Many of you are aware that Carl & I are in the process of preparing for our next big adventure: moving. After a grueling 6 months of house shopping, we've decided people in California are either rich or crazy and while I've been known to be in search of a few new marbles here and there, we certainly don't fit the bill for California life. So, with the promise of adventure on the horizon we are narrowing down our options for places to look for new opportunities. We would appreciate any and all input from you if you have been to/lived in/or know anything about the following cities & their suburbs. We chose large cities for employment purposes but plan to reside in a smaller suburb of wherever we go.
1. Nashville, TN
2. Louisville, KY
3. Asheville, NC (yes, there does seem to be a pattern...)
4. Denver, CO
5. Greenville, SC
6. Austin, TX
7. Colorado Springs, CO
8. Raleigh, NC
9. Houston, TX
10. Dallas, TX
11. Chattanooga, TN
12. Charleston, SC
13. Columbia, SC
This ranking is based on cost of living (specifically housing), economic growth, and "image results" when typed into Google (Carl insists this is a legitimate factoring method) all of which resulted from pursuing a job opportunity in Topkea, KS before doing any research. So far it looks like we're down to Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, or Tennessee.
Thoughts??
12 comments:
I've never been to Asheville, although we have visited Greensboro, Raleigh, and the Outer Banks. North Carolina seemed to be very green, beautiful and very humid. It rains almost every day at least that's what we were told. Nothing major--just some showers here and there because you've got to figure that if less than 24 inches of annual rainfall is considered a drought then it aught to rain fairly frequently :). What fun awaits for all of you!
kristen! :) i've lived in fort collins, colorado, just 45 minutes north of denver. i really really liked it there. colorado is beautiful, very comparable in climate to provo, the mountains are just on the other side, you see. :) it's great if you're outdoorsy and downtown denver is awesome. we're living in houston right now and would NOT recommend it. it's way too blasted hot and there's nothing buy city ANYWHERE. the humidity is awful also and since it's the 4th largest city in the united states, there's a lot of crime. i don't feel safe going to the grocery store alone! i would not want to raise kids here. you should go to findyourspot.com, you answer questions and they detemine the top 25 cities in the united states that would fit you. it's fun if nothing else. good luck! :)
YAY, I found you!:) Tee-hee! Ok, so since Omaha isn't on that list (plus we are only planning on being here 3 more years...) I pick Dallas for you. Yes, that's where I want to go (suburbs anyway) or maybe San Antonio. We NEED to live closer, so that's my vote!:) Hey, had such a fun time seeing you, I sure miss ya and our visit made me realize just how much I've missed you!!
you need to make this a "vote on" situation. I like having a vote on where someone else lives, it's like a reality show that way! :)
Hey Carl!! This is Adele (Leavitt) Aston- I somehow came upon your guys blog! I had no clue you two had a little boy! Congrats (even though I'm a little late!) We have a blog as well- astonfam.blogspot.com See ya!
We're going to Nashville TN next week for a trip, I'll let you know how it really is there. But I did serve 1/2 my mission in Tennessee and I LOVED IT! Great people, great food. Also, I have a soft spot for Colorado, mostly because I love the mountains and they are EVERYWHERE there. If you do move to TN or SC you should do it soon, because both of those places are close to GA. We could visit each other! YAY!
Umm..I would have to largely vote on both of the SC cities. That is all
At the top of my list are the Colorado cities. For some reason, I have ahd a fascination with living there for the past few months. I put it on hold because I will not be in a position to more there anytime soon, but if you move there, then I will already have a friend when I CAN get there!
Also, I drive to Louisville about once a month. I quite like it there. There are some gorgeous areas and there is a temple there. I guess Louisville is not the Midwest anymore, but I do highly recommend the Midwest. Oh, and you probably don't say Louisville corrects, just so you know. It is actually pronounced "Lulvlle." Hehehe. :)
You know my vote!! COLORADO! Seriously, we've only lived here a week and are already in love with it. the climate is nice, the people are really friendly, the scenery and recreation opportunities are fabulous, and don't forget about the tree-smelling opportunities for de-stressing! And since we already did lots of research on where to move and settled on colorado, we've basically saved you a lot of work! move here! And either Denver or Colorado Springs is fine with me. we live right in the middle of them!
ps-i'm am SO glad you didn't move to topeka. as a former topekan, trust me!
pss-it was so great to talk to you today!! :)
Hey Kristen, fun blog. I live in Denver and watch a ton of HGTV so I have a couple of insights. Texas and anywhere in the south are super cheap. Of course I'm sure you know that. But the exceptions are the nice places to live like Asheville and Austin, which are SUPER trendy so they are a little more expensive. But FABULOUS from what I've heard from many people. My cousin was raised in Nashville from the time he was ten and LOVED it. I've been and it's BEAUTIFUL and fairly affordable if you're out a ways. Good members and a temple in Franklin. Charleston is also a very cute town. We considered moving there when my dad was working there. However, I hear the public schools leave a lot to be desired and private schools can get expensive...Also no members. I have friends in Raleigh and they like it. I think there are fairly good business opportunities there. I'll ask them. Texas is Texas outside of Austin but you can buy a palace for not much and commute an hour to work (which sucks). I live in Denver. People really like it here. I think it's okay, but I don't like winter and a sucky legal market. Can't speak to the accounting opportunities. Colorado springs is more conservative and lots of members and not a tiny town. Kind of like a Fresno feel. Much cheaper to live there than Denver, and Denver's not too bad, but not like the south (the other options). My sister in law has been looking for a house about 20 minutes north of denver in Erie about 250,000 with three or four bedrooms and newish. Denver proper is more expensive. Other suburbs are probably a bit less. What's your email? Sorry this is such a long post. Haha!
I've lived in NC and have visited TN, SC, KY, and TX and NC definitely wins! It is absolutely gorgeous and has the nicest people and so many great things to see. Definitely add Charlotte to your list.
I am Personally a big fan of staying in Madera! :) (I didn't see that in your list of choices...Know that we will miss you.)
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