If your comfortable sharing...

monkeysmama62

I live in Huber Heights OH. I can't stand it here and were moving next summer. We refuse to let LO go to Huber Heights schools. In the last month and a half 2 students have brought guns to school and 1 has threatened. I grew up in Centerville OH and it's nice if you like the city and the school system is amazing.

ladybug122

I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I love it here! Pros: great weather for spring and fall, mild winters, great food culture, mardi gras, great music and art scene, some neighborhoods are very pretty, and city park is so nice for kids. Cons: hot summers, not a good public school system (but there are alternatives), and high crime rates (but most areas are safe, the crime is really concentrated to certain neighborhoods where drugs are a problem, not middle class neighborhoods). I really love living here, and I don't want to leave, but we may have to for my SO to go to grad school. Good luck with your relocation!

MrsCodeMonkey

We're in Horseheads, NY, near Seneca Lake. DH grew up near here. I like the lack of traffic, the proximity to wineries and state parks. I sometimes miss being able to get to a big city for shopping, concerts, museums, plays, etc. We lived South of DC for a bit and there are times I miss it, especially the Alexandria area. 

Spartanmama722

Omaha area, Nebraska. I have a love hate relationship with it. It's very small town feel - which is good in that I feel really safe here, and bad because before we lived here we lived in the Detroit area, so it's been a huge adjustment. I also hate the weather, because we get almost no spring or fall - the weather goes from winter to 90-100+ degrees in May and stays that way often through October.

march2008

We live in central FL. I've always felt like this place was meant more to be a vacation spot as opposed to somewhere I would want to raise a family. It's way too hot for me and every day feels like Groundhog's Day to me because it looks the same here pretty much all year long.

We just sold our home and will be renting something temporarily while DH looks for a job in Colorado. We've done some traveling over the past few years and are ready to change things up and are heading for the mountains. We love hiking, white water rafting, skiing, and kayaking on rivers. We're leaving our families behind, but both sides of the family visit CO a lot so we think we'll have a lot of visitors.

blainethetrain

hollster8:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

For real?  That is awesome!  I might move back to the midwest just for that perk! 

Yeah, it's pretty awesome. My cousin is going to U of M for free.  

Syncronicity09

I live in Orange County, CA. I love living close to the beach, but at this point that is about it. I hate the cost of living, the job market, the attitudes, and we do not want to raise our child here. We are moving to Colorado in June and cant wait! My sister lives in Loveland (North of Denver) and loves it. The schools are great, it is a much safer, family friendly atmosphere and they are very happy, so we are headed there. MH read an article yesterday that said that California is the #1 most hated state, and Colorado was the #2 most loved state (behind Hawaii).

 

I found the poll the article quoted here. Maybe it will help!

kbell00

We live outside of Detroit. Honestly, I wanted out of of here as soon as I graduated, but then I met DH. Both our families are here and we ended up buying a house so looks like we'll be here for awhile.

I love Michigan. I'd just prefer to be in a different area, such as Ann Arbor or Grand Rapids.

Pros? In state tuition at U of M, we get all four seasons (really great falls and summers), vacations up north (skiing in the winter and swimming in the summer), the Detroit Red Wings and a drive away from Chicago and Canada.

baseballcr8zd

babysteps23:

Martha's Vineyard Mass.  Born and Raised.  Love it.

Pros: Super Safe.  Real community feel.  When something happens to one person the whole community comes together to help.  Very beautiful place to live.  The off season is nice and slow.  New England charm.  Slow island time.  Slower pace of living.

Cons: High cost of living.  Have to take a boat to get to the "Real World".   Summers are SO over populated with tourists.

 

I am one of the tourists!! I love it up there. My family has been going for almost 20 years. I'll be there in August...we should meet up!!! 

ElatedMom2B

DramaMama06:

we live in the princeton/trenton NJ area. i really love our location. we're close to the shore, NYC (We go in to the city every few weeks), a short drive to philly. i feel like we live in a safe area, our schools are pretty good. i'd suggest looking in PA (philly suburbs) if you like the area b.c taxes are WAY lower.

 i grew up in Abington PA (20 min from Philly) and i loved it. i was able to commute to school at Temple, there are many many things to do in the area and the school districts in the suburbs are fantastic!

Grew up in the Princeton/Trenton area, live in northern Burlington County now to be in between my parents and DH's parents and it was cheaper.  While I have lived here all my life and our friends are here and we go to the Jersey shore every summer, we're looking to get out.  The taxes are high and our family is now moving away.  My mother moved a year ago - born and raised and raised us in NJ, but she moved to where my brother lives in Virginia Beach now.  My father and DH's parents live in Florida now.  We would LOVE to move to VA Beach, but we can't sell our house because the prop values dropped so much.  We're hoping in a couple of years.  While we are close to so much - Philly, NYC, beaches, mountains (Poconos) and there is a ton to do, we really want to be closer to a shore community which are pricey in NJ unless you move to an area where the schools aren't so great. We also want to get away from the bad winters (though it wasn't bad this year - thank you global warming).  VA Beach has so much to do and the winters aren't terrible.  Its also closer to Florida (obvi) as we would have to be driving now with two kids, so much gear and having to visit two places every time we go.  I am currently SAH but DH works full time and only has 2 weeks of vacation - we have to spend that vacation time visiting family...nice sometimes, but we want to be able to start doing different things with our own family.  At least if we were in VA Beach it would take one family to visit out of the equation (well, my brother, mom and Aunt).  VA Beach has been voted one of the top places to live with families too.  They have great schools and, like I said, so much to do.  Good luck with your search.  Hope the replies here give you some insight!

baseballcr8zd

We live in Northern NJ. I grew up in the town over from where we live and my DH grew up here.  We are about  a half hour from NYC and 2 hours from the shore. I love NJ but the cost of living is seriously insane.

vigurl

justme04:

We live outside of Pittsburgh, PA....the area is called Brentwood but my address is Pittsburgh. 

I like that there is a lot of fun stuff to do with the boys the museum, zoo, aviary, science center...all sorts of stuff.  I hate being so far away from family and friends...I just feel cut off.  Part of it is being a SAHM.

The activities for the kids outweighs it though.  I grew up in Saegertown, PA about a half hour south of Erie, Pa.  There wasn't a lot to do.  Go to the park, tiny zoo in Erie, or story time at the library.

Edit- We'll most likely be moving soon.  DH has done phone interviews for positions in Plano, TX, Lisle, IL, and Baltimore, MD to start. But has applied for positions in Washington state, Arizona, New York and New Jeresy also.  I'm kind of hoping for Texas, as long as there is a way to keep snakes and scorpians away...lol.

There are no snakes in plano or scorpians.  It's all city, no country.

vigurl

Ooglybear:

vigurl:

I live in Plano TX. I moved from Baltimore MD when I got married. I love this town and will never ever move, unless it is to Frisco (the next town over).  It's so so so much better than Baltimore.

 Lots of large corp headquaters means plenty jobs.

Low cost of living

No taxes

Great public schools

Lots of shopping

And most important...voted America's safest city by Forbes

I second the DFW suburbs. Weather is not bad either- our summers may be hot, hot, hot, but snow is a rare occurrence.

Yeah I like hot!

RingOfFire11

Currently, we live in Georgia (about 40 minutes north of Atlanta). It's okay. Not great. We were born and raised in South Florida and loved it! Both of our families moved up here though and we wanted to stay close.

magnoliablossom00

dantoni1210:

Currently, we live in Georgia (about 40 minutes north of Atlanta). It's okay. Not great. We were born and raised in South Florida and loved it! Both of our families moved up here though and we wanted to stay close.

Me too! We should meet up! Em doesn't have any friends that are girls. (Not that boys are bad or anything.... Just sayin'!)

rlmanning

This is a great post! I enjoyed reading where everyone was from.

I am a little bummed that there arent many west coasters here, but I cant say I dont blame you.

I am from a brand new town in Southern California called Eastvale. We are just outside of Corona. I love that everything is new. New shopping, new schools, new parks, new houses, new streets. I love that I am 30 minutes from the beaches, 30 minutes from skiing in the Mountains, and 30 minutes from Downtown Los Angeles for shopping and stage plays! I LOVE the weather, Hot Hot Hot summers and VERY mild winters (it was 45 this morning at 5am on my way into work and we were all freezing). What I dont like is that we have little land (my lot is 6900 square fee), the tax rate is through the roof, the cost of living is rediculous in Cali, You pretty much have to be English/Spanish bilingual to survive. Almost ALL schools have bilingual classes (which means my child will not get 100% education as the teachers will be busy with the kids that dont speak English). I could go on and on.

The pro's are nice but.....  I would NOT recomend moving to Southern California.... Most people are trying to get out....

helenejr

Canberra AUSTRALIA!

You should totally move down under! LOL but i'm guessing thats not an option

 

cassoppea

We live in Western CT, near Danbury. It's beautiful here. It's pretty rural but I like that - I grew up outside of NYC and it was crazy expensive and everyone lived so close together. I feel like we have more space and more trees and grass here. We do get the cold weather but it's not as bad as the rest of New England. We are about 90 minutes from NYC which is fine for me. I lived in NYC for 4 years and I'm over the hype of he big city! The cost of living here is pretty high but compared to where I've lived in the past it's not so bad.

courtneyjean7

helenejr:

Canberra AUSTRALIA!

You should totally move down under! LOL but i'm guessing thats not an option

 

DH and I have never even left the US on a vacation, but we both have always wanted to visit Australia! lol

Rachel5782

baseballcr8zd:

We live in Northern NJ. I grew up in the town over from where we live and my DH grew up here.  We are about  a half hour from NYC and 2 hours from the shore. I love NJ but the cost of living is seriously insane.

Same here.  Actually we live in the same town I grew up in.  The location is awesome for visits to the city, shore, and Poconos.  The taxes are insane but the schools are good (although our governor is trying to tear down the public school system). 

DH could transfer to one of many new states, but we can't imagine leaving all of our friends and family here. 

chuicafina

kayjay10:

We live in Asheville, NC.  We love it because we get all 4 seasons.  We live in the mountains and love our outdoor activities, but we are just a short drive to the NC & SC beaches.

My aunt and uncle live in Asheville and DH and I LOVE it there. It's absolutely gorgeous and the vibe is so nice and laid back. We've talked about moving there, but alas, our parents are both in CA. 

 OP- We're in the San Francisco Bay Area in CA. We love it here and will probably never move, but the high cost of living is sometimes tough to swallow. I dream of a large lot where I could grow vegetables and have chickens PLUS a large area for the kiddos to play. There are plenty of positives of living here, though- lots of jobs, lots and lots to do/culture/entertainment/outdoor activity-wise, tons of diversity, great weather, close to the beach and the snow.

nativemama12

Concord, NC.  Just outside of Charlotte.  I like the area we live, more so country.  I hate the humidity, been here 6 years and still not used to it, I dread the summers.  I like the area because Charlotte is just a 20 minute drive, get the the mountains in an hour and the beach in 2/3 hours, pretty diverse.  I'm originally born and raised from New Mexico, the Four Corners area and miss it.

folkfemme

We live in Kelowna, British Columbia. Smack dab in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. Beautiful is an understatement. It's gorgeous here. I grew up surrounded by vinyards and rolling hills. We were living in Edmonton, Alberta for the past 3 years, but are so happy to be back home.

mari_gold

kgott82:

foxisoxy128:

I live in Rochester, NY. Its Upstate NY. Smack dab between Syracuse and Buffalo. I grew up here and love it. We moved to the burbs of Boston for 5 years and moved back last fall right as I found out I was pregnant. All of my family is here and its much more affordable than Mass. And its a huge sense of community. We have a ton of parks, museums, even a few beaches on Lake Ontario! The only other place I would want to live is Central Florida. DH and I agreed to move there when we retire

I live in syracuse!  I thought I was a lone upstate bumpie! 

I live in Buffalo. It's a nice enough place to live, but I'd love to be in a more ... ah ... upbeat community.

cvl105

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

cvl105

We live about 25 minutes north of Boston.

I like where we live. Close to the city, but out in the burbs. I love living in New England. I grew up in NJ (Sussex County) and love it there too. Where I live reminds me of where I grew up. I love having the four seasons!

blainethetrain

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. I'm from Kalamazoo.

cvl105

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. 

Last name Loehrke.

blainethetrain

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. 

Last name Loehrke.

Pretty sure I know the dad. Super tall guy? We go to the same gym. 

chocoholicchick

We moved from NYC area to Tampa and it's been hard to adjust even after 3 years of living here.  It is definitely family friendly but I feel like the lower cost of housing means you have to spend more on everything else.  The school system is awful and since we live in hurricane country, insurance is ridiculous.  I actually like warm weather but the humidity here is unbearable for months (I think it's the equivalent of winters up north).  I also really miss having four seasons.

Anyway, DH and I both grew up in CT and would love to move back to the NYC area.  Unfortunately, we moved to FL for DH's job so I'm not sure if that's going to happen any time soon.  

FTR, I know NYC area is super HCOL but I think it's worth what you get.  I know I am in the minority on that though. 

Gwyneddlesliegrace

Currently we're in Claremont nh, I have lived in ri,ct, and pa.

cvl105

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. 

Last name Loehrke.

Pretty sure I know the dad. Super tall guy? We go to the same gym. 

Yup, that's him. Her Dad and brother are both like 6'7" or 6'8". CRAZY tall.

Small world!

blainethetrain

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. 

Last name Loehrke.

Pretty sure I know the dad. Super tall guy? We go to the same gym. 

Yup, that's him. Her Dad and brother are both like 6'7" or 6'8". CRAZY tall.

Small world!

Yeah he had to take out a ceiling tile when he was using the elliptical cuz his head kept going through the ceiling. 

cvl105

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

cvl105:

hckygrl909:

I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's a really nice college town with lots of cultural opportunities. We have great restaurants, and its really pretty. Also, anyone that graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools gets free college tuition to any school in Michigan, it's called the Kalamazoo promise.

My FSIL is from Kalamazoo. How small is it? Would you know her? She's probably 27, brother is probably 29/30ish.

ETA: I guess I should have asked if you're from there or just live there now.

Quite possible I would know them. The zoo is medium, but gets a lot of its size from college kids. I'm 31, but my sis is 28. 

Last name Loehrke.

Pretty sure I know the dad. Super tall guy? We go to the same gym. 

Yup, that's him. Her Dad and brother are both like 6'7" or 6'8". CRAZY tall.

Small world!

Yeah he had to take out a ceiling tile when he was using the elliptical cuz his head kept going through the ceiling. 

hahaha too funny.

I'll be out that way in October for her and my brother's wedding.

casirdms

I live in a small town in NC .. I'm hoping to move in a year or so to the outskirts of a bigger city (only 45 minutes away, more to do & better job opportunities) . I love living in NC, there is a little bit of everything. Mountains and the beach, cold in the winter, warm in the summer. Love it

tarahnpaul

We're in Seattle.  We love it here, although people can be pretty stand-offish.  The weather is brutal, though.  9 months of rain, MAYBE 3 months of summer if it's a good year.  We're moving in the next couple months to Santa Barbara.  It's ridiculously expensive to rent there, but I need some sunshine for a few years.

megastar007

rlmanning:

Almost ALL schools have bilingual classes (which means my child will not get 100% education as the teachers will be busy with the kids that dont speak English).

As a teacher who has taught in several school districts in SoCal, I'd have to disagree.   The only bilingual classes that I know of are called Dual Immersion, which parents have to request that their child be enrolled in.  Also, ALL students receive attention, not just those English Language Learners.  If a non native English speaker needs additional support, they are generally taken to a resource teacher to give them some sort of intervention.  Sorry to hijack the post, but I just get a little heated over education issues

 

Oh... and we live in Temecula, CA, which is about an hour north of San Diego and 2 hours southeast of L.A.  It's a nice place for young families, but the job market is bleak.  On the upside, housing is fairly affordable and everything is pretty new.

RingOfFire11

mkd00:

dantoni1210:

Currently, we live in Georgia (about 40 minutes north of Atlanta). It's okay. Not great. We were born and raised in South Florida and loved it! Both of our families moved up here though and we wanted to stay close.

Me too! We should meet up! Em doesn't have any friends that are girls. (Not that boys are bad or anything.... Just sayin'!)

FUN! Where are you?? Avery has no friends that are her age - boy or girl.

megastar007

tas1883:

I'm going to be the odd ball.  We live in Eugene Oregon.  We say we live on another planet because no one from back east ever comes to visit us.  Mild temps all year, we get a ton of rain and it is gray for about 8 months out of the year.  We are an hour from the ocean and an hour from the mountains.  If we get an inch of snow the whole town shuts down and school is cancelled!  Lots of people head to Portland for the big city stuff but we do have some of cultural stuff and the new basketball arena is bringing in a lot of big name shows and stuff.  Our economy sucks right now and jobs are super scarce so don't recommend a move right now.  It is a great place to visit especially in the summer because we don't get hot and have very little humidity.

 

I love Eugene!  You have a great Farmer's Market   Some of my fam used to live in Springfield and Florence.

Marsupial1022

We currently live in Minot, ND.

I was born and raised in Aiken, SC until I moved to Southern California in '06, where I met my husband. We ended up moving to Kansas in '10, and then to Minot this past December when he landed a job with one of the oil companies up here.

 I like North Dakota a LOT better than Kansas, but I do miss living in SoCal. My husband's family and our friends are there, and they haven't seen the baby since she was 2 months old. I also miss the lack of snow.