Where are some great places to live?

Based on the OP's original request/post, I'd recommend looking at Denver, CO.

If your looking at some of the highest PT wages in the country, check out Las Vegas, NV (annual mean wage = $124,060). As far as housing in the LV area, I'd recommend either Summerlin in the far West or Green Valley in the SE. We have no state income tax and low property taxes. With all of the medical facilities and hospitals along the I215, including the Summerlin Hospital, the Summerlin area would be a good place to start looking, plus the temperatures are a little cooler because the higher elevation than Henderson, which is the lowest part of the valley. LV is only 4-1/2 hours from the SoCal beaches.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291123.htm#st

Ron98GT said:

Based on the OP's original request/post, I'd recommend looking at Denver, CO.

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I completely disagree. Denver, the Front Range -- heck even all of Colorado is a terrible place to live. We all hate it here and would leave in a heartbeat if we could, and we are extremely unfriendly to outsiders. I think the OP should definitely look anywhere other than Colorado.



Kurt

I disagree all the way around. Both Las Vegas and Denver are GREAT places to live. There are no vacancies here in Idaho, and you never met any unfriendlier people. We even check to see that visitors have round trip tickets so they'll leave after we fleece them for all their travel money. Snow is butt deep to a tall Indian, and you have to shovel it until the middle of June and start again in August. The week surrounding 4th of July is so hot, you have to stay indoors sitting on an an ice block. We can't afford air conditioning on our minimum wage jobs. And if the drought doesn't end soon we won't even have the ice blocks. Go Away!

Jim

Icc5 said:

Actually most of the million dollar tear downs by me were small,old, almost shacks on huge lots. These were mainly farm workers quarters left from when we had farms here. Gradually they have been replaced and for the most part the neighborhoods look normal again. Luckily in my area most of the people that have bought these properties can afford them and really help and support our local tax base and schools.

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Yes, they have been replaced with $2 million 1400 sq ft homes on 6000 SQL;5 lots!

PigsDad said:

I completely disagree. Denver, the Front Range -- heck even all of Colorado is a terrible place to live. We all hate it here and would leave in a heartbeat if we could, and we are extremely unfriendly to outsiders. I think the OP should definitely look anywhere other than Colorado.



Kurt

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I'm only talking about Denver, not all of Colorado. It's like Austin vs the rest of Texas (yuck). I wouldn't say Denver is unfriendly to outsiders since, like Vegas, so many people are from somewhere else. It was a fun place to be when I was younger and it's where I meet my wife 30+ years ago. We just got back from a trip to Denver in August and the people weren't unfriendly, but the traffic did suck big time.

My big negatives with Denver was the snow anytime from September 1st thru Memorial day. Also, because of the snow, there was gravel of some sort on all of the roads especially in the foot hills where I lived, it was to damn far from the ocean, and I hate the cold. But it does offer yearly outdoor activities, snow skiing, other mountain activities, lots of good restaurants, etc. For housing check out the SW area of Denver which is my favorite part of Denver as you get into the foothills. Lots of people live in Aurora, which is east of Denver, but I always called Aurora Kansas.

Probably the biggest negative of Denver for the OP is that PT jobs have a mean yearly salary of $75K/year (+ state income tax), where-as in Vegas it's $125K/year (no state income tax).

Vegas baby

I haven't done comparisons on health care salaries. IT salaries in Sydney are substantially higher than what I see in Boston, and since I'm in IT we will be much better off in Sydney than Boston. I guess everything is relative....

klpca said:

In our case it involved a pay cut. Easy decision.

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San Diego is a perfect place for healthcare and for a young family. We moved from NY to Silicon Valley and after many yrs, came down here and it is Paradise! Not as expensive as the Bay Area either.

mlnuwer said:

San Diego is a perfect place for healthcare and for a young family. We moved from NY to Silicon Valley and after many yrs, came down here and it is Paradise! Not as expensive as the Bay Area either.

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It all depends. If you're living in Escondido, you're not in San Diego. So it probably is less expensive. Same with the Bay Area. It all depends on where you're living. San Francisco, and some of the burbs around, are very pricey. Others, not so bad.

I'll throw Wisconsin in the hopper. The state usually ranks in the top three on ACT test scores for its students. Lower cost of living, clean air, and people are generally much more helpful. I grew up on the East coast, occasionally go there for visits, and would never consider moving back. (Sorry, don't mean to offend, but its true.)