Don't move my cheese....

Jessa617

...or do?

I admit it. I am scared of change. I am willing to stay at a job making crap money with no chance of getting a raise or advancement any time soon because I like the people. DH has brought up, once again, moving out of state. I am not opposed to it, I am just scared.

H is very picky about everything, even finding a 2br apartment around here is trouble enough, how are we going to find a state that we (he) like(s)? So far his one criteria has been No Recluse Spiders. He hates all things creepy crawly, especially those that can do some serious damage.

So now I am left to research places to move... I don't know where to begin, so I thought the next best thing is go to my favorite board and find out from all of you why I should live in your state. Important things to me (as they are for anybody) is low cost of living and fairly good employment scene. H is jack of all trades (mostly labor-wise) and I do inside sales/office/veterinary work.

kmbryant2413

Texas has a great economy, cheap places to live, and a ton of stuff to do/cultural activites/outdoor activies. Especially  the mteros - Dallas, Austin, San An, Houston... but we have recluse spiders. So I guess we're out!

harper0813

St. Louis has a really affordable cost of living and I haven't seen any crazy spiders around here. Southern Missouri (we're right in the middle, on the eastern border) has tarantulas, but they're in forests and whatnot. Just a fun fact.

Milwaukee is really awesome too, and also affordable, but I feel like Milwaukee has an inordinate number of daddy long-legs.

bunni727

Kentucky's out. We have spiders. And house centipedes. And freakishly huge crickets.

My part of the state is fairly coal-dependant, so our economy is struggling pretty hard. We're also the 3rd most stressed state.

We do have a low COL, though.

Goodness, on paper it sounds like this place sucks. H and I do like it here for some reason. Three of the best small towns in the US are in KY. And we have bourbon.

Jessa617

Linger you've never wanted to move? You've never once thought about living somewhere else? MA is a little ridiculous at times and I understand no state is perfect and every one of them has its flaws.

Neither of us have degrees or specialized careers, so job searching ahead of time in multiple states would be quite the task. I'd rather find an area that we like first, then search for jobs (while still living in MA).

And no, not just any state. I don't want to live in any of the New England states (NH, ME, VT etc). Definitely don't want to live in Michigan or anywhere that has worse winters than us.

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]Texas has a great economy, cheap places to live, and a ton of stuff to do/cultural activites/outdoor activies. Especially  the mteros - Dallas, Austin, San An, Houston... but we have recluse spiders. So I guess we're out!
Posted by kmbryant2413[/QUOTE]

Texas was the first thing I suggested to H and he goes "hell no! They have recluse spiders!". He watches too much "infested".

lyndausvi

I'm with LL, this is odd.

No recluse spiders?  Really?  You know most states have some sort of creepy crawly animals right?

It's hard to take someone seriously when their criteria are no recluse spiders.    Most people want LCOL, low unemployement, lots of jobs in their field, warm weather, close to family, 

KeptInStitches

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : My criteria is MANY recluse spiders, venomous snakes, HCOL, high unemployment, few jobs in my field, and as cold as it gets.  Can anyone sell me on their state?
Posted by LingerLonger1[/QUOTE]

North Dakota's got rattlers, HCOL in the western part of the state (but it's spreading east), and freezes for an average of 7 months a year. Can't sell you on high unemployment, generally, and I don't think we have any recluse spiders.

Jessa617

I can research states online in a statistic saturated article. You really can't go by that. I know this because there was an article out recently that listed a town near me as a great place to live because it looks good on paper. I know that town personally and it's not exactly a town I would recommend to anyone.

Thus, personal experiences make it easier to learn more about any state. I really don't see the confusion here.

Lynda- I did mention low cost of living and employment opportunities. A second post mentioning I didn't want harsh winters.

I don't find it odd that recluse spiders is on my criteria list. H has an extreme phobia to them and there are a lot of states that don't have them.

J&K10910

HE brought it up. HE is the one that is hard to please. Why are YOU doing the legwork??

J&K10910

And I get wanting to move but not being sure where. But haven't you traveled to places you might want to move to? Why don't you start there? You're not planning on planning a cross country move to an area you've never been, are you?

lyndausvi

I'm sorry but to not consider the big state of Texas with their LCOL, low unemployement, no income tax because of brown recluse spiders is silly. 

It's not like they all over the place.  I've lived in brown recluse states for years and have only seen one.

Jessa617

In Response to Re:Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]HE brought it up. HE is the one that is hard to please. Why are YOU doing the legwork??
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

Simply put- I have the time.

Jessa617

In Response to Re:Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]And I get wanting to move but not being sure where. But haven't you traveled to places you might want to move to? Why don't you start there? You're not planning on planning a cross country move to an area you've never been, are you?
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

No, when we find an area that looks like it would be a good fit, we would obviously visit the area and stay a few days to check it out. I've only ever lived in Florida and MA and have visited very few states. He's lived in Las Vegas and MA and visited very few states. We don't vacation much. Instead of taking multiple trips depleting our savings, I'd rather find a state that has what we are looking for first, then visit.

Jessa617

I should have worded my OP a little differently, I see that now.

MoonlightSilver

As someone who moved out of the Boston area, just stay there. 

Then again, this is coming from someone who's career choice only has employeers in the big cities (Boston, NYC, DC) and moved into suburb CT. So I went from low-wage Boston job to lower-wage CT job and unpaid internship. So, take with a grain of salt. 

lennonkdc

Let me tell you about Cleveland, OH- Low COL, great food scene, great music scene, TONS of out door stuff to do, good labor market, walkable suburbs with farmers markets, festivals and Shakespeare in the Park all summer long. Plus the winters are less harsh then MA- all those blizzards the NE got this winter, they skipped us  

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]Let me tell you about Cleveland, OH- Low COL, great food scene, great music scene, TONS of out door stuff to do, good labor market, walkable suburbs with farmers markets, festivals and Shakespeare in the Park all summer long. Plus the winters are less harsh then MA- all those blizzards the NE got this winter, they skipped us  
Posted by lennonkdc[/QUOTE]

Ohio was actually one state I was considering.

Others are Colorado and Arkansas. I have one friend that lives in Fayetteville and has nothing but good things to say about that area.

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]As someone who moved out of the Boston area, just stay there.  Then again, this is coming from someone who's career choice only has employeers in the big cities (Boston, NYC, DC) and moved into suburb CT. So I went from low-wage Boston job to lower-wage CT job and unpaid internship. So, take with a grain of salt. 
Posted by MoonlightSilver[/QUOTE]

Funny, you're not the first person to say that! I pretty much have a low-wage job as it is.

AddieCake

I lived in TX for 13 years and never saw a single brown recluse and only saw one scorpion.  Just throwing that out there to remind you not to count out places just b/c they "have ____." There are always going to be pros and cons to every place, and some things just shouldn't be the deal breaker in my opinion. 

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]I lived in TX for 13 years and never saw a single brown recluse and only saw one scorpion.  
Posted by AddieL73[/QUOTE]

So it seems like they're not exactly out and about galivanting around. This is good to know.

J&K10910

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : So it seems like they're not exactly out and about galivanting around. This is good to know.
Posted by Jessalyn2013[/QUOTE]

Do you know what the word "recluse" means, by any chance?  I'd imagine they're named that for a reason.

MoonlightSilver

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : Funny, you're not the first person to say that! I pretty much have a low-wage job as it is.
Posted by Jessalyn2013[/QUOTE]

I don't think moving will improve that much. Remember that a lot of places have lower minimum wages than NE area. Their cost of living is lower too, so it might work out in your favor, but I think personally it'd be a shock the first few months.

Maggie0829

Well you won't want to come to MD.  High COL, low employment opportunities (seeing that many of our employment opportunities are government, well in the central part anyways) and high taxes.  Hell the governor just put into effect a rain run off tax.  That's right.  We get taxed $32 each year because it rains.  Oh yeah, my state is awesome!

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : Do you know what the word "recluse" means, by any chance?  I'd imagine they're named that for a reason.
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]


Like I mentioned before, H watches too many "infested" shows where they are literally everywhere. Surely those are extremely rare occurrences, but it still burns an image in his brain that they must be everywhere in the areas they can be found.

Jessa617

In Response to Re:Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]Do not move to Florida. We're full up of people and the brown recluse spiders ain't so reclusive. Had one come out the other day asking if I had a cup of flies it could borrow.
Posted by EllaYoung[/QUOTE]

Really? I never noticed them, I just remember the fire ants. Holy hell my feet were always getting attacked. Why my father never told me to wear shoes is beyond me.

I actually don't want to move to Florida. I remember the struggles my dad had there and wouldn't want to run into the same problems. I used to live in Lakeland.
The good thing about FL is that if we ever thought about it, I do have family I could stay with before making any decisions.

lyndausvi

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : Ohio was actually one state I was considering. Others are Colorado and Arkansas. I have one friend that lives in Fayetteville and has nothing but good things to say about that area.
Posted by Jessalyn2013[/QUOTE]

You know Arkansas is in the middle of recluse map right?

Sorry, I had to mention that to you.

I've moved a bunch of times.  Sometimes sight unseen.  Sometimes because I wanted to live in the that area.  Sometimes because that is where the job was. It can be scary, but it doesn't have to be permanent.   

daveANDkristen

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : Do you know what the word "recluse" means, by any chance?  I'd imagine they're named that for a reason.
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

This made me LOL.

OP, I've only ever lived in MO, mostly St. Louis and a little Kansas City.  I think both are great cities to live in and I would recommend that you spend a few days here to check us out.  You could fly to either city and take a 4.5 hour train ride to the other.  LCOL, winters are sometimes mild, sometimes quite cold (though rarely below 20 F), spring and fall are gorgeous, summers are hot.  If you want any specific info about places to check out, let me know.

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]Don't move to any of the states in red.  That's where recluse spiders can be found.
Posted by LingerLonger1[/QUOTE]

I truly appreciate your humor. This made me laugh.

Jessa617

In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese....:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Don't move my cheese.... : But it wasn't mean to be funny.  That's really where Recluse Spiders live.  I Googled it.
Posted by LingerLonger1[/QUOTE]

My fingers work faster than my brain... I meant to add to my post "Thanks for the info".

ETA: I enjoy your sense of humor in general.

J&K10910

But there is hardly any FLorida in that map, AND SOMEONE SAID THERE WERE RECLUSE SPIDERS IN FLORIDA.

I'd like to see your sources, please.