Looking for a place to call home! Help! (low crime, job market)
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I'm finishing up nursing school in a few months and looking for a place to move to and call home. I've been pretty nomadic most of my life, which worked while I was in school, but now that I'm older and I've got a kid I'm looking for something more...settled.
I really, really want something with a great downtown/mainstreet feeling. Good shops, good restaurants, just a good feeling. I'd also LOVE someplace historic, in fact I think it'd have to be historic for me to really love it. I am not a suburbs kind of girl at all, so no planned communities or anything with gates or homeowner fees. I'd prefer a smaller-ish city (nothing over about 300,000) or even a very small town (like under 5,000). Nothing too huge (no New York or LA or Boston for me, I just feel too lost). I'd love something with a little culture, but I don't need a lot. Community/local theater, easy access to music, symphany, things of that nature would be fantastic, but they don't need to be in town. I don't mind driving a bit to get to the goods.
I also struggle with long winters. Now I don't mind some snow in the winter or a bracing cold spell, in fact I actually like it, having all four seasons is absolutely great! But I lived in the Rockies for a while and 9 feet snow drifts are not for me. I don't mind warm summers (or humid ones either), having that usually means the landscape is pretty lush and green which is a BIG selling point with me. I've had enough desert landscape in my life and I'm looking for something different.
And here we come to the kid factor. I've got one, she's little, not yet in school but I don't have that long until she gets there so I'd like to have fairly decent schools. Public schools are just great with me as long as they're pretty darn good, and although having more options (like private, charter, parochial, etc.) would be great, it's not completely necessary. I'm of the opinion that it's the teachers not the school district that make the biggest impact. Because of the kid, I also have to have someplace very, very safe. I'm a single mom and I really don't want to feel unsafe because of that, especially with my daughter in the house.
With nursing I can work almost anywhere, they need nurse practitioners preety much everywhere in the US, so having a 'strong' job market is not entirely necessary.
I know this is a lot to ask and I know I have to feel out a place before I could ever move there, but I plan on spending about a month traveling around after graduation to actually check out these options. So I'm hoping you all might give me some good ideas for those options, heaven knows with school and a little one that I could use all the help I can get! Thanks in advance!
Your description sounds much like our own situation, regarding our location objectives. While we are looking to RE-locate, our goals and preferences are much like yours. We've traveled from WA to AZ to FL, and now to NY, and seen many, many nice places to visit. I provide a list of the smaller places I liked below, but don't have a clue about their K-12 schools, since we don't have kids.
Bothell, WA
McCall, ID
Fredericksburg, TX
Prescott, AZ
Baton Rouge, LA
Waynesville, NC
Salisbury, NC
My husband keeps a weblog of our travels, and you can find the URL on my profile page, to see a few photos and his assessment of the places.
I'm finishing up nursing school in a few months and looking for a place to move to and call home. I've been pretty nomadic most of my life, which worked while I was in school, but now that I'm older and I've got a kid I'm looking for something more...settled.
I really, really want something with a great downtown/mainstreet feeling. Good shops, good restaurants, just a good feeling. I'd also LOVE someplace historic, in fact I think it'd have to be historic for me to really love it. I am not a suburbs kind of girl at all, so no planned communities or anything with gates or homeowner fees. I'd prefer a smaller-ish city (nothing over about 300,000) or even a very small town (like under 5,000). Nothing too huge (no New York or LA or Boston for me, I just feel too lost). I'd love something with a little culture, but I don't need a lot. Community/local theater, easy access to music, symphany, things of that nature would be fantastic, but they don't need to be in town. I don't mind driving a bit to get to the goods.
I also struggle with long winters. Now I don't mind some snow in the winter or a bracing cold spell, in fact I actually like it, having all four seasons is absolutely great! But I lived in the Rockies for a while and 9 feet snow drifts are not for me. I don't mind warm summers (or humid ones either), having that usually means the landscape is pretty lush and green which is a BIG selling point with me. I've had enough desert landscape in my life and I'm looking for something different.
And here we come to the kid factor. I've got one, she's little, not yet in school but I don't have that long until she gets there so I'd like to have fairly decent schools. Public schools are just great with me as long as they're pretty darn good, and although having more options (like private, charter, parochial, etc.) would be great, it's not completely necessary. I'm of the opinion that it's the teachers not the school district that make the biggest impact. Because of the kid, I also have to have someplace very, very safe. I'm a single mom and I really don't want to feel unsafe because of that, especially with my daughter in the house.
With nursing I can work almost anywhere, they need nurse practitioners preety much everywhere in the US, so having a 'strong' job market is not entirely necessary.
I know this is a lot to ask and I know I have to feel out a place before I could ever move there, but I plan on spending about a month traveling around after graduation to actually check out these options. So I'm hoping you all might give me some good ideas for those options, heaven knows with school and a little one that I could use all the help I can get! Thanks in advance!
Check out Cookeville, Tennessee:
Its population is just under 30,000
It's home to a mid-major university which is NOT a party school
Children's theatre
Children's museum
Railroad museum
Dinosaur museum
Main Street America city
Low crime
Outstanding schools
Very low taxes (Tennessee is among the lowest in the nation)
Mild winters
Beautiful countryside with lakes, waterfalls, gorges
Home to 2 symphonies, many art galleries, very good library system
Just a little nurse to nurse advice, don't be fooled into thinking that because you are a nurse you can go anywhere and easily get a job, especially as a new grad. With the current economy, many areas have pretty tight job markets, even for nurses. I moved to NJ a year ago and as a nurse with ten years experience, I am still looking for a full-time position. (working agency since the move) I think your best bet is to pick a few places that appeal to you and then contact nurse recruiters at the hospitals to see how things are jobwise. Take it from me, I wish I'd had a job lined up before I moved. I made the mistake of thinking I could get a job anywhere.
Good luck with the move...and congratulations on finishing nursing school!
You might like Upstate NY cities like Syracuse, Ithaca, Albany, Buffalo or Rochester. Your profession is one of the better one's in my area. There are 5 hospitals here in Syracuse(including a VA hospital), plus we have a very underrated Arts scene. Here's some information to check out: Syracuse Convention & Visitors Bureau
Hi. You should check out Ashland, Oregon. Its population is around 20,000. It's historic and has a charming walkable "Main Street" that is full of shops and restaurants. It's only 15 minutes or so from a larger city (Medford) and both Ashland and Medford have hospitals. Winters are fairly mild and not much snow (if at all), but Mt. Ashland (with ski lifts) is only a short drive up the hill... 15 min. or so? It's a college town and has lots to offer. And it's the safest place I've ever lived, or at least it was 15 years ago. From what I've heard, not much has changed!
Eugene, Oregon would be another possibility - it's at the larger end of the stipulated population range, but it has everything else. A smaller town nearby that might also fit is Corvallis.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota perhaps? Its 2 largest companies are healthcare companies and they just opened a new hospital recently too, and it doesn't have a part of town that is considered un safe (according to the residents) And Omaha is just 2-3 hours south if you want larger culture than what they have.
It's home to a mid-major university which is NOT a party school
Children's theatre
Children's museum
Railroad museum
Dinosaur museum
Main Street America city
Low crime
Outstanding schools
Very low taxes (Tennessee is among the lowest in the nation)
Mild winters
Beautiful countryside with lakes, waterfalls, gorges
Home to 2 symphonies, many art galleries, very good library system
One hour from Nashville
Dude, those pics look awesome. Cookeville looks great
Last edited by JMT; 02-22-2012 at 02:59 PM..
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Ashland, OR
