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Hi, City-data! This is my first post here after plenty of lurking, and I have months of thoughts to dump out in the least wordy possible way; bear with me!
Our small family of three is looking to escape the heat of AZ, but each of us have agreed on some specific criteria for our new location. Greenery, good public schools for the young'un, average or low crime rates, and decently low cost of living. A dominant religion, or religious stereotypes don't matter as long as it's not overbearingly so. We're frugal people that like to live below our means (small houses, often townhomes, on a small property since our yard has only ever been used for grilling or sitting - most of our outdoor activities are away from home hiking/biking/running).
Relatively mild winters are important. Some snowfall is okay, and we all agree that rain is AWESOME. Gray skies don't scare us so long as it isn't all year long. Arizona has coddled us from having any snowfall at all, but we've also survived Denver, CO's snowfall and that was too much for us. Something in-between, preferably on the lower end, would be great!
Work opportunity. I have a working mother who is experienced and interested in sales, management, and business. She'd like to know of fortune-1000 companies that might be within a justifiable driving distance.
Affordable rent is a must! Arizona may have its ups and downs, but good rent has definitely been a huge plus. We looked into Seattle and every surrounding town but we couldn't justify the COL with ourselves - some areas cost MORE than the expensive parts of California that many people have tried to scare me away from!
Places considered thus far that I'm on the fence about:
-Provo, and a few specific areas of Salt Lake City, UT (crime varies drastically within Salt lake city alone, and my Mother noted that most houses for sale/rent all 'seemed very old and cheap' in UT. You could say Arizona has spoiled us a bit)
-Sedona, Flagstaff, or Prescott, AZ (all three have a very 'small town' vibe, concerned about lack of opportunity)
-Various towns in both SC and NC (hearing the word "overrated" too often for comfort... not sure why)
-Various towns in VA (COL seems very strictly proportional with crime rate and employment)
-Vancouver, WA
I'd be grateful for any experience and insight you all could share on the above places, and if you can suggest some more as well!
Our small family of three is looking to escape the heat of AZ, but each of us have agreed on some specific criteria for our new location. Greenery, good public schools for the young'un, average or low crime rates, and decently low cost of living. A dominant religion, or religious stereotypes don't matter as long as it's not overbearingly so. We're frugal people that like to live below our means (small houses, often townhomes, on a small property since our yard has only ever been used for grilling or sitting - most of our outdoor activities are away from home hiking/biking/running).
Relatively mild winters are important. Some snowfall is okay, and we all agree that rain is AWESOME. Gray skies don't scare us so long as it isn't all year long. Arizona has coddled us from having any snowfall at all, but we've also survived Denver, CO's snowfall and that was too much for us. Something in-between, preferably on the lower end, would be great!
Work opportunity. I have a working mother who is experienced and interested in sales, management, and business. She'd like to know of fortune-1000 companies that might be within a justifiable driving distance.
Affordable rent is a must! Arizona may have its ups and downs, but good rent has definitely been a huge plus. We looked into Seattle and every surrounding town but we couldn't justify the COL with ourselves - some areas cost MORE than the expensive parts of California that many people have tried to scare me away from!
I would recommend the Northern Atlanta suburbs in places such as Roswell, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Suwanee. They tick off all of your criteria quite well.
Places considered thus far that I'm on the fence about:
-Provo, and a few specific areas of Salt Lake City, UT (crime varies drastically within Salt lake city alone, and my Mother noted that most houses for sale/rent all 'seemed very old and cheap' in UT. You could say Arizona has spoiled us a bit)
-Sedona, Flagstaff, or Prescott, AZ (all three have a very 'small town' vibe, concerned about lack of opportunity)
-Various towns in both SC and NC (hearing the word "overrated" too often for comfort... not sure why)
-Various towns in VA (COL seems very strictly proportional with crime rate and employment)
-Vancouver, WA
None of these places are affordable unless you choose a terrible small town in SC, NC, or VA.
Have you looked at Tulsa? Our crime statistics are higher than average but only because of some clearly defined ghetto areas. Outside of those, town is pretty safe and our larger suburbs (Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso) are really safe and boring. Winters are like Denver but even more mild. We do get ice storms unlike Denver so you have to be careful with those. Unemployment is under 5% and we have a large number of Fortune 1000 company HQs and offices.
Nashville has bypassed the affordable rent requirement. Davidson schools aren't the best.
There are surprisingly highly rated schools in Johnson City and Greeneville TN. Not too many fortune 500 companies. Would a smaller company do?
Lots of good options in NC if you avoid Asheville and other hippie meccas it is affordable. Charlotte has the most big businesses.
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