So I want to move...

[AtlantaBob]

So I want to move....

I currently live in Atlanta. I'm a graduate student who can do my work from anywhere.... however, my pay isn't terribly exciting ~$2000.00 a month, with an extra $1000.00 from other jobs. I'm 25, and just want to do something different. To tell the truth, I'd really love to try someplace in middle America that is somewhat weird. Boise, ID comes to mind. I'm thinking fairly short-term -- 6 mos to a year or so.

My family is in town, but I should be able to see them when I come back for work meetings (I should be able to get flights back taken care of by the school). And, while I'm starting to date someone, she's not in town. Moving to where she is would be a little much right now.

Any suggestions? Comments? Ideas from people who've done this before?

 

[Malak]

Arizona.

 

[FoBoT]

you'll have to change your AT name if you move

better stay put

 

[illusion88]

I moved to SLC and am enjoying it. Pay isn't anything to write home about but I keep my head above water.
(The air quality is terrible in the winter though)

 

[AtlantaBob]

Illusion88,

My folks used to live in SLC in the 70's. I hadn't given much thought to that before, but when I saw their slides from there they loved it.

Just out of curiosity, can you give me any idea what the rent might be on a decent 1 bedroom apartment?

Also, from what I've heard the influence of the Mormon church is still pretty strong out there... I'm vaguely Presbyterian (some kind of religious mutt of protestant background at least) and church is fairly important in my life--more likely that I'd meet a girl there than at a bar at any rate. Are you in any position to say what things are like out there in that way?

Thanks!

 

[Savarak]

Originally posted by: Malak
Arizona.

Hey good choice...

I have rooms for rent here in Tucson, AZ if you're interested, i can do month by month rent

 

[SampSon]

Las Vegas.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Savarak

Originally posted by: Malak
Arizona.

Hey good choice...

I have rooms for rent here in Tucson, AZ if you're interested, i can do month by month rent

Interesting... two folks who suggest the same place. I do hear good things about it. Savarak, thanks for letting me know about the rooms for rent. I probably wouldn't be moving until the late spring early summer time, but if I end up there, I'll definitely drop you a note about it!

Any thoughts from people who've done something like this in the past?

 

[Kerouactivist]

I live in Missouri now...and am thinking all the time about moving to Pacific Northwest.....
I think moving there would give me a severe case of sticker shock though because of the high prices.... Utah might not be bad because of all the cool outdoor stuff to do in the area....but I would be afraid of the ultra-conservatism out there though, but thats just me....I've never been there so I could be wrong.....I'm kinda in the same situation as you right now so I'll be paying attention....

 

[Phru]

Rapid City, SD

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: bthorny
I live in Missouri now...and am thinking all the time about moving to Pacific Northwest.....
I think moving there would give me a severe case of sticker shock though because of the high prices.... Utah might not be bad because of all the cool outdoor stuff to do in the area....but I would be afraid of the ultra-conservatism out there though, but thats just me....I've never been there so I could be wrong.....I'm kinda in the same situation as you right now so I'll be paying attention....

Pacific NW is only expensive in Seattle and Portland and the surrounding burbs (unless you include northern cali in your definition of pacific nw). Live anywhere else and it's dirt cheap.

 

[AtlantaBob]

bthorny,

Glad to here there's someone else interested in moving somewhere else and seeing what's out there. As strange as it may sound, would you recommend Missouri in any way? Washington State / Oregon seems like it would be lovely, but you're right about the prices... I've got a friend who went up there for his honeymoon, so perhaps I can find out what he thought about it....

 

[Atheus]

New Zealand is nice this time of year.

 

[Sukhoi]

Grand Junction, CO
Omaha, NE
Flagstaff, AZ
Wichita, KS
Minneapolis, MN

 

[IronWing]

Arizona has lots of snakes, scorpions, and snake-skinned old people, in fact, the whole place smells like old people. Also there are adult child molesters here, w/ mustaches, that can somehow manage to pose as seventh graders. Also plague, hanta virus, and valley fever, not to mention smugglers and rabid gun-toting pit bulls. Then there's the weather: 123 in the shade and no shade. All the plants have spines that could poke your eyes out and the dreaded groin-cholla.

SLC is a safer bet.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Phru
Rapid City, SD

Sounds absolutely weird enough that I'd be tempted.... anything specific?

And PrinceofWands... that's good news (re: the PNW) any decent-sized towns or cities that you might be able to recommend?

 

[Chunkee]

head north just a bit...move to knoxville, tn

thats around where i live...

or

ashville nc, is very nice...

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Chunkee
head north just a bit...move to knoxville, tn

thats around where i live...

or

ashville nc, is very nice...

Well, I did my undergrad just south of Ashville... it is a beautiful area and I wish that I had gotten up there more when I was in school... still, I have this hankering to get out of the South... at least for a little while.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: Phru
Rapid City, SD

Sounds absolutely weird enough that I'd be tempted.... anything specific?

And PrinceofWands... that's good news (re: the PNW) any decent-sized towns or cities that you might be able to recommend?

It depends entirely on what you're looking for. I'm very strange so I don't tend to like what other people like. I hate towns with more than about 15k people. I hate deserts or similar environments. I like seclusion, nature, mountains, rivers, oceans, forests, rain, etc. I dislike heat, sun, traffic, malls, sprawls, inflated/expensive things, societal pandering, A-type personalities, etc. I can suggest plenty of places that I like, but no idea if you're looking for the things I avoid.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: Phru
Rapid City, SD

Sounds absolutely weird enough that I'd be tempted.... anything specific?

Black Hills, Badlands, Devil's Tower.

Aren't you supposed to be working on your thesis though? Wouldn't Indianapolis or Omaha suit better to focus your mind to the task?

 

[AtlantaBob]

Haha... yes, I SHOULD be working on my thesis... and perhaps if I got rid of the darn computer and started writing on a typewriter that would be a good start... the only problem is figuring how to run computer simulations on a typewriter... however, with all of the time that I save not answering emails, adding a few million numbers by hand on a calculator might be feasible.

As far as Indianapolis or Omaha... well, I've been in Indianapolis before, and Omaha strikes me as being similar to Kansas City... both are too big, I think... at least in my mind, they're examples of suburbs that go on and on without much character. I think that I'd like something that's a little smaller, and that has at least a little bit of a "true downtown." Not sure if anyone's been to Greenville, S.C. before, but they have a nice main street with apartments, some small stores, restaurants and bars.

PrinceofWands: regarding your previous comment, I can definitely agree with you on not liking heat, sun, traffic, malls, sprawls, inflated/expensive things, societal pandering, A-type personalities, etc. It's a wonder I've lasted in Atlanta this long, isn't it? I guess that I've always lived in fairly large sized cities--an Atlanta suburb growing up, Greenville (~60,000 in the city/300,000 in the metro area if I recall right) for college, and Atlanta for grad school. This may sound like a crazy statement, but if you end up going to a place < 15K, is it too difficult to find a place to rent? is it too hard to meet people? would it be crazy to move to such a place for about a year?

 

[NoShangriLa]

Oregon coast is a great place to be that relatively inexpensive to live. Alaska is a weird place to be in the winter.

 

[Corporate Thug]

San Diego

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
San Diego

Something tells me that San Diego is a little bit out of my price range... I love to visit CA, but I'm not sure that I can afford moving there anytime soon.

NoShangriLa--did you just visit Alaska or did you live there? I suppose only moving there for a year wouldn't entitle me to the oil check.... still, a friend of a friend used to live in Anchorage for a couple of years... he was certainly interesting to talk to.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob
Haha... yes, I SHOULD be working on my thesis... and perhaps if I got rid of the darn computer and started writing on a typewriter that would be a good start... the only problem is figuring how to run computer simulations on a typewriter... however, with all of the time that I save not answering emails, adding a few million numbers by hand on a calculator might be feasible.

As far as Indianapolis or Omaha... well, I've been in Indianapolis before, and Omaha strikes me as being similar to Kansas City... both are too big, I think... at least in my mind, they're examples of suburbs that go on and on without much character. I think that I'd like something that's a little smaller, and that has at least a little bit of a "true downtown." Not sure if anyone's been to Greenville, S.C. before, but they have a nice main street with apartments, some small stores, restaurants and bars.

PrinceofWands: regarding your previous comment, I can definitely agree with you on not liking heat, sun, traffic, malls, sprawls, inflated/expensive things, societal pandering, A-type personalities, etc. It's a wonder I've lasted in Atlanta this long, isn't it? I guess that I've always lived in fairly large sized cities--an Atlanta suburb growing up, Greenville (~60,000 in the city/300,000 in the metro area if I recall right) for college, and Atlanta for grad school. This may sound like a crazy statement, but if you end up going to a place < 15K, is it too difficult to find a place to rent? is it too hard to meet people? would it be crazy to move to such a place for about a year?

I've lived in LA, Norfolk, DC, etc so I've done the biggie city thing. I just don't get it. I almost went literally insane within months at each. Just too much for me. I used to love my hometown (longview wa) but it's grown too much for me, now over 30k. Even at this size our 'for rent' section in the local paper is only about 1-2 pages, so you do have to make some concessions. Then again up until a couple years ago you could rent a nice 3 bedroom house on some land for about $600/month. Studio apartments could be found for $150 a month as recent as a decade ago. Prices have jacked up in the last 5 years, another reason I want to leave.

By 'meeting people' do you mean dating? If so I have no idea. I dated people from work or school almost exclusively my entire life. If you mean friends then I also have no idea because I'm still friends with people from high school for the most part, or again from work or school. I've never been involved in social functions like bars, clubs, sports, etc so I can't speak to that.

I have no idea if it would be crazy for you. I seriously consider moving out to the Alaskan wilderness and living as a mountain man, so crazy is fairly relative to me.