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Young couple of professionals here.
My wife is a CPA and works as an auditor for an accounting firm, and I do full time tech consulting for a city agency. We currently live in NYC. And just had a child, who's now 4 months old.
I'm relatively happy here in NYC. But my wife is not. I grew up in Santiago, which is Chile's biggest city, so I'm somewhat used to living with a lot of people around me. As I child I grew up in an apartment (albeit, not a NY-sized one; lol) But she's from smaller town in Poland, and grew up in a house with large spaces where basically everybody knew each other.
Lately she has grown very tired of NY's high density and fast pace of life. Especially now that we have a child. And no matter how much I rationalize or overlook the negatives of living here I got to admit, some of her concerns do make me ponder.
The cost of living here is very high. Especially when it comes to housing.
If you wanted to buy, even at our 140k combined h/h income, you'd be hard pressed to find a true 2br apt (forget about a house) in a safe neighborhood with good transportation.
We currently rent a 800 sfq apt in Long Island city, Queens for which we pay $1,500. On a national level, this might sound outrageous to some, but for NYers (and transplants alike) this is sounds like a great deal, given the Manhattan proximity.
Ultimately, I want my wife to be happy, but I get cold feet to quit my current job, move and then struggle to find one. We have some cash reserves, but I want to increase them, not deplete them.
On the other hand, we're still young and can probably afford the risk.
I have an apartment in downtown Santiago, and my wife has even suggested we move there, but I feel we should give a try to another city in the U.S. before we make that move.
So that brings me to the question, what kind of city would you recommend in the U.S. for a young family like ours?
I appreciate any thoughtful/helpful input.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by on-wheels; 04-12-2013 at 08:06 AM..
Young couple of professionals here.
My wife works as an auditor for an accounting firm, and I do full time tech consulting for a city agency. We currently live in NYC. And just had a child, who's now 4 months old.
I'm relatively happy here in NYC. But my wife is not. I grew up in Santiago, which is Chile's biggest city, so I'm somewhat used to living with a lot of people around me. As I child I grew up in an apartment (albeit, not a NY-sized one; lol) But she's from smaller town in Poland, and grew up in a house with large spaces where basically everybody knew each other.
Lately she has grown very tired of NY's high density and fast pace of life. Especially now that we have a child. And no matter how much I rationalize or overlook the negatives of living here I got to admit, some of her concerns do make me ponder.
The cost of living here is very high. Especially when it comes to housing.
At 140k h/h combined income, you'd be hard pressed to find a true 2br apt (forget about a house) in a safe neighborhood with good transportation.
We currently rent a 800 sfq apt in Long Island city, Queens for which we pay $1,500. On a national level, this might sound outrageous to some, but for NYers (and transplants alike) this is sounds like a great deal, given the Manhattan proximity.
Ultimately, I want my wife to be happy, but I get cold feet to quit my current job, move and then struggle to find one. We have some cash reserves, but I want to increase them, not deplete them.
On the other hand, we're still young and can probably afford the risk.
I have an apartment in downtown Santiago, and my wife has even suggested we move there, but I feel we should give a try to another city in the U.S. before we make that move.
So that brings me to the question, what kind of city would you recommend in the U.S. for a young family like ours?
I appreciate any thoughtful/helpful input.
Thanks in advance.
Santiago is truly a great, culturally diverse city and not far from the coast. That's a big move, but it's also home for you. Only concerns I would have are the problems with air pollution and I would feel somewhat isolated in Chile. With that said, have you looked into Upstate New York or other cities like Philadelphia or Baltimore that are much cheaper than New York, and could easily make a living off that salary in those cities.
More specifically, what are you looking for in an area to live in? Suburbs? Park? Want to be close to certain places of culture? It would be easy to narrow down places off certain criteria you may have. Outside Valparaiso and Santiago your choices are quite limited versus your options in the U.S.
Santiago is truly a great, culturally diverse city and not far from the coast. That's a big move, but it's also home for you. Only concerns I would have are the problems with air pollution and I would feel somewhat isolated in Chile. With that said, have you looked into Upstate New York or other cities like Philadelphia or Baltimore that are much cheaper than New York, and could easily make a living off that salary in those cities.
More specifically, what are you looking for in an area to live in? Suburbs? Park? Want to be close to certain places of culture? It would be easy to narrow down places off certain criteria you may have. Outside Valparaiso and Santiago your choices are quite limited versus your options in the U.S.
Hey thanks for the reply.
I actually like Santiago. It has a good amount of food & transportation options and large green spaces. Being 1hr away from the beach or mountains is a HUGE plus for us, since we love them both.
But as you correctly point out, air quality and isolation are major drawbacks. Especially that wifye is from Poland, and a flight across the pond from NY is just 8 hrs. but from Chile it would be like 15hr if not more with connections. Not to mention that said flight would be way more expensive.
Also, my apt down there is (a 1br) and is located in probably one of the most Bohemian/party geared parts of town. Not exactly what I would have in mind as a great place to live for a small child growing up.
My wife wants to have a larger space to live in, ideally with a backyard in some nice scenic neighborhood. What we have now was good as a childless couple. It's close to Manhattan so our commutes are really fast (< 30mins), within walking distance we have tons of restaurants around us, and a decent amount of bars and lounges. Most importantly to me it's very safe and diverse.
But with a child, I think most people wanna have a yard, a more quiet life, and an overall more relaxed environment.
Living a concrete jungle like NYC, does takes a toll on you, I admit it.
I personally don't mind it, but now that I have a child, I've become more aware of the negatives of having a child growing up here.
Upstate NY is a convinient possibility, given the fact that my wife has a CPA from NYS and I have NYC working experience, but I worry about getting a job that would allows to have a comfortable living.
I guess that's a risk we would be taking no matter where we decide to move, anyway.
Again, thanks the reply, I appreciate it.
Last edited by on-wheels; 04-12-2013 at 09:31 AM..
Nah, Dallas is stretching into OK, AR and LA. yall got lots of room. We have hit our boundary on three sides No more room
Dallas itself isn't stretching anywhere. It's the suburbs that are romping further and further north. That's where most of the growth is...not so much to the east or northeast.
No offense, but TX or the most of the South for that matter, are not places we feel drawn to.
We'd like to stay on the North East, if possible, else move out West.
I personally like Washington state, Colorado and California. Although the latter is as expensive as NY.
I recommended Houston because it has an awesome job market and a low cost of living.
Good luck with your search.
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No more room 
