For those of you who've fled Illinois, where did you go? (renters, car insurance)

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

Where do you live in Florida?
I'm guessing somewhere very rural in the middle of the state?

We have plenty of warnings/sirens in South Florida.
(That being said.. I'm not saying Florida's without issues. But that's a whole other thread.)

I've never lived in South Florida, but have lived in cities in central/NE/panhandle and don't recall any sirens anywhere. I think individual cities can decide to have them. I think central Florida may have invested more than others after the Lady Lake tornado killed so many people 10 years ago, but I haven't lived anywhere with one.

[815307]

I lived in Tucson for about a year and I loved it, but since it was for such a short time I don't know whether the honeymoon period ever ended. I'd say you have to live somewhere for about 3-4 years to really know if you like it. On the other hand if you don't like where you are you typically know right away.

Tucson had so many restaurants, and it seemed like they had every chain under the sun. They had innout, culvers, whataburger, wienerschnitzel, everything. That was in addition to a ton of local food. It's also such a unique city. Phoenix, which I also like, has a much more cookie cutter feel to it. Tucson sort of feels like a little slice of Mexico in the US, with all the perks of being in the latter (and a few drawbacks of the former). The landscape and layout of the city, and Arizona, is unbelievable. If I had the opportunity to live there again, I would.

One thing I really didn't like though were the border patrol checkpoints. I didn't know something like that existed until I was living down there. It's beyond bizarre to have to have your car scanned, sniffed out by drug dogs, and then be questioned about your citizenship when just driving though the desert. All of the border patrol officers I interacted with were polite, but it's still unsettling.

[numberfive]

We're moving to Nashville next month after over a year's worth of preparations. The housing costs are half, property taxes are 20% of what they are here, longer warmer months, more outdoor activities, closer to employment hubs, etc.

We didn't want to get stuck paying the restaurant bill for other people that have dined earlier.

We'll miss certain things IL has to offer, but look forward to what the new state has to offer too.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by numberfive

We're moving to Nashville next month after over a year's worth of preparations. The housing costs are half, property taxes are 20% of what they are here, longer warmer months, more outdoor activities, closer to employment hubs, etc.

We didn't want to get stuck paying the restaurant bill for other people that have dined earlier.

We'll miss certain things IL has to offer, but look forward to what the new state has to offer too.

Are you keeping the same salary?

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by numberfive

We didn't want to get stuck paying the restaurant bill for other people that have dined earlier.

Classic line!

[Taco1234]

Originally Posted by numberfive

We're moving to Nashville next month after over a year's worth of preparations. The housing costs are half, property taxes are 20% of what they are here, longer warmer months, more outdoor activities, closer to employment hubs, etc.

We didn't want to get stuck paying the restaurant bill for other people that have dined earlier.

We'll miss certain things IL has to offer, but look forward to what the new state has to offer too.

We strongly considered Nashville! Absolutely love it... wasn't right for our careers. We feel same way (why should we pay for all of this damage done) and close next week in northern Georgia. Took 2 years of planning, research, etc... Definitely things we'll miss, but we also know we'll find plenty of new to love and at a dramatically cheaper price! Best wishes...

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

Are you keeping the same salary?

Not exactly. I keep mine, my wife's salary drops by 20-50%. It would be nice if she could keep her same salary, but the buying power advantage by moving to just about any other state is pretty exceptional.

It isn't until you start comparing here to anywhere else in the country that you start to realize how big of a piece of the pie Illinois is taking before you get what's left. Here in Illinois, almost a full 1/3rd of our housing payment goes to taxes. In TN it's 1/10th. That 20%+ going into our pockets instead of a corrupt state is huge. Now tack on that 3.75% since there's no state income tax there, and the reduced cost of living, and my wife's pay cut is actually a pay raise when we look at the big picture.

Then zooming out a little more, investing that extra money shaves years off our retirement date. There's no point to a $300k salary if bills and taxes are $290k. There IS a point if we can spend fewer years in a cubicle and more years cheering our kids on from the bleachers.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by Taco1234

We strongly considered Nashville! Absolutely love it... wasn't right for our careers. We feel same way (why should we pay for all of this damage done) and close next week in northern Georgia. Took 2 years of planning, research, etc... Definitely things we'll miss, but we also know we'll find plenty of new to love and at a dramatically cheaper price! Best wishes...

Oh wow! I remember you Taco, you guys were looking in the Franklin area, right? So you landed on Georgia, eh? Congrats! Alpharetta was on our short list too. Such a beautiful state.

So who gets your snowblower?

[Taco1234]

Originally Posted by numberfive

Oh wow! I remember you Taco, you guys were looking in the Franklin area, right? So you landed on Georgia, eh? Congrats! Alpharetta was on our short list too. Such a beautiful state.

So who gets your snowblower?

Ha.... somehow we don't have one (snowblower). Are you buying in franklin?
In same boat. My husband keeps salary. I take a tiny cut mostly because I have no connections there and I just accepted a job to do something part-time. Once I meet people and network I'm certain I'll be back. Kids start school early so I'm not going to work until August.

We're almost as excited for the financial gains as we are the scenery and weekend trips. I love hills. Asheville, Nashville, blue ridge mountains, Savannah, etc. We have access to family homes in FL and Carolinas too (which we love). I've always felt I belonged east or south. We're excited! I'll sure miss Francesca's and Lou Malnatis though! I did find out Francesca's has expanded and has a restaurant in NC
Nashville had amazing food... whenever we go there's so many great choices (i.e. Hot chicken)!

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by numberfive

Not exactly. I keep mine, my wife's salary drops by 20-50%. It would be nice if she could keep her same salary, but the buying power advantage by moving to just about any other state is pretty exceptional.

It isn't until you start comparing here to anywhere else in the country that you start to realize how big of a piece of the pie Illinois is taking before you get what's left. Here in Illinois, almost a full 1/3rd of our housing payment goes to taxes. In TN it's 1/10th. That 20%+ going into our pockets instead of a corrupt state is huge. Now tack on that 3.75% since there's no state income tax there, and the reduced cost of living, and my wife's pay cut is actually a pay raise when we look at the big picture.

Then zooming out a little more, investing that extra money shaves years off our retirement date. There's no point to a $300k salary if bills and taxes are $290k. There IS a point if we can spend fewer years in a cubicle and more years cheering our kids on from the bleachers.

Hmm, I guess it depends on the individual situation, but I didn't really lose any money by moving here from Dallas. My rent is the same, I only have to fill up my car once per month, my car insurance is cheaper, my electric bill is half, and food seems to be around the same price.

However, based on what I've read, Nashville has a considerably lower cost of living than Dallas or Chicago. I suspect it's similar to Kansas City. I lived there for a few years and it has a very low cost of living. I could probably move there with a 25% cut in salary and maintain the same quality of life.