Where to Have Life As An Ex-Expat?

[OnMyWay]

I thought I would pick some minds here.  Mostly U.S. citizen minds, but others might have opinions, and they are welcome.

I have mentioned in other topics that I might consider moving my family to the U.S. sometime in the not so near future.  This is not so much because I don't like it here, etc., but to provide opportunities for my children, and possibly to let my wife collect SS on my account after I am gone.

This would most likely be later on when my oldest, my step-daughter, will be out of the house.  We are hoping she will attend university in Australia.  So, if we moved to the U.S. in say, 5 years, my younger daughters will be 10 and 8.

There are many pros and cons to making a move such as that, but I wanted to focus here on the "Where".  If you were in my shoes and made the decision to move the family to the U.S., Where would you go?

Some of the factors I would want to consider are:

-- Cost of living

-- Quality of living

-- Schools

-- Filipino community around?

-- Weather

Most of my family is in California and I could never afford California.  I have family in Denver area and I like it there, but I think it is more pricey now.  I don't think my wife could survive in a very cold climate, so that rules out many areas.

Any ideas?

[Jake]

38 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Any ideas?

After 50 years plus living and working in southern CA (Temecula area, north of San Diego), we finally moved out nearly 2 years ago.  I never looked back, as I enjoy living here in Las Vegas.  All the above, you can check off but the weather may be uncomfortable for some.  It's dry heat of course with triple digits lasting for about 100 days, until late September.  

The real estate market here is HOT.  We bought a 4 bedroom, 2 story home for about 185K, NOV 2018.  I believe that same home would go for about 300 in CA.  So you can imagine, the crazies from CA flooding the market.  It's still reasonable but who knows what anything would be 5 years from now.  One thing for sure around here is family and community safety.  It's open carry (no permit required) and the Metro and State troopers will not tolerate any violent protests, like other major cities.  

I have a cousin who is a real estate broker.  PM me if you want to research in detail about this wonderful and crazy town of Las Vegas.  Remember, what happens in Vegas, goes to your FB timeline......he, he.  
 

[OnMyWay]

9 minutes ago, Jake said:

After 50 years plus living and working in southern CA (Temecula area, north of San Diego), we finally moved out nearly 2 years ago.  I never looked back, as I enjoy living here in Las Vegas.  All the above, you can check off but the weather may be uncomfortable for some.  It's dry heat of course with triple digits lasting for about 100 days, until late September.  

The real estate market here is HOT.  We bought a 4 bedroom, 2 story home for about 185K, NOV 2018.  I believe that same home would go for about 300 in CA.  So you can imagine, the crazies from CA flooding the market.  It's still reasonable but who knows what anything would be 5 years from now.  One thing for sure around here is family and community safety.  It's open carry (no permit required) and the Metro and State troopers will not tolerate any violent protests, like other major cities.  

I have a cousin who is a real estate broker.  PM me if you want to research in detail about this wonderful and crazy town of Las Vegas.  Remember, what happens in Vegas, goes to your FB timeline......he, he.  
 

Jake, actually Vegas is on my list to look at closer.  My favorite nephew who I get along with really well lives there.  My least favorite nephew left his least favorite wife and moved to Albuquerque, where I also have two other nephews.  My impression of ABQ is that it is a crime infested sh*thole.

My wife thinks she would not mind the heat.  I'm not thrilled about having a house without a lawn, etc.  The housing, I think, has had quite a few peaks and valleys over the past 20 years.  It was very inflated before the 2008 crash, and crashed hard, but like everything else, has come back.

They have a large Filipino community too, right?

[Jake]

35 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Jake, actually Vegas is on my list to look at closer.  My favorite nephew who I get along with really well lives there.  My least favorite nephew left his least favorite wife and moved to Albuquerque, where I also have two other nephews.  My impression of ABQ is that it is a crime infested sh*thole.

My wife thinks she would not mind the heat.  I'm not thrilled about having a house without a lawn, etc.  The housing, I think, has had quite a few peaks and valleys over the past 20 years.  It was very inflated before the 2008 crash, and crashed hard, but like everything else, has come back.

They have a large Filipino community too, right?

I don't think we have a large Filipino community.  The way I determine that was the lack of small Filipino stores, like you would find in CA.  We have a Sea Food City nearby but a bit overpriced.  Halo-halo is at least 6 bucks.  We do have a large Asian presence here (Americanized Chinese and Korea) and to my surprise, a significant number of Hawaiians too.  

Hardly anyone have an actual lawn here due to water conservation during the summer and the heat would kill them anyway.  I have decorative rocks in the front and a couple palm trees.  Later, I plan to remove all that rock and copy something similar to the rice terraces in Baguio.  Lay down some artificial grass for each flat area, about 3-4 levels as it slopes downward from the house.  

Again, my cousin would be more than happy to answer all your questions about this town and especially about the housing market.  

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

This is not so much because I don't like it here, etc., but to provide opportunities for my children, and possibly to let my wife collect SS on my account after I am gone.

So what about when the children have done their schooling and found the opportunities of life. Have you considered if you would come back. Perhaps you will be too old by then, I dont know your age and you probably have not thought that far ahead. 

[Kuya John]

53 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Have you considered if you would come back. Perhaps you will be too old by then, I dont know your age and you probably have not thought that far ahead. 

Age is an important factor its true JGF, a subject which I have talked about with some of the Filipino community here in UK.

They are now realising as they are getting older that medical care is a major factor, especially as a high number are Diabetic.

Also once their children have established relationships and settled into employment in UK or elsewhere overseas, it means choosing to leave them behind to return to Philippines. But most parents wanting to give their children the best oppotunities have to make sacrifices, which is harder to do, the older one becomes.

Fortunately for me, my children are now parents themselves, now they worry for me, to put too much distance between us, in my old age! 

 

 

 

[Joey G]

East coast North Carolina... safe compared to most places... winter is mild... affordable (for now)... fresh seafood is abundant... several areas have Filipino large populations... good medical.   

Never went to Denver until a few years ago... if I was starting over... would have been near the top.

 

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

8 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Most of my family is in California and I could never afford California. 

Google says there are some cheap places to live in California.  I have always liked visiting there.  What about this recommendation from Dr Google?
 

Quote

 

1. Oxnard

About an hour north of Los Angeles, Oxnard offers beachfront living at an affordable price.

The median household income here is $62,349 with median home value settling at $332,600, which is actually a great deal for California real estate.

Golf, winery visits and strolls on Mandalay Beach are all part of living in Oxnard.

With fertile agricultural land surrounding the city, many crops grow in the region. But Oxnard is most famous for its strawberries, with the popular California Strawberry Festival held here each year.

The city has the nickname of the “Gateway to the Channel Islands,” a nearby national park and marine sanctuary.

Oxnard's population is estimated to be 73.5% Hispanic, 14.8% White, 7.3% Asian, 2.4% Black and 1.8% Other.

 

 

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

So what about when the children have done their schooling and found the opportunities of life. Have you considered if you would come back. Perhaps you will be too old by then, I dont know your age and you probably have not thought that far ahead. 

It is always a possibility but as you mentioned I would probably be too old.  This would probably be my final move.

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Joey G said:

East coast North Carolina... safe compared to most places... winter is mild... affordable (for now)... fresh seafood is abundant... several areas have Filipino large populations... good medical.   

Never went to Denver until a few years ago... if I was starting over... would have been near the top.

 

I have never been there and heard it is nice.  Worth a look.  They do get hurricanes there though.  Central Florida is another place I would look due to the low cost of housing.