Where to move?

[LaFever]

My sister and her husband moved to Spain, cheap health care ,200 a month I
think they were D.I.N.K.s ,they are semi-retired ,they are not hunters though my B.I.L. loved to fish as a kid ,always wondered about moving to South America, was Argentina but they have political problems, maybe Uruguay, the Switzerland of South America

 

[mtwarden]

View attachment 710589

I’d love to see that map 30 years ago; guaranteed Montana wouldn’t be in the top five most expensive home price

 

[StuckInTheEast]

This is a major life decision you should be gathering information on somewhere other than this forum....and your gonna screw up the local dynamics and politics anywhere you move...and your future wife and kids will hate you and leave you for doing it...just to echo some of the sentiments I've gotten from a similar thread about going the opposite direction your thinking.

I'm joking obviously.

I'm sure your doing your homework and have been for some time if you've gotten to the point of poking around the forums for input.

To start I will echo what's been said a few times here though; high cost of living, mainly real-estate prices are going to be an issue anywhere that's desirable. That's a national thing that's not going away anytime soon. If there are plentiful decent paying job opportunities and a remotely tolerable climate, it's not going to be cheap.

For reference, I'm in southwest Ohio. We are in a higher demand area but far from any place ritzy. 3 bed 2 bath move in ready with a yard of any kind around here is $350-500k+...want 3-5 acres? add couple hundred grand to that.
Bare ground around here $25-35k an acre or more if closer to desirable town/city.

Crappy flipper/rental houses in crappy locations, 2 or 3 bed 1 bath, tiny yard no garage needing rehab are $100-130k or more the closer you get to desirable locations.

It's a terrible time to buy a house if you don't have to and don't already have something to sell that you have positive equity in to offset the cost.

While I can appreciate the desire and benefits to keeping your partner a stay at home parent, it's going to tough financially if your not earning the equivalent of two modest salaries yourself. I don't know what your fiance does, maybe I skipped over that detail, but even though they've dried up a bit I'm the last year or so a remote position from home is still attainable in many computers based fields if you have the experience and go on the hunt. My wife did exactly that while raising our 2 boys. However we were fortunate to have her parents close by to help fill in the gaps with child care. We still paid them when they helped, but alot less than regular day care. This is a huge part to factor into your thinking.
Personally I'm leary of the impact looming advances in AI are going to have on those types of jobs though so you'll have to evaluate that on your own merits.

I genuinely feel for folks in your position and I don't have any real solution to offer short of work harder and smarter than the next guy and manage your finances diligently.

My family is 10-12 years further down the timeline than you are so it's hard for me to try to step into your shoes especially as much as things have changed in the last 5 years.

Going east/south from where your at the winters aren't going to be an issue temperature/length wise...but they can be dreary, soggy and depressing in their own ways in the mid west.

Summers? It's a roller coaster, but it's humid for the most part all year. Something I despise after working outside in it for over 20 years, but sone folks don't mind it. It can be a shock to the senses vs the dry air out west. 75 with 85-100% humidity feels worse to me by far than 90-100+ with half or less the humidity.

There have been alot of places mentioned here. I would definitely recommend starting to take some trips and explore a few that catch your attention or where you see amble job listings in your field. That in and of itself can is tough and expensive, but I think worthwhile investment if your really serious.

Hunting wise, the midwest/south east has whitetail, turkeys, waterfowl and a whole lot less public ground available to do it on. Just like out west private ground to hunt is harder to come by every year and it's getting monetized into hunting leases more and more, albeit without as heavy of a guide/outfitter presence as western states.
Certainly plenty of outdoor recreation options, but a whole lot more people to contend with.

I wish you luck on where ever you end up. Feel free to reach out if any questions about southwest Ohio, south east Indiana or norther KY areas...I've lived or worked in them all my whole life.

 

[Stalker69]

Mexico, Cuba or Nicaragua should be about empty. They are all here, at least the " bad ones". If Kameltoe, wins they are going to keep coming, I might consider somewhere far away. Retirement is not to far off. Any body retire or spend alot of time in Costa Rica?

 

[Swamp Fox]

Mexico, Cuba or Nicaragua should be about empty. They are all here, at least the " bad ones". If Kameltoe, wins they are going to keep coming, I might consider somewhere far away. Retirement is not to far off. Any body retire or spend alot of time in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica has a lot going for it. Belize as well.

The prolllem is you'd be surrounded by creaky American malcontents pissin' and moanin' all day, and mostly severely lacking even any basic bowhunting or computer hacking skills ...

 

[Swamp Fox]

Jerry Jeff is one of my heroes.

He made life work for him, no matter where he was.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Me and my fiancé are looking to start our family soon, both of us being 28. Originally from PA but been living out west in MT for nearly a decade. The obvious spike in cost of living here over the past several years has us to the point where we can't afford to buy a house and rent isn't any better unless every dollar we make goes to the house. Currently we both work full time but when we have children we'd both prefer if she was a stay at home mom and she only work a few hours a week at a part time job if necessary, ultimately to avoid daycare costs and raise them the way we'd prefer.

With all of that being said I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on different states/towns to live in where there are jobs and a decently affordable cost of living? For background my work experience is in factory automation sales and as a manager of a manufacturing plant which I do currently. We have been looking at a lot of southeastern states including NC, TN, and AL in particular. I'm fine with humidity and my fiancé loves it hot. Also I know the hunting would be significantly different, but in MT I've lost all of my whitetail properties I had permission on to outfitters and elk hunting isn't what it used to be here. So my thinking is I'll have to try and keep a tight budget and just travel to go hunt several times a year. I also enjoy golf a lot so the southeast has a lot of benefits. Any opinions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated, just want to be somewhere that I can financially take care of my future family. Thank you!

If you decide that your wife is going to be a stay at home mom, you are going to limit yourself even more than you already are.

While staying at home and taking care of kids is a nice idea in theory, in practice, unless you make a very good income, you are going to be even more limited financiallly.

I know a guy who makes around 80k a year and his wife refuses to work. Because of this, the guy has to take a second and even a third job working evenings, weekends etc and they are still fairly broke by the time they pay their rent.

On the other side, I have a buddy who just had his second kid. They have been able to arrange childcare for like 70.00/day which allows him and his wife to work and while they aren’t rich, they bring in around 140k/year together and have been able to buy a home and drive newer vehicles, take trips etc.

I personally would never want to be in a situation where my wife wasn’t working and leaving 100k +/year on the table just so she can play with babies while I worked.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Obviously making more money than the next guy helps. But a nice home in some places could be $200k-$350k for 2-3 bed 2 baths on an acre or two meanwhile where I live you have to have over $450k minimum for a 650-1100 square foot dump with zero yard. Meanwhile wages here in Montana are not anywhere near able to afford that, more of the people buying these properties are the "other guy" from Texs, California, etc. who work remote or own multiple properties.

Yup. Where I live, every hose posted sells for over 500k within a week. These aren’t mansions either, just regular 2-3 bedroom places on an acre or 2 of land.

 

[Erebor]

Would love to retire to Hawaii.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Would love to retire to Hawaii.

Buy a place there now, use it as an air BB, get it paid off and retire there.

 

[Erebor]

Texas seems like a nice place to live, real estate price seems to be going up and this maybe a good time to buy.

 

[hunterjmj]

Lots of rural Montana is affordable. My wife has been at home for 11 years now and we've been able to make ends meet, buy property and build. We could possibly make more money if my wife worked but this works well for our family and our kids are at home with their mom during the day. I'd rather live rural with less money than live in a city with more money. Whatever you decide and wherever you move I wish you luck.

 

[flathead#2]

Some mentioned Costa Rica.
Hottest and most Humid place I'ver ever been
and still 3rd world IMO. Miserable.
Love it here on the Northern Gulf of MX. Oct-April.
The rest of the time it's that hot/humid matrix
and covered up with people from every other state
that lose their minds when they come to the beach.
If I were to move I'd prolly be in the Appalachians somewhere.

 

[Slamfire94]

Trust me on this. Madison, MS

Great hunting, Great Schools, Almost no crime and very affordable.

 

[Gobbler36]

Me and my fiancé are looking to start our family soon, both of us being 28. Originally from PA but been living out west in MT for nearly a decade. The obvious spike in cost of living here over the past several years has us to the point where we can't afford to buy a house and rent isn't any better unless every dollar we make goes to the house. Currently we both work full time but when we have children we'd both prefer if she was a stay at home mom and she only work a few hours a week at a part time job if necessary, ultimately to avoid daycare costs and raise them the way we'd prefer.

With all of that being said I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on different states/towns to live in where there are jobs and a decently affordable cost of living? For background my work experience is in factory automation sales and as a manager of a manufacturing plant which I do currently. We have been looking at a lot of southeastern states including NC, TN, and AL in particular. I'm fine with humidity and my fiancé loves it hot. Also I know the hunting would be significantly different, but in MT I've lost all of my whitetail properties I had permission on to outfitters and elk hunting isn't what it used to be here. So my thinking is I'll have to try and keep a tight budget and just travel to go hunt several times a year. I also enjoy golf a lot so the southeast has a lot of benefits. Any opinions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated, just want to be somewhere that I can financially take care of my future family. Thank you!

The southeast is also booming and gotten very expensive from west coast and northeast invaders. Good luck there isn’t many places to look at anymore

 

[Phaseolus]

Jerry Jeff is one of my heroes.

He made life work for him, no matter where he was.

I went to see him in concert once. He showed up two hours late stumbling drunk, broke a string in the second song and left the stage. Show over, big hero.

 

[bozeman]

If your wife can stay at home with your children until they start Kindergarten, do all you can to make it happen. Can’t put a price tag on it. Too many people putting $$ over parenting and you can see it in society. I’d not change a thing with this and our two kiddos. I hear it all the time about kids putting aging parents in nursing homes for others to care for when their parents did the same to them as babies in a daycare. (Off soapbox)

Family rearing and opportunities would weigh heavy on my decision on where to live.

 

[bojangles808]

Would love to retire to Hawaii.

I dono if you would like it. It gets pretty cold. Was 73 degrees this morning when i left for work

 

[Jaker_cc]

La Vernia, TX is nice and you can still buy here before property values skyrocket in the next 10 years. San Antonio is expanding SE and the toll road connects that area to Austin. It’s going to explode soon and you can hit a big kick by getting here now. The coast is 2 hrs away, and the duck hunting on our coast is great.

We would welcome more couples around our age to the area.

 

[dreamingWest]

It's tough out there. I don't have any good advice, but it made me reflect...
I was so lucky, when my wife got pregnant she found her first teaching job and they just happened to offer onsite inexpensive daycare. My first born just turned 12. What a blessing in hindsight. 12 years of salary for my wife and she spent every holiday with the kids. She was never more than 5 minutes away when they were toddlers. This world needs more good teachers! And schools with daycare!