Hi everyone,
My wife and I are thinking a lot about relocation from the Boston area, probably Virginia or elsewhere in the Southeast US. We are doing so in the hopes of cutting our cost of living long term to dig out of a financial hole and stay out of future financial difficulty. Avoiding tough Massachusetts winters would be a bonus as well. We have 2 young children (7.5 years and 2 years). We have little cash and plenty of debt. I have a relatively stable job, though my wife will be unemployed in July. I do not see her getting back to work full-time soon and likely not at more than 70% of her former wages. In terms of our relocation strategy, I am seeing some challenges and request some feedback:
• We have been to Atlanta, DC,* Savannah, and a few other cities in the area as tourists. However, we have not been to Charleston, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, or Richmond. They might be good places to relocate and worthy of investigation.
• I would not want to move to these cities sight unseen or having only previewed them from Google Maps. My preference would be to see the communities before I begin an aggressive job search.
• We do not have friends or relatives in these communities.
• My wife is a teacher and I am a grant writer so I do not think it is likely an employer would pay for interview expenses or relocation costs.
• Flying and trains are expensive. A long car or bus ride(s) with 2 very active, young children could be very rough on all involved.
What is the best way to approach this? Does anyone have recommendations on how we might get some on the ground time in these cities at minimal cost with our collective sanity intact?
Thanks!
*DC is not a cheap city but is the city where I am most likely to be readily hired and get a large raise.