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Hello!
My husband and I want to move, but don't know where we should go!
We're in our mid 20's, been married almost 5 years now. I'm an elementary school teacher, currently in my second year. He has his degree in Microbiology, but has been working at a restaurant for the past year. We're originally from Seattle, moved to Maui two years ago.
We can't afford a home here on the island, so we're considering our next big move. We don't want to go back to Seattle. We want a city that we can afford a home in ($200,000 or less). One that is big enough to have concerts and other entertainment, or is close to a big city. I can teach basically anywhere, so I'm not too worried about me. But high unemployment rates might affect my husband negatively. He's really not sure what he wants to do. I kind of miss having seasons, but I'm not a fan of a ton of snow. I don't mind being too warm.
We're wanting to have kids soonish, but want to be mildly settled before we start that adventure.
We've seriously considered Las Vegas and Memphis, both because of their highly attractive real estate market. I have heard the negativity for both of those places, so I'm not really looking for any more info on either. I want to know which city we're missing!
Wow talk about underemployed....a degree in microbiology but working in a restaurant.....aint that a blip. If you considered Vegas then why not Phoenix. It's a large city and metro area with plenty to do and see. There are quite a few high tech companies here. You can definitely get a home in a decent neighborhood with decent schools for 200k. Yes it's hot in the summer (it's a about 5 degrees hotter than Vegas on average but sometimes Vegas is warmer than Phoenix also). Teacher pay here especially for elementary school teachers sucks for the most part depending on experience and what district you work for (However being in your mid 20s I assume you're a new teacher).
Check out Cleveland, Minnesota, Pittsburgh. I know you say you don't like snow, but all offer great values on housing, many amenities, and excellent medical/research centers.
Albany NY may work. It does average about 60 inches of snow and teaching jobs may be tougher to come by, but I think your husband has a good chance of finding a job in his industry. I believe the home median price/value is about 208k and it is a growing metro. It would put you within 2 or so hours from Boston and NYC, with Montreal only about 3 hours away. You would also be close to mountains and lakes, along with some nice architecture.
Check out Cleveland, Minnesota, Pittsburgh. I know you say you don't like snow, but all offer great values on housing, many amenities, and excellent medical/research centers.
Good choices with the exception of lots of snow/cold. A similar overlooked option would be Birmingham, Alabama. It's a major medical/research center anchored by the University of Alabama Medical Center Hospitals. The unemployment rate is a low 5.6% and has lots of housing in your price range within in-demand neighborhoods. Birmingham is a bit of comeback kid, like Cleveland and Pittsburgh it too was a manufacturing city heavily reliant on the steel industry. They just built a minor league ballpark downtown and the growth around it has been rather large with lots of new restaurants, bars and residential lofts being built. It might be a good time to buy there and grow some equity.
Albany NY may work. It does average about 60 inches of snow and teaching jobs may be tougher to come by, but I think your husband has a good chance of finding a job in his industry. I believe the home median price/value is about 208k and it is a growing metro. It would put you within 2 or so hours from Boston and NYC, with Montreal only about 3 hours away. You would also be close to mountains and lakes, along with some nice architecture.
Wow talk about underemployed....a degree in microbiology but working in a restaurant.....aint that a blip. If you considered Vegas then why not Phoenix. It's a large city and metro area with plenty to do and see. There are quite a few high tech companies here. You can definitely get a home in a decent neighborhood with decent schools for 200k. Yes it's hot in the summer (it's a about 5 degrees hotter than Vegas on average but sometimes Vegas is warmer than Phoenix also). Teacher pay here especially for elementary school teachers sucks for the most part depending on experience and what district you work for (However being in your mid 20s I assume you're a new teacher).
Restaurants and anything tourism related are the jobs that are available on Maui--another reason we're looking elsewhere. I love it here on the islands, but waiting tables isn't exactly fulfilling work for him, and we'd never be able to own a home here.
I'd take a look at Columbia Maryland, which is in between Washington DC and Baltimore. It's a large planned collection of small interconnected villages (the Rouse folks buit it out) with many walkable areas, good schools, racially diverse, and plenty of its own amenities in addition to what you'll find in DC and Baltimore. Housing prices run the gamut, but you'd probably be able to get three bedrooms there in your price range. There are four seasons, not a lot of snow, but summers tend to be humid around DC.
Most important, the area has tons of federal researach facilities, biotech starups, pharma companies, and colleges and and universities where hubby might find work.
And those dont even cover the federal jobs in the FDA and other agencies.
I dont know the market for schoolteachers in the region, and it might be weak, as tons of school districts in this part of the country are under budgetary pressure and the turnover in the mor affluent districts will probably be pretty low. But maybe somone else here knows more about that in detail.
And if you ever pine for Hawaii, remeber that you're not more than a couple of hours from the shore.
In the vein of Memphis and Birmingham, Jacksonville has a similar level of urban amenities and an abundance low cost real estate. the unemployment rate is relatively low, if you want to trust certain statistics. It's a nice place to raise a family too.
Just an option to consider if you're already interested in Memphis.
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