Reply to Leaving DC for a lower COL area

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I moved 7 years ago when my kids were 3 & 5.  Small city in PA.
Advantages:
1.      Lower cost of living.  There is NO WAY I could afford the home I have now in DC. Or near DC. Or even not so near to DC. 4000 sq ft  SFH, ½ acre backing to forest, in ground heated pool in a very nice neighborhood for under $400k.
2.      Very little traffic. Parking is not an issue.
3.      Activities for the kids are not hyper competitive. 
4.      DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia all 90 min – 2 hr drive. Can take train to NYC.
Disadvantages:
1.      Not as many things to do ( I guess this can be an advantage – slower pace of life – but it takes time to get used to)
2.      Not as many great restaurants.  There are still diverse restraunts, so chances are whatever ethnic cuisine you want, you can find… but just not that many “wow!” restaurants.
3.      Most people seem to have their set friendships from when they were younger, in college, etc.  Hard for transplants to break into social scene. Most of my friends are not from the city I now live in (all transplants like me).
 
I’m in IT, go in with the federal government. Started as an 11 (foot in door), quickly picked up a 13 (based on previous experience, not TIG), now a 14.
The neighborhood I live in reminds me of my childhood – kids running around the neighborhood, no need for playdates – just walk outside. A lot of the kids in the neighborhood are on the same teams / clubs, so it’s very easy to carpool.  Often, it’s now even planned –“hey, I can take Travis home if you want…”
The small city I am in does have a lot of ethnic diversity. It’s not a liberal bastion, but not conservative either – its moderate; HRC won in my district.  It’s always very close in elections.
Is it perfect? No. It really took time to get used to small city mentality.  The first couple years we traveled to DC and Baltimore and Philadelphia a lot.  But as I embraced the slower pace of life, we stopped traveling to the cities as often. That and soccer season taking up the weekends (lol).
It is nice not to sit in traffic for hours. And to be able to buy a home instead of rent a townhome.[/quote]

Scranton?[/quote]

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