Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are used to DC, and have no existing family ties to the South, be VERY careful about moving there. It may seem to be all good weather and low housing costs but in many ways, you are essentially moving to a different country. My family roots down there go back many hundreds of years, and all my family is still there, but I nevertheless am happy to put up with the high COL and traffic here in DC because the South was suffocating to me in so many ways.

Maybe it's different if you move somewhere that's mostly composed of Northerners fleeing high COL rather than native southerners. I can't speak to that since I wasn't living in one of those places. Just be careful and be very sure you know what you're getting into.

Bump.

This needs to be posted twice.

Is it really that bad?

I grew up near Philadelphia and went to Penn for law school. Never have I heard the Philly suburbs described so glowingly as on these pages. Philadelphia is a fine city, but it is a mid-tier city with job opportunities to match.

Anonymous wrote:I am from a medium-sized town in NC, and I can't wait to move back. We live in Bethesda currently; my husband is from this area. We'll probably go in a couple years, though I've been getting calls from friends about job offers now. I somehow feel it just isn't time yet. At any rate, please don't believe all this talk about Charlotte or Raleigh area being backward and ignorant. It's just not true. Browse the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer or the business journals in those cities. Raleigh has traffic that can rival the Beltway here some days, and there are tons of people from NY/NJ/MD moving there for cheaper/bigger housing, slower pace, lower COL. They have great restaurants, good shopping, close to the beach and mountains and you can get more bang for your buck. Do the research, then make up your mind.

Although some of the education-related stuff that's been happening of late has not made me happy. It's more than a little concerning.

Happy to hear good things about Raleigh at least as we've been considering moving there to slow down and enjoy life a bit more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to move but can't due to husband's job based here...

I would go back to the Midwest. To many of you, that is flyover country. I want my big house and friendly people and easy commutes again.

salivate when I think of it...

Me, too. Could have written this, word for word.

My hangups about the midwest are tornadoes and heavy snow. Where in the midwest can I live without these?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cali!

I love California, but it's absurdly expensive and the public schools are middling. Crazy real estate market and awful traffic. Everything is a 30-45 minute drive.

I grew up in California and I agree. All my family is there and I hate being so far away, but don't feel I can realistically move back. The CA job market is still not great, at least in my field. The places with good jobs and schools are crazy expensive and have lots of traffic -- basically, DC with better weather (although, better weather is not nothing). It is indeed a big state with lots of cheaper and less congested choices, but those tend to be rural, economically depressed, and politically conservative; obviously I can't say the schools are uniformly bad but there are a lot of poor schools and unmet needs. The one scenario that seems realistic to me is working in Sacramento or in a rural-ish university town ... not sure exactly what we'd do for work but the traffic, housing, and educational mix would be right. Dunno.

I loved reading this thread. I'm currently deciding between and in-house position outside of Philly (great schools, although not Lower Merion or Harritown, and great housing options) that would put us closer to family or a federal job here in D.C. Both are 5 days a week, but I feel like I'd have more flexibility with the federal job since I have so much saved up sick leave and would be able to see my kids more. We've been able to save nicely here, but will be able to save so much more in Philly (while also being able to join a nice pool, eat out more, etc.). Who knows what we'll decide, but I was happy to see that people didn't regret leaving D.C. and all that it has to offer, especially with young kids (schools aside).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Vermont for five years. I would LOVE to go back there. But there are no jobs in my area. Or really any area...

My parents live in Vermont, and though they're both employed, the job market is crazy tough. I love that state with all my heart but its going through a tough time right now.

I lived there in the early 90s - it seems to be going through a tough time pretty much constantly since then...

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Vermont for five years. I would LOVE to go back there. But there are no jobs in my area. Or really any area...

My parents live in Vermont, and though they're both employed, the job market is crazy tough. I love that state with all my heart but its going through a tough time right now.

Anonymous wrote:Would love to move but can't due to husband's job based here...

I would go back to the Midwest. To many of you, that is flyover country. I want my big house and friendly people and easy commutes again.

salivate when I think of it...

Me, too. Could have written this, word for word.

I lived in Vermont for five years. I would LOVE to go back there. But there are no jobs in my area. Or really any area...

I am from a medium-sized town in NC, and I can't wait to move back. We live in Bethesda currently; my husband is from this area. We'll probably go in a couple years, though I've been getting calls from friends about job offers now. I somehow feel it just isn't time yet. At any rate, please don't believe all this talk about Charlotte or Raleigh area being backward and ignorant. It's just not true. Browse the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer or the business journals in those cities. Raleigh has traffic that can rival the Beltway here some days, and there are tons of people from NY/NJ/MD moving there for cheaper/bigger housing, slower pace, lower COL. They have great restaurants, good shopping, close to the beach and mountains and you can get more bang for your buck. Do the research, then make up your mind.

Although some of the education-related stuff that's been happening of late has not made me happy. It's more than a little concerning.

We moved back to MD after being in Raleigh, NC for 8 yrs. It was a great place to live until we had kids. I've never, ever had to pay so much attention to a school board. In one swoop diversity was throw out the window for schools, teachers were made out to be bad guys and so much more. The change in leadership in NC has been like a big ass wrecking ball....and I voted for the current governor. Don't believe the bs of it being all super cheap with uneducated people. The Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) has re-branded itself and changed the swing of the population. The jobs here now are very much tech and finance related. For those who are poor it's a tough ass place to live. Current leadership could care less. With all the being said we lived in a 4bd 4 ba home (brick), 2 car oversized garage, bonus and playroom on 1/2 acre. Purchase price was $350,000. Now back in MD I'm still shell shocked at prices and quality compared to NC. We only moved because of a better business opportunity. Our kids were going to a private Montessori which only cost $11,000 a year.

Anonymous wrote:If you are used to DC, and have no existing family ties to the South, be VERY careful about moving there. It may seem to be all good weather and low housing costs but in many ways, you are essentially moving to a different country. My family roots down there go back many hundreds of years, and all my family is still there, but I nevertheless am happy to put up with the high COL and traffic here in DC because the South was suffocating to me in so many ways.

Maybe it's different if you move somewhere that's mostly composed of Northerners fleeing high COL rather than native southerners. I can't speak to that since I wasn't living in one of those places. Just be careful and be very sure you know what you're getting into.

Bump.

This needs to be posted twice.

We're in Bryn Mawr. 19 minute train ride to Philly, and 5 bedroom, 2700 sq ft house, recently renovated for $500k. We thought we'd died and gone to heaven moving from DC. Oh, and great schools

The yards were beautiful that we saw. Big! Yes, nice big houses for half of what we pay here. My friends live in that area and work close by, so they don't commute into Philly for jobs, but it sounds like the commute isn't bad. People seemed more laid back and much friendlier too than DC. Not so crazed and stressed and rushed. Was that my imagination? I'm jealous!

Anonymous wrote:One thing I would consider about where I'd move is the effect global warming is/will have on the area over the next decades: drought and wildfires in the West, rising seas in coastal areas, larger tornadoes/hurricanes in the South.

I'm still gonna drive my Yukon though. My kids will figure it out after I'm gone.