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I am in my last year of University currently with a job in IT and moving to a job in Software Development in the coming months so I plan to stay where I am right now; this thread is for looking at suggestions 1+ year down the line.
My age will be 22/23 and my SO will be 21 or 22. We are looking most likely to relocate out of state to find a lower cost of living and escape the weather here, and hopefully find her a job so I am going to lay out some criteria for suggestions of regions, states, metro areas etc. you might have. I look forward to hearing your input
Requirements:
--Generally looking for something at least slightly warmer than central Illinois. Less snow/ice preferably, though not real huge on moving South for a variety of reasons including climate.
--For metro areas; not real picky about size though I generally favor midsize cities starting at around 100k, anywhere with decent cultural amenities, especially music programs such as symphony orchestras would be a huge plus.
--Looking for a state that gives at least some priority to education. My significant other is in the music education field so she'll be looking for schools to direct a band in. Obviously preference given to areas with good arts programs.
--Of course somewhere with relatively low crime
Preferences (not deal-breakers):
--Would prefer somewhere politically moderate or apolitical in the public sphere
--Infrastructure maintenance a plus; well maintained roads etc.
--Large selection of restaurants
Hopefully this is a little to go on, I am in a bit of a hurry now but I will add criteria to this list as it comes to me. If you have more questions or need clarification, just ask. Feel free to suggest states if you can't think of metro areas. Thanks
I know, its been hard. I don't usually like to pester the forum if I can't figure it out on my own at first. I feel like I might have to compromise on the climate point but its really hard on my girlfriend for health reasons. I will consider your suggestions for sure, though.
I would say somewhere in Colorado. It is so gorgeous and has warmer weather much of the year. South but not too far south. It seems like it's relatively politically moderate. Tons of cultural opportunities..
DC fits almost all of it, except the "apolitical" piece, of course. It's surprisingly not something that comes up in daily life though, unless you're in the thick of it for work. I'd look at the Virginia side. Arlington is super popular with recent grads, and Arlington/Fairfax/Loudoun counties all have superb education systems. This is one of the few areas actively recruiting teachers.
The downside is cost. Expect to spend up to $2200 for a one bedroom apartment in popular areas. Minimum for a decent 1 bedroom place in a safe area is around $1200. Traffic is rough too--which is why people pay a premium for convenient locations.
DC fits almost all of it, except the "apolitical" piece, of course. It's surprisingly not something that comes up in daily life though, unless you're in the thick of it for work. I'd look at the Virginia side. Arlington is super popular with recent grads, and Arlington/Fairfax/Loudoun counties all have superb education systems. This is one of the few areas actively recruiting teachers.
The downside is cost. Expect to spend up to $2200 for a one bedroom apartment in popular areas. Minimum for a decent 1 bedroom place in a safe area is around $1200. Traffic is rough too--which is why people pay a premium for convenient locations.
I agree mostly but would also encourage checking out the Maryland suburbs of DC such as Silver Spring where housing is quite a bit more affordable. Maryland ranks very highly in terms of public education funding and their commitment to providing arts programs. Montgomery County Public Schools (which includes Silver Spring as well as neighboring Bethesda and Rockville) is a top performing district.
I am in my last year of University currently with a job in IT and moving to a job in Software Development in the coming months so I plan to stay where I am right now; this thread is for looking at suggestions 1+ year down the line.
My age will be 22/23 and my SO will be 21 or 22. We are looking most likely to relocate out of state to find a lower cost of living and escape the weather here, and hopefully find her a job so I am going to lay out some criteria for suggestions of regions, states, metro areas etc. you might have. I look forward to hearing your input
Requirements:
--Generally looking for something at least slightly warmer than central Illinois. Less snow/ice preferably, though not real huge on moving South for a variety of reasons including climate.
--For metro areas; not real picky about size though I generally favor midsize cities starting at around 100k, anywhere with decent cultural amenities, especially music programs such as symphony orchestras would be a huge plus.
--Looking for a state that gives at least some priority to education. My significant other is in the music education field so she'll be looking for schools to direct a band in. Obviously preference given to areas with good arts programs.
--Of course somewhere with relatively low crime
Preferences (not deal-breakers):
--Would prefer somewhere politically moderate or apolitical in the public sphere
--Infrastructure maintenance a plus; well maintained roads etc.
--Large selection of restaurants
Hopefully this is a little to go on, I am in a bit of a hurry now but I will add criteria to this list as it comes to me. If you have more questions or need clarification, just ask. Feel free to suggest states if you can't think of metro areas. Thanks
I would recommend Indianapolis.
Close to Peoria and a little further south so youll average about 5 degrees warmer in the winter.
Also if your in software development theres IT companies all over Indy that are hiring. Angie's list, Exact Target, and ChaCha among countless others.
Indy is politically moderate and the Democrats and Republicans have controlled the city-county council and the mayors office in the past 8 years. Currently Indy is the largest US city with a Republican Mayor. Greg Ballard and the Democrats have a 1 vote majority in the City-County Council. 15/14.
Indy has the LOWEST cost of living of any major US city and the nations most affordable housing market. Hence why its a hot place for young professionals to come too. After going to college and having student loan/college debt and not much money to spend being able to afford more is a plus
Indy's infrastructure is well maintained too.
Mayor Ballard has been doing his RebuildIndy program which is spending over 500 million repaving roads/repairing bridges/adding sidewalks etc. RebuildIndy Home
Indianapolis's Suburbs have some of the best schools in the state and nation. Carmel and Fishers high schools are 5 star schools and are well known for their top of the line education programs. Plus unlike Illinois our state is funding education and increasing it or holding it steady. not cutting it. Mitch Daniels was very wise to freeze education funding and trim some fat off before the great recession hit. As he famously said we took our medicine early. Now our state has a balanced budget and AAA bond rating and we along with Texas are leading in Job Creation. 12.5% of all jobs created in the US are created in Indiana. Texas is around 15% of all jobs created in the US.
Fishers, Indiana was ranked as the 12th safest community in the US in 2012 and the safest in Indiana.
I would say somewhere in Colorado. It is so gorgeous and has warmer weather much of the year. South but not too far south. It seems like it's relatively politically moderate. Tons of cultural opportunities..
Yeah! Colorado is one of my top picks for states right now. Though I hear lots of conflicting reports about weather. I am vaguely familiar with climate classification systems but I want to know the "report on the ground". What is snowfall like in areas you suggest? How about further South?
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliTerp07
DC fits almost all of it, except the "apolitical" piece, of course. It's surprisingly not something that comes up in daily life though, unless you're in the thick of it for work. I'd look at the Virginia side. Arlington is super popular with recent grads, and Arlington/Fairfax/Loudoun counties all have superb education systems. This is one of the few areas actively recruiting teachers.
The downside is cost. Expect to spend up to $2200 for a one bedroom apartment in popular areas. Minimum for a decent 1 bedroom place in a safe area is around $1200. Traffic is rough too--which is why people pay a premium for convenient locations.
DC might be wiped out for two reasons: Cost and Commute. I don't know if I can handle that sort of insanity, it was on my list for awhile though. If I could justify it in other ways I would get over the politics, that's relatively minor in the scope of things. Will still do some research into your suggestions, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
I agree mostly but would also encourage checking out the Maryland suburbs of DC such as Silver Spring where housing is quite a bit more affordable. Maryland ranks very highly in terms of public education funding and their commitment to providing arts programs. Montgomery County Public Schools (which includes Silver Spring as well as neighboring Bethesda and Rockville) is a top performing district.
Ah yes I have heard of that area, though I was under the impression it was more expensive than VA. Maybe I am thinking of Bethesda and environs? Great links, thank you very much. Maybe if I lived in that area I could find a job that doesn't require me commuting into DC. One would hope.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broadrippleguy
I would recommend Indianapolis.
Close to Peoria and a little further south so youll average about 5 degrees warmer in the winter.
Also if your in software development theres IT companies all over Indy that are hiring. Angie's list, Exact Target, and ChaCha among countless others.
Indy is politically moderate and the Democrats and Republicans have controlled the city-county council and the mayors office in the past 8 years. Currently Indy is the largest US city with a Republican Mayor. Greg Ballard and the Democrats have a 1 vote majority in the City-County Council. 15/14.
Indy has the LOWEST cost of living of any major US city and the nations most affordable housing market. Hence why its a hot place for young professionals to come too. After going to college and having student loan/college debt and not much money to spend being able to afford more is a plus
Indy's infrastructure is well maintained too.
Mayor Ballard has been doing his RebuildIndy program which is spending over 500 million repaving roads/repairing bridges/adding sidewalks etc. RebuildIndy Home
Indianapolis's Suburbs have some of the best schools in the state and nation. Carmel and Fishers high schools are 5 star schools and are well known for their top of the line education programs. Plus unlike Illinois our state is funding education and increasing it or holding it steady. not cutting it. Mitch Daniels was very wise to freeze education funding and trim some fat off before the great recession hit. As he famously said we took our medicine early. Now our state has a balanced budget and AAA bond rating and we along with Texas are leading in Job Creation. 12.5% of all jobs created in the US are created in Indiana. Texas is around 15% of all jobs created in the US.
Fishers, Indiana was ranked as the 12th safest community in the US in 2012 and the safest in Indiana.
Thanks for your suggestion, I am not ruling out other locales in the midwest. I'm not sure if you've noticed the threads on the Illinois forum but I mentioned that I was a little wary of Indiana because generally with super low taxes, you get what you pay for ESPECIALLY in the school system. What did this trimming and freezing entail before the recession hit? I feel sort of like a lot of IN is a "cut first, ask questions later" which is sketchy for job retention especially for a young educator. If I could get some clarification, that would be most appreciated.
I am definitely not ruling out Indiana. From this thread so far suggestions ranked relatively from favorite to least are something like this:
Colorado
Indiana
Nebraska
Maryland (Cost/Commute)
Virginia (Cost/Commute)
More suggestions? Keep em coming! Thank you so far!
Yeah! Colorado is one of my top picks for states right now. Though I hear lots of conflicting reports about weather. I am vaguely familiar with climate classification systems but I want to know the "report on the ground". What is snowfall like in areas you suggest? How about further South?
DC might be wiped out for two reasons: Cost and Commute. I don't know if I can handle that sort of insanity, it was on my list for awhile though. If I could justify it in other ways I would get over the politics, that's relatively minor in the scope of things. Will still do some research into your suggestions, though.
Ah yes I have heard of that area, though I was under the impression it was more expensive than VA. Maybe I am thinking of Bethesda and environs? Great links, thank you very much. Maybe if I lived in that area I could find a job that doesn't require me commuting into DC. One would hope.
Thanks for your suggestion, I am not ruling out other locales in the midwest. I'm not sure if you've noticed the threads on the Illinois forum but I mentioned that I was a little wary of Indiana because generally with super low taxes, you get what you pay for ESPECIALLY in the school system. What did this trimming and freezing entail before the recession hit? I feel sort of like a lot of IN is a "cut first, ask questions later" which is sketchy for job retention especially for a young educator. If I could get some clarification, that would be most appreciated.
I am definitely not ruling out Indiana. From this thread so far suggestions ranked relatively from favorite to least are something like this:
Colorado
Indiana
Nebraska
Maryland (Cost/Commute)
Virginia (Cost/Commute)
More suggestions? Keep em coming! Thank you so far!
Not always true.
Keep in mind Government taxes you.
But then how do they spend that tax money?
Ill use Washington D.C as a great example.
Tax money spent for research of Shrimp running on treadmills? Buying signs to display on the interstate bragging about the huge Stimulus oh and my favorite. Free Bicycle helmets for everyone! people dont realize every single dollar thats spent by the government has to come from somewhere. Which is your taxes.
Now Indiana has lower taxes cause our Government is more Efficient.
Illinois may have the lowest amount of state employees per capita but thats because they arent efficient with spending their money and the pension crisis means more and more government employees will have to be cut.
Heck Mitch Daniels and now Mike Pence have this policy if your a government worker and you do an outstanding job you will get a bonus of like 1000$ or something when the state can afford it.
Another good way to judge efficiency is the BMV. a couple years ago waiting at the BMV was nothing more than a pain in the ass. Now they have a much more efficient method of getting people in and out and satisfaction with the Indiana BMV has gone way up.
About education. Indiana doesnt believe in the idea of just throwing money at education and expecting results. Most of our new education reforms have been about giving kids choices and giving money to schools based on how they perform or improved.
Carmel and Fishers high schools are the top schools in the state and they are some of the top in the nation too. Hence why alot of families are relocating to the northern Suburbs of Indianapolis. Hamilton County is the richest county in Indiana and is home to alot of upper and even middle class families. Education money is more efficient in Indiana and Mike Pence wants to increase education funding by 1-2% well also cutting our income tax by 10% to a flat rate 3.06%. He has a good point we have enough in our reserves we can afford a tax cut and continue to fund our priorities. I couldnt help but notice when going to see family in Illinois recently how the Roads werent that good. What i dont get is Chicagoland and Illinois have quite a few toll roads and yet the roads arent well maintained........... The Indiana Toll Road is the only toll road we have and we leased it for 75 years and have expanded our interstate highway system so much we were #1 in the nation for road construction projects for awile. I-69 is being expanded to Evansville which is very nice.
The most memorable phrase from a Forbes writer that i remember is Indianapolis offers you all the amendities of a big city. Without the actual big city and its problems. Traffic is a breeze in Indy. even during Rush Hour. Cost of living in Indy cant be beat by any other Major US city.
Last edited by Broadrippleguy; 03-08-2013 at 06:53 AM..
Columbus OH and Louisville KY may be good options.
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