Try the Texas hill country, beautiful and cheap. Also no state income tax. A ton of my firends in Houston have places out there, even though its 1-2 hours west of San Antonio. Plan on getting an extra place there soon.
Houston is nice if you like living on the sun. What's it, like 100 or so with 150% humidity? I lived there for two years. There are about two months of decent weather and then you die from heat exhaustion.
Being in Colorado, pay 4.7 % taxes and getting up ealier to trade, I have actually thought up Austin, but not Houston. And you are right housing is cheap compared, although I have read property taxes are high. But atleast those are taxes you can wire off.
Housing is cheap in Austin because: 1) it sucks... 2) Traffic is horrid for a place that is a "wannabe" city.. 3) 90% of people can't pass a wonderlic test.. and most important 4) Property Taxes are outrageously insane.. to the point where you end up not saving anything as a 300k house in Austin is the same as a 500k house anywhere else... other than that.. enjoy
I live in the Raleigh area. I've also lived in Charlotte. All depends on what you want. My area has the lowest crime rate in the country for 100K population towns. Snow: usually once a year... much more in the mountains. Flooding... depends on where you live... usually only in known floodplains. Traffic... old-time Tarheels think it's horrendous... think what traffic was like in Calif 40 years ago and that's what it's like here now. Prop Taxes... I pay 0.62%... it's about twice that in the city limits. Homes usually sell in about 30-90 days. Charlotte is a great area... much more cosmopolitan than here. Better restaurants and nightlife, more to do. It's about 3-4 hours to the beach where the water is WARM in the summer (no wetsuits needed). It's about 3 hours to skiing (which is admittedly lame). It is a little more crowded than here. And you probably don't want to live where there are 50K-80K houses. But there are older parts of town where you can probably get a 3 bedroom ranch for $120K in a nice safe neighborhood with people who have lived there for 30-40 years. And if you want to live in the burbs, you can find brand new 3 bedroom homes on an 1/8th of an acre for $120K. Downside is the airport... USAir has the gates all locked up, making it the most expensive airport to fly out of... maybe that will change with the Amer West merger.
I lived in Pinehurst for 5 years. Best place on Earth. Take a look at the Sandhills of NC. Better yet, go to a pig pickin and try to find some double cola ...then you'll be hooked. DRT
Me and wife are moving to NC in about a year. Have had it with cost of living on long island. Property taxes are out of control...everything here is out of control. I`ll probably be trading from home. But an office would be nice. Heck, I may open a prop trading branch. Sky is the limit once i`m out from under the financial grip of this penal colony we call Long Island. Anybody have a list of bd`s in the coastal areas of Wilmington/Wrightsville beach? Or slightly inland.
I've been in the Raleigh area for the last 5 years... moved from PA. I miss the change of seasons, but spring and fall is fantastic... tulips are everywhere. I love the mountains (3 hrs away) Now that I know which fellow ET'rs live around me... kinda scary. H PS... actually getting together with another trader and we are gonna go smack some golf balls at the Lake Shore Golf Course driving range this Fri at 9:00 am
I visited my sister-in-law in Raleigh. I saw houses and a few large shopping centers..... and that was about it. 3 hours from the shore and suurounded by colleges and agriculture. A good test to see if you could live there would be to go sit outside your house and stare at the lawn for a few hours. [Of course this is coming from someone who has always lived or went to school in or near big cities (New York, Boston, Washington, D.C.)]