k and can exceed $10k! So, which is better: city or country? I'm open to other states, too. (We work from home, by the way.) Any positive input would be appreciated. Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 If you can't commit to living in the city . . . where walking everywhere is the norm, you might as well live where you get a better value for your dollar. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
UpwardForward Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Congratulations on selling your AZ house and making a decent profit. I have heard good things about Oregon and from those who have re-established there. I don't like the idea of Chicago. Should you choose Texas, do a lot a research into diff locations and nothing near the southern border. One of my friends recently moved to Bozeman Montana, and really likes it. Has a brand new home etc. You might check real estate there. (But snow). Another friend had Amish build them a beautiful new home in Heltonville Indiana. (But snow) Have also noticed that Dayton and Cincinnati has some pretty and well priced real estate. When I moved to my present location 11 yrs ago, it was country. About 7 yrs afterward residents voted it a city. Would not recommend it and mostly because Property Taxes are twice what they should be. But I purchased for the house, and still love it. Be sure to also check out Property Taxes & living expenses for your desired location, as well. Edited October 6, 2015 by UpwardForward Link to post Share on other sites
Author Miss Sisyphus Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thank you both for your help. I guess it would be cheaper to live in the city regarding transportation: car insurance, gas, etc. That would help offset the cost of property taxes. But I couldn't see being car-less. Is that what you meant d0nnivain? UpwardForward, that's a lot of good advice. My brother lived in Montana, in both Helena and Clancy. Both of those areas were pretty desolate (to me anyway). Seems like everybody had a gun rack in their pickup. Montana is great for outdoorsy types. We thought about Oregon. But then I heard about the Cascadia Faultline. That sounds terrifying. I guess cities east of the I-10 wouldn't be hit by an earthquake, but I don't know if the Pacific Northwest overall would be too drizzly anyway. As much as I don't want to admit it, I'm a product of my environment--the city I hate. I'm used to brightly lit houses and heat. (Although I'm tired of Phoenix's intense heat.) By comparison, Chicago seems dark and cold. Maybe I'm just too scared to move somewhere so different? Link to post Share on other sites
newmoon Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 just make sure you pick a climate similar to Phoenix.. perhaps not as hot, but you'd probably have a very hard time adjusting to a very cold/wet/snow climate. people can easily go from cold climate to warm, but the reverse is a huge lifestyle change and takes many years to get used to, if you ever will. lots of people don't realize it, but oregon, north of medford, gets a lot of snow each year and is a very cold/wet climate almost year-round, more wet than seattle, even. Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 So, which is better: city or country? I'm open to other states, too. (We work from home, by the way.)I have longtime friends who live here, near Raleigh and I've visited often over the years, enough that they tried to get me to move there and I helped them with some rental properties so got to know neighborhoods. 1. Moderate climate. Yeah, there are some hot and humid days in the summer but the more I went the more I got used to that, coming from dry California 2. Robust business climate - Research Triangle. Economy is doing real well there right now. 3. Still good real estate opportunities. I generally stayed under 100K and could still find rural places on .5-2 acres in that price range. 4. It's green. Trees everywhere. Lots of topography. The roads wind through the trees and across large agricultural areas once out of the cities. It's really only 'city' in Raleigh-Durham, nearby. The suburbs are a lot like rural communities, though some can be quite spectacular in parts. Anway, that's my one suggestion. Good bang for the buck, friendly people and, whoops, forgot, excellent medical care. Also, a large airport, RDU, with service all over the country. You're generally zero or one stop from anywhere. Hope that helps. IMO, spend some time visiting different areas and see what speaks to you. Moving LD isn't for the faint of heart so make it count. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
Author Miss Sisyphus Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Carhill, Thank you for the link. North Carolina is a consideration. We drove through there and it seemed really pretty. Of course we would want to live where you do, in Southern California, but all I could afford is a small house in Compton or Watts (probably with some added "bedrooms" that weren't permitted). I don't want to live there that bad! Plus, I would be worried about the drought. I hope you guys get some rain! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I have a place in Oregon and am moving my business there so if you have any questions about the rural areas, especially west of central Oregon, I can probably add a few tidbits. I covered thousands of miles there over about two years looking at properties. Ha, ha, closest I came to living in SoCal was having a timeshare in Newport Beach. Too rich for my blood. My friends mostly retired to the central and southern [Cali] coasts so I visit them in their modest beach homes. Me, I headed for where the rain was plenty and the land cheap. Heh. Link to post Share on other sites
Tayla Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 parts of Georgia and Tennessee seem to carry Pros to investments. Both real estate and the family laws are favorable. retirement laws are good in both regions. Its contingent on what your occupation is, to keep the income flowing.... Just plum pleased you are weighing your options! Link to post Share on other sites
Author Miss Sisyphus Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Carhill, my daughters are anime nerds. I heard Portland was a great city for that. But it's expensive AND on that Cascadia fault line. Are you worried about the possibilities of a 9.0 earthquake? Am I just being paranoid? Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 TBH, I know very little about Portland because I wanted to get away from large cities and be in the forest or at the beach and ended up in the forest right behind the beach, so if the 9.0 one comes, we'll just slide off into the ocean and call it a good life. Nah, I don't worry about it. A lifetime of Cali earthquakes and living near a fault line probably desensitized me. In Oregon, if you're looking for acreage to live on, I'd suggest learning to look at the FEMA flood maps. It's a wet state. As example, one city I was looking at, actually a town at the mouth of a river, has a levee system and, yup, the residents pay for that, and a new proposed one, in their property taxes, which are comparatively high, not to mention the prospect of one's house under water. Since you apparently still live in AZ, Oregon can be a one stop trip and taking a peak during the normal winter there should help solidify yea or nay. When one gray day after another occur, it's either something you like or hate, especially if you're used to sun all the time. Another member mentioned TN or GA. I have more experience with TN and have only been to Atlanta a number of times. I really liked TN. We went through some tornado warnings the last time I was there for FanFair in Nashville. Still, beautiful, a lot like NC. Property seemed more expensive though, at least where I looked. If in TN, check out Kentucky too. Did some day trips there caving and found it very pastoral. No idea on cost of living or real estate though. The main thing is the summer humidity and the tornado stuff with the moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Link to post Share on other sites
Clarence_Boddicker Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Florida has very cheap land & houses. You can't beat the climate in the fall, winter & early spring. Late spring & summer can be brutal because of the humidity. You could buy a summer home in a cheap cool climate like ND. Rent the summer home when you are gone. Link to post Share on other sites
turnera Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Texas is a great place to live, VERY low cost of living, best state in the country for jobs, and many different climates from which to choose. I was just in Bandera, which is about a half hour northwest of San Antonio, and it's amazing. Small enough that you get the country feel but close enough to San Antonio that you have everything available, tons of cheap land and/or houses to buy, hills, woods, and a lot of wide-open scrub-brush land that is fairly reminiscent to Arizona. And San Antonio is a great place - gorgeous parks, neat zoo, lots of history, not a lot of snow, close to New Braunfels (another excellent small town) and Austin, yet still big enough to be metropolitan. Bandera | Tour Texas Bandera Chamber of Commerce - Home https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandera,_Texas And if you'd like a smaller town that is still big enough to have everything you need, I suggest Tyler, Texas, an hour or two east of Dallas. It's in the Piney Woods part of Texas, completely different from San Antonio - woods everywhere you look, hills, creeks, beautiful parks, and the most unique zoo I've ever been to. They get slightly more snow than San Antonio, maybe 2 or 3 times a year instead of once a year. DD25 went there for college at UT Tyler, and it's even better; she loved it there. Many people go there for school and never move away, it's such a great place to live. And there is SO much to do within driving distance of there, yet it's considered country. It's close to borders with Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, too, so you can get to lots of stuff from there. Tyler Texas > Visitors > Tyler Tourism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler,_Texas Welcome to Tyler, Texas Link to post Share on other sites
SJS Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm from the Chicago area. If you're kids are too afraid of NO, then DO NOT move to Chicago. If I had to pick a place I'd move to Nashville. It's got all the city amenities but still has that small town feeling, and country isn't far. We've looked into TX because it's one of the places my husband can transfer jobs. A lot of people from IL are moving there...I think a lot of people in general are moving there. I'm the one dragging my feet because of the heat, humidity, hurricanes... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bobbi7 Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Texas sounds like a better choice than Chicago. Chicago has very harsh, bitter, cold winters. I've been to Chicago, it does have the city, night life vibe to it, I think it appeals more to couples with no children though-downtown living that is. From what I hear, Chicago has alot of gangs-in the city and in some part of the suburbs. Living in the country might be a better choice. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
turnera Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Chicago's police superintendent: If the community wants gun violence to lessen in Chicago, then we have to do something about guns and criminals who carry guns. That's - I don't know why this is such a deep concept. Because if 26 percent are incarcerated for narcotics and less than 4 percent for guns, is that system doing what we need it to do? I can point to about 160 examples this year alone of individuals who shouldn't have been on the streets to shoot somebody or be a victim of gun violence. I could point to individuals who got bonded out for a gun possession and were dead six hours later. As soon as I got to Chicago, people asked me what's different about New York and Chicago. And after I made a couple of jokes about pizza and the Yankees and the Cubs, I said the guns. The proliferation of firearms is overwhelming. You can't go on patrol in the city of Chicago and not find a gun. Something dawned on me a couple of years ago because I go out on patrol regularly with our officers here. The criminals in Chicago do not drop their firearms, and I was struck by this. I said, why don't they drop the guns? Well, it turns out that the sanction from the gang for losing the gun is greater than the sanction from the criminal justice system if we actually catch them with it. It's so frustrating, and that's why you keep hearing me talk about it because it's obvious. It's clear. I know what works. I've seen it work.Law Enforcement Veteran: Locking Up Minor Drug Offenders Makes Us Less Safe : NPR Link to post Share on other sites
Ms. Faust Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) If your daughter is afraid of New Orleans then I would think Chicago to be no better. I know a few Chicago transplants here in Ohio, and although they think Chicago is a great place to visit family and friends they would not recommend living there. They tell me that due to the gentrification a lot of the gang activity is being pushed to the 'burbs. Portland is another place that is great to visit, but questionable to live. They are currently going through a housing crisis due to so many people moving in and their rental laws. Have you considered Austin? It is hot, but the culture is supposed to be amazing. Edited October 23, 2015 by Ms. Faust Link to post Share on other sites
T-16bullseyeWompRat Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Austin is too expensive an area. Dallas area will have more jobs and better home prices. More stuff to do in DFW as well. Traffic in Austin is some of the worst ever!! It has a hippy vibe too, which doesn't turn me off, but I know it does for some. The closest city to Austin I've come across in terms of vibe is Boulder, CO. Austin is a great city, don't get me wrong. Same with San Antonio, but DFW is going to have more to offer if you are coming to Texas. I wouldn't even put Houston in your vocabulary. What about Colorado?? Colorado springs has good prices on their houses. Denver area is a little more expensive, but has TONs of stuff to do in and around the area. Cost of living is roughly the same as AZ. Too cold for you perhaps? Put me in or around mountains and I'm happy personally. Link to post Share on other sites
StBreton Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 What a great adventure you and your family are on! Well I'm in Phx ...love it here so staying till kids off to college. From Chicago and had enough cold winters to last a lifetime so I wouldn't recommend ...though it's a great town and the people are friendly ...real estate is expensive. Nice for a visit but you might tire of the weather. I like Greensboro SC ...weather good ...good jobs ...real estate not too bad Wilmington NC is a small city that has good weather ...so so jobs ...real estate not too bad. Close to ocean. Cary NC is supposed to be really great and with good schools. Brandon FL / tampa fl ...all the above with good real estate prices Wish you well! Link to post Share on other sites
turnera Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Houston is actually one of the better choices. Biggest medical center in the country, with a couple hundred hospitals. MD Anderson Cancer Center. Center of the oil and gas industry. One of the lowest costs of living in the country and, even in the midst of the oil & gas price crash debacle, home to more new jobs than almost any city in the country. Over 10,000 people moving to our county every year. Five 'downtowns' so you can live in any section of the city without having to mess with the rest of it, almost all of them master planned communities. About 5 days of winter. Within 3-4 hours of all the other major cities in the state and to Louisiana. Gulf Coast/Clear Lake for all water sports. Aerospace industry. Very low crime and gangs. Massive program to plant tens of thousands of trees all over Houston. Bike lanes, light rail, every freeway's being expanded. Harris County gained more residents than any other in U.S. - Houston Chronicle Texas still where more people are moving - Houston Chronicle Link to post Share on other sites
T-16bullseyeWompRat Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Houston is actually one of the better choices. Biggest medical center in the country, with a couple hundred hospitals. MD Anderson Cancer Center. Center of the oil and gas industry. One of the lowest costs of living in the country and, even in the midst of the oil & gas price crash debacle, home to more new jobs than almost any city in the country. Over 10,000 people moving to our county every year. Five 'downtowns' so you can live in any section of the city without having to mess with the rest of it, almost all of them master planned communities. About 5 days of winter. Within 3-4 hours of all the other major cities in the state and to Louisiana. Gulf Coast/Clear Lake for all water sports. Aerospace industry. Very low crime and gangs. Massive program to plant tens of thousands of trees all over Houston. Bike lanes, light rail, every freeway's being expanded. Harris County gained more residents than any other in U.S. - Houston Chronicle Texas still where more people are moving - Houston Chronicle You know dang well as a DFW resident, I can't recommend Houston lol. Link to post Share on other sites
turnera Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Well, I'd rather live in Dallas. A lot prettier, with all the hills. But a buggar to get around in. And snow. But our last two mayors have put us on a major trajectory to turn Houston into the most treed city in the country, and it's looking good! Link to post Share on other sites
froz Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 What about moving country!? Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts