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Hello all, we are a family of 6. We are currently living in Southeastern VA and hate it. My husband is in the military and his contract is ending in September/October, so we are interested in moving to a place where the cost of living is moderate-low and where the income is pretty decent. We don't mind going any where in the country actually. We just want to be in place where the unemployment rate is somewhat low, the housing market is not completely messed up and where what we earn can pay the bills. I guess it might be a far off dream...but does any one have any idea of where this can be? I would like to raise my family in a nice quiet place away from the craziness of metropolitan areas. In other words, I would like to live close enough to a city so that we can work, but far enough that we can have some peace and maybe a little land.
Thank you...
we live in sugar grove, illinois. it is about 50 miles west of chicago(can make it to the city in an hour or so). we love it here. have lived here for 20 years. a variety of housing types. prices from 225,000 to one million. gas is currently 3.25 a gallon. milk is from 1.99 a gallon to 2.99 a gallon depending on which store you shop! our population is just under 9,000. our town is adjacent(just west) of aurora, which is the second largest city in illinois. have no idea what you are looking for, but you can check out the website Sugar Grove Illinois - Home Page
Hello, thanks for the reply. Sugar Grove sounds like a wonderful place. I think with our income (and after we finish cleaning up our credit) we can afford homes out there. I did live in Illinois before, Zion to be more specific. We lived out there for about 6 months when my husband was in Great Lakes for basic training and for school with the Navy. I actually like it out there, but the weather was a bit crazy. Hmmmm... Now that I think about it, we haven't consider going back to IL. I'm gonna run this idea by my DH and see what he thinks. Thanks for reminding me about the Midwest. We lived in WA state before, and that for some reason, seems to be the only place DH doesn't want to go back to. I love it there though...it is so nice and fresh to live in the Puget Sound area...raising a family out there would have been wonderful. It is beatiful.
You might consider the Raleigh NC area. We recently moved here and find it meets many of the criteria you mentioned. Check out the NC threads. Charlotte is also good.
Personally, I think it is difficult to get a consensus answer to a question like this. The things you want, everyone wants and there are simply many, many, many places in a country as big as the U.S. where they can be found. IMO it comes down to 'intrinsics' the unique things about a place that resonate with what you want. So, what is that? Is it mountains, tree's, mild winters? Shoreline? Your husband doesn't like Washington, hmmmm. Does he like Oregon? There is a big difference between Eastern Washington and Oregon vs Western Oregon and Washington. Would that be worth discussing. What about New Mexico? Arizona? All these places are very different in their climates, geographies and the politics and sensibilities of the majority population but in each of them a city could be found where you and yours could find the economic and practical things you want. I have avoided mentioning places like Raleigh and Charlotte only because IMO if you hate VA I can't see why NC would hit you much differently. I actually like Raleigh-Durham and Roanoke, VA was on my long list but thats me. So, again, what are your 'druthers?
I'd suggest areas outside of St. Louis. Missouri is a beautiful area and you can buy a home with an acre of land for less than 150k and still be less than an hour drive to the city. The metro has nearly 3 million people and the suburbs are vibrant and there are plenty of jobs available in nearly every field in areas not only in the city but in the suburbs as well.
There has been almost no housing downturn here, but there's enough properties on the market for you to find what you want.
Or if you decided that was a bit too far out for you and you don't mind spending a bit more money you could look at the areas of Eureka or Pacific where you can get acreage and a nice house for 175-200 or Wildwood or Chesterfield, Ballwin to Manchester, which are the most convenient and have some of the best schools in the state for something in the 300 range.
here's a picture of Missouri wine country: http://www.mo.gov/mo/mophotos/rural/RU_ViewfromMontelleWinery_Zuchowski_030606.jpg (broken link)
I assumed that what you wanted was not a consensus as Leisetrum said, but rather ideas or jumping off points. I hope you consider this area. i think it could really match ell with your needs.
St. Louis is beautiful. Either that area or Springfield area should suit you just fine. Springfield's a little cheaper, with probably a little lower income. Both are college towns, though Springfield is smaller.
St. Louis will probably suit you as well. Springfield is more spread out I think.
Missouri is beautiful. It's hard to go terribly wrong. There's a lot of natural beauty as well as urban beauty. And cost of living in Missouri is low.
Location: Originally Fayetteville, Arkansas/ now Seattle, Washington!
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If you want a smaller area that is not completely rural, check out Fayetteville Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas is growing very fast, it is in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, The University of Arkansas is located in Fay., Housing is still affordable, plenty of jobs from big companies in the area(Wal-mart corporate office, Tyson, etc etc). The NWA metro is around 400,000 (approx) but is spread over a large area, so you have a small town feel that still has plenty of opportunity. Also, it is about an hour and a half away from Tulsa which has good shopping, a couple hours from Branson, MO(which has Silver Dollar city, lots of great shows, good shopping etc.), three and a half hours to OKC, 3 hours to Little Rock, about 4 hours from Kansas city, around 5-6 hours from St louis/Memphis/Dallas, etc. Check it out! Message me if ya need more info, i lived in Fayetteville for 18 years.
Yeah....check out St. Louis. It offers some amazing suburbs which are really pretty rural in nature. Wildwood sounds right up your alley. If you're looking to get even more rural than that....Washington or Festus might be a good bet.
This is a home for sale in Wildwood--3 bed/2 bath for under 290K. You'll find a million dollar mansions all the way down to small, country homes in Wildwood. It's really a neat suburb in the state's most spectacular public school district--Rockwood Public Schools.
If Wildwood is too suburban for you, then Washington, Union, or Festus would definitely work. And all of the above areas are very, very beautiful. Especially Wildwood. It's got tons of green space, a state park, and lots of hiking/scenery minutes away.
Check out the St. Louis area...I think you'll like it!
Last edited by WestCoDude; 03-13-2008 at 06:24 PM..
MO could be good. It's a bit warmer than the upper great lake states, so that would be a good compromise.
You may also like Vegas. Plenty of military people to relate to, nice suburbs, lots of new jobs, and housing is really cheap right now.
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Message me if ya need more info, i lived in Fayetteville for 18 years. 
