Stay at Home Moms

Poll : Would you rather

1- Live in an expensive city (think D.C., Boston, Miami, LA, San Deigo), smaller house, significantly less fun money (must budget for things) with lots of great things do near you (aquarium, zoo, museums, great restaurants, great theater shows, etc).

 

ETA: with option #1 you could afford to do the fun things, but you would probably have to limit yourself a little.  You just wouldn't have the other extras like lots of spending money for clothes, cars, toys, gadgets, private school,  vacations would be fewer though you would still be able to take some trips.

Or

2- A city (think Kansas City, Memphis, Albuquerque) that isn't as exciting, would probably have to travel for most of the above things, but you could have a much nicer house with a lot of room in your budget for spending on extras (clothes, cars, toys, vacations, gadgets, private school, whatever).  

 

This would be your forever home that you would stay in and raise your kids in.   

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Re: Poll : Would you rather

  • imageToBeMrsT:

    2- A city that isn't as exciting, would probably have to travel for most of the above things, but you could have a much nicer house with a lot of room in your budget for spending on extras (clothes, cars, toys, vacations, gadgets, private school, whatever).  

                           
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  • I would say #1 but it kind of depends on how much of a budget I would have to be on. If I couldnt enjoy any of the fun things around me then forget it. The size of a home certaintly isnt a concern of mine. I would actually prefer to live in a smaller home.

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  • Option 2. It sounds like torture to live right near all of those fun things and not be able to afford them!

    Edited- I saw the update that you could enjoy what the city had to offer but would be more limited. After reading your edit, I would still pick #2, but it sounds like there are pros to each.

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  • NUMBER 2!!! Without a doubt. I like my space and clothes and shoes. Plus I truly believe there is something to do everywhere. 
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  • Okay, I change mine to #2 after the edits bc I consider those cities you listed in #2 to still be fairly large cities with lots to do!
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  • Option 2 definitely. I am not a big city girl though so I would not want to live in D.C., NYC, Boston, etc even if we had all the money in the world to spend.

    Also the cities you have listed in option 2 are still pretty big cities with things to do. We used to live 2 hours from Memphis and that is where we went to the zoo, children's museum, etc.

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  • #2 x10000
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    evelyn 4.2010 | will 1.2012 | baby BOY due 12.2014
    pregnant and/or breastfeeding since 2009.

  • One hands down...... Almost like what I have now. Wouldn't have it ant other way

     

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  • I consider all of the cities you listed in #2 to be larger cities. Although I'm not such a big fan of Albuquerque, there are some nice suburbs nearby.


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  • I would rather live in #2 and Dh would rather live in #1... we're having a hard time compromising.. 
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  • imagemeangene:

    I consider all of the cities you listed in #2 to be larger cities. Although I'm not such a big fan of Albuquerque, there are some nice suburbs nearby.


    They are a decent size, but not expensive.   

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  • Clearly in the minority, but number 1 for me. I live in a big city, and love all the action and how easy it is to get to everything!
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  • 1

    The last place we lived was more like #2, and I didn't like it

    We now live in 1, and the opportunities are too amazing to pass up

  • Option 2. I love Boston, but I hate living in a small house.
  • We live in one of the cities listed for option one and I love it! 
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  • imageMAMAxB:
    #2 x10000
    This!!! :) I love having a larger house, with more $$ and traveling a short distance to "do" things.
  • Hmm it would depend on the city. NYC or nearby and I would definitely prefer choice 1, and would sacrifice the space, etc... Otherwise option 2. 
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  • 2 for sure.  Those cities are huge to me! We live 30 minutes from Wal-Mart or a large grocery store then 2 hours away from Target, the mall, etc.  I'd love #2!
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  • Option 2 without a doubt! I live in a city that is probably about the same size as Memphis and I feel like I have the best of both worlds. We have a decent sized house and are going to be getting an even bigger one and have a good amount of fun money. We take lots of trips to Chicago (DH's family is there) and NY (my family is there) so we get to experience all the great things they have to offer on a regular basis. If we lived in one of those cities we probably wouldn't have enough money to visit the other frequently.  Plus living in a cheaper city we have enough money to take vacations to other cities to enjoy them too.  
  • Option 2, for sure. I grew up in a rural Oklahoma town, so I think that any of the places you listed in #2 are big cities. :) I don't think I'd like living in Boston/D.C./NYC/etc....
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  • imageAv8rEmily:
    Option 2.  My city is the size of the cities you listed and there is lots of thing to do!

    Yes, only we moved this year to an even smaller city and we're loving it.

    Stay at home mom to a house of boys: two amazing stepsons, 12 and 9, and our 4 year old.
  • Most definitely # 2.  I would never want to live in a big city, especially with small kids.  Totally not for me.  We live about 15 miles outside of downtown Philadelphia and it's perfect.  We're close enough to travel into the city to do things, but don't have to deal with the congestion, traffic, chaos, etc. on a daily basis that comes along with living in the city.  It's a great place to visit, but I love living in the suburbs.
  • 2 - definitely. I used to live in Tulsa, and I sincerely hope that we can move back there someday. There was plenty to do there, even if it wasn't up to big city standards. It was perfect to me. I loved that everything was close, but it didn't feel city crowded, if that makes sense.
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  • Not enough information. Totally depends on the specifics.
  • We are living more like Option#1 and we are so happy! Life experiences, fun adventures, easy access to the arts & culture around us have been the highlights of the last 6 years. We have a 2bed/1bath with ZERO closet space and no backyard but we are in the heart of a walkable city thus, never home for long periods of time anyway and we LOVE it!

    DH & I both have lived Option#2 our whole lives and left a huge house back in Texas when we moved here and honestly, we don't miss it, we don't regret it, and we don't see ourselves going back.  :)

    eclaire 9.10.06  diggy 6.2.11

  • We live Option 1 in an expensive city, in a small house now. That's how I grew up too. 

    I'd like to try #2, just to see what it's like.  

     

    Married 07.07.07. Mom to 3: Ruby 11/08 and Oliver & Austin 12/11
  • I choose #2.  Those are still sizable cities that will have lots of fun things to do on a daily basis.  For me, I would not compromise on my DD's education.  That is priority #1 for DH and I.  I would only want to live in the larger city if we had the income to enjoy it to the fullest and still be able to afford private schools if we choose.
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  • Hmm...where I live, the COL is probably in between the two groups of cities you describe, and we have a wonderful zoo, museums, theater company, ballet, symphony, opera, botanic gardens, aquarium (although I'm not a fan of that one), etc. Plus, almost any outdoor sport you can think of. If REI sells it, you can use it here. So I vote one and a half.
  • imageglowpoint:
    2 - definitely. I used to live in Tulsa, and I sincerely hope that we can move back there someday. There was plenty to do there, even if it wasn't up to big city standards. It was perfect to me. I loved that everything was close, but it didn't feel city crowded, if that makes sense.
    Same here! I also used to live in Tulsa. I loved it!
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  • #2.  That is pretty much what we have now.  But we're careful with our money so things like vacations aren't often at all.  In fact in 5 weeks DH and I are going on our first one together, ALONE, since our honeymoon 7 years ago. 
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  • imageMrs.Hizzo:
    Hmm...where I live, the COL is probably in between the two groups of cities you describe, and we have a wonderful zoo, museums, theater company, ballet, symphony, opera, botanic gardens, aquarium (although I'm not a fan of that one), etc. Plus, almost any outdoor sport you can think of. If REI sells it, you can use it here. So I vote one and a half.

    This is us as well (though we don't live in Colorado :-)).  We live 1.5 hours from the mountain, 1.5 hours from the beach, numerous waterways and even the desert.  Though we live in the suburbs, it is only a 20 minutes drive to downtown where there are a variety of cultural activities.  Though it is a medium sized city, I feel like we have the best of both worlds.

    DD #1 - 01.08
    DD #2 - 03.13
  • If I had to choose, I would take option 1. 

    Where I live now is an immediate suburb of a large city with a MCOL.  We are about 15 minutes from the city and it is accessible via car or transit, but we live in a SFH with great schools, walkable to a library, playgrounds, a little downtown etc.  So I feel like we have the perfect spot

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  • We currently do #1 almost exactly, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  We don't really have a strict budget, but even if we did, I would want to be in the same type of area.  I just took the girls to the Natural History Museum downtown on a whim the other day, and it's free.  We did meet friends for lunch on the way home, but if we were financially strapped, I could have skipped that part.  ;-)
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  • imageeaglesfan700:

    If I had to choose, I would take option 1. 

    Where I live now is an immediate suburb of a large city with a MCOL.  We are about 15 minutes from the city and it is accessible via car or transit, but we live in a SFH with great schools, walkable to a library, playgrounds, a little downtown etc.  So I feel like we have the perfect spot

    That's exactly us (well, we're about to move a mile down the road to this exact type of area).  It's like it's own little city, but really close (7 miles)  to a major city as well.   The schools are ranked as some of the best in the country.  To us, it's the best way to live.

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  • I totally vote for option 2.

    I like the idea of a small town feel and I'd rather live "below" our means then be on a tight budget, and have some room for fun stuff too.

    Mom to preemie b/g twins born 14 weeks early after 3 years of IF, 8 clomid cycles and 1 IVF. Lilypie Premature Baby tickers
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