Escaping California, where to? (sale, real estate, 2014)

[Nanny Goat]

Charlotte, NC?

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Nanny Goat

Charlotte, NC?

Getting there but not that conservative, although it's the hometown of Billy Graham so you could call it a Bible Belt buckle. Maybe, but I'd still go for Greenville down in SC.

[SyraBrian]

How about Johnson County, Kansas?

[A_Murrican]

Originally Posted by Escape from Los Angeles

... a bit about me:

I'm a 27 year old female
Single and straight, with goals to settle down and have kids
Educated to the Masters level in Economics
Born and raised in Southern California
Not particularly religious, but I am Christian via family converting
Lifelong Republican

...I lived in College Station, Texas for almost 6 years studying at Texas A&M and would have stayed in Texas for my PhD,...Don't get my wrong the weather is beautiful, the topography is beautiful and I have no complaints about growing up here but the insane cost of living, the taxes, illegal immigrants and the lack of like minded folks here is leading me to leave.

... profit from selling it will enable me to relocate somewhere and be able to purchase a home mortgage free.

Here is the place I am searching for, please tell me where it exists:
Major Metropolitan Area, defined by me as having a population exceeding 1 million people
Low crime
Vibrant economy
Social life for young people and singles
Republican state
Somewhere unwelcoming to illegal immigrants (E-verify, proactive policing, no sanctuary policies)
Good future prospects
A 3/2 home in a safe suburban neighborhood can be purchased for $250,000

Essentially, I want a safe "Brady Bunch" suburbia environment in a thriving metropolitan area with a populace with whom I see eye to eye on, at least politically.

The west is all I know, and the environment is familiar to me but I am open to anywhere

Somebody suggested Phoenix for me, and while my experience there was positive it was also limited. However others have said that it is "LA with a 20 year lag and no beach" and this scares me. The only 3 metropolitan areas outside of California that I have ruled out are Houston, Atlanta and South Florida.

Any suggestions?

1st off, let me say that if I was only 20 years younger, I'd be asking for your phone# or to meet in Long Beach for dinner [I'm down behind the Orange Curtain in Irvine...]

Have a friend who used to live in Tucson, who says "AZ has two seasons: summer & HELL." Yes, Tucson is even hotter than Phoenix, but your wish to avoid a significant population/draw for illegal aliens rules out southern AZ. And there are no other major metro areas in that fine state. And water is only going to become more of an issue as the West continues to dessicate.

Your desire for "major metro" & "low crime" are mutually exclusive wants: criminals prey on people, and when you concentrate people you concentrate the opportunity for crime. But you know that, you have an econ degree [my BA was in econ from UCI. Woot! ] Also, when you concentrate people, you concentrate the demand for housing: are you certain you want the higher home prices that will bring in tow?

You state you want to live in a Red state [sidebar: when & how did they subvert the voting color coding from when I was a kid? Used to be that Rep states were blue and Dem states were (correctly) coded red, but some time in the '90s I noticed that had changed? Whassup w/ that?], which these days generally means no coastline. You grew up in SoCal, are you going to be comfortable w/ having a multi-day road trip or flying being your only ocean-sports options? [Yeah, that's a tough one for me...can you tell? ]

Vibrant economy: ouch. The only good economic news I've seen reported lately has all been from points in the South, as local govts. willing to bend over backward have actively woo'd manufacturers from the rust belt and aerospace firms from the west to move there. The rest of US jobs have been actively exported to China since the early 90s. It seems to me that the U.S. has a lot further to fall before people wake up & smell the coffee, realizing that the economic free ride we had that began back in the '40s because everyone else's manufacturing capacity had been bombed flat in WWII is finally O-V-E-R, and we're all going to have to work harder for lower wages than we've been accustomed to for the past 50 years... Yes, it sux. Malthus lives!

You said you liked College Station [my birthplace, fwiw] and only moved back to the PRK to help mom [sorry for your loss, btw.] Have you considered going back to A&M to finish your degree, and making up your mind after that milestone? Like the joke goes, "a lot can happen in a year..."

Best o' luck. Let me know if you find someplace that fits your description: except for the "young singles" part, it reads a lot like my own list of desirables...

[DANNNY__]

Have you considered Spokane, WA or Boise, ID? Both are fairly vibrant towns of about 200K that lean conservative (especially in the suburbs) and are affordable. Spokane doesn't have a low crime rate, but it's not really high either.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by DANNNY__

Have you considered Spokane, WA or Boise, ID? Both are fairly vibrant towns of about 200K that lean conservative (especially in the suburbs) and are affordable. Spokane doesn't have a low crime rate, but it's not really high either.

At risk of being harsh, there's no reason for anyone to move to Spokane unless it's for a major promotion and you have no alternative

Boise, OTOH, is a neat little city if you can afford to live in the city rather than commuting in from the outlying towns.

[Lets Eat Candy]

What exactly do you do for a living? That should narrow things down a bit. You mentioned that you have an advanced degree in Economics, are you planning to teach or do finance? If its the former, you could live almost anywhere, but if its the latter, you might be restricted to other similarly liberal cities as Los Angeles.

[cityKing]

Try moving to South Florida or Central Florida it may be a good fit for you maybe even Las Vegas, NV area.

[Prickly Pear]

Sounds like Phoenix, Arizona. I can tell you my parent's 4/2 house in the suburbs was no more than 150k. Huge presence of young people thanks to ASU. And believe me, Arizonans are not very fond of immigrants in general. Phoenix has a pretty decent economy I would say. Also, if you prefer living amongst the religious, if you look more at outer-ring suburbs like Queen Creek, Gilbert, Surprise... there are more Mormons than how many there are closer to town but, there are religious people all over Arizona. Crime here is also in certain neighborhoods so as long as you don't live in those neighborhoods, you are good.

As someone who lived in Phoenix for 20 years and has visited Southern California often, I would say Phoenix resembles San Diego more than LA. Though there are many differences even then. Also, you won't experience a "culture shock" if you move to Phoenix.

[StreetLegal]

Originally Posted by :-D

Sounds like Phoenix, Arizona. I can tell you my parent's 4/2 house in the suburbs was no more than 150k. Huge presence of young people thanks to ASU. And believe me, Arizonans are not very fond of immigrants in general. Phoenix has a pretty decent economy I would say. Also, if you prefer living amongst the religious, if you look more at outer-ring suburbs like Queen Creek, Gilbert, Surprise... there are more Mormons than how many there are closer to town but, there are religious people all over Arizona. Crime here is also in certain neighborhoods so as long as you don't live in those neighborhoods, you are good.

This is just a wonderful description of Arizona. What great religious values you've got out there. The only time you'll ever see me in a church or a synagogue is for a wedding or a funeral. Otherwise I steer clear for all the obvious reasons....