Ask HN: Where to move within US? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#21

Post by AnimalMuppet » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:19 PM UTC

Someone1234 wrote: post #10

codegeek wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. But cost of living is just one factor for us. We care about a peaceful environment, hopefully lower taxes (even if we make less ), decent infrastructure (in NJ, we have shitty roads with high cost).

To be honest I'd put Northern Utah on your list (Salt Lake area and north)). Low taxes, good infrastructure, low crime, nice people, growing startup culture, amazing for B2B startups, etc. Sure, there is a religious aspect which puts people off. But like it or not, that religious aspect makes everyone quite pleasant and makes the area a nice place to live (even for those who aren't of that specific denomination).

The startup scene is bigger one county south - in the Provo/American Fork area. But the Mormon culture is heavier down there. (Every place I've worked, there's been coffee in the lunch room. Everywhere else, it just was there. But down there, it felt like religious tolerance.)

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#22

Post by volkadav » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:48 PM UTC

Since you mention children, I feel obligated to say that imho as a Texan parent, Texas public schools are a travesty. Even the good school districts are hampered by the nonsense the state gov pushes down (e.g. just google "texas textbook controversy" and ... pick a year).

It's for this reason that we're looking at leaving Austin, even though it is otherwise quite a nice city, before our kids hit school age.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#23

Post by topkai22 » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:49 PM UTC

I moved to Reno, NV to be near my wife's family a while back and have surprised myself by loving it. Very family friendly, small enough to get around, very good visual arts scene driven in part by burning man, decent in town research university, beautiful scenery, near the resorts at lake Tahoe, and what appears to be very good city governance.

A small but well supported startup scene exists, but is consumed by "gaming" (gambling) and medical startups. Opportunities related Tesla factory is also sucking up investment dollars. The plus side is that you are only 3.5-4h from the bay area, and there is a community of angel investors living in lake Tahoe.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#24

Post by joezydeco » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:50 PM UTC

heyheyhey wrote: post #18

codegeek wrote: post #2

Cannot edit the text anymore. Just wanted to mention that I have a bootstrapped product that I run and ideally would love to stay closer to startup ecosystem. Of course, California is out of question again due to the excessive cost of living.

I would say Portland, Austin, and Seattle. For startup ecosystem, Seattle probably has the best followed by Austin and then Portland. For cost of living, Seattle is the most expensive. I'm not sure about Austin but Portland has been increasing the past couple years.

If Seattle is a choice and you are planning to enroll your toddlers in the public school system when they're older you might want to track what's happening with the public school teachers.

Just speaking as a parent, which probably makes me a minority in this conversation.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#25

Post by draw_down » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:51 PM UTC

madcaptenor wrote: post #15

Someone1234 wrote: post #8

Can I just say: Cost of living ONLY matters if you're compensated from out of state. A lot of people look at CoL and think "wow for the $120K I make in NYC I could live like a king in Oklahoma!" But the reality is that places with lower CoL also have lower salaries, so a $120K NYC salary might be $60K in other states, with the same job, same responsibilities, etc. It is relative. Oregon has a lowish CoL and a low amo…

I live in the Atlanta area. I could literally have the same job in the SF area (where I used to live) for 20% more - my company has an office in Palo Alto where there are people with the same job title and the same responsibilities. However this would more than be eaten up by the increased cost of housing. Say my take-home pay is 100 arbitrary units; my housing costs about 20, leaving 80 for everything else. In the B…

20% bump is surprising, my company has an SF office and I've been told that as a rule, salaries are twice what we get in Portland. However I still feel that increase would be eaten up by housing costs.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#26

Post by brudgers » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 5:56 PM UTC

With two toddlers, public schools may be something worth considering. In both Florida and Georgia all school districts are at the county level. [1] This means that even the best local public schools are subject to county politics in regard to funding and curriculum and staffing. Consequently, while a particular school can do some things via PTA, there isn't really fine grained local control [e.g. people can't choose to tax themselves to make school funding a priority].

On the other hand, if public schools aren't a priority, then it's a bit different, I suppose. Keep in mind that Florida has low taxes and low services. Compared with NJ, that's probably true of Georgia and Texas, too.

North Carolina is another option worth considering if you're moving south away from snow.

[1]: My recollection is that Texas has school districts at the municipal level. You can google it up to verify.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#27

Post by photosinensis » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 6:09 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #26

With two toddlers, public schools may be something worth considering. In both Florida and Georgia all school districts are at the county level. [1] This means that even the best local public schools are subject to county politics in regard to funding and curriculum and staffing. Consequently, while a particular school can do some things via PTA, there isn't really fine grained local control [e.g. people can't choose…

Texas school districts are independent of any other body with one exception: Stafford MSD (southwest of Houston), which is municipal. Some are county-wide. Some cover large territories of low density ranchland. Some don't even cover one city.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#28

Post by toomuchtodo » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 6:17 PM UTC

colund wrote: post #5

sjs382 wrote: post #3

New Orleans is wonderful this time of year. ;)

But bring a boat in case of a Katrina 2 coming in

Living on a boat is always an option on the gulf coast.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#29

Post by cweagans » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:45 PM UTC

Boise, ID. Very, very cheap to rent anything (whatever you're thinking for an amount that's "very cheap", cut it in half and you can probably find something nice around Boise for that amount). Groceries are pretty inexpensive, and everyone is very friendly. Cable One has 100Mbps connections for $100/mo ($75/mo for first three), and the schools are adequate if you're willing to encourage your kids to learn more and be proactive about their education on their own. It's a great place to grow up, and it's a great place to live and work. Highly recommend it.

If Boise is too small for you, pretty much anywhere in the Pacific NW is a good option. If I didn't live in Boise, I'd move to Portland.

Re: Ask HN: Where to move within US?

#30

Post by cylinder » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 8:34 PM UTC

Curious why you didn't mention your professions. That's the most important consideration.

One thing is for sure, the East Coast / NY metro does suck if you're not incredibly wealthy. Quality of life is so poor. If I can't get into an upper income bracket while here I'll be out the door soon.