It is getting colder as winter approaches and I find myself wishing I lived somewhere warmer. Now that I’m finished with school and no longer with my GF there really is nothing keeping me here in KC other than the fact that I’m already here.* In deciding where to live I would like somewhere warm but it also needs to have a reasonable cost of living. That rules out Southern California. I have lived in Las Vegas and Austin in the past and think both of those cities would meet my criteria. The drawback to Vegas is that I like to gamble and that could certainly raise my cost of living. Austin has the advantage of being within a long day’s drive of my family.
It would also be interesting to move somewhere I haven’t lived before. I know Florida and many other parts of the South and Southwest would also meet my criteria. If you live somewhere warm I’d like to hear your opinion of where you live and what the cost of living is like. Then I can compare the pluses and minuses of various places to live.
Another option would be to act like a snowbird and go south for the winter and return in the spring. That would mean moving twice a year but it might be worth it.
*I think a lot of people are living where they live by default. When I moved to Texas people would always ask, “Do you have family here?’ , “Were you offered a job here?”. When I replied that I moved there just because I wanted to live there the answer seemed to confuse them.
Hi,
We live in Central West-Texas. It’s pretty warm most of the year – downright hot in summer. Cost of living is very reasonable but not many good jobs around. Hope this helps!
MH
Andy,
My partner and I have been giving a lot of thought to this topic lately. Ever since I left my cush job in August there hasn’t been a lot keeping me here besides my rental properties.
I’ve really been focused on Tampa, Florida. I’ve been there several times and could see myself living there:
1) lots of water. I love water. You’ve got the Bay, but then a short drive to Clearwater Beach gives you the Gulf of Mexico.
2) lots of sun. I mean, there’s a reason they call it the Suncoast. You won’t see many cloudy days. I think that’s good for your mental health.
3) no income taxes.
4) advantages of the big city (jobs, entertainment, things to do, etc.).
5) decent air travel. I can take a nonstop back “home” if I want to visit family or tend to business. But there’s non-stops to many, many destinations.
5) reasonable cost of living. I’ve only done a little research on this, but home prices are much cheaper than they used to be. I haven’t been looking at rents but I’m sure they are reasonable as well. Fuel is a little higher there but most other things are in line with my current cost of living.
Michelle and Frugal – Thanks for the information.
I’m still interested in hearing about more place if anyone else has information they would like to share.
Andy,
I had a few more questions for you:
Do you prefer city or country living? We live in the country but there are a couple of small cities within an hour of us. Abilene and San Angelo. It’s about 3 hours to Austin from here. We do have colder weather than Austin but not much.
Will you be looking for a house to buy or rent?
Will you be looking for a job?
We love living here – it’s really a good place to buy a house, not as good if you have to find work.
Hope this helps.
MH
Michelle – I like the idea of living in the country although I haven’t ever lived in the country. I would still like to be fairly close to a city. I would like to buy a house eventually. I would probably need to find at least a part-time job. It will be a while before I can support myself from self-employed income.
I wish you the best in finding a good place to live – if you decide to come to Texas, email me and we’ll try to help you all we can. Merry Christmas!
Michelle – Merry Christmas to you and thanks for the offer.