Comments on: Would you move to save money?

By: Cara

Cara — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:37:59 +0000

Lynnae…Wow! You are my TWIN! I am a dreamer too! We’ve been here 6 years and I do still wonder “what if” at times. Thankfully, I have found a place of contentment with where I am, but it was hard for the first few years. We were so used to moving frequently (DH was military; now retired) and, frankly, if life seemed to get stale, it wouldn’t be terribly long before we could start over. ;oP Trust me, I hated the actual MOVING part of it. But, I always enjoyed living in a new place, sightseeing, meeting new people, etc. I especially enjoyed house-hunting. I still look at real estate sites and “dream” floorplans – just for fun!

By the way, we moved to this location BECAUSE of the low cost of living. We didn’t want to be in a situation where we felt that DH “had” to work to make ends meet. So, we picked an area where we could afford to live. I was intent on moving to VA, so we spent several years (pre-retirement) looking online to get a feel for where we could afford to live well without a post-retirment income. Well, this is it! LOL! By the way, we are about an hour from Mt. Airy. It’s a pretty cool town. Probably not the one I’d pick if I moved to NC (Yes, I have thought about it. And TN. And KY. LOL!), but it’s nice. My biggest “issue” with where we are is that we are a bit too far from a “real” city. It is an hour to Greensboro or Winston-Salem, NC. It’s also an hour to Roanoke, VA. That’s just a bit too far for stores like Costco, Michael’s, A.C. Moore, Target (and on and on) to be convenient. I can’t always follow the best deals because they wouldn’t be best deals after figuring in the cost of gas. On the other hand, we did find our “little patch of Heaven” on 10 acres and in a big house in rural Virginia for under $200, 000. So, it’s OK. :o)

Petersonclan – Our perspectives are VERY similar. Except DH now gets 1/3 of what he made. :o/ We could be making *GOOD* money right now (if he had not retired), but I was a Navy brat and he was an Air Force brat. I didn’t want our kids to never have roots, so I pushed for retirement. When I regret it, it is only for a moment. It is so wonderful to have a real home that is OURS and to be home with our 3 kids (whom we homeschool).

Steve – AWESOME post about Mt. Airy. Since I am fairly close, I will follow some of your links for ideas of things to do. Can you say, “field trip”. Haha!

Brandon – My DH spent almost half of his life living in Alaska. His dad was stationed there and, later, so was he. In fact, not long after we got married, DH got his law degree and we moved to Anchorage, because DH got back into the Air Force (as an officer) and was stationed at Elmendorf. I will say adamantly that I do NOT like cold weather and snow, but the laidback atmopshere and the sheer beauty of Alaska sold me. We had planned to retire there, and even owned property. But, we were vacationing in Alaska when 9/11 happened (we were due to fly out just after midnight on the 12th). We were stuck for 6 days and it REALLY made us think about how far away we were from our families, whom we had just been living NEAR for the first time in years. That, and the cost of living, (and the loss of value when the stock market crashed after 9/11) made us change our minds. But, we still do miss Alaska!

By: Kandy

Kandy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:57:09 +0000

Just the fact that Mississippi is first on your list is proof positive that you MUST move nearer to me ;)

By: southerngirl

southerngirl — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:24:10 +0000

I’ve actually been thinking a lot about this lately. I live in the DC area, too, and I think it’s a wonderful place to be – tehre are lots of career opportunities and great (FREE!) cultural goings on. DC is wonderful, on the one hand, but on the other, it’s SO expensive. I could move back home and instnatly cut my living expenses in half. That said, there’s the problem of maybe not having as much room for career growth back home or maybe not as plentiful jobs. I miss the South, but I don’t want to go back to making less. (The South? Beautiful by the way. And the food is amazing!) But do you need the more high paying job if you’re in a place where it’s possible for you to survive on much less? It’s such a complicated question.

By: Cliff

Cliff — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:24:38 +0000

If you did move to Texas, Austin would not be the place to move to save money. It is expensive to live there compared to the rest of Texas.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:03:54 +0000

I actually lived 1/2 hr away from Guntersville, AL for several years, and it is a beautiful place and fairly inexpensive. I also lived in TX for several years and went to Austin and San Antonio quite a few times. That area of TX is also a beautiful place, but it is getting more expensive every year.

To answer your question… I may, but it would have to be for more reasons than just inexpensive living. I grew up away from extended family, and I do not live near them now. I feel like I am missing out sometimes. My family is pretty spread out now, so it is not really an option just to pick up and move to be closer to them. I think family is very important, and am actually considering moving my wife and myself to a more expensive place (Chicago area) to be close to her family. I know that when we have children, it will be very important for us to be near family.

By: Thryah

Thryah — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:47:42 +0000

Heh, I’ve been reading your blog for just about two weeks now, and then I see this, I’ve gotta say, Hopkinsville, KY is a nice place to live. The area fits me perfectly, though it isn’t perfect by a long shot. Just thought it was ironic that your blog says this, and another finance blog i read is by a student at a college near here. The connections I keep finding are amazing.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:00:50 +0000

Well the housing market here is really great if you’re looking to buy but like I said the job market isn’t too hot.
Jobs are better paying around the Austin area but housing is much higher. However if you’re self-employed and can live anywhere – this is it!

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:19:16 +0000

No, I would never consider moving unless we were called to move for some reason, and I would hope we would move closer to family. The cost of living is high where I live too, but we are already settled here, and the cost of selling our house, and then moving is pretty high too.

Plus, you can’t buy great friends and long lasting relationships!!

By: Ben C

Ben C — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:05:42 +0000

YES, come to North Cakalaki, it’s great! Although we’re in the midst of a drought. Just didn’t get the usual hurricane this year. The “Triangle” (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) is a great place to live and is reasonably affordable. Lots of high-tech, university, and health-care jobs here too. I love my church too (shout out to Hillsong Church in Chapel Hill!)
Send me an email if you want more info from an insider…

By: Money Blue Book

Money Blue Book — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:02:48 +0000

I’m from the D.C. suburban area. Washington D.C. would definitely welcome you!

But if those cities/towns you lsited are your choices, then D.C. might not be your best choice. D.C. is a mixture of urban/suburb/government. Seems like you would prefer a more laid back, country style, more right leaning red-state like that in the south or midwest.

D.C./Maryland/Northern Virginia is very blue/liberal government dominated area.

Just a bit of insight!

-R