Relocating to warmer State

[jess]

My other half and I are done with winter for 6 months or more of the year. We want to move to a warmer climate within the next 6 months. We plan on moving as soon as Rachel is done with school this year. We own our home out-right so we currently have no mortgage. We are looking now and hoping to visit a few states during her February vacation. Can you tell me about your state. I.E. cost of housing-we would like no less then 15 acres, job market(I'm a vet tech, other half builds trains for Bombardier),school system(I have a six year old daughter.) and any other details you'd like to share. Neither of us have traveled much and the furthest we've been from New York is Virginia. We just want mountains and warm weather. We also prefer a rural setting as opposed to large neighborhoods.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Well, here in NE Texas, we do have a few weeks of "winter". For about the past couple of weeks, it has gotten down in the 20's at night, and 40's and 50's in the daytime. Even in the winter, the sun will shine at least 5out of 7 days. In the summer, it can get as high as 110 in August. The cost of property is much lower than it was in Ky., and this is a very rural setting we are in. The school systems are good, each is an ISD, and the schools have very few students. One of the small schools close to us only has about 90 students from K-8. Kids get lots of attention because of the small amount in each classroom. In my opinion the draw backs are the roads, (most of the county roads, and there are lots of them) are gravel, and poorly maintained. If you want to go shopping, you have to drive a good 45-50 miles to a larger town, and you will be in for culture shock. The plus is that the children are still respectful of their elders, say yes ma'am, no ma'am, please, thank you, and the guys still hold the chairs and the doors for the girls. All the youngsters call everyone Miss, or Mr. It is like stepping back in time! Every little town or settlement has a hometown restaurant, and two dollar stores, and a Dairy Queen. Sorry, no real mountains though, just a few small hills here and there.

 

[minie812]

YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR HUBBY CHECK OUT WICHITA KANSAS. RATED #2 IN THE NATION FOR JOBS AND JOB SECURITY. RAYTHEON(BOMBARDIAR) IS LOCATED HERE ALSO-CESSNA TEXTRON AND BOEING AND SPIRIT. GOOD PAYING JOBS WITH EXCELLENT BENEFITS..AND THEY ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED VET TECHS HERE TOO! COST OF LIVING IS DECENT --TAXES AWFUL (LOL) SCHOOLS AVERAGE.. GOOD CLEAN AIR...WE LIVE 40 MILES FROM THERE NOW AND HUBBY COMMUTES DAILY AND IT TAKES HIM ABOUT 45 MIN TO GET TO WORK. CRIME IS AVERAGE FOR THE MIDWEST. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Sixstardanes]

The nice thing about California is we have alot of variety.

We live about a mile up in the mountains in southern California.

Yeah currently we have snow about a foot of it with more on the way.

Its cold outside too.

If we drive down the mtn (a 25 min drive usually)

we immediately get away from the snow.

If we drive one way we go towards the desert or in a few hours can be in Las Vegas.

If we go another way in a couple hours we could be at the beach

or and Disneyland or other fun places.

The big draw back of California is the cost of living.

Its not cheap out here.

But there are lots of pets which means lots of animal hospitals.

In some areas even specialized ones which often can lead to decent $.

Hope you find the place you are looking for wherever it may be.

 

[heart k ranch]

North East Texas is great. I think its not too cold in the winter and it does get hot. I don't think it will drop more then in the 20's, and that is rare. I've only seen snow a couple of times.

 

[Marty]

I'm a Floridian so living here for me was culture shock but I wouldn't go back there now.

You want mountains? You come to the right place.

There is always stuff to do here; always a celebration for some reason going on. Tons of parades, craft fairs, tons of fairs and festivals always going on.

Actually I'm freezing at the moment here in Tennessee but it doesn't last long. Starts off nasty in the morning; we've had single digits and in the teens here these last 2 weeks, but by 11:00 am or so it begins to warm up usually to 40 or so today with any luck. Next week we will be back up into the 60's I hear. Our winters here don't really begin until January and then go into February and that's pretty much it for the real cold bad stuff. We don't get significant snow, just an inch or two most years. It's been sweat shirt weather pretty much until after Christmas.

The spring time is simply breathtaking; The way the flowers grow out of the mountainsides. You can really breathe here.

We dont' die here in the summer from heat. Summers are nice. The worst month for heat is August and that one is a killer for about 3 weeks or so. Bad heat waves in August usually.

The fall is amazing. The scenery and colors again are so pretty.

This is good horse country. It's growing in leaps and bounds and there are jobs everywhere especially for you. We finally got a new vet here, amazing. She was even looking for a vet tech with no one in sight to hire. It's an open market here. Cost of living is cheap. I have a 15 acre vacant farm in the valley; taxes on it are now $87.00 a year for example. My house and farm taxes here are less than $300. a year. Of course I am in the mountains and it is very rural but that is where out of state people are flocking to like crazy because it's so cheap living and QUIET.

I'm in the very old timey area in the mountains where on any given day there are mule teams and horse back riders passing by. Wagons and buckboards filled with people banjo playing and that sort of thing; loose mules, loose pigs and cows are pretty much a part of the routine. Just had a couple of horses running up and down last week visiting everyone here at 2:00 AM (sigh). It's all par for the course. We are a tight community and look out for eachother and call around and return whoever lost what, help eachother how ever we can. During harvest, I'll be finding all kinds of put up green beans and corn and canned food on my porch from the neighbors.

This state is behind the times however in certain things like some laws that need to be changed like many other places. I'm active in that and many community projects. Hope to see you on your quest for your new life.

 

[maplegum]

Move to Australia

 

[Charley]

Rural Virginia is nice. We have a farm in south central Virginia. Cost of living is low if you are away from the major cities. I loved the small towns. We have very mild winters, snow will melt by noon. Ice can be a bit more of a problem. You have to watch out for areas of black ice where the pines are close to the road and doesn't get much sun. Sunsets and stars are gorgeous! We love it. School systems are not that great in some parts; you would need to do your homework on that; it is hit or miss.

Now we have a vacation home in Northern Georgia, but this is where we are living most of the time. It is about the same climate wise as Virginia. Jobs pay more around Atlanta but it is so congested that it isn't worth the greater pay to me. It is more back in time here...less violent crime...don't know about the school systems..people are great...the views are fabulous....lots of nature things to do, like hiking, mountain climbing...people are outside more here than in Virginia.

Good luck with your warmer relocation!

 

[Sonya]

I live where it's cold, but would love to move south, not too far though, I can't stand 115deg summer with or without humity, too hot. I would love to go to Kentucky. It still gets cold there in the winter but not -4 F (what it is right now here and probably where you are too) and the winters are short compaired to ours. It is so pretty there, I don't know much about their economy though. TX, FL get too hot for me in the summer. TN and the Carolinas are nice too although the humidity can get very high. Sometimes in KY too though. Good luck

 

[Kitty]

WHAT move and not enjoy freezing your backside off half the year. What fun is that. OH!

Do you have room in your moving boxes for a stow away?? with a few (LOL) horses and a couple of kids and a spouse

IS IT MAY YET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need that 2 days of spring then 2 days of summer then back to winter soon

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

For me, there's no where like Texas!!!!!

I love it here, but then, I HATE winter. I am outside person, so Texas gives that to me almost year round. I am in north east Texas. We really only get about 2-3 weeks of true winter, which is too long for me

. Dallas is only 1 hour away. But if you want a rural area closer to Dallas, you can check out Forney, it is only 30 minutes from Dallas. Land and taxes are very reasonable here. Can't tell you about the schools, I don't have 2 legged kids. There are pleanty of horse shows reasonably close. Summers are HOT, but it is a fair trade for the lack of winter. It really doesn't bother me until it hits 100, but that doesn't happen alot. Good luck in your search.