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My wife and I are both recent college graduates and are looking at starting a new life elsewhere. We're currently in South Austin, TX and we are currently looking at relocating. We've already done some research as to where we'd like to go but we don't know too many people from these areas to get an idea of what it would be like to live there. We'd like to move to one of the following states:
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Washington
Minnesota
Oregon
California
South Dakota
Nebraska
Iowa
Wisconsin
Utah
Nevada
Illinois
Wyoming
New York
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Neither my wife and I really like to go out that much and we're both usually in bed by 10pm even on Saturday nights. We both really enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking and such. So access to these activities is a pretty big deal. Also, being in Austin where it's really hot, we're looking for a place that's a little more dry and if not more dry than a little colder. Also, we're not looking to move to a major metropolitan area. A city of about 50,000 to 250,000 would be an ideal place for us and a low crime rate is a MUST. Despite what you may think we're not total introverts and would like to make a couple of friends, so a place where the people are friendly and welcoming would be ideal also.
Any help is apprecated, thanks guys. I know this is a lot to ask.
Last edited by GlacierTuxedo; 02-22-2013 at 06:28 PM..
I don't think most of Iowa or Illinois fits your bill to be honest. MAYBE some of the cities near the Mississippi River, but even then? Nah. Same as Nebraska IMO.
Not a long drive to Minneapolis either or Canada if you want to go. UM-Duluth is there with over 10,000 students too. Area is VERY outdoorsy. Only problem is that it gets pretty ****ing cold in the winter, something you will definitely not be accustomed to from Texas.
I know there beautiful areas in places like Main, New Hampshire, Vermont, Arizona, New Mexico, California, etc but I'm not very familiar with them.
[quote=GlacierTuxedo;28374483]
Neither my wife and I really like to go out that much and we're both usually in bed by 10pm even on Saturday nights. We both really enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking and such. So access to these activities is a pretty big deal. Also, being in Austin where it's really hot, we're looking for a place that's a little more dry and if not more dry than a little colder. Also, we're not looking to move to a major metropolitan area. A city of about 50,000 to 250,000 would be an ideal place for us and a low crime rate is a MUST. Despite what you may think we're not total introverts and would like to make a couple of friends, so a place where the people are friendly and welcoming would be ideal also.[/QUOTE
Check out Blacksburg, Virginia in the foot hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a nice, safe small city (45K) that reads larger since it's a college town (Virginia Tech) and has tons of nearby hiking/kayaking opportunities.
The wife and I did some intensive research yesterday and eliminated and added a few possibilities.
marothisu,
We did some research on most of the midwest and decided that it wasn't a good fit for us. We've taken off Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, and Nebraska. We've also taken off New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Nevada. New Mexico we decided against due to the increasing crime rates in the states. Oklahoma, we've found that no city in that state really fits our bill. Wyoming would be very nice but there aren't really any opportunities there and we're both looking for a place that offers steady employment. We've decided on the same thing regarding Nevada.
Neither my wife and I wanted to move to the Minneapolis-St.Paul area but Duluth does look pretty nice. At the same time, I've noticed it's latitude and location by Lake Superior and I can imagine that the winters are very, very cold which seems to be the only drawback. We'll definitely keep it in mind. Once we narrow our choices down, we're going to visit the cities we've chosen and check it out for ourselves. We're both just tired of Austin and Texas in genral.
kyle,
Believe it or not, Blacksburg VA was actually recommended to us by a friend of our's who went to Virginia Tech. She says it's a realy nice place with a lot of outdoor activities and gorgeous countryside. My wife however wasn't too interested in moving to Virginia. She doesn't like the "traditional South" which is why I didn't list really any place below the Mason-Dixon line. However, I'll try to keep her mind open to it. Like I said, the only places I'm uninterested in moving to are large cities with high crime rates.
I appreciate the responses guys, please keep them coming if you have any suggestions!
I agree with your analysis of the Midwest, although I still think parts of Minnesota or Michigan would be good. They are very outdoorsy there. By the way, my dad is from Los Angeles originally...grew up with a cabin at Yosemite, but he still puts northern Minnesota up there as one of the most beautiful areas of the US.
Otherwise, yeah part of upstate New York is definitely good BUT some of the places in upstate new york also get a ton of snow, even more than a lot of Minnesota.
I don't think you should be put off by it though, especially if you're the outdoors type. Snow packed stuff can be very, very beautiful. It's only when there's a ton of wind that you want to kill yourself.
We definitely wouldn't mind a little cold weather but it would be difficult to get used to. I googled some pictures of North Minnesota and found many of them breathtaking. Definitely a place I could live for a while. We've both lived our entires lives in South/Southeast Texas and so we're realy used to the mild winters and hot summers.
The only concern I would have with NY is the cost of living. Same thing with New England in general.
I currently work for Texas Parks and Wildlife. I have two derees in Agriculture and Sociology. I also hold a certificate in GIS. My wife just recently completed her degree in Public Administration this past December. So honestly I'd be looking for work for a local or state level job in Parks/Wildlife/Recreation but I'm open minded. As long as I'm not working in sales I'm fine.
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