Where should I move???

[gritsar]

Quote:
TN is a beautiful place, if I knew ANYONE there I'd move there. Kentucky is very nice, but TN is even better! I'm sure the weather still stinks though

My sister lives there. Just tell her I sent you.

 

[Serrin]

So, how come Washington isn't on your list? We're actually two states in one here.

On the west side of the Cascades, you have your basic marine influenced climate. Much like southern England. Summers are mild and rarely humid to the point of being uncomfortable. Winters, snow is a rarity. But, when it does happen, nobody there has a clue as to how to drive in it.

Admittedly, it does rain a LOT! And, if it isn't raining, it's overcast skies for much of the time. If you like sunshine........

Then head to the east side of the Cascades! I was born on the west side of the mountains and finally escaped about 5 years ago to the east side. Wild horses couldn't drag me back to the wet side. But, that's just because I like sunshine and wide open spaces.

The Spokane area is great! Sunshine most of the year, plenty of wide open spaces, land is still relatively reasonable in price and property taxes are liveable. Job opportunities for the nursing field are excellent to the best of my knowledge.

Our climate, in my opinion at least, is FANTASTIC!! We get four honest, true seasons every year. We did have a record breaking snowfall last year however. 6 feet in the month of December alone!

It was tough on some, but you make provisions and adjust your lifestyle to fit the conditions.

Spring is mild for all it is very brief. Summer can be HOT, but it's a dry heat and the temps always cool off for the evening to a very comfortable range for sleeping. Fall is wonderful! We usually get a very nice Indian Summer here, from about mid September through the last week of October or so. Right around the week of Thanksgiving, we start to hear the "S" word in the forecasts and then it's off and on from then until around the first of April.

If you like life on the "dry" side, the you might want to put Spokane, Washington on your list. Just my two cents worth! Good luck where ever you choose to live!

 

[Bluemoon420]

MI is beautiful and I love it here, but the economy is pretty bad right now. If you can absolutely find a job, I say try it out. If not, I'd wait.

Bluemoon

 

[The Chicken Lady]

I hate to say anything bad about our state because I really do love it.

I love being surrounded by the Great Lakes and I love being able to camp, canoe, and generally spend time outdoors pretty much anywhere. If you love to hunt and fish and camp, and don't want to live too far away from "civilization," Michigan is great.

Another thing I like about Michigan is that we have all four seasons of weather. We get lots of snow, but we also have hot summers. I feel like we get the "best" of each season here...white Christmases and lovely beach weather.

We get to drive 70 mph on the highway legally. I LOVE that.

There are lots of really nice small towns in Michigan. It's not a very urban/populated state until you get down toward the southern part of the Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula is basically a tourist destination. There are some decent-sized towns up there, but it's pretty remote, especially in winter.

I've lived on the west side and the east side of the Lower Peninsula, and I definitely vote for the west side. There is more to do here, and the scenery on the lakeshore is amazing.

That said, the job market here is not that great, but it depends what field you're working in and how much experience you have. If you have skills in the medical field, by all means, come here because there is work. Other than that, I can't really think of an industry where we're currently thriving.

 

[Emzyyy]

LOL don't come to Kansas its boring and flat.

 

[Beekissed]

West Virginia and Tennessee are humid too, but both states are beautiful! WV is more of a mining state and very mountainous. When we drove through the state last Nov. we were in awe over the scenery, but it seemed like a step back in time. There's nothing wrong with that, it just didn't appeal to me as a place to want to live.

The area of WV in which I live is the most temperate in the state. It is simply beautiful with abundant wildlife, big green valleys and high, blue mountains. The streams are clear and cold, the winters are mild, the summers are perfect and sometimes cool with little to no humidity. The crime rate is nonexistent and the schools are good if not great.

Summer temps range from 50-88 degrees but average at 78 most of the time...no humidity.

Winter temps range from 5-55 degrees, but mainly stay around 38-40. Not much snow, some ice.

Low taxes, good water supply, very little zoning laws except right in the bigger towns.

The downside? Little job opportunities. I'm an LPN here and the pay is dismally lower than national average and especially much lower than CA.

The upside to that is that people are all related to their patients here, thus take better care of them and have more pride in their work.

Little cell reception, stores and shopping centers are a far piece from home, and good places to eat are about the same.

The upside to that is the small town flavor of it all...with country festivals and simple pleasures.

I rent this house, 4 miles out of a small town in the eastern panhandle (only 2 hours from D.C.), for $375. It has sweet, spring-fed well water, a large apple orchard on an acre+....and no near neighbors!

The amount of snow you see on the ground is the deepest it has gotten in the 4 years we have lived here. And that was only for one day....it melted off the next day!

The pic of the big valley is right over the mountain from me. On a clear day you can see for miles and miles.

My chickens free ranging in my apple orchard.

This is an icestorm from my front porch.

 

[wombat]

I'm originally from Wisconsin, so I'd have to vote for that ...

It can get humid in July and August, but otherwise it is not bad at all. Certainly no where near as bad as Maryland, where I now live.

(Hard to argue with Beekissed after seeing those pics, though. We go camping in WV and it is beautiful.)

Wisconsin is fairly progressive politically, and has great schools if you are planning on having children some day. There's also a mix of rural and light industrial economies throughout the state.

Madison is a great small city if you are after that, but if you want inexpensive rural living, check out the northern part of the state.

Check out the Marshfield Clinic system for healthcare jobs in the northern part of the state. Marshfield is where all the people in the northern part of the state generally go for specialty healthcare. (I've got older relatives in that part of the state, healthcare is what they sit around and talk about ... ).

http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/patients/

I've been looking at a job in NW Minnesota. I could not believe how cheaply I could get 20-40 acres with a house, outbuildings, and even lake or river frontage. I'd prefer Wisconsin, but I've not found any IT positions in semi-rural areas so far ... If I could find a decent job in northern Wisconsin, I'd be there in a flash, living on a hobby farm on the end of a dirt road.

 

[Davaroo]

Anywhere along the Appalachians from WV to GA should work.

Some other thoughts come to mind:

Since you dont mind cold (apparently), anywhere in the Northern Tier is pretty good. I have family in MN and its nice. Maine, is too.

If you are not from one of those places and have lived in CA for a very long time - then you may wish to compromise. Northern winters can be a shock to the uninitiated.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

I would definatly move to Alaska or TN. I would love to live in Alaska...it is simply gorgeous up there!! TN is a great place to live. I have family there and we spend vacation time up there.

 

[mtnhomechick]

Quote:
Yes. But taxes are high. Stay away from Milwaukee.......Chicago area. High crime rate.

X Wisconsinite.