Sell me on where you live.

[MommaTrish]

So, here's the thing, I don't want to move far away from Memphis, but John is dead set on doing just that sometime in the next 5 years. He refuses to move any further south than we already are, I refuse to move to Boston. (The only place he's set on. Cost of living is way to high)
What I want you to do is sell me on where YOU live, since like I said we aren't too sure yet where we want to move to. Plus, it'd have to be somewhere we could afford a nice 4 bedroom house for around $165,000. What makes where you live great? ((And don't use good drivers as an argument. John's an auto-body technician - we love bad drivers lol))

[jessica31876]

well orlando has beaches within 20-30 minutes, lots of parks (like practically one on every corner LOL), lots of nature if you like that (I love it), and of course the obvious...Mickey Mouse LOL. I dont know that I could sell you on Orlando though because Id like to move somewhere in West Virginia.

[Lyd]

Well - I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my hometown, which is about 10 miles away from where I live now. If I could live anywhere in the world it would be there. I love living in a relatively small town where the neighborhoods are quiet but still being really close to an urban area with lots of stuff to do, restaurants, shopping, etc. But, unfortunately, you won't even come close to getting a 4-bedroom for $165,000. And, a move to Utah would be a REALLY big move. But, I love it here!

[MamaBee]

Hmm... I live in Appleton, Wisconsin, within 20 min of Green Bay. I have to say (outside of winter, because I don't like cold/snow)... it is a great place to live. You get all the big city feel with the small city aspects. Not bad on location - we are 4 hours from Chicago and 4 hours from Minneapolis. We have outstanding schools - some of the best in the state... with a lot of charter school options (free, but on lottery system to get accepted) for different educational experiences.

There are a ton of parks and outdoor activities to do from water sports to lots of walking trails that surround the city. Of course if you love football - we are rich in Packer Country... yet we also have a USHL Hockey team, Indoor football arena, car racing tack, etc. Brewer's farm team, The Timber Rattlers (baseball) play in Appleton.

We also have "culture"... there is a performance art center that brings in many Broadway shows, comedy clubs, art museums, a children's museum, paper museum, a museum on Houdini (who was born in Appleton)... then just around us... there is EEA (airplane museum in Oshkosh), train museum (in Green Bay), just tons of stuff to go see and do...

With Lawrence University being a known worldwide for music - lots of concerts. Also Oshkosh (which is 20 min south) hosts one of the largest Country Musical Festivals every year - Country USA which brings in million dollar talent... and this year they are doing a RockFest for the first time... Kiss, Journey - are just a few of the bands coming for that...

Housing isn't too bad... I don't know what the averages is around here anymore... but you can still get a very nice home for under $200,000.

[Jennilyn]

I highly doubt you`d want to move to the east coast of Canada so I won`t try to sell you on it although I probably could because it`s a beautiful province.

[4noisyboys]

let's see....sunshine for about 350 days a year, no or very low humidity, a quick drive to the mountains for snow, a quick drive to the beach, Disney one hour away (Legoland and San Diego too), the best shopping and restaurants, no bugs (like chiggers, mosquitos, etc...), friendly people, and a housing market that crashed so homes are very affordable right now (maybe not in the $165,000 range though...but if it was a smaller one maybe).

Ok, so California has it's problems, but I was born and raised here, and couldn't wait to move back. I'm further south than where I was raised (I was raised in Santa Cruz so I was an hour from San Francisco and an hour from Monterey, and now I'm an hour inland from Disney.

I love it.

I don't want to ever live anywhere else. I hear about the horrid weather that everyone has...tornados especially, humidity, snow.....and I never ever want to move again. I've lived in Alaska and Seattle too (and I do love Seattle btw), but I'll stay here!

BUT...I don't live in Colorado, but I've visited, and if I couldn't live here, I'd like to live in the Fort Collins area of Colorado. It would be the place I would want to raise my family in. PERFECT everything!!! I'd miss having the beach close by though.

[gabbygirl]

I live in North MS, just 10-15 min from Memphis and I love, love, love where I live. The schools here are great and shopping and resturants are 3 min away. I definately think you can find a 4 BR home for $165,000 and still be close to Memphis.

[Jengerbread88]

I live in a beautiful small town called Spring Hill, KS. Our population is a little under 6,000, and it seems most people know most other people, even those who recently moved here. Our median age is around 36, I think, so it's a relatively young community, but families make up over 80% of our community, so we're a very family friendly town.

The town only has one grocery store, one dollar store, and a smattering of restaurants (and two new boutiques!), but everything else is less than 20 minutes away in either Olathe, Paola, or Gardner, so there's easy access to Walmart, Target, and any other store or restaurant you really could need.

We also have the world's best barbecue restaurant. I promise. It's called K & M and some people will drive from other states just to eat here.

We have an awesome school district. Right now we have one high school, one middle school, an intermediate (3-5), and two elementaries. However, we're getting rid of the intermediate (the concept just doesn't work for our town size) and switching back to just the elementaries being K-5. I can personally vouch for how amazing the school staff is, as a lot of them were my educators, and they're fantastic. The current elementary school principal was my fourth and fifth grade teacher. She is innovative, creative, and always makes kids WANT to learn. If you are more of a homeschooling family, we have a great INSIGHT School for high school aged kids that is an online-based school division. It offers more variety in courses than the high school does, and allows a flexible option for high school homeschooling without parents having to worry about their own curriculum or meeting state guidelines for graduation.

And, right now, our housing prices are pretty good, too...

http://www.homes.com/listing/1327321..._HILL_KS_66083

http://www.homes.com/listing/1049730..._HILL_KS_66083

http://www.homes.com/listing/1330465..._HILL_KS_66083

http://www.homes.com/listing/1402011..._HILL_KS_66083

We have a good selection of new AND "vintage" homes in our area (some of them are historic homes with very modern updates), for really great prices. The newer homes are usually excellent condition- I've actually looked at some of them recently (I love looking at houses). The older ones are sometimes fixer-uppers, but that's a given in almost any community.

We also have a brand new aquatic center, featuring a zero-depth entry, lazy river ride, water slides, diving boards, climbing walls, a toddler area, water obstacle course, spray and play areas, and more. It's really cool.

We have two big events each year, one in spring and one in fall. The fall one has been going on for over 50 years now, and is called the Spring Hill Fall Festival. It's a vendor fair with food, inflatables, fun, and usually fireworks. There's something for everyone there. Our newest event is in the spring, called Spring Hill Daffodil Days, and this was our first year doing it. It is similar to fall festival, but more indoors, and features the same vendor fair approach.

Can you tell I absolutely love love LOVE where I live?

[*Celeste*]

you can not get a house for that price where i live and i'm 1.5 hours from boston. so i can't sell you on it.

[rach3975]

I live in Northern Virginia, about 30 minutes outside Washington, DC. There are lots of great things about our area, but a 4-bedroom house would be much more than $165,000.

[Paula]

I'm not gonna try and sell you on where I live or the state. Our state is so broke, they are cutting everything from education but the bare minimum. It is so bad that for my son to go to UNR (had he chosen to) it would have cost $21,000 and he is a friggin resident! As it is, the college where he did decide to go, it will only cost us $11,000 for the first year and that is paying NONesident tuition.

So, my advice, stay as far away from Nevada as possible. =)

ETA: However, we did only pay $119,000 for our four bedroom home when we bought it five years ago.

[JenTapler]

Well, I live on Maui. In Hawaii. It's beautiful. Beautiful beaches, beautiful rainforests, beautiful mountains, beautiful waterfalls, beautiful rainbows, beautiful people. It's the most amazing place in the world to live and raise a child. I don't think I have to sell anyone on what's great about where I live.

Unfortunately, you can't even get a 500-square-foot studio condo for $165,000 here. A NICE 4-bedroom house will probably cost you about $800,000-$1,000,000. You *might* be able to get a foreclosed fixer-upper for $600,000 in today's market if you're lucky. Not to mention the cost of everything else (we are SUPER excited that our gas prices went down below $5/gallon last week!! We're now at a cheap $4.89!). And a box of cereal costs about $7, a gallon of milk is about $9 (although I can usually get it for around $6 with my store club card because it's usually one of the discounted items), bananas (which are GROWN here) are about $1.29/lb, a head of lettuce is usually $3.69, etc etc etc. And for whatever reason, prices of everything on Maui are about 20-25% higher than prices on Oahu (the same is true for Kauai and the Big Island).

And no, you do NOT make more money when you live here. I am a physical therapist and I make the same amount of money as PTs across the country (which isn't a lot).

But...it is SOOOO worth it!! I might complain about the cost of living in paradise, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Maui is our home and we absolutely LOVE it here. We definitely aren't getting rich, we aren't able to take fabulous family vacations every year, and our savings account is practically non-existent - by the time we pay our mortgage and our bills and buy groceries every month there just isn't much left over! But I live in the most beautiful place on Earth. People save for years just to come here for a week and experience the things I do on any given day. I try everyday not to take this place for granted! I can't imagine my young son growing up anywhere else!

[Angie4b1g]

Ohio fits your price range. The weather sucks, though. lol

[Susan Bartolini]

Yeah, I live in the suburbs of Boston and sadly you can't even approach a house in that price range. That said, the wages here are much higher. What does your husband do for a living? Tech, medical and biomedical are big here and are hiring.

I love the lifestyle here....winters can be a bit much if you are used to Memphis heat....but it is just beautiful here. Good luck with your search!

[MommaTrish]

Originally Posted by Susan Bartolini

Yeah, I live in the suburbs of Boston and sadly you can't even approach a house in that price range. That said, the wages here are much higher. What does your husband do for a living? Tech, medical and biomedical are big here and are hiring.

I love the lifestyle here....winters can be a bit much if you are used to Memphis heat....but it is just beautiful here. Good luck with your search!

he does auto-body repair work, fixing body work problems (dents and stuff like that) on cars.

[Stacey42]

I live a bit south of Rachel & while you can probably find a 4 br house in your price range, your husband is unlikely to find work within a 50 mile radius. Many of the local people here commute 1.5-2 hours one way to work.

But it is a lovely rural area, safe, historic, just not blessed with an abundance of jobs.

[kscwgirl]

I love Kansas.. wouldn't live anywhere else.. but houses here aren't in your price range. The 3 bedroom house we're moving to eventually is around $175K

[lovely1m]

I live in Fargo. I think its great here. The winters are rough and it does flood here each spring, but the weather isn't bad all year and if you don't live near the water you are fine in the spring. We have some of the best school systems in the country. The cost of living here is fantastic (you could get a home for around that much here). We have barely been touched by the economic problems (our state actually has a massive surplus). Taxes are lower than most places. People are friendly. We have about 200,000 people here and are on the grow so lots of new businesses lately. We are only 2.5 to 3 hours from Minneapolis, Winnipeg, Sioux Falls and Bismarck. We have a great (and very affordable) university here, too. Our crime rates are low compared to many other cities our size. Its really a great place to raise a family.

[Jengerbread88]

Originally Posted by MommaTrish

he does auto-body repair work, fixing body work problems (dents and stuff like that) on cars.

We get large hail sometimes... doesn't sound like a selling point usually, but with his job, it may bring him in some extra work, especially in the spring

Olathe is only 15 minutes away from here, and it's true, like Sara said, a lot of the prices are higher. In Spring Hill, though, you CAN find some 4br in your price range. Gardner has a few, too, but I think Spring Hill has more options. If you're willing to go even slightly higher, that opens up even more options.

[Sarah8914]

I second texas!! And you could definitely get a 4bdrm for $165,000! (we just found a 5 bdrm for $140k! but that's not as common)

[profiler_mar]

I live in the Houston area. The coastal areas of Texas are really fun, we have lots of things to do in Houston and Galveston-beaches, museums, the zoo, water parks, and there are LOADS of activities in Houston all the time for little to no money. AND, Houston is huge, fourth largest city in the US I believe, so there is always plenty of auto body work! There are multiple towns outside of Houston, I am actually about 30 min away, that are very affordable. I am sure you could get a house in that price range. Not where I live, but in one of the nearby counties maybe. Yes, the humidity is bad in the summer, but you are already in the South so you know humidity. Being so close to the Gulf, our winters are mild and we usually have less than two weeks of freezing or below temps in the winter. Our state has been lucky, even with the budget crisis we have not cut a lot of services like other states and most of the school districts in the area I live in are highly rated. I love where I live!

[NeverendingJen]

I lvoe my town, but you are talking at least 200K for a 4 bedroom here, so there will be no selling, lol

[Nevada Jen]

What do you like to do in Memphis? What kind of family are you? Denver or San Antonio come to mind. Denver is actually pretty mild as far as winters go which always surprises me. San Antonio is my absolute favorite place in the world, although many people who actually move to Texas say it takes a lot of getting used to. Both cities would have homes in your price range. Denver actually reminds me a bit a of memphis but with more outdoor emphasis instead of music emphasis. I second staying away from Nevada. There is nothing good going on here and lots of pretty scary stuff as far as education.

[profiler_mar]

I would def recommend looking at San Antonio too, I LOOOOVE San Antonio!

[emmasmommy]

i can not do that. LOL you could get a house for that here but i hate IL :/

[EvaK]

I live in Virginia Beach and love it -- but a nice 4 bedroom house would be around at least $200K -- probably closer to $300K -- so you can cross it off your list.

Someone mentioned San Antonio -- which is a beautiful city. It is humid, but you are used to that from living in Memphis. I didn't realize that the real estate was so affordable in San Antonio.

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by EvaK

Someone mentioned San Antonio -- which is a beautiful city. It is humid, but you are used to that from living in Memphis. I didn't realize that the real estate was so affordable in San Antonio.

I love San Antonio, too. Did all my Air Force training there. It is very affordable as far as housing from what I saw when I was there.

[davec777]

I live in the Boise, Idaho area. We love it here. It has 4 seasons (very little snow typically in the valley in winter - mostly beautiful snow to look at in the foothills), no humidity, no natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding), very family-oriented. Skiing is 60 minutes away. There is lots of camping nice & close in the summer; there are places to boat on both ends of the valley. Lots of parks and a children's science museum. We have a beautiful greenbelt along the Boise River for jogging/bicycling. We have all the major restaurants & shopping. The housing market is great for buyers - I think you could find a 4 bdrm home with no problem in your price range. Utilities are some of the lowest in the nation. Schools are pretty good I think with several charter/magnet options in both elementary and upper grades. The only bummer is the job market. It is pretty tight right now for any type of tech/high paying jobs. Check it out =)

Stephanie

[heathergw]

well, housing around here is ridiculous... so I can't sell you on it... but I do love Chicago... though, I wish I lived a little bit more urban than suburban. I HATE having to drive everywhere.

[cardinalskate]

I live in the St. Louis area, which isn't too far from Memphis. We have quite a lot of culture, a decent cost-of-living and you could prolly swing that kind of house on that budget with a little digging. We do have some crazy weather, but like someone said, the hail could actually be a selling point And we have the craziest drivers of anywhere I've ever been...

[joelsgirl]

{raises hand} I want to live with Debra! : )

Originally Posted by 4noisyboys

let's see....sunshine for about 350 days a year, no or very low humidity, a quick drive to the mountains for snow, a quick drive to the beach, Disney one hour away (Legoland and San Diego too), the best shopping and restaurants, no bugs (like chiggers, mosquitos, etc...), friendly people, and a housing market that crashed so homes are very affordable right now (maybe not in the $165,000 range though...but if it was a smaller one maybe).

Ok, so California has it's problems, but I was born and raised here, and couldn't wait to move back. I'm further south than where I was raised (I was raised in Santa Cruz so I was an hour from San Francisco and an hour from Monterey, and now I'm an hour inland from Disney.

I love it.

I don't want to ever live anywhere else. I hear about the horrid weather that everyone has...tornados especially, humidity, snow.....and I never ever want to move again. I've lived in Alaska and Seattle too (and I do love Seattle btw), but I'll stay here!

BUT...I don't live in Colorado, but I've visited, and if I couldn't live here, I'd like to live in the Fort Collins area of Colorado. It would be the place I would want to raise my family in. PERFECT everything!!! I'd miss having the beach close by though.

[scrapsandsass]

Puyallup, Washington.

The name alone should do it for you.

But if that isn't enough, we are 30 miles south of Seattle so you can drive into the city without having to live in it. We have the 8th largest Fair in the country (or maybe the 7th?). We are near the river, there are nearby lakes, and we are only a couple of hours' drive to the mountains, the ocean, or desert-type environments.

The area is a nice mix of old houses (downtown), farmland, and new developments (on the surrounding hills). There is/are: culture, affordable housing, good schools, clean air, daffodils (and a daffodil parade), the cutest darn Santa Parade ever, most of your major stores, a terrific library, great doctors, wonderful parks... etc.

AND... I am here. I would be your official welcoming committee. Wow. I just let that one out of the bag. Don't tell anyone else. Not many people get that offer.

[eranslow]

I don't recommend Iowa. I can't wait to move out of this state! lol We want to end up living in Minnesota - Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I grew up in Wisconsin and wouldn't mind living someplace there (maybe Madison). We are big town people - need sports and shopping to survive! lol

[Tracie Stroud]

Don't move to Louisiana. There. Said it. LOL

[lynnirene]

I've lived in Ohio my whole life, and even though it may be a little boring, it does have some perks:
-cheap housing, low cost of living
-actually a fair amount of things to do. Ohio is actually quite a varied place, from farmland, to cities, to suburbs, etc.
-Yes the weather in the winter is not great, but seriously it makes you appreciate spring so much more. Fall is gorgeous, and I grew up right near Lake Erie which makes for great, fun summers!
-oh, and if your husband does auto body, I would have to think he would have a lot of work in a place where the roads are covered in salt for 1/3 of the year!

[Shawna]

Originally Posted by kscwgirl

I love Kansas.. wouldn't live anywhere else.. but houses here aren't in your price range. The 3 bedroom house we're moving to eventually is around $175K

Housing prices must be higher up there in KC, because here in the Wichita area you can definitely get a pretty nice 4BR house for under $165k (you can get more expensive ones too of course). Our house is a small 3BR, 1BA (no bsmt) with a 2 car garage and a huge yard and we paid under $80k for it almost 10yrs ago but there are loads of nice houses in the $100-150k price range here! We've slightly outgrown it now that we have 3 kiddos but hopefully in the next few years we'll be able to afford to move (a family of 5 living only on a teacher's salary really sucks lol). Rob and I were both born and raised right here and neither of us could imagine living anywhere else, almost all of our families are still here as well so we love being close to everyone.

[Jengerbread88]

Originally Posted by Shawna

Housing prices must be higher up there in KC, because here in the Wichita area you can definitely get a pretty nice 4BR house for under $165k (you can get more expensive ones too of course).

It depends on where in KC you're looking. KC, Overland Park, Olathe, and Lenexa all have pretty high prices... Gardner, Spring Hill, Paola... a lot cheaper. Spring Hill is right on the Johnson/Miami county line, so we have the Johnson County feel with more Miami County (read: cheaper) prices. KC *can* get expensive with housing... it just depends on where you're looking.

[melmos75]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

Hmm... I live in Appleton, Wisconsin, within 20 min of Green Bay. I have to say (outside of winter, because I don't like cold/snow)... it is a great place to live. You get all the big city feel with the small city aspects. Not bad on location - we are 4 hours from Chicago and 4 hours from Minneapolis. We have outstanding schools - some of the best in the state... with a lot of charter school options (free, but on lottery system to get accepted) for different educational experiences.

There are a ton of parks and outdoor activities to do from water sports to lots of walking trails that surround the city. Of course if you love football - we are rich in Packer Country... yet we also have a USHL Hockey team, Indoor football arena, car racing tack, etc. Brewer's farm team, The Timber Rattlers (baseball) play in Appleton.

We also have "culture"... there is a performance art center that brings in many Broadway shows, comedy clubs, art museums, a children's museum, paper museum, a museum on Houdini (who was born in Appleton)... then just around us... there is EEA (airplane museum in Oshkosh), train museum (in Green Bay), just tons of stuff to go see and do...

With Lawrence University being a known worldwide for music - lots of concerts. Also Oshkosh (which is 20 min south) hosts one of the largest Country Musical Festivals every year - Country USA which brings in million dollar talent... and this year they are doing a RockFest for the first time... Kiss, Journey - are just a few of the bands coming for that...

Housing isn't too bad... I don't know what the averages is around here anymore... but you can still get a very nice home for under $200,000.

I live in Oshkosh, about 20 miles south of Appleton and I couldn't have written a better post than Rebecca. Great schools, you get to experience all 4 seasons, and reasonable housing - my 4 bedroom house was about $130,000 and in a really nice neighborhood. And in the summer there are so many things going on - just in Oshkosh alone! Country USA, Rock USA, Lifefest, Waterfest, etc. Oshkosh also has an outlet mall and there is a good size mall in Appleton too.

[eranslow]

Originally Posted by melmos75

Oshkosh also has an outlet mall and there is a good size mall in Appleton too.

I grew up in Wisconsin Rapids - and we would always go to Appleton for Back To School Clothes Shopping At least back then the Appleton Mall was better then the Wausau Mall or Stevens Point Mall lol I'm sure it still is!

[Priscilla]

well, I am in austin and I suppose that's too far south for you but Ilove TExas.

[4noisyboys]

Originally Posted by joelsgirl

{raises hand} I want to live with Debra! : )

Yay!!!

At least one of you isn't afraid of California!

[Kara]

I've spent most of my life in the Minneapolis area and while Minnesota will always be "home" the winters really get long. Spring, summer and fall are amazing, though. Great schools, lots of culture, but I'm not sure you'd get a nice house at the price you are after. We bought ours almost two years ago for $230k.

But, if I could, I'd move back to Boise in a heartbeat! We lived there for 7 years when we were first married and loved it! Our family are all here in Minnesota, so that's why we stay ...

[kim21673]

I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago..it's expensive. We are house shopping right now and a 4 bedroom house is going for at least $300,000...SIGH. We need a 4 bedroom AND a basement so it's going to be a long search for the perfect house. The majority of the houses for sale in our area are in the 350,000-500,000 range.....

Gas is VERY expensive here but food and clothing is about the same as anywhere else. I LOVE where we live, but if I had the chance I would love to move closer to the ocean. I hate cold weather but tough it out every year!!

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by 4noisyboys

Yay!!!

At least one of you isn't afraid of California!

Aww, I miss CA a lot. But sadly it's not an option to move back at this point. Maybe one day.

No offense to all the San Antonio lovers out there but I live in San Antonio and I think it's kind of sketchy in places. Lots of rundown areas, bars on windows of houses even some areas that seem nice, etc. The northside of town is pretty nice - lots of nice neighborhoods, shopping etc. We also love the abundance of Mexican food here and the weather. Everyone talks about about the heat but I'll gladly take a few months of hot in exchange for a month of cold and gorgeous weather the rest of the time. It reminds me a lot of the weather in CA just with more humidity.

If you're looking for autobody work we definitely have that here, what with the crazy drivers and the insane freeway frontage road system. I've seriously never lived anywhere with this crazy of driving.

But if you were looking to move to this part of TX, I'd recommend Austin over San Antonio. It still has the great weather but it seems nicer with a lot more fun stuff.

We moved to TX from Colorado Springs and I can say that both Colorado Springs and Denver are really really nice. Colorado Springs is about an hour south of Denver so still close enough that you can drive up there for stuff but a bit cheaper housing wise. You could definitely find housing in the 165,000 range. CO has long winters (cold and sunny but very little snow for 8 months - it was rare that we ever got more than 3 inches at a time) and rainy summers but if you can handle that you'll love it. Denver is on our short list of places we would permanently live. We loved it there and pretty much everyone we met loved it there too.

[deepounds]

Originally Posted by 4noisyboys

Yay!!!

At least one of you isn't afraid of California!

Austin would be my number one choice. San Antonio second. Unfortunately, I don't live in either one :-( If my kids weren't here, I'd move to either one of them without looking back! Good luck on your choice!!