wendyj

I picked up and moved from San Diego to NYC when I was 25. I had the opportunity to live in a rent stabilized apt, and it was too good to turn down. I found a new job relatively easily and had a blast. I somehow found myself with a house in New Jersey and now I'm thinking I need to go back to CA before I'm too settled here. It's been 4.5 years, and it's just flown by!

peg

Good luck Ally, I know from reading your posts on the Latin board you really like it down there.

travdis: I am in this very same deciding stage now. I have always wanted to live in Miami, since staying down there with my aunt and uncle. After graduating college (early 90's), I was going to move down there with them, but they came back Ohio. I am with you on the midwest thing, I am really bored in my little town. I have been job hunting since April, here and there on the job boards, but now an wondering if I should just pack up and move down there. I am single, 34 and have no children, so it would be the perfect time for me to do something like this. Part of me though doesn't want to take the risk without a job first. I guess we will see.

Fodorite018

I lived on the west coast growing up, and had never been further east than the eastern side of WA, OR, and CA. After college and marriage to a Naval Officer we moved all over. First move was from Portland, OR to Orlando. What a huge change!!! But since that move we have lived all over the country and many times going back and forth across the country. It has always been a fun experience and it is great to explore new areas. DH retired recently and lo and behold, we moved back to Portland. Who would have figured that after all those moves and many years that we would get to come back to the place we love so much

yale

My husband did the big move a little over five years ago. His best friend had moved to CO from the East Coast and enticed him to come out for the skiing and outdoor lifestyle. He stayed with him until he found a job and then was off on his own.

I met him about a year into his move and at that point he was still not convinced that he was staying. Now we're happily married, enjoying the outdoors together and loving life in CO. Whenever we visit family in RI, we are so happy to come back home. We're here for good.

The other funny thing is after my husband and his friend moved, more came. I think the clan is now up to 6!

MzPossum

About 20 years ago I moved to Switzerland from the US for a year. The profession I'm in is one that is fairly easy to get a work permit for in Switz and Germany. Loved it! Before that, moved to Dallas for 4 years. Hubby and I moved to Louisiana about 6 years ago.

BTilke

In the late 1980s, my husband (who is from Vancouver, BC) and I decided we really wanted to move away from Philadelphia and live in the Pacific NW, Oregon if possible (this was just before the Seattle area became such a hot relocation spot, we could still remember the old joke, "Would the least person leaving Seattle please turn off the lights?"--how things have changed!). He was able to get a fellowship in a PhD program at the U of O and I was able to take my job from Philly with me (a healthcare reporter, I became the magazine's West Coast editor). We loved the Pacific NW and stayed there for about 10 years before a family tragedy brought us back to the East Coast. Although Philadelphia is a great city, we still wanted something different and a year after we moved back, my husband was offered a job in Belgium. We've been living in Europe for 5 years (Brussels and central Germany) and are about to move to the UK--we'll be living in a historic ("listed") cottage in a small town about 30 minutes from London. How long we'll stay in the UK is up in the air, but it will probably be at least a few years, and then back to continental Europe. We don't know when we'll be moving back to the U.S. (if ever), but we plan to buy a home in central Florida to rent out in the meantime...it's a 50-50 chance that we may be retiring there 15 or 20 years down the road. We figure housing prices in the "active retiree" communities will start jumping up as boomers begin to retire, so we'd like to buy soon while prices are pretty reasonable.

Judyrem

Scarlett: your situation sounds very similar to ours, in our transition from Atlanta to Cape Coral. Did not realize how much I loved a city environment.......SO moving to Fort Lauderdale ASAP or October(which ever comes first). Portland or Seattle sound mighty good to me too (after FLL). We are going there next summer to check it out!

Statia

My husband and I left our families, friends, and jobs in Houston 11 years ago to move to a very tiny island in the Dutch West Indies. Our lifestyles changed drastically, but we've never looked back and never regretted it for a minute since we've had so many unsual and wonderful opportunities here. We are now citizens, as well as property owners, and feel that we are offically home.

I will admit, however, that the first person I met here actually knew my ex-boyfriend, so I think that the world is small enough that some baggage will follow you just about anywhere.

Meesthare

Born and raised in Toronto, never lived anywhere else. Didn't even travel much until I was newly divorced, in my 30's, when my kids and I learned the joy of exploring new places. The first time I went to British Columbia, in 1986, it was the eeriest thing - I just thought: "This is home!" The thought of moving had never even occurred to me until then. I went back every year and considered various possibilities. Then in 1997 I met my sweetie, who is originally from Vancouver and had always planned to return to his home province. We've made plans to live in Victoria, starting next year. Some things are just meant to be.

Rosemary1

I picked up and moved 13 years ago from Omaha, NE to Colorado Springs, then Denver, CO. Who in their right mind wouldn't???

Rosemary1

It not only changed my lifestyle. It changed my life!

mindylt1

What interesting stories....Six months ago our family (me, hubby, 3 girls ages 12,10, and 6) left our home in Virginia Beach and moved to Germany. My husband had been to Germany many times before when he was in the Army, and our whole family had travelled there once, so we weren't exactly going into unknown territory. Yes, the adjustment of actually moving overseas has had its ups and downs, but we haven't regretted it once. Since my husband's job is supporting the US military, we have the best of both worlds: living and traveling in Europe while having access to American schools and other American facilities.

Lots of people (our families!) don't understand why we would do such a thing, but we really believe that this move has given us and our kids such a wonderful opportunity to travel, learn, and broaden our perspectives. In the past 6 months, we have been to Belgium, France, London and Bavaria and we're going to Venice in a few months. My girls have developed so much confidence, as well...my 12 year old was our navigator on the tube in London and they're never intimidated by whatever foreign place we find ourselves in!

This isn't a permanent thing for us. We'll probably move back to the US in another 2-4 years. But I think we'll always be glad that when this opportunity knocked on our door, we were willing to take a chance and answer it.

jbee

My DH and I moved to Las Vegas 4 years ago on a wing and a prayer. Neither one of us had visited for years, but things have worked out nicely. We found jobs rather quickly and snatched up a cute house before the market went through the roof.

I love the busy feel of the town and the ability we have to find anything we want, 24 hours a day. I also love all the entertainment and dining options available. There really is no city like Las Vegas. The only things I really miss are grass and trees. (Our poor little tree in the front yard will be lucky to see next year! )

Even though Vegas is home for now, our hearts are in Italy and we plan on moving sometime in the next 4 years. I have to admit that it scares me a little- I'm worried it will be much, much harder than a state to state move. Because we're still in the working stage of our lives (no retirement in the near future), we have to worry about jobs, work visas, sponsorships, etc. Our plan is to have 6 months worth of savings and just go for it. The control freak part of me is having a hard time with that.

So thanks for all the inspirational stories. It helps to know that we're not the only "crazy" ones out there!

Ozarksbill

Interesting stories, but we are Middle Westerners who decided not to retire in a place like Florida. We would rather visit than live in some spots. My college roommate did move from St. Paul to Ft. Myers several years ago and it has worked out OK though very far from family.

It seems to me that nothing is perfect. We know any number of people who have retired to the Ozarks and lived for awhile on a lake then move into a city for medical and other reassons. We also have lots of retirement villages in MO and down in Arkansas. Determining factors are where is family, what climate do you like, what is a preference as to city vs country, what interests do you have such as golf or theatre or a university. And sometimes life takes a turn, such as with my 86 year old friend Ed who moved here from Cape May, NJ, to be with his lady friend!

BTW kaudrey, we will visit a niece in Wolfeboro in about a week who has owned a pewter shop (but is giving it up).

Ozarks Bill

Jayne11159

When I was 18 and my parents were footing the bill, I picked the colleges I attended in East Tennessee from a catalog because I loved the mountains. Although I'd spent almost every summer in NC, I'd never stepped foot in Tennessee and never visited the campuses before I enrolled. Those were pre-www days,colleges were easy to get into and pre-enrollment visits weren't requisite. When my parents dropped me off I remember the look of bewilderment on their faces as to my choice as we drove through rural TN. They couldn't figure why I didn't choose a school in FL, NC or GA since my roots were there--I can't explain it either, but I fell in love with the area and ended up living there for 7 seven years--the only years I've spent living outside the state of Florida.

Jayne11159

Ally--I forget to say good luck--we're neighbors and I worked in the non-profit field here for over 20 years so I'm sure our paths have crossed. At 18, I felt exactly the way you did about the area when I left. My sister, who also grew up here, had already left.

The funny thing is, my sister and I, like so many of us seem to return to our roots to settle down. My kids make fun of me because everytime we go somewhere new on vacation I want to move there (minus daily maid and room service these places might not be as appealing!).

I think it's great that so many of you have had the guts and the flexibility to make such major changes. My DH spent years building a business here, so at least if FL is our ball and chain, we're close to the beach!

travellyn

My husband and I moved with our 2 kids from a Houston suburb to Durango, Colorado about 7 years ago. We had good jobs, friends, and were near family, but we hated the smog, humidity, flatness, etc. We found ourselves vacationing in mountains or high latitudes every year, and finally decided to move "somewhwere in the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Albuquerque, not including either city".

We both looked for jobs fitting that description, and when one of us got a job offer, we moved. Our house payment more than doubled and our income was cut in half, but we actually paid off residual credit card debt in only a couple of years. It took 2-3 years to really settle in and feel like we would make it financially and socially. It was very lonely at first, but now we're really happy we made the move.

I don't know what to say about "yesterday's baggage". We weren't moving in order to sever ties from the past; we felt fortunate to have them. It seemed to both my husband and me that we were finally living the way we wanted, and our years in Houston gave us an idea of what we did and didn't want out of our new home. It was hard to be away from family and friends, but we had several old friends comment that we just seemed like people who should live in the mountains. We probably did get rid of some baggage like consumerism, concerns about appearances, etc.

Vast

I am so tempted to pick up and go now. I am wmn mid-40s, no family ties in the town I'm in, no children, and I am not happy here. I have been job hunting for a long time, trying to find a company that would move me, because it's too stressful to pick up and move without an income. I am a sr. exec, so it would take a while to find a new position elsewhere. If I get up the nerve to just go, I'll let you know, but for now, I am still planted in my (hopefully) temporary place. Wish me luck!

bashfulLV

9 years ago this November I followed the (then) love of my life from So. Calif. to Las Vegas. My two children came along and we started an entirely new life. I had gone to a temp agency in Calif. before moving and did all their paperwork & testing so when I arrived here in Las Vegas I went into their local office and within minutes they sent me out on an interview; I started the job the next day. That was just shy of two weeks after moving.

I've done pretty well for myself here, on the whole. But my kids still hate me for moving them to the godforsaken desert. We used to visit here before ever dreaming of moving here and we all talked about how we'd never be able to live in this heat and didn't know how anyone else did. HAHA - here we are!

The worst of it was when the work my fiance had planned on fell through - he was an entertainer and had been wooed here with the promise of having his own show - he plummetted into a DEEP depression from which he never recovered. He died four years ago. But life goes on and I'm still here. I dream of moving back to So. Calif. but now feel sort of trapped because I have a great job with great retirement & benefits and am doubtful I'd be able to find another of the same caliber in So. Calif with things as tight as they are these days. Not to mention the house I'm renting here runs $910 a month and NOTHING in So. Calif. is much less than twice that. Ho-hum. 'Guess I'll wait & see what happens.

FainaAgain

After 10 years of waiting we finally got permission to get the hell out of former soviet union. We didn't speak any english, did not bring any luggage. My first computer I saw in the city college 14 years ago, and I think I'm still afraid of it We skipped a century! Talk about culture shock. When I go to a history museum I can easily be a guide - I know how to use all old things!