GrayGhost81 Relocation Thread. "You all may go to Hell, I will go to Texas."

[GrayGhost81]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if anyone here has ever relocated to a different part of the country by choice, without being transferred in a job or anything. I'm talking about picking up and moving to a different state or region and finding a place to live and a job, etc. all at once.

My wife and I have both lived in New Jersey all of our lives. We both hate it here. We intend to move to Texas. I visited Austin in 2006 and truth be told, I should never have come back from that vacation. I had a lot less anchoring me to NJ at that time.

Now my wife and I own a house here we'll never be able to sell, and we'd have to charge an exorbitant rent to cover the mortgage payment. We may just do a jingle mail but I'm not sure about that yet.

Our current plan is to first and foremost aggressively pay off our credit card debts (under $5K right now, they were a lot higher when we first met, we've been paying them down for years and now finally this is a goal that is seriously within reach). Then we are going to visit TX sometime in the summer. My wife has never been there and although I know she'll love it as much as I did, I just want to make sure. We intend to look at places to live and maybe even interview for jobs and at least start doing some networking. Who knows what can happen? At the very least we'll get a nice vacation and see the lay of the land as it were.

So if anyone has any thoughts or advice about any of this stuff, I'm all ears. It's a little scary as I have seen so many people over the years trying to do this (though mostly to CA and FLA) only to return to NJ. When we leave, we don't want to come back.

Additionally if anyone here lives in or around Austin I'd love to hear from you. I'd like to know what areas surrounding the city would be good for us (we're in our mid 30s with no kids nor plans for any).

(Note: Please, this needn't become the "Why the hell would you want to move to TX?" thread. Yes, I know it's very hot there. That is precisely why the wife and I want to live there. We both love very hot weather, and that's just one of the many reasons we think the area is right for us. We've thought about it a lot.)

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Austin, too hot? I think you need to reconsider your priorities. Austin already has horrendous traffic, and in the next 10 years, will be one of the worst gridlocked cities in the US. Wherever you move if you decide to move to Austin, it better be within walking distance of your job.

We have a studio in Austin - I can always ask around for decent areas to visit/live if you'd like.

[GrayGhost81]

Austin, too hot? I think you need to reconsider your priorities. Austin already has horrendous traffic, and in the next 10 years, will be one of the worst gridlocked cities in the US. Wherever you move if you decide to move to Austin, it better be within walking distance of your job.

We have a studio in Austin - I can always ask around for decent areas to visit/live if you'd like.

Thank you man, that's exactly why I wrote this thread. Maybe ask about job openings too?

As for traffic, nothing is worse than the Northern NJ/metro NYC area. Nothing. OK Maybe Los Angeles but I've been in that too and the traffic in and around Austin (at least circa 2006) wasn't even in the same universe.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Los Angeles: #1 in US
Austin: #4 in US

http://www.forbes.com/pic...s/ehmk45mihf/4-austin-tx/

[GrayGhost81]

You win, traffic is bad in Austin. Still, I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. A million times over I'll take it.

Here's my commute. Route 80 westbound from 287, and I'm about 30 miles away from home in this pic. Didn't get out of second gear until about twenty minutes after this pic.

[img width=700 height=393]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/grayghost81/IMG_20140306_174047_191_zps6eabe800.jpg[/img]

There are always reasons not to do something. Traffic don't scare me.

[Duke.Togo]

Best of luck with the plans. I've not been to that area, but always enjoyed the Houston area. Traffic there was bad enough, so I can't imagine worse places. I can't say I blame you at wanting to get away from Jersey.

[monkees19]

Gtfo, I live in NJ as well. I do not blame you for wanting to leave. It does kinda suck. My wife and I are thinking about moving to Canada actually. We live out of the in laws basement with our two kids (ideal isn't it?) and have been looking to get out. I've never been to Texas but best of luck getting out of this hell hole.

[techwizard]

if it wasn't for your hopes of somewhere warm i would agree with monkees19 and say come to canada, we're good people

[Crabmaster2000]

Its definitely not warm up here, but there are typically plenty of jobs available the further north you want to go




PS - The traffic isn't bad either

[blcklblskt]

You win, traffic is bad in Austin. Still, I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. A million times over I'll take it.

Here's my commute. Route 80 westbound from 287, and I'm about 30 miles away from home in this pic. Didn't get out of second gear until about twenty minutes after this pic.

[img width=700 height=393]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/grayghost81/IMG_20140306_174047_191_zps6eabe800.jpg[/img]

There are always reasons not to do something. Traffic don't scare me.

This is NJ traffic, even during snow storms lol.  I hate the traffic here.  I'm looking to move out of NJ when I graduate, and was considering Texas because of the weather and no state income tax.  Sometimes you need to commit fully to something and just do it, and not look back.  This may be one of those times.  Good luck GrayGhost!

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

Its definitely not warm up here, but there are typically plenty of jobs available the further north you want to go




PS - The traffic isn't bad either

Canada is where I keep peeking. Hat of the free and whatnot.

Can always come to Cincinnati. We have bars and some hills and a river, and we bitch about our traffic but it's not so awful.

[Izret101]

Jersey traffic sucked ass when i was coming back from Too Many Games.
Texas traffic sucked ass when i was moving down there. Cross the state boarder instant parking lot for hours.

I liked where i was living in TX. Every area has its downsides though. Don't go in with rose tints make sure you are fully researching anything before just jumping into it.

I moved to TX on a whim but i still had a place to go(living with a person i had never met) and was guaranteed a job(with people i had never met) before i got there.

[Tynstar]

I moved from San Diego to Phoenix. I tried moving for Phoenix to Eugene, OR but our house didnt sell.

My brother lives in PHX so I came over and looked for an apartment and a job.

As far as moving to TX, the heat isnt why but the state is LOL. I have been to a lot of different states and that is one of the ugliest in the land.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Scott - both Arizona and Texas hate women. Not sure why Texas is so much of a LOL when Arizona essentially states that women don't have rights.
I'd suggest moving to Florida, but I can't even keep a straight face saying that. The south sucks.

[singlebanana]

I guess it really depends on what you are looking for in terms of the types of jobs and the environment (climate, nightlife, beaches, mountains, etc.)  I've lived in NC all of my life and one of the perks is having easy access to mountains and beaches, and a very moderate climate. We don't really go out, but there are great restaurants and bars/clubs in the bigger cities. Not saying you need to move to NC, just saying that these are some things you need to consider before moving.

I had some friends who lived in Austin for a few years for grad school. They seemed to love it. Very hipster type town, with good music, if that is what you are looking for.