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I'd love your insight on where you would place my family. I'm a single mother with a remote job that I can be anywhere with. Spent time traveling around the world and am now trying to find a place to settle down. I don't mind slow paced, but I do want to have things to do for my children. I have two young kids 2 and 6 that are/will be homeschooled so I'd like that community to be strong where we live. Possibly montessori or something like that. I'd like the area to have plenty to offer in terms of "field trips" and learning for my children. I'd also like to be in a place where I won't be single forever (so have a decent amount of unmarried people in their 20s/30s). Other things that are important to me are warm climate, sunshine, lots of outdoor places to be (beaches, parks, playgrounds, bike paths, etc), general community being outside rather than inside if possible. I'm also relatively healthy so good food markets and healthy options would be fantastic. Good laws for natural birth, birth centers and/or home births is also important. I'd like to be easy driving distance to everything I need or want, 15 minutes tops (excursions or daytrips can be longer of course).
So far I've thought possibly Tucson (because I'm from AZ originally, but no family there now)... Denver (very outdoorsy, but cold... may over look due to people enjoying outside year round?)... Albuquerque (seems interesting culturally speaking? Something different than regular experience in states?)... Jacksonville, FL (I LOVE the beach. I could spend all my days at the beach for a year. But is it a good city for homeschooling community?). What do you guys think? Any other towns you might consider? They are all around this size because I figure a smaller city would offer much less in terms of diversity.
I can't speak for Denver or Jacksonville, but Tucson and ABQ are very outdoorsy cities, both are desert cities surrounded by wide open space and National Park lands, and both cities abut against tall forested mountains (sky islands). Tucson will obviously be much hotter than ABQ as the latter sits a mile above sea level, which offers ABQ many opportunities and venues for winter sports, and offers Tucson the viewing opportunity for unique heat-adapted life. Tucson has the iconic seguaros, while ABQ has a bosque. Both cities also have large universities, and so have lots of young single persons.
That said, yes, the culture between these two are night and day. ABQ is culturally linked to northern New Mexico, of Spanish and Pueblo culture. Tucson is linked more to Mexican and southern Apache culture.
Between these two the question would be climatic, do you prefer mild winters with very hot summers, like Tucson, or only moderately hot summers, but with icy cold winters, like Albuquerque?
I'd love your insight on where you would place my family. I'm a single mother with a remote job that I can be anywhere with. Spent time traveling around the world and am now trying to find a place to settle down. I don't mind slow paced, but I do want to have things to do for my children. I have two young kids 2 and 6 that are/will be homeschooled so I'd like that community to be strong where we live. Possibly montessori or something like that. I'd like the area to have plenty to offer in terms of "field trips" and learning for my children. I'd also like to be in a place where I won't be single forever (so have a decent amount of unmarried people in their 20s/30s). Other things that are important to me are warm climate, sunshine, lots of outdoor places to be (beaches, parks, playgrounds, bike paths, etc), general community being outside rather than inside if possible. I'm also relatively healthy so good food markets and healthy options would be fantastic. Good laws for natural birth, birth centers and/or home births is also important. I'd like to be easy driving distance to everything I need or want, 15 minutes tops (excursions or daytrips can be longer of course)
I would bear in mind that pretty much all cities where people enjoy the outdoors year-round tend to be places with four season climates, versus those with two seasons (hot and not so hot). I'm in FL and the screaming hot summers (probably pretty much like Tucson) keep many indoors much of the day until the weather moderates. I would recommend a place like the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill NC area. The climate offers up four fairly equal moderate seasons with a general population that takes advantage of the outdoors with walking/running/biking and other activities as well as that associated healthy lifestyle. It's very education-driven as well with a visibly strong desire for child welfare from pre-birth through adolescence.
I am not well-versed in it but I believe homeschooling is fine in Jax. Seems like a pretty large community.
We aren't the most progressive community so "healthy foods" and natural birth and all those things are probably a bit less prevalent than in those cities out west, but it's not devoid either. I think you'll also find far fewer singles than in other parts of the country, but it's not totally lacking. Certainly warm climate and sunny are very true of Jax, and when I think of affordable beach city Jax is the first to come to mind.
No way in hell I'd do Denver as a work from home. CO Springs or Pueblo is a WAY better deal for access to the same stuff. And Denver fails in the easy driving
Albuquerque and Jax can be a bit rougher, but are still really cool choices if your ok with that.
I'd say the southwest is going to be better for outdoorsy oriented people, natural grocers and natural births than Florida, but I could be wrong.
CO Springs, Pueblo, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Tucson would all be good fits in the southwest.
No way in hell I'd do Denver as a work from home. CO Springs or Pueblo is a WAY better deal for access to the same stuff. And Denver fails in the easy driving
Albuquerque and Jax can be a bit rougher, but are still really cool choices if your ok with that.
I'd say the southwest is going to be better for outdoorsy oriented people, natural grocers and natural births than Florida, but I could be wrong.
CO Springs, Pueblo, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Tucson would all be good fits in the southwest.
I know you don't like Denver, but let's get real for a second. Pueblo is a gritty, rundown mess.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 08-09-2017 at 08:52 PM..
No way in hell I'd do Denver as a work from home. CO Springs or Pueblo is a WAY better deal for access to the same stuff. And Denver fails in the easy driving
Albuquerque and Jax can be a bit rougher, but are still really cool choices if your ok with that.
I'd say the southwest is going to be better for outdoorsy oriented people, natural grocers and natural births than Florida, but I could be wrong.
CO Springs, Pueblo, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Tucson would all be good fits in the southwest.
Neither Co springs or Pueblo have birth centers or a good home birth scene at all. Why wouldn't you pick denver?
Lost in all of these recommendations is a housing budget to consider. Tucson, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs and Jacksonville are all significantly less expensive than Denver.
Lost in all of these recommendations is a housing budget to consider. Tucson, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs and Jacksonville are all significantly less expensive than Denver.
I have a housing budget of 1.2k/month rent wise.
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