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My husband and I are planning to move from Glendale, AZ in the next 5 years. We have lived in Glendale for our whole lives. Any advice on cities to consider will be much appreciated!
About us:
*no kids, just dogs
*middle-aged
*management jobs in call center/customer service so availability of call center jobs would be ideal
Here's some of what we are looking for out of an ideal place to live (we know we won't get everything).
*Safe place to live - this is relative to Glendale/Phoenix
*Small to Mid-sized city - large enough to be close to necessities & jobs, but with a smaller-town feel
*Outdoor lifestyle; walking, bicycling, and camping within a 1-2hr drive
*Mild winters with less than a foot of snow per year on average.
*Summers not more than 85-90 degrees on average.
*Rain less than 50" per year
*No deserts, or plains - I'd prefer rolling hills or mountain areas with rivers and/or ocean, plus lots of grass & trees
So far we have Salem, OR on our potential list but we are open to anything at this point! Thank you in advance!
My husband and I are planning to move from Glendale, AZ in the next 5 years. We have lived in Glendale for our whole lives. Any advice on cities to consider will be much appreciated!
About us:
*no kids, just dogs
*middle-aged
*management jobs in call center/customer service so availability of call center jobs would be ideal
Here's some of what we are looking for out of an ideal place to live (we know we won't get everything).
*Safe place to live - this is relative to Glendale/Phoenix
*Small to Mid-sized city - large enough to be close to necessities & jobs, but with a smaller-town feel
*Outdoor lifestyle; walking, bicycling, and camping within a 1-2hr drive
*Mild winters with less than a foot of snow per year on average.
*Summers not more than 85-90 degrees on average.
*Rain less than 50" per year
*No deserts, or plains - I'd prefer rolling hills or mountain areas with rivers and/or ocean, plus lots of grass & trees
So far we have Salem, OR on our potential list but we are open to anything at this point! Thank you in advance!
Call center/customer service jobs are abundant here in Nebraska particularly in Lincoln and Omaha and are also abundant in Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND. This is where your employment prospects are probably best. However none of the cities would meet your criteria about climate (winters are harsh, summers are harsh too) or plains. So I would say the Pacific Northwest (between the mountains and the coast - the mountains get FEET of snow each year and eastern Oregon/Washington has hot summers and cold winters and is not as mild) - but the economy is bad and it can be very expensive. The rain might be a little much too (not so much feet of rain but a slow steady gray drizzle). Maybe things are improving but these are not the best states to find employment in. New Hampshire has a pretty good economy but it might have too much snow. There should be jobs in southern NH as this is now part of the Boston suburbs. Beautiful, lots of trees and grass, and close to both the mountains and the ocean. You should try coastal New England because it will be milder and less snow than inland - the economy in some of these spots are hit and miss, cost of living may vary widely so I would encourage you to post in the state forums of states that interest you. So the list of states would be Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Good luck!
Wow, thank you for these ideas! I'll check them out right away.
I was looking predominantly at the pacific NW, but the job outlook definitely worries me, as does the "gloom" since I've only lived in the Phoenix area.
I also was thinking about Southern Missouri (or somewhere similar) but the heat/humidity combination and mosquitoes might be too much for me.
We are just going to pull a list together and start travelling to these different cities/states to help make a more educated decision.
I'd recommend North Carolina as there are quite a number of call centers there. I'm a big fan of Greensboro and Winston Salem (twin cities) in the piedmont section of the state, which feature the rolling hills and extensive greenery you're looking for. I would say the crime rate is much lower than Phoenix, particularly in areas you would choose to live. The lifestyle is very much outdoor oriented as you'll see many residents out walking, running or biking. There are many opportunities for outdoor recreation close by as well, with the Blue Ridge Mountains just a bit over an hour away from Winston Salem. In terms of climate, it's pretty evenly distributed among the four seasons. Snow tends to be light and occurs once or twice per season. Summers are warm as expected, averaging a high of around 85 during June, July and August. Falls are beautiful, lasting longer than most areas of the country. The area also meets your rain/precipitation quota, around 40 inches per year.
I think that unless she lived in Asheville/the NC/TN mountains, both SC and NC would be way too hot and humid in the summer for her tastes. The NC/TN mountains would probably be too cold in the winter for her tastes. She is basically asking for the impossible. If you want a mild climate move to California. But it doesn't sound like she'd want the other problems and population density associated therewith. Without making some significant tradeoffs, what she is seeking just does not exist, at least in the United States with our generally humid continental (read hot summers, cold winters) climate.
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