Which City to Consider?

[roy167]

 I'm and electrical engineer residing in North Eastern state. My potential new job gives me an option to work from home from anywhere in the USA.

Which cities to consider?

Criterion

1. Nice weather
   
2. Affordable housing
   
3. Be able to find another job in the vicinity without having to move in case there is a lay off etc
   

Few cities come to Mind 1. Houston 2. Dallas

Not sure of cities in south east such as NC, SC, Georgia etc. California seems out the door because of un affordable housing.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

Depending what part of the state, Washington may be one to consider.

Seattle is expensive, but not on the same level as California. It also rains most of the year.

In my area, the summers can get hot and winters snowy, but housing is mostly inexpensive. Depending on where you live there are also quite a few engineering jobs.

 

[DLD PE]

Roy,

First of all, congratulations on passing the PE!  I don't have my results yet as I reside in TN.  

I grew up in Knoxville, but have lived in Lexington KY, Raleigh/Durham NC, and Columbia TN.  All nice places to live.  I've spent considerable time in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Worchester and Boston Mass.  

If you are working from home my best advice would be to find a place in a suburb or small down relatively to a metro area where jobs are plentiful (in case you have to look for something else).  I work in Smyrna/Murfreesboro near Nashville and there are tons of jobs around here.  We chose to buy a house in Columbia because the housing market in Nashville, Franklin and Spring Hill were so much more expensive by comparison.  I put up with a 42 min commute but I enjoy having an affordable house.

We did the same thing in NC.  I put up with a 45 min commute (one way) for 10 years so we could live in a quieter, more affordable area.  

Depending on your weather criterion, you're going to have hotter and more humid summers in the south compared to the north, obviously.  I liked Dallas.  Much less humid than Houston.  I would never live in Houston.  

If you want any more details PM me. 

 

[Orchid PE]

Chattanooga.

Affordable housing, good amount of electrical jobs, booming downtown, lots of outdoor activities, close enough to Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Birmingham for day trips.

 

[txjennah PE]

I was going to mention Austin, but then I saw your criterion about affordable housing. Hahahahaha.

If you're looking at Texas, San Antonio is a good compromise.  Big city, lots to do, and just an hour and a half away from Austin for outdoor music festivals, etc.  If you're okay with your summers extending into October and very mild winters, then this is something to consider.  If I had to move back to Texas, I'd probably do San Antonio.  

If you don't mind colder weather, Indianapolis has been pretty decent so far.   

 

[roy167]

I was going to mention Austin, but then I saw your criterion about affordable housing. Hahahahaha

I didn't realize Austin real estate is crazy. Not sure why? 

 

[NikR_PE]

I didn't realize Austin real estate is crazy. Not sure why? 

Not CA crazy, but crazy compared to other cities in TX. Its not too bad, but rates are increasing rapidly. 

 

[txjennah PE]

Not CA crazy, but crazy compared to other cities in TX. Its not too bad, but rates are increasing rapidly. 

It's not CA bad but it's still bad.  I couldn't afford to buy a house when we lived there.

 

[txjennah PE]

I didn't realize Austin real estate is crazy. Not sure why? 

Because all the tech people from CA and Seattle are moving out there to take advantage of the relatively "cheaper" real estate, then are able to fork over a bunch of money on an offer to ensure that they get the house.  

 

[JayKay PE]

@roy167 As someone who just moved from the NE, what is your definition of "affordable"?  I just moved from LI/NYC-area to Indianapolis (with @txjennah PE, yay!  EB meetups!), and everything I think is a "normal housing" price is usually something ridiculous, like a 5-bedroom on 10-acres (you can easily buy something  for under $150k here if you don't want to be in downtown-proper/walking distance of downtown).  The downtown area in Indy is building up, and does have some larger engineering firms present (I know Arcadis and Aecom?), but I haven't really explored it too much since I moved here for a federal job.  I have a friend who works from home in Indy, currently renting, but he lives only 15-minutes top from the city and is buying a house next year. It's very drivable, Indy, and where I am located I've never had to drive more than maybe 40-minutes to get to every convenience or restaurant that people have wanted to go to.

Also, "nice weather".  Does this mean you're thinking of snow birding it/warm weather all the time?  Or do you actually want seasons?  I don't think I could live anywhere where there wasn't a distinct 4-seasons, a hot weather killllls me.

 

[roy167]

Yes warm weather all the time, occasional cold is ok. Prefer to have no snow, but occasional snow is fine, having lived up north. need very short winters.