Which state to move to?

[tailfins]

New England is on a downward trend. Massachusetts, the cornerstone of the NE economy has seen its unemployment rate creeping up over most of the year. When this current gig is over in the next 6-12 months, I'm considering a big move, but the question is where. Perhaps in a few months I will post my resume online with my location listed as "United States". CA, NY, NJ and IL are out of the question, of course. Only a gig paying a boatload more than I'm making now would keep me in Southern New England. ME, NH and VT have pay rates 35+% lower than Southern New England. I hear IT pay rates are in the basement back in FL and also in TX, however that can be overcome by a "right place at the right time" scenario. Back in 2006, I lucked into six figures in central Florida, but that is pretty rare. If no job is waiting for me, MN, UT or CO may be good choices. My wife's cousin who lives near Dallas thinks even at half pay, TX is a better deal than RI.

[DragonStryk72]

You might take a look at VA as well. Reasonable pay vs. Cost-of-Living, and because of the military bases about, we don't get slapped so bad when the economy goes up or down, seeing as the military is pretty much a constant.

[Voted4Reagan]

Any Red State...

Montana, North/South Dakota, Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming...

These states are doing well compared to metropolitan Northeast States.

[aboutime]

Any state NOT being run into the ground by a Democrat Gov. or Legislature is a good state.

Unless some are gluttons for punishment, and need government to control their lives, and you enjoy paying high taxes for less than suitable services...with extra fee's...the Democrats will never call taxes.

[KitchenKitten99]

... If no job is waiting for me, MN, UT or CO may be good choices. My wife's cousin who lives near Dallas thinks even at half pay, TX is a better deal than RI. ...

The only way I would suggest IT here in MN is if you have experience in the healthcare field. If not... you'll have stiff competition for anything not healthcare related. Even my husband has had to change from consulting in the finance field to healthcare.

If no healthcare experience then I'd say your best bet is Dallas/TX above the other states. My dad has been there for 30 years and he says there are jobs everywhere. Lots of IT companies are there, that are not healthcare related. Payscale is a bit lower but if you use this scale, you can get an idea of cost of living changes from where you are now and a prospective new home. In TX, you also get much more house for your dollar, even just renting.

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx

Phoenix may also be a place to think about.

[jimnyc]

I second Dragon and will state Virginia is a beautiful place to check out. I think of it as a nice mixture of the North and South, lying somewhat in the middle. You'll get the NE weather but the Southern hospitality. The price of homes is much more reasonable in that corridor than it is in the tri-state area at least.

Getting decent IT rates outside of the major cities is difficult. I could get a job in NYC surrounding area anywhere from $60-90k, but then the places I choose to live would be limited at that salary, believe it or not. You could live like a king with that money in SC, Georgia or Florida - but those very same jobs will pay $20-50k down there. I only know this on paper of course, not from experience. If you could again get something in the 5 figures, pretty much anywhere in Florida, then grab it, and get me a job there too! But I know you have a lot more talent than I do. Saying "IT" is a very wide description. If I could get $20-50 down in those South areas, that would probably be like $60-120 for you.

[tailfins]

I would like to thank all who replied. My posted resume this Spring with location listed as "United States" will tell a huge story. I don't intend to pursue responses from NY, NJ, CA, IL or HI. Responses from CT, MA, RI, DE, Eastern PA, MD, Northern VA, WA, OR, AK, Western ND will require $79 per hour. The rest at $68 per hour. The only caveat is that I'm seeing some California companies offer remote opportunities. I suppose they almost have to if they want the work done since so many people avoid living there at all costs. Imagine getting a California pay rate while living in Hannibal, Missouri where good single family homes sell for under $50K and your neighbors are likely to be senior citizens resulting in very little crime.

[Arbo]

Not to be rude, but please stay away from CO… UNLESS you are willing to spend time on your feet working to unseat the idiots on the front range that are fucking up this state. We need no more of their kind, or the kind that complains but doesn't work against them actively.

[tailfins]

Not to be rude, but please stay away from CO… UNLESS you are willing to spend time on your feet working to unseat the idiots on the front range that are fucking up this state. We need no more of their kind, or the kind that complains but doesn't work against them actively.

Regarding telling where to stay away from based on YOUR interests: Go fuck yourself.

[Arbo]

Regarding telling where to stay away from based on YOUR interests: Go fuck yourself.

Yeah, fuck me because I am the ONLY person that has ever put their own interests above others on this forum. :rolleyes:

Somebody isn't living in reality….

[tailfins]

Yeah, fuck me because I am the ONLY person that has ever put their own interests above others on this forum. :rolleyes:

Somebody isn't living in reality….

When I catch them and it involves me, I shove it right back down their throat like I just did to you.

[aboutime]

One thing is very certain. With the New Year just around the corner.

WE ALL LIVE IN THE SAME....."STATE" OF CONFUSION."

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest hasn't got a thing on being a citizen of this SCREWED-UP nation ALL OF US VOTED FOR.

[Nukeman]

I would like to thank all who replied. My posted resume this Spring with location listed as "United States" will tell a huge story. I don't intend to pursue responses from NY, NJ, CA, IL or HI. Responses from CT, MA, RI, DE, Eastern PA, MD, Northern VA, WA, OR, AK, Western ND will require $79 per hour. The rest at $68 per hour. The only caveat is that I'm seeing some California companies offer remote opportunities. I suppose they almost have to if they want the work done since so many people avoid living there at all costs. Imagine getting a California pay rate while living in Hannibal, Missouri where good single family homes sell for under $50K and your neighbors are likely to be senior citizens resulting in very little crime.
You left off a very good state!! Indiana is in the black surrounded by a a sea of red states. The cost of living is VERY nice here with the median cost of a house at $175,000.00

Here is a nice site to look at for Indiana.. http://www.homes.com/Home-Prices/IN/

The IT growth in Indiana is very good as well as Technical and engineering. Should at least check it out, even though we are "fly over country"

[Arbo]

When I catch them and it involves me, I shove it right back down their throat like I just did to you.

What you actually did was not see the humor in the post, but that is understandable. And no, you shoved nothing, as 99% of posts are people talking about things, and discussing things as they matter to them, not to you. So you need to wake up and get over yourself.

[glockmail]

New England is on a downward trend. Massachusetts, the cornerstone of the NE economy has seen its unemployment rate creeping up over most of the year. When this current gig is over in the next 6-12 months, I'm considering a big move, but the question is where. Perhaps in a few months I will post my resume online with my location listed as "United States". CA, NY, NJ and IL are out of the question, of course. Only a gig paying a boatload more than I'm making now would keep me in Southern New England. ME, NH and VT have pay rates 35+% lower than Southern New England. I hear IT pay rates are in the basement back in FL and also in TX, however that can be overcome by a "right place at the right time" scenario. Back in 2006, I lucked into six figures in central Florida, but that is pretty rare. If no job is waiting for me, MN, UT or CO may be good choices. My wife's cousin who lives near Dallas thinks even at half pay, TX is a better deal than RI.

I faced this decision 18 years ago. My main source of information was a book called "Places Rated". I used it not for the ratings but for the geographical information, as well as the rating methodology, using my own weights for the categories that my wife and I thought were important. Today with the internet there are likely better sources.

Our kids were nearing school age so their well-being was of primary importance. We limited ourselves to the east coast because my parents wintered in Florida and summered in Massachusetts, so we could see them twice/ year on their commutes.

Places Rated descriptions are on major metropolitan areas. We eliminated several because they were either college or resort towns, and therefore with transient populations, and less stable. We also eliminated huge metro areas, since we both found them to be stifling.

We found that the school system ratings were very unreliable. So instead gave high ranks to areas that had a higher percentage of private schools. This proved to be an excellent strategy because the public schools have an incentive to compete, and if they suck, there are plenty of private schools to send the kids anyway.

Real estate taxes were a major weighted category for us since we like being home, but also financially since home ownership is the most common means of amassing wealth for middle class folks.

A diverse economy was very important, as well as a growing one.

Places rated gave importance to number of public radio stations, and we eliminated that altogether because who the fuck cares? :laugh:

After 17 years in our selected locale I'm confident that we made the right decision.

[glockmail]

You might take a look at VA as well. Reasonable pay vs. Cost-of-Living, and because of the military bases about, we don't get slapped so bad when the economy goes up or down, seeing as the military is pretty much a constant.

VA is a good state except for its proximity to DC, which pollutes it. Also the capital is on the coast, far away from much of its population. The ideal state has the capital city smack in the middle.

[tailfins]

You left off a very good state!! Indiana is in the black surrounded by a a sea of red states. The cost of living is VERY nice here with the median cost of a house at $175,000.00

Here is a nice site to look at for Indiana.. http://www.homes.com/Home-Prices/IN/

The IT growth in Indiana is very good as well as Technical and engineering. Should at least check it out, even though we are "fly over country"

My parents were raised near Terre Haute. I don't know why I remember this, but when I was a kid, my parents stopped at a place called "Steer Inn" when we were traveling through Indy. Apparently, they are still in business:

http://www.steerin.net/


I have a cousin that lives in Clinton and is retired. He tells me the US-41 corridor is a jobs desert. Suburban Indy looks promising however. Do you know why people in the Wabash Valley have a Southern drawl? People from the Confederacy were forced onto trains and dropped off there. In a cemetery in Georgia, there's an account of a woman who walked back to Georgia from the Wabash Valley.