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Old 03-04-2020, 03:53 PM
 
15 posts, read 14,423 times
Reputation: 41

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Hello all. I know there are tons of threads, but I wanted to get some very current opinions. I am looking to move my family from north California (don't worry, I won't be trying to turn your state into cali!!!! I'm trying to get away from all that!). I am been leaning towards Tennessee, open to recommendations for other states too. Anyways, here is what I am looking for and I appreciate all feedback!!

Small to medium size community, low crime.

My wife is a nurse, so a good area for nursing jobs - hospitals, etc (I work IT, so good internet access)

Not too dang cold!!! I'll take some more heat and humidity over subfreezing - fair weather highly preferred (one thing I'll miss in Cali).

Decent cost of living.

Not too populated. My wife wants a place with a little land for chickens, goats, etc, but not so isolated we can't find any clubs, shopping, community, etc

Good schools and lots of activities for children.

Close enough to mountains and lakes - camping, boating, fishing

I prefer something on the red side, politically - more country than urban culture (this isn't a deal breaker for a good area)

Did I mention not too cold?



Here are some places we were thinking of:

Tennessee?

Idaho, though it is on the cold side and growing quick with other Californians

Arkansas?

North, South Carolina?

Oklahoma?

Texas?

Utah? - Maybe too cold and desert like? I have heard some good about it there, though.


Thank you so much for your input!!
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Old 03-04-2020, 08:07 PM
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
994 posts, read 951,430 times
Reputation: 929
The Phoenix metro in AZ or the outskirts of Vegas. SC and TN by the mountains get snow every year in the city , though SC not as much as TN. They both will get days in the winter in the 60s here and there but usually stays in the 50s for the high and lows sometimes down into the high teens after midnight. The humidity is not bad there imo , unless you're down in Columbia , but then you have no mountains(pretty **** trails in Columbia for the most part) . Western NC is one of the best areas in the country for outdoors (west of Charlotte) . They get sub freezing temps and quite a bit more snow than SC .

The warmest part of Utah is probably St George. 100s sometimes in the summer, but they do get some snow so sub freezing temps for sure. But you have so much outdoors nearby .

Never been to Idaho.

Arkansas has the Ozarks I think. Texas has Big Bend for mountains. Oklahoma, nope.
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Old 03-04-2020, 08:57 PM
 
Location: New York NY
5,508 posts, read 8,692,342 times
Reputation: 12668
In NC I'd suggest taking a look at the Winston Salem-Greensboro area, which should tick off all your boxes. Mild climate, lots of hospitals and nursing homes in the area (the big one is Wake-Forest Baptist), stable economy. Relatively cheap housing (compared to Cali) and very family oriented, generally safe area. Regionally there are also a good number of "urban" amenities. Maybe a three hour drive east to the shore or three hours west to the mountains, but plenty of state parks, camping grounds, and lakes are closer than that. Politically moderate --NC has been trending blue, but like many places, the cities proper are more Democratic and the suburbs more Republican. Fairly conservative socially, but mostly live-and-let-live attitudes prevail. School quality of course depends on the precise district, so its hard to generalize. As you might expect, the further from the core cities you go, the more land you get for your money. Take a look, you might like it.
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Old 03-04-2020, 10:11 PM
 
295 posts, read 351,737 times
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Definitely New Mexico.
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Old 03-04-2020, 10:12 PM
 
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
30,976 posts, read 21,481,563 times
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Lawton, Oklahoma for the mountain scenery nearby and lakes. Not many people are flocking to come here so cost of living is only 76.2. Metro area close to 125,000. Definitely on the red side. Hopefully, not too cold during winter.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_Ht2RI3NM

Last edited by StillwaterTownie; 03-04-2020 at 10:33 PM..
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Old 03-05-2020, 06:37 AM
 
26,826 posts, read 43,300,897 times
Reputation: 31449
Quote:
Originally Posted by 6stringslider View Post
Small to medium size community, low crime.

My wife is a nurse, so a good area for nursing jobs - hospitals, etc (I work IT, so good internet access)

Not too dang cold!!! I'll take some more heat and humidity over subfreezing - fair weather highly preferred (one thing I'll miss in Cali).

Decent cost of living.

Not too populated. My wife wants a place with a little land for chickens, goats, etc, but not so isolated we can't find any clubs, shopping, community, etc

Good schools and lots of activities for children.

Close enough to mountains and lakes - camping, boating, fishing

I prefer something on the red side, politically - more country than urban culture (this isn't a deal breaker for a good area)

Did I mention not too cold?
I'd recommend South Carolina, in particular the York County area at the NC/SC state line SW of Charlotte. Nursing jobs are plentiful, internet accessibility will be very good and should you travel for work the Charlotte airport is about 45 minutes away. The climate is a well-balanced four seasons minus the extremes of winter. The cost of living is about the national average. It's a low density housing area yet close to shopping and other necessities. Two of the school districts (York County #2 and York County #4 ) are ranked number one and number two in the state of South Carolina. It's an hour from the mountains in NC and about the same to massive Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte. I'd recommend looking around the town of Clover which is in one of the areas with the top schools and has a significant number of hobby farmers.
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Old 03-05-2020, 07:17 AM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,627,281 times
Reputation: 6459
Your request is a big vague on what you mean by "not too cold" and "small to medium sized?"

So instead I would just recommend:

Greenville, SC
Knoxville, TN
Chattanooga, TN
North Atlanta Exurbs
North Carolina in general
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Old 03-06-2020, 12:05 AM
 
23,690 posts, read 9,247,858 times
Reputation: 8650
Quote:
Originally Posted by popwar View Post
The Phoenix metro in AZ or the outskirts of Vegas. SC and TN by the mountains get snow every year in the city , though SC not as much as TN. They both will get days in the winter in the 60s here and there but usually stays in the 50s for the high and lows sometimes down into the high teens after midnight. The humidity is not bad there imo , unless you're down in Columbia , but then you have no mountains(pretty **** trails in Columbia for the most part) . Western NC is one of the best areas in the country for outdoors (west of Charlotte) . They get sub freezing temps and quite a bit more snow than SC .

The warmest part of Utah is probably St George. 100s sometimes in the summer, but they do get some snow so sub freezing temps for sure. But you have so much outdoors nearby .

Never been to Idaho.

Arkansas has the Ozarks I think. Texas has Big Bend for mountains. Oklahoma, nope.
not many lakes and good shopping areas in the Big Bend of Texas.Its very isolated in that region too.
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Old 03-06-2020, 05:44 AM
 
Location: Twin Cities
2,369 posts, read 2,315,574 times
Reputation: 3072
The SE gets tornadoes, SC recently. Bare that in mind.

NM is a blue state locally and nationally but that has the potential to change down the road.
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Old 03-06-2020, 06:21 AM
 
26,826 posts, read 43,300,897 times
Reputation: 31449
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marv95 View Post
The SE gets tornadoes, SC recently. Bare that in mind.

NM is a blue state locally and nationally but that has the potential to change down the road.
Parts of the SE are prone to tornadoes, but not as if they're widespread or frequent. New Mexico has water supply issues and there are questions as to how the state is going to have enough to provide for businesses and residents. https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news...xico-/5449672/ Also, concern for environmental factors isn't a GOP strong suit so I wouldn't look for that "change" anytime soon.
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