What City Information?

[SuzySunshine]

As to not hijack my own thread - what do you look for in a new city?

I mean we've been told where to go for the last 13 years, other then the job I'm not sure what to look for?? How do I know where I want to live? We're still going to be limited on choices, right now there are 3 that we are looking at and geographically they couldn't be much more different but what do I look for to know (or hope) that its a good fit for us?

[SoonerTexan]

We'll probably be dictated by family, but if that wasn't the case, I'd judge in this order

1. Cost of living
2. Weather/scenery

[Vanquisher]

Cheri, it completely depends on your personal priorities. Everyone has different priorities, and no one can answer those things for you except you.

http://www.bestplaces.net/

Do you want to live in an urban, suburban, or rural environment. I know rural isn't likely, but maybe it is if it has ACCESS to a major metro. When we lived in Albany, we actually lived in a small town (considered rural) called Selkirk and Chad commuted into the hospital. So, depending on what size of city and living environment you want, you may be able to create that for yourself.

What kind of weather are you looking for?

What kind of distance from family can you tolerate?

What kind of cultural, outdoor, sporting opportunities are important to you?

How safe is the community?

How are the schools, both public and private? If interested in only of these options, check them out. How much do the private schools cost?

Commuting and transportation, congestion, traffic, and all that jazz. How do you feel about these things. Is it important to you to be in a place that is easy to get around?

Good luck.

[MarissaNicole]

The four most important factors to me (non-job related) are:

Cost of living
Proximity to family and friends
Ease of travel to and from (to visit family and friends and for them to come visit)
Weather/climate

[Pollyanna]

Like Heidi said, everyone has different priorities. One thing that is important to us is access to a good Catholic High school and good public K-8, interestingly, that eliminates many locations as an option. Cost of living is a biggie. The last thing we want to do is throw away our money on costly homes and taxes. Thus, California (as much as we LOVE the northern part) is out of the equation for us. Weather is never too much of an issue as I figure with the right attitude you can adjust to anything. Extracurricular options for your children will be important to you in the coming years. If you are planning to stay in a particular location (or hoping to), it's not too early to thing about the college options for your children, is there a tuition reduction offered through your dh's job? Don't plan too much about where you are in your life right now but more where you want to be in 5 or 10 years.

[SuzySunshine]

I wish proximity to family/friends was going to be an option but I don't think it is. Healthcare changes have finally hit academic medicine and we'll be glad to have 2 or 3 to choose from.

[Pollyanna]

I wish proximity to family/friends was going to be an option but I don't think it is. Healthcare changes have finally hit academic medicine and we'll be glad to have 2 or 3 to choose from.

Sorry Cheri.

[moonlight]

Cost of Living and the housing market
Schools
Access to a international airport
we don't like cold winters
don't have to be near a ocean, but a nice scenic lake within driving distance would be nice
university with in 25 miles would be nice
good Mexican restaurants.
loads and loads of museums, cultural activities for families
Oh yeah, and any zip code inside Travis County would do just fine by us.

[GrayMatterWife]

Oh yeah, and any zip code inside Travis County . . .

Well, OBVIOUSLY!! Did that really need to be stated?

[peggyfromwastate]

It will work out. But once you settle on a hospital find a house close to Costco, a good gym, and Starbucks. Then you should be set. Lol.



Don't mean to make light of it really. I know this has been a very tough search but I really have my fingers crossed that you guys will land in a great situation all around.

[DCJenn]

For us it's a vibrant urban core. I have one kid, my husband is a physician and I'm a health care administrator- we can afford private school if we end up someplace where the public schools suck. I want bike and walk friendly neighborhoods- I want a variety of people nearby. I do not want to ever live in a neighborhood that upon entry (and a gate automatically excludes neighborhoods) you can tell that they were all built by the same builder in the same year. (like where I grew up). An active adoption community (international adoption especially) would be great- now I settle for the Russian grocery store. I want colleges and universities near-by. An active local arts community is key- as is a symphony and other professional groups. A half decent local newspaper. A decent local coffee shop. Welcoming restaurants.

In short- pretty much where I already live.

Jenn

[SoonerTexan]

Sounds like you ALL need to move to Texas

[oceanchild]

For me? Not Texas.

Seriously, though, we knew we wanted a bigger city. Didn't have to be the biggest, but big enough for major cultural institutions, touring Broadway productions, sports teams, etc. We like to live not quite in the urban core, but really close. (If it were just me, it would be all downtown condo, but we compromise on this point.)

For what I do, being in the state capital is helpful.

We wanted nonstop flights to our hometown, which is not an option from basically anywhere east of Chicago.

And we took cost of living, scenery, politics, weather into consideration, but I wouldn't say any of those were deal breakers.

[v-girl]

Definitely!

[ladymoreta]

Our #1 is proximity to family. We want to be within reasonable driving distance. Since that doesn't sound like an option for you, I would place his job satisfaction really high on the list. I can deal with a lot as far as a smaller home or less than perfect weather, but I would be really irritated if DH decided we needed to move to a new city after a few years because he hated his job.