If you could move your family anywhere, where would you live and why?

[PhiloMed]

If fewer people wanted to live in those places, they wouldn’t cost so much. The reason they cost so much is because so many people want to live there. And because of they cost so much, I don’t want to live there–even though I do.

If Napa didn’t cost so much, I might be persuaded to own a neighboring vineyard and garden near you.

Since I can’t even grow grass well I would appreciate your help in my planned uber-garden.

 

[gardenswithkids]

Since I can’t even grow grass well I would appreciate your help in my planned uber-garden.

Oh, I would love to help you garden in Napa! First, we’ll need to find an affordable plot of land, then we’ll need to find some water. In California, that’s the hard part. It’s easy after that.

 

[Sarcelle]

The West Cost talk reminded me that I also love Napa Valley. Apparently I only want to live in extremely high cost areas.

I want to live on a vineyard with a successful but not overly successful winery. I also want to have a garden where I grow delicious things and cook them in my kitchen overlooking the vineyard. I want to have parties with local friends where we eat all the delicious food I make on rustic wooden tables in my backyard and the perfectly behaved children play with the dogs and run around in pressed white clothing.

Have you been binge reading Sunset magazine?

 

[exnihilo]

I love living in South Carolina for the same reason you love living where you live.

That makes sense since I from NC.

Asheville NC maybe? A bit too touristy though.

Asheville is very nice but it is indeed very touriststy and has been for over a hundred years. I am not very fond of it as it really is detached from its surroundings. I really like mountain culture but you won’t really find that in Asheville and increasingly not even in Boone. When wealthy people started having homes in the mountains maybe a hundred years or so ago it added something but not without a price.

 

[Sarcelle]

That makes sense since I from NC.

Asheville is very nice but it is indeed very touriststy and has been for over a hundred years. I am not very fond of it as it really is detached from its surroundings. I really like mountain culture but you won’t really find that in Asheville and increasingly not even in Boone. When wealthy people started having homes in the mountains maybe a hundred years or so ago it added something but not without a price.

Yes. When wealthy people move in, there goes the neighborhood.

 

[Burt_Macklin]

I grew up in Fort Worth Texas, but after living in Houston for 15 years, I finally developed those allergies. I am still kinda in denial about it but I still take allergy meds every day.

And Houstonians are also notorious for driving 85+ on the freeways outside of rush hour. Occasionally, HPD will set up speed traps, but in my experience, speeding tickets are rare. I speed like crazy in the city but will slow down when I drive to Dallas, Austin or San Antonio because the small town cops WILL stop you for speeding.

If I were to leave Houston, I would just move a bit further east, deeper into East Texas. Hill Country is nice but land prices are going up. I’ll have my acreage in East Texas, thank you very much! I would go as far east as Louisiana but I don’t like state income taxes or parish sheriffs!

State income tax isn’t going to hit you has hard as property tax will in Texas. At least not unless you have a really, really high income. And with property tax, the tax man is coming for you regardless of income. I grew up around the Toledo Bend area, on the Louisiana side, and I would go back if it weren’t for the awful school situation. If I were to find land there we would have to homeschool. There isn’t a large catholic population either so there isn’t much of an option for catholic school either. Cheap land and good fishing and hunting though.

 

[Joyful_Song]

I would happily go back to Arizona any day. Out of all the places I’ve lived it is the only one I still dream of at night.

We moved back to Litchfield Park, Arizona - a little town west of Phoenix- almost one year ago, and are very happy to be back in a “Mayberry” type town. The cost of living is low, we can bike or walk to the store and to our parish church, there are always community activities to join in or watch, like fishing derby, fun run, christmas parades, craft shows, free music concerts, etc.
Our three kids grew up here and attended elementary, middle, and high school here. They did little league, community swim and tennis.
It’s the kind of place where you know your neighbors and people say hi or wave each time you pass by.
The summer is hot but just as manageable as the high humidity back East. We too drink lots of water, use sunscreen and hats, do errands in morning and evening if possible.
If you don’t have a pool at home, there are affordable community pools.
Our church is also welcoming and there’s plenty of opportunities to volunteer or join a prayer group; we’re blessed to have a good pastor.
God willing, we will stay here and retire.

 

[Burt_Macklin]

Yes. When wealthy people move in, there goes the neighborhood.

Yea, even if you already live in the area you can get driven out due to property taxes when the rich take over. It’s happening all over Texas with poeple relocating due to “cheap” prices and a solid job market. It’s about time to move on if you’re looking for a deal.

 

[Joyful_Song]

We moved from Northern Virginia because the taxes kept jumping up every year. We were priced out of the area. This was one of the key considerations for where we moved when looking for homes and comparing areas around the country on zillow.

 

[Irishmom2]

We moved from Northern Virginia because the taxes kept jumping up every year. We were priced out of the area. This was one of the key considerations for where we moved when looking for homes and comparing areas around the country on zillow.

That’s good to know. My daughter was thinking of moving there in the future.

So does anyone have any suggestions for NC? Not looking for a city, but not out in the boonies either. Some family members will still need to work.

 

[EveningSkye111]

At this time of the year,:winter: I want to live someplace warm and sunny, so a large beach house in either California or Florida that can fit all my family (plus guests) sounds particularly inviting. :tanning:

When you wrote “anywhere” does that include a large mansion on the beach that’s fully paid for? Just living someplace warm isn’t enough; I want to be able to* afford * an enjoyable life once we get there. Part of that equation to an “enjoyable life” involves living by family and where my children can also afford to live there as grown-ups with families of their own. I want somewhere that has affordable housing, good job opportunities, safe neighborhoods, big yards, good educational choices, and such. We’re trying to figure out where exactly all that might be found.

Except for the ocean beach, warmth and sun, we have most of the things I want in the Midwest, so here we are. :snowing:

What part of the Midwest are you? Your post made me smile this morning!! : )

 

[bitterhope]

We moved back to Litchfield Park, Arizona - a little town west of Phoenix- almost one year ago, and are very happy to be back in a “Mayberry” type town. The cost of living is low, we can bike or walk to the store and to our parish church, there are always community activities to join in or watch, like fishing derby, fun run, christmas parades, craft shows, free music concerts, etc.
Our three kids grew up here and attended elementary, middle, and high school here. They did little league, community swim and tennis.
It’s the kind of place where you know your neighbors and people say hi or wave each time you pass by.
The summer is hot but just as manageable as the high humidity back East. We too drink lots of water, use sunscreen and hats, do errands in morning and evening if possible.
If you don’t have a pool at home, there are affordable community pools.
Our church is also welcoming and there’s plenty of opportunities to volunteer or join a prayer group; we’re blessed to have a good pastor.
God willing, we will stay here and retire.

I was very surprised by how much I loved Arizona. It was very unexpected. I grew up in rural southern Appalachians and thought I would miss the rolling hills between green mountains. I thought the heat would be unbearable. Compared to the awful humidity the heat was nothing! And the beauty of the landscape and the style of the buildings were so nice. It is a complete difference than what I grew up with and such a nice change indeed.

 

[EveningSkye111]

On an autumn day when the Adirondacks turn every color of the rainbow, it is proof positive that God exists.

Amen to that! : )

 

[EveningSkye111]

The West Cost talk reminded me that I also love Napa Valley. Apparently I only want to live in extremely high cost areas.

I want to live on a vineyard with a successful but not overly successful winery. I also want to have a garden where I grow delicious things and cook them in my kitchen overlooking the vineyard. I want to have parties with local friends where we eat all the delicious food I make on rustic wooden tables in my backyard and the perfectly behaved children play with the dogs and run around in pressed white clothing.

You sound so much like my long, lost twin! I’d love a gorgeous vineyard and garden for all the reasons you stated. When we do move, ima going to have a few chookies and ducks and geese, too.

 

[Sarcelle]

Yea, even if you already live in the area you can get driven out due to property taxes when the rich take over. It’s happening all over Texas with poeple relocating due to “cheap” prices and a solid job market. It’s about time to move on if you’re looking for a deal.

That has happened and still happening in Hawaii. Ordinary folks on a fixed income can no longer afford the property taxes on their humble family home which has been in the family for generations because the value has been driven up by the rich folks moving in.

What is ironic is that you see a lot of homeless folks while a lot of luxury homes sit vacant because the rich owners only use it for about 8 weeks out of the year.

Pardon the run-on sentences.

 

[styrgwillidar]

That has happened and still happening in Hawaii. Ordinary folks on a fixed income can no longer afford the property taxes on their humble family home which has been in the family for generations because the value has been driven up by the rich folks moving in.

What is ironic is that you see a lot of homeless folks while a lot of luxury homes sit vacant because the rich owners only use it for about 8 weeks out of the year.

Pardon the run-on sentences.

That’s exactly what was behind Proposition 13 passing in California decades ago. Folks who’d been in their homes for decades and were retired on fixed incomes were being driven out as property values rose and drove their property tax through the roof. Since property actually turns over a lot, it hasn’t really affected revenue to the state, but it has protected retired folks.

 

[lax16]

After living in many states and Canada for employment opportunities, when my husband took early retirement we moved back where we started because this has always been home.

Where is “where you started”?

 

[lax16]

At this time of the year,:winter: I want to live someplace warm and sunny, so a large beach house in either California or Florida that can fit all my family (plus guests) sounds particularly inviting. :tanning:

When you wrote “anywhere” does that include a large mansion on the beach that’s fully paid for? Just living someplace warm isn’t enough; I want to be able to* afford * an enjoyable life once we get there. Part of that equation to an “enjoyable life” involves living by family and where my children can also afford to live there as grown-ups with families of their own. I want somewhere that has affordable housing, good job opportunities, safe neighborhoods, big yards, good educational choices, and such. We’re trying to figure out where exactly all that might be found.

Except for the ocean beach, warmth and sun, we have most of the things I want in the Midwest, so here we are. :snowing:

Amen! I always remind my husband that I want to be near our future grandchildren, and they’ll be where their parents can afford a house.

 

[lax16]

We moved back to Litchfield Park, Arizona - a little town west of Phoenix- almost one year ago, and are very happy to be back in a “Mayberry” type town. The cost of living is low, we can bike or walk to the store and to our parish church, there are always community activities to join in or watch, like fishing derby, fun run, christmas parades, craft shows, free music concerts, etc.
Our three kids grew up here and attended elementary, middle, and high school here. They did little league, community swim and tennis.
It’s the kind of place where you know your neighbors and people say hi or wave each time you pass by.
The summer is hot but just as manageable as the high humidity back East. We too drink lots of water, use sunscreen and hats, do errands in morning and evening if possible.
If you don’t have a pool at home, there are affordable community pools.
Our church is also welcoming and there’s plenty of opportunities to volunteer or join a prayer group; we’re blessed to have a good pastor.
God willing, we will stay here and retire.

Thanks for the info about Litchfield Park. What a great place to live! I’m going to look it up. I really like learning about new places and have never heard of it.

 

[lax16]

Camp Hosting is a great program that is gaining popularity throughout the U.S. Our job is to meet and greet campers, offer help with set up, let them know about stuff in the area, have some things to do with kids, et cetera. We have amazing crafts for kids, a nature scavenger hunt among other things. We host a coffee hour twice a week where we offer coffee, tea, hot chocolate, punch and I also make Native American fried bread.

We host a campfire at least once a week, with a sing along and teach the attendees how to make Campfire Fudge.

I love my Made in Michigan program. I get all kinds of food items that are made here and put on a program discussing the neat stuff that you can do with all the neat stuff. : ) I have a small raffle afterward and the prize is a swell package of Michigan made products.

The weekend closest to August 9 is a boatload of fun. That’s when we celebrate Smokey Bears birthday. We have cake, games and prizes. Everyone gets a Smokey Bear DVD.

We have reports to do and no, we don’t have to clean the johns, but we do check them regularly for TP and stuff. If there are emergencies, people come to us.

We get a small stipend per month to buy coffee, craft supplies, etc cetera.

We love it! This will be our fifth year hosting. Yes, we have showers, but Michigan, being the “Great Lake State”, there is always a lake nearby… tee hee.

I could go on, but typing on a Kindle isn’t easy!

May our Lord bless your evening and have a peaceful night.

Wow - you are way fun! I just read your post to my 10 year old daughter and she said she would absolutely love to do that one summer.

If we ever make it out your way we will check out your program.