It looks as though we may not be moving to Louisianan after all. I won’t lie- I don’t think I would have liked it there much. If we really get to stay here, this means that in a little over a year, A will be retiring from the Army and we will be FREE!!! We can move wherever we want to, for as long as we want to, and do whatever we want to (within the limits of the law, obviously…)
And so, I have been spending many hours thinking about where we could possibly move in 2012. A place that we can call our home, in which our children will grow up and hopefully be happy. The “problem” we have is that we have no restrictions. The world is open to us- we can live pretty much wherever we want.
I have been asking everyone around for their best place to live. Some pick the town they are living in, some pick exotic places with white sandy beaches. Honestly, most people have completely different ideas as to what their perfect place would look like. From the rainy Seattle, to the island paradise of Bora-Bora, all the way to the other end of the world in New Zealand, people have told me that they love it.
What is it that my family is looking for? Well, we’re not easy to please. Climate is a factor. Not too hot (South Carolina is definitely not for me…), but not too cold. Not too much rain, but not too dry. Maybe lots of sunshine? Then there is the political factor. I have to live in a place in which I feel comfortable with the political climate (again, SC does not qualify) There is definitely the social factor. Though we don’t have to worry about health care for our family ever again, it is important to us to be in a place in which there is good quality care available for everyone. And a good sense of security. Where we wouldn’t have to be afraid of starving if we lost our jobs. Then there is education. If we can avoid it, we would rather not have to pay for our children’s schooling and/or college. Lastly, it has to be somewhere with a certain financial stability. We will have to be able to find and keep work.
Overall, we want to feel safe and happy in our environment. If we can help it, we don’t want to have to work ourselves to death. We would much rather have lots of time to spend with our family than be rolling in money.
You’re probably wondering where this place is. Unfortunately, we are still not quite sure ourselves. We have some favorites, though: Denver, CO, with its fantastic weather and affordable cost of living; NYC, with, well, EVERYTHING imaginable- except nice weather; and Germany, with its wonderful security that would enable us to breathe a little easier.
Want to help us out? Tell me what your top pick would be for the best place to live!
Asheville, NC-definitely a liberal political climate, beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery. I'm pretty sure the public schools are pretty good there and there are certainly a lot of good universities there when your children are college age. Of course very few kids get to go to school for free in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI would say that with those requirements there is no great place. I am curious how CO constitutes "not too cold". NYC wouldn't make that for me either. Temperature wise I like S FL (where I grew up) b/c they get afternoon rains to bring down the humidity some and they have ocean breezes, temp tends to top at 90 and low at 70. CA has nice weather like that too without the humidity and afternoon rain. Of course both are crowded, CA is expensive. HI has nice weather like that too. All the best climates are saturated though. Of course higher populations mean more $ which also can lead to more school choice, more healthcare choice, etc. But more diversity also means more competition for jobs and thus more demanding jobs which in the US tends to mean less family friendly. I know nothing about other countries but so many are so much more family friendly it sounds appealing to me, sweden maybe. I'm pretty laid back so I'd stay close to family, if that wasn't a choice I'd stay where I was, every place has its downfalls
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