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My family is Mexican and we've never had any problems in TX. We travelled extensively while in TX and never had any problems. My daughter went to school in TX and we loved it. Very family oriented.
There are alot of home school groups in TX also if you wanted to home school your children. I just really love it there and can't wait to go back.
I'm not quite sure about the textbook thing. The kids and I go to the library at least 4 times a month so they read up on topics that aren't as censored as in the schools. I think censoring has been around even when we were in school. The school system, no matter where you lived, had their own censoring. Since my kids and I are close, when something didn't sound right that they read in school, we would research and find out what the truth really was.
I'll leave it to others to give you advice about what cities and regions are more cosmopolitan/artistic/hip/down to earth/cheaper…etc. However, as to climate let me just point out a few things to offer some perspective:
I moved from the West Coast (central California) to the East Coast (Melbourne, Florida). My reasons were weather/climate too: As a huge beach/sun/sand family, coastal central California was just way to cold much of the year for us. We wanted the heat/sun/ and warm ocean waters that California never had...so we headed for Florida. The May Gray, June Gloom…etc is a real spoiler on the coast of central/northern California - much more than people realize. If you’re thinking of the typical beach day along most of the East Coast from NYC southward in summer - with a sunny 85 F day and warm ocean waters – think again. Often a beach day (meaning it’s above 72 F - lol) in coastal central/northern California is cut short when the marine layer/stratus moves and in ten minutes your freezing as a cool damp air mass chills you and the temp falls to 58 F. Add in - that the Pacific Ocean is freezing cold compared to the Atlantic…and you often have anything but beach weather. So if you truly like the beach…my advice is head to far southern California (LA, San Diego…etc)…or stay on the East Coast from NYC southward. If you seek sunshine, warm beach weather, and warm ocean waters…coastal central/northern California is not for you.
Next, we did a great deal of research about climate before we moved. We wanted beach weather and warm ocean waters 12 months a year…so Florida was the only choice in the USA. However, I learned a lot about the climate of the USA in general. In the end, I found that when comparing many areas of the USA in terms of climate/weather everything in a trade off:
SUNSHINE: The Pacific Northwest has relative mild winters (say Seattle compared to Chicago, Denver, Boston)…but the Pacific Northwest is the cloudiest/gloomiest/overcast climate in the USA. People who seek sunshine will really be unhappy in Seattle, Portland, or far northern California. Most of the East Coast from Connecticut/Long Island southward is far sunnier. Here is a map hours of sunshine for December:
COLD: Cold in the USA is shaped like a wide U. The interior is very cold…the coasts are milder. Here is a map of average January mean temperatures (the average of the high and low). Florida is the warmest. It's really only the southern Califorina coast (for example Long Beach has a high of about 66 F in January), and the Gulf/south Atlantic Coast (New Orleans high of 64 F /Charleston SC high of 60 F in January) that are semi-warm. While the middle East Coast from NYC to Virginia is cold in Dec/Jan/Feb…it are still far warmer than many areas of the USA like much of the interior West, Midwest, Great Lakes, and New England (yellow dot is NYC):
SEA TEMPS: This is just a side note…remember the Pacific is so coooold! The warmest seas are found off the lower East Coast and Gulf Coast. The Pacific off the central CA coast is 58 F in summer....it's 70 off NYC/Long Island. Much of the middle Atlantic Coast from New Jersey south to VA is often 78 F in summer...while from South Carolina southward the Atlantic is over 80 F...while the Pacific is closer to 66 off LA or San Diego - even in summer:
Lastly, the irony of much of the climate data that I found…shows the middle East Coast is still one of the best middle of the road climates in terms of sunshine, cold weather/hot weather/, warm ocean waters...and rainfall.
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Wow, Trade Wind! Thanks for ALL of this helpful information. Double wow. I'll have to let this marinate in my mind for a while. It gives me a new appreciation for the East Coast in terms of sunshine. Florida is an interesting option, except I think the unemployment rate in a lot of desirable areas - not to mention the lagging housing market - give me cause for concern. But again, very, very helpful information. Thanks!!
I'm not quite sure about the textbook thing. The kids and I go to the library at least 4 times a month so they read up on topics that aren't as censored as in the schools. I think censoring has been around even when we were in school. The school system, no matter where you lived, had their own censoring. Since my kids and I are close, when something didn't sound right that they read in school, we would research and find out what the truth really was.
donie1, I like your approach to supplementing your kids' education by trips to the library. I hope I can be as vigilant about my kid's education as you clearly are about yours. That's good to hear that you never had any trouble traveling throughout TX. I also have been to different cities in TX (Houston, Amarillo, Austin, El Paso) and always have enjoyed myself. People in Austin seemed very, very nice. I wish TX didn't have a governor who threatened seccession and weird stuff like that, because the rest of the country would have a much warmer reaction to the state otherwise. I'm a huge Cormac McCarthy fan, and have been fascinated by the state ever since I read All the Pretty Horses. Maybe it's worth another trip down there to get a better feel for it. Thanks for your thoroughly helpful posts!
I've spent nearly ten years in a major U.S. East Coast city (which will remain nameless) and long for nicer people and more wide-open vistas. My wife and I recently had a kid, so our situation has changed, i.e. it was fine living in this super-expensive city when it was just the two of us, and it was marginally fun, but now I'd like to be able to take my kid to the beach whenever we felt like it, and I want the kiddo to be surrounded by more down-to-earth people. And I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a small apartment anymore.
We are an ethnically diverse family, so the new place we move would have to be open to diversity. Also, good schools are key, but as my youngin' won't be in school for another few years, we have time to figure that one out. As my screen name suggests, I love the West Coast - I once lived in California and liked it, though it wasn't right for me at the time. Moving out there again (while a dream come true) might be rough because our families are on the East Coast, and I hate to take the tyke away from family. I know people say that with technology being what it is, you can always hop on a plane and be anywhere in a matter of hours, but to me, the reality is that you end up only seeing family twice a year (at best) which isn't enough.
But seriously, if I have to sit through another pummeling winter or another muggy summer, I think I'll go insane.
Has anyone else ever been in this situation, or are you currently in this situation? What did you do to resolve it, or do you have plans to do so? Is there some great place I'm missing on the East Coast that resembles a West Coast town?
Also, I'm really done with the whole megalopolis thing; I'd prefer to live in a mid-range city in the future. And I realize I'm asking a lot because I'm a long-time viewer of city-data forums, and I know there's no magic answer. I'd just appreciate anyone's wisdom on this. Thanks in advance.
I'm arriving late in the thread but I would highly recommend checking out Carrboro, NC (part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro). I think it could be your east coast mecca! The town prides itself on diversity, a progressive mindset, it has excellent public schools, low crime, a moderate four-season climate, friendly community-involved residents and a reasonable cost of living...not to mention close proximity to family on the east coast. Good luck!
I'm arriving late in the thread but I would highly recommend checking out Carrboro, NC (part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metro). I think it could be your east coast mecca! The town prides itself on diversity, a progressive mindset, it has excellent public schools, low crime, a moderate four-season climate, friendly community-involved residents and a reasonable cost of living...not to mention close proximity to family on the east coast. Good luck!
Thanks, kyle19125, that's helpful. I'll look into it. A few other people have mentioned the Research Triangle area of NC, so I'll have to look into it a bit more.
Quick question: should I stop whining and just move out West and throw caution to the wind? It's what I dream of doing, but I moved out West in my 20's and found that after a year, I really missed my family and moved back.
Here's my dilemma: I love the landscape out West and miss it almost every day. The beaches of Southern California are second to none, in my opinion. But I love my family too, and miss them when I'm far away. Ugh. Has anyone ever been in this predicament before?
Quick question: should I stop whining and just move out West and throw caution to the wind? It's what I dream of doing, but I moved out West in my 20's and found that after a year, I really missed my family and moved back.
Here's my dilemma: I love the landscape out West and miss it almost every day. The beaches of Southern California are second to none, in my opinion. But I love my family too, and miss them when I'm far away. Ugh. Has anyone ever been in this predicament before?
Yes--west coaster here, and we miss it a lot. But, like you, family and many good friends are on the east coast, and I can't tell you how nice it has been to be able to hop in the car to visit family, and not have to pick and choose which family events we go to. For now, the pros of living on the east coast outweigh the cons, and frankly I suspect we would miss family much more if we moved back west now than when we first moved out there. That being said, I think if you live anywhere longer than a 5-6 hour drive from family, you might as well live wherever you want because you'll probably get in a plane to visit them regardless.
The Great Recession will end someday, but not today.
If you have a job, and a paycheck, hang on to that job. Least wise until the Left Coast employment picks up and the housing market stabilizes. I live in Oregon, and we still see a few economic refugees seeking a better life in rainy PNW rather than continuing to survive in SoCal even with the SoCal weather and beaches.
Don't fret that your indecision is making you a 'wimp'--- just blame it on the economics of working and living in SoCal at this current time.
(This presumes, of course, you occupation isn't in the Media production industry which is pretty much identified with Hollywood and SoCal. If your job is, ignore my comments.)
Yes--west coaster here, and we miss it a lot. But, like you, family and many good friends are on the east coast, and I can't tell you how nice it has been to be able to hop in the car to visit family, and not have to pick and choose which family events we go to. For now, the pros of living on the east coast outweigh the cons, and frankly I suspect we would miss family much more if we moved back west now than when we first moved out there. That being said, I think if you live anywhere longer than a 5-6 hour drive from family, you might as well live wherever you want because you'll probably get in a plane to visit them regardless.
Thanks, cantthinkofone. Now I know I'm not the only person with a West Coast heart and an East Coast family tree. I flew out to SoCal earlier this year and love, love, loved it, but I wonder if the reason I love it so much is because I'm not often there. Maybe I should just vacation out there. I agree with your assessment that if you're more than 6 hours away you may as well live anywhere, very well put.
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