Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife and I live in Miami, FL with are 10 month old son. We moved here last September due to a job promotion. We lived in Athens, GA for a number of years and enjoyed it but feel Georgia is getting crowded. We do not like it here in Miami and don't want to raise are children here. My side of the family lives in north Florida and her family lives in north Georgia. We would like any advice/suggestions on a state that we could raise are children in a good enviroment. Has the 4 seasons and is not crowded. We eventually would like to buy a small farm, 50 to 100 acres to live on since I am in the agriculture industry and enjoy it. Of course it would need to be reasonably priced. We are small town people and enjoy the feel of knowing everybody in town. The problem we are having is agreeing on how much cold weather is to much. I love the cold and snow and would not mind it a bit. I have been looking at Iowa, South Dakota and would enjoy it there because of the 4 seasons and not very crowded. My wife is afraid of hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc. and never has drove in snow or ice. She thinks once it snows you can't go anywhere. She does not care for thick snow. What I need is some good wholesome advice/suggestions on a state that would match are criteria but not make my wife afraid of living there. Please help? We are open to all possibilities. Thanks
Check out south western Missouri. My husband and I just moved here from NE Indiana and love it. We bought 25 acres outside of Ava, MO which is 60 east of Springfield. We have the four seasons and beautiful countryside. We are in the heart of the Ozarks. We do get some snow and bad weather. Even though it was in the 20s during the night, yesterday we were out cutting firewood without coats! And no matter where you live there is always the threat of some kind of dangerous weather.
There are many fine schools in the area. We do not have children, have done lots of research on the web about our county (Douglas) and the surrounding area.
The cost of living here is very low compared to where we are from in Indiana.
Good luck in your search for a new place to call home.
West Michigan! Still have fabulous beaches, lower cost of living, 4 seasons, not really that much snow anymore, friendly people, very very kid friendly, excellent schools. Summers are warm and pleasant while the winters are slightly moderated by Lake Michigan so the closer to the lake you are the better. You do get snow, so there are chances to take kids sledding during the winter, but not so much it is miserable. DO NOT think "Detroit", West Michigan is nothing like the Detroit area, it is orchards, farms, fishing, lakes and rivers. Rural for the most part, but still driving distance to large cities. Think farm fresh local fruit and veggies all Summer and Fall, punctuated by sunsets over the lake. Michigan has the second most diverse agricultural crop in the US so feeding your family good fresh food is easy. Like big city living? Grand Rapids is an hour away from the lake and offers anything a metro area of close to a million people can.
Bydand, isn't the cost of living in Michigan high? Can you get property with out giving your left arm? It sounds good with fresh produce would be great. Thanks Mamagator, we have looked into Missouri and found the low cost of living great. My wife is just worried about tornado's there. Is Missouri very populated? thanks
Cost of living isn't that high at all. Property isn't that bad on the West side compared to other places. Down around Detroit and the larger cities it can be a bit pricey, but right now I am looking at a place with a 4 bedroom home sitting on about 10 acres with 20+ apple trees for WELL under 100k. It is about 5 miles from the beach on Lake Michigan and less than 1/4 mile to a world class trout river. Taxes are around $1200 a year, school system is very, very good (made the recent US news list of top schools).
I was born and raised in Michigan and 2 years ago came out to Maine to help out my parents who had moved out here years ago. The cost of living in Michigan is MUCH cheaper than here. My family (me, wife and 4 boys) are going back to stay, in June.
If you want to be close to family, why not Tallahasse? The panhandle is much less crowded than the rest of Florida, and often has higher quality of life.
I'll also second the recommendation for Missouri. It has four seasons without being too extreme. The Kansas City area is nice. On that note, maybe parts of northern Kentucky? Or Omaha?
Michigan is a solid recommendation, but it may be colder and more extreme than your wife would like.
I'm curious what aspect of the agriculture business you're in. It probably won't make a huge difference in our recommendations, but it could help us fine tune a little.
Missouri is probably a good bet. You're going to get all four seasons, a little milder than farther north. You're still probably looking at snow and the occasional tornado scare, though. I like the area around Columbia/Jeff City, for starters. Lots of small towns to handle most of your day-to-day stuff, but still within driving distance of Columbia (95K) for the big things. I also really like the area around Quincy,IL (40k) /Hannibal, MO (15k). Lots of small towns, beautiful scenery, but only about 2 hours from St. Louis, Springfield IL and Columbia.
Iowa's nice as well. Good schools, lots of small towns. Colder winters with more snow, though--hot and humid summers. Probably want to look around and north of I-80. The northeast area (sort of a Waterloo (150k?)-Dubuque (100k)-Iowa City (120k) triangle) has a pretty dense collection of small towns, ok growth, lots of farms, better schools. There's a good university network in the area--UI, UNI, ect. The area around Ames (80k)/Des Moines (500k) is also nice, but Des Moines might be too big for your taste.
I don't know much about S. Dakota, but I hear good things about the Sioux Falls area.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,468,595 times
Reputation: 12187
Weathwise, Kentucky is right in the middle of the extremes with some cold and snowy weather and some really hot summers. The Northern half of Kentucky has a very strong economy but housing still cost a lot less than other areas.
Small towns in KY I would recommend with low crime/ poverty, affordable land prices:
Paris, KY- most affordable land in the Horse Farm region, great historic Main Street area
Paris Pike, one of the most scenic highways in the US
http://static2.bareka.com/photos/medium/7232497.jpg (broken link)
Historic building w/ a horse mural on it
http://static1.bareka.com/photos/medium/7232488.jpg (broken link)
Versailes- very nice town just 10 miles from Lexington. Great economy, surrounded by horse farms
http://static1.bareka.com/photos/medium/7080984.jpg (broken link)
I also suggest Missouri, but would also recommend the Mississippi River area. Southern Illinois and NE Missouri are inexpensive and rather scenic. Nice towns such as Hannibal. If you want to go as far north as Iowa, you will have alot more prosperous area, IMO. The area around Dubuque is doing quite well, and is a lovely city.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
question
