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Parenting
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
S/O of sorts: If you could live anywhere in the continental US
where would it be?
We're waiting to hear back from the jobs DH applied to for next fall, but there's a very real possibility that he won't get any of them. I work remotely for a company in San Francisco, so as long as I'm in the continental US (well, I suppose we could move to Mexico or Canada, too- the time zone I'm in just needs to be within 3 hours of CA) we're fine.
If DH isn't going to be working, we need to live in a LCOL area, so that's one consideration. My family is all in Michigan right now, so that's definitely a possibility, but we're open to just about anything. The main issue is that this needs to be someplace we could settle down, and if it's racially diverse that would be ideal (my DH is Korean and hates it when he feels like everyone is staring at him. He's a little paranoid about it).
We've talked about Nashville. We've tossed the idea of moving to Mexico around in the past, but I'm not sure about schooling there for the kids and the distance from family gives me some pause.
Any thoughts? Just curious if anyone has any suggestions we hadn't thought of yet.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
This discussion has been closed.
Re: S/O of sorts: If you could live anywhere in the continental US
Non-reality, in my dreams answer would be Vermont.
But for a real answer, DH and I have decided that within the next few years we would like to end up in eastern Tennessee, specifically Knoxville. Unfortunately, we've been saying that for the last few years and we're not making much progress
Liam is 5!
Hmm....this is a tough one. I'd probably have to go with Montana. Nowhere else quite like it, and I miss it.
Not a good place to live for tech jobs though!!!
Nora Judith 7/2/06 Miles Chauncey 4/20/09 born with Trisomy 21 - Down syndrome
At this time in my life we chose Denver & moved here to have/raise our kids. (We also considered NC, VA (Richmond), Seattle & Portland). In retirement we plan to move to Santa Fe.
If money was a non-issue--I'd have a cottage somewhere on the coast of central California (between Santa Barbara & Carmel maybe) & a condo in Manhattan.
Probably Seattle -- or surrounding area.
But it would never happen as I would have to pick up my entire family, and Joe's, and bring them with us. I could never live far from family.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
Anywhere in New England or upstate NY. I love New England and can't imagine living anywhere else.
Othere then that, maybe one of the Carolina's or Colorado.
We've talked about Canada before, too. We'd just have to give up on the idea of DH working at that point, though, right? I would hope at some point he could bring in some income, but I don't think he'd be allowed to work in Canada since he's not a citizen.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
for LCOL and parental help, I would seriously consider moving home (for me MS or NOLA) but when looking at schools, not so much .... I'd lean more towards the Carolinas (all four seasons, decent COL, mountains, beaches, southern hospitality). we love NYC (we're in an outer borough) but it's SOOOO $$$$, even looking into NJ (which is nice) and CT home prices go down, but property taxes go UP . Knoxville would be nice, but not sure about the school system. IL was nice. Go an hour out of Chicago. close enough for fun in Chicago... but not the home prices of Chicago. I've heard Montana is beautiful, but I'd prefer to live closer to a big city. Friends who live in Austin, TX love it. I've also heard Madison, WI is wonderful.... but they have some big winters.
dh said if we moved, he'd consider Austin, TX or Madison, WI. Two polar ends. he does not want to return to NOLA b/c of the schools.
Coastal North or South Carolina.
I can work and I am not a citizen. I have a Permanent Residence Visa:
https://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/information/applications/prcard.asp
I have two friends who are American and they have work Visas, but they are kind of here on a temporary basis.
MH is a Canadian citizen, so it was a bit easier for me to come here. But I wasn't able to work for a year and a half while my Visa came through. If you are really serious about moving here, I would recommend using an immigration lawyer. That is what we did and it was super simple.
Those are definitely all considerations for us. That's part of why we're thinking Nashville over Knoxville, simply because there are more cultural resources there (at least from what little I know of that area).
Breezee, I'd have to talk to H more about how serious we are. I just don't know any more. With so many options it's confusing. And I think he'd prefer to be closer to Vancouver for weather reasons, but that's so far from my family. It's a tough one.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
it's a super tough decision! For MH the job opportunity was too great to pass up. Yeah, I would for sure look into Vancouver/B.C in regards to weather. It's the only province that really doesn't get alot of snow, other than the mountains. Vancouver is pretty much like Seattle. And, you are like 2.5 hours from Seattle to go shopping and be in the US. Or like 2 hours from the Seattle Premium Outlet
Vancouver is SUPER diverse!
I like that Knoxville is getting some love. I'd adore it if you nesties moved here.
If I could live anywhere, I'd probably choose to live in the horse country of Kentucky, but of course, I'd be independently wealthy so I could have a huge amount of acreage and horses.
Realistically, I'd like Nashville. I like Knoxville, but we have good friends who are in Nashville and the shopping is better there. The Carolinas would be cool, too. I'd probably live anywhere besides Michigan to at least try it out, but I really like the south. Diversity? I'm not sure, but the COL is usually reasonable and the people are really nice. The weather is good and there's usually a beach somewhere near enough - like right now we're 7 hours from HH, SC, which I think is awesome. In IN you're like at least 12 hours from somewhere like that.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
I actually really like TN. It is a bit more conservative than I'm used to, but people are so nice, it's not like they are hateful, you know? Which I can take, when it comes to issues like gay marriage. I don't agree, but if they aren't hateful, I'm not offended by their religious beliefs influencing them.
Nashville is probably more liberal and diverse, just because it's a bigger city. But Knoxville has UT here, which generally, IMO, makes a city more diverse. Also, my husband works at Oak Ridge National Labs which has quite a bit of diversity as far as who works there (lots of Asians, actually).
I like that we're close to a lot of stuff - not far from our families, w/ in 7 hours of Hilton Head (where a family member has a beach house), 3 hours from Nashville and Atlanta, Gatlinburg and the Smokeys are cool. It's definitely different in that respect from Indiana for us, which is basically close to nothing.
The COL is pretty low, the people are friendly, there are quite a few good schools around Knoxville... I can't complain.
We may eventually try to move to Nashville, but that would just be because it's closer to Louisville (where my family is), our friends are there, the shopping is better - mostly unimportant reasons - nothing against Knoxville.
The one bad thing about Knoxville is the severe amount of bright orange everywhere. ick.
I believe DH has a friend who works at UT and she knows someone at Vanderbilt, so he could likely at least teach some classes if we lived in either place. It wouldn't be a lot of money, but it would be something. So that would be one upside of either of those places.
My sister lived in Knoxville for awhile and she doesn't recall ever seeing an Asian there, so it's good to hear there are some. LOL.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
MH works w/ a few, haha. Probably because they are pretty prevalent in the engineering industry, which is what he does. Like Purdue (where we went to undergrad) had tons of Asians in bumf*ck, IN because of the engineering school.
There are a lot of white peeps here. Generally of the good ol' boy variety. Also, they really like Jesus here.
Laura- I have to say that I lived in Nashville for about 2 years (attended Vanderbilt for my master's degree). And, while I LOVED the city of Nashville, "liberal" and "diverse" are NOT words I would use to describe the city. At the time I was dating a guy who was filipino (he lived in CA) and when he came out to visit he said he felt very uncomfortable there. While there are people of different races (mostly black and white), it seemed to me that the areas and neighborhoods were very separated and people of different races didn't mingle much.
All this said, remember that I live in the SF Bay Area which is EXTREMELY diverse so that is my comparison. It did not feel as open and accepting as SF at all and was politically and otherwise very conservative.
Given all that, I truly loved Nashville!!! I hope to go back to visit someday as I still have a very good girl friend who lives there. Good luck in your decision making!
Ryan 5/2010, Kyle 1/2007, Eric 3/2005
I'm a SF Bay Area girl and I don't think I could leave. But I would consider moving to a different part of the Bay Area like Mill Valley. But honestly I like right where I'm at.
If I had to move though maybe Colorado???
LOL- I wasn't reacting to anyone else's posts in particular, just giving my feedback on Nashville since Laura mentioned it
Ryan 5/2010, Kyle 1/2007, Eric 3/2005
I love Southern California. I honestly cannot think of anyplace else in the US I'd rather live. I can drive to the snow, beach, and desert in under an hour from where I live.
There's no way I'd even consider moving to Mexico, especially in Baja. The crime has gotten so bad that I've stopped crossing the border. Kidnapping for ransom and gunfights at grocery stores are sadly becoming more and more common due to the drug wars there. The government infrastructure is failing, the police are corrupt, and the ones who aren't are regularly assasinated. Bribery is extremely common there. The corruption runs deep into the military and government. As far as schooling, I know that there were many families making the hour + trip across the border to send their kids to private schools in San Diego county.
Yeah, I guess some things don't change. Or they change for the worst. When I was in Mexico City with a friend 20 years ago we had a policeman lean out his window and whistle at us. Nice.
I don't think Mexico is a serious contender for a number of reasons, many you've mentioned here.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
The only place I'd ever want to live is MI.
I'd love it if you'd move back!
We've also discussed Madison. I'm getting a lot of good ideas. We still have a month or so before we know what's going on with the jobs he applied for, so we'll keep talking in the meantime about other possibilities.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
Charleston is another place we briefly discussed. I'm starting to get a little excited about this!
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
Ha ha! I'm half Chinese and lived in Knoxville for 3 years. Now that I think of it I rarely saw any Asian people. It's the place I lived I liked the least but being from Illinois I kind of like open spaces and I felt like the mountains were closing in on me.
If money were no object I would love to live in California or Hawaii. Right now I'm in AZ and I absolutely love it here and we hope to settle here. The cost holds us back from considering California even though I am planning on becoming SCUBA certified and there are obviously a lot more chances to go diving when you live by the ocean.
ETA: I totally missed the "continental" US part.