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My husband and I are struggling here. We have lived in San Jose,CA all our lives and itching for a change. Sick of the growth, traffic, concrete, crime, ridiculous home prices (we live in a 750k fixer upper that we can't afford to fix up!) and pollution.
The east coast seems appealing to us. I dream of a big older updated Craftman Style home on at least 1/4 acre for around 300k, welcoming family oriented community, good schools, perhaps a suburb or small town near a metropolitan city. We like shoping and eating at non-chain good restaurants. We hate Walmart. I love experiencing all the seasons especially fall. Warm summers are important and I wouldn't even mind some snow. I am somewhat of a liberal being from Cali, so mostly conservitive towns that are mostly republican are out of the question. We were looking at Peachtree GA, but it's 70% republican. It broke my heart because the homes were gorgeous!
I am a public school teacher and husband is a diesel mechanic for the transport system here.
Maybe southern Virginia, the Carolinas or Georgia? I don't think you'll get as much house as you want in that price range, from the D.C. area up to the lower New England states or Florida. If you like winter the upper part of New England might be an option, not sure though.
I was going to suggest Massachusetts, although prices of homes can be a bit steep. We moved here (MA) from Southern CA, and can't imagine going back to CA now.
The more liberal areas on the East Coast tend to be amongst the more expensive. I would say however that your best bet would be to check out the areas around Raleigh-Durham. Housing there is downright cheap by California standards, although I'm not sure if you'd be able to find what you're looking for within your price range, winters are fairly mild but generally with at least a bit of snow, and the politics are generally fairly progressive, particularly those areas near Durham and Chapel Hill.
Please visit Peachtree City! I think you would be surprised at how many of us liberals live here! We moved from San Diego and we are really happy here. The schools are fabulous, wonderful recreation and compared to CA it is a steal! We were in the same kind of situation that you describe. It is amazing how much more you can get for your money! We have a great lifestyle here.
Another nice liberal town is Athens, GA. It is the home of UGA and it is IMO the most liberal town in the South.
I think you should try State College, Pa. Very low crime, rural setting, and great schools are just a few of the great things there. SC is home to Penn State, so you can always go see a play or a concert or a sporting event. It is a great place to raise a family. The shoppping is okay, getting better all the time. The Nittany Mall is small, but very nice. It has a Sear's, JC Penny's, Macy's, and a Bon-Ton. Also has an Aeropostale, Hollioster and Gymboree. Downtown has a lot of cute PSU stores, and a really nice Toy Store. Bellefonte is 15 minutes away. It is a victorian town with many really nice shops. Housing is also a lot cheaper than in Cali. $750,000 for a fixer-upper, is awful.
Here is a sample of some houses in the $300,000 range you asked for:
http://happyvalleyhomes.com/Default.aspx?tabid=40&bc=1,2&vw=dtl&qs=sp&h=1&rppg =10&lid=cKk6OjfpZzI%3d&lndx=20&digest=fQDyeYz8E27J Xx7bcOUJUA (broken link)
Also, I don't think you would have any trouble finding a job. Centre County has 5 school districts.:
Maybe you could find a teacher posting at one of these sites.
Also I saw that CATA, our public bus transportation needs an Executive Assistant and Mechanic:
Wow, a Hollister! Gotta move there! I think the OP was looking for something more coastal, and more metropolitan, than Happy Valley.
State College to me is more Midwestern than east coast, even if the student population is largely east coast. State College is easily accessible from I-80, yet close to no major city. Pittsburgh is a haul. People living in Bellefonte (nice town, did they rebuild the German restaurant yet?) probably consider State College "the city."
If you were looking for something more coastal and closer to urbanization, Virginia has the Charlottesville and Richmond areas.
Seeing as how I really don't care for saltwater, there is upstate New York ... not an economic hotbed, and the lake effect snow gets old after the second dump.
A couple of other easterly suggestions for you: Erie, PA and Roanoke, VA
Saratoga Springs NY is the choice for you, beautiful, clean family living in a college town. The town comes alive in the summer with Polo, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center where the NYC ballet summers and of course the best Thoroughbred racing in the world. All in small town at the base of the Adirondack mountains.
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oops!
State College,Pa
