Need Re-Location Help ~ please (rentals, low crime, mortgage)

[meinster]

Thanks for viewing my post - This will be long post sorry.

Here goes, this is a shot in the dark. I am hoping I can get some answers

I am married with 2 beautiful young girls - 14 mos and 3 mos. We currently live in TN. We are only in TN because my wife got transferred to the whole foods market out here in green hills, TN. I cant stand it here in TN.

To be honest, we have lived in many states. 27yrs in Cali alone.

I am kinda like a gypsy, my wife thinks im crazy. I cant seem to be happy anywhere we move.

My wife seems to be cool with where ever we live, which makes it up to me

cut to the chase....

We have a combined income of around 55-60k per year. We have only fair to average credit.

We want to buy a house within 2 yrs after we move. We wont be able to afford much more then 200-250k house. We like to have yard, space, slightly spread out.

I am looking for a true 4 season state that has a whole foods market close by. I can do my work anywhere. I see people post all the time they like the more sunny weather etc...

Well in my case - the gloomier the better! I either like 50"+ rain per year city or very snowy or both. Im not into a place like Colorado where it will snow and all melt away in 2 days or less. I like the feeling of having it stick around for few weeks or so. I dont want to move to any city that gets above 85-88 degrees F in the summer.

I have done tons of research and cannot come up with a conclusion.

I know Oregon & WA are very gloomy and wet, but very lil snow locally.

Boise, ID - need input
Nashua, NH - need input

I am also looking for safe school for my kids - No gang cr.ap. I had enough of that in Los Angeles.

Looking for good job growth city 7% or better annually

Im looking for a city 75-80% white... no offense to others reading.

Looking for low crime rate city

I checked all the top safest cities, all the diff websites

It seems the criteria for those sites all differ so it becomes difficult to make educated decision.

These are all the cities I have considered thus far...

Seattle, WA - some suburb close by
Portland, OR - some suburb close by
Colorado Springs, CO
Fort Collins, CO
Denver, CO
Boise, ID
Nashua, NH
Flagstaff, AZ

Also looking for a state that constantly building - construction wise -- I also do alot Cat work.

We like outdoor activities, like bikeriding

Dont care about bars, pawnshops, gangs

I know all places have something but im looking to minimize it as much as possible.

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Other considerations:

Looking for stronger Republican state
No gay marriage cities or states. sorry dont mean to offend others.

these are just couple other concerns but not as important as stuff I mentioned above.

Im sure I left out perhaps some other details that would be important to relocation.

hopefully no flames, just help .... thx

[allforcats]

Don't "bump" your posts on City-Data. It's against the Terms Of Service. Your posts will be seen -- never worry.

Originally Posted by meinster

1 -- We have a combined income of around 55-60k per year - to support 4 people.

2 -- buy a house ... 200-250k ... yard, space, slightly spread out.

3 -- a true 4 season state ... whole foods market close by ... 50"+ rain per year or very snowy or both.
I dont want to move to any city that gets above 85-88 degrees F in the summer.

4 -- Looking for stronger Republican state
No gay marriage cities or states.

Two of your choices were Seattle WA and Portland OR. Your requirements do not match either of these cities nor their suburbs or outlying cities. That would be western Washington and western Oregon. Your requirements also do not match eastern Washington and eastern Oregon. I hope you find matches in other locations.

[meinster]

looking for answers.. thx

[STLCardsBlues1989]

St. Louis might fit, though for schools I'd choose a St. Louis suburb. Missouri can lean Republican. Usually the rural areas are Republican and the cities are Democratic, so it's hard to tell which way Missouri will go. And there's 4 seasons. But it gets awful hot. No gay marriage in Missouri.

And most dangerous and safest cities aren't always correct on lists. I'd suggest looking at metro areas, since it sounds like anywhere you'd go you want a suburb. Any major city won't be 75-80% white, and city schools generally aren't good.

But $55-$60k should be doable. And you can get a house $200-$250k, but it's a little more pricey in the suburbs than the city.

[meinster]

thx for reply STL


my other consideration category is not as important as my other requirements towards top of post.

Like to have my cake and eat it too, what can i say...

Im being anal about this move, because I dont want to move again anytime soon.

thx again

[Finger Laker]

flagstaff doesn't hold it's snow all that much

have you thought about Utah? - not sure if there are whole foods places but could fit otherwise

[meinster]

thx for input finger... Only thing I know about Utah is that its has alot of Mormons? :P

But I will check into it...

[WILWRadio]

On that income level you will not be able to qualify for a mortgage on a $200k house without a down payment consisting of tens of thousands of dollars. And right now lending institutions are extremely careful about whom they lend money to thanks to the sub prime lending debacle.

You'd better reset your sights on a cheaper property that does not exceed $125k to $150k and you will need a minimum 20% down payment if you are going to have any chance of obtaining a mortgage with your credit.

I think you will have to prioritize each wish on this list and determine the most important to least important aspects. You won't be able to find a place that offers everything that you desire on this list. You will have to make some trade offs because of the limitations you've placed upon yourself.

[tpabes]

What about Minneapolis/St Paul or Omaha, they seem to fit alot of your critera.

[meinster]

thanks for all the replies --- what about Nashua, NH? won best place to live few times in row.. Seems Median income is about 50k and housing for median is about 150k to 200k for Single Family Home. Cost of living index was 95.77 I believe

Its has 60" snowfall per year = good for me
It has over 40" per rain per year = good for me

There is a new Whole Foods Market going to be build there within next 18mos.

Single Family Homes looks nice there but Multi Family Dwelling Rentals look slightly cra.ppy.

80% white the whole city according to what I can find on the internet.

Have not checked politically which way the city goes or the state.

I have never lived in the NE before, so it would be a first?

Wonder how ppl would treat ppl from west coast - native ? :P in Nashua, NH