small slopes for sure, but there is typically a small window where it gets quite a bit colder than 55 ))) I went skiing at Sugar a few weeks ago and conditions were not bad as they had about a foot of snow a few days before plus they were continuing to make snow…it was a balmy 22 degrees that day
1 Like
Jersey-shore lover here too, with family ties that go back several generations!
4 Likes
NC/SC, nice moderate weather, the ocean, nice people and some great places with lots of history and other places with really nice quality of life. UNC and USC and many other great schools in the area. Seems like where people are moving to these days.
Virginia: Quite a mix in a single state. From outside DC suburbs/exburbs to rural VA is so vastly different. Has very good state schools UVA, W&M, VTech. Too humid for me though. When we visited UVA and W&M in June I thought I was going to melt. It said 102 on my car temp. My kids loved both. Seems like housing prices are really low in VA (except DC commutable) compared to the NE. YMMV.
1 Like
The request to move away from political discussion should not be taken as a suggestion. Please comply so we can keep this thread open.
3 Likes
@Htas - VA is humid, but I suspect both NC and SC are too. At least near the water. I’m not sure about housing prices in VA. I do know that they are low in the Tidewater area by my standards (I live in NoVA) but they may be rising.
1 Like
Yes, all too hot for me. I can remember being on vacation and doing college tours in all three states and just dying from the heat. I drove my kids around UVA so they could see it and I would not have to walk in that heat. I could not breathe. Embarrassed to admit it but I’m a snow person. And Summer is my least favorite season.
We live in NE so prices are always very low compared to where we live. Shockingly so. ( Only San Fran is higher). Agree that prices are rising in those areas. But they seem to be rising a lot across the US.
2 Likes
Please don’t come here. You’ll hate it. Summers suck. It’s all brown and cactus-y and no fun at all. 
Because the OP still has HS kids, AZ is not a good choice, especially after experiencing quality schools back east. I will say kindly that secondary schools are underwhelming here. At the time our son was going through the system, we lived in the “best” school district in the state and none of our high school choices (AZ has school choice) would have served him well. Most are simply AP mills where learning is a mile wide and an inch deep. But, I guess that doesn’t matter when the state unis basically take all comers and some don’t require standardized testing.
However, serious grade inflation (haven’t met a non-4.0 kid yet) has made it very easy to earn scholarships to our universities, so college can be quite a bargain. And I give an enthusiastic two thumbs up to the Barrett Honors College at ASU. It’s top notch.
6 Likes
Except the $500k for the house. There are a few places where a family of 4-5 could find something, but not in or near Denver, Boulder or in the ski towns. On the front range, go north toward Wyoming or south toward Pueblo.
4 Likes
Hawaii, Big Island, the Hilo side. I think you would have more housing choices in your price range on that side of the island. COL is similar to NJ, only downside and this could be a BIG deal if your family ties are close, is that it’s so far away. I do not know about the K-12 schools, but I think the state Unis are decent. Moving there would certainly be an adventure, I think you can even ski.
Yeah haven’t heard good things about Arizona public schools. I have a co worker who raised her kids in Arizona, but her kids were in private schools. Their state universities aren’t bad.
Uhhmmm… I would move there to live on a coffee farm, but I would not count on NJ-level schools or skiing on the Big Island. 
5 Likes
We would have been thrilled to have found a satisfactory private school. Compared to back east, even those were underwhelming.
2 Likes
deleted, missed the moderator comment
But the cost of living is way higher in most of CA….and that factors into @katwkittens decision to relocate from CA to NC.
This is my very personal opinion. If you have children who are doing well to very well in a high rated school system in the northeast, I would be very careful to investigate school systems before you move.
We kept our children in their top tier in the state school system and moved after they graduated. They were doing very well and were extremely well prepared for their colleges where they majored in STEM fields.
It’s about what you are used to and want out of a school system. For us it was about being prepared for college. Like I say, it’s a very personal decision and this is only my opinion.
We moved after the kids were out of high school. We are very happy with our empty nest location and we are very happy that we stayed in our prior location for schooling.
7 Likes
It really is personal. And it really depends what you’re used to…
1 Like
It is all personal or subjective or whatever-several people have posted about housing costs but if the OP is moving from some places in NJ - a 3 BR 2 BA is selling for 800K plus…and in many towns, a lot more than that. So 500K for a house in NC that probably has more space and amenities…looks pretty attractive…the school thing is also a big shift. My parents are divorced and moved to SC when my sister was going into her senior high school. Moving from NJ to SC - she had actually completed all of the course work the local public school offered. She ended up doing her senior year taking classes at the SC local community college. Then she got a Palmetto scholarship to Clemson. In NJ, she was just a normal A student. Not top ten in her class/competitive. Different worlds! SC was also very good for her in that it was so much more laid back - she was able to move past some issues with stress and anxiety that seen common in NJ schools.
5 Likes
Public schools in the more urban areas of SC & NC have come a long way since I moved here in the mid 90’s. Several area public schools have become so popular (even at the elementary level), they’ve capped enrollment. Nonetheless, there are large number of private school options available at a variety of price points for those who want to go that route. SC & NC are turning out a high caliber of graduate these days (which I don’t doubt is due at least in part, to the massive influx of families moving here).
1 Like
What does this mean? That folks with kids aren’t allowed to move to the district where the schools are located?
They aren’t allowed to go to the school closest to them.
I would pay attention to graduation requirements of any school system I was moving to. Especially, if they only had a year left. Personally, I would never move my kids in HS unless it was unavoidable. Too many unknowns for the kids.
5 Likes