OP, if you move to the NE, you will not have the problems with lack of plowing you have here. They plow overnight and rarely miss school. They actually know what to do with snow and common sense is tantamount to excuses and BS. You will love it. You might still need AWD, but not for the same reasons as this area (idiocy/laziness/excuses). That said, many larger SUVs have a substantial tax on them nowadays. Any not-so-large SUV should suit you fine. How much did you wish to spend?

We're really loving our Kia Sorento. It's roomier than the Outback or the Forrester (both of which we test-drove) has a fabulous warranty and comes with tons of great options for the price. We got the AWD, which comes in handy when we drive home to the Midwest at Christmas.

Zipcar.

I posted previously about an Outback. We just got ours a month or two ago and we love it. We also have a Honda CRV and the Subaru is so much better. Definitely feel like we have more room with it. We got both cars for similar reasons too - need separate kid & dog space.

OP here: Thanks everyone!! My car that is on it's way to some thrifty, handy young-un is a Subaru. We'll start there. And I'll take much better care of this car.

The Outback is certainly big enough--interestingly the Forester looks less expensive. The reason for an SUV (or big wagon) is fitting baby, dog, stroller, and golf clubs all at the same time for our weekends away.

Thanks all.