felinesiren

I currenty live in southern ohio, for those of you who have never been here, the job market and economy leave much to be desired. But all it lacks in those aspects, it makes up in natural beauty. Nevertheless, I want to move. I am hoping for a good economy, warmer climate and beaches, but I don't want to sacrifice my beloved fall foliage and appalachian culture. Any suggestions???

trippinkpj

North Carolina maybe? I don't know specifics about their economy though.

crazy4Hawaii

I'm a lifetime Arkansas who went to live in Virginia for five years. Relatively warm, not more than an hour from an okay beach, lots of history, friendly people, decent economy - and, for me, who had lived in the South my whole life, an opportunity to explore Washington D.C. and much of New England on several occasions. Although much of New England has pretty cold winters, the states are close together, have beautiful Falls, and are filled with history.

My advice - live somewhere very different from home for awhile. You'll return home filled with love for new places AND an appreciation for home as well!

OldSouthernBelle

Dothan has a good economy, warm climate and beaches 90 miles away ( about 1 1/2 Hr. due north of Panama City Beach, FL. There is also alot of people from other states as a result of the Army Base, Fort Rucker, so the community is a mixed culture of down home southerners and adopted 'yankees' (anyone not from here)lol. The people are friendly and welcoming.
Although they get some hurricane winds, they do not generally get the devastation that you would incur closer to the Gulf of Mexico.
There are several bodies of water around besides the beach: Lake Eufaula, Lake Seminole and Chattahooche River for a start.

What kind of work do you do?

OldSouthernBelle

That is Dothan, AL.

enjoylife

I have to second North Carolina.

GoTravel

How about some qualifyers?

Age?
Income?
Own? Rent?
Education?
Occupation?
Field?

vgronek

dont come to michigan our governor granholm sucks and so do jobs here. and taxes

GoTravel

Evidently so does the public school system.

travel_addict

GoTravel!

Not everyone here in Michigan feels the same as Vgronek! I live in Grand Rapids and it's a beautiful city on the Grand River with a fairly good economy, although it does depend on what you do for a living. The automotive industry is going through a hard time around here, as I'm sure it is around the country.

Felinesiren - what do you do for a living? Have you considered anyplace in North Carolina?

JennyJJJ

Hi,

I'm from Ohio too and I also am planning to get out of here.(read my post " Help me relocate OUT of Ohio)

Anyway, we have traveled in the last 2 years to Florida 3 X (we were looking at Cape Coral. Last time we were there we were renting a house by the yacht club and the house was broken into by some man high on heroin (I don't even know if I spelled that right, I'm not real familiar with drugs LOL) Anyway, it forced us to look closer at the area and the crime and then the hurricanes told us to move one. Also, we went to Arizona 3-4 times and were focusing on Sedona. We love Sedona be the more we were there the more we realized we would be in a remote area to get to the airport (we travel a lot) and there really isn't a lot to do in Sedona. Plus I think the hot/dry would get to us after awhile.

Now we are set on Southern California. we are making our 5th trip there in about a month and this place we are not finding issues we can't deal with.

It is expensive (homes)but we look at it like an investment. Better than Ohio where the houses go down. We are focusing on DelMar La Jolla Area.

The reason I am blabbering on about what we did is to let you know, if you do come up with an area, you can't go just once and see if you like it. I suggest going back at least 3 times at various times of the year. That way you can see the various tempatures, etc.

We went to Sedona in the fall and then the winter and it was beautiful. Skipped the summer and and went back the follwing late spring and it was HOT! It got us thinking, if it was 98 in May, what would it be in August?

I just wanted to make sure you visit an area seeral times before making a decision.

Also, I use www.bestplaces.net to compare the cities I am interested in. it lets me know cost of living, crime, taxes, home prices, etc. It's great and it's free to join.

Also, you might want to find the local newspaper for the area and read it online for a few months. It also helps you put your finger on the pulse of an area so you can get a feel for a place before you make any further plans.

Good luck and I hope you get out of Ohio as quickly as you can!
Jenny

felinesiren

Thank you to everyone for all your help. At first, North Carolina seemed the most tempting but there are a lack of jobs in my area there ( I'm a vet tech, hopefully someday veterinarian, 24, low income).
Florida is soooo beautiful but I can't live without my autumn. So we are currently investigating southern california and virginia. Haven't studied enough yet to come to a final decision but any thoughts would be appreciated. THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!

aileen679

If you are a vet tech, and want to further your education, let me suggest that you look into those areas around a good veterinarian school. You may be able to take some of the course as night classes, and there may internships that would help out too. The North Georgia mountain area might suit you and the Univ. of Georgia has an excellent School of Veterinary Medicine.

OldSouthernBelle

bestplaces.net seems to be a good site, but the do have the population wrong for Dothan, AL. The 2000 census shows population 57,737 while bestplaces says 28,984. So, be sure to cross reference.

GoTravel

NC State has one of the best vetinary schools in the country.

I would probably skip Southern California due to the expensive housing and higher than average cost of living and your current lower income status.

OldSouthernBelle

Birmingham,AL gets some fall color and the 'mountains' show it off pretty well...although B'ham is too busy for my liking.

Auburn, AL is a good campus and good vet university.

SAnParis

Having grown up in McArthur (in Vinton Co.) I can certainly relate to your plight. We now reside in Charlotte & I would also suggest this area. Based on your job type though you may want to consider the Louisville, Ky. area. No shortage of your job type there & the cost of living is much less than anywhere down here. In Va. look at Charlottesville. To Jenny - the housing market in Cali is more than likely to crash, or at the very minimum, flatten out very soon. You are buying at what may very well be the 'top of the market' right now...you may want to continue looking.

rjw_lgb_ca

SAnParis: I will respectfully disagree with your assertion that the CA real estate market will crash. It will definitely soften-- housing prices will stabilize, and possibly slide a bit in some markets. But the market here is much more resilient than in other states, where housing prices are indeed softening and sliding. I'm guessing that if one doesn't get one's house on the market by September, one will have missed the real estate "high", and will have to moderate their selling price expectations. But I'm preparing a condo for listing in June or July, and I expect to get a price near the top of my range (one-bedroom, 625 square feet, $279-300K). And it should sell quickly.

But for the OP: Southern California is very, very, very different from southern Ohio. Not just in climate. You really need to come out here and see if you can take the culture shock as well as the considerable hit to your pocketbook vis-à-vis housing, fuel and other costs.

GoTravel

Funny you mention that about the housing market rjw. I recently read an ariticle on Southern California in particular and the synopsis is that even though the market will soften, real estate will hold its value and will not drop.

Melrose

personally I think Nashville Tn. would be a great place to live. My fmaily and I were there in Feb. and it is growing with jobs,things to do, yu name it everywhere. The people were so great. I guess it is one of the fastest grwoing cities in the whole USA, something like 5th out of all cities in USA. good luck! i wish I couild move there! At least go there for a vac..