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There are currently 77 three bedroom homes listed in the 250K-300K bracket alone with the average median household income at 82K per year, so it's clearly not expensive for the average resident. In terms of a I-270 commute into DC or the the northern DC suburbs, it's not necessary with plenty of options in/around Frederick.
Oh, believe me, if I were to live in that area, no way would I be working in DC! That is another reason we want to live in an area like I have described. I would love to spend more time with my family, and not on the road traveling to work. I have that now, as I live about 6 minutes from where I work, but I certainly didn't in Memphis, where I had to drive about 40 minutes one way.
Salem or Portland, Oregon. Mountains, woods, rivers, ocean not too far away.
Twin Cities, Minnesota. Probably better in the jobs department. Lots of lakes, woods, rivers, great city parks. No ocean but the world's largest lake (by surface area) is a few hours north.
I haven't looked at Salem, but Portland has always been on our list, even though it is larger than we want. It seems the job market isn't great though, and the prices seem pretty high. We have been looking a little east though, like Hood River, and have looked a little around the area around Klamath Falls (we have a friend who lives there and claims it is a great place).
The Twin Cities area has intrigued us as well, but is too large for what we are looking for. MN does seem like a great outdoor state though.
There are currently 77 three bedroom homes listed in the 250K-300K bracket alone with the average median household income at 82K per year, so it's clearly not expensive for the average resident. In terms of a I-270 commute into DC or the the northern DC suburbs, it's not necessary with plenty of options in/around Frederick.
there are not that many jobs in Frederick. one of the largest employers, Bechtel has moved most if not all of the jobs there down to northern Virginia. i would think most making 82 plus are working in DC or Montgomery County, not in Frederick. so they are dealing with the traffic on 270.
i think most people would agree with me the housing is overpriced there. moreover, not everybody is going to be making that median household income of 82K a year.
have you ever lived in Frederick?
Last edited by ClemVegas; 01-19-2017 at 09:41 AM..
Boise has an expanding job market and is known as a tech city. There is a university downtown and headquarters for several national and worldwide companies and is excellent for outdoor recreation.
The Boise River which runs through the city and downtown is popular for trout fishing and rafting. The Boise River Greenbelt is in a league of its own and there are hundreds of miles of single track in the Foothills above the city as well as a ski mountain. It is a mountain biking city and is also home to some Olympian cyclists. There is a whitewater park near downtown and if you like to rock climb the Black Cliffs are just outside of city limits in the Boise River Canyon.
The topography is also interesting, south of town is the Snake River Canyon and north is endless alpine wilderness in the mountains that stretches continuously into Canada.
Sounds like an area we may like. We are bikers, hikers, and fishing is one of my past times. I have never rock climbed, but would certainly like to try it out.
How are the schools in Boise? One of the things I have seen about Boise, is that the schools aren't that great. Not sure how true it is though.
Last edited by southernbored; 01-19-2017 at 09:54 AM..
Sounds like an area we may like. We are bikers, climbers, and fishing is one of my past times. I have never rock climbed, but would certainly like to try it out.
How are the schools in Boise? One of the things I have seen about Boise, is that the schools aren't that great. Not sure how true it is though.
The Boise School District outperforms the smaller districts around the state. The four high schools in the BSD have been nationally ranked as the best high schools in the nation.
The Boise School District outperforms the smaller districts around the state. The four high schools in the BSD have been nationally ranked as the best high schools in the nation.
Hate to break it to you, but $22 million is less than the cost of a single distribution center building, of which there are several under construction right now in the Carlisle PA zip. That's about the investment planned in a single microbrewery in the Harrisburg PA metro. And, although I can't find figures, probably less than the capital budget of just AccuWeather in State College. I guess it's better to have real estate investment than the little to nothing at all that characterizes much of upstate NY. Maybe there are enough trust fund babies who like living in Ithaca enough to occupy those developments. It just isn't the type of place you can move to and just assume you can find employment at a salary with what commensurate education and experience brings in many places. Sorry. Wish it were otherwise.
Ithaca looks like, to me, that it may be harder to make ends meet and live the life you want than in other areas. I like the "artsy" vibe of the area, but like you kind of get into above, I fear that it is a little more "pretentious" than I would like, and may be a little harder to find a decent paying job than a lot of the other areas we are looking at.
You can cut down on some of the pretention and some of the cost by living further out. In a truly prosperous area, traffic snarls (see: Frederick MD, that others mentioned) reduce that possibility. There is some traffic in the City of Ithaca in the NY 13 corridor west of the downtown area, but otherwise little to nothing that registers on a metro scale. Winter is managed better there than elsewhere, too. Cortland, a walkable, bikable community with its own college (with consequent casual dining options and some cultural overlay) and on the interstate, has the real-time access to the higher-end restaurants and retail of Ithaca that would be typical of a metro suburb, and about as fast to Syracuse with the university hill and the big mall too. If I won the lottery I'd move to Ithaca, but if I got a job in Ithaca paying what I make now I'd probably live in Cortland. You need to watch real estate listings though, it seems really cheap but property taxes relative to home value in upstate NY are about the highest in the country. If only the people who complain about PA property taxes knew how well they have it.
Okay, let me preface this by explaining what type of place I am asking about. I am talking smaller cities/towns, so no SF, LA, Denver, Boston, etc. I am also not talking about suburbs of those types of cities. I am looking for cities that are "stand-alone", so to speak, but not too large. Somewhere that you could find jobs in something other than tourism. By nearby outdoor recreation, I am talking places within say, 1-2 hours away, the closer the better. They can be mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, or whatever else you guys may think of. I am not looking for anything too specific, so whatever cities and places you can think of would be great.
Now, I am not looking at these places as somewhere to move anytime soon, this is just something my wife and I would like to look into for our future. We would like to find a place like this that we may be able to eventually settle down. We are, however, more interested in certain areas of the country. I'm not going to name every state we may consider or anything like that, but for the most part we are looking at New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, the Mountain West, and Pacific West. We do not want to be in the south, southwest, or any of the plains type states.
So, with that being said, what cities/towns do you guys know of that may fit this? We are looking at any places that looks good, so all suggestions will be appreciated!
Hi southernbored this is something similar to what im looking for, with a few differences though,(Just posted a new thread) Job market etc., Will be closely following your thread, Good luck on your search & Cheers !
You can cut down on some of the pretention and some of the cost by living further out. In a truly prosperous area, traffic snarls (see: Frederick MD, that others mentioned) reduce that possibility. There is some traffic in the City of Ithaca in the NY 13 corridor west of the downtown area, but otherwise little to nothing that registers on a metro scale. Winter is managed better there than elsewhere, too. Cortland, a walkable, bikable community with its own college (with consequent casual dining options and some cultural overlay) and on the interstate, has the real-time access to the higher-end restaurants and retail of Ithaca that would be typical of a metro suburb, and about as fast to Syracuse with the university hill and the big mall too. If I won the lottery I'd move to Ithaca, but if I got a job in Ithaca paying what I make now I'd probably live in Cortland. You need to watch real estate listings though, it seems really cheap but property taxes relative to home value in upstate NY are about the highest in the country. If only the people who complain about PA property taxes knew how well they have it.
Walkable and bikeable would be a big plus as well. In fact, it would be preferred, but not a deal breaker. I have heard Cortland mentioned before, so we may need to add it to the list.
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