Where Should My Family Move To?

i dunno, hon, sounds like unicorn country. work in industries that are primarily fun, but still earn enough to provide for a family. the beauty of the countryside but easy access to the amenities of a town. and not too expensive.

we should all move there!

:) khairete
S.

What you should do is apply to jobs first and see where you get hired. Then you go from there. Say 3 different places offer you or your husband a good job that can support your family. Then you go visit each place in person and try to get a feel for it. Good luck. When my husband started grad school we moved to a different state and I then found a job and eventually went to grad school too. Then he applied to three postdoc jobs in three different states and we had to pick.Then he applied to a professor job at a university in another state and we moved there for 7 years. Then the place he did his postdoc at lured him back with a great paying job and we decided for various reasons to move back. We never just pick a state and move there. It's more that great job opportunities come up and once you are offered a job then you can think about moving to that place. The jobs we have moved for have payed our moving expenses. If you move first before you find a job you might get stuck in a cycle of poverty/debt that is hard to get out of. Moving is pricey. Finding a place to live and settling in is pricey. Job searching for months to a year may put you into real debt. Good luck.

Well, you say what you'd like to do, but you don't say what your skills are. There is a medical cannibis plant recruiting in western Pennsylvania. This is gearing up since medicinal use is now OK by law here (no legal recreational use), but I think you need a science background (bachelors in biology, chemistry, or something similar).

This region has healthcare companies that hire software engineers to develop new consumer and internal applications, but I've not heard of much in gaming.

Low cost of living - got it
Lots of rural areas within easy driving to a moderately sized city - got it
Weather - it would be a big change from Louisiana. It's 0 degrees here right now, and while I'd like to say that's an anomaly, it's not. We get single digit temps for at least a week every winter.

So, whether or not an area like this is a good fit depends on your skill set and what compromises you are willing to make.

One of my good friends live in Wyoming near Colorado, and travel there all the time (hiking, etc.) and the pictures she posts are just gorgeous. I often think that would be a wonderful place to live - the weather is beautiful (much milder it seems than here). It was springlike whereas we had snow. The quality of life seems great. It seems like health is a big deal too - she's into walking, taking care of herself, and so do their friends - just that lifestyle is easy to keep up. So it seems quite laid back.

I have another friend who lives in Seattle - I don't know if that's cannabis friendly, but that seems like a really nice place to live too. She feels it's a bit grey at times (weather) but very mild - compared to here. Lots to do.

I love where we live - beautiful but can be cold although I'm used to it. It's definitely laid back and wonderful quality of life. We're in a town near a city so we have the best of both worlds. It's affordable. Again, it's very nice if you're into hiking, and healthy lifestyle.

I think Colorado though is spectacular - I have another friend who lived there for a while (she was in the IT field) and she absolutely loved it.

Welcome to Mamapedia

As a Colorado native I would not recommend Colorado. It is beautiful and there are plenty of places close, but not actually in the mountains. Boulder sounds like the perfect place for you, but you will need to win the lottery to even rent a house there. 🤷🏼‍♀️

There problem is the major growth and population change Colorado is experiencing due in part to the Cannabis laws and it is causing major rifts between the locals and newcomers.

Anywhere that is close to the mountains, tech or cannabis friendly is not going to be affordable. Most places that are affordable are farmland and far from the mountains. These people are awesome and hard working, but not development, tech or cannabis friendly.

Just my my two cents and I am sure you will find happiness where ever you land.

Good luck on your move. 😀

What kind of work does your husband do now? Video game design is a very competitive field requiring at minimum a software engineering degree and most of that work is here in the bay area (silicon valley) where it's extremely expensive to live.
What do you mean "or sports"? Like he wants to be a professional athlete or manager or coach? Unless he's already in the field that's not really likely to happen.
It's cool to be cannabis friendly and all (I certainly am) but the education and careers must be in place first. If you're able to make at least $100k come to California, otherwise Colorado is probably a more reasonable bet. And forget about living in the woods and making any kind of real living, unless you're running some kind of business you can do remotely that's just not feasible.

This is a huge process and you need to really delve into the research.

It's not enough to "want to work with video game designing or sports." That's a wide range of interests, and your son's father needs to get training or take courses so he is up to date in the ever-more-sophisticated video field, and he needs to understand the competition. It's not for someone who likes to play games, but someone who is into the technological part. What does he mean by "sports"? Coaching, training, broadcast, writing, playing? Again, very different skill sets for each one, and competitive fields.

Cannibis friendly - that's growing (no pun intended) but again, you need skills to work in what is an entrepreneurial field and some local opposition even where it's legal. Massachusetts is in the early stages of this, with the first stores opening recently. Western MA is rural, and towns are small. But it's -2 degrees today, a big change from Louisiana. Your child will be needing preschool soon, and public schools in 4-5 years. So you need to understand that rural communities have regional school systems because they can't afford the whole thing alone. So you're looking at longer school bus rides. And from the time he's ready for play groups (starting now), you're going to have to work much harder to find a community with enough programs (even informal mom-and-me play groups) to keep him engaged and stimulated.

It would help if you could say more about your qualifications and your son's father's skills and background.

In general, be absolutely sure that at least one of you has a firm job offer, that you have researched housing costs including property taxes and utilities (oil heat is killing budgets in this polar vortex mess and climate change), that you factor in the move costs, and that you have a strong school system for your child. Be sure you have plenty of savings before you undertake this, and that you are totally realistic rather than living a fantasy that there's a charming and affordable house in the woods that's in a town with great schools and fun businesses and a good public works staff so you get plowed out in the winter or protected from fire in dry and hot areas (think of CA this past year).

What is your husband's degree in? Computer Science? Art? Athletics? Marketing? (My son is researching how to get an entry level spot at a video gaming studio and knows he needs a degree in Computer Science, Art, Visualization or Animation and from a top 20 school...preferably a double major in CS and Art or straight up Viz to even apply.) I have no idea about sports other than I have a cousin who works for a big name national sports team her degree is in marketing and she sells advertising for them on a national level. She got her job through family connections. My niece makes personal websites for players from another big name national team her Design degree with minor in Marketing and Web Development is from NYU school of the Arts. She used personal connections from college and networking to get her current clients.

Those industries are hard but do able if you have the right connections. If your son's father has the qualifications to apply to gaming houses he should start applying to ones in cities where you might want to move...San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, all have thriving tech areas.

I would find a job first even if it means travel to interview and then you get to see the area. As far as a job for yourself the cannibus industry is thriving nationwide and I would do research into what part of it you want to work and build your work resume to look good to a prospective employer.

Look at where the jobs are then pick the location, good luck!!

Long distance relocating is a long process and you will change your mind on your requirements several times over before making a final decision.

Where ever you go - make sure you have a job lined up there first.
Louisiana is warm - moving to a less warm place will have you feeling cold for awhile until you adjust to it.
Also - if your child is about 1 now in 5 years time will be in school - so you will be looking for a good school system too.
Greatschools.com can help you look schools over in areas you are interested in.
Once you find a job in an area you are interested in - try renting a place for a solid year before you buy a house.
You'll get to know the area better, know the local traffic, etc.

I think in most areas you will have to drive at least 30 min to get to a town if you are living in a wooded/rural area.
When your child is in school do you want them to have a long bus ride to/from school?
Because when he gets sick at school and you have to go get him it will take you a long time to do that.
Also it would be nice if you had a few neighbors that might have some kids so your child has some playmates.
It's a real trade-off finding an affordable place to live vs the time it takes for you to drive to/from work.
I've known people with 2 and 3 hr commutes (living in West Virginia and driving into DC) and it's a hardship living in your car all the time and being at the mercy of weather and traffic and the price of fuel.
Good luck with your search.

I was going to recommend Washington state (Seattle area)! We are cannabis friendly, Microsoft (Xbox) is here, we have strong sports teams, gorgeous mountains and lots and LOTS of places to hike.
But then you mentioned affordable...and seattle is NOT affordable.
Maybe Portland?

Do I understand your question? You want to move in 5 years? The places recommended now may not be desirable in 5 years. And....you and your husband will have changed in 5 years. By then you may no longer be interested.

Both of you want to have professional jobs. Getting trained certainly doesn't depend on where you live. If training isn't available where you live now, then of course move to get training.