You must have been down around the Houston or coastal areas, as not all of Texas is humid. Check out the West Texas area, and the Panhandle, both areas are very dry, I live in the Panhandle. The Dallas area is not too humid, not as dry as the Panhandle, but I could live there, and I don't care for the humidity either.
Pittsburgh
Winters are cold and dreary (though nowhere near as bad as Western NY), spring comes early, and summers are hot and humid (but not that bad).
Cost of living is fairly low. My girlfriend and I share a large two bedroom apartment in a huge complex with a pool, fitness trail, volleyball and tennis courts, and a small fitness room. Rent is $690/mo. Insurance is cheap, gas is cheap (compared to most of the rest of the country), groceries are fairly reasonable; electricity is among the most expensive in the country, but has gone down since deregulation.
CMU and Pitt are the best known universities, and within an easy drive from downtown there's Duquesne, Carlow, Robert Morris, LaRoche, and at least a few more. There's also a decent (and cheap) community college.
Healthcare is outstanding, with several hospitals consistently ranked among the top in the nation. Health plans seem to be less expensive and cover more.
Broadband options are excellent. Unless you're out in BFE, you'll have at least one option. I live in a low density township, and I can choose between DSL through two different telcos (and a multitude of local and national ISPs) and cable through Comcast. Average cost seems to be around $50/mo.
Jobs are plentiful. If someone is unemployed in Pittsburgh, they're either unemployable, looking in the wrong places, or just don't know how to find a job. Salaries are low (especially in IT), but that is offset by the low cost of living.
The city is an easy drive from most of the suburbs, though traffic (especially around tunnels and bridges) can be a headache. If you choose wisely, though, you can find a nice place to live away from the city, with a very reasonable commute to downtown. There's tons to do in the city: major sporting events, concerts, museums, bars and nightlife, etc. Mass transit is a little slow (mostly buses, with one light rail line) but can get you just about anywhere for $1.65 a [single zone] ride.
The Pittsburgh metro area has tons of different communities that run the entire spectrum from dense urban neighborhoods in parts of the city, to small urban centers, to quiet suburbs, to dull suburban sprawl. Malls and shopping centers are plentiful and easy to get to (unless you live in the middle of the city).
The entire area is covered by hills, which makes it confusing to get around at first (I don't think there is a single flat, straight road in Allegheny County), but make Pittsburgh one of the greenest cities in the country and create a ton of really nice views.
The area takes a little getting used to, but once you settle in, it's a great place to live/raise a family.
Winters are cold and dreary (though nowhere near as bad as Western NY), spring comes early, and summers are hot and humid (but not that bad).
Cost of living is fairly low. My girlfriend and I share a large two bedroom apartment in a huge complex with a pool, fitness trail, volleyball and tennis courts, and a small fitness room. Rent is $690/mo. Insurance is cheap, gas is cheap (compared to most of the rest of the country), groceries are fairly reasonable; electricity is among the most expensive in the country, but has gone down since deregulation.
CMU and Pitt are the best known universities, and within an easy drive from downtown there's Duquesne, Carlow, Robert Morris, LaRoche, and at least a few more. There's also a decent (and cheap) community college.
Healthcare is outstanding, with several hospitals consistently ranked among the top in the nation. Health plans seem to be less expensive and cover more.
Broadband options are excellent. Unless you're out in BFE, you'll have at least one option. I live in a low density township, and I can choose between DSL through two different telcos (and a multitude of local and national ISPs) and cable through Comcast. Average cost seems to be around $50/mo.
Jobs are plentiful. If someone is unemployed in Pittsburgh, they're either unemployable, looking in the wrong places, or just don't know how to find a job. Salaries are low (especially in IT), but that is offset by the low cost of living.
The city is an easy drive from most of the suburbs, though traffic (especially around tunnels and bridges) can be a headache. If you choose wisely, though, you can find a nice place to live away from the city, with a very reasonable commute to downtown. There's tons to do in the city: major sporting events, concerts, museums, bars and nightlife, etc. Mass transit is a little slow (mostly buses, with one light rail line) but can get you just about anywhere for $1.65 a [single zone] ride.
The Pittsburgh metro area has tons of different communities that run the entire spectrum from dense urban neighborhoods in parts of the city, to small urban centers, to quiet suburbs, to dull suburban sprawl. Malls and shopping centers are plentiful and easy to get to (unless you live in the middle of the city).
The entire area is covered by hills, which makes it confusing to get around at first (I don't think there is a single flat, straight road in Allegheny County), but make Pittsburgh one of the greenest cities in the country and create a ton of really nice views.
The area takes a little getting used to, but once you settle in, it's a great place to live/raise a family.
You wouldn't happen to be LDS would you? A few of those cities are major LDS strongholds... Anyways, Flagstaff is nice but the cost of living is a bit higher than where I am which is Gilbert. I would have suggested somewhere in Northern California but the cost of living is a bit much there. The job market is going to be sucky pretty much wherever you go. Good luck on the move.
no, not LDS
I actually wondered about moving to those places and just how churchy they would be......would it be more difficult to find work if you are not LDS etc.?
No decision yet on the move, Flagstaff is looking to be our top choice though....the more we read about it, the more appealing it sounds.
Of course we'll take a trip out there before we decide on anything.
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