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First - main reason we are looking to stay west is family. Both of our parents and my sister in law are in So. Cal. My sisters family is in Texas. Outside of that we don't see any other family.
If easy access to these areas is a primary concern, maybe see what airlines have the most direct and best prices for travel among possible locations. It may not make sense to be in a position of saving thousands a year on housing and COL expenses only to spend it all in travel, but it all depends on your personal situation.
Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix all have great airports with tons of regular flights. Washington's Tri-Cities, Boise, Reno-Tahoe, Colo Spgs, Albuquerque all have smaller airports that may or may not have direct flights to where your family lives.
Combine the airport factor with enough large companies that require IT infrastructure support for you to find decent employment, and I'd imagine the list will shrink down to those cities in the 500k-1M population range within a 30-60 minute drive of a major airport.
My sister is in Dallas area (Frisco) as her husband got a job transfer from San Diego to out there. They really like it now and we are considering it due to the good school disctricts where they are and the option of being close to them and my niece and nephew.
Like anyone, we want the best that we can get. Obviously there are HUGE gives and takes between places. Ideally, we want to be able to buy a decent 4BR house for $250k or less, have decent schools, crime rates at or below the national averages, have things to do, and not hate where we live due to weather.
Who ever said I am over thinking the bad weather in these places is probably very correct. I just haven't lived there and I just assume the worst. The best man in my wedding just moved to Boise 7 months ago and just got their first snow a bit ago. He's learning and dealing with the changes, but hes going with it and hasn't really complained yet. I know we can survive and will make it work. Like several of you have said, I'm from San Diego so largely any place is going to be a shock weather-wise.
If I'm being honest with myself, humidity would probably be the worst for me. I absolutely HATE sweating and I naturally sweat more than normal due to genetics.
Boise is probably a good fit for us realistically. My biggest concern there is the job market. I'll be keeping my current job and able to work remotely, but I'll need to find a new job within the next 3 years probably. In places like Phoenix or Dallas I could likely get a job in the $80-110k range. I feel like I'd be hard pressed to make that in Boise, and even harder pressed to actually find work.
Like I said, everything is a juggle and I need to figure out what I'm willing to sacrifice. Ultimately I think I'm willing to sacrifice anything if I can get enough gains in other areas. In short, I'm looking for my perfect place that doesn't exist. For example Dallas. My sisters family is out there which would be awesome. Housing is cheaper than where I'm at now, but not necessarily so for other places I'm considering. They get crazy weather but less of the super extremes? Property tax seems so high that our budget over the next 3-5 years would be similar to San Diego with the exception that we would have a house instead of a condo. IE, a $250k house with a 20% downpayment would run around $1500-1600 a month with insurance and taxes included. The same price in Boise would be around $1,100 - $1,200, and we currently pay $1,650 for our 2 BR 1BA condo in San Diego.
For weather, I know places like Boise and Portland are not extreme. Portland area seems to actaully get really good temps, it's just wet all the time. I know I could adjust. Phoenix mostly has good weather but the summers scare me. Plus when our kids are off on summer break wouldn't I rather be somewhere that is awesome to go outside in the summer?
I can offer my two cents on weather since I grew up in Boise and currently live in DFW.
In my opinion Boise weather is pretty mild great 4 season weather. The lack of humidity makes the cold seem less cold and the heat feel less smothering. I was recently home for a little over a week and 30 in Boise is more comfortable than 40 in Dallas.
Boise itself doesn't get that much snow. They got alot last year, and even that wasn't anything close to what the midwest and northeast get in a normal year. The beauty of it is you have little snow in the valley, but you can drive 45 min to an hour into the mountains and have as much snow as you could possibly want.
Boise can get hot, but again it is a dry heat and lasts a few weeks.
For Dallas, summers are hot, humid and long and winter is full of extreme weather shifts.
For example, last month, December, we had a day that hit 84 degrees dropped to the 30s within 48 hours and went back up to the high 70s/ low 80s a few days later.
The problem with this is that it makes benefits of warm weather like "Swimming in December" difficult because the water never heats up but also kills any Wintery fun you might be having.
As for the Dallas summers, lots of digital ink has been spilled over them, but I personally hate them.
As for cost you could find a decent house under 250k in either metro area. The deal with Dallas is it will probably not be in what is considered a "great school district" or it will be way out in the boonies. My neighborhood in Irving has homes under 200k that are perfectly decent (even if they are older)
For Boise Proper you will won't have a ton of options for that size and price range, the market is very tight right now but you would have some in Meridian and a bunch in Nampa.
As for employment, I think that is a valid concern, Boise doesn't have the highest wages, but if you know you have a 3 year window, that should be plenty of time to network and/or acquire new skills. Boise does have super low unemployment (even lower than Dallas's) so the economy is really good there right now. The main reason I haven't moved back is I like my job and there is a possibility I could transfer back to the area with my current job in the next couple years. If I just wanted to say "Screw it" and move back I'm pretty confident I could find a job at what I do.
The problem with "stuff you've read" , it's often from those who have read the same information. Perhaps a post in the Utah and/or Salt Lake City forum could shed some more factual light.
I agree with this post. I've known 2 separate individuals who have lived in the Salt Lake City area and they said they had no issues with others pushing their religion, as so many seem so frightened over. Weather one is religious or not, one can push their beliefs on others. It works both ways. It's just a very unfair stereotype of people not like them (and no, I'm not Mormo, lol). Just something everyone needs to keep in mind. I'd recommend SLC and Boise. Good luck in your search.
OP, you might take a look at the Spokane WA area... I'm told it's greener than Boise, but not as wet as Seattle / Portland. And maybe less religious than Boise too. I haven't been there; I'm just going by what others have said here on C-D.
OP, you might take a look at the Spokane WA area... I'm told it's greener than Boise, but not as wet as Seattle / Portland. And maybe less religious than Boise too. I haven't been there; I'm just going by what others have said here on C-D.
Greener than Boise, check
Not as wet as Seattle/Portland, check, aside from the winter months
Not as religious, check
OP, you might take a look at the Spokane WA area... I'm told it's greener than Boise, but not as wet as Seattle / Portland. And maybe less religious than Boise too. I haven't been there; I'm just going by what others have said here on C-D.
Boise itself may not be situated in evergreens like Spokane, but Boise isn't lacking green from spring to fall when the trees are all in bloom. The city and valley has a river running through it with an impressive cottonwood forest on both sides and the city has a great canopy of trees and some of the nicest parks of any city in the west I've lived in or visited.
If a person wants to be in the evergreen forest it is a short drive a couple of thousand feet up the foothills to enter the forest at the top of the mountains above the city, or by heading north on one of the highways leading into the mountains and Boise National Forest.
I live in Salem Oregon. From Eugene Oregon. As Far As Housing Cost I Would Say You Should Look Into Linn County, That's Albany/ Corvallis Area. Which Is between Salem and Eugene. Weather, I Had To Start Taking Vitamin D in high doses, 2 months maybe of summer/ sun. Love That It Doesn't Really Snow Much And Driving Is easy all year, but I'm cold and sad here. Lived In Texas For 5 years for school and loved it. I'm actually currently considering packing up and trying Henderson Nevada for my next adventure. I'll Definitely Make Less money, Oregon you can make good money, but I prefer sunshine over money at this point. But That's Just Me Who's Without Kids And Not Married. Hope This Helps Good Luck!
I would say Portland/Vancouver if it weren't for the fact that IT/tech wages (and wages in general really) are low relative to the area's CoL and aren't growing very much - it's a pretty slack job market I think. Honestly I would consider locating in a lower-growth part of Seattle - maybe closer to Tacoma or Everett than Seattle - and commute into Seattle or Bellevue or Redmond or wherever you work.
I suppose Phoenix metro would be okay too, but I'm personally biased against it because I despise the heat. Unless you're a remote worker I can't really recommend that an IT professional make a big commitment to a smaller metro area. IT is insanely susceptible to ups and downs in the labor/employment and broader business cycles and if you lose your job in a place like Colorado Springs, Eugene or Boise you might just be screwed, particularly during an economic downturn. And even if you're a remote worker you have to remember that industry is pushing to largely get rid of remote work because it supposedly decreases productivity and doesn't foster innovation or creativity or some kind of handwavey BS like that.
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