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Lost and confused! My wife and I have lived in Santa Cruz, California for the last 5 years. I'm from Australia. We lived in Sydney, Australia for a year together before that. We are both sick of Santa Cruz. We just had a baby and it's not a good fit for us. I quit my job, she has a new boss she doesn't like and, although we have plenty of friends, there don't seem to be many people like us. Unemployment is also 15% and very limited. We'd like to have family close but her parents live in Columbus, Ohio which she's not keen on, I don't have a clue about any other U.S. cities and we really don't have any huge connections to anywhere else. Moving back to Australia seems like a huge undertaking but we would have help there and the economy seems to be doing so much better. My wife worries about her career opportunities in Australia.
We want to get out of Santa Cruz pronto. While both quitting our jobs seems crazy we're both I think hard working educated people. Any clues?
You seem to be in need of doing some research. Make a list of your criteria, what's important to you and how much can you afford to pay for housing. Moving to Australia because one city in the US isn't working for you seems extreme. Give us some criteria to work with and I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions.
Main thing is career opportunities. My wife works at a museum and enjoys her work but it's one of two in town and they are very small. I don't have a defined career path. I've done a number of things in teh corporate world from logistics to analyst. I am a triathlon coach which I enjoy but have not been able to transition it to full-time employment. We also want the regular stuff for our family, safe, stimulating, affordable environment for our little boy. We've toyed with New York, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco...Anyways, thanks for the feedback.
Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Madison (WI), Cedar City (UT), Athens (OH), Fargo are some cities off the top of my head with very low cost of living and a better quality of life than most American cities, especially California cities (notable for sprawl, crime, and high CoL)
Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Madison (WI), Cedar City (UT), Athens (OH), Fargo are some cities off the top of my head with very low cost of living and a better quality of life than most American cities, especially California cities (notable for sprawl, crime, and high CoL)
Perhaps other college towns like Ithaca NY, Madison WI, Burlington VT and Amherst MA, might work. There are others as well.
Choices can be so difficult to make it can overwhelm a person. You have a wife that is from the states and your from Australia. Right there can make decisions all the more difficult. I don't know if your wife is really opened to living in Australia or will only live in the US. As for you I don't get the feeling your really missing Australia, your just sort of lost now with this country and its diffculties. Especially Santa Cruz. Yes the economy is in the tank for so many in this country. I can only imagine what Santa Cruz would be like. Its basically a tourist area and the unemployment is going to be very high.
Santa Cruz is a nice place to visit but for large numbers of Americans they could not live there, so your not alone on that issue.
I would say right now a support system and a stronger economy, and a place that brings some peace and comfort to you and your family is most important. If you can find an area of the USA that brings that to you, then give it a shot before packing up are returing to Australia. Maybe you could look into Denver or Dallas, Houston, Austin Texas. All of these cities especially Texas has stronger economies and a better job base. You would be somewhat closer to her family if you were living in Texas vs California. Or you could look in the Raleigh NC area which has a fairly strong economy and employment locations. A number of people from Ohio moved there for jobs and its not far from Ohio.
If in the end when you weigh everything up, maybe returning to your homeland is the best thing to do. Its a decision you and your wife are really going to have to sit down and weigh all your options and needs.
I wish you and your wife the best of luck. I bet the both of you will come up with a plan that gets you out of Santa Cruz and on a better path in life.
Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Madison (WI), Cedar City (UT), Athens (OH), Fargo are some cities off the top of my head with very low cost of living and a better quality of life than most American cities, especially California cities (notable for sprawl, crime, and high CoL)
Other places are cheaper but that's about it. California has plenty of cities among the safest in all rankings on the matter.
The Original poster can simply drive over the hill to the Bay Area and find many great suburbs and cities to live in.
Thanks all. Nice to get such thoughtful advice from strangers. We decided on Chicago as a good compromise for big city with opportunities and closer to family. Leaving in a month!
Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Madison (WI), Cedar City (UT), Athens (OH), Fargo are some cities off the top of my head with very low cost of living and a better quality of life than most American cities, especially California cities (notable for sprawl, crime, and high CoL)
Several California cities regularly make the list of safest cities... Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, among others.
Thanks all. Nice to get such thoughtful advice from strangers. We decided on Chicago as a good compromise for big city with opportunities and closer to family. Leaving in a month!
Wow good luck! You picked an amazing city and you won't be disappointed!
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