If you could start over anywhere...

[Guest]

If you were going to pull up your roots and take your family to start a life somewhere else, where would that be? (I mean reasonable places that your average middle-class family could conceivably move to.)

[NightSG]

About five miles south.

Maybe it's because I'm a convert, but I've never understood the LDS fascination with packing up and moving halfway across the country multiple times.  This ain't the Plain of Shinar, and "leave his father and mother" can be accomplished by moving out of view of their house. 

Edited August 4, 2016 by NightSG

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, NightSG said:

LDS fascination with packing up and moving halfway across the country

Is that a Mormon thing? 

I'm 4th or 5th generation in my family on both sides to live in this valley. I never thought I'd consider leaving, but a volatile job market and some other things have us exploring options. It doesn't have to be halfway across the country either.

[NightSG]

3 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

Is that a Mormon thing? 

I'm 4th or 5th generation in my family on both sides to live in this valley. I never thought I'd consider leaving, but a volatile job market and some other things have us exploring options. It doesn't have to be halfway across the country either.

I'm one of six people that I know of in my ward who have been in Texas since at least early childhood.  Everybody else moved in from some other state.  Been the same in most of the wards I've visited.

[Guest]

Texas has a better job market and lower cost of living than many other places. We have a few friends who have moved there for those reasons.

[zil]

5 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

If you were going to pull up your roots and take your family to start a life somewhere else, where would that be? (I mean reasonable places that your average middle-class family could conceivably move to.)

Let's see, I'll make a list of criteria (not in order of importance - more in order of most-recently-emphasized):

1) Not a corner lot.

2) Not in a cul-de-sac so small the garbage truck can't get in (so I'd have to haul my garbage cans out)

3) Someplace that's not humid (I hate humidity)

4) Someplace where I can carry a gun if I want to

5) Someplace without property tax or income tax (both are of the devil)

6) Someplace near a temple

7) Someplace that's not too hot, and not too cold.

8) If it snows, the house and driveway have to face south

9) Someplace with a really good ward (if you're looking for a place to move, I'll find you listings - seriously, you will not find a better ward, and I think it would be *fabulous* to have you here)

10) If I had pets, it would have to be someplace where they don't have fleas (I only know one such place)

11) July and August cannot be to hot.  The winter must be forbidden til December, and exit March the second, on the dot.  Summer must linger through September.  The rain may never fall til after sundown, by 8 the morning fog must disappear.  The snow may never slush upon the hillsides, and by 9pm the moonlight must appear.

Huh.  Just as I feared.  It appears Camelot is the only place that will do.

[Guest]

Oh boy, I'd just be happy to live somewhere without an HOA. 

[zil]

11 minutes ago, NightSG said:

I'm one of six people that I know of in my ward who have been in Texas since at least early childhood.  Everybody else moved in from some other state.  Been the same in most of the wards I've visited.

Maybe you should try an experiment.  Commission someone to keep track while you're gone, and move.

[zil]

2 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

Oh boy, I'd just be happy to live somewhere without an HOA. 

Oh, forgot that, yes, no HOA!  (Also demonic.)

[Hemisphere]

Well if it is within the US, I thought always that Washington state and Oregon are quite in abundance of game and woods. 

But if internationally... well, the Philippines make for nice beaches (crystal blue water and snow white beaches )  , Temples gonna sprout like mushrooms. The food is good and people are quite a faithful bunch ( love eastern though not pg 13, gotta give those people dragging a cross up a hill to reenact the suffering of Christ, kudos.) 

Property is cheap and if you forgo everything you really don´t need, you live like a king or in your case like a queen with a fantastic low cost of living. 7000 Islands to choose from. I would say, that is a start over to make a personal paradise. It should just be well planned. Other than that White Horse Yukon is quite the magical place, albeit cold but warmer than most northern Canadian places. The local pranch president is a very nice person and so is the ward. You could also go to Norway, makes for a lovely place. There is a good number of good places waiting to be enjoyed if one can leave things behind that aren´t needed.

[tesuji]

It's hard to answer this question, there are so many criteria to consider, and everyone's criteria are different.

Politics is so annoying and polarized these days I think it would annoy me to be in most places. The liberal places are too liberal, the conservative places are too conservative, and the middle places are "battleground" states.

I personally love California, except that 40 million people thought of it first. The NW is beautiful. New England, also beautiful and lots of interesting things within driving distance. Denver has a relatively mild climate, lots of jobs, but it's in a brown prairie with no ocean near by. Texas always seems to have lots of jobs (due to oil I assume). Wash DC has tons of jobs but "regular" people have to live an hour away to afford it. Etc.

I've seen a lot of places and researched tons more. If you tell me your criteria I could maybe give you some ideas. What industry are you in, for example?

Forbes and other sites regularly have "best places to live" rankings, but you have to agree with their criteria, if it's going to fit you.

Here's an example:

http://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings-best-places-to-live

Edited August 4, 2016 by tesuji

[Guest]

Thanks all. Keep in mind that we're just in the talking about/tossing it around stages. 

Criteria:

Good place to raise kids

Good job market for web designer

Reasonable cost of living

Not too big-city

Not too liberal

Mountains preferred, or at least hills

Doesn't have to have a really high LDS population, but we wouldn't want to be the only ones, either

[Guest MormonGator]

The first thing you want to do is to take multiple vacations to where you want to start over. Just so you have a basic idea of where it is, what the culture is, etc. 

The second thing you want to do is ask yourself why you are starting over. Moving to a new place is exciting and can provide a huge thrill/kick start to your life but it doesn't change you. At the end of the day you will still deal with the same problems and issues you have. 

Once you make your choice to move, tell everyone. That'll prepare them for your move and it will hold you accountable. IE-People will ask you "So, Susie, thought you were moving to California. Still here huh?" (Obviously I don't know your real name Eowyn, just pulling a name out of the sky)
 

[Hemisphere]

If you are a web designer you can actually work anywhere. it´s a bit much of a wide berth to interprete what a good place to raise children is. Does it include strictly a happy upbringing or do you want to factor in education ? if that is the case I would recommend you Germany, down south, somewhere Bavaria or Baden Würtemberg. You have mountains, the population is devout christian and tolerant of other believes and the temple in Bern is 3 or 4 hours drive away or 2 hours by train depending where you are. Plenty enough of little towns  and medium sized cities. LDS spread is quite dense in the south. If you pay taxes you are also entitled to child support money and other boni for living in Germany. Education is free and all that needs taken care of is the Grades and the upkeep when entering College. Healthcare is also cheaper and convenient than anywhere else in Europe with a very good coverage of Hospitals. Plus all the old medieval history stuff

[zil]

7 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

Thanks all. Keep in mind that we're just in the talking about/tossing it around stages. 

Criteria:

Good place to raise kids

Good job market for web designer

Reasonable cost of living

Not too big-city

Not too liberal

Mountains preferred, or at least hills

Doesn't have to have a really high LDS population, but we wouldn't want to be the only ones, either

I got all that.  I'll even drive around and look for "for sale" signs for you.

[Guest Godless]

I wiped the slate clean and started over in San Antonio (almost exactly) a decade ago. My (now) wife joined me five years later. I did it exactly for the reasons Eowyn mentioned, cheaper cost of living and a better job market. We now have a kid and a very happy life together. The only reason we would move again is if my wife were given a job opportunity out of state. She already makes a very good wage, and there are excellent salary positions in her company all over the US. If that were to happen, our target would be somewhere in the southeast, where the cost of living is still reasonable, we'd be closer to our parents, and the winters are relatively mild (that's a must for her). 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Hemisphere said:

If you are a web designer you can actually work anywhere. it´s a bit much of a wide berth to interprete what a good place to raise children is. Does it include strictly a happy upbringing or do you want to factor in education ? if that is the case I would recommend you Germany, down south, somewhere Bavaria or Baden Würtemberg. You have mountains, the population is devout christian and tolerant of other believes and the temple in Bern is 3 or 4 hours drive away or 2 hours by train depending where you are. Plenty enough of little towns  and medium sized cities. LDS spread is quite dense in the south. If you pay taxes you are also entitled to child support money and other boni for living in Germany. Education is free and all that needs taken care of is the Grades and the upkeep when entering College. Healthcare is also cheaper and convenient than anywhere else in Europe with a very good coverage of Hospitals. Plus all the old medieval history stuff

And all the family history I could get done...

He does contract work from home. It's very feast or famine, not to mention lack of medical benefits, retirement, etc.

[Guest]

@zil what general area are you in?

[Guest Godless]

13 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

Thanks all. Keep in mind that we're just in the talking about/tossing it around stages. 

Criteria:

Good place to raise kids

Good job market for web designer

Reasonable cost of living

Not too big-city

Not too liberal

Mountains preferred, or at least hills

Doesn't have to have a really high LDS population, but we wouldn't want to be the only ones, either

You basically just described San Antonio. Let's be neighbors!

[Guest]

@Godless, San Antonio has come up. 

[zil]

4 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

@zil what general area are you in?

I IMed you.  For everyone else, I'm in that place where pets don't have fleas.

[Hemisphere]

Here is the thing, 

when you live in Germany, you are guaranteed affordable or sometimes free day care. schools are less restrictive. Plus there is big companies in bavaria and munich is quite a hubub in terms of fashion and anything that needs promoting. There is alos a powerhouse industry in Badenwürtemberg. If you desire to work you could start a business and see with whatever you like to do with a free limit on what you can earn before it get taxed.  As for meical benefits, you can insure yourself and your spouse for 150 bucks a month under certain conditions but kids till 18 are always under the umbrella of the insurance of their parents and covered.  retirement should be done privately but then again here is conservative products that yield. In the US you should look toward Edward Jones. They do a fine job. 

[tesuji]

22 minutes ago, Eowyn said:

Thanks all. Keep in mind that we're just in the talking about/tossing it around stages. 

Criteria:

Good place to raise kids

Good job market for web designer

Reasonable cost of living

Not too big-city

Not too liberal

Mountains preferred, or at least hills

Doesn't have to have a really high LDS population, but we wouldn't want to be the only ones, either

Austin comes to mind. I haven't lived there but I've looked into it. The city itself is liberal, but the suburbs are not

Raleigh-Durham area is also small but with lots of tech jobs

also Denver

I would go on dice.com and search for your main skill, and see what cities come up on the left column

Edited August 4, 2016 by tesuji

[Hemisphere]

Well Portland is quite the place as the city is web friendly ( big computer corporations have their seat there as well) and the city is quite innovative and advanced. 

[Guest Godless]

9 minutes ago, tesuji said:

Austin comes to mind. I haven't lived there but I've looked into it. The city itself is liberal, but the suburbs are not

Raleigh-Durham area is also small but with lots of tech jobs

also Denver

I would go on dice.com and search for your main skill, and see what cities come up on the left column

Austin is quickly becoming overcrowded. There might still be a good job market for web designers, but overall it doesn't have the infrastructure to support the mass influx of new residents over the last several years.

 

And there's way too many hipsters. Eeeew.