I would like feedback from those who have lived in other states other than Montana (for sale, home)

[ejisme]

OP, You're still looking for places within commute distance of a large metro area, so you can advance your career? One with four seasons too? Would you be happy outside KC, Cleveland, Detroit, maybe Dayton, OH to be between Cleveland and Cincinnati?

[Cody01]

Originally Posted by ejisme

OP, You're still looking for places within commute distance of a large metro area, so you can advance your career? One with four seasons too? Would you be happy outside KC, Cleveland, Detroit, maybe Dayton, OH to be between Cleveland and Cincinnati?

Actually the cleveland area intrigues me because wv real estate is pretty low. Could do morgantown. Nice and forested area.

[Shuffler]

I was born in Cleveland but family moved when I was 2, so I don't remember much. Mom always made a point to emphasize how gloomy the Winters were. There's some beautiful countryside in rural Ohio and mountains somewhat close by in WV. Might be worth a trip to check things out sometime.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by Cody01

Actually the cleveland area intrigues me because wv real estate is pretty low. Could do morgantown. Nice and forested area.

Don't understand- you're thinking about living in WV and looking at the Cleveland area for work?

I've lived in both of the states, btw.

[Cody01]

Originally Posted by Threerun

Don't understand- you're thinking about living in WV and looking at the Cleveland area for work?

I've lived in both of the states, btw.

You are correct. I meant Cincinatti

[ericsvibe]

If you don't want to deal with bugs or snakes, you can forget about the entirety of the Southeast. I've lived in Florida, Alabama, and spent a considerable amount of time in Georgia and the surrounding states. Snakes, Roaches the size of hummingbirds, and Gators sum up the whole area. You can also forget about 4 seasons, unless those seasons are hurricane, tornado, pressure cooker, and ice storm.

The problem with the rust belt states is the fact that the major metropolitan areas are in serious decline, which is spilling over to the outside communities. This trend is only going to worsen. Right now, no one has the courage to address the issues. All that being said, I would still go the route of finding a job, and then going from there. Let that narrow down the list. Just jumping on cheap land can backfire if you arn't careful. I have a close friend that moved to Kentucky on a whim and is now going to take a huge hit when he sells. The property was cheap because the largest employer in the area was shutting down, now the bottom has fallen out of the market. His neighbors are horrible, shots have literally been fired already. They wanted to relocate from Montana to somewhere warmer and cheaper, they got both, but at a huge cost.

[Cody01]

Originally Posted by ericsvibe

If you don't want to deal with bugs or snakes, you can forget about the entirety of the Southeast. I've lived in Florida, Alabama, and spent a considerable amount of time in Georgia and the surrounding states. Snakes, Roaches the size of hummingbirds, and Gators sum up the whole area. You can also forget about 4 seasons, unless those seasons are hurricane, tornado, pressure cooker, and ice storm.

The problem with the rust belt states is the fact that the major metropolitan areas are in serious decline, which is spilling over to the outside communities. This trend is only going to worsen. Right now, no one has the courage to address the issues. All that being said, I would still go the route of finding a job, and then going from there. Let that narrow down the list. Just jumping on cheap land can backfire if you arn't careful. I have a close friend that moved to Kentucky on a whim and is now going to take a huge hit when he sells. The property was cheap because the largest employer in the area was shutting down, now the bottom has fallen out of the market. His neighbors are horrible, shots have literally been fired already. They wanted to relocate from Montana to somewhere warmer and cheaper, they got both, but at a huge cost.

Wow, makes it sound not so bad around here.

[ejisme]

I remember fishing with my son in Oklahoma City many years ago. We were on the floating dock in the pond/lake. Water Moccasins would pop their heads out of the water and hiss at us as they swam by. They couldn't seem to get up on that dock, so we felt safe, but I wouldn't want to fish from the shoreline!!!

We had a new construction house in OKC, so no roaches to start with. Had the window open before the builder came by and added the screens. Twice flying roaches came flying right in the kitchen window. It was interesting. Then about two years in the fire ants set up a colony in the back yard that we had to get rid of. First place I'd seen fireflies. They were pretty cool though.

Great Falls does have its charms. What eventually drove us out was how LONG the winter hangs on. Winter from Oct to Mar is fine, but then I want spring weather, and not just a random week here and there. Outside of Spokane might be a good slightly warmer option. The Willamette Valley in Oregon will hit your four seasons requirement. It's a damp fall, winter, spring, vs. cold, dark and windy. Plus, the Pacific Northwest is pretty much disturbing bug and snake free.

[Cody01]

Originally Posted by ejisme

I remember fishing with my son in Oklahoma City many years ago. We were on the floating dock in the pond/lake. Water Moccasins would pop their heads out of the water and hiss at us as they swam by. They couldn't seem to get up on that dock, so we felt safe, but I wouldn't want to fish from the shoreline!!!

We had a new construction house in OKC, so no roaches to start with. Had the window open before the builder came by and added the screens. Twice flying roaches came flying right in the kitchen window. It was interesting. Then about two years in the fire ants set up a colony in the back yard that we had to get rid of. First place I'd seen fireflies. They were pretty cool though.

Great Falls does have its charms. What eventually drove us out was how LONG the winter hangs on. Winter from Oct to Mar is fine, but then I want spring weather, and not just a random week here and there. Outside of Spokane might be a good slightly warmer option. The Willamette Valley in Oregon will hit your four seasons requirement. It's a damp fall, winter, spring, vs. cold, dark and windy. Plus, the Pacific Northwest is pretty much disturbing bug and snake free.

I really like the Post Falls area until things started getting too expensive.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by ejisme

I remember fishing with my son in Oklahoma City many years ago. We were on the floating dock in the pond/lake. Water Moccasins would pop their heads out of the water and hiss at us as they swam by. They couldn't seem to get up on that dock, so we felt safe, but I wouldn't want to fish from the shoreline!!!

We had a new construction house in OKC, so no roaches to start with. Had the window open before the builder came by and added the screens. Twice flying roaches came flying right in the kitchen window. It was interesting. Then about two years in the fire ants set up a colony in the back yard that we had to get rid of. First place I'd seen fireflies. They were pretty cool though.

Great Falls does have its charms. What eventually drove us out was how LONG the winter hangs on. Winter from Oct to Mar is fine, but then I want spring weather, and not just a random week here and there. Outside of Spokane might be a good slightly warmer option. The Willamette Valley in Oregon will hit your four seasons requirement. It's a damp fall, winter, spring, vs. cold, dark and windy. Plus, the Pacific Northwest is pretty much disturbing bug and snake free.

This is why I live where it's cold. Though the deer flies and mosquitoes can get pretty wicked.