Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and relocation

Moving to Wilmington, NC

sara is disenchanted — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:28:56 -0800

We're moving to the beach! But, I would like a few specifics about life in Wilmington, NC. Hope me Wilmington Mefites! I was offered a career position with the City of Wilmington last week, and now my husband and I have three to four weeks to relocate from Winston-Salem, NC to Wilmington, NC.

I grew up on the Delmarva shore and my husband spent most of his summers and free time visiting the coast from Wilmington down to Myrtle, so we have a decent understanding of coastal living. We're even familiar with where we like to fish and eat and drink and visit when we're in the greater Wilmington area.

What we would love to have is information regarding "lifestyle and living" questions.
-What neighborhoods are best for a married couple (who does not plan on expanding the family any time soon) that earns combined $60K? We're going to live in an apartment from 6 months to a year just to become oriented and save some money, but we would like to purchase a single-family house in the future.
-Any recommendations as far as apartment/condo complexes that are safe, comfortable, and dog-friendly? Any to avoid?
-Does anyone have a suggestion for veterinarians and/or doggie daycare? My schedule is so that we would only need to take the Rocky dog to daycare up to 3x per week. He's 5 years old, healthy, and blind (he gets around just fine, but sometimes we think we should buy him a little helmet!).
-What is traffic like on a regular basis? Is this a bicycle-friendly area (i.e., will I have trouble riding my road bike to work?)?
-What tasty vegetables and fruits can I grow in my garden?
-Best tackle/fishing shops in the area?
-Safe running trails and areas? Good mountain bike trails? Or will I be riding my road bike more with the terrain?
-We're both interested in hopefully joining an adult sport league (he's looking for flag or contact football, I'm more interested in ultimate, soccer, or tennis), and I've found some interesting leads, but do you have any clubs/teams you'd specifically endorse?
-Is there anything that you wish you would have known before you made the move to Wilmington?

Thank you in advance...this totally might be an excuse for a meetup.

Moving to Houston, eh!

arcticseal — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:10:49 -0800

So after 5 years of swimming in the cold waters of Norway, the arcticseals are migrating to the warmer zones of Houston. Which brings us to the obvious question that all newcomers ask: Where should we live? I've been in Houston a few times before on courses etc. with work and I do have colleagues whose brains I've been picking, but would dearly love to hear what the hive mind have to offer. I've searched AskMeFi for previous questions, but most seem to be over 2 years old and I'm looking for more up to date information.

There's the 2 of us, married, mid-30s, Canadian/British, Asian/Caucasian, liberal outlook, arriving in mid-April. I'll be likely working near Dairy Ashford, and have gotten used to a 15 minute commute in Norway, so we'd prefer not to live in the suburbs.

Areas we're looking at (so far) are Mid-town, West University, Montrose, Bellaire and Sugar Land. We're looking for quiet & safe neighbourhoods, with walking access to shops, prefer to be close to the arts, movies, parks and generally cultural hangouts.

Type of place we're looking for is a condo, apartment or townhouse, with the intention to rent short term and then buy, budget TBC but in the range of $250-400k, need to look at finances first. Credit should be ok as I'll likely be getting the mortgage through the company credit union, so initial worries about credit rating should not be a big concern.

Recommendations on areas, good realtors, good building inspectors, places to go, things to see, the good and the bad deals on phone, cable, internet, things to look out for and tips on things to do. We're also planning on getting a dog since we'll finally have our own place, so pet friendly is a must.

Will also need to buy a couple of cars, so recommendations on good car dealers also appreciated.

I apologize for the brain dump, it's going to be a busy couple of months! Feel free to MeFi mail me with any questions.

What are good neighborhoods to consider in the Philadelphia area?

scblackman — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:11:22 -0800

PhillyFilter: My wife and I are relocating to the Philadelphia area and could use some advice on what neighborhoods or (shudder) suburbs to consider. We currently live in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, having previously lived in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati and in the East Lakeview part of Chicago, meaning that we prefer neighborhoods that are more artsy/diverse. We have a new little girl, so safety, schools and greeenspace are important.

We've been looking at places on the "Main Line" but I don't want to live in a generic suburb, and so our attention has been turning more to Germantown and Chestnut Hill, but we could use more suggestions.

I'll be working in Upper Gwynedd/West Point, but am willing to tolerate a commute of up to 45-60 minute if it means living in a neighborhood that we both are happy with.

For the sake of this AskMe, assume that we're a late 30s/early 40s family of 3 and that cost doesn't matter nearly as much as quality of neighborhood, schools, housing stock, safety, etc.

And if you have a minute, what's the scoop on the Friends schools? They don't have them here in Beantown.

Relocating To Pomona, CA : rental housing and general advice?

lalochezia — Thu, 03 May 2007 07:54:54 -0800

Pomona/Claremont/Inland Empire Filter. I have just landed an academic job at Cal Poly Pomona. Does anyone have advice about where to live, in rental housing, NEAR as possible to campus. Advice on apt/househunting in the inland empire in general also requested. General advice about Cal Poly and the Pomona/Claremont area sought too. So, I've gone and got me a tenure-track job at Cal Poly Pomona. I'm going back there next week to negotiate and to meet with real estate realtors/agents. I'm trying to avoid the classic inland-empire commute, and rent a place for a couple of years before I (probably) buy. When I was there for interview, downtown Pomona appears diverse and a little sketchy, and nearby claremont seems a little sterile & white, but safe.

Is there any way I can live a biking distance to work (<5 mi) in a safe but relatively interesting area?i know i'll probably drive, but the option of walking/biking is something i think is hard to let go of. failing that, is there anywhere nearby with a b>minimal commute that has a town-ish culture (i.e. as unlike suburbia as possible)? Any suggestions on particular neighborhoods to avoid?

Any suggestions in general about real estate and agents - things to look for in apartments/houses, prices etc. Suggestions on things to avoid? Furthermore, any suggestions about Cal Poly Pomona and the area in general gratefully received: especially aimed at an 8-yr New Yorker.

For those of you who want to see where Cal Poly Pomona is, here's a link.

Housing in Denver

smich — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:46:20 -0800

I'm posting this for a friend who isn't a member: We are planning to relocate to the Denver metro area at the end of June. We would like suggestions on where to look for housing. A few salient, non-negotiable points: we have a medium-sized dog (half black Lab, half Akita, in case there're breedist landlords out there), and I am a cigarette smoker (I'd be willing to take my habit outside if I had to, but I am not going to lie about it and I'd rather it not be an issue at all.) We're looking at potential employment in South Boulder (me) and the "Denver metro region" (he).

We've noticed while looking remotely at rental properties (and those for sale) that Boulder seems to be quite expensive, Aurora not so much. We're not too hip to living somewhere achingly suburban (i.e., the Denver equivalent of Chicagoland's Schaumburg), but we're not completely sure we want to pay the premium to live in the People's Republic of Boulder either.

If anyone believes that more information about us as people is necessary, please let me know; I'll keep an eye on the thread. Thanks for any and all help!