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I had no idea what to call this thread so I hope it works out. I am asking about things a little bit more personal for me so I hope you read this through.
The reason I picked these states in particular is that I think they will make me the happiest. I have lived in Arizona my whole life and while there are a lot of things I like here (enough to still want to be in the Western half), there are quite a few things I do not like. One of my biggest issues with Arizona is the heat which I cannot stand. My favorite place in Arizona is Flagstaff which is arguably the most un-Arizonan place in the state. Very woodsy, lots of snow, high elevation with beautiful mountains. I find a strange calmness with me when I am woods of northern Arizona as corny as that sounds, and I would like to be surrounded by that all the time. Arizona's stance on certain social freedoms like marijuana and abortions are also things I do not like. I do like Arizona's stance on gun laws however. Fiscal policy I do not care as much about, as long as it is used effectively and will be more friendly towards me as someone who will probably be on the lower ends of middle class (see next paragraph) as some places are more tax-friendly to high earners versus the other way around.
I'm currently a college student, and I have an expected graduation date in December of this year. I have some work experience in my major in nonprofits for my major which is Public Health. I will expect to be working in this field when I graduate. I just got hired as an intern for a large, national nonprofit with field offices across the country, and while I may try to get hired within (this particular nonprofit is known for doing this, at least with the regional office where everyone is a young person who was hired on after being an intern) I might look towards other similar large, national nonprofits. My other option besides nonprofits that I can think of that would utilize the skill set I'm building is government work. I cannot think of any private companies that work on community programs meant to improve the health of the targeted communities, but if you do let me know.
So these are my requirements for any city within these states:
- Good dating scene for a young Millennial professional woman... meaning there are young professional Millennial men around.
- Nonprofits are located in the area (usually located in major cities or in state capitals). I prefer big cities over rural areas anyway.
- Preferably does not get into the mid-90s or higher in the summer. Would be better if it was in the 80s at most.
- Snow wise it needs to be less than Flagstaff which is 100" of snow a year. Flagstaff is just too much there. I hope that only eliminates towns with ski resorts directly in them.
- Lots of trees around. I love pine trees and would like to feel like I'm living in a forest or at least an easy drive (less than 2 hours) to a very forested area.
- I would like to live in a "live and let live" area when it comes to social freedoms.
- Not very religious. I'm an atheist and I like to have as little religious influence in my life as possible. I don't want to feel ostracized for that part of me because I get that often here in Arizona.
- Gun-friendly, in the sense that there are indoor shooting ranges, gun stores, and it isn't overwhelmingly difficult to get permits. Would like to be in a state with the Castle Doctrine or a variation of it. I realize none of these states are as gun-friendly as Arizona so I expect to give up a few freedoms here and that's ok.
- When it comes to taxes, is friendly to lower wage earners versus the other way around.
- Easy access to rivers, lakes, for kayaking and water activities. I love all things water-related, another reason why Arizona isn't good for me.
- Cheap flights to Phoenix is a huge plus, as none of these states are easy drives to my homeland.
Is there a place for me in these states that works for me?
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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It sounds like the Pacific Northwest is calling you. If you appreciate the forests of Northern AZ, then your would love love LOVE the diversity of forested landscapes up there. Atheists would no doubt feel comfortable and at home up there as well. WA has no state income tax, so that's a plausible rounded figure of about 5% more income in the bank on average compared to most other states. Obviously there is plenty of water recreation opportunity, the climate seems to suit your preferences, pretty much the opposite of most of AZ in that respect. As you probably are aware WA and AZ have a big seasonal snowbird connection (just look at all the WA plates on AZ freeways in March!) so I'm pretty sure cheap flight accessibility is easy to find. Allegiant flies from Mesa-Gateway airport to Bellingham, WA if you are fishing for those $70 each way kind of airfares.
The challenges you may find in WA are cost of living, especially in the Puget Sound area where the jobs are, and I'm honestly not familiar enough with gun laws in WA in comparison to AZ, but I'd imagine it would probably be quite a stretch in some ways. It really does seem like WA hits most of your criteria. If you're looking for any sort of city life then cross MT and certainly WY off the list. Boise, ID might meet some of that criteria but you are a very long way to the next major metro (five hours to SLC, 6-7 hours to Portland/Seattle) so consider that unless you don't mind flying or very long drives to get out of town to the next city.
I'm sure Utah fits some of your criteria with a reasonable cost of living, job opportunities, access to forested mountain areas etc. But clearly as an atheist you'd have to consider the religious factor and what your levels of tolerance are to a state where religious influences are so thick. I'm sure Salt Lake City offers respite from it in some ways as they do having an openly lesbian mayor, but it might feel like an island in many ways as well.
You may feel right at home in Colorado as well. In Denver you have access to forested mountain areas, but that comes with the crowds and traffic as I-70 commonly has weekend congestion getting to the mountain areas. Again, I don't know what the gun laws are like in CO, you'd probably want to do your own research to find what is satisfactory to you. Socially, and in terms of social freedoms Denver and most of Colorado are great (just avoid the Springs area). Colorado may be the easiest transition as someone coming from AZ, and it is dry and sunny most of the time (with a good mix of erratic temperature swings and surprising unseasonable snow events like Flagstaff has), but if you want to experience something very different from what you've grown up with in AZ that is agreeable to your taste based on your criteria stated I'd probably go with WA. But it seems like CO and WA would be your best options, especially in terms of launching your career.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-22-2016 at 09:47 AM..
What about Oregon? Washington ranks in the top 10 for least gun-friendly states, Oregon is in the top third for most gun-friendly. Arizona is usually #1 or in the top #3 for a comparison. The only state I listed that's comparable to Arizona here is Idaho that I'm aware of though I have a feeling Wyoming is up there too. Colorado has a pseudo-Castle Doctrine law which had a famous movie line as its nickname but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called. Oregon I have seen mixed reviews on the Castle Doctrine about if it has one or doesn't, would like someone to clarify that for me.
COL isn't the end all be all but it is important. I had a feeling an area I would like would be expensive. I won't be making a high-tech wage but as long as I can afford to have my own bedroom/bathroom and a small number of roommates it will be ok. Are Oregon and Washington comparable to Arizona in COL outside of housing costs? Like groceries, medical, etc?
Denver sounds good but I worry about traffic into the mountains. It's a two hour drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff and I feel like it's too much sometimes, especially in the summer when it's even longer. It's just that I always wanted to live in a forest area like Flagstaff, which is similar to a lot of Colorado based on images and climate data. Perhaps the Western edges of Denver are better, but the metro still sits on the plains and while there are some lakes in the Rockies, I worry about accessibility the most. I love mountains but I love the water more. Both would be the dream and obviously I live without water for the most part now and I do ok, it's just that my favorite nature activities kinda need water to do them. It would be the most similar to Phoenix out of any of these options with SLC being #2 if I had to take a guess.
I have been looking at the same states ... you might want to check to cost to license your automobile ...
I just read a post where someone paid $989 in WA and moved to OR and paid $98. But check that out.
Interesting. I would definitely take my vehicle since it's paid off in good shape and it's a 4x4. It's also the first car I ever drove so there are some memories there.
What are you leaning to IceCat as another Arizonan? Maybe your priorities are different than mine which is fine but I would like to know out of curiosity.
Northern New England comes to mind even though there aren't any large cities, you might be ok with smaller ones like Portland Maine. Northern New England tends to have more libertarian politics. You could always live in Southern NH and commute into Massachusetts for a job. NH is one of the first states to come to mind when I think of "live and let live" mentality.
Northern New England comes to mind even though there aren't any large cities, you might be ok with smaller ones like Portland Maine. Northern New England tends to have more libertarian politics. You could always live in Southern NH and commute into Massachusetts for a job. NH is one of the first states to come to mind when I think of "live and let live" mentality.
I like the idea of NH, I really do. I really like their slogan "Live Free or Die". Personally I'm not sure if New England is right for me. The closest I have gotten to that area was Long Island. Long Island was so green it was unreal to me. I liked the small town setup in Long Island suburbs while still being close to the City and walk ability that existed out there. My biggest concerns would be fitting in and the lack of a big city. I mean Boston is the closest option, and I don't know about that. I don't think I would like Boston personally as I didn't like DC or NYC (too crowded for me) though I would keep an open mind. It would also be hard for me to visit home.
I could say the same about the Twin Cities.
I heard that New England and the Twin Cities wasn't as friendly towards transplants and if I were to move to one of these areas I would need to make friends as I don't know a soul in either of these places. Clique-Ish is the word in looking for. I mean I'm used to dealing with Midwestern transplants from Chicago but rarely from MN so Idon't know if there are any differences there.
I'll consider them but I'm not sure if they are right for me. I've never been so I can't comment.
It's kind of embarrassing but I have never been to Spokane considering I live in WA, but from what I've heard and the pictures I've seen, it seems to be a good place. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Washington
I have been looking at the same states ... you might want to check to cost to license your automobile ...
I just read a post where someone paid $989 in WA and moved to OR and paid $98. But check that out.
No, that is just crazy. This car must have been extremely expensive. Most newer cars cost about 100-150 bucks to register for a year. This is actually less by percentage than it was 20 years ago thanks to some government initiatives that were passed years ago.
Factor in no state income tax, a somewhat high state sales tax, but not on groceries like Idaho does. If you live near the Oregon border you can avoid the high sales tax for most items except for automobiles.
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