[techtrucker]

Ok, I could go on and on, but here's the deal: I've given up on the IT job market, and have gone back to something I did many years ago, driving a tractor-trailer. We're currently living in Northern NJ, where the cost of living is pretty high. We have decided we want to sell our house (which we stand to make a tidy profit on, we bought it before real estate went through the roof) and move somewhere where the cost of living is cheaper. Driving jobs are available everywhere so work is not a concern. It's just my wife and I, no kids, so no worries about school; districts etc...
So where in the good old USA can we go to live more reasonably? All we really want is a home with enough property where we don't have neighbors on top of us (we're relatively unsociable). Point us in a direction, we'll go there...

[Mithras]

Good luck on the moving project, it sounds like an exciting prospect!

My nominee: Eastern Oregon.

I grew up near there, and I have a friend there whose definition of a decent place to live is where you can take a leak off your front porch and nobody will see you.

Yet unlike other places I've spent time in with fairly cheap land (Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana), it has a lot of natural beauty, and isn't too far to very nice cities if you get a hankering for culture.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by techtrucker:
We have decided we want to sell our house (which we stand to make a tidy profit on

* move somewhere where the cost of living is cheaper.

All we really want is a home with enough property where we don't have neighbors on top of us (we're relatively unsociable). Point us in a direction, we'll go there...

Phoenix, Minneapolis burbs, or Charlotte, NC.
All have lower costs of living, have cheaper real estate over NJ, but are still near a metropolitan area. Though I would never live in any of those places.

[Mithras]

You should give us some indication of what kind of environment you want to live in:
* seriously rural (the pissing from the porch criterion I mentioned)?
* small town?
* suburban with plenty of space?

I assume you wouldn't want urban, even a Phoenix/Denver spread-out kind of urban...

[Ozmodiar]

What are you looking for in a place other than not having neighbors on top of you? Things like climate, size of city, things like that. Also, do you want to own a house or rent for a while?

Places I'm looking at after I'm done with school:

Austin
Baltimore
DC-area

I live in Milwaukee right now and I don't recommend it.

[techtrucker]

Mithras,

If you could rattle off some cities in Eastern OR so I can do some searching, thanks!

The basic criteria is rural, no neighbors right on top of us. Don't mind the inconvenience of having a long drive to the food store etc...

Ozmodiar, from recent personal experience I must warn you: Baltimore/DC traffic is some of the worst in the country. If you can live close to work it's not a bad area, haven't a clue as to the cost of living, always assumed it was a little high, but could be wrong.

Thanks to all for the replies, this should be interesting!

[nredman]

small town in minnesota - maybe an hour or so from minneapolis so if you ever do want the city life you can visit.

[discotronic]

I agree with Captain Obvious on Charlotte NC. It is a nice area of the south eastern US and the cost of living isn't terrible.

Stay away from DC and Baltimore. The cost of living is going up all the time. Traffic is hell also.

Tucson, AZ is a great place from what I remember. I wouldn't mind living there myself. I can't speak of the cost of living unfortunately.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally posted by discotronic:
Stay away from DC and Baltimore. The cost of living is going up all the time. Traffic is hell also.

Tucson, AZ is a great place from what I remember. I wouldn't mind living there myself. I can't speak of the cost of living unfortunately.

Been living in DC 12+ years now. Traffic is a nightmare and it is a very expensive place to live. When I finish my Master's I am gettin' the Hell outta town for someplace up North.

I know nothing about Tucson other than that it is a beautfiul place to visit and it doesn't have the megalopolis feel of Phoenix.

[Mithras]

Do you have hobbies or interests we should bear in mind? And you've presumably driven around the country a lot; have there been places, either by scenery or feel, that have appealed to you? I'm outdoorsy so my analysis tilts towards the scenic...

map of Oregon
City-data.com is really useful.

Bigger towns in central/eastern Oregon are Bend, at around 60,000, which is an expensive ski/tourism town but a gorgeous spot, and Klamath Falls.

Once you head more east you get seriously rural fast. The northeast is beautiful; Baker City and especially La Grande in the northeast are nice towns, near Hell's Canyon.

East-central is more desertlike, but very striking. Burns, pop. 3000, is the only town of consequence for a long ways; my friend lives about 40 minutes from there...

--

I also like the idea of small-town Minnesota.

[RonnieoftheRose]

Move to England. Apply for political asylum I've been in the US for two years now and will move back home shortly. No offense to my good American brethren but I hate it here. Some love it but I'm not cut out for it at all.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by Ozmodiar:
What are you looking for in a place other than not having neighbors on top of you? Things like climate, size of city, things like that. Also, do you want to own a house or rent for a while?

Places I'm looking at after I'm done with school:

Austin
Baltimore
DC-area

I live in Milwaukee right now and I don't recommend it.

Problems with your choices: VERY high cost of living (Baltimore/DC) or too much traffic (all three). I used to live in Austin, but when the Silicon Valley folks moved in (from Silicon Valley), they were willing to pay SV prices for Austin real estate. Result: now it costs too much to buy anything in Austin, near Austin, in commuting distance to Austin. I love the place, but I can't afford to live there, even making a "really nice" living.

Techtrucker, Central Texas has a lot of benefits; plenty of trucking jobs (Toyota is building a truck plant in San Antonio, so there's going to be lots of short-haul work between local suppliers and the factory), and a variety of communities from rural to really urban.

Downsides: it gets hot in the summer, and we're just out of (but probably not officially) a drought. No state income tax, but just about every large city has its own cut of local sales taxes (in some places they're almost 9%). While the legislature is fun to watch (think circus), they come up with really boneheaded ideas sometimes, too. Good thing they only meet every other year.

I grew up in Southeastern Michigan, and spent ten years stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, but moving to Texas was the best thing for me and my family.

[DeathToWindows]

I mean, I love where I live, but its the polar opposite of what you're after:

I live in Boston, MA

[KeriVit]

Originally posted by DeathToWindows:
I mean, I love where I live, but its the polar opposite of what you're after:

I live in Boston, MA

\\

Uh yeah- cost of living... outrageoes! Same here... NH... Try Georgia. I'm researching islands outside Savannah myself.

[discotronic]

Originally posted by dcmacdaddy:

I know nothing about Tucson other than that it is a beautfiul place to visit and it doesn't have the megalopolis feel of Phoenix.

I spent a couple weeks there with a friend back in 2000. It was a small break before I had to be in San Diego. When I got to San Diego I really wished I would have stayed in Tucson. Tucson was like a beach town without the beach and San Diego was what it was.

Who knows what I would think of the place now. It was early March when I stayed there and the weather was perfect. I would say that the summer months are pure hell though.

[tsuki]

Southwestern Oregon sounds like it would also fit the bill for you too...in fact buy our place! 10 acres of rural heaven.Plus winter driving is a piece of cake compared to the east coast.
If you want I'll pm you our forsalebyowner.com ad.

[Ozmodiar]

Well shiat.

OK, I'm also open for suggestions

I like the city, and I think I would prefer a more "liberal" environment than a conservative one. I'm also looking for warmth (which is why I was thinking Austin).

Ideally I would like to live comfortably on a mid to high five-figure salary. Any thoughts?

P.S. Sorry to hijack your thread, techtrucker

[eep]

Indiana is your new home!

Indianapolis is kind of nice but Chicago is only 3 hours away and Cincinati, dayton and Clevland are all close by.

I know I didn spell check.

Originally posted by techtrucker:
Mithras,

If you could rattle off some cities in Eastern OR so I can do some searching, thanks!

The basic criteria is rural, no neighbors right on top of us. Don't mind the inconvenience of having a long drive to the food store etc...

Ozmodiar, from recent personal experience I must warn you: Baltimore/DC traffic is some of the worst in the country. If you can live close to work it's not a bad area, haven't a clue as to the cost of living, always assumed it was a little high, but could be wrong.

Thanks to all for the replies, this should be interesting!

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by Ozmodiar:


I like the city, and I think I would prefer a more "liberal" environment .

Ideally I would like to live comfortably on a mid to high five-figure salary. Any thoughts?

Well if you are a dog catcher its hard to imagine what your salary is going to be in any given town. Since you gave no information on your career path is it is pretty pointless to mention what income you’d like to be living on if you moved. High 5 figures in Elk town, Montana would be pretty good for me. Low 6 figures or what I am making now in NYC would be laughable given what I could be making in another city. So what you want to make is going to vary no matter where you go and the cheaper it is to live in a given area the less money people are going to pay you to do it.

That said, move to a college town if you want to live in a bubble where everyone agrees with your liberal political views and doesn’t ask you to question them with any substantive thought.

Originally posted by techtrucker:


The basic criteria is rural, no neighbors right on top of us. Don't mind the inconvenience of having a long drive to the food store etc...

Then none of my places would suit you although I heard all of them are decent places to live. God knows why you want to move to a rural area but if that's what you want move to the Idaho – Iowa corridor. Nothing in this country could be more rural or less expensive to live. Pretty land in some areas but quite godforsaken culturally in my opinion.

[techtrucker]

Thanks for all the replies, going to do some googling on the areas you all mentioned. Looking forward to the move...

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by techtrucker:
Ok, I could go on and on, but here's the deal: I've given up on the IT job market, and have gone back to something I did many years ago, driving a tractor-trailer. We're currently living in Northern NJ, where the cost of living is pretty high. We have decided we want to sell our house (which we stand to make a tidy profit on, we bought it before real estate went through the roof) and move somewhere where the cost of living is cheaper. Driving jobs are available everywhere so work is not a concern. It's just my wife and I, no kids, so no worries about school; districts etc...
So where in the good old USA can we go to live more reasonably? All we really want is a home with enough property where we don't have neighbors on top of us (we're relatively unsociable). Point us in a direction, we'll go there...

Would techtrucker's story make a good folk song?


_Bills are paid but it makes no difference
To the gods that seem to rule our home
Heat shut off for no known reason
This old building's got a mind of its own

I can tell your footsteps on the stairs from three flights up
I know the jingling of your keys
You won't hear no and you don't look back and you can't slow down
These days you don't have much to say to me.

In another town what would fetch a good living
Here is barely hand to mouth
So I'm going out and get a U-Haul trailer
Drag it down the turnpike south

Where the Garden State gives way to the real world
Falls away in the rearview mirror
We'll mend our wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware

We get along in a manner of speaking
We barely have to speak at all
Small talk over take-out pizza
Silently passing in the hall
Post-It notes... and opposite shifts
Once in a blue moon we'll wake up in the same room
Thankful for these thy many gifts

We run by night, we live it and breathe it
We're the best of the best and I just don't care
I'll mend my wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware
And I'll see you in the spring
When the chill don't cut so deep
I'll be back around to give this town another crack at me.

I heard a voice today I swore I knew
From somewhere down in the southern sticks
I turned around to see some ragged stranger
Bummin change on the uptown six
And I froze like a stone
Could I ever get that low?
Turned my face to the window
There by the grace of God I go

Where the Garden State gives way to the real world
Falls away in the rearview mirror
I'll mend my wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware


Yes, yes it would.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by Ozmodiar:
Well shiat.

OK, I'm also open for suggestions

I like the city, and I think I would prefer a more "liberal" environment than a conservative one. I'm also looking for warmth (which is why I was thinking Austin).

Ideally I would like to live comfortably on a mid to high five-figure salary. Any thoughts?

P.S. Sorry to hijack your thread, techtrucker

Austin would be perfect except for two things: it gets too hot sometimes, and a high five-figure income would be kind of stretching it because of housing costs (IMHO, of course).

Techtrucker, the Austin area, which includes everywhere from San Marcos to north of Round Rock, is great, but if you have to commute to downtown Austin, it's the pits.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by Ozmodiar:
Well shiat.

OK, I'm also open for suggestions

I like the city, and I think I would prefer a more "liberal" environment than a conservative one. I'm also looking for warmth (which is why I was thinking Austin).

Ideally I would like to live comfortably on a mid to high five-figure salary. Any thoughts?

P.S. Sorry to hijack your thread, techtrucker

Austin would be perfect except for two things: it gets too hot sometimes, and a high five-figure income would (IMHO) be kind of stretching it because of housing costs.

Oz and Techtrucker, the Austin area, which includes everywhere from San Marcos to north of Round Rock, is great, but if you have to commute to downtown Austin, it's the pits.

[cpt kangarooski]

Boston is absolutely the best, nay, only place to live. It's not cheap, but it is worth it.

[Ozmodiar]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:
That said, move to a college town if you want to live in a bubble where everyone agrees with your liberal political views and doesn’t ask you to question them with any substantive thought.

Not so much for political views. More like "I don't want to be shot for who I choose to socialize with" type of thing (I can hold my own in a political debate). But thanks for being a total dick to everyone all the time, it really keeps the threads interesting.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Hm... cheap land, far from anything of value, no neighbors... Sounds like you want the good old midwest! Pretty sure land in Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas will be cheap and you can live right outside a small rural town off an interstate. I know alot of truckers in the small Illinois town I live in just because we're right off the interstate.

[Paco500]

Charlottesville, VA is a nice area. Small city with a inordinate amount of culture due to UVa.

[wdlove]

I enjoyed the ten years that I lived in Nebraska. A lower cost of living. Also a slower pace of living. Good luck with yoru move techtrucker.

[andi*pandi]

maybe mid to western MA would give you the feeling you want--plenty of space, hilly terrain (if you don't like the flat midwest), remote yet also still handy to the highways/NY/Philly.

[techtrucker]

Originally posted by MountainMac:
Would techtrucker's story make a good folk song?


_Bills are paid but it makes no difference
To the gods that seem to rule our home
Heat shut off for no known reason
This old building's got a mind of its own

I can tell your footsteps on the stairs from three flights up
I know the jingling of your keys
You won't hear no and you don't look back and you can't slow down
These days you don't have much to say to me.

In another town what would fetch a good living
Here is barely hand to mouth
So I'm going out and get a U-Haul trailer
Drag it down the turnpike south

Where the Garden State gives way to the real world
Falls away in the rearview mirror
We'll mend our wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware

We get along in a manner of speaking
We barely have to speak at all
Small talk over take-out pizza
Silently passing in the hall
Post-It notes... and opposite shifts
Once in a blue moon we'll wake up in the same room
Thankful for these thy many gifts

We run by night, we live it and breathe it
We're the best of the best and I just don't care
I'll mend my wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware
And I'll see you in the spring
When the chill don't cut so deep
I'll be back around to give this town another crack at me.

I heard a voice today I swore I knew
From somewhere down in the southern sticks
I turned around to see some ragged stranger
Bummin change on the uptown six
And I froze like a stone
Could I ever get that low?
Turned my face to the window
There by the grace of God I go

Where the Garden State gives way to the real world
Falls away in the rearview mirror
I'll mend my wounds and wait out the winter
Down across the Delaware


Yes, yes it would.

[meelk]

Hartsville SC.

[buffalolee]

Places around Central New York:
- Cortland County (where Cornell University resides)
- Towns outside the Syracuse area within 60 miles

These towns are big enough to have all the amneties for shopping delight, but small enough that they don't affect your taxes. All within an hour drive to Syracuse, NY (the biggest city nearby).

The cheapest I believe would be West Virginia area, but that is too much country for me. I have heard of people drive an hour through the mountains to work in Virginia.

[Krusty]

Well, obviously, it depends on whether you like hot or cold weather, mountains or ocean (or both).

Realistically, if you can stand the heat and humidity, I'd say some where in semi-rural central Florida:
There are some real dinky, rural, quiet towns in "Old Florida" where you can find cheap homes w/land on a body of water and still be within an hour or so of a major metropolitan area. Normally, commuting would be a b!tch, but if you're a truck driver that's a non-issue. I had a buddy who lived in Mt. Dora for a while. He lived in a (rare) area of rolling hills, 2 block from a lake and had a pretty nice house with a big yard that cost him something ridiculously cheap like $70k (this is a few years ago). With the equity from your NJ home you could probably live somewhere like that, on the lake, in a fatter house, have a boat and no mortgage at all. He was about 45 min from Orlando, a couple hours from Tampa/St. Pete and about 5 hours from Miami.

The culture is laid-back like the south, but less redneck (Think Jimmy Buffet, not Jeff Foxworthy).

Pay scales and state infrastructure will be more like what you are used to. It sounds romantic to live out in the sticks somewhere ... but there's a BIG difference between living an hour out in the sticks or living, like 5 or 6 or 10 hours away from anything.

Fla has all the advantages and disadvantages of a huge tourist industry. The disadvantages (crowds of idiot tourists everywhere) can be avoided by living off the beaten path and you can still have the advantages (CHEAP airfares, car rentals, cruises etc due to the overall volume in the state and zero state income tax because of taxes generated by the tourism industry).

I grew up in the Carolinas and have lived in what I consider 3 of the best parts of them most of my life (Mountains of NC growing up, Research Triangle NC area for college, and now Charleston, SC ... which is as unique and quirky a city as you will find). That preamble was just lead-in for my disagreeing with people's recommendation for Charlotte. My pet description for Charlotte is "New Jersey + NASCAR". To me, that city is surprisingly generic and devoid of soul for its size though it rates highly on a strictly cost vs. pay equation. A lot of business goes on in that city (especially banking) but how many people do you know that actually travel a long distance to vacation there ? If you're a truck driver, I don't see the particular advantage of Charlotte because you're not going to be looking for a job in their "hot" industries anyway ... thus the cost/pay equation may not be working as much in your favor as you might think.

The recommendations for places out west (especially OR) sound good too ... I'm just tossing in my 2cents from the areas I know personally and have spent the most time in. Also, I'm terribly biased toward warmer climates because I hate the feeling of being either cooped-up or bundled-up for a large portion of the year. The idea I'm presenting about Florida sounds a lot like what nredman is saying about Minnesota/Minneapolis .... except you can walk around in flip flops and shorts most of the year and pick citrus fruits from trees in your yard

[milhous]

somewhere remote with a lot of land would be nice. that way i can shoot uzis, mac-10s, and portable missile launchers without getting caught.

[TailsToo]

Other than the occasional hurricane that destroys all in its path, I loved living in South Florida. It was warm, pretty cheap, lots to do, and other than some cranky old people, there are a lot of cool residents.

West Palm is starting to get a bit expensive, but Stuart still isn't too bad... if I had some extra money lying around, I might buy some land north of Ft. Pierce... in 20 years it will be in great demand!

[Mafia]

rural areas have cheap cost of living, try one of those.

[crazeazn]

texas, within the triangle

[gumby5647]

Have you thought about Omaha?

It's really a great city. Not too small, but not overly huge. (about 450,000 when you add in all the suburbs (Millard, Bellevue, Papillion, LaVista, Ralston)

lots of job opportunities and not an overly high cost of living.

[powerbook867]

I lived in Omaha for 6 years. It is not a bad place to live and I would consider moving back there if I ever lost my job. Clean, friendly, relatively low cost of living...

[Ozmodiar]

RE: Omaha

My brother went to school there, met his now-wife there, and currently lives there. He loves the place, and I do enjoy visiting. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a mix of city and small town. Plus, there's always gambling in Counciltucky!

[tooki]

Originally posted by discotronic:
Stay away from DC and Baltimore. The cost of living is going up all the time. Traffic is hell also.

Don't lump Baltimore in with DC. While it is true that housing costs here are rising, they are very substantially lower than the DC area. And Baltimore traffic is peanuts compared to DC. (Right now, there are frequent traffic jams on the west and north sides of the Baltimore beltway because of construction, but that won't last forever.)

tooki

[ghporter]

Originally posted by tooki:
Don't lump Baltimore in with DC.

It's funny, but until my goddaughter moved to DC several years ago (closing in on her PhD right now!), I sort of placed Baltimore "near" Washington D.C. There's a pretty large part of Maryland between the two, and that distance seems to be more than just geography. Baltimore has a lot of history all on its own. I mean, there's never been anyone of Edgar Allen Poe's class in Washington to build the kind of history and legends you'll find in Baltimore.

Gee, I love geography!

[macroy]

Originally posted by ghporter:
It's funny, but until my goddaughter moved to DC several years ago (closing in on her PhD right now!), I sort of placed Baltimore "near" Washington D.C. There's a pretty large part of Maryland between the two, and that distance seems to be more than just geography. Baltimore has a lot of history all on its own. I mean, there's never been anyone of Edgar Allen Poe's class in Washington to build the kind of history and legends you'll find in Baltimore.

Gee, I love geography!

Its amazing the different "cultures" you get between B-more and DC. While they are only 55 or so miles apart, they are a world of difference in attitude. Actually, come to think of it, there is actually differences with folks from Northern Virginia and folks from the MD outskirts of DC. Not sure if they get that up in NJ/NYC/Long Island... but it is kinda strange given the close proximity of the areas.

As for place to go... I'd vote for Tucson, AZ (north west side, Oro Valley area). Beautiful houses on the hills... much more affordable compared to DC Metro (not sure how that compares with NJ). The only downside is the lack of jobs (if I could find one.. I'd be there).. but if you already have one... then I guess its not an issue.

[maxintosh]

Originally posted by cpt kangarooski:
Boston is absolutely the best, nay, only place to live. It's not cheap, but it is worth it.

Well, I grew up there. It will always have a special place in my heart, and it's a great small(er) city, but as far as major metropolitan areas I like NYC a thousand times better. But it's even more expensive than Boston, soo... I think Boston AND NYC are both out of the question.

I'm not a rural dweller so I can't really advise on the quieter parts of the world. Parts of New England are beautiful but often expensive. I've heard good things about Oregon for a nice suburban, laid back sort of environment.

[maxintosh]

Originally posted by RonnieoftheRose:
Move to England. Apply for political asylum I've been in the US for two years now and will move back home shortly. No offense to my good American brethren but I hate it here. Some love it but I'm not cut out for it at all.

"America" is sort of a broad term, since there are massive culture and geographical differences between say, rural Alabama, San Francisco, the mountains of Colorado and New York City. Having grown up in America, I feel as if I still have only a vague grasp of my country's culture across the board. Hey I'm a north-easterner... always will be.

Not that "England" isn't pretty vague. Do you mean the city or countryside? I was in London for a couple weeks recently and while I found it interesting and entertaining it's probably my least-favorite European city so far. And talk about expensive -- it makes NYC look dirt-cheap... and that's hard to do.

[jedgrn]

Look north of Austin in the Interstate 35 (I35) corridor around Temple, TX to south of Waco if you are considering Central Texas. The Austin commuting area is forever expanding plus the area just north of it to south of Waco is growing with a reasonable cost of living, a good medical network, numerous job opportunities, etc.... From Temple you are an hour from Austin and Waco and within three hours of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Currently I live in Killeen, another growing area adjacent to Fort Hood.

Hey, good luck to you!

[volcano]

I live in Austin and love it. I've lived here since 1999, and I'm a freshman at UT. Perhaps my views are a bit biased since I'm a college guy in a college town; but regardless, we have a huge mix of people here. In the neighborhood where I grew up, the majority of my neighbors weren't natives of Austin, or Texas for that matter (my family included). We actually had a neighbor who lived a couple of blocks away from us in the town where I was born - Grand Island, Nebraska.

If you're looking for a place with liberal views, or simply "less-conservative", it's the place to be. I might add that Travis County (Austin) was the only county in the whole state of Texas that the majority (60% if I remember correctly) voted for Kerry and not Bush in this past election. Ironic, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the city has it's downsides. It's a booming city with an ever-expanding population, so there is always road construction in every part of the town. The city planners didn't exactly do a good job, and they seem to believe in "temporary" fixes rather than long-term ones. Traffic is a nightmare at times. IH-35 runs directly through the city, and if you consider the fact that it's the busiest corridor in the United States (between Dallas and San Antonio), runs directly through downtown, is always under construction.. then you can just picture the numerous traffic problems that arise. One of the first rules you'll learn if you move here is to avoid IH-35 at all costs. On top of traffic problems, we have a lot of angry drivers. Oddly enough, I would rather drive in or around Dallas or San Antonio when compared to Austin. But you learn to live with it.

If you want to avoid the hassles of the inner city, we have a plethora of suburban towns to move to - Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville (pronounced Floo-gur-ville), Lakeway, Jonestown, Georgetown, etc. I grew up in Cedar Park - a suburb directly Northwest of Austin. It was a nice area to grow up in, and if you plan to have children later on, most of the school districts (Leander, Round Rock) are outstanding. I would recommend Georgetown if you want the "feel" of a small town, but still want to be close enough to a larger city to enjoy it's benefits. It's directly north of Austin, and it's the type of town where people leave their doors and cars unlocked. I have a close friend who goes to college at Southwestern University located there (a small, private college), and everytime I visit it reminds me of the town where I spent my childhood - York, Nebraska; which had a population of about 8,000. Our family almost bought a home there when we initially moved to this area, but we decided we wanted to be closer to the city.

A benefit of living in or around Austin is that you can always find something to do. Lake Travis is a hot spot for boating, fishing, water skiing, and the like. Rock climbing is popular in town, and you'll see bikers everywhere - West Austin is the pseudo-entrance to the "Hill Country" of Texas, and the rolling hills provide an excellent environment for bikers. I'm not surprised Lance Armstrong lives here. If you're more of a "downtown" type of person, we have millions of venues that play live music; hence our "Live Music Capital of the World" title. The town hosts two major music festivals every year - South by Southwest (SXSW) and Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL). Google those if you so desire.

I like the location of the city, too. It's centrally located, so if the need arises and I find myself heading to Dallas, Houston, Corpus Christi, or San Antonio.. it won't take me 6 or 7 hours to get there. Some don't realize just how big the state is - it takes roughly 3 - 3 1/2 hours just to drive from Dallas to Austin. The other day I was able to travel south to New Braunfels (north of San Antonio by a few miles) in just under 2 hours, but that was on a Sunday afternoon.

The weather is pretty consistent. I love this time of the year by far - the average temperature is about 70-75 degrees. Yes, our summers are hot, but the humidity isn't as harsh here as it is in the midwest, which is something to consider. When I lived in central Nebraska, during the summer months, it would easily break 90 degrees.. and the worst part? The humidity. Always 100%. You would walk outside to grab the newspaper, walk directly back inside, and already be sweaty. That doesn't happen in Austin. Many natives complain about the humidity, but it's still a dry heat when you compare it to the midwest. We're far enough south that we don't get snow for the most part, and we don't have those monster thunderstorms and tornadoes that Dallas does during the spring. We're far enough west that hurricanes are rarely a nuisance, and the rain is usually welcome. We're far enough east that we're not in the desert regions of western Texas, and the foliage here is amazing. We're far enough north that we don't have to deal with excessively high temperatures like Brownsville does.

Like I said, my views are probably biased.. but I love this city, despite it's problems. Anyway, if you have any questions about the city, feel free to message me.

[dark3lf]

You should definitely think about Compton, Ca.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by volcano

I live in Austin and love it.... /snip.

I traveled a lot on my last project (pretty much been to every State capital) - and I must say Austin was probably the most memorable and fun. Stayed at the Renaissance up north where all the shops were. The County line and chuey's (sp?) had some of the best food (probably touristy places.. but we were told to go). Didn't get a chance to watch the bats fly - but really enjoyed the city.

Prices were great too - while its hard to gauge cost of living on a 4 day business trip - I did grab some Real Estate mags and the prices were much more appealing than the DC area. Overall, I though it definitely would be a great place to live.

[jesusbristow]

A few thoughts:

1. In these red state/blue state times, I'd live closer to your peeps.

2. Cost of living is an illusion. Where cheaper homes can be found, fewer jobs as well.

3. New Mexico is pretty nice