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Hawaii, even at the risk of losing the change of seasons and potential Island Fever. A job in the travel industry would be pretty nifty.
In my 25 years I have lived in:
Wisconsin
New york
Nebraska
3 cities in Iowa
Florida
3 cities in Texas
Alabama
Where I want to live is far different than where would be practical for me to live. My dream would be like Denver or Lake Tahoe or Northern Cal or somewhere like that. For employment purposes I will most likely end up somewhere like Houston, even though I like Austin and San Antonio more.
If there's one thing ive learned, I'd rather make 3x as much living somewhere thats so-so to me as opposed to the less amount living somewhere else. I can make sacrifices in where I live (within reason) as opposed to monster cuts in pay.
I have lived on the east coast my entire life. I have traveled many places for work.
Worked in Downtown Boston for a few years. Enjoyed it but the traffic was painful.Taking the train in from Worcester was ok BUT I had to be at the train station at 6 am.
I worked in central Mass which was a decent job.
I moved to the DC/MD area and lived there for 10 years. I worked in the hickville part MD.There was a decent way of life but not much to do.
I moved to Charleston in June on kind of a whim. Moved here. I do like SC. In Charleston it is kind of expensive. The beaches are 15 minutes away, drive two hours out to some serious horse country. I have family down in FL which is 4 hours away. I can drive a couple hours to the mountains. The only negative is that I really don't have a support network here. It leads to some lonely weekends. I am starting to get out more but also work a lot. I am subbing myself out on extra work so that I can travel more.
I am still deciding if I want to stay in Charleston for longer than a year. I may move to MD again but still have some decisions to make.
My deciding factor is:
Quality of Life - What there is to do. I hae a horse and enjoy riding in my off time.
Safety for single women - I am not counting on meeting anyone anytime soon that would keep me some place.
Job Market for what I do.
Cost of Living
Where i used to live was a 2 hour drive to an airport. Which made traveling a pain. now I am 10 minuites.
houston is a big red flag on my list, i have plenty of friends/colleagues in the oil business that live there and the few trips ive made there i was screaming to get out...although i enjoyed the weather and my friends (maybe just not enough time there but the traffic alone killed it for me).
ive been around the block a few times, its sort of funny but at first i imagined a new place and how happy it would make me, oh how wrong i was. it wasnt the place it was myself. you can adventure in any parts of this country and enjoy yourself, i think for me it really just depends on the weather, but because i like changing seasons and minor snowy winters, i do enjoy STL
Yeah I totally understand about the traffic - and it appears to be getting worse due to a lot of people moving here. It doesn't help that my house backs up to a major freeway either. If you're in oil and gas or medical or engineering, it's probably a great place to be. Lower end, service type jobs, tech support not so much in my experience.
If you like changing seasons and minor snowy winters, then Houston isn't the right place for that. It does have a lot of other things going for it, but I'm like you with the weather and wanting less congestion/traffic.
I'd choose the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains, PNW, maybe coastal California (north of San Luis Obisbo), Colorado, and possibly New England. All this being in a perfect world where I can actually afford to live in said places and make a nice living.
If you like changing seasons and minor snowy winters, then Houston isn't the right place for that. It does have a lot of other things going for it, but I'm like you with the weather and wanting less congestion/traffic.
Have you lived in Houston?
I lived in southwest Houston for a while. (A mile south of the 610 loop)
I could get to work 28 miles away (far east Houston) in less than 35 minutes unless there was an accident. It was about 5-10 minutes longer getting home.
Granted, I went in at 7 AM and got off at 5.
I found the NW part of Houston to be worse for traffic. Even on the weekends I typically found you could get anywhere around the 610 loop in around 45 minutes unless there was a huge event, construction, or an accident.
There are many factors to take into consideration:
The main factor being do I already have a job at the location of my choosing?
If yes how much does it pay?
How secure is the job?
How high is the cost of living?
Will my overall lifestyle and savings be better or worst than what it is currently?
What are my entertainment and social options?
I am a gentleman in his mid-twenties, I would love to live in NYC, San Francisco, or someplace in Hawaii. I currently live in Chicago where the cost of living is already high, I can't imagine having to pay more to live without a substantial pay raise.
Hypothetically, if I got a secure job offer that pays 2-3 times what I am currently earning along with a golden parachute, I will probably move there.
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