Post # 1
Member
86 posts
Worker bee
Hi all, I am in a pickle.
I am currently visiting England (where my husband is from and lives) for one more month before I travel back to the states. We have just learned that the family business is closing and his parents are selling their house (where we are staying) so it is time for us to decide which country to live in. I have just finished a B.S. in Psychology and will be looking for a job in the states next month. I would like to stay in the U.S. – Ben is open to going there but isn’t a fan of Georgia (where I currently live). I would like to find a nice job and possibly go to grad school part time while my husband starts college.
I’m at a loss of how to pick which state to live in, especially without being able to go physically check the place out at this point. I’ve been doing the process of elimination and am partial to the west or east cost. Could you tell me about where you live? did you move there with your SO or are you from there… go to school, work, enjoy it, hate it?. anything really I’m just trying to get a feel for places
I’m 22, hes 28 if that helps, we have no kids and would like to move outside of a big city for school and job purposes. I think we will eventually narrow down our list to possible cities and then research suburbs from there.
Thanks ya’ll!
Post # 3
Member
6571 posts
Bee Keeper
I’m live in the Tampa Bay area in FL, and have lived here my whole life other than college. I’m not a fan of cold weather, so this is a nice place for me. Also, we’re very close to the beach, which I love. There are plenty of things to do b/c Tampa and St. Pete are close, and they are bigger cities. What are you looking for in a place to live?
Post # 4
Member
3575 posts
Sugar bee
Going along @artbee’s questioning…do you both prefer warmer weather year round? Do you like to have the 4 seasons?
I live in PA and we have the four seasons. So don’t forget about that snow! (which I love!).
I have also lived in the ATL (but no GA), I’ve lived briefly in Charlotte, NC…not my thing and have spent 6 years in the Washington DC area which I would move back to in a heartbeat.
Do you want fast pace? More rural?
Post # 5
Member
2111 posts
Buzzing bee
I live in Canada in a small city outside of a major one. I know you said you’re interested in the US so I won’t give you a bunch of details. But if you DO decide to come here, just let me know!
Post # 6
Member
484 posts
Helper bee
I live in Long Island… it was a HUGE adjustment.. I moved here with my SO after we graduated college… and we moved because his family is here. and I think thats KEY… It made life just a little bit easier to know we had our family close by. We considered moving to Raleigh NC for the longest time and when it came down to it we wanted to be close to our family (even though some of my family was in NC his mom is here)… But in the end, 3 years later weve bought a house and settled in quite nicely. Were close to Manhattan, and the beach, and there is anything you could want to do here. Figure out whats most important to you both first… Family, weather, adventure, culture… put them in order of importance… Itll start to narrow down… good luck!
Post # 7
Member
610 posts
Busy bee
I live on the Central Coast in California. Really goregous area, I have to remind myself to stop and take time to enjoy being here. Or as I’m driving to the grocery store passing the ocean, think people vacation here… The constant tourists does get old though.So it’s really pretty… but super expensive. We currently have subsidized housing through the university, so it’s actually affordable for us. However, FH and I have discussed that in 5 years or so we would really like to move to the Washington or Oregon Coast. So it’s still pretty…but maybe more affordable….
Post # 8
Member
11324 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I live in Columbus, Ohio and I love it! I came here to go to school at OSU and just stayed… that happens a lot. OSU is a huge university (#1 or 2 in the country depending on the year) so there is lots of opportunities there.
I like Columbus because it is like a really huge suburb. It has enough city stuff but everyone lives in the suburbs and they’re only 20 minutes to anywhere you want to go. Columbus is kind of like Chicago-lite. 🙂
Post # 9
Member
6659 posts
Bee Keeper
I live in NYC and while the job market is great compared to other cities, I would not recommend it if you want to live outside of the city and commute in for work. The suburbs really close to the city are super expensive but still really far, making even a 1hr commute almost unattainable. The outer boroughs are basically still the city as far as living conditions go. Although if you are willing to raise kids in a 1 bedroom apartment and have family in the neaby vicinity, I would recommend it for the excitement and job prospects.
Post # 10
Member
5496 posts
Bee Keeper
Love, love, love Pennsylvania!!! I live 50 minutes outside of Philly. Born and raised! We have the four seasons which I LOVE. 2 hours to the beach, 2 hours to mountains and close to Philly and NYC. Love it! 🙂 You mentioned college. Lots of great colleges in Philly, too. I love it here and my husband and I will probably stay a long time. 🙂
Post # 11
Member
769 posts
Busy bee
I’m in LA. It’s not perfect, but the weather is amazing, and I actually really love living here. But if you’re looking for outside of a big city, this isn’t it 🙂
Post # 12
Member
1221 posts
Bumble bee
We live in Loma Linda, CA…home to one of the best hospitals (Loma Linda University Medical Center) & schools for medicine & dentistry (Loma Linda University). We are also 15-20 minutes away from other great universities such as CSUSB & UCR.
We are about an hour drive from Los Angeles; 45-50 minutes from Palm Springs (nice desert community), the mountains and the beach.
I love this little community (and most surrounding towns). Loma Linda is very quiet, a great melting pot of ethnicities & just a very comfortable town.
The only downside is the local freeways. They can get hectic sometimes (not nearly as bad as LA), but I think that’s anywhere you go.
Good luck on your search! I’m excited to hear about other people’s towns as well 🙂
Pic of the hospital & the beautiful mountains in the background:
Post # 13
Member
232 posts
Helper bee
I live in Maryland, Baltimore to be exact and I love it here. I’m from here and I wouldn’t move anywhere else. I think the job market is good since we have DC and VA so close. We have a good selection of colleges in the area- Johns Hopkins, Univeristy of Baltimore, University of Maryland, University of Maryland University College…. Its not expensive to live her either, homes are priced pretty well. The best counties to choose from would be Howard and Baltimore depending on what you like, but these two are my favorite. We experience all the seasons here, but most of the time its not too cold. If you would like to know anymore just PM me.
Post # 14
Member
1396 posts
Bumble bee
I live in Minneapolis, MN and it’s fantastic. St. Paul is pretty good too. Because there are two cities, the suburban region is plentiful. Seriously, tons of suburbs so if that’s what you’re looking for, I promise you can find one to suit you. Minnesota does get snowy in the winter, but we have four lovely seasons, lots of beautiful lakes and a really cool arts/culture/food scene. We’re technically fly-over country so the cost of living is cheap. MN has really highly ranked public schools, biking trails that cover pretty much the entire state including the city areas, it’s one of the cleanest and healthiest states, really low crime rates, and our part of the Mississippi is clean as a whistle. I think there are a lot of places that I could be happy living and MN isn’t perfect, by any means, but it’s a really nice place to live.
Post # 15
Member
5976 posts
Bee Keeper
@Jenn23: I couldn’t agree with you more about Philly! I grew up about an hour and a half from Philly, but now live in the Philly suburbs, and I love it! I love that we’re so close to a city that isn’t as congested as NYC is, but that NYC is just a quick drive away. I also love that I can go to the beach in a few hours or to the mountains in a few hours, to countryside in a matter of minutes.
Ditto on the 4 seasons. Just when you get sick of it being hot, you change into beautiful weather of fall, into the snow of winter. When you’re finally sick of winter, spring is just around the corner! And we sure do get hit with it all! Plus, Philly has so much charm to it. I love that we are really passionate about our sports teams here (Go Phillies!), have such great historical background and just plain awesome sights to see here. I’ve been in the area for almost 10 years and I still don’t get sick of checking out all the tourist-y things!
Post # 16
Member
3600 posts
Sugar bee
I live in Tennessee, and I LOVE IT here. I work in a city, but live in a very small town. I’ve always lived in Tennessee, but I’ve lived in several areas of TN. Mr. Dear moved here from Portland, Oregon. He hated it at first (mostly because he was still a minor when he moved and he didn’t want to leave), but he loves it now.
Actually there is currently an opening for a psychologist at the hospital I work for! I work as a registered nurse in acute psychiatry. It’s a Veterans hospital, and I think our sister campus (in Nashville) may also have openings.
What is your Fiance going to school for? Nashville, of course, has many colleges, but in Murfreesboro (where I work) there is MTSU. I went to college in Cookeville at TTU.