Where Is The Best Place To Live In The USA?

[Rosalind]

To expand on what Nadine said about health care:

You will not only need health insurance, you will need really really good health insurance that covers a lot. Look for something like a PPO (as opposed to an HMO--Health Maintenance Organization). I forget what PPO stands for, it's very expensive (I pay $200/month for mine, which covers my family + me), but they cover everything reasonably well and don't argue too much over charges. The HMOs make you jump through more hoops and don't cover as much--you know how there are long waits for certain surgeries in the UK? It's often just as long here, and sometimes your insurance refuses to cover it at all, even if your doctor says you need it. So you either pay out of pocket (several thousand $$, Nadine wasn't kidding that people go bankrupt) or suffer. If you can't work anymore because you're so sick, you go on disability, and then your insurance (which is tied to your work) is dropped, and until you are basically bankrupt and have sold every financial asset you have, you don't qualify for state aid. Until you're a permanent resident (AKA "green card,") you don't qualify for state aid anyway--you're supposed to just go die.

I am not kidding. DH is a UK immigrant. He had to have back surgery. I had to work two jobs to pay for it. It was horrible. Read all the fine print in the benefits contract from your future employer, all the literature and all the policy information from the insurance company, and call them and bother the customer support people until you are 100% sure you understand it all. Do not assume that something unethical will be illegal, or even that all the insurance laws of the state will be followed. Lots of times, they aren't. The cheaper HMOs are so nasty that they will make you take them to court to get even the most basic care covered--the idea being that if they discourage you strongly from making any claims they'd have to pay out, you'll just give up and pay out of pocket, but you'll keep their crappy non-insurance in case of something really major.

Also, we have no genetic discrimination laws here, so if your health insurance asks for a genetic screening for whatever, refuse or get new insurance. Some states (such as Ohio) will disqualify you from ever having any insurance based on the results of genetic testing.

The most common thing my UK in-laws are shocked at is that our government does not believe that unethical = illegal.

 

[OffSpring]

Quote:
Yeah where'd Offspring go?! And when did I say I was trying to start or win a civil war? Now I'm lost.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say sorry for not replying until now, as I said in an ealier post somewhere, I don't have a PC or the internet at home, so I couldn't go online over the weekend.

I'm back at work now, so I'm back online (poor employers) lol...

For those of you that asked I actually work in a hospital but not in the health side, I look after the IT systems/infrastructure (which is why when I go home I don't want anything to do with modern technology - not even a phone...

I have been reading every single post on this thread and I want to thank everyone for giving me their input! The USA is such a huge place so I knew it would be difficult to pinpoint a perfect place to live.

And I just wanted to say a big thankyou to everyone! - This is such a friendly forum and many of you have given me loads of useful info and tips to help turn my dream into a reality!

 

[OffSpring]

This may sounds like a stupid question...

Is it posssible for me to just buy some land somewhere fairly cheaply when I see it (say around $20,000 or so) and then just stick a doublewide on it when I am ready to move in?

Or do I need to obtain planning permission for residential use etc (as you would in the UK).

Also does anyone know if you can buy land and/or live in the USA when you have not been issued a green card?

And to answer a question raised earlier. I am actually in my early 20's, however I am in the really lucky position of almost owning my home outright in the UK. So what I intend to do is rent this out (for some income (approx $1800 per month) and keep it just incase I want to move back) and then I would probably need to get a part time/casual/seasonal job somewhere fairly close/local to pay the bills.

I am looking to find somewhere in the country with a small amount of land as a minimum (no real maximum but it needs to be enough for a home of some description, chickens and a horse and a barn/stable for the animals and also somewhere to grow fruit and veg).

This needs to be done for as little money as possible (in case everything goes wrong, I will not have lost too much of an investment).

And until now, I have never used the NHS here in the UK. At the moment I am 100% fit and healthy.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Hey Offspring,

Most rural areas in the US have few restrictions on what can be built on your property, but you will have to have building permits and certificates of occupation, I think. Only near cities, will they have restrictions on mobile/manufactured homes. There are definately places where you can purchase land for $20,000, but they are truly rural, in a way few places in the UK are ( for example the UK is about 94,000 sq miles and Wyoming is 97,000 sq miles but Wyoming has less than 500,000 people). The rural US has been bleed ing people to the cities for generations; but it does make land cheap. Access to electricity, water and sewer might be at your own expense. You could consider rainwater collection, but a well and septic system is your best bet. Do your research and you'll be fine.

I don't know about the green card situation, but considering the number of foreign investers buying land, I doubt you need one to buy land.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Offspring...
It depends on what state you decide to live in whether you'll be able to afford.

There are about 10 Modular and Mobile home dealers and 3 manufacturers within 5 miles from me, so I see the prices all the time when I am going to buy groceries. It's the modular capitol of Maine, and probably New England.

For about 50G, you can get a decent little 2 or 3 bedroom Modular and that is the way I would go. You can have your home customized exactly the way you want. A modular is considered a house, that will go up in value over the years.They can be put in anywhere, where mobiles aren't allowed on certain properties. A mobile home also looses value, and doesn't hold heat well in a colder climate....I assume you're moving to Maine

Check out Realtor.com, you can view homes and land prices all over the USA and that will give you a good idea of where you can afford to live.

 

[mom'sfolly]

In addition to the mobile home route Home Depot offers kit "cabins" that you can have built or build yourself and Lowes (another big box hardware store) offers Katrina Cottages that are made to be an alternative to a mobile home. Here's a link to the Lowes' website. I think the way it works is you buy the plans for about $700 and then when you buy the materials, which are somehow prepackaged, they give you a rebate.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=2006_landing/Katrina_Cottage/KatrinaCottage.html

You could also google Lowes or Katrina Cottage.

 

[ivan3]

Offspring, just posted Missouri photos as a cautionary note, no clean, sandy, beaches here in about 300 million yrs., but some unscrupulous folks will try to convince you otherwise.

Willamette valley of Central Oregon would fit your reqs, but I'm sure the prices have rocketed since I lived there in the late `70's.

Choice of land: You might do well, once you've settled on a general location, to find out what lands in the area are available adjcent to state/federal wildlife/conservation areas (at least you won't have to worry about encroaching development on one flank).

Secondly, once you've got the location tentatively pinpointed go to that County's website and pull up all the Planning/Zoning commission information you can and read it over carefully. Otherwise it can be difficult to know if a potential neighbor with seven hundred acres has offered the County a hundred of those acres gratis (for a school/park/whatever) in return for residential rezoning for the other six hundred, a tidy profit for the owner and McMansions for you to admire from your windows.

If interested in federal land you can check this site now and then:

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural_schools.shtml

 

[silkiechicken]

If you work in IT for heath care, being near a larger city with lots of healthcare needs would be a plus. Here in seattle, even if weather is bad and all schools and univerisites are closed... the University of Washington still goes on because it is so closely linked to the medical center which can't ever close. Healthcare is a huge thing over here but to get dirt cheap land you'd have to be a distance from the city.

Good luck on your adventures!

 

[DoctorGoose]

Offspring--if you're looking for a really cheap bit of land, you'll have to go farther away from the coast. Eastern Washington, maybe, to Idaho. Still within about 3-5 hours of the coast....and I think those are the sort of places that are generally "unzoned"--someone correct me if I'm wrong, and so you could just plop a trailer home on it--I know my aunt and uncle did at their place in Idaho.

Also some of the places up north, say Skagit county (pronounced sca(as in scab) git--just like the Brits say!) may have some cheaper places, and that's near the coast. There are a LOT of farms up there.

 

[2mnypets]

Quote:
I grew up in Idaho (Nampa which is 18 miles West of Boise) and the Lincoln/Newport coastline area (in Oregon) was a good 8 hours from us. Idaho has changed a lot in the last few years. My dad and step-mom are brokers/realtors for Coldwell Bankers and property is at an all time premium. This is due to large companies like Micron etc. coming in not to mention it's now the hot spot for celebrities to have a place to "relax". Nampa used to be a town of 36,365 people with farmland and a nice lake to fish in. Now the town has almost 200,000 people and subdivisions have taken over all the farmland. The lake used to be a nice drive from town. Now it's almost in the center of it. Houses used to go for around $80,000 but now are going for half a million on up. It's crazy.