Relocation

July 6, 2004 4:58 PM

Any suggestions or anecdotes on researching possible locations for a big move? How to find out mean home prices, salaries, quality of life type stuff? (more inside)

My wife and I toy with the idea of leaving our Oakland, CA, neighborhood and moving somewhere else in the U.S. We would like more land, more greenery, better schools, a safer town where a kid can ride a bike. An area where a teacher's salary is closer to middle class than poverty line, so maybe my wife can work part-time in computers and spend more time with family.

How do we go about comparing the financial factors we need to consider as well as the intangible quality of life factors?

posted by msacheson to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Having just researched a move, I've still got a few bookmarks:

BestPlaces.net

and

Monster moving

were the ones I relied on the most.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:41 PM on July 6, 2004

The Inter-Webbie thingie?

No, I mean it. As someone who has owned 6 houses in 15 years of marriage, and who has just returned from a 2 1/2 year sojourn into the Midwest, and returned to tell of it, I've found that more and more stuff can be researched on the web.

Start with real estates sites, and they'll have things like Cost of Living calculators and comparisons of neighborhoods, school guides, and more.
posted by jpburns at 5:46 PM on July 6, 2004

I grew up in Oakland, CA. I now live in Seattle. Most of the time I wish I could move back. But then I don't have a kid.
posted by falconred at 5:47 PM on July 6, 2004

Once you get your list narrowed down a bit, you might want to come back and ask for advice on specific towns. You'd probably get all the inside dirt that way.
posted by rorycberger at 6:11 PM on July 6, 2004

How about salary.com for salary info, and school guides at Greatschools.net? (Disclaimer: I work for that second site) Also, the idea of asking here about specific towns or areas sounds like a good one.
posted by bendy at 6:16 PM on July 6, 2004

Once you have ideas of places you might like, check the chamber of commerce websites for detailed information on the specific locations. These will give you economic and demographic data as well as give you an idea of what kind of culture surrounds the area.
posted by jennyb at 7:27 AM on July 7, 2004