Finding a perfect State.

abbycats

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Originally Posted by Forensic

Minnesota is nice in the suburbs/rural areas, but really we're all full up. Sorry.



Nebraska... well... it's nebraska... Omaha has some nice areas... Lincoln's okay if you avoid downtown.
I live in Nebraska. Where I live there is no traffic jams(or Lights for that matter), the Post office, Dr, Dentist, 2 different Vets, library, Grocery store are with in 5 blocks! I have got very lax since I moved here from Denver Colorado. There is very little crime here.

Nebraska isn't so bad.
 

kittkatt

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One of the statesmen from the early days of Texas is supposed to have said, "If I owned Hell and Texas, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell."

But in fact, according to this old song, Texas IS Hell:
Those song lyrics that you posted about Texas, Carol, are a really accurate description IMO..


I love living in Texas in a lot of ways: I especially love the climate, b/c it rarely gets very cold.
Some of the people, however, are less than desirable.
That's not to say that there aren't a lot of good people here: I've met quite a few since living here. But in the area I'm in, most of them are welfare abusers and users of the system. Not the type of people I care to associate with. And the crime rate is horrible - especially in the bigger cities like Houston. When you have to put bars on your windows to prevent crime, it's not a good thing..


I'm from Wisconsin, and I love it there - except for the weather. I'm not a cold-weather person. It's a very clean state to live in, and the crime rate isn't bad. You can leave your doors unlocked w/o having the fear of getting molested or robbed. I'm sure it's worse in the bigger cities, but all & all, it's a fairly safe place to live. The cost of living isn't the greatest, and most places that you rent won't allow pets - or if they do, you usually have to pay a big deposit - a big drawback IMO. And most of the people are friendly and decent
(not sure where you lived, Glitch!
).

I used to live in California & Utah, too. California is a beautiful state as far as scenery is concerned, and in most parts, the climate is great! But unless you earn a lot of money, it's not a good place to be. The cost of living is outrageous!


Utah is also a beautiful state, but from what I can recall, it's not very cheap to live there, either...

~KK~
 

butzie

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You can take a person out of Brooklyn, but you can't the Brooklyn out of you. What is wrong with going to upstate NY? There are wonderful communities in the western tier. New England has small towns with lots of charm as well. Weather will be the same as you are used to. What do you do for a living? If you can do your job over the net, it doesn't really matter where you live.

Stay out of CA.
Half of our state's inhabitants are former Nuyawkers. (Me too! Yonkers).

Seriously, if I had to pick a place to live, I would move back to the Catskills or the Finger Lakes. Ithaca would be right up there, but then that is because DH and I went to Cornell as undergrads. Everything is so beautiful there and you can get to da city in 5 or less hours.
 

kkh

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Just like CA, FL, too have so many former Noo Yawkers, along with other northern states. Weather is great all-year around(except for hurricane season), no thick heavy coat or layers & layers of clothing necessary even in the coldest time of the year. We got beautiful beaches, too.
I'm from NY. I hated the winter, cost of living(housing price/rent, food, etc), commuting, over-crowded city, safety(not to mention 9/11)...ah, the list goes endless.

Considered all these...I thought I escaped from all that. I've been living in FL for 6 years now but, y'know what? I'm getting the hell out from here soon - hopefully very very soon! Sure, the rent is VERY VERY CHEAP compared to what I used to pay. I am literally paying 1/3 of what I was paying for a place almost 3 times bigger than the apartment I was living in, plus swimming pool, jacuzzi, and gym in the premises...sounds almost too good to be true, right?
Housing is also very cheap but WAIT, as y'know, the cost of insurance here is higher due to the numbers of natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding. Luckily this year, we still haven't got badly hit by hurricanes yet but that's one thing you'd have to consider living in FL. Ah, almost forgot, economy here is down-hill. Job-market sucks, too, regardless of whatever the news says. Of course, not to mention the latest numbers of foreclosures! FL is probably getting hit the hardest


I agree with the above post - consider upstate NY if colder climate is not a big issue for you(for me, it really IS). "The City" is always few hours away if you miss all the entertainment & fun - that's another thing I miss about NY...
 

shopcat

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Unless you are into enduring brutal endless summers, don't come down to Florida. I don't know your trade but they don't pay crap down here, either.
I'm originally from the Pittsburgh area & would go back in a heartbeat if I knew I could find good permanent employment there.
California is waaaaay too expensive & it's beauty is being ruined by the burden of it's population.
 

laureen227

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well, i personally like my state. the north/central area [where i live] rarely has bad winter weather, & there is always the A/C in the summer
but it's a big state, & every big city [i'm assuming you want city?] is different, plus the 'bad areas' vary. you'd really need a current resident of the particular city you're looking at to be able to suss out the best areas...
for example - if you were interested in the Denton area, i'd be able to tell you stuff about Denton, Sanger, Krum, Argyle, Pilot Point, Ponder & Justin - they're all close by me & i know them well. but i haven't lived in the Dallas area in too long to know how the neighborhoods have changed.
what is your profession, btw?
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by ShopCat

Unless you are into enduring brutal endless summers, don't come down to Florida. I don't know your trade but they don't pay crap down here, either.
I agree, completely!
 

denice

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I think any place that has low housing costs will also have low pay. Housing costs will always be what the market can bear so low pay means low housing costs. I have never lived in Florida but I have heard several times over the years that pay tends to be low in Florida.
 

roxsam

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Just wanted to show some love for Florida after the not-so-positive posts about it!

Ok, I may be bias b/c I have lived here my whole life, but I think Florida is great!! No matter where you live you are no more than 60 miles from the beach and you get to choose from 2 different oceans! Down south(W Palm, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Naples) is WAY too expensive and if you don't know Spanish you will not survive so I don't recommend there unless you are rich. The farther north you go the more southern (and friendly) it gets! I would say, with cost of living added in, most professions are pretty equal to average pay and health care jobs pay very well. I would avoid the big big cities though!

My favorite part of Florida is the weather...winters are not too bad (they DO get really cold at times!) and I think the summers are great, you just have to get used to the humidity. It's beautiful and sunshiney!

With all that said,DH and I are thinking about moving in 2 1/2 years! Lol. Probably to the Concord, NC area....don't know too much about that place yet though, except very cheap cost of living, country living and nice weather!
 

gingersmom

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I am currently in the process of moving from Massachusetts to just south of the Winston-Salem, NC area.

No more shoveling snow, no more outrageous heating oil bills, and instead of paying $1,100 a month for a 900 sq ft apartment with shared walls crammed in by neighbors, I can rent an 1,100 sq ft HOUSE in NC for just $550 a month.

I'm actually in NC right now, and have a job interview in a couple of hours, and another on Friday. I fly back to MA on Saturday, and I'm hoping that by then I have a lease and a new job!

It is a LOT different than "home," and I am going to miss the ocean, my daughter and all my dear friends, but it's what makes the most sense for me to do.

I say, take your time, do your research, and you'll find a place you can be happy in! Good luck!
 

moonlights mom

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I live in Northern Illinois in the Chicago suburbs and I love it! Its safe, friendly and the best part is downtown Chicago! Southern Chicago has a very high crime rate but the Northern loop is just beautiful! Its right on the lake with so much to see and do (Navy Pier, John Hancock building, etc.) I am not sure of your price range so I can't say if its expensive or not. Good luck with your search!


I forgot to mention climate,

We can have pretty harsh winters but since you're coming from NY, I'm sure its not that big of a deal. Summers are hot-average. (Most days this month have been 85-95 degrees F.)

There are tons of Job opportunities because of the city. What field are you in?
 
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