Whats the best determining factor in choosing a new place to move? (adapt, job)
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I've been trying to decide where I want to move for over a year now. Every time I find somewhere I like, some 'big' factor plays in that makes me change my mind. Usually finances. Sometimes weather. Most recently city infrastructure. I know I'm not going to find anywhere perfect. I'm willing to adapt to weather, find roommates to lower living costs, etc. But almost everywhere I look I feel like when talking to locals nobody likes it. I want to move somewhere where most people are happy to be there. Is that possible?
Most recently and for several months I was looking at Providence. But apparently the roads in RI are some of the worst in the country. I don't know how much that's exaggerated, but I definitely don't want to live somewhere where I'm driving on terrible roads all the time.
I have no family so I'm not held anywhere, I'm going back to school online and I currently work as a preschool teacher but it's not the career I plan to stay in so I'm not confined to any particular region for work.
What should my method be? Should I make a list of cities? Pros and cons? Things I want? I had planned to move in the next few months but I have no idea where I would go.
Everyplace I've lived has had people complaining about how bad things are. The standard trope is "things were so much better X years ago, now it's terrible." Basically, there are unhappy people everywhere.
No one can tell you what's important to you. Make a list of your top 5 non-negotiables then rate places against these. If you end up with ties then write down your top 5 nice to haves as tie breakers.
Everyplace I've lived has had people complaining about how bad things are. The standard trope is "things were so much better X years ago, now it's terrible." Basically, there are unhappy people everywhere.
No one can tell you what's important to you. Make a list of your top 5 non-negotiables then rate places against these. If you end up with ties then write down your top 5 nice to haves as tie breakers.
I agree people are gonna be unhappy everywhere. And I think Americans are unhappier in general because the way the economy is going, global and National events etc. you are not going to get around these things.
Everyplace I've lived has had people complaining about how bad things are. The standard trope is "things were so much better X years ago, now it's terrible." Basically, there are unhappy people everywhere.
No one can tell you what's important to you. Make a list of your top 5 non-negotiables then rate places against these. If you end up with ties then write down your top 5 nice to haves as tie breakers.
I totally agree with this.
It reminds me of the saying "everywhere you go, there you are." Or something simillar to that effect. In other words, you can take the person out of the situation, but the new situation won't fix the person.
Folks find things to complain about--everywhere. I met folks complaining in Hawaii, in San Diego, in the Bahamas, etc, etc. Paradise apparently is not enough for many people. LOL
But almost everywhere I look I feel like when talking to locals nobody likes it. I want to move somewhere where most people are happy to be there. Is that possible?
You know the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words." Complaining about things is a national pastime, but when people are really dissatisfied about somewhere, they move somewhere else. Look at the places that are experiencing domestic net outflows, and those will be the places that are, at least on some measures, objectively undesirable. Now, look at places that are experiencing domestic net inflows, and those are the places that are at least perceived as having the grass be greener.
All that said, what truly matters is what is important to you. Figure out what those things are. Weather. Taxes. Infrastructure. Political climate. Walkability. Crime rates. Cultural amenities. Airline service. Topography. Population density. And so on and so on and so on. Figure out which attributes are the most important to you. Then figure out which cities have those attributes in the greatest abundance. Once you've got your list, then you can work on narrowing it down.
Everyplace I've lived has had people complaining about how bad things are. The standard trope is "things were so much better X years ago, now it's terrible." Basically, there are unhappy people everywhere.
No one can tell you what's important to you. Make a list of your top 5 non-negotiables then rate places against these. If you end up with ties then write down your top 5 nice to haves as tie breakers.
Ok non-negotiables. Damn I'll have to figure out what those are, I know one, but I'm pretty flexible on everything else.
You know the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words." Complaining about things is a national pastime, but when people are really dissatisfied about somewhere, they move somewhere else. Look at the places that are experiencing domestic net outflows, and those will be the places that are, at least on some measures, objectively undesirable. Now, look at places that are experiencing domestic net inflows, and those are the places that are at least perceived as having the grass be greener.
All that said, what truly matters is what is important to you. Figure out what those things are. Weather. Taxes. Infrastructure. Political climate. Walkability. Crime rates. Cultural amenities. Airline service. Topography. Population density. And so on and so on and so on. Figure out which attributes are the most important to you. Then figure out which cities have those attributes in the greatest abundance. Once you've got your list, then you can work on narrowing it down.
I feel like that will stick me with places I can't afford, but ok, I will make a list and see what I can figure out.
I don't know about you but I'd sure like to own a house outright. Then you can truly say that it's yours. There sure are some nice places where you can get a house for 150k and maybe do a little work on it.
No matter where you live it's still the good old USA and the American Dream is still very much alive.
Move some place where most people are happy? Yeah, that isn't a realistic goal at all, unless you have nearly everything in common with them. If you are moving some place where they have an influx of new people moving in, it is much easier, as those that have lived in a place nearly forever will not be able to give you an accurate review of their city, as they usually either blindly love a place, or just hate it there because they feel trapped and can't get out.
Yes, you'll have to make a list of what is most important to you. Definitely use those websites, at least 3 of them, and run the COL in each area, as many make a mistake of ignoring that. You'll be checking to see what the wages are in the area, and a good place to check are the job websites, even the job service for the state can be helpful.
Always be careful of average anything, as they can grossly under or over estimate the reality. If weather is important, watch the weather channel for that area and see what the current weather is, as most areas do not match up with those averages taken over the last few years.
Be careful of where you will physically be located as in a rental or in purchasing. Always compare all the prices, as if you are looking on the low end, and there is a very high end price range with several in the middle, that low end is most likely not a place you want to be living.
We learned a lot of things the hard way. If after two years you don't like where you are living, you probably never will, or that has been our experience.
I read somewhere once that you should find a place that you are running to, rather than choosing to live somewhere because you are running from where you currently live. I accidentally found a place (but not the house) that I loved several years ago. It's in the mountains of NC. I hated my house, but overall loved the mountain neighborhood I lived in. I made some good friends there. I had to move away because of my dad's dementia and his need for more care than we could provide to him. He passed away in February of this year and we've been getting his house ready to put on the market. It is 3 doors away from our old house up there. We've spent a lot of time on the mountain so far this year and realized just how much we've missed living there (we couldn't spend too much time away from my dad before he passed away). So our plan is to move back up there in a year or so, and I am really looking forward to it.
We've moved 3 times in the last 7 years. I couldn't find a place that I loved that much, after spending 14 years in the house we owned up until 7 years ago.
The difference is, I knew what state I wanted to be in, just not exactly WHERE in the state I wanted to live the rest of my life.
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