Mommies Living in the Northern States Please I Need Your Input

Your biggest issue with be driving in the snow/ice and culture shock.
Anywhere near the Great Lakes will get ALOT of snow.

If it were me I would consider places in Southern Maryland, mid-Southern VA, Indiana, and Ohio. Maybe even Tennessee also.

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I grew up in Illinois, moved to Texas (San Antonio) when I was 24, lived there for 10 years, then moved to Dallas, have lived here for almost 5 years. I lived straight west of Chicago, Quad Cities area. I do admit, I like the falls but I feel the Dallas area I still have pretty much all 4 seasons. Of course the changing of leaves are prettier up north, but they turn here too. Yes, the summers are HOT but having 2-3 months of snow, the over-cast in the winter, just put me in a funky mood a lot. I remember when I first moved to San Antonio, how it was sunny all the time, now, I would say there is really only one season there, Summer!

I like Dallas winters, because you have a chance of snow, and when it does, it last for 2-3 days if that. You don't have the slush you do up north. I love Texas winters much better than I do Illinois, but I do admit the summers here are usually pretty bad. However, I still have a lot of family up there and it's bad there this summer too.

Honestly, I have no desire to move back there other than family, but my closest family, parents and most sisters live here in Texas now. If I did move, I think I would like to live by the mountains.

My kids, like to visit Illinois, and my oldest will be a senior in HS this year. She's talking about going to college in Illinois/Iowa. She was born there. My other two kids, like it, but like it here too.

This is just my opinion, I wish you well in whatever you decide!

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The thing about questions like this is everyone who responds will say their city is the best. ;)

I say check out the Twin Cities. I've been all over the US for various jobs and hands down, this IMO is the best place to raise a family. I grew up here so that may influence my affinity for the place. You have the best of what a big city has to offer, but there are plenty of living choices and possibilities when it comes to the many lovely and diverse types of urban, suburban and rural communities in and around the TCs metro and outstate as well. You don't have to live in the big city (which is great by the way) to experience it fully. You can have the best of both worlds here. The cost of living is very reasonable and the quality of life is good here for most overall.

There is plenty of culture and cultural diversity, the state is one of the best education-wise, and depending on your husband's field of work is great place to find work...despite the slow economy.

We have the four seasons here. Granted, winter from late December to mid-March can get pretty darn cold and snowy, the upside is it's beautiful and there is alot to do and see all year round. Summer is fantastic, especially in the north shore resort area near the Canadian border. Fall is visually spectacular and springs are gorgeous.

I suggest coming for quick vacation and see for yourself. Click on "where to go" to get an overview of the different communities and what they have to offer.

http://www.exploreminnesota.com/index.aspx

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i have been living in NY for years now and i can't tell you, i can't freakin wait to leave. winters are miserable and long. the thing about winters here is that you get a boatload of snow but you can't really enjoy it as it gets so so so cold.
so for us, we never got used to this, even though i come from a region with plenty of snow and winter.
so i would scratch NY, or anything north of us.
thank god we are moving south soon so hopefully i will never look back.

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My recommendation is to check out the Twin Cities. I'll write more later, as I could write a book about the merits of the Twin Cities versus Chicago, but need some time.

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I live in Minnesota, the summers are hot and humid and the winters are cold and snowy. I'm originally from Guatemala (next to Mexico) where it wasn't that cold or hot year round. I moved here when I was 9 and it took me a few years to get used to the weather. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else even though I will complain about the weather. ;)

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I grew up in Illinois. Yes, there are 4 seasons, but they are unbearable. The winter is so ridiculously cold. I remember one winter the wind chill got down to 60 degrees below zero. My nose hairs would literally freeze and break off, I kid you not. The snow was SUCH a pain to deal with. Any time we went anywhere, we had to dig our car out of the driveway. The snow plows helped on the street, but they would serve to bury your car even more. Most evenings in the winter were spent shoveling walkways and shoveling paths for the car to drive on/through. The summers were very hot, they get as hot there as it does here in TX, it just doesn't stay that way as long, and they don't have the same drought-like weather. The autumn weather tends to be much, much colder than it is here, so far less enjoyable. The spring tends to get swallowed up with the extra long winter. Seems like it goes straight from freezing to HOT!

I do miss those white Christmases though, but that's the ONLY time I ever miss it.

I would never leave Texas!! I positively hate the heat, but I live with that because I love this state.

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The Twin Cities in Minnesota has all of what you're looking for, but to be honest I think the winters would be a huge adjustment for you after living in TX and originating in South America. Winter is long here and despite climate change and much warmer than usual winters lately it can be brutal. I love it here and it's a wonderful place to raise a family, but we definitely have a lot of winter. I do have two friends who are either from AZ or lived there a long time before moving here though and they've adjusted well. One of them has even turned into a huge hockey family.

Yes, we have state and county taxes. But we also have good public schools and some of the best health care in the country. The Universities of Minnesota and Wisconsin are both very well-respected.

I lived in Chicago for five years. I loved it, but I couldn't take the traffic, congestion and crowds any longer so I came back to the Twin Cities where I grew up.

Good luck! Oh, IMO, the kids would adjust just fine. Kids are adaptable and tend to love winter. It's the adults that struggle. One more thing--a lot of people from MN either stay here or come back after they've lived away for awhile (my brother and I included) so people tend to have established family and social networks. I've heard it can be hard for newcomers to sometimes break in, although my friends from AZ have done very well in that aspect too.

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I've lived in either Wisconsin or Minnesota my whole life. While the movies often make fun of us Midwesterners, I love our family-centered, hard-working lifestyles! I love having the four seasons, even if winter gets long. I've never liked the heat, so moving even further north last fall didn't worry me. Living by a gigantic lake, like in Chicago will give you different weather, think of 20+ inches of lake effect snow, and lots of wind. Everyone takes time to adjust to weather changes. I'd melt into a puddle if I went to Texas in the middle of February, just like you'd freeze like a popsicle. But those seasons in between really do get you ready for the next season, especially the more time you spend outside. I purposely delay wearing a coat in the fall so the cold doesn't bother me as much. One nice perk is you have a new wardrobe twice a year :P I'm usually excited when it's time to pull out warm sweaters and later the light skirts come out. I'm a bit biased but I'd encourage you to check out the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St Paul) It's very much a big city, lots of family activities and you can drive 30-60 minutes and be in the country again :P

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I grew up 20 mi south of Philadelphia. It was perfect! Everything was close - the beach, NY, Washington DC were all within 3 hours so there was always something to do or somewhere to go. There is a wealth of resources for families - I would definitely recommend considering the area!

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Well we are more mid-atlantic than north, but Check out Columbia / Ellicott City, Maryland. We are #2 on Money magazines best places to live in the entire country. Columbia is a planned community - lots of true neighborhood settings, bike paths, "tot lots" (columbia speak for play grounds), and very convenient shopping centers located in each neighborhood (village). But none of the *junky* look some towns have - there are no billboards or random stores up next to roads. Everything has its own place. In Maryland you get all 4 seasons. We can get 100+ degree days in the summer, and sometimes blizzards in the winter. Overall its a happy medium though. Summers are hot and humid at times but average in the upper 80s, and winters can get very cold but average in the 40s. You are 20 minutes from Baltimore, and 40 from Washington DC and Annapolis. Only 2 hours from Philly and 4 from NYC. And only about 2.5 from the beach - Ocean City MD is great for families. Howard County has excellent schools - check out a website called www.schooldigger.com which does some pretty great comparisons of schools across the country. I grew up here and now my 2 boys will grow up here. I think its a great place to live!

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You said you can't take the heat, but can you take bitter cold? Your biking and outdoor fun is shortened by a LOT up north and in the Chicago area too.

You mention speaking English fluently. Do you speak with a southern accent? If you do, depending on where up north you move, be prepared for some judgment and criticism from some people who look down on southerners. (Thankfully, not the majority of people.) Do you like to chit-chat with strangers? Depending where you go up north, that's not always well received. People are a lot friendlier down in Texas than most are up north to people they don't know. (And yes, I've lived up north, down south and in between and feel that I'm qualified to make that generalization...) though I do want to say that Chicagoans are VERY friendly.

Do you want to own your house? Be prepared for BIG property taxes. A lot different than taxes you pay in Texas. (The general cost of living is a lot higher than in Texas, too.)

How much do you pay for your living quarters? How much square footage do you have? Be prepared to pay a lot more for living in less square footage.

North Carolina is a nice place to live. It's not as hot as Texas (though there is a bit more humidity in the summer.) The winters are a little colder than Texas, but not nearly as cold as Chicago winters (don't count this past winter - it was a fluke. The winter before had 51 inches of snow...) and NC winters aren't nearly as cold as up North either. The piedmont region of NC doesn't get that much snow either. The Triangle area, Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham is a lovely area and has 3 terrific universities around. The taxes are not as expensive as up north.

North Carolinians are southern and friendly, though NC is very different from Texas.

I hope you'll consider NC if you really want to leave Texas.

D.

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I grew up in cold but I lived in Chicago and it is is COLD. New Hampshire is COLD too. Boston isn't as bad but is notably colder than NYC. So you may be going too extreme with those cities... I'd suggest Phildalphia or Wash DC if you can go anywhere. Or perhaps Denver. Philly has a pretty temperate climate and cost of living is less than NYC yet it's not that far, it's close to NJ beaches, it has history, beautiful suburbs etc. lucky you!!

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Congratulations on your business success. If you're planning on moving to a northern state, I suggest you visit in January so you can get a true sense of what it's like. I lived in Chicago for five years and relied exclusively (no car) on public transportation. There were a few times in the winter when it was bad, but all doable. Then I moved to Minneapolis, where everyone said, oh the winters are the same as Chicago. What a bunch of BS. I moved in October (again no car) and after a winter of public transportation I had to break down and get a car. It was unbearable.

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I live in Milwaukee and I don't care for the weather at all. Winters are long and cold, summers are hot and spring and fall are short. I would love to move more mid-country like Tenn, KY or mid east coast. I also like dessert climates as I hate humidity.

When the weather is nice here it's amazingly wonderful just does not happen enough for me. To bad I am stuck here LOL

Traffic in Chicago - sucks! Taxes in Chicago - suck! Chicago itself ♥

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I am from the Netherlands and we live in a Boston suburb. Winters are cold (right around freezing), summers are hot (80 degrees), fall and spring are perfect. Boston is close by, lots of universities and museums and students. There are many suburbs to choose from, it all depends on your budget and desires. Lakes and mountains and ocean within easy drives. I would google Boston visitor info as well as moving to Boston, since there are many vistor and student info sites. Good luck.

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I grew up in a suburb of Buffalo, NY in a snow belt.
Sometimes we had more snow and were colder than Fairbanks Alaska.
I survived the Blizzard of 77 (22 ft drifts).

I think you need to consider what you want out of winter.

There's Winter! - Fluffy snow flakes, hot chocolate, frost, icicles, skating, snowing, sledding, snow angels, snow forts, snow men, occasional snow days off of school!

And then there's WINTER - 6 or more months of cold and shoveling, -20 degree wind chill factors, engine block warmers, car cancer (salt/chemicals used on roadways can REALLY eat the metal on your cars), learning to drive on snow and ice with zero traction can be fun(not), ice dams forming around your gutters (roof damage), clomping around in boots, and lugging around winter jackets.
Lake effect snow and total white outs (zero visibility as in you can stick your hand out away from you and you can NOT see your hand on the end of your arm) can be alarming.

Winter can be exhilarating but growing up in the thick of it meant:
You get up and before you leave for school you shovel the driveway.
When you come home from school you shovel the driveway again.
And before bedtime, you shovel the driveway one more time so it's not so deep in the morning.
And at anytime a snow plow can come by down the road and dump a 2 ft drift of rock hard snow and ice at the foot of your driveway and you get the 'pleasure' of chiseling it out - AGAIN.
It's exhausting.

Pick someplace that gets some snow - but not all the time, or it snows and melts away fairly quickly.
Anywhere in middle of the country and you will be subject to periodic Saskatchewan Screamers and/or Manitoba Manglers (severe bone cold arctic cold fronts).

You might like Albany, NY - they get some cold and some snow but they are not consistently hip deep in it all the time.

I have no desire to live in snow anymore.
Where we are now, it'll snow maybe once or twice a year and that's enough for me.

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I'm in Canada, and the winters here can be long and harsh. You dress for it and adapt. I could not live anywhere without four seasons. I don't know how anyone can truly appreciate summer if they never experience winter. We have hot summers and spend a lot of time camping and at the beach. Hiking and corn mazes in the fall when the leaves are changing is spectacular. In the winter we do a lot of snowshoeing, toboganning and skating. By spring we are just so happy to get rid of the snow and parkas!

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We are a military family, and we have lived on both coasts , north and south. And have family EVERYWHERE.
Small towns are more family oriented.
I wouldn't live any further north than Maryland.
Even Maryland has COLD winters with LOTS of snow.
Shoveling snow is NOT fun.
We are in GA right now and yep it gets hot in the summer. But we do have all 4 seasons.

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What about Conneticut. It has it's own big cities and NYC is close by. It is beautiful and has lots of great things. I live in upstate NY but love to travel to Conneticut for their aquariums, zoos and beaches. Happy moving!!!

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As one who lives in TX following 22 years in Chicago and several more in Indianapolis, I moved because I hated shoveling snow and winters that last from late October through May. I grew up there and never got used to the cold. Trick or Treating always involved a coat over the costume and occasionally we even had snow on Halloween. School dances were canceled due to dangerous cold, and cars wouldn't start when it was too cold. There was always a snowstorm in early April for Spring Break. Unlike in TX where the Lord gives snow and then takes it away, in the North, God gives snow and then adds to it and adds to it an adds to it some more as it turns gray and then black. They have 4 seasons like TX does, only their extra long season is winter, and ours extra long season is summer. If you plan to move North, be sure to visit in January/February first. Also, be prepared to pay state and county income taxes up North.

That said, Chicago is a great city for culture...fabulous food, museums, performances, and shpping. It also has excellent mass transportation. It's a fantastic city, except for the cold, snow and taxes.

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I am from Iowa. A Nebraska native though. On a normal year its not "horrible" Subtract the last few. Snow does take some getting used to driving on which if you are careful but arnt one of the granny drivers you probably wont be in an accident. ( a lot of slow drivers (30mph) on ice cause accidents. We are used to it so we go about 50.) summer it gets warm (this year hott!) July August are our hot season as with most of the state. You can have the peace of the country or go to DSM for the city. I prefer my corn, beans and cows.

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Hi -
I HIGHLY recommend you look into Virginia. I moved to Texas from Richmond. I LOVED Richmond. It had just enough snow in the winter to experience snow, but the rest of the time, the weather was really moderate. Richmond is 2 hours from the beaches, 2 hours from the mountains, and 2 hours from Washington DC. It's also near Williamsburg. There was a HOST of activities that you as adults will enjoy and also activities that the kids will enjoy. I wish all the time that I still lived in Richmond.

Further, when I was there, Virginia was ranked 14th in the nation for education (vs. Texas which was 50th when we moved here).

Also, just being on the Eastern seaboard gives you lots of access to all the cities along the coast. You can easily take long weekend trips to various cities. We often went to DC and Baltimore.

I LOVED all of the history that was available in that area and Richmond is very affordable (not Northern Richmond which is closer to DC, but more downtown and souther Richmond).

Good luck,
L.

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Have you considered Ann Arbor, MI? It's where the Univ of Michigan is located. I have family near there and they love it. It's removed from the Detroit metro area (which is not as bad as you may think) but close enough that it's not difficult to get there. Plus, the SE part of MI gets (I think) less snow than Chicago or northern Ohio due to the Great Lakes. Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids are also really nice but they get more lake effect snow.

Amanda W made some great points too. I agree with every thing she said!

How awesome that your family is able to do this! I'm sure you'll find lots of great places on the way to finding your new home. Good luck!

Chicago offers;

*Extremely corrupt politicians
*Very high property taxes
*traffic congestion
*extremely expensive family fun; navy pier, museums, theatre, etc and always jam packed
*arm & leg to park anywhere in the city, if you can even find a spot
*weather is very unpredictable

Good luck, hope everything works out for you and your family

I live half way between NYC and Philadelphia. We live in a quiet safe suburb within an hour of all the City you could ever want. We live within an hour of the beach, the mountains, or ski resorts. Winters are usually mild but we get to play in the snow a couple times a year and of course we have all the seasons!

As far as the northeast, and yes there are tons of universities with in a few hours hours drive, which may be a huge advantage for you. My daughter visited TX and her first impression is it's FLAT. The northeast is all rolling hills and mountains. Also, I think you need to consider to you want to live in a city, a nearby suburb or the country. Boston and vincinity are very expensive.

Look at a US map and weather patterns. It's much colder around the great lakes. It also gets very hot and humid here in the summer. We've been dealing with 90 degree weather. Last summer we were on vacation in Burlington, VT and it was 101 degrees.

Colorado all the way! I know you didn´t mention any cities west but I love it here! Colorado is an outdoorsy state... how could you not be with the mountains right there? Very family oriented, lots to do and the city life style. As for the seasons we have them but not as harsh as the east coast... no humidity. You can even experience all seasons in one day... Ha!

Good luck with your decision!

I easily made the move from Tx (Dallas suburbs) to Chicago's suburbs w/ no issues. Sure, there is a culture shock, but that comes with any major loacation move. Depending on what you do there are TONS of family activity opportunities, you just have to find out about them and take advantage. I got a "welcome to SNOW" my first winter here we had a blizzard - 18 inches of snow if I recall correctly. Honestly, not as big a deal as I thought it would be, at least in MY area it was media overhyped. Yes, there were issues and people got stranded but that is because THEY did not follow the suggestions or take precautions. In short, I love the area I live in - we are about 40-60 min from downtown depending on traffic and can have the "downtown" lifestyle if we want OR we can be happy in our little village of Streamwood and keep it medium town living.

I really like Columbus, OH, I’m from a tropical area and to me it wasn’t a big deal to come to the cold and love all the seasons.
The city is great to raise a family and we have OSU. Football season (although I don’t like football) makes the whole town come together. I live in a suburb about 20 min. from down town, but just about any suburb here is 20 min. from downtown ;-)
There are good State parks in the state for camping and hiking, but if you like more extreme outdoor activities, this may not be the State for you. There’s also a good Hispanic community and lots of shopping and great restaurants.

I am a born and raised Chicago girl that now lives in Florida, 8th year and yes, the sun shines all the time! Sorry that your family can't take the summer heat but all things considered moving up north you will get the snow so it becomes a trade off in my mind.
Chicago and the suburbs of Chicago has the friendliest blend of people, the best restaurants and I myself do love it and always will! There are no regrets that we once moved to California to beat the snow....and then moved back to Chicago suburbs 3 yrs later for family and friends and yes, even the snow!
Check out Chicago and the suburbs we raised our 4 boys there and I am so glad we did I have no regrets about living there spring, summer, winter, fall! For sports teams, you get the best enjoyment year round. For your children's education, you will have top notch schools to choose from! The list is positive and endless, I am pro Chicago 100% for so many reasons you need to do some further research on this fabulous City. Have fun!

I live in Montana, which I love, but my hubby is from Chicago. It's a great city, lots to do with kids. I don't care for the weather there in the summer, but it sounds like you would be fine coming from Texas/South America.

I love Michigan and I love the seasons! I'm originally from Corpus Christi area and moved here with my family when I was 10. Those first few winters were so exciting! Michigan has what I consider to be good average winters - they are cold and snowy yes, but not usually below 20degrees (maybe a week or so, depends) and a average type of snowfall. It will be something that you have to adjust too - the clothes, the driving etc, but you'll get used to it!
I also think that MI has some good Universities. Here in Kalamazoo, we have Western Michigan University. There is also University of Michigan, Michigan State Univ, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley University and many more!
I love Kalamazoo - its a cool upcoming city with lots to do not too big or too small IMO. Grand Rapids is about 1 hr north of us and is bigger. Both are only about 1 hr drive to Lake Michigan which is one of my favorite places! Beautiful clean sandy beaches and dunes with fresh water! Michigan also has lots of inland lakes and State Parks. In the summer we have lots of farmers markets, fresh local fruits and veggies. We grow lots of cherries, blueberries etc. In the fall you can visit an orchard and pick your own apples and get fresh cider and donuts! - perfect in the crisp fall air!
Just my opinions, but I've traveled around the US alot and I love Michigan! I think we have a good balance going on here! PM me is you have anymore specific questions!

You should take a look at Pittsburgh. We have been twice ranked as america's most liveable city, are totally affordable-MUCH more than you will find anywhere else in the North, many prestigious universities(HUGE tech city), thriving cultural and sports scenes, excellent school districts, and extremely family oriented. People are shocked when they come here to find how nice it is. You should at least arrange to have a visit on your way somewhere else to see firsthand.

Check out htis article on Pittsburgh-it also suggests other cities that you may lik:.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/cities-livable-pittsburg...

One of only two US Cities to be ranked in National Geographic Best Cities of the World List. Sonoma California was the other.
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-20...

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-c...

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-t...

Pittsburgh Number 1 in US and 29th in the world!!
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/news-brief/its-official...

I love the north but I am a smaller town girl. I love Missoula Montana, they have a great university there. I am currently in Alaska and I can not see my self ever leaving this place, it is heaven right here on earth.