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@duster1979 I assure you I am not a spammer. Why did you use my quote about affordability and say I am out of touch with reality? Yeah I know that I'm going to have to make sacrifices and compromises. I looked up the average salary in every state for someone with a masters in social work. See https://careers.socialworkers.org/fi...larysurvey.asp
I am a 23 year old woman, and in a couple years I want to move out of Texas. I am having trouble finding a place that fits my criteria. It seems like all liberal states are expensive and freezing in the winter.
Here is what I am looking for:
Low crime (this is an absolute requirement)
Not a big city like Dallas, Austin, Chicago, or Boston (this is an absolute requirement)
Weather: mild or warm. Doesn’t get in the teens or below freezing. I can’t physically and mentally handle freezing cold, rainy, windy weather. Especially if it is happening all at once. (This is an absolute requirement)
Affordable for recent grad starting a job in social work. I suspect I will be making between 40i and 60k a year (this is an absolute requirement)
Liberal and/or progressive. It’s okay if the state is conservative as long as there are liberal pockets (high priority)
Small town or small city. A small town should be within an hour drive or less from a big city. Preferably one that had a University or teaching hospital. (High to very high priority)
Good for hiking, walking, lots of scenery like forests, parks, hills, nature trails. Fancy restaurants and nightlife are not important to me. (Mid to high priority)
I don’t plan on raising a family. I would like to get married eventually. So a median age around 35 would be good. (Low to mid priority).
Good public transportation (low priority).
Thank you!!!
Affordable for recent grad starting a job in social work. I suspect I will be making between 40i and 60k a year (this is an absolute requirement)
I should clarify that I will have a Masters in Social Work.
LOL, I'm almost 67 and still a liberal! (always have been)
How old does one have to be for this magical transformation to take place?
My dad is 72, and hasn't hit the magical turning point where you become conservative, yet. Neither has my 71-year old mother-in-law. One is rural, one is urban/suburban.
OP, the suggestions of Eureka Springs and Asheville are not bad ones, given your criteria.
I'm new here. I tried replying to a few posts, but I can't tell if they went through. Please let me know if they did.
I should clarify that I am going straight from my undergrad degree in social work to my Masters in Social work before I move out of state. Also I will have a little over $100,000 starting out, which will help. I looked up average MSW salary and it says between 40K and 60K. See https://careers.socialworkers.org/fi...larysurvey.asp Am I missing something?
Cost of housing is most important when it comes to affordability. Housing should be below national average. I would like to be able to buy a one bedroom condo. I don't go out to eat and at fancy restaurants or shop at expensive places.
Also, when offering suggestions feel free to disregard my preference for a liberal place. Realistically, my top three criteria are housing below the national average, safe, and doesn't get freezing cold in the winter. Or am I still not being realistic?
If you expect to live there for any length of time, choose a conservative area.
Because you will become more so, as you become older!
Just hit my 69th birthday and I may be even MORE liberal than I was 40 years ago. And I now live in rural, conservative land. SW TN, the Ohio Valley that still supports the twittering twit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coloradomom22
You made me laugh out loud. I was thinking the exact same thing. $40-60k a year for social work? I have friends who live in a high COL place with higher salaries and even they don't make that much after several years of experience. OP is living in a dream world but maybe it is a spammer.
I don't like calling someone a spammer based on one thread. But I have no problem referring to the OP as a dreamer. More like Alice in Wonderland concerning the rural and salary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox Terrier
LOL, I'm almost 67 and still a liberal! (always have been)
How old does one have to be for this magical transformation to take place?
I'll let you know when I hit my late 70s if there's a transformation. I can't see it happening. I come from a long line of liberals - my grandmother, born in 1897, supported women's rights and possibly would have burned her bra but she didn't wear one. She taught me about standing up for one's rights and I hope I have passed it down to my children, grandchildren, and greats when they are old enough.
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Originally Posted by PeteATL41
Asheville, NC, Athens, GA, Nashville could also work if you want a bigger metro (although Athens is only 90 minutes from Atlanta most of the time).
Quote:
Originally Posted by AceQueenJacqueline
Affordable for recent grad starting a job in social work. I suspect I will be making between 40i and 60k a year (this is an absolute requirement)
I should clarify that I will have a Masters in Social Work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AceQueenJacqueline
Hi,
I'm new here. I tried replying to a few posts, but I can't tell if they went through. Please let me know if they did.
I should clarify that I am going straight from my undergrad degree in social work to my Masters in Social work before I move out of state. Also I will have a little over $100,000 starting out, which will help. I looked up average MSW salary and it says between 40K and 60K. See https://careers.socialworkers.org/fi...larysurvey.asp Am I missing something?
Cost of housing is most important when it comes to affordability. Housing should be below national average. I would like to be able to buy a one bedroom condo. I don't go out to eat and at fancy restaurants or shop at expensive places.
Also, when offering suggestions feel free to disregard my preference for a liberal place. Realistically, my top three criteria are housing below the national average, safe, and doesn't get freezing cold in the winter. Or am I still not being realistic?
Yes, you are missing something. You are missing the difference between average and real. Average means mid-point. You don't want a big-city so you're already lower than the average; you want warm weather, so now you're even lower; and you want semi-rural for hiking, etc. Take your average and drop it by half. That's if you're lucky. You want a low COL area so now drop your average even lower. You will have zero experience so you're lower still. Your piece of paper saying Master doesn't get you a whole lot. That average of $40K is the average low end; and the average high salary is $60. Seriously, look at salaries, not a range of averages.
If you want to avoid a city, your options and opportunities for employment are fewer; especially without the real criterion - experience.
I'm not trying to burst your bubble or dissuade you from your dream; but you most likely will need to put at least one absolute must have in the closet while you gain some experience.
Locations: once you move out of the northeast, east coast, and west coast, COL drops by a lot - as does income. Move away from a big city in the warm states and you are looking at COL and income even further down the ladder. Much of TN has at least some snow and freezing temps during the winter - which is generally Jan and Feb; but this past year it started in Dec and went through March. Here in SW TN, we saw freezing rain, snow, ice on the roads, and generally icky weather for twice as many days last year as any other days since we moved here 6 years ago. We are in the country.
You said:
Quote:
Cost of housing is most important when it comes to affordability. Housing should be below national average. I would like to be able to buy a one bedroom condo. I don't go out to eat and at fancy restaurants or shop at expensive places.
There are places where you can easily buy a one-bedroom condo - $50K and there are few "fancy" restaurants or expensive stores at which to shop. Want a Saks, Williams-Sonoma? head back to the cities - there isn't anything like that in most of the smaller cities in the south so at least you won't miss them. But those are the places that your income is comparative to costs. You don't get high salary without the high col. Sorry - and that's why people are saying you're dreaming/missing.
College, sadly, does not prepare one for reality. I had a huge awakening when I headed into the working world.
One place that comes to mind is Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC. I'm not overly familiar with the area, but it's probably worth checking it out. Sounds like it's in the ballpark.
We live in this area. Crime is low. Housing is semi-affordable. Durham/Chapel Hill area has lots of young people, great places to eat. Duke, UNC. Problem is getting a decent paying job in social work.
Asheville might be a better fit, particularly if OP can get on with the VA there.
Liberal. Lots of young people. UC Asheville. Drop dead gorgeous. If you go outside of town a ways, housing is more affordable than right in Asheville.
There is a website that will give you suggestions if you enter your requirements. It even allows you to rank them in priority as you did in your post. I don't remember what it is called, but I'm sure Google can find it for you.
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Salary Clarification
