Relocation question for Washington State residents, please...?
It sort of depends on the work you want to do. There's a lot of manufacturing done in Tacoma, and a lot of corporate work in Seattle. Housing is cheapest, and also roomiest, the farther out in the sticks (east) you go. Think out past Kent or Renton, which puts you smack in between Seattle and Tacoma, but a little east. The freeway system is pretty good, so as long as you live near one, you're never more than a half hour to an hour (depending on traffic) from either city. The last time I looked, a three bedroom house with a 1/4 acre yard was renting for about $1200, but that was a year ago, so it may have changed a little since then. To ease the commute, there's also a light-rail system called the Sounder that runs from Tacoma to Seattle at fairly regular intervals and works great. The busses are pretty good inside the cities, but not much help getting into or out of them. Personally, I find Seattle to be the much more vibrant city, with a solid theatre scene, constant community events (check out Bumbershoot, Bite of Seattle, and Seafair!), better shopping, great nightlife(pioneer square), and sports. I might be biased on that though... and Tacoma is nice too. I hope this helps, let me know if there's anything more specific you'd like to know!
My family and I are wanting to move to the Houston area, I need a job?
I would target mostly Ft. Bend County. The County encompasses South Katy, Sugarland, and Richmond/Rosenburg. Each of these areas are family friendly w/ great schools and alot of houses & apartments for rent. Further they are building houses and shopping centers like MAD in theses areas - so carpentry/construction work is abundant. What's more - both Katy ISD and Fortbend ISD are growing and hiring like mad - when you finish your teaching certification. Check the Houston housing market MLS - www.har.com Check local schools at - www.greatschools.net VERY IMPORTANT - While looking at schools check the "student stats" area of each school. There is one bit of information that will tell you if that area is good or not - the percentage of children who qualify for free lunch. If the percentage is low - the area is nice. My husband and I are likely re-locating from Katy to Las Vegas and this one "stat" has been invaluable to pointing us to the right area of a city we have never even seen!
doesn’t look like many of the answers took into account you’ll be making 100,000/yr. sorry to say, that’s just above the poverty line in nyc and it’s outer boroughs especially if you’re want to experience anything close to a suburban feel.you can’t touch a “house” in park slope for <2,000,000. bay ridge may be a little less costly but not by much … bayside, douglaston, etc is possible but it will not feel anything like a midwestern suburb.there’s no more undiscovered areas in ny … if you want to be a pioneer in a yet to gentrify area there’s still an occasional deal to be had but even those are few and far between … and you can forget your “target” lifestyle. coming from the midwest you prob have no idea what you’re signing up for if you move to east ny, midwood or even besonhurst. you most def not be in kansas anymore!you’re best bet is to give up the idea of a 45 min commute to soho - cost increases with proximity. the farther you’re willing to travel the less it will cost for housing. if you’re willing to commute over 3hr / day - and lots of people do- there’s many very nice, still affordable areas north of the city … peekskill is an up and coming area if still a little sketchy in spots, harriman and north like middlwtown, goshen, florida are all very nice with affordable housing, there’s towns in connecticut like branford & madison but you’re really looking at very, very long daily commutes.sorry.
As others have mentioned, it all depends...That being said, I will make an unabashed push for Kichijoji as being the best place to live. It is located at the joining of two lines (Chuo and Inokashira lines), meaning you have direct access to Shinjuku through to Tokyo station as well as Shibuya. Being outside the Yamanote line, the prices are much more reasonable than actually being in a place such as Shinjuku, but you are only marginally farther away. The neighborhood is youthful and hip, with a large number of cool cafes, bars, and restaurants. Additionally, just south of Kichijoji station is a Inokashira park, which is a fantastic place to enjoy on the weekends, as it features a craft/art market and you can also find a 60 year old man playing bluegrass on a slide guitard, a man doing dramatic readings of manga, and so much more. Of course, it is all up to personal taste, but Kichijoji has been consistently rated as the #1 place to live in Tokyo for some time, and I am in full agreement with this. Just go and I think you will see that there's something about the atmosphere that is just right.
Thinking about moving to seattle or nearby. I want some info and opinions?
Well Hillcrest is the gay neighborhood in SD so that's a place you'd obviously want to consider; it's cooll area with tons of bars, restuarants,stores, ect.. you can walk to and it's pretty central and close to downtown, Mission Valley, beaches, Old Town, ect... Also some neighborhoods around it too might be a little cheaper like North Park, Normal Heights, and South Park, University Heights. Banker's Hill and Mission Hills are also close and a little nicer. You should easily be able to find a nice one bedroom for under $1400. Also check out downtown, there might be some deals on some newer condos in high rises you can get a place for that much. All those areas should have decent one bedrooms for that price. Job market is pretty good but my impression is the advertising and entertainment industry is bit more competitive so you'll need a good resume and experiance. There seems to be a decent amount of non profits to choose from. The job market here is good althought the pay scale doesnt tend to match the cost of living as much as other cities; it's good pay but should be higher overall. SD is one of the safest big cities in the nation so crime really isnt an issue except in the ghetto and near the border. Traffic isn't too bad except for Northern SD County; central SD has a lot of freeways and congestion isn't that bad compared to other places.
I'm considering moving to Houston, TX?
I used to live in Chicagoland and moved to Houston in 1991. The job opportunities in Houston should generally match or exceed most metropolitan areas in America. Of 329 metropolitan areas, Houston almost certainly ranks in the top 30 for employment and economic opportunity. Houston is quite comparable to Chicago in many respects. Chicago's winter is remarkably colder than Houston's. Houston's summer is generally much hotter than Chicago's. The cost of living in Houston is one of the lowest in the USA - especially for a major urban area. Housing is affordable...and people almost certainly can spend less on clothes in Houston...there's no winter to dress for down here! Mass transit in Houston is inferior to mass transit in Chicago. People in Texas spend more on automobile-based transportation than most other states. We drive greater distances because of the sheer size of our state. That having been said, a person can live within one of Houston's many excellent neighborhoods and have a more-focused territory. Coming from Chicago, you should consider living "Inside the Loop" in Houston...within the area contained by the Interstate Highway, Loop 610. Look for housing within a 1/4 mile radius of a light-rail train stop...you will have easy, car-free access to 2 HUGE employment centers...Downtown and the Medical Center. When light-rail expands, you will gain access to a third major employment center...Greenway Plaza. Downtown offers plenty to do...as does the Museum District. Check out Rice Village and the Uptown/Galleria area. Houston is a welcoming city...it is a warm, friendly culture...the town is actually small once you get to know your way around. I give Houston a thumbs up! Do your research, land a job, move down, and get involved with the community here!
Is the weather humid in San Francisco or dry like Los Angeles ?
I wouldn't characterize the difference in weather between SF and LA being the humidity. The two cities are very different because Los Angeles' weather is more desert/tropical like. LA rarely gets rain and it tends to get dry and hot during summer (like the desert) and stays relatively warm during winters (which is more like tropical weather). San Francisco is a whole other ballpark. For one it's windy as hell in SF constantly (especially near Golden Gate Bridge) whereas LA rarely gets super windy. It also gets very foggy in SF depending on the day and time of year. It rarely gets foggy in LA compared with SF. San Francisco also tends to stay cooler year round than LA by a good measure, rarely getting into the 80's or 90's. I'd say the humidity is relatively the same for both cities. There really isn't a huge difference between the two because they are both located so close to the ocean. The big difference is that LA is closer to the equator so it's a bit warmer. Regarding Judge Judy's comment that it's never humid in San Francisco, it only feels that way because the temperatures are always cool. The only time you notice it's humid is when it gets hot because then it gets uncomfortable.
I moved from San Mateo to San Ramon recently, I miss city life a tad bit but then I get a lot of other perks that I cannot just now live without, few things that I liked or cant do now without are -As others have mentioned, great schools in Bollinger Area, Windemere, Gale Ranch have access to great schools. Windemere has a fair amount of property tax though. My daughter’s young but will have access to good schools is a good choice IMO. Lot of Asians think about schools in academic sense, but if in our case if it happens that our daughter starts pressuring herself, we’d move - thats what we have thought. I want my kid to grow holistically, learn about things that we couldn’t as a kid.San Ramon has - access to some of the best trails - theres a trail about 2 miles from my home which I use everyday, its a 10 mile loop with 1200+ ft elevation gains, great ridge peaks, overlooks vast horizon of Contra Costa valley; Access to really awesome parks, really amazing trail weather all year round. For those who like to Run, Hike and are outdoorsy - like biking, things are available for us all year round! that is definitely a benefit that cannot be forgotten.San Ramon and most east bay is very doable drive to Tahoe and other attractions - again similar attraction to above. Chance to go skiing easily.Good sane quiet life, fresh air but proximity to SFO, takes about 40 min from BART Pleasanton, CA and about 15 min to BART from my place - not bad if you consider how mountainous, how gorgeous it is around.Decent Crime stats, I suggest you take a look at Windemere, and other parts of San Ramon, check with local PD and consult sites like Neighborhood scout to see how crime state is - you wont be disappointed.Some people from some parts of Asia prefer warm conditions, they like Sun all year round (I am not one of them for sure), San Ramon gets a lot of Sun in my opinion, also gets a bit hot in summers - I have seen 115 F here!
You can live a very good life in St. Louis, whether you live in the surrounding counties or a nice part of the city. However, St. Louis is a city that is very much a bubble, and every neighborhood is understood and perceived differently. And when I say its a bubble, it truly is; the first question you are typically asked by someone native to St. Louis is “where did you go to high school?” because St. Louisans really love to find connections with each other—no matter how insignificant they may prove to be.Still, many people living in the county simply stay away from the city, so there are social/economic divides that can be found fairly easily. Notably, the city is quite liberal while the larger counties are strongly conservative. The economies, therefore function quite differently, but St. Louis in general is an inexpensive area. The cost of living is definitely manageable and there are jobs to be found, though St. Louis doesn’t boast a large tech industry or anything of that matter; the workforce is standard with the wealthy finding themselves in real estate or high-end business and the middle class in trade jobs or management.On a different note, St. Louis is thought to be unpredictable in terms of weather by the natives. By typically, the seasons follow expectations—cold winter, hot summer, warm spring, cool fall. It does storm more in St. Louis than most places, but it is actually pretty nice.Sports are also a huge part of St. Louis culture. The Cardinals attract one of the best fan bases in baseball, and while unfortunately, the Rams left town, Blues fans are nothing to mess with.There is great food and entertainment to be found in St. Louis. The Hill has some of the best Italian food in the region and Soulard is a great nightlife destination. There are actually a lot of different night life destinations in St. Louis, though some areas are understandably dangerous.Lastly, St. Louis has a lot of solid education opportunities. The public schools in the counties are quite good, though the city schools are far behind. As for higher education, Washington University, Mizzou, and St. Louis University are the premier campuses in the state. Nevertheless, there are so many other great programs available at other private and state schools.Hopefully that can paint a good picture for you, coming from someone living in the southern county of St. Louis.