Minnesota.

North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia…somewhere with good in-state colleges so you can save on tuition down the road!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's us and we have a have our house in the close Chicago suburbs plus a lake house 90 mins away in Wisconsin. Feel like we have the best of both worlds for leas than the price of one dc house (both homes together were $680k total). Great school district, 35 min train to downtown Chicago and all the food, events, arts, culture that entails, lake/beach/kayaks/hikes in Wisconsin.

Where are you? We are downtown but starting to consider the burbs.

DP. Hinsdale and Glenbrook / New Trier for excellent public schools.

Anonymous wrote:Anchorage poster: the lottery/charter schools are better on paper than in real life, and again, COL is high. Proceed with caution. I think you might like to explore the Seattle area which has some true immersion and Waldorf schools (albeit some caught up in a decades long internal conflict) and a massive Scandinavian population, social culture and general vibe. In Seattle you can be 45 minutes from snow and the mountains or the water and there is sufficiently moody weather to suit your needs, plus dazzlingly beautiful summers. It is expensive but not so expensive that it is out of reach if you’re already in close-in VA or MD. And no income tax, but it is balanced by high sales tax and costs for things like car registration, gas, groceries and restaurants.

Anchorage poster here. I looked at Seattle (and Portland what I have some family) but sadly they’re both out of my price range. I’m currently renting; can’t afford to buy around here either. Besides I want the snow and isolation to be where I am not to have to go to it. I don’t think I could bear to move somewhere at least a few good snowfalls weren’t basically guaranteed each year. Anchorage cost of living is higher than the US average but still lower than DC. But childcare remains an insurmountable barrier. Like so many others, I’m likely to end up moving back to my hometown for a few years since I have a larger network of people to help me cobble together sufficient care.

OP (sorry for hijacking your thread; it’s so funny how some of us want to go back to our childhood weather and some of us want to run away isn’t it?) you might also consider looking out west in northern CA or Montana/Wyoming. The rural areas are pretty cheap and the scenery is stunning and I’m sure you could find somewhere that suits you weather wise. Good schools would be harder to find but I’m sure there are some.

Anonymous wrote:Upstate NY. Strong public schools but cheap housing. Pick somewhere with a medium city (Rochester) so it isn’t deep red.

I grew up there so I am biased, but I honestly think that’s where we will all want to live in a decade. You can actually go outside in August!

same- grew up in Brighton, my husband frequently requests we move there (and i would if not for both our families being here now)

What does it matter we are all screwed anyway with the AMOC shutting down. We are certainly a bunch of fools messing with complex systems we don’t understand.

The NY Times had a fun interactive tool a couple years back that allowed you to somewhat scientifically tackle this exact question. It allows you to select for the factors you value most eg schools/transit, climate considerations, geography, cost of living, diversity, and much more:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/23/opinion/sunday/best-places-live-usa-quiz.html

And, for those who love the idea of VT, NH, or upper midwest: there's a ton to recommend those places (in summer and fall for sure!). But when evaluating whether you would be ok with the winters, the question isn't just, would you enjoy a crisp, snowy Dec/Jan? It's also whether you would be happy in April/May, when the cold/mud/gray is probably dragging on well into what is technically "spring."

Anchorage poster: the lottery/charter schools are better on paper than in real life, and again, COL is high. Proceed with caution. I think you might like to explore the Seattle area which has some true immersion and Waldorf schools (albeit some caught up in a decades long internal conflict) and a massive Scandinavian population, social culture and general vibe. In Seattle you can be 45 minutes from snow and the mountains or the water and there is sufficiently moody weather to suit your needs, plus dazzlingly beautiful summers. It is expensive but not so expensive that it is out of reach if you’re already in close-in VA or MD. And no income tax, but it is balanced by high sales tax and costs for things like car registration, gas, groceries and restaurants.

OP here. Another criterion that I didn't realize was important to me until reading the responses is that it can't be extremely cold. I grew up in the NE and I don't think I could go back to those winters. And I'm shocked someone suggested Alaska! A high cost of living and it's freezing. To each their own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anchorage Alaska. I’m actually in that situation and was looking to move this summer but unfortunately daycare waitlists are multi year everywhere so it didn’t work out. We’re going to try again in a year or so.

My nieces and nephew are in Alaska. I would think twice about this unless you are an avid outdoors person (hunting, fishing, camping), involved in state/federal work, or really into nordic skiing/fat biking. My BIL and sister are in a tight spot now because the schools are really uneven, housing and everyday costs are high, and they can’t easily leave because the real estate market has them pinched and he can’t unload his share in his practice. The day care situation is real and extends to other things, too- costs are very high so it’s hard to staff daycares and lower wage facilities. As medical professionals they have access to the daycare affiliated with his hospital, but there were no other good options and they had to wait for that.

They also only have a few weeks that they can enjoy the long summer days because of the bugs, but that’s specific to certain lots and neighborhoods so do a LOT of research.

The daycare situation is an issue EVERYWHERE. I also looked into moving to upstate NY near my family and ran into the same problem. It really sucks. When I move (NY or AK or elsewhere), it’ll be because we got off a waitlist or got a trustworthy recommendation for a nanny.

But yeah the appeal of Alaska for me is the winter and the outdoors. I realize I’m unusual to be running to the cold and dark instead of away from it but I’ve given up on trying to like the south*. Anchorage specifically had some really interesting charter schools (immersion, Waldorf) that would be a good fit our family but of course there’s the lottery to be considered as here. Nowhere is perfect. Thanks for sharing your BIL’s experience though; helps to hear different takes! The people I know in Anchorage are big fans but of course everyone is looking for different things.

*yes I realize DC isn’t really south but it feels that way to my Scandinavian genes

Anonymous wrote:We're visiting Vermont right now and I've decided that would be my choice. Beautiful, chill, liberal, seems to be good options for schools in enough places based on discussions we've had with people. Kids in Stowe, VT have half days on Fridays to all head to ski the mountain so you know the vibes are less competitive.

I used to live in Chicago, great great city and agree it is so easy to get a lake house up there for a reasonable price that is a wonderful thing about it. But I struggled with the surrounding areas being bland and the winters being gray but without solid snow, hard combo. So maybe I'd struggle with that in VT but they seem to do way more winter sports which is appealing to me as I don't actually mind the winter. Just the drab biting cold with no snow sports winter.

Consider Norwich VT or Hanover NH if Stowe is too far north. The area around Waitsfield is also wonderful. We loved Norwich and it was very chill and there was so much to do year-round. I found VT/NH to be easier than Chicago because it was sunnier and there were more fun things to do outdoors in the winter so we didn’t feel trapped or depressed. Warning that there is always 1 week in the winter with subzero temperatures that truly sucks, and ice dams and frozen pipes and heating oil drama is a thing.

Anonymous wrote:Anchorage Alaska. I’m actually in that situation and was looking to move this summer but unfortunately daycare waitlists are multi year everywhere so it didn’t work out. We’re going to try again in a year or so.

My nieces and nephew are in Alaska. I would think twice about this unless you are an avid outdoors person (hunting, fishing, camping), involved in state/federal work, or really into nordic skiing/fat biking. My BIL and sister are in a tight spot now because the schools are really uneven, housing and everyday costs are high, and they can’t easily leave because the real estate market has them pinched and he can’t unload his share in his practice. The day care situation is real and extends to other things, too- costs are very high so it’s hard to staff daycares and lower wage facilities. As medical professionals they have access to the daycare affiliated with his hospital, but there were no other good options and they had to wait for that.

They also only have a few weeks that they can enjoy the long summer days because of the bugs, but that’s specific to certain lots and neighborhoods so do a LOT of research.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's us and we have a have our house in the close Chicago suburbs plus a lake house 90 mins away in Wisconsin. Feel like we have the best of both worlds for leas than the price of one dc house (both homes together were $680k total). Great school district, 35 min train to downtown Chicago and all the food, events, arts, culture that entails, lake/beach/kayaks/hikes in Wisconsin.

Where are you? We are downtown but starting to consider the burbs.

Niles/Park Ridge area bordering Edison Park

Ha - I was just in Niles for the first time last weekend for the King Spa. That’s an experience!

OMG. PP here and I had a rough time earlier this year and my best friend hopped on Groupon and bought us passes and surprised me. She didn't look into it enough to know or tell me that is ALL NUDE so that was a shock upon arrival. We still went for it and thought it was a spontaneous, hilarious experience. It definitely is...something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's us and we have a have our house in the close Chicago suburbs plus a lake house 90 mins away in Wisconsin. Feel like we have the best of both worlds for leas than the price of one dc house (both homes together were $680k total). Great school district, 35 min train to downtown Chicago and all the food, events, arts, culture that entails, lake/beach/kayaks/hikes in Wisconsin.

Where are you? We are downtown but starting to consider the burbs.

Niles/Park Ridge area bordering Edison Park

Ha - I was just in Niles for the first time last weekend for the King Spa. That’s an experience!

Moyock, North Carolina. Still affordable. NC has great universities. School district is up and coming. On the way to the outer banks!