Jared finishes his graduate program next summer and will be gainfully employable as a Physician Assistant. (Hip hip hooray!) The cool thing about his career is that PAs are needed just about everywhere. This puts us in a lucky position of being able to choose where we would like to live. Our families are both from Ohio and aside from his 2 year mission in Brazil and my two years of college in Utah, we have always lived here. We love Ohio (most of the time) and we love living close to our families (most of the time), so chances are we'll end up sticking around. However, we can't help but wonder if there is something we are missing somewhere else (I'm thinking mild, sunny winters) and by choosing to stay in Ohio we are missing what might be our last great opportunity to pack our bags and experience something new before our kids get older and we get settled comfortably right here. Anyway, it is something we have been thinking a lot about lately and we have been all over the map: from Alaska to Virginia, from Texas to North Carolina, from Idaho to Michigan. So, I'm posing the question to you - If you could live anywhere in the United States, where would it be and why? Perhaps it is the city where you are currently living, the state where you grew up or a place you frequently visit for vacation. Don't forget to include the why- I'd like to know the reasoning behind your choice (good schools, close to family, low cost of living, great weather etc.) Okay. Ready, set, go!(United States pin map from here.)
12 comments:
How exciting! and nerve-racking!
Philadelphia would LOVE to have you...and I think they're building a new Temple in the city!!!! To be quite honest, it would just be out of selfishness that I would recommend you move here b/c I'd love for you to be my neighbor. It is a great area though, close to NYC, DC/Baltimore, the mountains, and the ocean (all within 2 hrs depending on where you live) But....there is a TON of traffic and congestion and the cost of living or at least home buying is pretty high.
I know Nicolette loves Charlotte and I love visiting here there, not sure about kid related stuff there (schools, etc). Plus they have the super humid summer thing going on there. Maybe you should head to the southwest? You have family there too. You should also consider Virginia. It's not as far south, plenty of outdoor stuff, and depending on what area, maybe not as crowded as it is in my area.
Boy, that wasn't helpful at all. Hahaha. Good luck!!
i think Branson Missouri sounds interesting. There is a decent LDS population but you wont be surrounded. Its super family friendly and clean cut. plus I would visit you there...Good luck!
hi kim! starting fresh is exciting, kind of like running away together! shaun and I talk about where we would go. we started off with hawaii cuz we are both beach bums. he misses the mountains and free parking in utah (here in england you have to pay for parking at some grocery stores and parks!) we have family all over the place. i love the east coast. good luck kim! xx
Out of pure selfishness..and in all honesty...I think you should move to TEXAS! Because we love you guys and the housing market is fair (REALLY nice foreclosure down the street from our house), you can get to the ocean farily quickly, if Jared wanted to pursue even deeper into medicine than there are plenty of schools, Caroline and Roslynne could be the best of friend cousins and... OH YEAH and we want you here. Did I mention that? OH..and shopping and food and it's Texas. WhodudintluvTexas?
Come to Texas!! How fun that you get to choose! We sure wish we could have. But only one job means only one destination. We are happy with Texas. It could have been worse. One of the job applications was in Delaware. We kept thinking we could send out "Waynes World" cards saying "We're in Delaware" And that was about the only positive thing we could come up with :) My goal was to move somewhere we could be a days drive away from our parents. But alas, we are now further than we used to be. Brandon hates the cold, and didn't want to live on a coast, so we had wished for AZ, CO, even NM. Have fun and can't wait to see where you end up!
Not Louisiana...we definitely will not live for much longer.
For me it would be Texas too. Mostly because my family is there, but also cost of living, good economy, good schools, good family values and community. I loved growing up there and would totally raise my family there.
We also loved Ohio. Good luck and congrats!
congrats kim! such fantastic news.
considering i don't have a family to worry about, i'm always thinking about where i'd like to live next. cities/states that are high on my list are portland, michigan, washington, iowa, and maine. they're chosen mostly for climate and landscape.
moving is always exciting--the rush of living somewhere completely new, exploring neighbourhoods, and making it your own.
good luck in the search/decision!
Seattle...all the way!
Kim, I know you well enough to know that you should be looking for the average number of sunny days per year! (No matter where it is.)
(BTW Albuquerque has an average of 285-- I'm just sayin')
Also you might want to choose a city with a temple, a university and decent schools.
Hmmm, Idaho does have MANY sunny, days, and not much rain, but does still have 4 distinct seasons, no humidity and moderate temps (Have I got you yet??). Twin has a Temple, and although I wouldn't say the schools are exceptional, you do have some options--besides, most of a child's success has to do with parent involvement anyway. We like it here--the people are great and there are tons of great recreational areas not too far away. (Yellowstone is only a 3 hr drive). We in Idaho are rooting for you...good luck with your decision!
I loved ID for school but something about so many of my fellow mormons isn't in my comfort zone. (Except Marnae variety...sorry Marnae.) :) I think TX is very appealing. Conservative, friendly people, God fearing, I don't know...this summer when I drove through it I left wanting to learn more about it.
Michigan's pretty, but I don't know anything else about it?
Hey Kim!
I didn't know Jared was going into the medical field, that's great!
I'm adding my 2 cents a little late, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyways! I love Ohio for the green factor, but we decided to move to the Northwest when residency ends. There are far fewer bugs to deal with out there, and no humidity. If you're like me, you might want to spend a lot of summer outside gardening, but it's so unpleasant out here I decided to wait till we move! We get ticks, fleas, centipedes, hornets, horseflies, cicadas, EVERYTHING here! I miss relaxing outside with a blue sky!
We're thinking about being close to a temple, an airport, and family. I'd rather not be in Utah--too saturated, ya know? But all the other NW states are in the running for us.
Good luck! I'm excited to hear where you end up!
Post a Comment