Contemplating relocating but have no idea where to (middle-class, rentals)

[teenerz]

I am a single female in her early 30's currently living on Long Island, NY. I was born and raised here and while I love all that it offers - close to NYC, beaches, parks, shopping - I often feel that my quality of life may be better elsewhere simply due to the cost of living here. I lived in Rochester, NY for a few years and it was definitely affordable, but I couldn't stand the cold, the snow, and lack of sun in the wintertime.

I work in IT and I'm a long time renter, but would love to buy a home. I've been looking at co-ops/condos down here because houses, even in this slow market, are out of my price range (I make $55,000/year). I'd love to live somewhere that my money goes a little farther (and where I could possibly realize my dream of owning a horse as well.)

Here are some of the things I would like:
-A climate similar to Long Island's (could be warmer, but definitely not colder)
-Lots of sunny days (although I like the occasional rainy days (and thunderstorms!) as well)
-Lots of trees/very green
-Ideally near water - preferably an ocean
-A suburban community but with a downtown type of area nearby
-If possible, a decent sized city within a reasonable distance (I am a little over an hour away from NYC where I am now)

Is it possible to find something like this, or should I just stay on LI? I've thought about Connecticut and Oregon - Connecticut because I am familiar with it and in some respects it has similarities to LI, and Oregon because it seems beautiful and affordable. I thought about Las Vegas for a while too, as I have family there, and while I enjoy visiting and I like the fact that there is always something to do there, I don't like the weather and the lack of greenery.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

[ajf131]

Flip a coin seriously, I have no idea what to say but keep your options open and think about what it is that you really want for your new home. Seriously though, if you want a city that has similar weather to Long Island, I would suggest someplace in the Midwest like St. Louis. St. Louis and New York have VERY similar weather.

[milquetoast]

Ojai. Lots of ranches, horses. Santa Barbara down on the coast. L. A. a little furthur down. Best weather!

[dullnboring]

It sounds to me like if it weren't for the cost of living, you'd be perfectly happy on Long Island. So with that in mind, I'd recommend going the shortest distance where your dollar goes much further. How about looking at the next big city to your south, Philadelphia? Philadelphia and it's suburbs in Pennsylvania, South Jersey and northern Delaware, are all fairly "cheap" by East Coast standards with home prices probably around 60% that of Long Island. The weather's the same, you're somewhat near the Jersey Shore, and there are plenty of quaint downtowns.

[OREGONRAIN]

I did what you are considering. That is move, I moved from Massachusetts to Oregon in 2005. My heart is definitely on the east coast, and I have decided to move back within the year. The above post makes alot of sense look in those regions before you pack up and move so far from home. I wanted a lower cost, and milder winters and natural beauty, the beauty is here, the cost is cheaper than Mass, but the economy here is not desirable. Many are oblivious to it here, but I have noticed a number of college grads are working minimum wage jobs here, there is little industry in this region of the country. I am in Portland. I don't need to work full time and that has been my life saver or I would of left within 6 months. Housing is cheaper by our northeast standards but still very high, and I don't think the neighborhoods are all that desirable and alot of properties seem beat up. If you decide on Oregon, There are no other large metro areas other than Portland here, and this one is rather small. Look in the suburbs as the properties seem to be taken care of better. In the city itself there are hundreds of high priced condos in high rises, some I am finding are now having to be just rented as apts. They are finding there are not enough buyers for all these buildings and many will just be converted to rentals. My point is the grass is not always greener some place else, sometimes we just have too look a little further down the road from where we are to make life a little cheaper and easier on us. Check those areas closer to your home and see how it goes.

[SteelCityRising]

You might want to look into Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. This town is an upper-middle-class suburb of Scranton with a small downtown area home to an organic foods market, yoga studios, a jazz cafe, antiques stores, gift shops, etc. The population of Greater Clarks Summit (an area known locally as "The Abingtons") is home to about 31,000 residents, and it is about 10 minutes away from Scranton (pop. 72,000), and about two hours and fifteen minutes northwest of either Philadelphia or New York City.

There aren't a whole lot of IT opportunities here (my father is a systems analyst, so I should know), but there are some if you're vigilant and competitive. $50,000 goes much further in Northeastern Pennsylvania than it does in Greater NYC. It fits all of your criteria except for being located near the ocean; I don't think you'll find any affordable areas along the immediate coasts.

[teenerz]

Thanks so much for your input everyone. I actually hadn't really considered Pennsylvania before - I honestly haven't been there except to drive through when I used to go back and forth to college in upstate NY. It sounds very appealing and since it's so close, I think I'll take a weekend and head out there to experience it firsthand. Plus I am afraid of moving far away and feeling that it's not really "home" and then deciding to come back to LI.

Thanks again for the suggestions, it's much appreciated!

[the_pines]

Check in to some Cleveland burbs.