Best southern state?

[Nunie]

Heya everyone! I currently live outside the US, in Sweden. My fiancé and I plan to move to the US after he finishes university. He's studying computer programming to become a software developer.

We want to move somewhere warm, I'm from New York and he's from Sweden so we've had enough winters for our lifetime! I lived in NC for 7 years before I moved to him in Sweden so I kinda got spoiled with the warmer winters!

We don't plan to have kids, just dogs, cats and backyard chickens!

What southern states would you suggest as best to migrate to (figuring in cost of living there, how expensive houses are and land)?

We love Florida, vacationed there, but Florida is kind of prone to hurricanes, right? He's thinking Cali, like Silicon Valley but I'm sure that's going to be expensive! Plus hurricanes and droughts/brush fires...

So yeah, what state would you suggest, and why?

 

[Michael OShay]

You are likely to get a wide variety of answers to your questions. If you're worried about the cost of living in California you definitely need to avoid Hawaii which is horrendously expensive (I speak from experience having lived there). I was raised in Texas, have lived in Arkansas, Oklahoma, California, and have visited Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, and which is the best state depends on your personal preferences. If you hate hot humid summers then avoid east Texas and the Gulf Coast states. Arizona and New Mexico have hot summers but the humidity is low and it cools down very nicely in the evening. The Flagstaff, Arizona area has very nice, cooler summers, but the winters are colder there than elsewhere in the southern states. My personal favorite area in the southern states is probably the Hot Springs, Arkansas area. The summers there are not quite as hot and humid as in the gulf coast states and the winters are fairly warm. The mountain scenery is beautiful with a national park, forests, streams, lakes, wildlife, and of course the famous hot springs. Hot Springs is a city with a lot of activity and entertainment for its size, and Arkansas' cost of living is among the lowest in the US states. I hope this helps. Wherever you end up moving to good luck. )

 

[Nunie]

I'm actually really interested in Texas, besides the hot humid summers, would you say Texas is a nice place to settle? How's the cost of living in Texas, and cost of houses/land?

 

[Michael OShay]

I'm actually really interested in Texas, besides the hot humid summers, would you say Texas is a nice place to settle? How's the cost of living in Texas, and cost of houses/land?

The nice thing about Texas is that it's so big that there is a lot of diversity to chose from. East Texas is largely forested (lots of pine trees), south Texas is largely grassland, the north Texas panhandle is largely plains, and west Texas is largely a combination of desert and mountains. Summers are very hot and humid in the Houston area and along the Texas gulf coast and the area is subject to hurricanes. You can avoid the humidity of the summers by going further west. Having been raised in Texas and having relatives scattered over the state, I've pretty much been all over Texas and I would say some parts of Texas are a nice place to settle and others are not. I grew up in Greenville (about an hour NE of Dallas) and truthfully I'm not particularly crazy about that area. The summers are hot and humid there, the land is flat (I personally love mountains), and much of the ground is black gumbo (not very good for growing crops). I have relatives in Lubbock, TX (in the NW part of the state just south of the panhandle) and in my personal opinion it has to be one of the worst places in the US to live. My uncle moved there for business reasons and it's nothing but flat, red dirt with very hot, dry summers and fairly cold winters. The cost of living in Texas is actually quite inexpensive (one of the lower costs state-wise) and the cost of houses/land is pretty inexpensive as long as you're not too near one of the big metropolis areas (Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio). Housing/land prices climb way up the closer in you get to those large cities. Having given you the downsides, there are some nice areas in Texas and if you ask me about a specific area, I can tell you more. If I were going to move back to Texas, I would personally want to move to one of the following areas:

San Marcos (or New Braunfels which is close to San Marcos) -- This area has relatively inexpensive housing/land, relatively warm winters, rolling hills, forests, rivers, good hunting and fishing, and a lot to see and do including the glass bottom boats at Aquarena Springs, swimming, river rafting, Wonder World Park, water parks, wildlife ranches, Animal World Zoo, and the famous Natural Bridge Caverns. In addition, these towns are close enough to San Antonio (only about an hour drive) that if you wanted to visit a large metropolis area you could easily do so. The summers are fairly hot and humid in this area but not as bad as they are in the Houston area or anywhere along the Texas gulf coast.

Glen Rose -- The housing/land in this area is a bit more expensive than it is in the San Marcos/New Braunfels area but it's still relatively inexpensive. This is a forested area where the Paluxy River cuts through beautiful chalk white cliffs. It also has good fishing and hunting, and there is loads of things to see and do in this area including swimming, the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Dinosaur Valley State Park, the Creation Evidence Museum, Big Rocks Park, Dinosaur World, Tres Rios Park, and of course the crystal clear Paluxy River. In addition, Glen Rose is close enough to Ft. Worth (about an hour drive) and Dallas (about an hour and a half drive) that if you wanted to visit a large metropolis area you could easily do so. The summers are fairly hot and humid in this area but not as bad as they are in the Houston area or anywhere along the Texas gulf coast.

Mount Pleasant -- The housing/land in this area is very inexpensive (less than the other two areas above). This a gorgeous area of rolling hills, pine forests, rivers, and lakes. There are considerably less attractions to see and do in this area that the above two, but it has great fishing and hunting and the land is very fertile for gardening and farming. I have gone fishing in some of the lakes around Mount Pleasant and have caught more than 60 crappie (my favorite fresh water fish) in an hour. The only possible downside I can see to Mount Pleasant is that if you wanted to visit a large metropolis area, the closest one (Dallas) is about a two hour drive away (it's the reason why houses/land are less expensive there). Again summers are fairly hot and humid in Mount Pleasant but not as bad as they are in the Houston area or anywhere along the Texas gulf coast.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you want to know about any specific city, town, or area in Texas.

 

[b.hromada]

I'm partial, I say Florida!! I've lived here all my life, and its really pretty nice. The whole state is quite diverse. I live in S. Florida, but central and northern Florida have some really beautiful places. I guess that's why we always get all the snowbirds here?!

 

[wbtexas13]

If you chose Texas. Waco would be okay. Fairly easy to get to most major cities from there. Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Ill be in a simmilar boat next year when I graduate. I love Arizona and someday I really, really want to live there. However, when I first get out of school I'm somewhat at the mercy of where the jobs are. I really like east and northern Texas, and I'm also looking at the hot springs area of Arkansas. West Texas was too much desert and nothingness for me.

Anything along the east coast is hot and humid. The summers were much too humid for me in NC. I'm in upstate NY for school right now and I feel the same about winter!

 

[Michael OShay]

Ill be in a simmilar boat next year when I graduate. I love Arizona and someday I really, really want to live there. However, when I first get out of school I'm somewhat at the mercy of where the jobs are. I really like east and northern Texas, and I'm also looking at the hot springs area of Arkansas. West Texas was too much desert and nothingness for me.

Anything along the east coast is hot and humid. The summers were much too humid for me in NC. I'm in upstate NY for school right now and I feel the same about winter!

Hot Springs, Arkansas is really nice which is why so many people chose to retire there. In addition to all the natural beauty (mountains, forests, lakes, streams, wildlife, national and state parks) there is a lot of activities and places to see and do things there such as Magic Springs Amusement Park and Water Park, the bath houses and the hot springs themselves, Gulpha Gorge stream and campgrounds, the Oaklawn Horse Racing Track, the National Park Aquarium, Garvan Woodland Gardens, the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo, the IQ Zoo (performing animals), Tiny Tower, Hot Springs Mountain Viewing Tower, West Mountain Drive, the National Park Duck Tours, the Wax Museum, the Belle of Hot Springs riverboat, loads of great restaurants, etc. I love that area of the country.

 

[Nunie]

I'm actually kind of feeling Georgia right now! Augusta or Atlanta or Savannah area! Mostly considering Augusta area. My parents live a little north of Charlotte, NC so it'd be nice to live close enough to drive up to visit them once in a while, but far enough to not have to visit them too often, if you know what I mean!

 

[lularat]

Nunie, I live in eastern NC and as you already know, we have hot and humid summers. I love our mountains and the summers are not too bad. I think NC has the best of both, the coast for the beach lovers and the mountains for us mountain lovers. I keep hoping we'll eventually move to the mountains, but the timing is never right.