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Old 12-27-2016, 07:37 PM
 
8 posts, read 3,398 times
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Hello!
We're a married couple in our mid twenties with a toddler. We are originally from Sebring...a small town right in the middle of Florida with not much to do and few job opportunities. I have a bachelor's degree in business administration, hoping to get a real estate license and my husband is a laborer with experience in roofing, solar panel installation, and general carpentry with dreams of becoming a licensed contractor.
A year ago, we moved to Jamestown, New York, about an hour or so west of Buffalo. We have family here and were attracted to the historic, artsy vibe. Unfortunately Jamestown has a higher cost of living due to New York taxes, and we are making less money than we were in Florida. The cold and snow is also harder to deal with than we had hoped. Jamestown is not doing well economically and is being overrun by crime and drugs.
We do not want to go back to Florida for various reasons, but we're hoping to be within a 12 hour drive to central Florida so that we can more easily visit family. We prefer the East coast.
Our wish list includes: moderate four seasons (light snow in the winter, bearable Summers for my husband to work on roofs), a low to moderate cost of living, job opportunities, environmentally friendly, family oriented, good schools, leaning more left than right, fun things to do and see but nightlife not necessary, within a few hours distance to a decent beach.
Please keep in mind were relatively young and inexperienced. We don't want to move somewhere that we'll be little fish in a big pond, and not able to find jobs.
Some areas we've just started looking into are: Raleigh, Charlotte, Richmond, and Texas (haven't researched any cities yet).

I'm interested in hearing all thoughts and experiences. If I've left out any pertinent information, please let me know. If I'm crazy and I'd be better off staying in Jamestown, I'm open to hearing that, too!
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Old 12-27-2016, 07:53 PM
 
92,700 posts, read 122,997,895 times
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Jamestown has a higher cost of living, an artsy vibe and is "overrun" with crime? No offense, but places like Ithaca, Oneonta, Hudson, Glens Falls and even Auburn or Corning would have been better small city choice in Upstate NY.

As for a new place, perhaps places like Charlottesville, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg in VA; Newark DE and Chapel Hill/Carrboro NC are some potential places to look into.

Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-27-2016 at 08:03 PM..
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Old 12-27-2016, 07:57 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Jamestown has a higher cost of living, an artsy vibe and is "overrun" with crime?
Have you been there?
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Old 12-27-2016, 07:58 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Jamestown has a higher cost of living, an artsy vibe and is "overrun" with crime?
Perhaps "overrun" was a strong word but yes for the size of the city and population there is too much crime (sadly due to poverty). I don't think that's even debatable.
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:09 PM
 
92,700 posts, read 122,997,895 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KristenR90 View Post
Perhaps "overrun" was a strong word but yes for the size of the city and population there is too much crime (sadly due to poverty). I don't think that's even debatable.
Interesting.....Then, I would look into the places mentioned above.

I did see that its COL appears to be low and I do know about Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz Museum, as well as a couple of other art centers. It is odd to hear of it as being artsy, but a lot of smaller cities in NY have some degree of an arts scene.
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:17 PM
 
8 posts, read 3,398 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Interesting.....Then, I would look into the places mentioned above.

I did see that its COL appears to be low and I do know about Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz Museum, as well as a couple of other art centers. It is odd to hear of it as being artsy, but a lot of smaller cities in NY have some degree of an arts scene.
Yes, sorry for being unclear. Houses are inexpensive to buy, but all of the ones we've seen for sale need extensive repairs and taxes are very high (compared to Florida). So, while doing my research I came to the same conclusion as you, that the cost of living is low. It just doesn't seem to be practica for us to live here because we are earning significantly less income.
Jamestown probably isn't as artsy as many other cities, but it has some cute things like art galleries in the ally ways, and again I'm coming from Sebring which has essentially no culture.
Thanks for the input.
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,602 posts, read 14,821,213 times
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I'd take Texas off your list (unless you're willing to consider El Paso). There's nothing moderate about summer in Texas along and east of I-35.
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:42 PM
 
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Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
I'd take Texas off your list (unless you're willing to consider El Paso). There's nothing moderate about summer in Texas along and east of I-35.
Great point! I don't mind the heat, but my husband dies. For whatever reason he's still interested in Texas, but I feel like we might as well go back to Florida then. One point for me, thank you!
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Old 12-27-2016, 08:43 PM
 
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Though, that Mexican food and BBQ might make Texas worth it!
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Old 12-27-2016, 11:07 PM
 
1,586 posts, read 2,141,597 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KristenR90 View Post
Perhaps "overrun" was a strong word but yes for the size of the city and population there is too much crime (sadly due to poverty). I don't think that's even debatable.
I too was skeptical of the crime claim because "OMG crime is rising like crazy" is a common falsehood among people who don't know what they're talking about and therefore raises a red flag for me, but I looked it up and it's true -- crime is, in fact, on the rise in Jamestown.
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