Need Help deciding where to move.

[Rusty]

So Eric and I are going to be relocating in a year or two. Basically we just want to get out of New England and away from these Horrible New England winters. We need help figuring out where to move.

Eric would like to move to a state that doesn't have State income tax. That leaves us with Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Tennessee. We also don't want to deal with snow so a lot of those are out of the question.

Our first choice was Nevada but then I realized that the non mountain parts of it have a very high Tarantula, brown recluse, black widow, and Arizona bark Scorpion population. I have a completely irrational fear of spiders and such that literally makes me sick and paralyzed with fear. it is so bad that I have broken down into tears just talking about the fact of having these creatures in my new house. So i cannot move to a state that is known for its Tarantula Migrations. I've also talked to some people at school that lived north of Vegas where they get some snow and they said that they still had Black Widow infestations now and again.

Next on the list is Florida but I'm assuming that b/c its so tropical there the spiders are probably pretty big. And i hear you can have roaches and shit like that.

I'm personally voting for Tennessee....Can anyway say what its like to live out there? Is it really as redneck as it seems lol And what are the bugs like?

What other places would you guys suggest? Including states not listed above? We just want to be w/in a few hours drive of a couple race tracks, have very mild winters and not have me being in a continuous panicked state b/c of my fear of scary bugs.

~ Valerie

[Accord R33]

This is completely absurd. There are bugs everywhere.

[quickangel93]

i drove through Tennessee, its beautiful btw, and my supervisors family lives there, so he travels back and forth every 2 weeks. he says he loves it there and wish his job was there. housing is cheap. he said he found a house with 3 beds 1 bath 2 car garage and 2 acres of land for like 47k.

im thinking about going there in the future, there is a auto college there.


so 1 vote for me

[foamypirate]

Austin, TX.

Strong IT market, strong overall economy, coast is only a 3 hour drive, surprisingly non-desert like in this area, cost of living is decent if you aren't down town or out west in Hill Country. Humid like Florida, but we only get the left overs from hurricanes, instead of the whole thing. Has a lake through downtown that you can kayak on, just tons of stuff to do. Great music scene, great bar scene. Pretty much, it rocks.

That's my vote.

[owequitit]

Rusty, unfortunately, you are being unrealistic.

Any tropical, humid or hot place is going to have "bugs."

Tennesee will most likely have replaced the black widow with the brown widow, which is essentially the same thing, only a different color.

I can also just about gaurantee that any of the humid and tropical states like Tennessee and Florida are going to have mosquitos and cockroaches the size of 737's and school busses respectively, so no escaping there.

In Nevada, you are replacing the brutal winters with brutal summers through most of the state, though not all of it. Also, pest control in any of the states for spiders is actually pretty easy. You simply have the house sprayed once a month which kills the food supply, and thus no black widows or scorpions. They will not live where they can't eat. I think in 20 years my parents have had 2 black widows and 2 scorpions in their house.

I think you would have to deal with snow, but there is one city in Washington that is right on the border of Oregon, so you live in WA with no income tax, and then shop in Oregon with no sales tax. But, it probably gets snow.

I would recommend actually travelling around and visiting to see what you think, as there is no perfect place.

[93.4dr.22A1]

Everywhere has its downsides. Over East they have tornadoes and hurricanes, and hot summers. Over here its really wet, and the winters are seeming to get worse every year.
There is no "perfect" place to live.

But IMO, Ill take my cold winters instead of bad enviromental hazards.

[JoshM]

I'm personally voting for Tennessee....Can anyway say what its like to live out there? Is it really as redneck as it seems lol And what are the bugs like?

I've lived in TN all my life. Chattanooga (southeast TN) for 19, Nashville (middle TN) for 3.

Depending on your definition of "redneck", you may think we all are, or you may think 1 out of 50 of us are. We all talk like hicks, because we don't know the difference. But, rarely will you see overalls, cowboy hats, camo attire, etc, unless you go to WalMart.

Depending where you live will depend on bugs. Of course if you live close to water you'll have more bugs. Worst place (bug wise) I've ever been is East Ridge, a suburb of Chatt.

March-April = 60*s-70*s. Pollen galore.
May-July = 80*s.
August = Miserable. 90*s-100*s, at least 80% humidity.
Sept-Nov = Pleasant. Rains quite a bit.
Dec-Feb = Really f'ing cold. But, you may not think so since you're used to it.

[Clean_4th gen]

Come on down and join the Florida tuners!

[Rusty]

I do realize that everywhere has bugs. Even Mass has Widows and recluse family spiders. But there is a difference between having some in the state and them being a constant pest. I'm also aware that just b/c one part of the state has a high spider count doesn't mean all parts of it will. The only place i'm getting my information now is from google so obviously if i type in "spider population in NV" i'm going to read about a bunch of horror stories. Which is why i'm asking people on the forum to discuss their living / spider conditions.

Scott the information about your parents is pretty much exactly what i'm looking for. What area of AZ are they in and can we stay with you when we come visit

Josh - thanks for the info. I looked up the average Temps and snow fall out there and thats nothing. lets just say the high here today is 27* and thats just about average.

I would love to join you down in FL. I Love the heat and don't really mind humidity. How bad are the bugs in your area?

[JoshM]

Josh - thanks for the info. I looked up the average Temps and snow fall out there and thats nothing. lets just say the high here today is 27* and thats just about average.

We do get cold here, but no where near what you get up there. Our mornings are really fucking cold, but the afternoon temps usually make up for it. The high today is 40* (for one hour), the low this morning was 14*.

Snow fall is next to nothing. My sig picture is the most snow I've seen here in many years. lol

[Flatline]

I do realize that everywhere has bugs. Even Mass has Widows and recluse family spiders. But there is a difference between having some in the state and them being a constant pest. I'm also aware that just b/c one part of the state has a high spider count doesn't mean all parts of it will. The only place i'm getting my information now is from google so obviously if i type in "spider population in NV" i'm going to read about a bunch of horror stories. Which is why i'm asking people on the forum to discuss their living / spider conditions.

Scott the information about your parents is pretty much exactly what i'm looking for. What area of AZ are they in and can we stay with you when we come visit

Josh - thanks for the info. I looked up the average Temps and snow fall out there and thats nothing. lets just say the high here today is 27* and thats just about average.

I would love to join you down in FL. I Love the heat and don't really mind humidity. How bad are the bugs in your area?

Palmetto bugs are really the only worry you might have. In the wooded areas you can find banana spiders but they don't move around very much. Wolf spiders can pop up but in 10 years, i have only seen one worth worrying about. and they don't even bite.

It's the damn iguanas you have to watch out for...
Compared to NY where i moved here from, the roaches aren't horrible. and you can keep them under control pretty easy. In all honesty, the only thing i really think you should think about is do you want to live in the retirement state? wayyy too many old people here....

[Rusty]

Its a retirement state... but also a state with no emission laws.

I did a little research on the Palmetto but... creepy as hell but still better than a spider. Plus they seem to be easily controlled compared to spiders.

I've never had any real exposure to iguana's or lizards for that matter. Are they really an issue and is there a way to deal with them

[JoshM]

I've never had any real exposure to iguana's or lizards for that matter. Are they really an issue and is there a way to deal with them

If you walk towards them, they run away.

Sucks when you're trying to catch them.

[Bullhorn7]

Its a retirement state... but also a state with no emission laws.

I did a little research on the Palmetto but... creepy as hell but still better than a spider. Plus they seem to be easily controlled compared to spiders.

I've never had any real exposure to iguana's or lizards for that matter. Are they really an issue and is there a way to deal with them

Guntersville, Alabama Beautiful place to live im moving there when I get own source of income.. Houses cost about 100k+ but its just so beautiful..

[deevergote]

Delaware