Looking for suggestions for a place to move in the US as a remote employee

So the work I do is 100% remote now. I moved to Southern California because of an industry that has in part moved to remote work. My only requirements are a temperate climate, nature access and hopefully a blue-ish state. Is there a place out there that makes sense financially? I’m hoping to buy a house less then 500k. I don’t need access to large cities as I honestly don’t do anything. The only requirement I can think of is access to solid internet as I stream full screen video for what I do.

I’m currently looking at Michigan and Virginia as options.

ihavenopeopleskills, (edited )
ihavenopeopleskills avatar

Virginia still has cheap areas and is a blue state thanks to the DC area and Hampton Roads, but the cheap areas suck and don't necessarily have broadband access or mobile coverage.

Are you a blue voter or do you just like blue areas?

https://www.kiplinger.com/real-estate/places-to-live/601488/25-cheapest-us-cities-to-live-in

Michigan isn't a friendly place for taxes on middle-class families. Things have changed with the influx of people from neighboring blue states. For example, my hometown of Grand Rapids, which once had an average midwestern cost of living, is now no longer affordable:

  • So-called affordable housing in Westside is around $2000/mo
  • Rooms start around $800/mo, which is more than my mortgage payment an hour south in Kalamazoo
  • Houses under $500,000 are plentiful, but you'll be a belligerent in a bidding war to get one. Furthermore, you won't be getting a palace at that price.

Also, if you are looking for somewhere temperate, you'll only have that here May through August.

Anissem,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

I honestly don’t care red vs blue but my wife would take a bit of convincing to move to a red state. We live in the outskirts of LA county and have never taken advantage of that so I feel like we’re wasting money and roasting, especially considering we’re now 100% remote

corsicanguppy,

Are you a blue voter or do you just like blue areas?

People live longer in blue areas. In America, the difference could be as many as 10 years.

Trebach,

Virginia still has cheap areas and is a blue state thanks to the DC area and Hampton Roads, but the cheap areas suck and don't necessarily have broadband access or mobile coverage.

Virginia is roughly purple. The General Assembly is hung (one house majority Republican, the other majority Democratic), and the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are all Republican.

The DC area is ridiculously expensive ($1 million or $2500/month is quite possible). I can't speak to Hampton Roads.

The city of Richmond, most of Henrico County (not Varina), Charles City County, and part of Chesterfield County are blue. Charles City County is cheap but good luck getting a phone signal with certain carriers or getting internet access. Glen Allen, Short Pump, and the West End (all Henrico County) are all pretty expensive as well but less so than DC.

ImADifferentBird,

Wichita, KS is a wonderful town with its own kind of chill vibe, and cost of living is low. But Kansas is definitely not a blue-ish state, despite its current Democratic governor.

Still, I love it here. But if I could pick up the city and move it over to Colorado or something, I would.

Anissem,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

Luckily even though I lean blue, I am an introvert to a fault and as long as I have enough buffer and seclusion, I honestly don’t care. No children so I don’t have that worry.

SoNick,

@ImADifferentBird I was going to say somewhere in Western Kansas would be good as Wichita is Koch-sucking territory, but OP said they're an introvert so they may be able to put up with the bullshit. Out on this side of the state it's mostly senile old people with backwards-ass views and the occasional extremist douche that the rest of the community laughs at the second they open their mouths.

@Anissem

ImADifferentBird,

Maybe it's just the crowd I hang out with in Wichita, but it feels like it's become that way as well. Younger generations here are much more liberal than old people. Koch is one of the largest employers in town still, but I feel like their influence on our politics is waning.

FPSkra,

Seriously consider Scranton, PA. I live here and most houses go for well under your budget. You get all the seasons, are surrounded by state forest, and multi gigabit internet is available (thru Comcast unfortunately but other ISP’s are moving in soon). Also it’s in a county that remained blue during PA’s 2016 turn to red.

Anissem,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

Would you say there’s any downsides to PA? Scranton seems like it may fall on the colder side yearly but not too bad

Clocksstriking13,

PA can be fairly cold expect snow and ice every year. It does snow in Virginia as well but I can tell you it’s on average atleast 10 degrees warmer in VA vs PA year round. (Lived in both areas). Virginia is wetter (and far more humid than CA) and has more hills since Appalachia cuts right through a lot of the western part of the state. If you don’t like the outdoors I’d suggest eastern Virginia. If you like the outdoors western Virginia is great for outdoor activity (hit or miss on things like high speed internet, research any specific towns your interested in out there.) One thing I will say is that Virginia is NOT blue. But then Scranton is probably considered the beginnings of Pennsyltucky too.

Anissem,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

Thanks!

FPSkra,

Scranton is a dot of blue surrounded by red…but overall the area is fairly moderate with a few crazies.

greendakota99,

The Scranton Strangler qualifies as a downside…

FPSkra,

I mean yes…but Scranton has made one of those safest cities in the US lists…I think like top 100

SoNick,

@FPSkra I also hear it's the electric city; they call it that because of the electricity

@Anissem

FPSkra,

I know this was a joke but it is actually interesting…supposedly Scranton was the first city in the US (or maybe PA) with electric street lights.

thebardingreen,
@thebardingreen@lemmy.starlightkel.xyz avatar

Denver is a super nice city and, while it's NOT cheap, there are cheaper areas near by. Closer to the mountains it's all gentrified, but out on the plains, especially north east and south east of the city you can still find pretty affordable areas.

SlamDrag,

You should think about Minneapolis. The winters are gnarly, but very few climate change related problems on the horizon, reasonable cost of living, one of the most bike friendly cities in the U.S.

stewie3128,

Ashland, OR.

databender,
@databender@lemmy.world avatar

NM has what you’re looking for; cost of living is very low, you can kind of pick the climate you want. We’re also blue as a twitter check-mark. We’re not super-diverse though; mostly white and Mexican descent depending on where you hang your hat.

undnocheiner,

What does NM stand for?

jaamesbaxterr,

New Mexico.

LifeInMultipleChoice,

Thanks for answering them… but I have to say I had a good laugh at people not knowing NM. It makes sense though, if people don’t know the name well maybe not many people have driven up prices there yet

undnocheiner,

Well I’m coming from Europe, we don’t hear abbrevations of US states very often ;)

jaamesbaxterr,

Lol. Not even a minute after I answered that, I was stumped by someone saying MD. Took me a minute to remember Maryland exists. Also there’s a large part of the population that hears New Mexico and assumes that since it has Mexico in the name it can’t possibly be a state in the US.

LifeInMultipleChoice,

If you find 7 mins to kill and havent heard/seen the gary gulman stand up about abbreviating the states it’s pretty good.

youtu.be/ocjTsBH_nYM

ComradeSalad, (edited )
@ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Pennsylvania, depends on what you’d like exactly. Small city? Lancaster fits the bill perfectly. Big city? You have Pittsburg. Massive city? Philadelphia.

I’d vouch for Lancaster though, it’s very blue, very diverse, the area is on the cheaper side; and the city is thriving and growing extremely well. It’s a quaint little city. Further you get access to the absolutely gorgeous Appalachia with just a 20min-1 hour drive to various breathtaking national parks, state parks, lakes, mountains, and game lands.

The city is very walkable and is mainly pedestrian focused with a pretty good public transit system. Everyone also bikes everywhere and they are more common then cars. There are also several colleges and the historical Franklin and Marshall College so the area is maintained well and looked after.

Plenty of houses and apartments for less then 500k and the vast majority of the market is under 800k with not many outliers.

Climate is temperate year round, you have access to a major city as Philly is 1 hour away, there are scenes for pretty much anything, LGBT? Check. Art? Check. Film? Check. Alcohol? Check. Politics? Check. There’s something for every hobby.

Due to Franklin and Marshall and several companies there is a decently sized programmer, streamer, Youtuber, and computer scene as well since you might be interested in that.

The broadband and internet infrastructure is also very good and you can have direct access to fiber ground wire if you pay, so internet speeds can be lightening fast.

It honestly ticks all your boxes!

SeaJ,

Washington would for the bill once you get outside the Seattle area. You can find things on the peninsula or up in B-ham for get $500k.

IamSparticles,

Olympia area is still very affordable.

CaptainHowdy,

“Bluish state” or “makes sense financially”… pick one because AFAIK they seem to be mutually exclusive. If you find somewhere like this with good broadband, please let me know so we can be neighbors!

ComradeSalad,
@ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Yeah, 500k might get you further in bumfuck nowhere, but good luck finding a grocery store, hospital, or job within 50 miles of you.

Your closest neighbor will also probably be Blind Terry who fought in Korea and is very racist.

PostmodernPythia,

Western MD, upstate NY, somewhere in Illinois that’s not Chicago, western Oregon that’s not Portland…just off the top of my head. Those are all decent places in terms of long-term climate change issues, as well. Basically, pick a blue state, go to a red rural part. Blue state laws, red state prices. I’d be careful long-term considering Michigan and Virginia safely blue, as well.

Anissem,
@Anissem@lemmy.ml avatar

Thanks!

flatpandisk,

Depending how adventurous you feel MX is an awesome place.

Gleddified,

How “temperate” are we talking here? Michigan will for sure have actual winter. Is temperate comparable to SoCal, or just not absolutely miserable winters?

Come to Manitoba lmao

ComradeSalad,
@ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Saskatchewan and Manitoba 😭

Awwwww hell naw. Pretty sure everyone there is suicidal and desperately trying to escape. Not to mention that 98% of the population is all concentrated in Winnipeg since the rest is an Arctic tundra and impenetrable pine forests.

thelastknowngod,

I know you said the US but have you considered moving abroad? If you want a similar timezone to the States, Mexico and Chile have pretty easy immigration programs you should be able to qualify for without much effort… The crime rate in Chile is about the same as Canada IIRC. I left the US in 2017 and I honestly could not imagine coming back at this point.

Swedneck,
@Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

fwiw you should probably add walkability and public transport to that list, it’s one of the most significant improvements you can make to your general physical and mental health, as well as saving a disgusting amount of money on not needing a car to buy groceries.

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