Author Topic: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?  (Read 15987 times)

ImOscarDotCom

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Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« on: November 13, 2016, 10:57:39 AM »
Hello!

This is my first post in a forum (long time lurker).

A little background.. I am a native of Georgia and DW is from the Bay Area.  She is a defense contractor and is currently transitioning into nursing.  I am a secondary school teacher.  We have two children (3 and 5).  I have always had trouble living in the south as a liberal and we have been researching and daydreaming about relocating for 5 years now.  We are particularly concerned about raising our children in this environment, it was pretty difficult growing up here.

We have really been looking into Washington state and Colorado, as potential destinations.  We understand that we will be moving from a LCOL to HCOL area, but we feel it is vital for our family to not raise our family in the Deep South.  We have spent time in Washington and my wife has spent time in the Denver metro a few times. We also visit her family in Monterrey, CA often. I love the west coast and would love to live somewhere different from Georgia.

Are there any places that I might be overlooking?

Thanks for the advice! Love these forums!


AMandM

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2016, 01:05:13 PM »
Vermont
Massachusetts
Chicago
DC and its MD suburbs (NoVA is more conservative)
NYC

These are all HCOL areas, except for Vermont.  I think that's the reality of moving from the South to most of the rest of the US, especially urban areas, which is where the liberals tend to be.

Livewell

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2016, 01:10:26 PM »
With young children, there is a lot to be said to living near relatives.  Why not the Bay Area?  Monterey doesn't offer much in jobs but if you could find one there are lower COL areas around Monterey.  Try Gilroy, Watsonville, maybe Scotts Valley if you want to be closer to Silicon Valley.

SV traffic is aweful, but jobs are plentiful.  Costs really are similar to anywhere else, just the housing that is crazy.  In NorCal, Sacramento is much less expensive (but not the same energy as the Bay), or my favorite is the SLO-Paso area if you want something slower paced at reasonable prices (just far from an airport).

Lagom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2016, 01:22:53 PM »
You could consider Austin, TX. Texas is slowly headed in a blue direction and Austin is pretty liberal already. Keeps you in better weather and much cheaper than CA. If you support the Democratic party, the more liberals that move to Texas the better.

Kapiira

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2016, 01:23:01 PM »
Tucson is LCOL and has a great community.  I couldn't take the climate but otherwise I really liked living there.

rtrnow

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2016, 02:01:07 PM »
I think ruling out the south is kind of silly but I get the feeling. I grew up in rural GA but lived in Atlanta for a long time. Atlanta is a great city that's working to become more bikeable and is pretty liberal. I recently moved to St Petersburg, FL because it's near the water, walk/bikeable, affordable, and very progressive with a great sense of community. I think you're problem is more rural vs urban. I mean CA is not very progressive when you leave the metro areas, and I find that to be true most anywhere I've traveled in the USA.

startingsmall

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2016, 02:16:33 PM »
I think ruling out the south is kind of silly but I get the feeling. I grew up in rural GA but lived in Atlanta for a long time. Atlanta is a great city that's working to become more bikeable and is pretty liberal. I recently moved to St Petersburg, FL because it's near the water, walk/bikeable, affordable, and very progressive with a great sense of community. I think you're problem is more rural vs urban. I mean CA is not very progressive when you leave the metro areas, and I find that to be true most anywhere I've traveled in the USA.

Agreed. I live in small-town NC, but I think it's the small-town part that accounts for most of my difficulties. There are liberal areas even within NC... and I grew up in Florida and LOVE the St. Pete area. The options in Georgia may be limited (unless you want to deal with Atlanta) but there are liberal refuges scattered throughout the south.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2016, 02:17:01 PM »
You could consider Austin, TX. Texas is slowly headed in a blue direction and Austin is pretty liberal already. Keeps you in better weather and much cheaper than CA. If you support the Democratic party, the more liberals that move to Texas the better.

For what it's worth, Texas (52.6% to 43.4%) was more red in this presidential election than Georgia (51.3% to 45.6%) was.

I think ruling out the south is kind of silly but I get the feeling. I grew up in rural GA but lived in Atlanta for a long time. Atlanta is a great city that's working to become more bikeable and is pretty liberal. I recently moved to St Petersburg, FL because it's near the water, walk/bikeable, affordable, and very progressive with a great sense of community. I think you're problem is more rural vs urban. I mean CA is not very progressive when you leave the metro areas, and I find that to be true most anywhere I've traveled in the USA.

I'll echo Lagom and rtrnow about liberal cities in red states.  Atlanta itself and several of the metro counties are liberal and growing even stronger in that direction.  For example, at the heart of Atlanta, Fulton County went 69.2% for Clinton and DeKalb County hit 80.8% in her favor.  In fact, the top six cities in Georgia -- Atlanta, Columbus, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, and Athens -- all had majority vote for Clinton.  One consequence of liberals in the aggregate moving away from a "red state" is that the state gets redder; the more that they decide instead to stay and the state welcomes new liberal inhabitants, the more purple, and eventually blue, it can get.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2016, 02:21:44 PM by LeRainDrop »

wenchsenior

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2016, 02:19:32 PM »
Tucson is LCOL and has a great community.  I couldn't take the climate but otherwise I really liked living there.

Yes, definitely. If you can take the heat (and I could, back in the day), this is a county of blue in a red state (though the state might trend purple in another 10 years or so)
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Another Reader

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2016, 02:32:46 PM »
Buying a house on a nurse's and secondary school teacher's salary might prove difficult in a lot of the more desirable areas in California.  Once you get out of the Bay Area and Los Angeles, people are actually pretty conservative.  And those areas are the more affordable areas.

The university towns in North Carolina might meet your political objectives and be affordable.

Syonyk

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2016, 02:51:34 PM »
Costs really are similar to anywhere else, just the housing that is crazy.

"So other than the typical family's largest expense being insanely huge, it's affordable" doesn't really make a solid argument.

Housing out there is simply stupid.

Lagom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2016, 02:54:21 PM »
Costs really are similar to anywhere else, just the housing that is crazy.

"So other than the typical family's largest expense being insanely huge, it's affordable" doesn't really make a solid argument.

Housing out there is simply stupid.

It is. I wish I didn't love living here so much, but somehow the insane prices are still worth it to me and my family, and we are not tech workers. That said, wages are somewhat higher (although often not enough to keep up with the COL in anything but the tech sector) and it's true that nothing else but housing is more expensive than most places.

On a somewhat related note, nurses actually get paid extremely well in the Bay Area. I know a part-time nurse who makes over 100k, for example.

ImOscarDotCom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2016, 03:15:39 PM »
Wow! You guys on it, like usual!

I guess I should have mentioned that housing won't be quite as big a factor, due to having our house already paid off (thank you inheritance).  We are in a unique position where we can make a decision for our family that is not 100% financial. We are both 32 and plan on working for a number of years. 

You guys have made a number of good suggestions.  I will say that the south does have democratic pockets in the cities; however, it is important to not confuse a southern democratic voter with a liberal.  Politics operate on a racial divide in the Deep South.  These democratic voters are generally socially conservative.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2016, 03:37:57 PM »
Pretty much any state near a college town. Wisconsin barely changed for the first time but if you live in Madison which is a wonderful town you would have all what your looking for.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2016, 03:55:49 PM »
You guys have made a number of good suggestions.  I will say that the south does have democratic pockets in the cities; however, it is important to not confuse a southern democratic voter with a liberal.  Politics operate on a racial divide in the Deep South.  These democratic voters are generally socially conservative.

That is a fair point, though I would maintain that City of Atlanta and Decatur are not merely Democratic but socially liberal, as well.  If your family decides to stay in Georgia, Decatur is almost certainly the place you'd want to be.  Good luck!

wenchsenior

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #15 on: November 13, 2016, 04:18:14 PM »
Pretty much any state near a college town. Wisconsin barely changed for the first time but if you live in Madison which is a wonderful town you would have all what your looking for.

Yup. Madison is a terrific city. And more liberal than Tucson, which I rec'd above.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #16 on: November 13, 2016, 04:23:05 PM »
Having moved from the South to the North, I can tell you that if you don't think politics in liberal areas have a racial component you're going to have uprooted your family for nothing.

ImOscarDotCom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #17 on: November 13, 2016, 04:50:03 PM »
Thank you guys so much for your responses.

These are all fair points.  I think the political stuff is only part of the equation.  I dislike much of the culture and the mindset of most people in this area.

I suppose I should have made it more about "great places to raise a family", considering our careers are more portable.


Gimesalot

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #18 on: November 13, 2016, 05:05:55 PM »
Depending on your ability to pay for private schooling for the kids, you can consider New Orleans.  It is a pocket of true-liberalism in the South.  Yes we have our issues with race, but as more and more people move here from the north, and the city has a larger young person population, it gets more liberal.  Note that this does NOT apply to the suburbs, just Orleans parish.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #19 on: November 13, 2016, 05:13:48 PM »
Boulder, CO?  Flagstaff, AZ?

use2betrix

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2016, 07:13:11 PM »
Depending on your ability to pay for private schooling for the kids, you can consider New Orleans.  It is a pocket of true-liberalism in the South.  Yes we have our issues with race, but as more and more people move here from the north, and the city has a larger young person population, it gets more liberal.  Note that this does NOT apply to the suburbs, just Orleans parish.

I know you said not the suburbs, but having lived 30 minutes from the French Quarter for several months, Louisiana as a whole is probably one of the most conservative states I have ever lived, and I've also lived all over Texas and in Alabama.

Pennsylvanian

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #21 on: November 13, 2016, 10:41:40 PM »
If you are willing to consider places where it gets cold and may snow for a few months, you may want to look into Pittsburgh, PA. We have arts, education, biotech, huge medical and VA facilities as well as multiple teaching and research universities. Multiple corporate headquarters, west coast micro-headquarters and best restaurants outside of NY or DC.

And affordable housing.

And sports, if you are into that.

Best of luck!

john c

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #22 on: November 13, 2016, 10:54:16 PM »
I recommend staying out of CA.  With your professions, you could easily make $180k per combined, in the right areas.  But the median cost of a home would be $1M plus.  You'd have to live an hour away from the areas where you work, and the schools would be REALLY bad.

Take, for example, Monterey.  Houses are $1M plus, but the wages are much lower than the Bay Area.  Try living in Salinas?  The murder rate is 10 per 100,000 last year, down from 17 per 100,000 in 2013.  The US average is 4.5 per 100,000.  Oh, and the schools are rated 4 on a scale of 10.  Watsonville is even worse.

Everyone I know is moving OUT of California for the affordability and school quality.  Unless you make more than $300k per year, don't even think of it.

In your shoes, since you both have portable jobs, I would consider moving overseas to teach at an American school.  That would be the adventure of a lifetime, and your kids would have a very broad view of the world.

Lagom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #23 on: November 13, 2016, 11:05:48 PM »
I recommend staying out of CA.  With your professions, you could easily make $180k per combined, in the right areas.  But the median cost of a home would be $1M plus.  You'd have to live an hour away from the areas where you work, and the schools would be REALLY bad.

Take, for example, Monterey.  Houses are $1M plus, but the wages are much lower than the Bay Area.  Try living in Salinas?  The murder rate is 10 per 100,000 last year, down from 17 per 100,000 in 2013.  The US average is 4.5 per 100,000.  Oh, and the schools are rated 4 on a scale of 10.  Watsonville is even worse.

Everyone I know is moving OUT of California for the affordability and school quality.  Unless you make more than $300k per year, don't even think of it.

In your shoes, since you both have portable jobs, I would consider moving overseas to teach at an American school.  That would be the adventure of a lifetime, and your kids would have a very broad view of the world.

No offense, but everyone you know moving out of CA must not be remotely mustachian. Compared to the rest of the country, the salary you need to do well is definitely quite high, but it's not even $180k, much less $300k+. My wife and I make less than $140k combined and still rent a 3br house in Silicon Valley that is more than we need, while maxing our retirement accounts and expect to save ~$75-100k+ on top of that over the next 3 years to complete a down payment. You can do similar faster in other areas, but a nurse + teacher salary around here can easily top 200k and should be more than enough to purchase a home and FIRE, if that's the goal. Maybe not as fast as you could do in Atlanta, but still decades faster than the average consumerist.   
« Last Edit: November 14, 2016, 02:45:50 PM by Lagom »

spokey doke

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #24 on: November 14, 2016, 08:04:14 AM »
Go look at the numerous posts on relocating out west...and congratulations, it really can be great out here...but also note that just as there are liberal pockets in the south, there are plenty of crazy conservative areas in states with liberal reputations (but the threads noted above do a good job of identifying more progressive areas).  If the election maps that break down voting by county are still up, you might check those out as a quick indicator.

Any further recommendations would require quite a bit more info. on your preferences (e.g. population size/density, hobbies, weather)...

catccc

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #25 on: November 14, 2016, 10:29:01 AM »
Suburbs of Philly.  PA went red this election, which has been hard for me to understand, but generally speaking, most of the people I've met in my community are liberal.  This is a nice place to be.  My particular school district is reasonably diverse, with hispanics making up a large portion of the minority population.   I live in a little town, and surrounding rural areas tend to be a bit more conservative.  But in my neighborhood, we have people putting signs up in Spanish that say "We are one community, everyone belongs here" following the election.  It is a wonderful place to raise a family, and it's kinda middle of the road in terms of COL.  Quite reasonable, IMO.  I'm a transplant from the DC metro area, and I also have family in the Bay Area, so the grass is definitely greener in terms of COL here.  If you want more details, send me a PM.  We are about an hour west of Philly and I couldn't love my town more.  Also, hotbed of sustainable agriculture around here, so there's good local food and a slightly crunchy mindset that suits me to go along with it.  Our kids are 5 & 7 and I think this is a great place to raise a family!


Jack

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #26 on: November 14, 2016, 10:46:11 AM »
You guys have made a number of good suggestions.  I will say that the south does have democratic pockets in the cities; however, it is important to not confuse a southern democratic voter with a liberal.  Politics operate on a racial divide in the Deep South.  These democratic voters are generally socially conservative.

That is a fair point, though I would maintain that City of Atlanta and Decatur are not merely Democratic but socially liberal, as well.  If your family decides to stay in Georgia, Decatur is almost certainly the place you'd want to be.  Good luck!

I'll also say that some black democratic voters may not be socially liberal (e.g. the religious ones, who would probably be republicans except for that party's racism), but white democratic voters tend to be extremely progressive.

Also, I'd say anywhere in the Grant Park - Midtown - Decatur triangle would be fine. Also Dekalb in general, but that would be less mustachian because of lack of bike-ability.

bestname

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #27 on: November 14, 2016, 11:03:12 AM »
I'll suggest Houston, which may come as a surprise, but its a great job market, relatively affordable, and the most diverse city in the US. Main drawbacks are traffic and brutal summers.

Candace

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #28 on: November 14, 2016, 11:06:44 AM »
Please look at the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which is in southeastern Virginia between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. We have just elected a Democrat to the House by a large margin (Bobby Scott). Cost of living is very reasonable. There are several colleges in the area. We have beaches and parks, and mountains within a few hours, as well as DC. We have he Virginia Opera, which is a good indicator of support of the arts, along with a yearly major arts festival, and lots of concerts. If schools are a concern, look at York County or Poquoson although Poquoson is a right wing place, many of the NASA people live there because NASA Langley Research Center is next door in Hampton. I live in the suburbs in a racially mixed neighborhood that's very tranquil. PM me if you would like.

dang1

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #29 on: November 14, 2016, 12:36:50 PM »
to OP, for Northern California- closer to your DW's family, wondering why you haven't mentioned the 80 corridor, between like Vallejo and Sacramento? Fairfield, Vacaville, Dixon. Davis houses are quite pricey though. Also, 101 south of San Jose? Gilroy, Salinas? Also, Manteca area? Also, Santa Rosa area? Northern California housing price-wise is not all about the ABAG counties

Spitfire

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #30 on: November 14, 2016, 02:00:58 PM »
I'm in south Florida and it is very liberal here. Other parts of the state turn it purple though.

Another Reader

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #31 on: November 14, 2016, 02:25:57 PM »
to OP, for Northern California- closer to your DW's family, wondering why you haven't mentioned the 80 corridor, between like Vallejo and Sacramento? Fairfield, Vacaville, Dixon. Davis houses are quite pricey though. Also, 101 south of San Jose? Gilroy, Salinas? Also, Manteca area? Also, Santa Rosa area? Northern California housing price-wise is not all about the ABAG counties

Many of the listed areas have very bad schools. Salinas has high crime and Fairfield and Vacaville have issues as well. 

Beriberi

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #32 on: November 14, 2016, 02:50:42 PM »
Olympia, WA is lovely - much lower COL than Seattle (60 miles north of Olympia), pretty good job environment, very liberal. Same gray climate, but easy access to mountains, water.

ImOscarDotCom

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #33 on: November 14, 2016, 06:10:02 PM »
Thanks again for so many replies. I noticed a few people mention moving to be Atlanta metro area.  It is really encouraging that Cobb and Gwinnett county turned blue for the first time in 30 years.  So maybe that could be a good option.. In addition to some North Fulton County areas.

I also always hear people rave about Decatur. I just know it is expensive to live there.  Does anybody have any experience with any of these areas?  Living in the Augusta metro area, I have been there plenty of times.  Just wondering what it might be like living there.

SwordGuy

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #34 on: November 14, 2016, 06:16:34 PM »
NC is a great place except we're a swing-state.

I subscribe to Rev. Vernon John's motto, "When you see a GOOD fight, get in it!"

Could use your help and your vote to push back the tide of barbarism.

GetItRight

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #35 on: November 14, 2016, 06:26:59 PM »
Move to CA, it's mostly liberals there and as a bonus conservatives and libertarians are steadily leaving for less oppressive and more free states namely AZ and TX. There's also talk of secession, which would be great. Then CA can be truly on it's way to an independent socialist utopia, though I suspect mass poverty and societal collapse would come shortly thereafter as it has for every communist regime in history.

Seriously though, CA is nice to visit for the scenery and weather but as a libertarian I'd hate to live there as I couldn't stand the oppression. NYC and Boston or MA in general are fairly socialist as well, NJ is fairly oppressively socialist, CT is not as bad but pretty liberal.

druth

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #36 on: November 14, 2016, 07:31:23 PM »
Most large midwest cities would work.  Madison was mentioned, but add Minneapolis/St Paul, Ann Arbor, Des Moines.  If you want a smaller city basically anything with a large public college is fine: Duluth, Eau Claire, Ames.

It will be a big climate change from where you are coming from though!
« Last Edit: November 14, 2016, 07:34:42 PM by druth »

csprof

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #37 on: November 14, 2016, 08:12:17 PM »
If you are willing to consider places where it gets cold and may snow for a few months, you may want to look into Pittsburgh, PA. We have arts, education, biotech, huge medical and VA facilities as well as multiple teaching and research universities. Multiple corporate headquarters, west coast micro-headquarters and best restaurants outside of NY or DC.

And affordable housing.

And sports, if you are into that.

Best of luck!

I'll second this one.  We're raising a child here and it's a great place to do so.  Just got back from living for a year in the bay area - no thank you.  (It wasn't the housing prices, it was the social & economic problems.  NIMBY-central.  It's breathtaking that the area can be so progressive on paper, and so regressive when it comes to actually solving problems such as affordable housing.  These problems cause all sorts of cascading problems -- daycare is hard to find, schools are all at some crazy extreme or the other, ...).  Pittsburgh feels grounded.  It has its challenges, but it's doing well on balance.

Syonyk

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #38 on: November 14, 2016, 08:52:32 PM »
You know who lives in "affordable housing," don't you?

POOR people!

Lski'stash

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #39 on: November 14, 2016, 08:59:28 PM »
If you don't mind the snow, west Michigan might just be the place for you! I'm a little biased, but there's plenty to offer you guys. Specifically, the health industry is booming around here, and your wife should find a job easily. You should also find a job pretty quickly, and the pay for teachers is pretty decent.

Grand Rapids is super family-oriented, and there's a lot to do. I like to think of it as the Denver of the Midwest. It's also MUCH cheaper, with median home prices around $175,000.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #40 on: November 14, 2016, 09:47:47 PM »
Hi, OP, I just PM'ed you my specific thoughts on the Atlanta metro area.  Would you mind PM'ing me back with my original message in quotes?  I always mean to check the little box to keep a copy in my "sent items" folder, but somehow I always forget and then don't have a copy of what I wrote.  Thanks!

obstinate

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #41 on: November 14, 2016, 11:20:03 PM »
I've heard Minneapolis, MN is nice.

RedwoodDreams

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #42 on: November 16, 2016, 01:13:11 AM »
I recommend staying out of CA.  With your professions, you could easily make $180k per combined, in the right areas.  But the median cost of a home would be $1M plus.  You'd have to live an hour away from the areas where you work, and the schools would be REALLY bad.

Take, for example, Monterey.  Houses are $1M plus, but the wages are much lower than the Bay Area.  Try living in Salinas?  The murder rate is 10 per 100,000 last year, down from 17 per 100,000 in 2013.  The US average is 4.5 per 100,000.  Oh, and the schools are rated 4 on a scale of 10.  Watsonville is even worse.

Everyone I know is moving OUT of California for the affordability and school quality.  Unless you make more than $300k per year, don't even think of it.

In your shoes, since you both have portable jobs, I would consider moving overseas to teach at an American school.  That would be the adventure of a lifetime, and your kids would have a very broad view of the world.

No offense, but everyone you know moving out of CA must not be remotely mustachian. Compared to the rest of the country, the salary you need to do well is definitely quite high, but it's not even $180k, much less $300k+. My wife and I make less than $140k combined and still rent a 3br house in Silicon Valley that is more than we need, while maxing our retirement accounts and expect to save ~$75-100k+ on top of that over the next 3 years to complete a down payment. You can do similar faster in other areas, but a nurse + teacher salary around here can easily top 200k and should be more than enough to purchase a home and FIRE, if that's the goal. Maybe not as fast as you could do in Atlanta, but still decades faster than the average consumerist.

+1 -- And the weather and natural beauty mean all kinds of no- or low-cost options for mustachians. I've lived in CA for 28 years now (previously from Pittsburgh, PA) and *every* day when I walk outside, I breathe a happy sigh to be living here. Our household earns 136k and while our old cars are no match for all the Teslas and luxury SUVs zipping around, we're happy with our simple but enjoyable life here.

Schaefer Light

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #43 on: November 16, 2016, 06:30:43 AM »
I'm in south Florida and it is very liberal here. Other parts of the state turn it purple though.
South Florida's not really part of the South ;).

windypig

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #44 on: November 16, 2016, 07:16:47 AM »
I moved North Florida to Boston. Would do again in an instant.

Heroes821

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #45 on: November 16, 2016, 07:58:36 AM »
Well, I have lived in Northeast Ohio, Biloxi Mississippi, Denver Colorado, San Antonio Texas and now Sumter South Carolina and I definitely understand exactly what you are talking about.

Austin is nice, but if you want low cost of living and liberal try PA. Closer to Pittsburg or upstate near New York.  That being said since your choices were Washing or Colorado... You will love Denver.  North Aurora is much nicer than people will let you think it is because they say Aurora is bad, but University hospital is right there and has tons of good Nursing Jobs.  The cost of living has been rising significantly but the area is great for what you are describing you want.

I personally would look a little further south, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, etc because the Denver metro cost of living is nuts at the moment.  A lot of this of course depends on how much city vs out door activities you enjoy.

bacchi

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #46 on: November 16, 2016, 08:30:19 AM »
Colorado Springs is NOT where you want to move if you're looking for a more liberal environment. It's the evangelical epicenter.

jjandjab

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #47 on: November 16, 2016, 10:55:16 AM »
In terms of the East Coast and cooler weather, many of the small college towns in New England are pretty fantastic. You get small, generally liberal (sometimes very liberal) towns with lots of resources, dedication to schools and contact with lots of academic/artsy types. I personally love the Berkshires of western MA (Williamstown, MA with Williams college and world class Clark Art museum in a town of 7,000) and pretty much all of Vermont (Burlington VT is a really great small/mid size city with alot going on). It is of course cold - but you can learn to ski if you don't already. Vermont ironically used to be a red state for a long time but is now a local farm/craft beer/democratic heaven (Bernie country). If you want a little less liberal, but no income taxes, there are some pretty great spots in New Hampshire too.

Jack

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #48 on: November 16, 2016, 11:42:50 AM »
Thanks again for so many replies. I noticed a few people mention moving to be Atlanta metro area.  It is really encouraging that Cobb and Gwinnett county turned blue for the first time in 30 years.  So maybe that could be a good option.. In addition to some North Fulton County areas.

I also always hear people rave about Decatur. I just know it is expensive to live there.  Does anybody have any experience with any of these areas?  Living in the Augusta metro area, I have been there plenty of times.  Just wondering what it might be like living there.

I'm not necessarily recommending metro Atlanta (in the Cobb/North Fulton/Gwinnett sense); I'm recommending City of Atlanta and very close-in suburbs. Regardless of politics, if you're Mustachian you want to live ITP (inside I-285) for bikeability. The City of Decatur is particularly expensive in part because of the schools, but some of the City of Atlanta neighborhoods between Decatur and Downtown -- including the one I live in -- are still affordable while having increasingly-decent schools (and the part of unincorporated Dekalb to the south is downright cheap, although that's because the schools suck).

When you ask "what it's like" to live here, what sort of information do you want?

Fireball

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Re: Red state liberal relocating... Suggestions?
« Reply #49 on: November 16, 2016, 11:51:55 AM »
Asheville, NC is pretty darn liberal for the South. LCOL comparatively speaking with beautiful outdoor opportunities. Mild weather. If politics are important to you, consider moving to a state where your vote helps make a difference. Obviously, that's only a small part of the equation.