Of all the places you lived, where would you move to right now

[Kevin Rea]

I have only ever lived in Wisconsin so I do not have a good idea as to how it compares to other places.  I know it always seems that the grass is greener in another state but I want to get some sort of consensus.

The south is only getting hotter.  Austin TX has seen the average number of 100+ days go from 14 to 24 in the last 30 years.  The north is getting warmer ... I have seen winters here get milder and milder.  I could go south, but Illinois has high taxes like California and there is an outflux of people from both states.

To me, the states in the middle seem appealing.  Like NC, SC, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Nevada.

But I want to hear what you think.  Tell me a place that you have lived before and would be the one place you would live if you had nothing binding you to where you are now.

[Andre' Arceneaux]

San Jose (hometown)

[Eddie Edwards]

@Stephen Keighery

How did you just stay? What visa do you have to do this E3? I really want to move to the US for a bit.

Also hands down if I could I would move back to Sydney Australia, awesome place.

[Mathieu M.]

It depends on what you are looking for such as big city or little town, Job, taxes and more...

I would live near a large city to have a little of bit as I do now...

M.

[Account Closed]

@Lan Raby Thanks for that insight! I imagine the only downside to living in Hawaii, aside from taxes and cost of living, would be what I've heard people call "island fever" after living long-term on the island without the ability to drive to other states. Have you experienced this?

[Eddie Maynard]

@Kevin Rea The places I’ve lived in order:

1. Tucson, AZ

2. Albuquerque, NM

3, Colorado Springs, CO

4. Denver, CO

5. Seattle, WA

6. Chicago, IL

I spend my first 22 years in Tucson and have since hit the other locations in the 7 years that followed. Denver is my favorite, but I’m convinced Denver and Seattle are two of the best places you can live. I’m excited to see Chicago since it’s my first “large” city.

[Wayne Phillpots]

@Eddie Maynard

I’ve mf lived a few places so it’s all I can speak on even tho I hear of Denver and Arizona being great places to live.

•Jacksonville , Fl

•Kingston , JA

•Westmoreland , JA

•Naples , Italy

Portsmouth , VA wasn't that bad either.

[Shane H.]

Your question is all relative and depends on the individual -- I have a love hate relationship with winter and dont know how you do it in Wisconsin.  We made the move 2 hours further north from Wichita KS to Topeka KS 3 years ago and just 2 hrs further North the weather and winter can be quite different.  Topeka's humidity sucks - Wichita's was bad - but it is far worse in Topeka and like we live in a tropical jungle to me --- also the amount of Overcast and grey days - I hate it - Wichita had more days of sunshine.  We NEVER went days on end without seeing the sun - that's been normal here off and on the past 3 years - thank the Lord we're hitting summer where that should stop until this fall hopefully.

Anyways - my personal preference is lots of sunshine and not days on end of clouds and grayness and hopefully no hurricane force winds for days on end - all things you can get in KS - 

I've lived in 

• Holcomb, KS - 9 miles from Garden City in western KS
• Wichita KS - most of my life with 1 place in city limits during adulthood, childhood out of town in a rural setting, and hs years on the edge of town in the burbs but with land
• Topeka, KS - going on 3 yrs now - we live out of town on land
• Ft Myers, FL during the height of the bubble and start of the crash in the 00's
• Cape Coral, FL - same time period
• Port Charlotte, FL - same time period

If we were to stay in KS - there are things I like about where we're at but we are not in "LOVE" with it - we're close to KC - close to downtown Lawrence and have a unique property that is affordable.   We'd rather be living outside of Wichita - I'd also live in Dodge City, KS but my wife would never have it...ha - lots of open space, good people and away from all the rif-raf and easy access to the outdoor activities I like to do.

We've talked about New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and possibly Utah if we dont stay in Kansas.   We dont want to get blown away by the wind - we've had enough of that in KS, lots of sunshine as alluded - the gray dreariness is for the birds - we get more of that in Topeka than we anticipated and lots of open spaces to be outdoors offroading, riding ATVs, fishing, pheasant or quail hunting, bike riding etc.  If we're at least a couple hours from a major airport - that is another pre-req.  We just want to live in an area where the government leaves you alone and you can feel safe going about your business with good neighbors.  For me and I think my wife - the Great Plains and Desert SW can provide that.

I would winter in Florida - I did enjoy some of my time spent there - SW Coast would be where I'd go - Little Gasparilla is awesome, Marco Island, Sanibel etc - basically any place where you could have a house directly on the Gulf and there are walkable beaches.

I'd refuse to move my mixed race family to anywhere in the traditional "South" - ran into too many ignorant people over the years  (Big cities not included - but as you can tell we're not big city people - we love traveling and exploring big cities - but no way we'd permanently live that life).  Figured that was relevant given current events.

[John Dennis]

There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better. - Bob Dylan

Sure, it's hot in the summer and we have storms but you can't beat the culture and community. I've lived a lot of places and when I moved to New Orleans 7 years ago it immediately became my forever home.

[Anthony Rosa]

I lived in Capri Italy for 6 months and I would return there in a heartbeat if my circumstances were diffetent.

[Stephen Keighery]

Originally posted by @Eddie Edwards:

@Stephen Keighery

How did you just stay? What visa do you have to do this E3? I really want to move to the US for a bit.

Also hands down if I could I would move back to Sydney Australia, awesome place. 

Hey Eddie, I got an E2 Visa which is a business investment. You need to have invested a "significant sum" into a business over here and show a business plan that will employee 5 or more US Citizens within 5 years. The significant sum is very subjective but essentially it is enough to in initially capitalize the business. If your business is capital intensive it would need to be a large amount and vice versa. My application was 300 pages so there is a fair amount of work to put in to get it. It took awhile and the waiting was frustrating but I didn't get much push back on my actual application when it was all said and done. I do have a solid track record of building businesses in Australia so this probably helped my application.

Yes Sydney is amazing. I miss the beaches and harbor. I didn't leave because it was bad, New Orleans just pulled me in a different way. The icing on the cake was property is much cheaper here and there are many more opportunities for investment. In the end a good mix of business and pleasure made the move make sense to me. 

[Tyler Scruggs]

@Kevin Rea

Hey Kevin,

I am 22 years old, and I have lived in:

• Naperville, IL

• Columbus, OH

• Birmingham, AL

• Cleveland, OH

• Charlotte, NC

• Marlborough, MA

• Barcelona, Spain

• Costa Mesa, CA

Majority of my time has been spent in Cleveland, however my favorite of those would have to either be Costa Mesa (proximity to numerous beaches and restaurants in Orange County). Or Charlotte, NC due to the perfect balance of northern/southern life. If I could live anywhere though, it would probably be somewhere in LA or Orange County, CA!

[Tyler Scruggs]

@Tyler Scruggs

Forgot to mention that I lived in Washington, DC for 4 years as well... California is still the favorite!

[Lan Raby]

 @Account Closed:  I lived there like 4 years.  The beaches are great and the diving is absolutely amazing.  You kind of get the fever some times, but honestly, I really enjoyed it.  The island is big enough... but I did have to travel quite a bit for work. I just think it affects some more than others.

[Shane H.]

@Eddie Maynard

How old were you and when did you live in Albuquerque, Tuscon and Colorado Springs?   All areas my family is interested in (at least living a ways outside of city limits).

What did you think of those areas?

[Eddie Maynard]

@Shane H. Tucson will always be a special place for me since I grew up there and invest there. I think it depends what you are looking for, all three are “large towns” and Tucson is developing nicely. I admittedly did not like NM, I was 23 and only knew a couple people, but wasn’t a fan of the culture, lack of being near a large city, and lack of sports presence. It is a city with a lot of poverty as well. I lived in Colorado Springs 24-26 and loved it. Much quieter than Denver, but only an hour away with a spectacular climate and so much to do outdoors.

It ultimately depends on what you’re looking for, but if I had no connection to any, I would choose Colorado Springs.

[Dennis Cosgrave]

I grew up in Canada and lived in Florida for 20 years. I moved to Amsterdam 8 years ago. 2 years ago, I took a 3 month trip to Asia.I had never been to that part of the world before. It was fascinating. If I were to move now, I would either go to an island in the Caribbean or one of the out islands in the Philippines. 

The immediate future in any large urban area does not look promising. The corona virus lock down has sparked an economic calamity that we still have not yet seen the worst of. Getting off the beaten path in an area that is self sufficient seems like a logical move. 

[Account Closed]

@Lan Raby That sounds amazing. I guess you have to sacrifice something wherever you live, whether it's the ability to easily travel to other states, live in a warm climate, livee close to the city vs close to the suburbs, etc. I appreciate your insight!

[Michael Acevedo]

@Kevin Rea

I’d stay in Virginia honestly. I’ve thought of Hawaii, but when I see what I can get for a million here compared to Hawaii. I set my goals to live in this beautiful neighborhood I seen one day driving for dollars. Crazy when you recite your goals everyday you start to picture it and actually see yourself living in your dream place hosting a get together or even taking the kids for Halloween. Mindset is everything!

[James Carlson]

@Kevin Rea I've lived in both Denver and Colorado Springs, and nothing compares to Denver. Great restaurants, multiple lively residential-mixed-with-restaurants/shop types of neighborhoods, the best craft beer, and amazing weather.

If you're looking to live in Denver, though, you gotta have money or you gotta get creative (rent-by-the-room house hacking or finding a home with a mother-in-law/basement apartment setup, etc.)

[James Carlson]

@Shane H.

Haven't lived in Albuquerque or Tuscon, but we own a duplex and our primary SFH in Colorado Springs, and I can say it's a nice place to be. Pikes Peak looms over the city so views are never far away, trails and nature are always within a short drive, and people are super nice. The downtown is also getting a lot of work done with some interesting bars and restaurants coming in and some new sports venues as well. Plus, you can't be the 300 days of sunshine.

[Robin Searle]

@Kevin Rea great thread - I love hearing about everyone’s thoughts. Grew up in southeastern Kansas in the Flinthills and unlike western KS it’s lush and lots of rivers but I hate the humidity and chiggers. Lived in So Cal for about 15 years and loved windsurfing in the Newport back bay and sailing to Catalina. But then came family and buying a home and the only thing we could afford was inland empire/high desert which we didn’t like. Moved to Colorado Springs 25 years ago and love it here. Great climate, growing community, lovely scenery and outdoor hiking and camping and fairly close to skiing. Plan to stay here with possibly a place in Venice Florida when we retire so we can sail again. Also have family there.

[Matthew Davis]

@Kevin Rea

I enjoy where I currently live in central California. However, I have lived in several areas in the past. Out of those other areas, my three favorite areas are: SLO County (CA), Marin County (CA), and central TX hill country.

[James Michels]

I’ve only lived in two cities.

Livonia, Michigan.

Now, this is the kinda ideal midwestern city to start and raise a family in. It’s safe and quiet and not too far from more eventful places like Ann Arbor and Detroit. The only problem is that it’s very expensive.

Currently, I’m in Jackson, Michigan.

The area is very patchy, but houses are definitely cheaper.

[Juan Pardo]

Firenze, Italy.

[Laretta Young]

Places I've lived ranked top to bottom

1. Chicago, IL

2. Brooklyn, NY

3. Los Angeles, CA

4. St. Louis Metro Area

5. Philadelphia, PA

I have mostly lived in expensive cities, but hands down Chicago is a great city to live.  You get the city-like experience with suburban feels. Winters are harsh, but when summer comes around its all worth it.