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Hi,
My husband & I are thinking of moving sometime in the next year or two, we are hoping to start a family & I really really want to be a SAHM. We live in Orange County, CA right now & the cost of living is just too much, we're barely making it with 2 incomes right now. However I love warm weather and have such a hard time being cold (have an electric blanket at work just to keep me warm...but it's almost always at least 72* inside :-P). So many of the places on the Top 100 lists seem to get so cold in the winter. Does anyone have some suggestions of places they live/lived & really enjoyed living there, where the cost of living is less that Orange County, but the weather doesn't get tooooooo cold in the winter?
I'm doubting if a place like this even exists, but we'll see...
I'm in a similar situation except where I live it does get cold in the winter. We want to relocate somewhere warm all the time, but with a reasonable cost of living and a good place to raise kids. I do consider where we live (in Missouri) a good place to raise our family, but we would like to be close to the ocean. The cost of living in our area is wonderful and I think it will be hard to find an area as inexpenisve, but still nice as what we have now. Good luck to you.
Yes, I'm going to miss the ocean. It's taken me several years to come to terms with the idea of moving away, but as prices keep going up I highly doubt I'll be able to be a SAHM while living in this area.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,761,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djntim1211
Hi,
My husband & I are thinking of moving sometime in the next year or two, we are hoping to start a family & I really really want to be a SAHM. We live in Orange County, CA right now & the cost of living is just too much, we're barely making it with 2 incomes right now. However I love warm weather and have such a hard time being cold (have an electric blanket at work just to keep me warm...but it's almost always at least 72* inside :-P). So many of the places on the Top 100 lists seem to get so cold in the winter. Does anyone have some suggestions of places they live/lived & really enjoyed living there, where the cost of living is less that Orange County, but the weather doesn't get tooooooo cold in the winter?
I'm doubting if a place like this even exists, but we'll see...
Savannha or Brunswick Georgia are great coastal towns that do not cost half what Cali cost. And yes, it does get cold for 2 months a year with lows usually in the 30s and highs in the 50s in January and Febuary. Also Jacksonville Florida is an option.
Try Florida, yes I know first thing people think is *gasp* hurricanes! Don't worry bout it. With hurricanes you have huge warnings, can prepare your house and leave if necessary.I lived in Fl for 24 years, got hit with one hurricane head on. Catagory 3 so winds up to like 130pmh.. house stood up fine, they're made of cement there. South west Fl has the only subtropical climate in the US, winters there don't usually get below 70 during the day. Its almost Feb and they're in the 80's.. Its warm year round, much cheaper than Cali and you're on the beach.
What kind of jobs do you need? This is a major factor. Florida's cost of living is high in comparison to wages.
I would look into TN(no state income tax, low property taxes) or NC. In Tn I would stay NE of Nashville- places like Cookeville, Crossville, Knoxville, Johnson City and the surrounding towns. To me the farther east TN the better. In NC I would look into the Raleigh/Durham areas, Greensboro, Hickory, and also Charlotte. These areas do have winter but they typically aren't too bad. The cost of living is lower than CA just make sure you can find good jobs.
Try Florida, yes I know first thing people think is *gasp* hurricanes! Don't worry bout it. With hurricanes you have huge warnings, can prepare your house and leave if necessary.I lived in Fl for 24 years, got hit with one hurricane head on. Catagory 3 so winds up to like 130pmh.. house stood up fine, they're made of cement there. South west Fl has the only subtropical climate in the US, winters there don't usually get below 70 during the day. Its almost Feb and they're in the 80's.. Its warm year round, much cheaper than Cali and you're on the beach.
We live on the east coast and we are close to the beach which is gorgeous.
I would definitely be concerned with finding a job in Florida. If you are retired it is great, but the market is pretty saturated down there. I would second Savannah as a great choice as well as Raleigh or Durham.
You may even look into South Texas, Mississippi, or Alabama. If you go far enough south in either of those states I would think the winters would be pretty managable. And again if you go far enough south you can have the beach. Of couse my personal fave is, as others have pointed out, Florida.
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It's taken me several years to come to terms with the idea of moving away, but as prices keep going up I highly doubt I'll be able to be a SAHM while living in this area.
Where are you in NC?
