I want to move to a warmer state: CA, TX, or FL?

New Mexico is pretty dirt-cheap all-around. Even out-of-state tuition at my school (New Mexico State University) is cheaper than almost all other in-state schools in other states. The economy is pretty okay here, too, thanks to the huge federal presence.

What career do you have in mind?

I want to have a software development job. I also want to own my own software development company. Florida and Texas have no income tax which is nice.

Houston has a burgeoning tech industry. Also, it wasn't hit nearly as hard as most of the other cities in the country in the recession.

I used to live in Irvine (I moved about 10 minutes south last January). The only 2 things I don't like about living here: 1. Everything is much more expensive, and 2. Traffic.
Luckily I don't have to deal with traffic very often because I don't have to use the freeways to get to work.
I'm not sure what the prices are like in Miami and Houston, but I'm guessing if you were to get a small apartment or loft by yourself here, you'll be paying $750-1000/mo. When I was in Irvine I was splitting a 2 room/2 bath condo (~900 sq ft) which was $1850/mo. Now we're in a 4 bedroom house with a pool paying $2500/mo.

As for the weather, it doesn't rain much here. I think ~12 inches a year? And that's all this time of the year (it's raining right now actually) and it never snows (except freak storms).

But the pros of living here are nice. The beach is close, Irvine is SUPER clean (cleanest place I've ever seen actually) and also quite safe.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I go to UCI (university of california at irvine) and I LOVE Irvine. There really is no comparison that I've experience with regards to a safe community. The problem with Irvine is definitely the cost of living.

I constantly hear about Florida having very cold weather during the winter (and every time it seems to be "a surprise"). Texas seems like a great place to live, though.

My vote is Texas or California.

[ ] somewhere by the ocean where it is always worm
[X] doesn't snow
[X] and doesn't rain

After running your search criteria through my sophisticated geographical placement algorithm, your best match is: Kuwait



Unfortunately, there are no sand worms in kuwait -- or any other place on earth for that matter. Kuwait does have a lot of sand though, so if sand worms were to ever be discovered, Kuwait would be the place for it. Fortunately however, Kuwait is near the persian gulf so you'll have to settle for 'good enough'.

Quote:

Original post by andreib I've always wanted to live in a worm environment

I've got good news for you.
You can do just that for only $19.99

Wild Science Worm Farm at Amazon

Just set up the kit and crawl inside.
You'll be sure to enjoy your new worm environment.

If you like hot sweaty summers. Here, let me rephrase that... If you like hell in the summer, then move to Miami.

Think sauna 24x7. Think 88% humidity and 88F at 12am. Really. I lived in Melbourne FL and it was like this. Think sweating at night.


Edit: It is very nice in the winter though.

Quote:

Original post by smc If you like hot sweaty summers. Here, let me rephrase that... If you like hell in the summer, then move to Miami. Think sauna 24x7. Think 88% humidity and 88F at 12am. Really. I lived in Melbourne FL and it was like this. Think sweating at night. Edit: It is very nice in the winter though.

While I have never lived in Houston, nor been there in quite some time... I do believe if I remember correctly that it's about the same scenario over there. Hot and humid, and those two are just miserable. I think pollution and crime levels (in some areas) are some reasons people might avoid Houston. Though maybe I am just spoiled living over here in San Antonio.

I just came back to Chicago from Austin, Texas and I have to say it's PRETTY warm in Austin and it has a growing tech industry. The worst it gets is that during the winter, you will need to wear a heavy coat for a couple of days.

Traffic is a bit of a problem (I never drove however), but the city is small enough that things don't take to long to get to.

Plus, it's extremely safe!

I would love to move to Austin. Can any of guys create a phantom company and sponsor my H1B?

I'm moving to southern California in about a month. It's really hard to beat the climate there. Of course you pay for it through the housing prices.

Quote:

Original post by Xelen Quote: Original post by smc If you like hot sweaty summers. Here, let me rephrase that... If you like hell in the summer, then move to Miami. Think sauna 24x7. Think 88% humidity and 88F at 12am. Really. I lived in Melbourne FL and it was like this. Think sweating at night. Edit: It is very nice in the winter though. While I have never lived in Houston, nor been there in quite some time... I do believe if I remember correctly that it's about the same scenario over there. Hot and humid, and those two are just miserable. I think pollution and crime levels (in some areas) are some reasons people might avoid Houston. Though maybe I am just spoiled living over here in San Antonio.

Ditto. If you like to sweat pick TX or FL. It feels like you are getting out of a sauna during the summers as mentioned.
Can't beat CA weather especially along coast.
Only thing people can complain about the weather is that it is too predictable and gets boring after a while.
If you like hot summers you might get disappointed though only averages 75 year round. Originally being from central california where it gets to 100+ in the summer I kinda find it chilly not to mention the ocean is nice to look at but not really all that great to go swimming in since even in the summer the water is ice cold!
Well there is El Nino that comes by every couple of years that adds variety, as is happening right now with all the rain in LA.
Of course the con is as geo2004 mentioned:
1. Everything is much more expensive
2. Traffic.
Second one can be avoided if you choose to along the central coast but then again you'll have a longer commute to where the jobs are i.e. SF,LA, or SD.


p.s. Being from Minnesota if you make it out here I"m sure you'll be one of those people wearing shorts all year round. My old roomate was from washington state and never thought it cold. Then again anything under 60F is quite chilly for me personally.

[Edited by - daviangel on February 8, 2010 3:59:15 PM]

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Original post by geo2004 I used to live in Irvine (I moved about 10 minutes south last January). The only 2 things I don't like about living here: 1. Everything is much more expensive, and 2. Traffic. Luckily I don't have to deal with traffic very often because I don't have to use the freeways to get to work. I'm not sure what the prices are like in Miami and Houston, but I'm guessing if you were to get a small apartment or loft by yourself here, you'll be paying $750-1000/mo. When I was in Irvine I was splitting a 2 room/2 bath condo (~900 sq ft) which was $1850/mo. Now we're in a 4 bedroom house with a pool paying $2500/mo. As for the weather, it doesn't rain much here. I think ~12 inches a year? And that's all this time of the year (it's raining right now actually) and it never snows (except freak storms). But the pros of living here are nice. The beach is close, Irvine is SUPER clean (cleanest place I've ever seen actually) and also quite safe. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Yeah the weather here is absolutely beautiful. If I were back in NJ I would be shoveling snow right now, instead I can wear a t-shirt to work.

The Irvine Company kinda scares me though...they seem to own everything.

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Original post by MJP The Irvine Company kinda scares me though...they seem to own everything.

Tell me about it. I thought it was cool/funny when I first began going to UCI.. "Oh cool, Irvine has 'the irvine company'" but now I just see it EVERYWHERE.

Well, I can vouch for California, as until a couple of years ago that's where I lived. Expensive as hell and you might want to aim for Southern California if you want a drier climate.

If you ever get rich enough to start moving about seasonally, it gets VERY hot up here in Saskatchewan in the middle of summer. Just have the Lear fueled up and ready to go come winter. :)

What's the weather like in North Carolina?

On College Campuses, a Shortage of Men

Quote:

... North Carolina, with a student body that is nearly 60 percent female, is just one of many large universities that at times feel eerily like women’s colleges. Women have represented about 57 percent of enrollments at American colleges since at least 2000, according to a recent report by the American Council on Education. Researchers there cite several reasons: women tend to have higher grades; men tend to drop out in disproportionate numbers; and female enrollment skews higher among older students, low-income students, and black and Hispanic students. ... Jayne Dallas, a senior studying advertising who was seated across the table, grumbled that the population of male undergraduates was even smaller when you looked at it as a dating pool. “Out of that 40 percent, there are maybe 20 percent that we would consider, and out of those 20, 10 have girlfriends, so all the girls are fighting over that other 10 percent,” she said. Needless to say, this puts guys in a position to play the field, and tends to mean that even the ones willing to make a commitment come with storied romantic histories. Rachel Sasser, a senior history major at the table, said that before she and her boyfriend started dating, he had “hooked up with a least five of my friends in my sorority — that I know of.” These sorts of romantic complications are hardly confined to North Carolina, an academically rigorous school where most students spend more time studying than socializing. The gender imbalance is also pronounced at some private colleges, such as New York University and Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore., and large public universities in states like California, Florida and Georgia. The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in South Carolina, is 66 percent female. Some women at the University of Vermont, with an undergraduate body that is 55 percent female, sardonically refer to their college town, Burlington, as “Girlington.” ... Thanks to simple laws of supply and demand, it is often the women who must assert themselves romantically or be left alone on Valentine’s Day, staring down a George Clooney movie over a half-empty pizza box. “I was talking to a friend at a bar, and this girl just came up out of nowhere, grabbed him by the wrist, spun him around and took him out to the dance floor and started grinding,” said Kelly Lynch, a junior at North Carolina, recalling a recent experience. ...

This may seem like a trite quality to highlight, but when you spend all day everyday in physics lectures and in the library calculating differential equations, knowing that you'll have an easy time meeting girls later on is a major plus.

Quote:

Original post by LessBread What's the weather like in North Carolina? On College Campuses, a Shortage of Men Quote: ... North Carolina, with a student body that is nearly 60 percent female, is just one of many large universities that at times feel eerily like women’s colleges. Women have represented about 57 percent of enrollments at American colleges since at least 2000, according to a recent report by the American Council on Education. Researchers there cite several reasons: women tend to have higher grades; men tend to drop out in disproportionate numbers; and female enrollment skews higher among older students, low-income students, and black and Hispanic students. ... Jayne Dallas, a senior studying advertising who was seated across the table, grumbled that the population of male undergraduates was even smaller when you looked at it as a dating pool. “Out of that 40 percent, there are maybe 20 percent that we would consider, and out of those 20, 10 have girlfriends, so all the girls are fighting over that other 10 percent,” she said. Needless to say, this puts guys in a position to play the field, and tends to mean that even the ones willing to make a commitment come with storied romantic histories. Rachel Sasser, a senior history major at the table, said that before she and her boyfriend started dating, he had “hooked up with a least five of my friends in my sorority — that I know of.” These sorts of romantic complications are hardly confined to North Carolina, an academically rigorous school where most students spend more time studying than socializing. The gender imbalance is also pronounced at some private colleges, such as New York University and Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore., and large public universities in states like California, Florida and Georgia. The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in South Carolina, is 66 percent female. Some women at the University of Vermont, with an undergraduate body that is 55 percent female, sardonically refer to their college town, Burlington, as “Girlington.” ... Thanks to simple laws of supply and demand, it is often the women who must assert themselves romantically or be left alone on Valentine’s Day, staring down a George Clooney movie over a half-empty pizza box. “I was talking to a friend at a bar, and this girl just came up out of nowhere, grabbed him by the wrist, spun him around and took him out to the dance floor and started grinding,” said Kelly Lynch, a junior at North Carolina, recalling a recent experience. ... This may seem like a trite quality to highlight, but when you spend all day everyday in physics lectures and in the library calculating differential equations, knowing that you'll have an easy time meeting girls later on is a major plus.

Unless he's gay.

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Original post by djz Unless he's gay.

Odds are he's not but if he is he can use the info to note which colleges to avoid unless he is a she in which case we're back to where we began.