Warmer states?

My husband and I eventually (in 5 years or so) want to move our family to a warmer state! It is currently -11º here in North Country and only project to get colder...yikes! 

My husband has only ever lived on the east coast, and we  are currently living in the same town I grew up in, so we don't have a lot of experience with winters in warmer places.

So, I thought I would as my fave online tribe. ^-^

What is the weather like where you live/have lived? What are the pros/cons of your state? Sell us on your state - or warn us away! ;) Currently only interested in US states as my husband doesn't have a desirable job for emigration and no place would take us. Lol. 

Last edited on 2017-12-29 at 17:51:17 by North

Lol yup, same where I am as well! Hahaha. Luckily I'm only visiting.

I currently live in Arkansas but it does get cold in the winter. Just not nearly as cold as the upper Midwest. And it's actually really beautiful- tons of rock climbing and public lands to ride on! 

Plus Wal-Mart headquarters are there?

How about lovely Tennessee?! We do get cold, but the snow usually melts within a few hours. 😊

Plus we're home to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and it's so pretty anytime of the year; especially the fall! And you could live close to ME. 😉

What about warm Wisconsin? XD

Yes, it is cold here, (currently -26 here in North Western WI), but is is pretty ok as long as we layer, a lot. It makes doing morning chores around the barn horrible this time of year though. I think we only have a foot of snow right now, and I can safely say I miss summer/fall

@koda, you live really close to where I went to college! Or about 4 hours I am guessing

California is great! I live in the Bay Area, about an hour from San Fran, and I ride in Saratoga. The coldest it's ever been that I remember is about 34 and the coldest it's been this winter is 40-ish. The warmest it's been during the winter is the mid 60s. San Francisco is super cold and whenever I go with my family, we always wear a ton of layers even if we'd overheat walking out to the car. Rarely ever have we gone to SF and it's been clear and not super windy. The beaches in the Bay Area are nothing like the beaches you think of when you go to California. Usually, you think of nice warm beaches with blue skies and warm water with light colored sand. No! It's always cold and windy and the water is cold enough to give you hypothermia, even in the SUMMER. The sand is either hot or super coarse and walking on it always hurts. But one memory that sticks out to me the most is when I went to the batteries and climbing onto the rooftops and jumping from building to building.

As for snow... it doesn't snow in the Bay Area. One of my friends on IG was like "omg I wished it snowed" and I was like "no would know what to do lol".

My downtown area has literally everything. There used to be a pet shop, but it closed down and became a candy shop. There are a ton of restaurants. There are two bookstores. My middle school was across the street from it and I'd always go after school on short days for lunch with friends.

But also, one of my friends in my AP comp class was saying that people apparently think that everything is super close. Some of her family was visiting from Korea and they were like "Let's go down to San Diego!!" but it's like eight or more hours away. 

California is also super diverse in every aspect of the word. It's super liberal and accepting of people.

My husband and I moved to North Carolina a few years ago and LOVE it! 

How about Florida?
Some of the pros:
- Warm weather almost the whole year
- Beautiful beaches
- Theme parks (Disney, Universal, Busch Gardens, Seaworld, etc)
- Tons of stuff to do
- Lots of state parks
- No state tax

Some of the cons:
- Rainy summers
- Hot summers
- Lots of traffic in the big cities
- High car insurance for 24ish and younger (my insurance makes me cry I swear)

I live in a tourist area so I recommend not living too close to the main areas. Spring break and winter a lot of people come to the tourist trap areas. Also unless your planning on taking classes I don’t recommend near the big universities unless you don’t mind crazy traffic and some college kids driving.
Yes, we have the occasional hurricane but we have been pretty lucky to escape with little to no damage. 

Umm.. obviously you should come move up to BC, Canada.. hahah
Come live with us in our igloos and we can all snowshoe to work! You'll love the snow and freezing rain and below freezing weather!
hahahah i'm totally joking XD it's not that bad here lol

If Texas keeps this up I'm going to have to start looking at new warmer states to live D:

12 degrees right now and still dropping as we speak plus "snowing" xD

Not to mention I have to work in the morning so yay me D:

We have thought about Fl and Tx because hubby has family there,  but I am TERRIFIED of hurricanes! Hubby says they aren't as scary aa they seem and no worse than tornadoes here but...I dunno. What I have seen on the news freaks me out. O.o I love open spaces, so I would love Texas for that reason! Hubby would vote for Florida, as he is a Brazilian immigrant, and Florida is similar in weather and culture as Brazil (beaches, tropical-ish, tourists, etc). Does North Carolina get hurricanes??

Never considered Cali because I've been to L.A. twice and didn't like it - I guess it isn't fair to judge a whole state by one city! My little bro lives near San Diego and says cost of living is high - maybe not so much up north? 

Wisconsin has pretty much the same climate and BC...I can't even imagine. O.O You are BRAVE!!!

Thanks for weighing in everyone- got some great suggestions I had never considered before!!

I live in Northeast Texas, up in the Arklatex area. I'm about 2 or 3 hours from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. It stays pretty warm here. No snow this year. The days have been around 40 - 70 degrees. The nights are colder. About 20 - 40 degrees. Summers, though. Omg. I'm not sure you'd survive the 110+ degrees with 45%+ humidity. One year, the year my mom's dad died, it was 119 degrees at 78% humidity. No breeze. It was miserable. We also catch just about every storm there is, no matter which direction it's coming from.

I'd suggest the Dallas/Fort Worth area for you. Similar weather to where I am, but more job opportunities.

Plus, in case of major medical crisis, you'll be close to Medical City Dallas. They have the best doctors and specialists. They're polite, they don't sugar coat or beat around the bush, they make sure you understand your diagnosis, they'll repeat anything you need them to or explain further if need be. They take care of setting up appointments, dealing with your insurance, finding what or who you need within your coverage. 

A setback to Dallas, however, is the traffic. Holy Hera. I've seen some pretty scary and stupid driving while going to see my Oncologist. It's... anxiety causing.

Or, might I suggest Stillwater, Oklahoma. That's my hometown. It's a college town, home to Oklahoma State University. There's a huge emphasis on agriculture, even in the public schools. You can start in 4-H at a young age, and by the 8th or 9th grade, you can move to FFA if you desire. You can also do both. It's a pretty good place to live, to be honest. It's not a huge city, but it does have plenty going on.

College football is, obviously, one of the major events. At Homecoming, they have a parade as well as something called Walk Around. The Walk Around takes place on campus. The Fraternity and Sorority houses all create elaborate floats, there are food stands, music, it's just a lot of fun. 

In a nearby town, Ponca City, they have an Herb Festival every year on the first weekend in June. There are herbs, soaps, hand scrubs, metal works, candied nuts, wine slushies, clothes (including a really great tie-dye booth), handmade essential oils (I always stop at the Tall Grass Prairies booth), and so much more. I go when I can. Hopefully I feel up to going this year.

Also, not so far away in Pawnee, they still host the original Pawnee Bill Wild West Show on Pawnee Bill's ranch. They've got a small museum, a buffalo preserve, I don't remember what else. It's been so long since I was last there. I just remember it being great fun.

Back in Stillwater, there is always something going on at the Town and Gown Community Theater. I've run lights and sound there before. It's a beautiful theater in the round. They do plays like Radio Gals, The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol, Arsenic and Old Lace, Little Shop of Horrors, and so much more. They also do the occasional Murder Mystery and Improv shows where the audience gets to interact. It's truly a fantastic experience.

There are also numerous and diverse places to eat. Currently, a friend who owns an Indian Curry restaurant in OKC is looking to expand to Stillwater because of how many international students attend OSU. They already have a Thai Cafe, a Japanese sushi and sashimi house, House of Greek, El Tapatio (with truly unique recipes), Bad Brad's Bbq (the best bbq I've ever had), DaVinci's Italian (their cream sauce is made with white wine and heavy cream), and the classic chains like Pizza Hut, Chipotle, Taco Bell, Chili's, Panda Express, etc. It's also home to the Joe's chain. Eskimo Joe's, Mexico Joe's, MoJo's Bowl and Grill (it's a bowling alley and a restaurant in one).

The school systems are ok. I didn't have the greatest success in public school. I think most of it was diagnosed depression, anxiety and PTSD, though. I will make special mention of one man, however; Mr. John Fields. If you have kids or plan on having kids and that man is still around... brace yourself. He is evil. He likes to pick on kids until they either cry or throw a punch. He even tried to harass the Sheriff's daughter. He delights in torment. I hated him and he hated me just as much, mostly because I didn't give him any reaction at all when he decided to have a go at me. He's been a thorn in everyone's butt-cheek for as long as he's been around.

All that said, Stillwater really is a great place. I wouldn't mind moving back home.

i live in arizona, it's great only setback is the hot summers! but it can be the same as the cold you just move from air conditioning to air conditioning or you travel a lot in the summer lol we lived in colorado for a couple years and it was great but i was just telling my parents that last year where i work it got down to -20 degrees lol but it gets hot there in the summer and is super overcrowded -_- we are going to check out utah next because it seems similar to colorado but less overcrowded XD

Hahaha siren I was gonna say do you guys even get snow?! 

I’m in Saskatchewan, Canada... no one even talk to me about the cold 😂 it’s been -45 with windchill the past week!

Don't come to NY, I lived upstate before I moved to my current location and it's always cold here, winter lasts from October-May, and if you remember that blizzard Stella? Snowfall rates of 7 inches an hour for 3 days, the door was literally stacked with snow.