Looking to move

[HCI]

My wife and I are looking to move within the next 2 years. We are dead set on the east coast somewhere and would like to be within an hour drive away from a major city. We will have between 40 to 50 thousand in savings plus "hopefully" some from selling our house. Two kids so schooling is important. Anyone have any suggestions.

 

[charper1]

Plenty of suggestions, but need some details:

Are you retiring?

What is your and the wife's trade?

What age of school kids? Elem, HS, college?

Looking to be in the same area once they hit college?

What social and/or outdoor activities enjoyed?

Tax burden issues; state income taxes OK; state's current and furture socioeconomic climate issues?

Why dead set on the East coast?

 

[navychop]

Yep- really need to know your job field(s). And snow tolerance.

 

[Van]

Well given that I have been looking heavily into the Hampton roads / Virginia Beach area depending on your career skills this may be worth looking into as this area is just now starting to feel the effects of the recession though it should be hit as hard as many other area's due to the large military presence located in the region. DC is about 2.5 hours north depending on where you decide to move to and Richmond is within an hour though thats not to say that the imediate area is by any means small.

School systems vary but from what Im learning are good specialy in the Williamsburg VA region. Housing is now starting to drop in price as foreclosures and bankruptcies are climbing and atleast one city is experiencing it first budget shortfall in 15 years. Crime wise the region has what is to be expected for its size.

Local paper for the area. HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

I thought I had heard that you work for E, if its in the instalation field then there is an office in VB.

 

[HCI]

Plenty of suggestions, but need some details:

Are you retiring?

What is your and the wife's trade?

What age of school kids? Elem, HS, college?

Looking to be in the same area once they hit college?

What social and/or outdoor activities enjoyed?

Tax burden issues; state income taxes OK; state's current and furture socioeconomic climate issues?

Why dead set on the East coast?

Not retiring. We are only 25.

Wife stays home with the kids for now. She is a licensed cosmologist. I will have finished a degree in Electrical Engineering before we move.

2 son's 1 turning 5 going into school next year. The other is only 3 months old.

College for them is still a while away so not sure yet.

My son and I like fishing. I rebuild and ride sport ATV's.

Lets try to keep the tax's as low as possible lol. Average property taxes were I live now are around 1500, I make 60 to 75 per year and my taxes state taxes now are 5%.

The east coast thing is mainly one of my wife's request. She has a fascination with New York. Plus for me east coast sport teams are better.

As for snow, some is ok but lets not get ridiculous.

 

[KE4EST]

You may like it on the VA coast then, I've lived there before not a bad area, and not too much snow.

 

[HD MM]

Not retiring. We are only 25.

Wife stays home with the kids for now. She is a licensed cosmologist. I will have finished a degree in Electrical Engineering before we move.

2 son's 1 turning 5 going into school next year. The other is only 3 months old.

College for them is still a while away so not sure yet.

My son and I like fishing. I rebuild and ride sport ATV's.

Lets try to keep the tax's as low as possible lol. Average property taxes were I live now are around 1500, I make 60 to 75 per year and my taxes state taxes now are 5%.

The east coast thing is mainly one of my wife's request. She has a fascination with New York. Plus for me east coast sport teams are better.

As for snow, some is ok but lets not get ridiculous.

North East Ohio.

The Suburbs of Cleveland have great public schools.

Lake Erie's nearby. (You mentioned fishing).

The town is crazy for their sports and all the teams have beautiful fairly new stadiums.

Cost of living is better than the norm. Housing is very affordable.

A wide variety of entertainment (theaters for the arts, great dining, award winning zoo's and museums).

Whether you want a rural or urban lifestyle, would be up to you. That's the best part about Cleveland IMO. You can live in the "country" and still be within 20-30 minutes from the city.

 

[charper1]

Not retiring. We are only 25.

Wife stays home with the kids for now. She is a licensed cosmologist. I will have finished a degree in Electrical Engineering before we move.

2 son's 1 turning 5 going into school next year. The other is only 3 months old.

College for them is still a while away so not sure yet.

My son and I like fishing. I rebuild and ride sport ATV's.

Lets try to keep the tax's as low as possible lol. Average property taxes were I live now are around 1500, I make 60 to 75 per year and my taxes state taxes now are 5%.

The east coast thing is mainly one of my wife's request. She has a fascination with New York. Plus for me east coast sport teams are better.

As for snow, some is ok but lets not get ridiculous.

Just let her know that you guys are young and that fascinations don't pay bills or realize goals for the future! Any way, do the homework for you family's long-term futures. You can hunt, fish, ride, etc darn near anywhere so those should not be priorities. What do you plan to do with that degree once you have it? What type of job? Is she planning to remain a housewife? Look at taxes, housing, schools and job markets. Just because one place's taxes may be a bit more than another doesn't meant much; you have to look close at what am I getting or not getting for the taxes I do pay. Look at a city's socioeconomic climate, there political structure.. Look at where they have been and where they are going. Are there prepared to grow and maintain jobs? If it were me I would do some 10-15 year market studies of areas that I was interested in along with what I was doing now and planning to do in the future. Moving 2, 3, or 4 times will cost you tons of money as opposed to making a smart move ONCE.


VA may not be such a bad bet. I know a few people in Norfolk and VA Beach; if the wife feels the need to stay East, then not doing so to earn a bit more may cost you in the long run (not sure how your wife is) it also sounds like you want to stay East as well.

A few links of ideas:

The Best Cities to Live and Work In | Employment Spot

Top 10 Cities for Entry-Level Positions | Employment Spot

Best Cities to Live In for Married People with Children | Employment Spot

America’s Top 50 Jobs | Employment Spot

 

[Van]

North East Ohio.

The Suburbs of Cleveland have great public schools.

Lake Erie's nearby. (You mentioned fishing).

The town is crazy for their sports and all the teams have beautiful fairly new stadiums.

Cost of living is better than the norm. Housing is very affordable.

A wide variety of entertainment (theaters for the arts, great dining, award winning zoo's and museums).

Whether you want a rural or urban lifestyle, would be up to you. That's the best part about Cleveland IMO. You can live in the "country" and still be within 20-30 minutes from the city.

Whats the economy looking like there? Im hearing alot of bad about it since Michigans tanked three years ago. I do agrea that the cost of living is low specialy if you get into one of the smaller towns wich is what we were looking to do but if it hadnt of been for my being able to transfer within my company then the lack of decent employment would have been extremely prohibitive.

 

[HD MM]

Whats the economy looking like there? Im hearing alot of bad about it since Michigans tanked three years ago. I do agrea that the cost of living is low specialy if you get into one of the smaller towns wich is what we were looking to do but if it hadnt of been for my being able to transfer within my company then the lack of decent employment would have been extremely prohibitive.

The economy is bad everywhere. It's the current recession we're in.

The OP said he had a degree in Electrical Engineering. Wherever he decides, it would be wise to find a job in the area before he moves.

I'm actually employed by a Mechanical Engineering Firm and I can tell you personally, we are busier than ever! There are plenty of construction projects going on in and around the Cleveland area. Cleveland has many world-renowned hospitals and many more new hospitals being built. Good contractors, engineers and project estimators are always at a premium.

 

[Van]

Right Im fully aware of the recession but what Im referrig to is that Michigan Ohio and Pennsylvania all have taken it worse than most other states aside from Louisiana so my question is how bad is the economy there overal as compared to the rest of the country? For instance Georgia where I live has an unemployment rate higher than the national average and infact I live in one of the top three cities for unemployment. Going into employment sites like monster or career builder hotjobs there are few legitimate jobs and a huge amount of workonline positions as well as door to door insurance sales wich basicly translates into desperation jobs and scams wich is what I found before leaving Michigan in 06. Going to the states department of labour site there and here yielded very little and I found the same about 3 months ago when I was looking to move to north east Ohio.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Right Im fully aware of the recession but what Im referrig to is that Michigan Ohio and Pennsylvania all have taken it worse than most other states aside from Louisiana so my question is how bad is the economy there overal as compared to the rest of the country? For instance Georgia where I live has an unemployment rate higher than the national average and infact I live in one of the top three cities for unemployment. Going into employment sites like monster or career builder hotjobs there are few legitimate jobs and a huge amount of workonline positions as well as door to door insurance sales wich basicly translates into desperation jobs and scams wich is what I found before leaving Michigan in 06. Going to the states department of labour site there and here yielded very little and I found the same about 3 months ago when I was looking to move to north east Ohio.

The Detroit area is circling the drain. If one of the Big 3 go belly up, the only thing left to do around here, will be for the last person out, to shut off the lights.

 

[HD MM]

The Detroit area is circling the drain. If one of the Big 3 go belly up, the only thing left to do around here, will be for the last person out, to shut off the lights.

Shame too. Auto industry used to be big here in Ohio too. A lot of blame to go around, but from what I hear, the UAW needs to seriously rework their contract. They got a strong hold on the industry and Ford, GM, etc have their hands tied when it comes to making critical decisions in whats best for the company.

 

[navychop]

It must be very hard to justify to your constituents voting for a bailout package that will keep the Jobs Bank going. There are people there that have sit around playing cards for longer than they ever worked building cars. And those absolutely obscene compensation packages some of the execs get!