Best Place to Move to in USA

I moved to Texas 14 years ago... I lived in San Antonio for the first 10 and loved it! I would move back there some day I think... right now, I'm about family and live very close to my parents... this is what is important to M., family... I live in Plano, sub of Dallas, lots to do, you have every season in Dallas, right now we are in a VERY HOT summer, we had snow last year and the leaves change... if you like it HOT, move here, however, there is always A/C so you can live just fine even if you HATE the HOT...
I know there are some that hate the Texas schools, but I think it has offered a lot to my children, as well, as more opportunities than I had in Illinois...

California!!!! Silicon Valley... we have everything here

Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, San Jose
Palo Alto, Belmont, San Carlos, Los Altos... the list goes on & on

I grew up in Los Gatos and loved it 20 min from Santa Cruz (beach) and great schools

I loved San Diego....but it's TERRIBLY expensive now...

Florida doesn't have bad winters - although I've never personally lived there.

Northern Virginia is good...we do have winters but not six months...housing is OKAY.....

My sister LOVED Las Vegas - believe it or not, it's a VERY family oriented place.

I'm a military brat - so i wish I could move every 3 to 4 years again....this is the longest I've ever been in one place 15 years....yikes!!!

GOOD LUCK!! HAVE FUN!!!

Well, I love San Diego. Lots to do here for families, and the weather can't be beat. In the winters, it's COLD if it gets into the 50s. These past couple of weeks, while the rest of the country is suffering with the terrible heat waves, it's topped out at 85 - with low humidity! - at my house. Perfect beach weather. :)

The one thing is that I don't really know what the job market is like out here. My husband has a stable job in IT, but I don't know how many companies are hiring. California in general, and San Diego specifically, are under terrible budget constraints. And that will affect everything from taxes to city services and schools.

The housing market hasn't been great. A lot of people I know are upside down on their mortgages and have either foreclosed or gone through short sales on their homes. That may mean that you can get a good deal on a house, but there do seem to be mini bubbles within certain price ranges and areas. All this is moot for us, because we have a home that we intend to stay in for the rest of our lives that we bought before the market peaked. But it's something to consider for people just moving here.

Good luck on your search.

If you want short winters id recommend Texas. I dont even own a jacket, a few light sweaters.....when it snows here we pinch ourselves.

Im looking for a longer winter myself, not a snowed in kind but a good 4 month retreat from the heat.

We moved to Plano/Allen TX in 1989 from Charlotte NC. LOVE it here. We are a northern burb of Dallas.
TONS of things to do.
We have not been hit as hard with the economy as many states have been.
Love the fact that we have 2 great airports and we can be at either airport within an hour and be on either coast within a couple of hours.
Schools are excellent, our daughter is 16 and will be a Jr this year.
Companies are moving in, hiring and business is booming for many people.
I could go on and on about how much we love it.

Right now is the worst part of the year with the heat but I cannot stand cold weather and we do not have that much of it here.

We love it.

I agree with TF - TEXAS!

I am in the IT business, too. If I were looking for a place that was warm/hot with good IT job opportunities, I would consider California and Texas first.

Hard to beat San Diego for the weather, but terribly expensive housing when you're coming from Saint Paul - heard its a fantastic town aside from the winters: ) I can never leave my home because the my property taxes have been grandfather'ed in, but don't mind being stuck here!!! I love all of CA (and tons of IT) but also enjoy Boulder, CO, and Austin, TX in particular.

Seems like your son being so young, if a move is to be made, its the best time.

California!!!! Its beautiful, expensive to live but totally worth it!

San Jose has moderate weather and a ton of tech companies in and around it. There are lots of really nice parks for the little ones. We're 45 minutes from San Francisco so lots to do there.
It's crazy expensive to live here though so be sure to research cost of living before you start interviewing and negotiating salaries.

Charlotte, NC or Charleston, SC. We usually experience very short winters here in SC. We don't cool off (to M. that's 60's) until December and then maybe our highs are 50's until February. Then a gradual warming over March & April. I won't lie - our summers can be brutal, but hey that's what AC is for! Both of these cities have so much to offer besides jobs as well. Culture, fine dining, shopping, extra curricular fun. Charleston was just named #2 (behind San Francisco, CA) as one of America's Top Cites by Conde Nast! Good luck!

Seattle...lots of IT jobs! Love the water.. Mild weather.. Today it is mid 70s.. But it rains a lot.. But everythingis green!!

If you're even considering Seattle... know that we have white skies (solid) 250 days a year, and if you add 50%-75% overcast over 300 day a year. It's 50 degrees and raining 10 months of the year. Meaning you have to play indoors for all of those 10 months. It's absolutely gorgeous for 6 weeks, but that's it. 2 weeks of winter, 6 weeks of summer, and 10 months of rainy, damp, grey weather. ((I know sooooo many 'transplanters' who think that we just buy our kids $500 worth of raingear every year and play outside in the parks. But we don't. The parks are empty.)) Our weather is "moderate" temp wise, as we almost never hit 90 or freezing... but 50 degrees and raining (which we had all last week) is our "normal" weather. Constant grey and drizzle.

ALSO, cost of living is *through the roof*. New York is more expensive, San Fransisco is neck and neck, and Hawaii is cheaper in most ways.

Average costs:

2b/1ba starter house: 500,000
2b/1ba starter house an hour out of the city: 300,000
Group Daycare for a non-potty trained infant/toddler : $1600 p/month
Preschool: $7000 per year
Private K-6: 15k
Private HS: 20k-35k per year
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I feel ya. I've been looking for "the" place that meets my requirements for happy for a few years now. I want snow in the winter, a backyard pool in the summer, mountains for snow w/in 2 hours drive, beaches for surf w/in 2 hours drive. Small town/village to live in near a train to a big city for culture schtuff on the weekends. Dual Enrollment for school (we homeschool, so K12 districts don't matter... if they DO matter for you, Fairfax County VA has some of the best schools in the nation). For M., I think that's Mass nearish Boston. But Boston is pretty cold/ probably not what you're looking for.

I've lived in Seattle, Huntington Beach (s. of LA, CA), San Diego (CA), Pensacola (FL; aka redneck riviera), New Orleans (LA), Charleston (SC, alligators and humidity), Chicago & Peoria (IL), and travelled to 40 out of 50
Good Luck in your search!!!

I agree with CO! My sister lives in Loveland and when we visit, we so want to move there! It's a beautiful state with so much to offer and a great place to raise kids.

We are currently in the Twin cities also and have the opportunity to move. We have the house up for sale and are heading back to Colorado. It is perfect for us. I love it because it is sunny almost all the time, even when it is cold. You get all four seasons, but not so harsh. It snows there, but melts within a few days. It hardly ever gets in to the negatives. The summers are warm, but dry. No humidity=no bugs. Spring and Fall are GORGEOUS!
The job market out there isnt the best though. I would definitely check in to that before you go. That is how we ended up here. Good Luck in your search!

Arizona is great! The summers are HOT but thats the only downside. What I liked most is that so many people move there from all over the country in search of the better place to live! I found that people were generally more friendly (probably because everyone is in the same boat and they WANT to meet people) and theres always things to do and the cost of living is pretty good.

And to add to my earlier post. I travelled extensively prior to having kids. Austin Texas was GREAT, SanAntonio is awesome for raising kids, There are places around Dallas and Ft Worth that have good schools and are family friendly- not sure what subdivisions of each city- some are better than others of course. But I truly liked Texas. And all of those cities are good for IT

Personally I think Denver has perfect weather. You still get the seasons and some snow but it usually melts the next day. Plus I read once that Denver gets more days of sun than Miami Fla! I lived there for 5 years. Tons to do there as well! I am not sure how job market is these days.

Moved to the Denver area from Chicago. LOVE it here - weather, people - everything. Ft Collins, CO or Loveland are wonderful communities. About 1 hr N. of Denver. Good luck with your search.

Here's a fun website that might help:

http://www.findyourspot.com/

Have to comment on Leslie's statement about people stuck on freeways for hours every day... That's an exaggeration. Yes, traffic can be bad with a long rush hour but I don't think it's worse than other large cities. The biggest negative in my opinion is cost of living combined with underfunded public schools. Otherwise, great weather, tons to do etc.

Check this article out!
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/

Hi! I have 4 small children and moved to the east coast from Wisconsin! We live on Cape Cod Ma. The area is laid back and great for kids! If you want the city life, you can always go to Boston for the day. The summer is great now because we go to a different beach every weekend, and you can choose a pond or the ocean. It is tourist season here now, so the activity here is busy!!! The highway (RT 6) is a 2 lane rd:) There is alot to do here family wise;) We love it here, we call it a "bubble" lol. The schools are great here too! Several of them are top in the nation. The houses are reasonably priced too;) Good luck and keep us posted!

My girlfriend lived in Portland, OR. I visited many times, about three times a year for about 5 years. So many things to offer there, mountains, ocean, not as congested as Seattle. Life is nicely laid back, just a great atmosphere!

I would also agree with the San Diego people. Beautiful weather but so many things to do...mountains, ocean, but a little more congrested.

San Diego! By far the best weather hands down. I lived there two years and loved it. Wish I could move back. No cold winters, and the summers are beautiful because there is no humidity. You can sit outside in the middle of July, and not break a sweat. It is a good size city, so there should be lots of possibililties there. The beach is right there, and there are tons of things to do there. It only rains about 10 days out of the whole year. I would say that the only downside is that housing prices can be pricey. Florida is nice too, I grew up there, but you do have hot and sticky summers, but with the bad economy right now, you can buy a lot of house down there for very little money.

We just moved back to the midwest. You can find kid friendly places around the US. There are lcultural differences no matter where you go.
We loved Monterey Bay with a baby, but you have to be ok with foggy morning. No major temp swings. It stays 50-70 year round.
the south is hot and humid in the summer, definitey not what I would want. I missed the change in seasons.
In Seatle/Tacoma I missed the sun While you aren't stuck inside for snow, you can be inside year round because of rain. Seattle does have plenty of options for kids.
If I was pickiing a city without living there I would look into Indianapolis or Denver. I think they would be a little milder than the twin cities, but not a big culture difference. You would still have seasons.

I didn't see traffic mentioned here. I know that in San Jose people spend hours every day sitting in their cars on over-crowded, backed up freeways. Wherever you move, I'm sure that is something you want to find a way to avoid.