Where can I move that is warmer, slightly cheaper, somewhat liberal with good schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eugene, Oregon

Eugene born and raised and lmao @ moving here for weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilmington, NC. You'll definitely have trumpers there, but there are a good amount of liberal people too. It's on the water, great weather and lower COL.

+1. I have a lot of liberal friends in Wilmington.

For a higher COL (still lower than the DMV!) but better schools than Wilmington, LOVE Chapel Hill.

Chapel Hill is amazing and fits OP's requirements. My only issue with it is that, if I lived in NC, I would want my kids to go to UNC-CH for college. But if they grow up in Chapel Hill, they're going to want to leave for college!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re ok with similar COL and moving to California: Long Beach, CA and Dana Point, CA. Also Ventura, CA. San Luis Obispo.

You have to be careful with California schools. You could buy into a good district but, if it becomes overcrowded, you can be shifted randomly to any school. That’s why there are so many private and religious schools in California. .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eugene, Oregon

Eugene born and raised and lmao @ moving here for weather.

It’s not perfect like LA or anything but I’ve lived a lot of places and it beats out most of the country; better than the DC area, northeast or Midwest. Rare snow or below freezing temps. Just dreary and rainy. Great summers, not too hot and no humidity.

[Anonymous]

All this talk about politics. Honestly, who gives a sh*t. And for what it is worth, just about every midsize city in the sunbelt is experiencing the exact same kind of growth; to the point of becoming indistinguishable. The Millennials moving to these areas demand mixed use and walkability, and more and more are keeping their kids in the public school system so that mommy and daddy can still enjoy the occasional pint at the local brewery. You really can’t go wrong, regardless of an area’s “politics.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this talk about politics. Honestly, who gives a sh*t. And for what it is worth, just about every midsize city in the sunbelt is experiencing the exact same kind of growth; to the point of becoming indistinguishable. The Millennials moving to these areas demand mixed use and walkability, and more and more are keeping their kids in the public school system so that mommy and daddy can still enjoy the occasional pint at the local brewery. You really can’t go wrong, regardless of an area’s “politics.”

It used to be hard to know people's political leanings outside the beltway, so no one cared; but now you drive though any old town and you see campaign signs up all year round, long after an election is lost. There is an intentional message in that, and it is actually a bit hostile.

[Anonymous]

woooooweeee it's OP I did not intend to start a political debate!

I am perfectly OK with purple.

There are some great suggestions in here and I definitely now see I cannot "have it all" The school question does seem to be a big one.

If anyone has any other suggestions I am all ears. I think the college town idea is a good one.

[Anonymous]

OP, we are looking at Raleigh/Durham or Chapel Hill when we cash out of the DC area. Friends are looking on the west coast of Fla. Schools not an issue for us, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:woooooweeee it's OP I did not intend to start a political debate!

I am perfectly OK with purple.

There are some great suggestions in here and I definitely now see I cannot "have it all" The school question does seem to be a big one.

If anyone has any other suggestions I am all ears. I think the college town idea is a good one.

college towns tend to be pretty blue, though the surrounding area may be red (think Gainseville). Basically, the more educated the populace, the more blue it is.

[Anonymous]

I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

Don't know about the Sarasota County schools, but the idea that St. Johns County schools are the best in Florida is horrifying. I have family that lives there, and those schools are atrocious. The St. Johns County school system wold probably be the worst school system between Baltimore and Richmond.

[Anonymous]

OP has received many good suggestions:

College towns - Athens GA, Durham/Chapel Hill

Purple/blue counties - you can easily find the counties in warmer states that voted 50/50 or more towards Democrats, there are plenty of maps online

Schools - cross the ratings of the school systems with the info above

P.S. I lived in Athens, very nice area and so much more affordable. You can buy a house and still have money left to invest and rent a place at the beach several weeks per year (for example Florida panhandle). Same when buying in NC and going to the beaches there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

Don't know about the Sarasota County schools, but the idea that St. Johns County schools are the best in Florida is horrifying. I have family that lives there, and those schools are atrocious. The St. Johns County school system wold probably be the worst school system between Baltimore and Richmond.

So... in other words, you don't live there, don't have kids in the schools, and know nothing what you're talking about? I'm sorry for being snarky but St. Johns schools have been talked on DCUM before and a casual glance at google does show many people rank it quite highly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feeling the need to branch out from DC and find somewhere warmer and with a lower COL and better quality of life. Would love to be near the water. Every idea I have turns out to be very trumpy, and we're too liberal for that. Where would you suggest?!

Cary, NC, (it's not close to water, but it fits the rest)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary,_North_Carolina

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liberal
Warm
Low cost of living.

Pick 2. You can't have all 3

Unfortunately this.

Sadly, true. If you can accept three months of serious winter (Jan-March), Rochester, NY would be great. The suburb of Brighton, in particular, is very liberal with excellent public schools, and minimal pressure/drama. Housing prices are ridiculously low compared to the DC area (though higher property taxes eat some of that savings.)