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Where would you choose to live and raise a family?

Flying Wedge said:
I disagree with this. I'd say not Eastern Iowa. It's more Illinois than Iowa.

Tap Talking my way thru the World of golf!
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Typical Des Moiners haha.

Eastern Iowa is great. I just don't like cold. This is actually a phenomenal place to raise children.


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I actually like NJ. Within 45 minutes I can be hiking the AT or seeing a show on Broadway. Great golf courses at the municipal level. Among the best public education in the country as well. High property taxes but at least our schools are good by and large.
 
Will82 said:
Auburn, AL. Alabama public schools for the most part are crap, but Auburn is an exception. Back when I was in school it was actually ranked the #1 place for golf in the US by one publication (think it was 2006). Three private clubs from what I hear are all great layouts. RTJ Golf Trail there (2 regulation, 1 short course). RTJ in Prattville and Greenville which isn't too bad of a drive. Golf year round. Low cost of living. And 100 miles to the Atlanta airport.
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The Huntsville school system I hear is good as well.
 
Just a beautiful area with the season and a great school system is either Cadillac Michigan or Traverse City. Winters are rough and long, but the scenery is just breathtaking

I'm not too concerned about the golf thing of not playing a lot because of long winters. But I'm more concerned about my child's well being. And these two areas have rave reviews from many I have talked too personally
 
blugold said:
If you're OK with cold winters, Eau Claire, WI is superb. But it gets cold with lots of snow
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I was thinking Viroqua, WI.
 
Think I'd go with Colorado, snow up on the mountains, close enough to go more southern for year round golf.
 
arydolphin said:
Slight threadjack: is no state income tax the deal that it seems to be? This article made me think otherwise, but it's only one source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/state-with-no-income-tax-better-or-worse-1.aspx

To the OP's question: my wife and I want to move to NC at some point, that would fit most of the criteria that you are looking for. The issue is that the public schools there aren't all that great, and that state is near the bottom of the country in terms of teachers' average salaries.
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I would ABSOLUTELY agree with this article. Don't let the no income tax thing fool you. THEY get there money one way or the other.
Like everything, it depends on what you want and plan on. But I have lived in FL, TX, NM, and SC. I have owned houses in TX, NM and SC.

For example. TX has no state income tax. But there property tax is crazy high. Especially if you have an expensive house.
My house there cost $140,000. My house in NM cost $215,000. My payment for both houses were the same interest rate and same payment.
That's how much higher their property taxes are in TX.

And I love TX, I grew up there and might retire there but they get their tax revenue one way or the other.

And unless things have changed, FL property taxes add in everything that you own. So boats, houses ect... all counted towards your property tax when I was there.
 
Barberakb said:
I would ABSOLUTELY agree with this article. Don't let the no income tax thing fool you. THEY get there money one way or the other.
Like everything, it depends on what you want and plan on. But I have lived in FL, TX, NM, and SC. I have owned houses in TX, NM and SC.

For example. TX has no state income tax. But there property tax is crazy high. Especially if you have an expensive house.
My house there cost $140,000. My house in NM cost $215,000. My payment for both houses were the same interest rate and same payment.
That's how much higher their property taxes are in TX.

And I love TX, I grew up there and might retire there but they get their tax revenue one way or the other.

And unless things have changed, FL property taxes add in everything that you own. So boats, houses ect... all counted towards your property tax when I was there.
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Florida property tax, at least where I live, is about the same as I paid in Clovis, NM. Pretty cheap. When I was in Orlando it was similar. Our tax was having to deal with Brazilian tourists.
 
What do you mean, haha, is it like Miami where hardly anyone actually speaks English?
 
North-East Florida for me. :)

My wife doesn't want to move to the U.S., I don't blame her, but I'd like the weather and the golf. Would be great for our kid too :)

Taxes would be a MASSIVE improvement for us. Gas prices too. Houses are expensive here..
Income tax is 52% for me, gas price is close to $10 per gallon for RON91. Health care is way cheaper ($150/month covers about everything), we're not allowed (by law) to work over 40hrs a week and pension is mandatory: working when you're over 65 isn't really allowed by law.
I live in a just-above-normal house far away from big cities (15-20miles to the closest city, 35miles from our capitol in a rural area), have a garage for two cars and 2.5 bedrooms. House did still cost >$400k.
Fortunately I made a great deal on the mortgage at 2.85% for the next 15 years.

Oh car-loans: 6.5% minimum, more often then not 7.4-7.6% which is the max allowed by law. So no car loans at they're just too expensive :)
 
Barberakb said:
What do you mean, haha, is it like Miami where hardly anyone actually speaks English?
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Fl property tax is not only not that high, it's not taxed on all you own as you mentioned above.

Erky is correct in that our taxes remain low thanks to tourism. The beaches and Disney.
 
Evaluations in regards to cost of living, taxes etc. need to be balanced with overall economic opportunity. I could move back home to Central IN and reduce my annual expenditures dramatically but I would likely reduce my annual income even more. If one has the the time, patience and means to research in detail I know from experience one can find a safe community with reasonable housing & a good school system while also being able to take advantage of higher wages & increased opportunities.
 
I'd go to the west coast of Florida.
 
Right where I am at. Liberty Lake, Washington.

4 seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
Great public school district.
Smallish diverse community but only 10 minutes from the metropolis of Spokane.
Good cost of living.
100 lakes within a 50 mile radius
Snow skiing within 50 miles.
Lots of great golf courses in a 50 mile radius with less than $40 green fees and a few higher end ones.
Low crime rate in the area.
If you are into it, the largest 3 on 3 basketball tourney in the world (Hoopfest) and one of the largest 12K runs (Bloomsday) with over 50,000 participants.
What more could anyone ask for?
 
Where would you choose to live and raise a family?

I'm totally biased but Monterey has just been voted the happiest seaside town in California, great weather all year round, friendly people in a chilled out atmosphere, my kids are in charter schools meaning private education without the large fee's, oh and one or 2 nice golf courses nearby. As I said, I'm biased, but I really would not want to live anywhere else.
 
Mark_UK said:
I'm totally biased but Monterey has just been voted the happiest seaside town in California, great weather all year round, friendly people in a chilled out atmosphere, my kids are in charter schools meaning private education without the large fee's, oh and one or 2 nice golf courses nearby. As I said, I'm biased, but I really would not want to live anywhere else.
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Boy, you really rubbed in this one deep. Nice , agree with you
 
Otis32 said:
Evaluations in regards to cost of living, taxes etc. need to be balanced with overall economic opportunity. I could move back home to Central IN and reduce my annual expenditures dramatically but I would likely reduce my annual income even more. If one has the the time, patience and means to research in detail I know from experience one can find a safe community with reasonable housing & a good school system while also being able to take advantage of higher wages & increased opportunities.
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What resources did you use in your research?
 
Mystery Meat said:
Boy, you really rubbed in this one deep. Nice , agree with you
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LOL. 39 years of living in overcrowded, grey and wet southern England has made me appreciate where I live now all the more.
 
JB said:
Fl property tax is not only not that high, it's not taxed on all you own as you mentioned above.

Erky is correct in that our taxes remain low thanks to tourism. The beaches and Disney.
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Maybe I was wrong or they changed it. Its been around 15 years since I have been there.

They did use to have a use tax which I think they still do. I never understood that tax.
"[h=2]Use Tax[/h]State sales tax needs to be paid for internet or other out-of-state purchases, even if no tax was charged at the time of purchase, or were charged at a rate less than the Florida sales and use tax rate. While this includes taxable items bought in Florida, it mostly applies to items bough outside of the state which were brought in or delivered. Florida residents are required to report these sales and pay the use tax on them personally."

They also use to have this tax but it looks like they got rid of it.


[h=2]Intangibles Tax[/h]Floridians no longer need to pay taxes to the state on intangible goods, such as investments. The law requiring that tax was repealed in 2007.

I wasn't really stating that FL taxes were all that high, just wanted the OP to look into things a little more. A lot of people get focused in on the no income tax part of it and don't really look at the other ways states get their revenue.

For having no income tax FL sales tax is pretty low.
 
Pkielwa said:
What resources did you use in your research?
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When I moved here in 1997 the internet was in its infancy so for raw data I only recall considering tax rates, income & general cost of living numbers. My wife and I had pretty good options with jobs in Central IN, Central IL & here in Metro MN. Mpls/St. Paul had a clear advantage numbers wise (despite high taxes & high CoL) because of the higher incomes and a generally stronger economy. It also fit very well for my profession because there were several strong companies in my line of work along with a strong customer base and a larger population base to drive work volumes.

Localized research was important too. We rented for a year and used that time to get familiar with the area. We chose a section of the metro with more reasonable housing prices and then made some (appropriate for us) compromises like saving on a smaller 3 bedroom home that was built in an area surrounded by larger houses. Realtors, friends, co-workers, etc. also helped us zero in on a community with good schools & a good quality of life. Lot of ways to go about really. Just takes some creativity and commitment.
 
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