Well I'm thinking of getting the hell out of NJ in a couple years after I get married and am wondering about some of the other areas of the country. So I want to know,

where do you live?

what type of weather/seasons do you have?

How is the cost of living?

Nearby cities? (My company has offices in most major cities, and my whole field revolves around being in/around/near a lot of businesses.)

and anything else that makes wherever you live great.


Personally I hate cold and humidity and would probably really like something like texas, the fiance however doesn't like the heat as much as me nor hate the cold as much as me so we might settle for something more middle of the road. We both however love the fact that my salary would barely change in dallas and we could get a beautiful house for what you would get a shitty condo for here in NJ.

DALLAS! I just moved here from Florida a little less than a year ago. We have season changes but the winters arent too bad. I think it snowed like 3-4 times and it barely sticks. The summers are kind of hot but not as hot as Florida because the humidity is low. Coming from NJ your going ot be able to get a HUGE house for what you pay over there. The cost of living here is really low. And best of all everyone here is really nice. Nothing like some good old Texas hospitality. Not to mention we have NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL alkl in the same city. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask.

Pay will be relative to how much it costs to live in the area you will relocate to. I've lived in ME, NH, MA, RI, VA, FL, IA/IL. Dave already covered how florida is. You might want to consider something like Wilmington NC, My ex-wife lives there and its a very nice town/city. Cost of living is pretty low and the winters are very mild. I'm moving back to NH in a couple of years, I realized that its where i belong. Although I've met alot of good people everywhere i've gone.

Originally posted by eclipse_99rs
Pay will be relative to how much it costs to live in the area you will relocate to.

Well that's a given, but for example, I know for a fact that my pay would only be 5k less per year in Dallas compared to NJ (at the current starting rates for my firm only about a 10% decrease) while housing rates are easily at least 20% cheaper.

Move to San Diego, its summer/spring all year. Granted the cheapest shack you can get will cost you more than half a million dollards, but we get reimbursed in sunshine :thumbsup

Move to Charlotte, I thought I wanted to move away from here mostly due to problems with my ex.

I love it here. Cheap cost of living, insane job market, cheap housing, and plenty to do here in the Charlotte area.

Weather is great, summers can be miserably hott but the winters are very mild. Little to no snow and it barley gets below freezing here.

el paso.... dry climate...heat isnt too bad. winters are nice. the city is as big or bigger then san antonio. but other then that theres nothing much out there. but my second choice would be SA or in between Austin and SA. humidity can be bad in central, east and south texas. i live 5 min by the border and 45min from the ocean... 80%+ humidity is what i deal with day by day, which is why i want to move to a desert :)

Hawaii :)
80 in the winter
84 in the summer :owned
no smog laws
clean air gotta love the trade winds
close to japan JDM baby.

I have been here 3 years last month. and I love it

cost of living is high but cheaper than the bay area in california. I save money living here.

I have a great pic of honolulu Ill post it up when I get to my phone.

Move somewhere without emissions testing.

Houston > Dallas.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Houston > Dallas.

I wont argue there but... Rest of the Nation > Anything in TX. :P

The wife and I would like to move (in the next few years) to somewhere like Austin or a Phoenix burb. Kind of sick of the cold cold winters in WI.

Originally posted by whodatt1
I would like to move (in the next few years) to somewhere like Austin or a Phoenix burb. Kind of sick of the cold cold winters in ND.

I agree.

Originally posted by slowmitsu
Rest of the Nation < Anything in TX. :P

Fixed that for you.

Austin > Houston > Dallas

QFT. :D

Michigan

nope

:thumbsdown

Only if you like high taxes, no jobs and skank ass winters.

On the positive side...houses are plentiful and cheap because there are either foreclosed, or empty because the owners moved out of state for a job. And the summers are nice.

And Texas has no state taxes! I moved here from FLorida and I got a $10,000 a year raise in salary. Granted I received a huge promotion but thats the reason I moved out here in the first place. And the cost of houses is about half the cost in Florida. YOu got to love early fall here. High today is 80 the low is 69. Also if you like to travel you can get to just about anywhere in the country within two hours because of our central location. I am not a suburbs type of person because I am single and like the night life so I live downtown. I pay $850 a month for a 900 SF loft in downtown Dallas. My building has an art gallery for a lobby. Its very nice and would cost me about $2500 a month if it were in Florida. If you have children and like the suburbs check out Plano, Allen, Frisco, Mckinney, Forney, Grapevine, Lewisville. All those are nice areas. You basically want to stay north of downtown Dallas. There are some nice places in east Dallas though.

I live in Cabot, Arkansas.

Before you start laughing. Just listen.

I have been all over the united states including caribbean, alaska, canada ect. i have been about every state except california.

Arkansas is awesome. Allow me to elaborate. I live in cabot population for the entire city is only 20,000. The capital (Little Rock) is only 22 minutes away and it is ginormous if you like that crap, but you can also travel in the opposite direction towards Heber springs or something and just have hundreds of miles of back roads to drive on ect. We have lakes, we have woodlands, we have mountains to climb, and we have absolutely no emissions testing or vehicle inspection of any kind. My house is in a decent subdivision in a cul-de-sac with a big 2 door/two car garage, 3bd, 2bath, and a nice sized yard, and it only cost me $106,000. Just my opinion, then again I value time more than money. I work my 40hrs a week and I go home. I never work overtime, and I never cash in any of my 5 weeks paid vacation in a yr, I use it all. It's a laid back, southern hospitality lifestyle.

Originally posted by dsmtuner1
I live in Cabot, Arkansas. Before you start laughing. Just listen. I have been all over the united states including caribbean, alaska, canada ect. i have been about every state except california. Arkansas is awesome. Allow me to elaborate. I live in cabot population for the entire city is only 20,000. The capital (Little Rock) is only 22 minutes away and it is ginormous if you like that crap, but you can also travel in the opposite direction towards Heber springs or something and just have hundreds of miles of back roads to drive on ect. We have lakes, we have woodlands, we have mountains to climb, and we have absolutely no emissions testing or vehicle inspection of any kind. My house is in a decent subdivision in a cul-de-sac with a big 2 door/two car garage, 3bd, 2bath, and a nice sized yard, and it only cost me $106,000. Just my opinion, then again I value time more than money. I work my 40hrs a week and I go home. I never work overtime, and I never cash in any of my 5 weeks paid vacation in a yr, I use it all. It's a laid back, southern hospitality lifestyle.

Arkansas was one of the places I've considered moving. It's just hard to pack up my shit and move somewhere that I dont know a single person.

Originally posted by DarkOne

Originally posted by slowmitsu Rest of the Nation < Anything in TX. :P

Fixed that for you.

Ok ok so I'm comparing the entirety of Texas to the 7000 block of Westheimer. lol

Originally posted by slowmitsu

Originally posted by DarkOne

Originally posted by slowmitsu Rest of the Nation < Anything in TX. :P

Fixed that for you.

Ok ok so I'm comparing the entirety of Texas to the 7000 block of Westheimer. lol

FAIL.

colorado is quite nice, 300+ days of sunshine annually, dry, beautiful snow that usually goes away before it gets annoying. i live just southeast of denver and love it.

avoid boulder like the plague, buncha treehuggin lesbo wacko commie nutjobs up there

Originally posted by cs82685
where do you live?

Chandler, Phoenix, Arizona

Originally posted by cs82685
what type of weather/seasons do you have?

Two seasons here - hot and not really hot. Mid-July to Mid-September can be miserable, with the humidity up near 50% or and continuing 110*+ temps. Give yourself a solid three years before your blood thins out to the point of 60 feeling absolutely frigid. Seldom rains.

I've seen frost only once in six years and that was early January one morning in a shady spot next to the garage.

Originally posted by cs82685
How is the cost of living?

Homes within a hour of downtown during rush hour are going to start at about $300k. If you plan it out right, you can find a home near your job and score a short commute. 91 octane is hovering around $2.9x/gallon.

Originally posted by cs82685
Nearby cities?

Phoenix metro is: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Avondale.

North:
3hrs to Flagstaff for mountains, some skiing
4hrs to Grand Canyon

Northwest:
5hrs (tops) to Las Vegas

West:
4hrs to Palm Springs
6hrs to LA, Anaheim, Irvine
7hrs to San Diego (depends on route, generally less)

Southwest:
5hrs (or less) Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), popular beach location

South:
90min Tucson
2hrs Nogales, Mexico

Southeast:
8hrs (or less) to El Paso, Alamagordo, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Ruidoso, NM (skiing)

Originally posted by cs82685
fiance however doesn't like the heat

She would hate it here. Sorry. It's into the triple digits by late April and stays that hot until October. The "dry heat" *does* make a difference and you would be surprised how wonderful 95* feels out here.

Otherwise, we've got the following other things...
Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) - ALMS, NASCRAP
Firebird International Raceway - NHRA, public drag strip
Speedworld Motorplex - public drag strip, dirt track, MX
***Open all year long***

Active SCCA and NASA groups. Four rallies within 6 hour drive of Phoenix. az2gnt.net is about 80 members strong, then there is DSM_SW, and azawd.org. Plenty going on out here.

Originally posted by DR1665

Originally posted by cs82685 where do you live?

Chandler, Phoenix, Arizona

Originally posted by cs82685 what type of weather/seasons do you have?

Two seasons here - hot and not really hot. Mid-July to Mid-September can be miserable, with the humidity up near 50% or and continuing 110*+ temps. Give yourself a solid three years before your blood thins out to the point of 60 feeling absolutely frigid. Seldom rains. I've seen frost only once in six years and that was early January one morning in a shady spot next to the garage.

Originally posted by cs82685 How is the cost of living?

Homes within a hour of downtown during rush hour are going to start at about $300k. If you plan it out right, you can find a home near your job and score a short commute. 91 octane is hovering around $2.9x/gallon.

Originally posted by cs82685 Nearby cities?

Phoenix metro is: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City, Sun City West, Avondale. North: 3hrs to Flagstaff for mountains, some skiing 4hrs to Grand Canyon Northwest: 5hrs (tops) to Las Vegas West: 4hrs to Palm Springs 6hrs to LA, Anaheim, Irvine 7hrs to San Diego (depends on route, generally less) Southwest: 5hrs (or less) Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), popular beach location South: 90min Tucson 2hrs Nogales, Mexico Southeast: 8hrs (or less) to El Paso, Alamagordo, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Ruidoso, NM (skiing)

Originally posted by cs82685 fiance however doesn't like the heat

She would hate it here. Sorry. It's into the triple digits by late April and stays that hot until October. The "dry heat" *does* make a difference and you would be surprised how wonderful 95* feels out here. Otherwise, we've got the following other things... Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) - ALMS, NASCRAP Firebird International Raceway - NHRA, public drag strip Speedworld Motorplex - public drag strip, dirt track, MX ***Open all year long*** Active SCCA and NASA groups. Four rallies within 6 hour drive of Phoenix. az2gnt.net is about 80 members strong, then there is DSM_SW, and azawd.org. Plenty going on out here.

Damn Driggs, you wrote me a book, although it does look much smaller quoted haha. 'ppreciate it. I have actually considered Arizona as I have some family in the phoenix/flagstaff area.



Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, keep the ideas coming. Texas is looking better and better. :thumbsup

Maybe look into the Atlanta, Georgia area. Not in the city but just outside of it. I am currently in the process of moving there and I have some family there. Houses are CHEAP. It is a buyers market there. You can get whatever you want. Some places are having like 1% rate reductions on brand new homes. The weather isn't too bad. It doesn't get all humid there from what I have seen. And the winters aren't terrible.
As far as major cities, all you have to worry about is Atlanta. It has everything business related in it.
Cost of living is less than where I am at now (VA). I don't know about compared to Texas or some other places.