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Sell me on a city to relocate to

DCsportsfan53

By DCsportsfan53
in The Tailgate

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lovetoaster

lovetoaster

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Well, I grew up in a small town in the foothills of NC. Me and the wife (met in high school) moved to Charlotte, NC for college (UNCC Represent!) and we love the area. The key to living in Charlotte is.........not to actually live in Charlotte :ols: You can, but taxes in Mecklenburg county are higher than the surrounding areas and you are literally just 10-15 min drive from anything you need should you live in a surrounding city.

I was going to mention Charlotte. I moved here from Gaithersburg about six years ago and I could not be happier with my decision. Cost of living is great, it is big enough of a town where there is always something going on, but it is not so big that you can't comfortably get around. I do actually live in the Charlotte city limits. Yes, the taxes are a bit higher, but it is not that bad and it is worth it to me. There are some benefits, and for where I live, it is easier to get to the places I want to go.

But it truly is a great city. Job market is better than a lot of big cities, housing market is solid and the cost of living is tremendous compared to the DC area. There are several large lakes that surround the city for recreation, and Charlotte is pretty centrally located so that you can get to places like Atlanta, Charleston, Asheville, the beach or the mountains pretty quickly if you want to get away for the weekend. And its also easy to get back to the DC area, most of my family lives around Fredericksburg, and it only takes me a little longer to get there on a Friday from Charlotte than it did from Gaithersburg.

There is a great airport that you can get relatively inexpensive and direct flights to most major cities, as it is the main hub for US Air. There is also the added plus that there are a whole lot of Skins fans here in Charlotte, seeing as this used to be Skins territory before the Panthers came to town.

As you may be able to tell, I love the place and I would be happy to answer any questions if you have any interest.

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Bubble Screen

Bubble Screen

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Good point.

They have NBA teams that play here.

Heat, Thunder, Knicks, etc.

Seriously though, the Bobcats are much more competitive these days, compared to even last year.

Yeah, I've been pleasantly surprised with Dunlap. They've already won more games this year than all of last. And even when they lose, they are usually competitive, yes.

To the other poster: if you consider the Charlotte area, stay away from University area or west Charlotte. East Charlotte is terrible, too. I wouldn't even live within the city limits myself. I would recommend the suburbs.

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No_Pressure

No_Pressure

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Definitely yes on liking the outdoors and natural beauty. Not much of a city goer although work dictates that we be near a larger metro area. At the same time, it'd be ideal if wilderness can be found without going very far from home.

Everyone's got their ups and downs, no one's perfect. ;) Probably prefer a more laid back culture. For the most part though, I think leaving the East Coast would be the most likely scenario. I'll find ways back for a few games and find ways to watch them but that's not a factor. I've been to FedEx so many times in the last 8 or so years it's probably time I had a break, for my liver and heart's sakes. :ols:

Split decision. Wife prefers warm, I prefer cold, snow, skiing, ice hockey, mountains. We could go either way, more important to find a compelling area. I'd lean towards colder with the caveat that the wife will kill me if I take her somewhere where it's -4 degrees for months at a time. :ols:

Local laws aren't a strong consideration, no real consideration at all in regards to political viewpoints.

With this I'd mention again Flagstaff, though my biggest concern would be places to work, since when I left it, the city had a population of about 70k. There isn't much crime, you're living at the foot of a beautiful mountain, you get true seasons (and can get away from the cold in the winter with a 2.5 hour drive south to Phoenix for the day), there are any number of great places to explore in the wilderness. As far as major businesses at which one could work, they have a fairly nice medical center, they have major distribution centers for Purina, Gore-Tex, Walgreens, etc. The city is centered around Northern Arizona University, which has a student body of about 25,000.

I'd put in a vote for a place like Moab, but you gotta work, not retire.

Denver is supposed to be great. I've never lived there, but I have family that moved to Steamboat Springs (small ski town) and they love it in Colorado. Much is made of Denver being the mile high city. I loved it in Flagstaff, since we were at about 7,000 feet vs. Denver's 5500. Denver would naturally trump Flagstaff in a number of areas like jobs available, and features a metropolitan area has vs. a town of a sub 100k population.

If you've never lived outside the D.C. area, I'd make sure to take a trip out to wherever you're going, and not to take in the really cool sights nearby, but rather to get a feel for what it would be like day to day. Drive in their rush hour traffic. Take a trip to a local grocery store. Do things which you're likely to do, and you may discover something you like or dislike about an area. I've know people who decided to pack up and try something new before. They tested out an area and of course did the tourist things which the area provided. This left them unaware of problems with the local road systems, conveniences, restaurants, etc. which made them miserable. There are so many little differences that some people pick up on and others don't.

Oh, and if I had a choice of anywhere in the world to live and work, I'd try to move to Munich, Germany or Innsbruck, or Vienna, Austria. That's just me though.

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renaissance

renaissance

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If you've never lived outside the D.C. area, I'd make sure to take a trip out to wherever you're going, and not to take in the really cool sights nearby, but rather to get a feel for what it would be like day to day. Drive in their rush hour traffic. Take a trip to a local grocery store. Do things which you're likely to do, and you may discover something you like or dislike about an area. I've know people who decided to pack up and try something new before. They tested out an area and of course did the tourist things which the area provided. This left them unaware of problems with the local road systems, conveniences, restaurants, etc. which made them miserable. There are so many little differences that some people pick up on and others don't.

If it's possible, go out and get a feel for how the people are as well. When I moved to the upper midwest I was under the assumption that everyone there was really nice and friendly. After living there I learned that some people were very nice and friendly, but most were just passive aggressive and I really missed the east coast personalities.

I would also recommend figuring out the little things that you do and don't like about DC, and compare that list to your potential destinations.

Of course the best thing to remember is that wherever you move to you can't really go wrong, because even if you end up hating the place you will at least have lived somewhere different which is something I don't think enough people take the chance to do.

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Corcaigh

Corcaigh

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Research Triangle in NC is very good. With the tech firms and three major universities in the area there lots of diversity and amenities, and the countryside is nearby. Cost of living is pretty good, ate least relative to here.

I'd second Nashville - I know a bunch of pretty cool people from there.

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pjfootballer

pjfootballer

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You can buy a country home, and be only 15-30 mins away from the actual city if thats your thing. Charlotte is a great city imo. Your like 2.5-4 hours from the beach or mountains. I dunno, I guess Im biased cause I live here lol. At one point in time we were looking to move and honestly thought about moving to Canada. We could get a home with 5 bedrooms, 2 acres on a lake with a boat dock for what we paid for our home now lol. Only thing that stopped us back then was there is litterally no work up there in our fields. I could have been a canuck.......damn it eh?

I'm in Fort Mill (Carowinds Blvd) right off the border. We lived in Rock Hill when both my wife and I had jobs in Rock Hill, but both of us work in/for Mecklenburg County. It's a decent area. I've lived in MD, VA, TN and FL also. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, but I'd love to go back to Tennessee. But I'd like to go to Chattanooga or Nashville as some have said. I used to live in Memphis.....

Whatever you do, just stay the hell away from Memphis. Lived there for a year my first year of music school (Univ of Memphis), place is a dumpster fire in every way.

....which brings me to you. Yes, living in the city limits sucks. I went to UM (1986-1990) when it was Memphis State. I loved the city when I was there, but it's gone downhill. Most of my friends that are still there live in Bartlett, Germantown or Collierville and commute in.

---------- Post added January-11th-2013 at 08:26 AM ----------

Yeah, I've been pleasantly surprised with Dunlap. They've already won more games this year than all of last. And even when they lose, they are usually competitive, yes.

To the other poster: if you consider the Charlotte area, stay away from University area or west Charlotte. East Charlotte is terrible, too. I wouldn't even live within the city limits myself. I would recommend the suburbs.

Agree. I'm in Fort Mill, my parents are in Harrisburg and my sister and her family are in Concord.

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Chew

Chew

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Boulder Colorado:

Jobs everywhere. Micro Brew capital of America. Young people. Every band tours through here or somewhere close. 30 minutes from all flavors of major professional sports. The women are beautiful.

We moved here from Virginia four years ago and never looked back.

Quoted for truth. I could never imagine leaving this place. Here in the Denver/Boulder area, there is so much beer, culture, sports teams, hot women (too bad I'm married), and what some people consider to be the best outdoor music venue in the country with Red Rcks amphitheater. oh by the way Denver also has the Rocky Mountains, which ard so god damn big, you can see them from anywhere in Denver/Boulder area.

Also, after Washington DC, Denver Colorado has the second most federal gov't jobs in the country. Private industry is booming here too, many large businesses have their headquarters here. Job market in Colorado is really doing well.

Denevr is also a mixing bowl of sorts. A lot of east coasters like me, a bunch of midwest folks from Chicago, Wiconsin, Michigan, a lot of folks from Texas, and a TON of people from southern California.

If you want to talk about wild life and outdoor activities...you don't have to go far. biking, hiking, rock climbing, skiing, wild life watching...its all here. Rocky Mountain national park is 45 minutes from Denver.

And don't even get me started on the cost of living. I didn't realize how expensive DC was until I left. We built a brand new house here in Denver, and our mortage is less than what my friend pays for his 1-bedroom apartment in downtown Silver Spring :ols: :ols: ****ING DC. :ols:

And seeing as how I drive from east to west every morning for my work commute, I literally drive to work everyday and watch the sun rise over the Rocky Mountains. Not bad livin' :)

Denver :)

7612736864_896fba0b08_c.jpg

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Koolblue13

Koolblue13

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I have an irrational hatred for Colorado. I've had a couple exes move there, I think of nothing but drum circles and stinky dip ****s who blame government for everything, god loving, gun toting hill billies who think the GOP spouts gospel and the pit bull ban in the city of Denver that has led to thousands of dog deaths by the police. I don't know why, it seems like a place I'd love, but Colorado, to me, is an *******.

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lovetoaster

lovetoaster

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And don't even get me started on the cost of living. I didn't realize how expensive DC was until I left. We built a brand new house here in Denver, and our mortage is less than what my friend pays for his 1-bedroom apartment in downtown Silver Spring :ols: :ols: ****ING DC. :ols:

Haha...same here in Charlotte. I had a one bedroom apartment in Gaithersburg. It had a loft, it was a nice place, but nothing exceptionally special. I now have a 4 BR, 2.5 BA house in Charlotte with a mortgage that is a couple hundred bucks less a month than my rent was in the DC Metro area in 2006.

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DCsportsfan53

DCsportsfan53

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I'm actually surprised to see so many people mentioning Charlotte, had no idea. I lived in RTP for about 6 months and hated it but I know Charlotte is a lot different. Arizona and the PNW are both places I'll have to do more research on. I've visited Phoenix before and spent a day in Sedona while there, that was a beautiful place. As much as my wife would kill me if it's -4 for months on end I'd probably kill myself if it's 100+ for months on end. The only time I like it really hot is if I'm at the beach. Colorado still seems to be the #1 option for a lot of reasons at this point in time. Ren, 100% that we can't lose either way. Getting and chance to explore the country, meet different kinds of people and see what life is like outside of this swamp can only be a positive even if we don't like our first destination. I feel very fortunate to have a career that enables me to do something like that. Whoever mentioned overseas makes a good point as well. The only part I'm not sure of there is what it's like trying to get legal permission to work in other countries but assuming I could finding work shouldn't be an issue in most places. Might start smaller by moving somewhere within the states first, though. I've still yet to travel abroad, baby steps. :)

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Chew

Chew

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I think of nothing but drum circles and stinky dip ****s who blame government for everything, god loving, gun toting hill billies who think the GOP spouts gospel and the pit bull ban in the city of Denver that has led to thousands of dog deaths by the police.

Dude, you're way off. :ols:

Denver is full of friendly people who like to smoke the refer, brew and drink their own beer, and watch sports. Hippies, cowboys, skinny jeans "cool guys," conservatives, tree huggers, both native Coloradans and out-of-state transplants....everybody here in Denver seems to get along. Maybe its the 300 days of sunshine a year and legal marijuana. :)

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Koolblue13

Koolblue13

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Dude, you're way off. :ols:

Denver is full of friendly people who like to smoke the refer, brew and drink their own beer, and watch sports. Hippies, cowboys, skinny jeans "cool guys," conservatives, tree huggers, both native Coloradans and out-of-state transplants....everybody here in Denver seems to get along. Maybe its the 300 days of sunshine a year and legal marijuana. :)

I know I am. That's why I said irrational. :ols:

In truth, it might be the perfect place for me to live, but I still think it's an *******.

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Chew

Chew

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Haha...same here in Charlotte. I had a one bedroom apartment in Gaithersburg. It had a loft, it was a nice place, but nothing exceptionally special. I now have a 4 BR, 2.5 BA house in Charlotte with a mortgage that is a couple hundred bucks less a month than my rent was in the DC Metro area in 2006.

Right! we actually lived in Greensboro for about 4 years, and we looked at moving to Charlotte. Couldn't believe how cheap it was there to buy a house in the Charlotte area!

---------- Post added January-11th-2013 at 09:21 AM ----------

I know I am. That's why I said irrational. :ols:

In truth, it might be the perfect place for me to live, but I still think it's an *******.

come visit bro. we could hit a hookah bar downtown, smoke some weed there legally, and then go whore hunting. If that's your thing :evilg:

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