<p>^^^No, but you can choose which state you live in. DH’s parents were both physicians, and their first two children were born in New York. They chose to move to Wisconsin when DH was small just so their kids could attend UW. That’s where all five kids went.</p>
<p>Sometimes I regret having moved to Maine, because my kids would have gotten a much better, less expensive college education in Texas. But that was my choice. I DO NOT think colleges should be run by the federal government - what a disaster that would be!</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn, I know what you mean. People who do not live in small-population states without an outstanding state university system sometimes find it hard to imagine that the state U simply will not do as a safety for all kids.</p>
<p>Well how many people move to a state because they like the public university system? Look at the figures - we’re a very transient society. People are forced to move all the time for jobs, marriage, etc. Probably very few people who are now in California have any connection to the people who invested in building a great university system many years ago.</p>
<p>Come to think of it - most people cannot choose the state they live in (unless they’re willing to do what we’re thinking about - moving to a state when they’re close to retirement). If you have your kids young, not everyone can get a job in any state that they choose. I have friends who work in state government, or as lawyers or judges. They can’t move.</p>
<p>Attorneys certainly can move. Some are corporate in-house counsel, some change firms, some go to different offices if they belong to a large firm with multiple offices, etc. They might have to take another state’s bar exam which, though not fun, is certainly doable.</p>
<p>amazon - if I were doing it over I would move to North Carolina. Seriously. The standard of living, weather and property tax is much lower than NJ. Admission to UNC is much easier from in-state North Carolina. North Carolina is a lovely state.</p>
<p>We live in PA - the in-state tuition for Penn State is ridiculous compared to what people in other states pay.</p>
<p>I knew this conversation would devolve into this. I think we should all hold ourselves to the standards of two-physician families. If they can pull something off, surely everyone else in the country can do it too. If they can’t they’re just not trying.</p>
<p>What if the attorney is married to someone with a corporate job? What if one of them has a pre-existing medical condition and can’t change jobs? Yeah, everything’s very easy if you just put your mind to it.</p>
<p>Devolve into what? You said attorneys couldnt move. Of course they can. Now you are adding in a separate issue-- that of 2 income families where one might have a harder time relocating. Well duh, that has been an issue for many families for a long time. No need to be antagonistic. You are fortunate that you have the luxury to relocate, and also that people have stopped dissing you for trying to game a system, as they did several pages ago.</p>
<p>amazon, I particularly enjoyed the huffiness around how a 15 yr old’s opinion of state flagships should be allowed to determine where the family moves…:D</p>
<p>Actually, my physician friend is the <em>only</em> person I know who was able to choose a place to live based solely on preference for the location. Few other professions offer such mobility.</p>
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Well, it works fine in all other developed countries.</p>
<p>I would prefer that public colleges be funded by the federal government rather than a hodgepodge of state systems of varying quality.</p>
Not wanting to turn this into a discussion on the status of healthcare in the US, but if the employed person or persons works for a company moves/changes jobs to work for an employer that provides a group healthcare benefit, as long as there is no interruption in coverage, there should be no issue with pre-exisiting health issues. These are not issues that would block a relocation.</p>
<p>Only read the first few posts. My input. The weather in Michigan is just as bad as the weather in Wisconsin- our weather gets there the next day. </p>
<p>You really need to consider a lot more than living in the state you currently think you want your child to attend college in. You need to learn a lot about the demographics, local economies, cost of living and so much more. For your child’s sake do not move to the college town. It is much nicer to leave home for college. Therefore look at the places you would live. Liberal/conservative? Bible belt? Democrat/Republican? Blue/white collar? Good public schools? Cosmopolitan? All of these are the sorts of things we are checking on to relocate within the US. This is a vast country with many regional differences in much more than geography, weather and other published differences.</p>
<p>Addenda. Read the posts. We don’t all agree on things in this country. Every region has its own “flavor” based on the residents. Can the states that allow creationism to be taught or forbid abortions be made to change or the states that have opposite laws be forced to change? Religions play a large role in how things are done, hence my Bible belt criterion. Places where fundamental Christianity is the predominent religion are fine for those who agree with it, but for those who believe the mythology is totally wrong it would be hard to be surrounded by people whose social lives and beliefs are contrary to theirs. Your choice of place to live will influence your teenager’s ideas of how the world should be run.</p>
<p>wis75 - Do you mean don’t move to the actual city within the state? That’s an interesting thought. I expect that North Carolina would be something like other places I’ve lived - Ohio and Jacksonville, FL. Even though many people in the state might not be very cosmopolitan there are also a lot of relos. And I think the climate and cost-of-living are supposed to be good. There are regional differences but in a lot of places they’re getting smaller as people move around. I was surprised at how international both Ohio and Jacksonville were for example. Where are you thinking about moving?</p>
<p>No, just a majority of the voters do when choosing public officials.</p>
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<p>We are responsible for the actions of our elected officials.</p>
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<p>Sure, starting with the governor. If you don’t like the policies of the one you’ve got, get started on electing a new one.</p>
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<p>It amazes me how some people take no responsibility for things their state government does. They don’t seem to realize that the only thing it takes to change things politically in a democracy like the US is sufficient will to do so in a majority of the voters.</p>
<p>coureur - Your arguments wouldn’t even be valid if there were only one dimension - higher education - in state politics. Every individual in a state is responsible for every policy of that state? Colorado is the only state that just lowered the minimum wage. Does that mean that all minimum wage workers in Colorado are responsible for this policy and deserve to suffer the consequences whereas people in all other states deserve to have their pay unchanged? Even if I actively campaigned for better universities in New Jersey every minute of the day, it would not have an immediate effect (if any) and I wouldn’t be personally “responsible” for the state of our colleges now or ever. I cannot be a “majority of voters”. And our new governor is probably going to be worse. I feel terribly guilty already even though I voted against him.</p>
<p>amazon, colorado voters are responsible for passing an amendment to the constitution that ties minimum wage to inflation. hence the change. </p>
<p>colorado voters are also directly responsible for many decisions that have decimated the state’s school funding: currently it is near the bottom for per student spending on the college level (it used to be 49th out of 50… now, with the growing commercialization of the schools it may have creeped to 48th.)</p>
<p>Let me get this straight. You live in NJ and want to set up a temporary home in NC to save money on tuition at a “name-brand” flagship U for your son whose interests are still to be determined. When all is said and done with the financial deal you want to move back to NJ because it is more cosmopolitan than those other places (except for those transferees). </p>
<p>OK, there are so many things wrong here…</p>
<p>1) NC has great schools full of people from hicksville (not cosmopolitan enough to live with but to go to school with your son?).</p>
<p>2) Public schools in NJ are full of cosmopolitan idiots, as Rutgers is clearly not good enough for your brilliant son, yet the HS (that send the students to Rutgers) are very competitive and decrease his chances of getting in to a “good” OOS public.</p>
<p>This whole thread comes down to a whine about paying money to go to a school with cosompolitan people. Quite frankly, you sound so self-absorbed that you don’t recognized that the country is full of intellegent people and great schools if you care to look for them and pay for an education. Take it from someone who has come to appreciate the differences and similarities in the people he has lived among from coast to coast - You will find what you need if you are willing to take the time and pay the cost.</p>