If You Could Live Anywhere

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1636409/posts ^

[SantaLuz]

Freepers I need your help. We're very seriously thinking of moving out of Southern California. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1636409/posts

We've read the books "50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family" and the comprehensive "Cities Ranked and Rated". We've used the websites www.bestplaces.net and www.findyourspot.com. We've received the travel guides from over 40 states we're thinking of travelling or moving to. But I think the people of FreeRepulic might be the best resource of all for recommending places to raise a homeschooling family in the US. Many of the people here travel quite a bit and have noticed trends that affect families.

So if you could move your family to any affordable city (median home prices < $400,000) in the US where would it be?

Thanks so much!

[SantaLuz]

Thanks for the list!

Anyone have any opinions on Boise Idaho? That is an area we are looking at too.

[nutmeg]

Any ideas for SantaLuz? :o)

[Vor Lady]

Omaha Nebraska. Lots to do with the kids.

[Vor Lady]

Good home school laws, but hard to get conservative values passed because the Portland metro cancels the normal people out.

[Vor Lady]

Boise is an up and coming techie area. We have friends who home school in the state; they haven't mentioned the laws.

Omaha (NE) has lots of jobs for computer types/former military types with clearances or telecommunications types. Housing is not too badly priced. Taxes are high compared to some places, but not as bad as MA. It's also in the middle of the country so it's convenient to everywhere!

[SantaLuz]

Interesting regarding Omaha, NE. "Cities Ranked & Rated" for 2004 ranked Omaha as 201 out of 376 cities with Charlottesville, VA ranked #1.

Omaha:
Pro: Stable Economy, cost of living, art & culture.
Con: Harsh Winters, minor urban sprawl, property crime.

This is a snapshot in time of trends for the city in 2004 and fluctuates year to year so I only used it as another data point.

Do (did) you live in Omaha? I'm going to look into it further, but nothing beats personal experience. Thanks!

[A Troop 1-14 Cav]

Yeah, I guess so. I am just in love with the coast area and politics doesn't really enter my frame of reference when I'm walking the beach.

[SantaLuz]

It will be hard to move away from the coast for me. I've lived 5-20 minutes from the ocean for the last 37 years. When I got out of college, being a surfer, I determined to never work any more than 15 miles from the ocean and up to this time have kept that standard. But my wife and kids like a lake much more than the ocean. They don't like the sand and big waves and sharks. So like a lot of things in being a husband and father I have to put some things I consider important off to the side. And living near the ocean is much more expensive. My wife is homeschooling our kids and so she is a stay-at-home Mom and teacher and we only have one income. I would like to find a place with a large enough lake nearby where I can windsurf though.

[A Troop 1-14 Cav]

"I would like to find a place with a large enough lake nearby where I can windsurf though."

Check this one out.

www.quinaultrainforest.com

[Vor Lady]

I grew up in Oregon, lived all over the state (unstable step dad). I've spent significant time in 39 of the 48 CONUS states; Oregon is the most beautiful IMHO. I currently live in the Neborg (resistance is futile,you will be assimilated). I don't know about the city ranking and who they talked with to come up with it, but I've lived here since 1995. There is crime, the gang problem is growing in the downtown areas. We have had some tagging on our end of town (west O), but the folks paint over it pretty quick. There is a GREAT zoo, the college world series is here, plus the Royals' farm team, if you are into baseball, we have a fine-arts museum, an heritage museum, a latino museum, a spiffy air museum (if you are into vintage AF planes), an opera house, a children's museum (the one in Lincoln, 40 miles west is better), a farmer's market downtown in the summer on Saturdays. Two active home school groups, both on the east side unfortunately. I spent six years in northern Maine, so the harsh winter comment is funny. Last year we had two, count them, two snow storms. In the past eleven years, we've only had one snow storm,in town, where we got more than 13" of snow. That was in 2004. I'm not a Nebraskan, I'm not really crazy about the state. If some one offered to hire my techie husband in Wyoming, I'd move there in a heart beat, but reality is, Omaha is growing; because of Offutt AFB, there are telecom infrastructure and military contractor type jobs. The insurance industry here hires lots of IT people. It was one of only two states that had no red counties on the last Presidential election map(Utah was the other). Many things recommend it. If you want more info, freepmail me.

[Vor Lady]

I agree, nothing is better than walking on the beach on the Oregon coast. I was home in May, spent a couple hours walking on the beach by Seaside. The political scene in everyday Portland/I-5 corridor gets to be depressing though.

[Rte66]

Austin, TX, for windsurfing.

[SantaLuz]

Thanks for your information. Oregon is indeed beautiful. Some good friends of ours moved there last year to a small town on the coast and they love it. Some other friends of ours moved to Chantilly, VA from the San Diego area but they really miss SD. In fact all of our good friends have now moved out of CA. We have been thinking about moving for 3 years now, but our families live in So CA and AZ and so we have hung on.

The data sources for "Cities Ranked & Rated" is:
- National Climatic Data Center
- NOAA
- US Dept. of Commerce (weather statistics)
- US Census Bureau
- Dept. of Education
- National Center for Education
- Center for Disease Control
- Claritas, Inc
and public sources for crime, economy, etc...

It's pretty comprehensive data on 376 cities. I'd recommend it for the data anyway. But real life experience is more important to put it into perspective. That's why we will likely travel to as many perspective cities as we can in a year.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Asheville NC!!!

I've been to Asheville, I loved it. My wife locked the keys inside our rental car just opposite the Wahlgreens. I apoligized to the very next driver that happen to drive up to the pump. (He and his buddy had a fishing boat in tow.) He said no problem, went under his seat and took out a set of lock release tools and had the door open in about 15 seconds. Gotta love a place like that!

[SantaLuz]

What was about Asheville that you loved? Asheville was ranked at the top 8/376 cities in the "Cities Ranked & Rated" 2004 edition. Here's their summary:

Pro: Attractive setting, attractive downtown, nearby mnts.
Con: Home prices, air service, winter cold.

Doesn't say what kind of jobs are there though.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I liked the Pros, compared to up here the Home prices and winters can't be too bad.

[Charles Henrickson]

Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. I like to be where there are lots of Scandinavians, Lutherans, birch trees, pine trees, and summers less muggy than here in St. Louis (AKA "Habitat for Humidity").

I grew up in the city of Chicago, spent a lot of summer vacations in Wisconsin, and lived in the Twin Cities for a couple of years. The Upper Midwest feels like home to me.

[Mamzelle]

Asheville is a college town, and has a streak of liberal bohemianism. However, that can't quite overcome the rural conservatism that surrounds it.

Don't know much about jobs there--it's one of those "creative class" places like Austin or Santa Fe, only smaller and Appalachian. I go there because the night life suits me exactly, but I'm not exactly the night life sort.

Architecture is fascinting--you've got some Art Deco, becuase he major AD architect used to live in Asheville in the summers, and Miami in the winters! The architect who did Grand Central Station and Ellis Island did the Catholic church in town...St. Lawrence.

It is located in a cove (like a valley, only mountains are around more than two sides). Hendersonville is up-and-coming, and very close to Asheville.

[sweetliberty]

" it's cheap and there are only like 50,000 people in the entire U.P yah!"

And at least half of those have been snowed in since '83 and are still waiting for the spring thaw.

Sorry; couldn't resist.

.

[Redcloak]

Personally, I'm waiting for all of Mexico to move here. Then I'll move to Rosarito Beach and have the whole place to myself!