[ReadytoMove2?]

If I could find a city/town that has a reasonable cost of living but it is situated with easy access to areas where residents have disposable income and a lifestyle where a personal chef could be useful, that would be ideal...

Are there any areas you can recommend that are affordable ($500-$700/month rent) but not public housing/low income type areas? My fiance are young and looking to get established - he is a highschool math teacher and I am a personal chef. So I would love to be somewhere that is affordable for us to live yet where I can reach my target market that has disposable income to afford and/or would need personal chef services. It would be nice if I could find somewhere that has consistent growth, but not so oversaturated that my small business will fail or get lost among others. Those are my priorities - but other things I would like to see in my new city are:

easy access to freeways, or enough stores in walking distance
reliable public transportation
not too much wildlife in close reach (snakes, spiders)
decent amount of culture/city activites (ethnic festivals, museums)
nice mix of 'eclectic' restaurants, boutiques (not just standard chains)
locals that aren't too snobb, but rather warm and welcoming (more of a small town feel)
centrally located to smaller towns/suburbs
nightlife is not important
climate/seasons that do not have extreme weather conditions, including uncomfortable southern humidity, dessert like heat, some snow is ok


I know I listed alot, even if you could help me with one or two of my concerns that would be amazing... I'm in Michigan right now, and anywhere is better than here lol

[pjg66]

If you're looking for a place that doesn't have "uncomfortable southern humidity", then why are you posting on the Alabama forum?

It's not going to be easy to find a place that meets all those requirements. You are going to have to narrow it down to what is really MOST important to you, and what is practically achievable.

But I wish you well in your search.

[Woodcutterron]

Wow . . . . you want a job that caters to your every desire . . . . . yea . . .come one down, for a reality check.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by ReadytoMove2?

If I could find a city/town that has a reasonable cost of living but it is situated with easy access to areas where residents have disposable income and a lifestyle where a personal chef could be useful, that would be ideal...

Are there any areas you can recommend that are affordable ($500-$700/month rent) but not public housing/low income type areas? My fiance are young and looking to get established - he is a highschool math teacher and I am a personal chef. So I would love to be somewhere that is affordable for us to live yet where I can reach my target market that has disposable income to afford and/or would need personal chef services. It would be nice if I could find somewhere that has consistent growth, but not so oversaturated that my small business will fail or get lost among others. Those are my priorities - but other things I would like to see in my new city are:

easy access to freeways, or enough stores in walking distance
reliable public transportation
not too much wildlife in close reach (snakes, spiders)
decent amount of culture/city activites (ethnic festivals, museums)
nice mix of 'eclectic' restaurants, boutiques (not just standard chains)
locals that aren't too snobb, but rather warm and welcoming (more of a small town feel)
centrally located to smaller towns/suburbs
nightlife is not important
climate/seasons that do not have extreme weather conditions, including uncomfortable southern humidity, dessert like heat, some snow is ok


I know I listed alot, even if you could help me with one or two of my concerns that would be amazing... I'm in Michigan right now, and anywhere is better than here lol

You need to seriously NARROW your search. Looking at 11 other states will not get you the info you need. EVERY state has something that will be appealing--economically as well as domestic aspects.
Once YOU decide what your priorities are, you can then look at 2 maybe three states before focusing on ONE place then seek employment based on your criteria. What happens if you and your significant other are offered employment in 3 or 4 states? How then do you decide where to go? Will you base the decision simply on MONEY? Then consider the states with stronger economies. Weather? No humidity? Then NC and SC and parts of GA should be eliminated from the list now. A little snow is ok? Why look at Hawaii?
Focus the needs and narrow the wants and your list will then have the state or two you need to investigate.

[Threestep2]

I am sorry but that takes every place I lived in after 16 trans-US moves out of the equation.

[ReadytoMove2?]

Ok, I was posting here truly looking for help - no need to be snippy. Each city I am looking in or posted in has a few things I was looking for but these are my priorities as highlighted above:

Affordable living in the $500-$700 but not low income/public housing type are.
It would be nice if I could find somewhere that has consistent growth, but not so oversaturated that my small business will fail or get lost among others.

The rest is really negotiable and not as much of a priority - constructive feedback and help is really appreciated as I am starting my search from the ground up.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by ReadytoMove2?

Ok, I was posting here truly looking for help - no need to be snippy. Each city I am looking in or posted in has a few things I was looking for but these are my priorities as highlighted above:

Affordable living in the $500-$700 but not low income/public housing type are.
It would be nice if I could find somewhere that has consistent growth, but not so oversaturated that my small business will fail or get lost among others.

The rest is really negotiable and not as much of a priority - constructive feedback and help is really appreciated as I am starting my search from the ground up.

Noone has been snippy. Living 500-700 but not low income type housing, public transportation, consistent growth but not oversaturated, small business will not fail - that takes The South and every metro market out of the equation. A bit convaluted but a lot of information U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) - bea.gov Home Page

[Southlander]

A small town does NOT equal public transportation. It's too expensive to run a system for a small number of people. Plus, very few cities in the South have public transportation. Best of luck to you.

[Woodcutterron]

Okay, I cop to being a little "snippy" . . .sorry about that. But really, your desires ruled out virtually every city on the planet. If I'm wrong and you find such a place please let me know, cuz I'm headed there!

[Autumn_Cowboy]

Perhaps Irondale, AL, in Birmingham is close to what you are looking for. Affordable, relatively low crime compared to other parts of Birmingham in the near vicinity, and it sits right next to Mountain Brook, which is the best place for a personal chef to look in Alabama for people with disposable income.