sleeveofwizzard

Thinking about relocating, who loves where they live?

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Hey everyone, 

 

currently my family and I live in central California. I have lived here most of my life. There is really nothing keeping us here anymore and we are not fond of a few things about this area. A couple negative aspects are the HEAT, high unemployment rate, high cost of living and California's many laws and regulations. This is a great time for us to move because I now have enough credits to transfer to a state college or university. The local colleges are priced a good amount higher than schools in other areas / states so . . .

 

My wife used to live in Kingwood Texas (a suburb of Houston) and loved it there. Everything about that area looks pretty good so far to me but I see that there are a TON of sign shops in the direct area she used to live in. I am not sure yet if I will be continuing to run a sign business full time or just on the side. 

 

Cost of housing / living are pretty important as well as the unemployment rate. I will be working some but mainly concentrating on school so the cheaper the better.

 

Any tips will be greatly appreciated

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Ted,

Well now is a good time to move Interest rates are low and it's a buyers market.   It seems that everything for sale is a foreclosure  At least they out number conventional sales.    

 

My wife and I are looking for a different house and it seems every time we find one there is a contract on it.  

 

We had even considered California but we were wondering about  the things you mentioned as reasons for leaving.

 

It get's pretty hot here in Florida and the humidity can be unbearable.   

 

Not to familiar with Texas, only been there a couple of times and it was hot also.  

 

Good luck with your search. 

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Most people know about the nice areas of California but I don't live there. The central coast and most of southern california are very nice all year long. The bay area is colder but full of excitement. The cost of living of course pretty high in those areas. I live in the central valley, 3 hours from the beach. Summers range from 80 to 115 with no humidity. My area is huge for agriculture and farming. There are other areas that are in between these two extremes but to me they are no different than moving out of state where I could possible find somewhere even better. I was very close to starting a new job moving a few months ago but the job didn't pan out. 

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I'm in Livonia, Michigan... which is just outside of Detroit.  I love Michigan, but would rather live more North. (More country like setting)   Wouldn't recommend it though, if you're not a fan of the cold.   ;)   I've been to Texas twice, and it was hotter than hell, and the bugs down there are outta control.  No thank you!  

Unemployment rate isn't great in Michigan, but I'm thinking it's not so great anywhere at the moment.

 

Good luck in your endeavor, I hope you find what you're lookin' for!

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South Carolina has low cost of living. Moderate weather most of the although it gets warm in the summer Unemployment has been gradually dropping and based on my books this year the local economy is starting to move again. There's maybe half a dozen larger cities where you could make an opportunity for yourself in signs and compared to Cali we are about as deregulated as you can get. The people here tend to lean toward small gov't not big brother,

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Wisconsin is the.place to be taxes cut, all 4 seasons, nature, unemployment isn't bad and let's not forget cheese, beer, and The Green Bay Packers even thought 49ers kicked their ass but still one of the publicly owned football franchise around.

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We have the 4 seasons but we traded winter for hell.

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I too have lived alot of different places (Air Force Brat).... because of that, once we came to Texas we knew this was the place for us.  The first thing you mentioned tho was HEAT..... we have that here!  On the flip side, our taxes are low, no state tax and an 8% sales tax.  Gov Perry is attracting companys to come open shop here and that is helping keep jobs around.

 

If I had the urge to leave here (we don't, we love Texas to much)  I think I would venture out towards Jay and the Carolinas..... North or South.  Very nice out there.

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Well Vegas is a great place to be, but again we have the heat. But there have been some summers where I did not even notice what the weather was like outside. You go from an air conditioned house, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned job, reverse, then rinse and repeat. 

 

Right now housing is dirt cheap and since we have the casinos tourists pay for almost everything the city needs so there is no local or state income tax, sales tax is 8.1%. If you ever decide to keep this job full time and go LLC there are tons of tax breaks for businesses. Also during the cooler times Vegas has a ton of outdoor activities which a lot of people don't know about since all they see is casinos. Lots of faires, festivals, concerts, etc...And also locals get discounts on almost all shows on the strip  ;D

 

As for schooling, we CSN (local community college which has about 5 campuses I believe), Nevada State College, and UNLV (that is the big university)

CSN is 2 year degrees only, but the other offer 4 year degrees and you can go all the way to PHD at UNLV. And we also have 3 campuses for University of Pheonix.

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State tax here is at 7% on most things 5% on vehicles with a cap of I think $500. But if you're used to moving fast the only thing they do fast down here is drive. I've been here 9 years next month and I developed a term for the speed "SST" southern standard time. If they say first thing in the morning it'll be noon or later when they show up

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Ted,

If school is the main priority.....  Arizona is the place to go.

Check me out...  but I understand residents get their University tuition paid free by the state
I do think you must be there for one year to qualify.

BUT... That is a huge plus for Arizona....
AND...  their business attitude is very friendly

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I agree with Slice. I live in De about 45 min-1hr. north and I have lived here most of my life except when I was in the military. 1 Hr. to the beach 2hr. to the mountains. Schools are good.

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Thanks guys! I really appreciate the feedback. I know there are a lot of places that people are very pleased to live. There is a lot of good about California but I really believe that there are other states that would be a better fit for my family. Plus there is no end to my wife's references to when she lived in Texas so I am sure that is a factor in my mind.

 

My instate tuition costs for the local university and state college are higher than many out of state schools even when paying the "out of state" price. That price would be for the first year until I am considered a resident so the second and possible third year would be the even lower in state price. 

 

I am not a fan of humidity but any heat lower than 100 sounds great to me. I spent a few days in Washington DC around the 4th of July and the humidity was really uncomfortable. I remember taking a shower and not being able to dry off after. I think the farther east you go the more humidity, maybe? Cold doesn't bother me so much but my wife really doesn't like dark or much overcast. When I lived outside of Seattle I didn't mind the weather at all but the wife feels differently.

 

I mainly grew up 10 minutes outside of a very small town here in central California. Me and my brothers road dirt bikes, shot guns, hunted, played in creaks, you name it. I really think it was good for us and would love for my many children to be able to have similar opportunities. This is not a requirement but one of the ideas is to be a little bit outside of town. 

 

I am going to look into some of the places you guys mentioned so I will most likely have some questions  ;D 

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State tax here is at 7% on most things 5% on vehicles with a cap of I think $500. But if you're used to moving fast the only thing they do fast down here is drive. I've been here 9 years next month and I developed a term for the speed "SST" southern standard time. If they say first thing in the morning it'll be noon or later when they show up

 

My last job for the Orkin corporation required me to periodically contact the home office in Atlanta. My old boss was originally from Tennessee and he tipped me off to how the home office feels towards Californians. He was sure correct, every time I spoke with someone at corporate they would change their tone when they found out where I was calling from. They really were on their own schedule over there. Even when we had a very important issue that needed immediate attention they would deal with it when they got to it. Many times I was told they would deal with it in the morning even though it was midday over there.

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Welcome to southern standard time. However this can work in your favor in you're a go getter because people on the receiving end of sst appreciate the fact that you'll work in the schedule you promise not when you feel like it.

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This thread could use a tangent ... Isn't there anybody who wants to tell Ted where he should live , how he should do it etc  ?? :lol: 

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Anywhere but ny and if you weren't already there ca. I believe these arête 2 most unbusiness friendly states that exist. Try to regulate you out of business and if that doesn't work they'll just tax you out.

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Anywhere but ny and if you weren't already there ca. I believe these arête 2 most unbusiness friendly states that exist. Try to regulate you out of business and if that doesn't work they'll just tax you out.

Yes you don't have to tell me about it! It took me 4 months to get a sole proprietor business started here.  From the time I decided to open shop to when I was able to legally do business in my town was just under 4 months and about $1000 not including the lease, insurance, or driving all over town. The neighbor city was a few hundred cheaper but I really didn't want my business there. The most shocking thing was that the federal government was very fast and free, the city and county however both wanted money. The biggest shock for me was after everything else was done I turned in all the paperwork and proof to the city to sign off on a business license and they told me it was going to take 6 to 8 weeks to process. 8 WEEKS! It had already been a month and a half since I had brought home any money so this was not good news. 

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Ny and ca are impeding to see who can empty the their state first. Right now it's close but with the new ny guns laws I think the mass exodus is moving along quite nicely.

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My sole proprietor took well under a month and all tolled was around $100-$150. This state is small business friendly. I'll find the 1 stop website and post in a couple minutes.

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My Sole Proprietor documentation was $75, issued in ten minutes.

My sign store actually does not even require a Traders License because they have deemed that I am not engaged in "trade" (buying and reselling items).

I am a "fabricator" and "graphics artist" by definition  (Federal Principal Business Code  #541400 -- Specialized Design Services)

 

By the way, suburban Baltimore is nothing like DC.

DC is located in a swamp.

 

MD. Sales taxes are 6%.

Gas is relatively cheap.

Homes are attractively priced.

Outdoor activities are plentiful (including plenty of water --- several lakes and rivers plus the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean resort town of Ocean City, MD is quite a popular destination)

 

I challenge you to find a more appropriate re-location destination.

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Gas here is $3.15 We have lakes, beaches, ocean, mountains and lest we forget darlington speedway for the NASCAR fans. But I just realized we're all trying to lure a potential competing business to our own backyard. On that not Alaska is nice and not too hot either.

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