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Hey all! We are a young family of 5 with 3 kids in elementary school. We were born and raised in the Los Angeles area and currently reside here now, but are seriously considering leaving California for greener pastures. Tentatively we are considering Tennessee, Idaho, Texas, and Washington.
What we're hoping for:
- Great schools
- Affordable housing (200k-400k, 4bd+, built within last 25 years)
- Family friendly activities in the area (hiking, water, parks, shopping/entertainment)
- Weather: Ok with snow but not too extreme (i.e. like 100 inches a year). Would also like to avoid areas that get major life-changing weather phenomenons regularly. Overall would lean towards warmer rather than colder but open to both.
- Safe
Definite No's: Illinois, Wisconsin, New England area, Alaska, very extreme poltical/religious areas.
Outside of Nashville is a great place to live in TN, but it will get hot and humid. Idaho is going to be cold and up North grey, but outside of Boise is your best bet there. Texas is ranked highly, but housing is extremely dense in all the nice suburbs. Personally I wouldn't like that. Washington is beautiful, but it's hard to find a place that's not super rainy or very dry.
Outside of Nashville is a great place to live in TN, but it will get hot and humid. Idaho is going to be cold and up North grey, but outside of Boise is your best bet there. Texas is ranked highly, but housing is extremely dense in all the nice suburbs. Personally I wouldn't like that. Washington is beautiful, but it's hard to find a place that's not super rainy or very dry.
Thank you for the tips. Any recommendations of cities to look at around Nashville?
Hey all! We are a young family of 5 with 3 kids in elementary school. We were born and raised in the Los Angeles area and currently reside here now, but are seriously considering leaving California for greener pastures. Tentatively we are considering Tennessee, Idaho, Texas, and Washington.
What we're hoping for:
- Great schools
- Affordable housing (200k-400k, 4bd+, built within last 25 years)
- Family friendly activities in the area (hiking, water, parks, shopping/entertainment)
- Weather: Ok with snow but not too extreme (i.e. like 100 inches a year). Would also like to avoid areas that get major life-changing weather phenomenons regularly. Overall would lean towards warmer rather than colder but open to both.
- Safe
Definite No's: Illinois, Wisconsin, New England area, Alaska, very extreme poltical/religious areas.
At the end of the episode during the follow-up they said that they love Cookeville so much, they got their siblings and their families plus parents/grandparents to also make the move.
The school system is excellent, and it's an open system meaning you can live anywhere in the county and send your kids to the schools of your choice as long as there's room and you provide the transportation. It's one of just a few school systems in the country to have the International Baccalaureate Program at both the middle and high school levels.
It's a very family friendly area: children's museum, children's library, youth symphony, children's theatre, and of course gobs of youth sports. There are 100 waterfalls and 1200 miles of lake shoreline within 40 minutes of town as well as a dozen state parks and a national recreation area.
We do get snow, but our winters are fairly short, and when it snows it's usually melted in a day or two. It's rare (but not unheard of) to have snow on the ground for more than a few days. We average 8 inches of snow per year spread out among 3-4 snowfalls.
A huge benefit to Tennessee is college tuition; there is none, at least not for community colleges (and that's open to any resident of the state). Graduates of Tennessee high schools also get very generous grants to state universities. Cookeville is home to a community college and also the state's flagship technological university.
And it's just an easy hour (all interstate) from the Nashville airport.
The town is growing like crazy lately, but it's still affordable. Here's a sampling of homes in very family friendly neighborhoods that match your criteria that have recently sold just to give you an idea what the area is like:
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
While I can't speak for the other areas you mentioned, I can tell you a few things about Idaho from living in this area for over 10 years now.
I would recommend either Boise or Meridian, and for smaller towns close by either Kuna or Eagle. Nampa and Caldwell are ok, but certainly not as good. Nampa can smell pretty bad from the local sugar beet factory and probably has more sketchy areas of town.
- Can't speak much to the schools except to say that the schools in Eagle were very good, at least when I lived there 6 years ago.
- You can definitely find homes in the price range you're looking for, and I'm going to assume that most have been built in the last 25 years since new subdivisions and new schools are almost continually being built in the Treasure Valley (where Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell are located).
- If you like the outdoors then this is the area for you. To the north are the mountains for skiing, camping, hiking, hunting and fishing and to the south is the desert for off-roading and rock hunting. The Boise area is definitely family friendly and there's no shortage of shopping and entertainment options. One example is a place called Wahooz in Meridian that has miniature golf, a go-cart track and a water park.
- It does get hot here in the summer with temperatures regularly in the 90's and it's not uncommon for it to hit the triple digits sometimes. The winters can get cold and temperatures below freezing are not uncommon, and though it does snow usually it's not too much.
- Boise is probably one of the safest cities I've ever been to. I've been to some of the worst areas of Boise, and while I've ran into some sketchy people I've never felt unsafe.
Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention - they really do HATE people from California up here in Idaho. I was born and raised in the San Francisco bay, and found that while in Oregon and Washington they may needle Californians in a joking way, in Idaho they take it personal. A local sheriff's candidate in the small town where I live ran a campaign saying his opponent would make the county "like California". Disparaging comments about California and Californians are pretty common. You just have to be careful who you tell that you're from California. The funny part is that there are a whole lot of people from California living here, they just seem to keep quiet about it. In fact, the Boise area has grown so much that I think the new comers darn new out number the locals!
Wow, this is great information! Thank you so much for this. What areas of Cookeville would you recommend? Looks like some parts are more rural than others. I think we would prefer more of the suburbs or closer into town. These are some beautiful homes that you've linked to!
Wow, this is great information! Thank you so much for this. What areas of Cookeville would you recommend? Looks like some parts are more rural than others. I think we would prefer more of the suburbs or closer into town. These are some beautiful homes that you've linked to!
I'll send you a Direct Message. I moved here nearly 8 years ago and love it here. Best move I ever made.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
In my opinion, Idaho is the most overrated state in the entire country.
First of all, Southern Idaho, where most of the state's residents are concentrated, is one of the least scenic places in America. Unfortunately, the hinterlands of southern Idaho are exceedingly flat and treeless, similar to northern Texas. The difference is, in most of northern Texas, the grass is green for part of the year due to warmer temperatures, higher humidity and more abundant precipitation; I do not believe the grass is ever green in Idaho. Oftentimes, Californians rave about Idaho's scenic beauty, but I have yet to observe any scenic beauty in the state; I presume they are referring to the Idaho Panhandle, which I have not yet visited.
Secondly, people in Idaho are generally aloof, entitled and hedonistic; typically, they only care about themselves and are unconcerned with others. Sadly, these prevailing traits are inconducive to making friends and building a social support system, which is important when you are living far away from your family of origin.
Personally, I think Tennessee is the best option on your short list. First of all, there is no state income tax in Tennessee. Secondly, the Tennessee Promise program provides two years of free tuition at any of Tennessee's community colleges or colleges of applied technology, as well as a handful of four-year universities. This is an incredibly important consideration for large families (i.e., three or more children). Next, Tennessee has more of a four-season climate than Texas (with milder summers), has significantly milder winters than Idaho and is significantly sunnier than Washington. Because Tennessee is located east of the Mississippi River, it is wetter and more heavily forested than Idaho, Texas and eastern Washington. In my opinion, creeks and woods are essential to imagination development of children. Additionally, because Tennessee is a "long," "narrow" state, it is relatively easy to visit other states for day and weekend trips. Finally, since Chattanooga and Knoxville are located near the western extent of the Eastern Time Zone, sunsets are remarkably late during the summertime. Oh, yeah -- people in Tennessee are very friendly and family-oriented.
At the end of the episode during the follow-up they said that they love Cookeville so much, they got their siblings and their families plus parents/grandparents to also make the move.
The school system is excellent, and it's an open system meaning you can live anywhere in the county and send your kids to the schools of your choice as long as there's room and you provide the transportation. It's one of just a few school systems in the country to have the International Baccalaureate Program at both the middle and high school levels.
It's a very family friendly area: children's museum, children's library, youth symphony, children's theatre, and of course gobs of youth sports. There are 100 waterfalls and 1200 miles of lake shoreline within 40 minutes of town as well as a dozen state parks and a national recreation area.
We do get snow, but our winters are fairly short, and when it snows it's usually melted in a day or two. It's rare (but not unheard of) to have snow on the ground for more than a few days. We average 8 inches of snow per year spread out among 3-4 snowfalls.
A huge benefit to Tennessee is college tuition; there is none, at least not for community colleges (and that's open to any resident of the state). Graduates of Tennessee high schools also get very generous grants to state universities. Cookeville is home to a community college and also the state's flagship technological university.
And it's just an easy hour (all interstate) from the Nashville airport.
The town is growing like crazy lately, but it's still affordable. Here's a sampling of homes in very family friendly neighborhoods that match your criteria that have recently sold just to give you an idea what the area is like:
I have to admit those are some insanely affordable prices for the square footage offered. I haven’t seen RE valued like that in a long time.
That's actually pretty common for areas that either aren't terribly trendy or don't have too many arbitrary building regulations.
Personally, I don't know why people fall all over themselves to pay more than 200k-250k or so for any type of housing. Lot's of nice places out there that won't gouge you.
The upper midwest is especially fantastic on the schools, recreation, affordability and being family-oriented.
If you can wear a jacket, it's worth occasionally shoveling snow for. We get a little less than 50" of snow where we live. Still a lot to some, but not overwhelming.
We left the south for Wisconsin and can't imagine a scenario in which we'd ever go back down there.
But, Wisconsin being off the list for some reason, perhaps Iowa, Nebraska, etc. Kansas City suburbs are nice.
Ohio has a lot going for it as well.
Otherwise, Idaho and Utah are places I'd be looking at out west. Our next move might be more out that way if we were to leave for any place else.
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