i am sick of NY

[drbassman]

As a lifelong 'yorker going too far south could be troublesome.  we don't fit in that well. 

Damn yankee!!!!! 

[drbassman]

My son just moved to Denver and loves it so far.  He's also working at The Great Divide brewery, which is what he was hoping for.

I'm curious about South Carolina, personally.  Anyone have any info?  I've been considering moving there one day.

All of Colorado is uber expensive.  I'd love to live there, but I think the costs are way out there.

I spent 4 years going back and forth to Clemson, SC where my son attended college.  I like the slower pace of life, low taxes and cost of living.  It's pretty rural for the most part, center of the Bible belt.  Charleston is the best place to live, IMHO, if you want some culture, access to the ocean and lots of fun stuff to do.  The weather is a beast in the summer, however.  Lots of days in the 100+ range and humidty is just as high.  It would be worth a visit.

I agree Ashville, NC is a great place to check out.  More expensive than Charleston, but it's in the mountains, more temperate summers and lots of culture for a smaller city.  If I were to move down south, I'd look at Ashville and some of the larger cities in Tennesee, based on costs and weather.  However, I doubt we'll ever leave our friends here.

[gweimer]

Thanks for the info.  My son is making $1/hour working in Denver.  Seriously.  He's got a week-end job to help pay the bills.

As far as SC, I've been looking at Florence.  Inland a bit, near the Interstate, and close enough to the coast.  Just by coincidence, my job has a big processing center there, as well.

[gearHed289]

77 and sunny in Chicago right now. 

[gweimer]

77 and sunny in Chicago right now. 

...sigh....  I miss home.  Weather is about the same in Columbus right now.

[Pilgrim]

Quite honestly, moving to the Southwest (Texas) for me was a cross-cultural experience.  I am pretty sure that moving into the deep South would be comparable.

For a gent from NY, depending on your ability to adapt, I'd suggest looking at the northern tier of states or the west coast.  Less cultural dissonance with the northeast.

Denver pays well for tech jobs and has become kind of a tech center for the West.  Housing is expensive, but not as expensive as a metro area like NY or much of California. 

[Lightyear]

Quite honestly, moving to the Southwest (Texas) for me was a cross-cultural experience.  I am pretty sure that moving into the deep South would be comparable.

For a gent from NY, depending on your ability to adapt, I'd suggest looking at the northern tier of states or the west coast.  Less cultural dissonance with the northeast.

Come now we're not all heathens down here!   To my knowledge a carpet bagger has not been tarred and feathered in least ten or twelve years

Pilgrim, remember that you were in Bryan/College Station and not Houston or Dallas.  Yes, there is a definate culture shock but lets face it - in Houston probably 60% + of the population are not native Texans and the place is quite the melting pot.  Same goes for Dallas and Austin.

[Pilgrim]

Fair enough!

As a friend noted...first, there's the South.  Then, there's Texas.  Finally, there's College Station.  It is a different place, where the world is viewed as Maroon and White.  

Unless you've been around Texas Aggies, that's a bit hard to understand.  But I used to ask people who had just been in the area a few months "How far back in history did you move when you got here?"  The average answer was "20 years".

Maybe that's specific to College Station, but it illustrates that the cultures really are different.  Not better or worse, but different.  Texans are very nice people with a strong independent streak - but being a state employee is like working under an observation window, there are so many regulations and so much paperwork.  Total oversight, volumes of paperwork...it's a pain.  I called one of my predecessors who had moved to USDA in Washington DC one day, and I asked: "Larry, did the paperwork get more complex or less when you moved to DC?"  He started laughing, and said "Al, my life never got simpler than when I moved here."

There is a lot of good in what we experienced in Bryan/College Station...but over time, perhaps based on A&M, I knew that I would be happier moving north. And here I am in Colorado!

[TBird1958]

 The bizarre insect population would be reason enough to not move to South Texas 

[slinkp]

"The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland!"   

I have friends in Portland.  Great town, nothing quite like anywhere else I've visited -- all the goofy stuff in Portlandia is pretty on-target for types of people in Portland.... but it does stay rather gray and grim in the winter.
Summer there is great though, much nicer than our (NYC) horrible hot+sticky climate anytime.

Me, I'd probably be in the bay area if not for my daughter's grandparents all being more or less near NYC.

[dadagoboi]

Me, I'd probably be in the bay area if not for my daughter's grandparents all being more or less near NYC.

The planes fly both ways and it's about the same as getting from Austin to NYC.  Of all the places I've lived in the US, the Bay Area gets the nod.  Best climate, culture and diversity.  Expensive but cheaper housing can be found.  I lived in Alameda, an island about 1/4 mile west of Oakland.  It had a small town vibe 10 years ago but the developers were itching to develop the closed Naval Base property.  Easy to get in and out of all the Bay Area had to offer.

[birdie]

I for one am very glad to be back East, and back in NYC. My situation is not typical but no need to get into that on an open forum.
as others have said, there are plenty of things that can wear on you here, but the same was true in Vermont (isolated and f*** cold)
in Santa Fe (skip it- it is absolutely the most messed up place I've been!!) and even Austin (it's getting just a leeetle bit too cool for it's own good) Plenty of good to great musicians though,yet was never asked to play more free gigs, "benefits" etc. tough to break in, especially if you just aren't a Western type of person-like me!! having said that,I think everyone should check it out (Austin) for sure.

[Lightyear]

Eleven years ago I stepped out of a nightmare job that I loved/hated, usually at the same time, to take a job that would keep me here in town with my family.  I traveled up to 80% of the time - sometimes I would buy a one way ticket to Seattle and wind up in Denver, Vegas or Phoenix before I made it back home to the Houston area.  One thing that was begining to happen all across the country back then was the corporate takeover of everything.  Yeah, there are still regional restaurants as well as mom and pop joints but TGIchillisFriendlysRubyOutbackRedOliveGarden were popping up everywhere.   What I was seeing big time years ago is now rampant - it's sad, cities are moving towards the middle.  When I traveled I went out of my way to hit locally owned shops and restaurants - all the rest was tasing like Soylent Green when you had to eat it four or five days a week.  While I don't travel nearly as much as I used to I still get out around the country and I'm starting to see cities melding into one plastic blob of sameness.  I guess I am officailly an old fart

Austin is just a prime example - fifteen, twenty years ago it was just a cool little city, it's still nicer than most, but it's definately gotten a bit too big for it's britches

[Dave W]

Sperling's Best Places just released their 50 Stressful Cities list for 2012.

I see that five of the top ten most stressful are in Florida, and here in the Twin Cities, we're the least stressed. Of course, this is just another list to be taken with a grain of salt.

[Pilgrim]

Money magazine 2011 best places.....http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/
Their #1 town (Louisville, CO) is about 20 miles south of Fort Collins.

Their 2010 list...http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/
Fort Collins is #6 on the list.

Their 2009 list....http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/
Louisville #1 again.

Their 2008 list....http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/
Fort Collins is #2.

I think we must fit their criteria pretty well. I hereby volunteer to buy a local craft brew for my forum friends who visit.