Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#351

Post by garciasn » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:45 PM UTC

12many wrote: post #340

rlawson wrote: post #288

Let me give you the scoop on the Carolina's. I'm a developer living in the upstate of SC. I am an agnostic liberal which makes me a rarity but I was born here so I can go under the radar thanks to my deep melodious southern accent. Pros - Great climate 10 out of 12 months - Friendly people - Lots of outdoor activities - Beautiful beaches (Fripp Island and Kiawah especially) - Low cost housing (altho going up rapidly)…

"friendly people" but also "hateful racist trumpers"? Well which is it?

Live in Minnesota. Plenty of liberals, but 'friendly' Minnesotans are not. I vacation every year on Hilton Head in South Carolina--although, with many transplants and vacationers from what I assume are wealthy liberal areas, it's not anywhere near a haven for political cultists. That said, the people are GENUINELY more friendly and will strike up active conversation, want to hang out again, etc; whereas, in Minnesota, it's incredibly difficult to talk with someone more than about the weather.

That's what they mean, I'd assume.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#352

Post by mbg721 » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:50 PM UTC

tallanvor wrote: post #345

mbg721 wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that really true in college towns? My experience (at an urban university campus that required a year in the dorms) was that the dorms and meal plans were staggeringly expensive, but the cheaper off-campus housing tended to be in older homes that had seen some very hard use as students came and went. So maybe the dorm price would be comparable with a brand-new high-rise apartment, but students didn't really need th…

Off-campus housing often looks cheaper, but that's because you're often comparing apples to oranges. As you mention, the age of the property and how well it's been maintained often varies significantly. But most places you rent off-campus don't include utilities. --That old house in the Midwest or Northeast might look cheap compared to on-campus housing in August, but your electricity and gas bills in the fall and wi…

Those eight guys I knew who split the rickety house with the two ovens whose pilot lights kept going out had plenty of social belonging. There's a huge racket in convincing freshmen to spend money they don't have, in order to live someplace just as nice as their parents had after they spent 20 or more years improving it.

You're right about cooking, at least in my experience, but you have to take a first step sometime. I grew up in the 90s with two working parents who kept different hours, and didn't learn to cook until my late 20s. But I think people's priorities are shifting, especially now that wfh is more normal.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#353

Post by Eupraxias » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:55 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #338

Eupraxias wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think they won't take your money and still hate you out of town? That's what I have seen.

Where have you seen that?

Rural Vermont. The story is worthy of a screenplay.

Small town starts to tax a family for the commercial water line in a general store that closed in the 60's, that happens to be on the property, because, small town. Family has visions of a B&B, vineyard, wedding venue. Everything down the drain in the end, because lawyers are expensive.

Still there to this day: worn out stencil on the window of the 'general store'. "Sorry, we closed in 1968".

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#354

Post by mattbrewsbytes » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:57 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #321

forrestthewoods wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can find data on states by total tax burden (which, sure, is going to depend on your particular assets and flows being taxed). It's not nearly as big a differentiator as you seem to think it is (especially, again, since it's quite minor compared with your federal liabilities) Nonsense. The difference can easily be 10% of gross income. Tax burden estimates are also really bad for tech workers making mid-six figu…

> Nonsense. The difference can easily be 10% of gross income. The use of "easily" is maybe a bit spun, that's at the outer edge of the distribution (e.g. moving from NY to TN, Seattle to Cleveland might net you quite a bit less). But sure, that's about right. A 10% change in income is really worth an unqualified "avoid these states" recommendation to you? That seems unjustified to me. (Especially since employers alre…

> A 10% change in income is really worth an unqualified "avoid these states" recommendation

10% of a Tech company Eng Mgr salary could be 20-30k gross or more. All other factors being equal, this could be a deciding factor. Its one thing to look into, but I'm not the one looking so if I were, I would do more research than my anecdotal data and things I know currently. The other end of this is to find out from their employer if they will force a pay reduction because SF might get a "location bump" in salary.

I don't think anyone is qualified to know the tax laws of 50 states inclusive of the county/city/school taxes. Its a suggestion to the OP to factor in the tax burden of wherever they have narrowed their search. My main point was they could pick nearly anywhere in the US to get what they want, there are lots of small towns outside mid-sized cities that give you a main street feel.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#355

Post by selimthegrim » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:58 PM UTC

ltbarcly3 wrote: post #61

selimthegrim wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How often do you go to NOLA?

Well not too much yet, but my kids are begging me to go because they want to go to the mall there. It's about 1.5 hour drive, which seems like a long trip, but my commute to SF was longer than that (each way) via Caltrain so it's not really that bad I guess.

Well happy to recommend things to do. Kids seem to love City Park.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#356

Post by dogline » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:58 PM UTC

Now sure what to make of "I live in a ~1000 pop town" yet can be in a bigger town in 10 minutes via car (in the East), and "I live in a ~1000 pop town" and it's 45 min to anything (in N. CA and the west). (Have lived in both.)

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#357

Post by mitchellst » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 1:59 PM UTC

One note on small towns: most of the people there aren't transplants, so you get their culture with them. American cities have a reasonably standardized culture, courtesy of hundreds of daily direct flights to each other. Small towns are still highly regional. Not saying there's no difference between Seattle and Miami. But most people on HN could find a social group in both.

Not so for Muleshoe, Texas.

If you're from the east coast, you might find the perfect physical scene in Oregon. But be prepared that west coasters are different from you, potentially in important ways that affect your ability to find a sense of belonging. Ditto if you're from California and looking at Georgia. Northerners and southerners, of course, look sideways at each other for lots of political and cultural reasons, but there are plenty of reasons to feel like you do or don't belong in a culture that aren't historically, culturally, or racially charged.

Most functioning communities consider themselves to have "good schools." Do you share their bar for that? "Good" for what?

Important questions. Climate isn't he only thing that varies by region. If you don't know the regional culture in an area that interests you, go stay a while.

(I've lived in the Pacific Northwest, both urban and rural California, both urban and rural Texas, Chicago, and New England, and spent substantial time in NYC and the Deep South. Trust me. It's not all the same.)

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#358

Post by Dracophoenix » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 2:08 PM UTC

mitchellst wrote: post #357

One note on small towns: most of the people there aren't transplants, so you get their culture with them. American cities have a reasonably standardized culture, courtesy of hundreds of daily direct flights to each other. Small towns are still highly regional. Not saying there's no difference between Seattle and Miami. But most people on HN could find a social group in both. Not so for Muleshoe, Texas. If you're from…

One note on small towns: most of the people there aren't transplants, so you get their culture with them. American cities have a reasonably standardized culture, courtesy of hundreds of daily direct flights to each other. Small towns are still highly regional. Not saying there's no difference between Seattle and Miami. But most people on HN could find a social group in both. Not so for Muleshoe, Texas.

> But be prepared that west coasters are different from you, potentially in important ways that affect your ability to find a sense of belonging.

Can you elaborate on this point?

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#359

Post by kritiko » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 2:11 PM UTC

hunterb123 wrote: post #239

eertami wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> less time then you'll sit in traffic in the city going a few miles to the same thing Most people aren't going to drive for just a few miles though, surely. I'd just cycle or take one of the busses that arrive every 6 minutes. Although this is purely hypothetical, because I already have access to everything I need within walking distance. It's a bad faith argument. You've claimed that it takes much longer to get som…

Judging from all the traffic inside cities and my experiences, most people do idle for awhile in traffic just to go a few miles. The bikes are the minority vs cars sitting in the roads and all the full streets / lots, but the bike riders are generally the worst offenders on the street. Most city public transportation is sub-par quality and safety wise. I don't mind public transportation in some countries to an extent…

Your input isn't really helpful because, e.g. "getting groceries for 2 weeks" is not something that somebody who doesn't drive can do. Your experience of your small town (which I'm sure is pretty great with a car), isn't applicable for somebody who doesn't drive.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#360

Post by sfvegandude » Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 2:11 PM UTC

throwaway787544 wrote: post #320

Gigachad wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just skimming the Wikipedia page for that place shows red flags all over the place. The population has been sharply declining since 1970 and the homicide rate is 56 per 100,000 vs the national average of 6.5. Clearly something is very wrong with the local government and population.

It's called poverty. Welcome to rural America. Went down the shitter when industry left and the rest of the country ignored it for decades, so now we have MAGA, drugs and crime, and a whole lotta cheap land.

“The rest of the country ignored it”

Is this how local residents feel? I find this sentiment rather confusing. Rural places tend to be distrustful of central government. Meaning, they are happy to be ignored by “the rest of the country” since those outsiders don’t share their values.