Choosing which part of the country I want to live in?

[violinist21]

I haven't experience life outside of New England and upon graduating from college I am considering to possibly move out of here.

I have been thinking of the following areas/countries

New England: Mass, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Mid-Atlantic States: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia

East-Central: Ohio and Michigan

South: South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia

I was wondering of you can offer any help to classify them according to 1) Cost of living and 2) Availability of BME jobs, and maybe 3) Lifestyle of people in these areas? (For example, along the lines of life in MA is very fast paced - life in OK is more relaxed..)

I have lived in the city most of my life, but I am not big into nightlife etc. I like simple, "country" living better. Any help/suggestions?

[Usmivka]

Huh, so you want a BME job, low cost of living, and great people. And you like country living accessible to the cities with BME jobs.

I'd say you want none of the above, and instead should be looking at Washington and Oregon, maybe Northern California (cost of living in proximity to those jobs may be more of a stretch in NorCal). There is a reason the long-term flow of people is pretty much one-way from East to West.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Usmivka

[victor.s.andrei]

I'd say you want none of the above

I second this. The OP should go west.

[victor.s.andrei]

I haven't experience life outside of New England and upon graduating from college I am considering to possibly move out of here.

I have been thinking of the following areas/countries

New England: Mass, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Mid-Atlantic States: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia

East-Central: Ohio and Michigan

South: South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia

I was wondering of you can offer any help to classify them according to 1) Cost of living and 2) Availability of BME jobs, and maybe 3) Lifestyle of people in these areas? (For example, along the lines of life in MA is very fast paced - life in OK is more relaxed..)

I have lived in the city most of my life, but I am not big into nightlife etc. I like simple, "country" living better. Any help/suggestions?

Don't come to the DC metro area. Way too many government jobs, atrocious traffic, rushed lifestyle, and cost of living through the roof. Plus it feels like we all work for the DMV here.

[kateausten]

San Diego has most of what you're looking for except a low cost-of-living. It's a decent sized city, but very spread out, so most people do not actually live in the city center and have suburban rather than urban lifestyles. (I do live in the city center and do my errands in the suburbs because transport/parking are such pains.) The COL is higher than what you'll find away from the west coast except in large cities, but it's not astronomical. I still managed to find a teeny tiny studio in a safe part of the city center for less than $1000/month, which you wouldn't find in, say, San Francisco. The suburbs are more expensive because there are fewer "simple" apartments there -- I got a bargain by going without AC, parking, microwave, etc but in the areas where the buildings are newer, that's often not an option. There is a huge biotech industry here, so you'll find plenty of jobs -- if you're bringing a partner, though, know that the employment market in any fields other than engineering, biotech, software, etc is not good.

[Usmivka]

Another thought is the mountain west, say Colorado, but I really don't know that there are more than a couple BME companies in that neck of the woods.

[stephaniepearson321]

I currently live in australia and want to move to montreal quebec Canada one day.

[PreciousColleen]

I suggest the bay area of California. It’s absolutely beautiful and warm. Sure we have a crazy mix of characters but It has everything once could want in a city as stated above in another post, but the cost of living is quite high.