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My family of 4 left the New England area years ago and moved to Florida. We both work for local government and have it made here as the cost of living is so cheap, we have a huge, beautiful home for 100k, no state taxes, electric is averaged at $130, water at $6.00. Unfortunately one of our children, a toddler, has developed a life threatening allergy to fire ants... Fire ants run everywhere and there is no escaping them no matter what you do. It's not like a bee that you can try to avoid... Once spring comes she will suffer in the heat wearing long pants, socks and high tops. Once school starts we can't protect her there, the gym is outside, the hallways are outside. We need to drop everything and get her to a state without them. We're terrified! We don't know much about other states except we do remember the COLD! But we have no choice. Doing some research, which is hard with thousands of Internet sites giving completely different answers... We're considering Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and New Hampshire. I am looking for opinions of people who actually live in these states regarding employment, heating bills (never imagined I'd ever have to use heat again), water/sewer, electric., property taxes, house insurance averages, car inspections (we don't have those here)... Anything you can offer. Thanks!
Welcome to the forum and to C-D. So sorry you have to go through this ordeal, but I'm sure it will be worth it for your little girl's health and your peace of mind.You probably know all about the distribution of fire ants, but I thought I'd post a link for the rest of us:Geographic Distribution of Fire Ants - eXtension
Your questions are so broad that it is hard to answer them, as much as we'd like to help. Obviously you're not going to pick a spot where you can't find work, so employment options will limit your search right there. And then avail yourself of the fantastic resource of City-Data where you can find many answers to your questions if you click on the "City-Data Forum" link at the top of the home page. Many stats for all states and bigger towns are to be found there, including weather stats, political leanings, employment, etc.
I don't know your criteria for choosing the states you mentioned, of course, other than winters cold enough to kill fire ant colonies. I think you should consider including WA State, too.
I agree that if you're considering Oregon & Idaho, then you should consider Washington state which has a stronger economy, better paying jobs, and no state income tax like Florida. Seattle has the best paying jobs but is more expensive. The Tri-Cities in eastern Washington has a strong economy with good paying jobs and is much less expensive than Seattle.
I like both Idaho & Oregon and have lived in both but the jobs just don't pay that well general...a little better in Portland but it's not that much less to live than Seattle.
I don't know about New Hampshire except what I've read and you have a strong economy and they rank high is several areas so I guess that would also be a good option.
Thanks for the responses, appreciate it. I will definitely look into Washington. As for the big beautiful home for 100k, that's one of the reasons I say we have it made here... For that price I might be able to buy a shoebox in the northern states
So very sorry about your situation and I really have nothing to offer.....
Except to rent first, wherever you go, for at least a year. that gives you more flexability if things don't work out. You can't always tell the pros and cons until you've been there. Good Luck
Your migration pattern resembles mine. We lived in Rhode Island during the nineties and moved to St. Cloud, FL until 2007 when we moved to Boise. I like it here and it's a great place to raise kids. Orlando was going to hell in a handbasket when we left, in my opinion. There was a time where there would be a new neighborhood popping up every week, replacing orange groves and lush tropical forests. Then the real estate market plummeted and there were a lot of abandoned McMansions. In Fl, we came face to face with a huge variety of wildlife and pests- not so much in Boise. It is a dry climate, so termites and other bugs are not a problem, in my opinion. Also absent- mold. The winters are really mild, but definitely a change of climate moving from Fl. The nice thing is the humidity. It might be 110F during the day in the summer, but will not stay hot at night.
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