Relocating but don't know where..help!? (job, rentals, cheaper, school)

[marions22]

Hello everyone,

I have "toured" around the United States on Google Earth, looked at the top 25 largest cities in the US on City Data and made a head to head comparison on Excel, researched endlessly on my husbands career field through tons of magazines and sites, and my husband and I STILL can not decide where to move too.

We are newlyweds from Chicago Illinois (currently) but within the last year we have lived in Seattle then before that in San Diego. The only reason we came back to Chicago was to finish our Associates degrees and they will be completed by the end of this month and we will be ready to move in August, however, as you see, we are without a destination, yikes!

Here is some info. on what we desire:

- IT careers (Information Technology)
- A city
- Rent in the city limits for an apt or house for $850 or less. This is a tough one, but it does exist
- Near water or mountains (preferable water). We love hiking, camping, spelunking, diving, snorkeling, and just about anything outdoors. The water out west was always too cold and harsh for us so we prefer warm clearer water
- Lenient on weather.
- Somewhere safe enough to take walks at night
- Pet-friendly.
- We like to avoid high college areas or areas with alot of military. (He used to be a Marine until he finished service last year and just wants to be away from it)

If anyone has any friendly input on our situation please respond. Were pretty open to places, except Miami. That was our original choice but after visiting there we decided it was not for us because it was too hot and (hate to say this) english felt like a second language, which my husband can not tolerate. It's a terrible thing to say and it should honestly be on the list above bc how frustrated he gets. NO he is not racist but after being in so many countries for so long he is ready to just feel normal for a while, so please leave any hate comments off this thread due to this statement!

Thank you for your time and were looking forward to suggestions/questions/comments!

[5thgenSF]

i think you need to find a job somewhere first.

[scratchNsniff]

Yes, let the job make your decision for you, if possible. You could find 100 potential places and go crazy trying to weigh the pros and cons of each one.

[marions22]

Finding a job is definitely one of the top priorities when looking to move. We certainly did not want to look at 25 cities for their job opportunities but we have done Charleston, NYC, Manchester, Boston, Pensacola, San Jose, and Houston. Although we did factor that in originally, we decided that the career was going to have to take place after the bachelors and we have a guaranteed income no matter what through the military and for schooling. For buying a house after a few years we want to be happy somewhere and that place where we are happy have a workforce that fits our needs. I know the top ten places for IT right now but none of them really fit us. EX: Boston is waaayy to cold for me, Nashville is too small and away from water.. did I mention why water was a big deal to me?!? Half of my life is dedicated to my love for diving. It's the industry I want to get into for my personal career. Mixing a techi with a diver is a whole mess for the living environment.

The question that we struggle answering is:
Where is a safe city by an ocean and close enough to mountains/desert to be able to go on day trips hiking and camping?

It would appear our answer is obviously San Diego or Seattle, but we want to branch out somewhere new. Maybe we ran ourselves out of options for our lifestyle needs but we want to exhaust all avenues before returning to one of them...

[scratchNsniff]

Portland?

[sll3454]

Originally Posted by marions22

The question that we struggle answering is:
Where is a safe city by an ocean and close enough to mountains/desert to be able to go on day trips hiking and camping?

Ocean, mountains, and desert: Los Angeles (or Pasadena) - but housing is more than you want to pay. Go farther inland and it's cheaper, but also hotter, smoggier, farther from most of the jobs, and you don't have the big city.

Do you want mountains and desert, or is that mountains or desert? Desert means you'll be in the west, but if you want warmer water, that takes you east.

[warren zee]

Originally Posted by marions22

Hello everyone,

I have "toured" around the United States on Google Earth, looked at the top 25 largest cities in the US on City Data and made a head to head comparison on Excel, researched endlessly on my husbands career field through tons of magazines and sites, and my husband and I STILL can not decide where to move too.

We are newlyweds from Chicago Illinois (currently) but within the last year we have lived in Seattle then before that in San Diego. The only reason we came back to Chicago was to finish our Associates degrees and they will be completed by the end of this month and we will be ready to move in August, however, as you see, we are without a destination, yikes!

Here is some info. on what we desire:

- IT careers (Information Technology)
- A city
- Rent in the city limits for an apt or house for $850 or less. This is a tough one, but it does exist
- Near water or mountains (preferable water). We love hiking, camping, spelunking, diving, snorkeling, and just about anything outdoors. The water out west was always too cold and harsh for us so we prefer warm clearer water
- Lenient on weather.
- Somewhere safe enough to take walks at night
- Pet-friendly.
- We like to avoid high college areas or areas with alot of military. (He used to be a Marine until he finished service last year and just wants to be away from it)

If anyone has any friendly input on our situation please respond. Were pretty open to places, except Miami. That was our original choice but after visiting there we decided it was not for us because it was too hot and (hate to say this) english felt like a second language, which my husband can not tolerate. It's a terrible thing to say and it should honestly be on the list above bc how frustrated he gets. NO he is not racist but after being in so many countries for so long he is ready to just feel normal for a while, so please leave any hate comments off this thread due to this statement!

Thank you for your time and were looking forward to suggestions/questions/comments!

I do but it's not anything like Miami. Wilkes-Barre PA. Not a big city but a cool, arty, rust belt rebound vibe.

Rentals in your price range are abundant. Beautiful historic district. Surrounded by mountains and nearby lakes, and rivers. Everyone Kayaks on the Susquehanna. There is hiking all over - three state parks are near by. Camping is popular and Harvey's Lake is 15 minutes away.

Google these places and see what you think. Check out Wilkes-Barre, Harvey's Lake, Kingston, Forty-Fort, and Wyoming PA on city data.

You can buy a nice house here for under 100K and a city loft with river views, granite kitchens and gleaming hardwood for 150K.

You can rent for under 700 a month. Heat included.

If you have questions send me a DM.

I am a transplant and I love it here!

[apanda]

Originally Posted by marions22

... Charleston, NYC, Manchester, Boston, Pensacola, San Jose, and Houston. ...

Pensacola will be hot and is a Navy town. Houston is hot and you will feel like your are in a foreign country unless you are in high-priced white-bread suburbia on the outskirts of town, which is not what you wanted. Not to mention if you are downtown you will be very far away from nature.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by marions22

and my husband and I STILL can not decide where to move too.

You're not having trouble deciding where to move to. That would suggest that you have two or more cities and can't decide on one. But it sounds like you have no cities. And that makes perfect sense because not many cities match your criteria.

The warm, clear, blue water can only be found in Florida or the gulf coast.

Since you want mostly English speaking and warm clear water, the answer is clear.... Clearwater, FL.
I didn't suggest Tampa because of the large AFB there.

you're not going to find mountains in Clearwater but there are some cute hills in the area to the north and you can be in the north GA or weestern NC mountains in about 8 hours by car. TPA is a great airport with numerous flights (thanks to tourism) and is easily accessible from clearwater so you can fly out to some mountainous place pretty easily.

Your big problem with that area is going to be finding a job. That's why I left.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by marions22

Finding a job is definitely one of the top priorities when looking to move.

NO. Find a job is THE priority when looking to move.

You have flexibility in where to look for a job (subject to skill/competition)....
but once you have a solid offer the looking is over.

The rest of your wish list/pipe dream will have to be worked in around the edges.
In a few years you can repeat the process.