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I am looking for a city to move to in the next couple years, but I am running into some roadblocks. About me-
I am 23 years old, and currently living in Nanaimo, BC, with my family. I am dual citizen American-Canadian, so green card and immigration won't be issues for me. I want to move back to the US for a couple reasons- my entire extended family lives in the US, I have always considered myself American more than Canadian, and I want to (eventually) raise my kids as Americans as well. I like a variety of activities and cultures- from symphonies to football games, green living and gardening to down home country music concerts. I consider myself conservative and am Christian, but having lived on Vancouver Island for a number of years, I am perfectly comfortable being surrounded by people with opposing beliefs (a solid 90% of BC's population- similar to West Coast state demographics).
What I'd like in a city-
Weather. Sunshine and Snow, preferably at the same time. I spent 3 years in Calgary, AB, where you would often have 8-14 inches of snow on the ground, -25C weather, and brilliant sunshine (for the 8 hours of the day it was up, anyway). I like having four distinct seasons, and I can't stand rain or grey skies for extended periods of time- however, cold is perfectly fine.
Employment. I have quite a bit of experience in retail and food services, and have been able to live on minimum wage while in Calgary- but in Calgary, minimum wage was 10 dollars an hour, as opposed to 7. I want to go to school for either Early Childhood Education or home care for the elderly, and I am used to going to school while working full time, but I need a city where I have a reasonable shot of finding a job fairly quickly, even if it is Starbucks or Walmart.
Cost of Living. As I am a low wage worker attempting to be a student, the city has to have a reasonably low cost of living- rent, groceries, taxes, and transportation (a good transit system is a MAJOR plus), mainly. I am used to being able to cut costs, with home cooked meals, home grown vegetables and the like, but I do at least need the possibility of living on minimum wage or close to it. Alternatively, a university town where it's easy to find roommates to help split rent and bills.
The thing that complicates my search for me is my parents. Both have health problems, and neither want me to move too far away from them, nor do I want to move four thousand miles away. So although I know there are lots of cities that meet these requirements, my question is, which ones are closest to Coastal BC? Are there any within Washington/Oregon/Montana/Idaho? I've looked at Spokane, but everything I see on the subforums mentions that weather is a severe problem (though, having lived in Alberta, I wonder what it's like relative to Canada). IS it as bad as it sounds? Are there better cities nearby?
The first thing is to consider is travel distance. It sounds like you are looking at it solely in terms of driving time. But if you factor in flying, it would be faster to fly from, say, Chicago to Vancouver than it would be to drive from, say, Portland. This would expand your range and choices considerably.
That is true. I haven't really considered flying distances too much, and maybe I should- I know my parents don't fly much (the last time my Mom was on a plane was probably 30 years ago; my Dad flies for work, but otherwise drives), but I can always fly to travel home.
With that in mind, are there particular cities you would recommend? Thank you for replying.
Location: East Central Pennsylvania/ Chicago for 6yrs.
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I'd stay away from Big cities if no higher education and degrees. Unless in management high in retail or super tips in the restaurant scene? Big cities are no place to be.... if on the poorer side in the US. Low income can mean living in less desirable neighborhoods and Big US cities have poor Public schools when children come.
But Salt Lake City might have the least issues for a larger US city? I'd say get your education in Canada first and keep the dream going.
No bachelor degree; I did do a one year program in accounting and financial management, but I refrained from doing more in that field because I knew I want to go to the US, and a lot of what I'd be learning (and my earned certifications, most likely) wouldn't mean anything in the US. In my class, I was one of 3 actual Canadians- the rest were immigrants with bachelors and sometimes Masters' degrees from their home countries, but Canadian employers didn't recognise any of them as valid. Is that less of a problem in the US, generally? Of course some degrees transfer better than others (an English or History degree is about the same worth in most countries), but I assumed since I wanted to work in a field where certifications are important, I should do the schooling in the US to make sure it is recognised.
That being said, I'm not particularly drawn towards big cities. Somewhere between 50 and 500 thousand- any less than that and I'd be worried about available job opportunities, but a small or mid-sized city is just fine by me.
I want to go to school for either Early Childhood Education or home care for the elderly, and I am used to going to school while working full time
Have you considered work as a live-in nanny or caregiver, for either children or the elderly? You could stipulate that you would need to be allowed to go to school. That would solve the housing and food issue, it would give you references for a future career, you could establish residency, it could earn you a small wage, and you could live wherever you wanted.
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