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[/SIZE] Mywife and I are in our early 30’s. I’m apolice officer and she is a nurse. Wehave one child (toddler), and hope to add a second child soon. We currently live in the Phoenix area, andwhile we agree there is a lot to like, ten years in the desert has us seeking amove to a more refreshing, greener, cooler locale.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE] Weare considering the following areas: San Diego, Orange County (CA), San Antonio,Austin, Denver, St. Louis, North Carolina. We are both originally from southern California so we are very familiarwith all of the pros and cons of those areas. But we are seeking advice from others in the other places mentioned.
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Thatbeing said, here’s what we’re looking for…
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1. We’d like to be in close proximity toa major city that has some things to do. We love sports; specifically Baseball, Football and Hockey…so placeslike Denver and St. Louis have things that some others don’t. But Museums, Zoos, and other attractions areequally important, especially those that are great for families and kids.
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2. This might be a bit of a kicker…we’d like a little property. We want to be 30 minutes to 1 hour from theaforementioned amenities, but we’d still like to be out just-a-ways so we canhave a piece of property with 2+ acres. That’s not something you see everywhere when you’re talking suburbs ofmajor metro areas. But at the same timewe don’t want to be very rural…it would be nice to have decent options to goout to eat or take our kids to a swim class and other daily activities.
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So I know that’s a bit of a catch 22…butwe’re tired of being on top of or neighbors, and we’d like to have someproperty with maybe a couple horses or something.
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3. Ahh, yes…the weather debate. Coming from Southern CA and the beach weather, we know what greatweather is…we also know what you pay for that weather. The one thing I don’t want is long, snowywinters. Some snow…okay. The less humid the better…which is whereplaces like Phoenix and Denver are better than out east. I think we’re a bit flexible with theweather, but would like some insight on what it’s like in this area.
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4. Schools are important too. I knowCA and AZ aren’t known for great education programs…so most places have got tobe better than where we are now. I alsoput a lot of emphasis on parent involvement regarding education…but it would benice to have some good options for education.
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5. What would be the best time to visitthis area to get the best perspective on the weather?
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We know some places have things thatothers don’t. There are pros and conswith each of these cities. We’d have abudget of $250K-$350K…that won’t get you much in CA, but will get you more inother areas.
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[SIZE=3]Any insight would be very helpful and appreciated![/SIZE]
Sorry! I don't know what happened...it should have gone in like this...
My wife and I are in our early 30’s. I’m a police officer and she is a nurse. We have one child (toddler), and hope to add a second child soon. We currently live in the Phoenix area, and while we agree there is a lot to like, ten years in the desert has us seeking amove to a more refreshing, greener, cooler locale.
We are considering the following areas: San Diego, Orange County (CA), SanAntonio, Austin, Denver, St. Louis, North Carolina. We are both originally from southern California so we are very familiar with all of the pros and cons of those areas. But we are seeking advice from others in the other places mentioned.
That being said, here’s what we’re looking for…
1. We’d like to be in close proximity to a major city that has some things to do. We love sports; specifically Baseball, Football and Hockey…so places like Denver and St. Louis have things that some others don’t. But Museums, Zoos, and other attractions are equally important, especially those that are great for families and kids.
2. This might be a bit of a kicker…we’d like a little property. We want to be 30 minutes to 1 hour from the aforementioned amenities, but we’d still like to be out just-a-ways so we can have a piece of property with 2+ acres. That’s not something you see everywhere when you’re talking suburbs of major metro areas. But at the same time we don’t want to be very rural…it would be nice to have decent options to go out to eat or take our kids to a swim class and other daily activities.
So I know that’s a bit of a catch 22…butwe’re tired of being on top of or neighbors, and we’d like to have some property with maybe a couple horses or something.
3. Ahh, yes…the weather debate. Coming from Southern CA and the beach weather, we know what great weather is…we also know what you pay for that weather. The one thing I don’t want is long, snowy winters. Some snow…okay. The less humid the better…which is where places like Phoenix and Denver are better than out east. I think we’re a bit flexible with the weather, but would like some insight on what it’s like in this area.
4. Schools are important too. I know CA and AZ aren’t known for great education programs…so most places have got to be better than where we are now. I alsoput a lot of emphasis on parent involvement regarding education…but it would be nice to have some good options for education.
5. What would be the best time to visit the area to get the best perspective on the whole area?
We know some places have things that others don’t. There are pros and cons with each of these cities. We’d have abudget of $250K-$350K…that won’t get you much in CA, but will get you more in other areas.
Any insight would be very helpful and appreciated!!
1. We’d like to be in close proximity to a major city that has some things to do. We love sports; specifically Baseball, Football and Hockey…so places like Denver and St. Louis have things that some others don’t. But Museums, Zoos, and other attractions are equally important, especially those that are great for families and kids.
Coastal North Carolina does not have Major League sports. Wilmington has minor league baseball and soccer. I'd suggest looking at the Triangle area or Charlotte for Major League sports.
The unemployment in the coastal counties is around 9%, so you should be patient if you are seriously looking here.
The weather is great 9 months a year, but summer is very humid and over 90 degrees on most days. The best time to test your tolerance is July and August.
Property with 2+ acres is certainly available in your price range, but the more difficult part will be securing jobs from across the country. You would have to apply to individual city police departments. Unless you have some special skill like Spanish language fluency, your resume will be competing with locals. With high unemployment rates in much of NC and military down-sizing, there are plenty of locals competing for entry level police jobs.
If your desire is mainly to find somewhere cooler and greener, why not look at higher-altitude towns in Arizona, New Mexico or Colorado?
Hope this helps.
Last edited by goldenage1; 07-18-2013 at 07:48 PM..
GoldenAge gave you some great advice. I moved to Raleigh last year, after 25+ years in Phoenix, and we originally planned on moving to Wilmington, so I can give you some personal observations.
* Why didn't we move to Wilmington? Too small. By comparison to what we were used to, it would have been BIGTIME culture shock. With the sports teams, museums, etc. that you are looking for, it is not a good fit.
* The humidity in Raleigh is miserable in the summer, worse in Wilmington.
* We don't have kids, so school systems are not a big issue to us, however, I did hear a lot of negative about schools in Wilmington (and some not so great stuff in Raleigh/Durham, too). Considering that Phoenix has some good schools districts (Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert), I'd say yeah, you could do worse.
I can't comment on the property issue because the last thing we wanted to downsize into a property where somebody else took care of the maintenance.
There's plenty to like about Coastal NC, But in looking at your list, I don't see that it fits at all. Maybe Raleigh or Charlotte, but I'd agree with GoldenAge that (at first glance) other places seem more logical than NC.
And thanks for being a cop. Tough, often unappreciated job.
There's plenty to like about Coastal NC, But in looking at your list, I don't see that it fits at all. Maybe Raleigh or Charlotte,
Agreed. I though the OP should have posted in the general North Carolina forum, and that the Charlotte area would be more likely to fit their needs. I'd suggest looking east or south of Charlotte for an hour's drive. West and north of Charlotte there are some very expensive lake-front properties.
Thank you all so much for the replies...and my apologies for the computer gibberish in the OP
There are no "major cities" in NC near the coast. You might look near the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area in VA, or near Charleston, SC. One reason people like NC's beaches so much is that they are generally far from urban areas. Even Wilmington is a small city.
Did you intend to post in the Coastal subforum, or did you mean to post in the general NC one? I'd look into SC and VA, too, if the "big city" requirement is important.
If you are "set" on NC, then I would say look an hour or so east of Raleigh. That would put you about an hour and one half to the coast, an hour to big city. Acreage would not be an issue. Of course you have to find a job. Every community college in NC offers the basic course for law officers, then you have to be selected by a police department.
We met with our resource officer, just Thursday and he said that generally, every class at every college is full, and that 8 out of 30 get jobs, so that does not look that great.
Schools may or may not be ok. Just because they are brand new and huge means NOTHING. Check the NC Dept of Public Education Web site for data on county systems or specific schools.
We need competent police officers in New Bern, so bad. The force is a joke. Give New Bern a look, too!
Good Luck.
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