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Selah:

I know that in D.C. even 2nd hand houses are impossible to own. however, if you do move to a new area with a lower cost of living, if it were me, I'd want to get a preowned house for a lot less money. I don't get the ego in needing to get a brand new home for $250-300K and having $1000-1500+ mortgage payments when you can buy say a 70-100K home with $600 payments.

Stephanie,
We are only looking at preowned homes. Where can you get a home for 70-100K and still have a growing economy with high tech jobs? My husband is in aerospace mechanical engineering and it is challenging to find homes in the 250K range where the jobs are. If you know of a growing area where there will be employment opportunities with a lower housing cost, please let me know. Appreciate any help.

Hi Selah --

As I said in my earlier comments, the tornado thing is way overhyped. In the 10 years I've lived here, Tulsa has experienced only a few minor tornados -roofs blown off, uprooted trees, etc. Zero fatalities.

The more dramatic activity is further south and west. Oklahoma City (site of a very tragic storm in 2000) is located on a plain, and the climate there is *very different,* as are the weather patterns - lack of elevation and trees make for a more dramatic collision of dry, cold air and warm, moist air that creates tornados. (And I should probably add that most of the fatalities in that storm were people living in mobile homes, and people caught in their cars.)

That's not to say we don't get our share of storms. We do, and hail is frequently a by-product. The damage is covered by insurance, of course, but it does mean we pay somewhat higher insurance rates.

Naturally, since the state is in "Tornado Alley," we have state-of-art, advanced warning systems in place. The weathermen frequently jump the gun and sound the alarms prematurely, which can be downright annoying at times, but of course, it's reassuring, too.

In summary -- there's a risk, I guess, but in my opinion it's an acceptable one. I certainly wouldn't consider a dealbreaker.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

First the poster says husband is a mechanical engineer and then he is an AEROspace mechanical engineer.
Charlotte is a growing city with many opportunities.

I have an engineer friend who has worked for both Boeing & Airbus. He has been here in Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Bristol, England, Toulouse, France, Topeka, Kansas & is now moving back to the states to Seattle. Of those, your best bet for less expensive housing would be 1) Topeka & 2) Charlotte.

Thanks so much for the info. My husband is an aerospace mechanical engineer and would prefer to continue in this field, however, if the right mechanical engineering job came up he would consider that as well. I'm glad to hear that about Charlotte, as we have been leaning towards it. Tulsa has aerospace industry as well. I will check out Topeka. Colorado has aerospace industry as well, but I don't know if they would have a lower cost of living.

Thanks again for all your help.

Check out Wichita. You've got Cessna, Beechcraft, Boeing, Lear Jet, and more....
http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/news/

Hi Selah:
I will second (or third?) the West Michigan recommendation. Although I live in Miami now, I raised my kids in Kalamazoo and it was a wonderful experience. There is a good university there (WMU), and, as mentioned, the Kalamazoo Promise is no small thing, although I believe those kids entering in high school may not have full tuition paid but will still get a substantial portion of it paid (just Google "Kalamazoo Promise" and you should be able to get the particulars of tuition coverage). I lived in the Westnedge Hill neighborhood for 20 years--it is one of those those wonderful neighborhoods where the kids walk to their elementary school, neighbors know each other and are friendly and helpful, and there are many historic houses with a wide variety of price ranges. The surrounding area offers grape vineyards and apple orchards, rolling hills and incomparable Lake Michigan beaches 40 minutes to the West. Its a lovely, underrated and thus affordable area. I would move back in a minute if I could . . .

Good luck!

PJ

How about Knoxville, Tennessee? Closer to your family, the university is there, it's in a pretty area of the state, climate is moderate. Look at Tellico Village in the area for a very nice planned community.