Posted on 06/10/2004 12:13:18 PM PDT by Rate_Determining_Step
OK.
Living in Seattle sucks. It's June 10th and the rest of the country is basking in warm spring weather and it's 51 degrees outside.
I wouldn't mind TX, but the wife says she can't stand the heat. Is it really that hot in TX? All of TX? Are there any semi-moderate places there?
Been looking at NH. I don't like snow, but I'll put up with it for 3-4 months, etc.
Looking for some FReepmail from natives on the really skinny on weather, crime, taxes, etc.
I took a survey and it said El Paso is the place for me. The closest I've been to Texas is Utah.
I like decent metro areas (love Manhattan). But, I want a house with a 2 or 3 car garage, etc.
It'll be nice to move out of an area where I'm up to my armpits in lefties!
Thanks,
I would recommend Dallas. It's hot as heck in the summer. But it's sunny all the time and the winters are mild. Also, you really don't get the feeling that you are surrounded by conservatives in New Hampshire like you do in Texas. New Hampshire has low taxes, but is still too PC for me.
I was born in Bakersfield as well ( I guess we are neighbors in a round about way). I am fair skinned and a red head. :)Bakersfield was just not my cup of tea. But I go back every three months or so. I can't get over how much it keeps growing. We used to drive out along Stockdale highway when I was in high school and there was nothing. Just brush and some scattered houses. Now Rosedale is even growing with leaps and bounds. My parents still love it though. It's really changing.
Yes, all states are open to consideration. Wife raves on and on about the Carolinas - especially NC. However, don't they have a 6% state income tax.
Having lived in WA since I was a kid, I've never filled out a state income tax. Kindda like to keep it that way. So, that leaves 6 states, WA, NV, TX, FL, TN & NH. I did see a couple of states with ~2% which I could live with if it was a solid red zone state.
Weather is the first motivator, but taxes are important.
The cool weather I'm generally fine with (I don't like heat), the worst are the endless grey skies with no precipitation. We had three straight months of that right after I moved here in '83. I was almost wanting to go back to California (which I never much liked though living in the Santa Cruz mountains wasn't too bad), burning my hand on the car door and un-fun things like that.
The grey seems to get to people differently at different times.
But to get away from all the liberals... I can't argue about that one bit!
If the political climate is more important to you than the actual weather conditions...then STAY THE HECK OUT OF THE NORTHEAST! You won't regret moving to Texas. All else being equal, that is.
My sister in law lives near the NH Seacoast. Weather is generally moderate as a result
Thinking further, Plano, or one of the towns North or East of Dallas (say Granbury) might be good.
This area is very expensive for Texas(probably not by Seattle standards), relatively temparate, and has a huge metroplex (DFW) close by.
But, taking Midland for example, you could get a 4,000 sq newish construction house, with all the frills (granite kitchen, Viking ovens, 3 car garage) for less than $300,000 in a great neighborhood. Same thing near Dallas would be $500,000. In Houston suburb (not "in the loop"), t would be $400,000.
Sounds like a couple from church who spent a couple years in Burkino Faso. When they came back one August they were wearing wool coats because our sweltering 85F heat wave was cold to them...
I'd agree with you on the first, but not on the second. Properly, "Houston" is about 40 miles square, and you can find all kinds of pretty areas all over, as well as ugly areas best driven by quickly.
For ugly, I'd pick El Paso first and San Antonio second. How SA has managed to sell a shallow, dirty drainage ditch as a "Riverwalk" is beyond me. However, it's also home to a wonderful "San Antonio Folk Life Festival" which I'd strongly recommend.
I'm 51...graduated in 1970. Delano High School.
May I ask where/when you went to school?
:)
Holy cow! I didn't know it was that bad. Before we moved to Seattle, we lived in Chicago. I was a little tyke and don't remmeber it being that bad, but parents were killed by the heat and the cold. I do remember the cold. All things considered, I'll take heat over cold.
Just to keep everybody participating, we are also considering FL. Panhandle or Augustine east.
The TX people are making a strong case and their sense of humor is my style! :D
However, NH hasn't been ruled out. I like to think I make the decisions, but wife is really in charge. ;)
Or Sheila Jackson Lee, if you pick the wrong neighborhood...
Way East..like on the NC Border..
My apologies: I should have made that a private post.
:(
So sorry, y'all!
It is offset by low property taxes (compared to most other states), a relatively low cost of living, and just about everything you could ever want in a state. Mountains, coast, snow, no snow, hunting, fishing, racing, golf, shooting, BBQ, and countless other things.
Our future daughter-in-law moved to Phoenix from Seattle three years ago. The first year it was whine, whine, whine. "Where are the hip and cool stores? Where are the hip and cool people?"
Then she got her dream apartment in Phoenix, wood floors, fireplace, cove ceilings, for less than half what she paid in Seattle. Now when her Seattle friends visit her she defends Phoenix as a great place to live.
El Paso is dirt cheap compared to Seattle, also. It's hot but not as bad as Phoenix and it gets quite cold in the winter. There are lots of places nearby that are beautiful and green, like Silver City, New Mexico. Not a big job market there, though.
You guys are tempting me with Oklahoma...if only I were younger.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.