1y ago

Looking for suggestions for a place to move in the US as a remote employee

So the work I do is 100% remote now. I moved to Southern California because of an industry that has in part moved to remote work. My only requirements are a temperate climate, nature access and hopefully a blue-ish state. Is there a place out there that makes sense financially? I’m hoping to buy a house less then 500k. I don’t need access to large cities as I honestly don’t do anything. The only requirement I can think of is access to solid internet as I stream full screen video for what I do.

I’m currently looking at Michigan and Virginia as options.

195 comments

A lot of people in Michigan are expecting the state population to boom in the coming decades. No earthquakes or hurricanes, minimal wildfires and tornadoes. Lots of access to fresh water.
We passed a ballot initiative in 2018 that made an independent committee draw up congressional districts and wouldn’t you know it, the state suddenly went blue when no one could gerrymander anymore! Legal recreational weed, legal abortion, free school lunches, the progressives are moving fast with the new majority.
What area all depends on how much winter you can take. Detroit-Ann Arbor area is probably the mildest, followed by Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo (great cities, lake effect snow storms), Up North (even worse snow) and da UP (Marquette is amazing but if you don’t like snow sports you’ll go insane).
$500k will but you a great house in some suburbs or a decent house in a hot market.
- The Upper Peninsula is actually one of the places that is likely to be least affected by Climate Change. Expect an influx of climate refugees as time goes on.
  If I had to up and move, it's definitely an area I would consider. I fell in love with Marquette while watching Joe Pera Talks With You which was set in and shot in Marquette.
  
  And to consider another looming environmental catastrophe: the currently rising water scarcity can’t scare you too much if you live next to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world.
- What would you say are the downsides to southern Michigan? I’m seriously considering MI and just curious what the downsides would be. I don’t mind some snow.
  
  Being incredibly car-centric is probably our biggest issue in my opinion. If you're expecting to be able to use public transit or even walk to basic necessities, and are looking to purchase a house, you'd likely be looking at areas outside of your price range, generally within highly urbanized city centers. Owning a car is very much the norm here, even within those urban environments.
  
  I'm from Kalamazoo. Lived in the sf bay now for the past 12+ years and many other places in between.
  Winter is no joke, and drags on for a very long time. Diversity is much less than elsewhere I've lived (esp compared to the east bay), as a mixed race person my experience growing up was so much different than my kids' experience in Berkeley. Kzoo is halfway between Chicago and Detroit so not horrible but any big name concerts or museum shows or whatever require a few hours of travel. Like another poster said, also car culture - nobody walks anywhere nor can you feasibly do so (not just because of winter but also due to the influence of Detroit) and outside of AA public transportation is non-existent. And the job market in general isn't great (if you are working remote maybe it doesn't matter, but at least in tech the salaries are significantly less even in Ann Arbor or Chicagoland area vs California, and the number of opportunities way fewer).
  
  It’s really flat here compared to California, you can’t just drive a couple hours to get what you call hills and we call mountains. The Great Lakes are great but they’re not an ocean.
  Flights from DTW are more expensive than from big cities. It’s funny that Detroit is 2,000 miles closer to Europe than SFO, but flights to Europe from SFO are cheaper.
  We started getting wildfire smoke from Canada this year, but I imagine we’re still doing better than SoCal.
  California is still more progressive than Michigan, but we also don’t have as much craziness around ballot initiatives.
  I adore Detroit, but it’s no LA or SF. Chicago is about 4 hours away.
  
  If you've never experienced upper Midwest winters, you'll be in for an interesting experience.
  Also, not much in the way of topology, contrasting with SoCal.
  I grew up in Chicago and got out of the entire area as soon as possible, due to (in no particular order) allergies, weather, and seasonal affective disorder.
  I live in SoCal now and love it here, but climate change will probably force us elsewhere within 20 years. We already spend most of the summer somewhere else to escape the heat.
- Moved to Kalamazoo in 2015 for school and haven't left, really love it here and it sounds like a good fit for OP maybe. From my experience, pretty good remote/wfh options.

Nothing to add, but this is a wildly distopian thread.
- It’s the world we live in sadly
- Yeah imagine reading this post like 30 years ago

West Virginia. No I'm not kidding.
They will pay you $12,000 to move there. Housing costs are absurdly low. Morgantown is a thriving university town close to Pittsburgh. And the eastern panhandle has a lot of access to VA & MD.
Move there and vote please.
https://ascendwv.com/
- I’m seriously considering this, thanks. If you had to say, what are the downsides of West VA?
  
  Poor infrastructure, schools, and amenities.
  
  If you're trying to find work if the remote gig fails, good friggin luck
  
  West Virginians.
- Country Roads, take me home…
  Sounds like a deal!
- @Chetzemoka
  I just fell in love with West Virginia a few weeks back. So beautiful and while not a blue state, exactly, the people there were so welcoming and kind.
- Are they still giving out free mountain bikes to new residents?

I know you said the US but have you considered moving abroad? If you want a similar timezone to the States, Mexico and Chile have pretty easy immigration programs you should be able to qualify for without much effort.. The crime rate in Chile is about the same as Canada IIRC. I left the US in 2017 and I honestly could not imagine coming back at this point.

If you're looking at Michigan I would also consider Minnesota. They have voted blue for the most presidential in a row and this last session with democratic majority has made huge gains. Michigan and Minnesota are showing what Midwestern values really mean.
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are quite large together so you can get most amenities including one of every major sport league. Housing is no longer cheap within the cities because people from out of state are coming back to buy them. But there's tons of jobs and fortune 500 companies headquartered here.
Greater Minnesota has lots of smaller cities as well. Rochester, Brainard or Duluth all got their charms. Duluth has been listed as best city in the nation for it's cheaper coat of living with good job opportunities. Duluth gets real bad winters so get prepared for it. But it's better to be too cold than too hot
- One of the other interesting twin cities facts is that we have a very large theater scene, one of the biggest in the nation outside NYC.
  
  I know we get all the big Broadway hits but a few years afterwards. I know they stop at Chicago and other larger cities first

NM has what you're looking for; cost of living is very low, you can kind of pick the climate you want. We're also blue as a twitter check-mark. We're not super-diverse though; mostly white and Mexican descent depending on where you hang your hat.
- What does NM stand for?
  
  New Mexico.

When you're looking at Virginia keep in mind that Northern Virginia is what makes Virginia blue. Most of Virginia is purple or red especially the farther you get from DC.
- Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Charlottesville contribute as well, but basically if it's not a city or the suburbs of one, it's red as a sunburn.

fwiw you should probably add walkability and public transport to that list, it's one of the most significant improvements you can make to your general physical and mental health, as well as saving a disgusting amount of money on not needing a car to buy groceries.

north of Sacramento and south of Seattle.. for that price you'll have to be inland a few miles.
- south of Seattle
  Dear god please no. I've been here in "South of Seattle" for a good portion of my life, and due to the influx of remote workers, I'm being priced out. Restaurants are shutting down because the workers can't afford to live in the city anymore.
  I know that's not the fault of the remote workers, it's the fault of a capitalist system that refuses to budge on pay for work that just a few years ago was deemed "essential" and these people were expected to brave a deadly pandemic to keep things running but are now back to being treated as disposable and replaceable. They're pretty over it, and many of them are giving up on cities like this because of it.
- Eureka is quite nice.
  CA north of SAC is definitely not "blue-ish" in the slightest. Towns like Yreka are basically de-industrialized, the locals blame "environmentalists" for that, and now Siskiyou County goes like 70% Trump.
  Also, Redding is an absolute shithole.
- Would you say that’s a bit cold year round? What are the summers like?
  
  South of Seattle (South King or North Pierce counties, or even further south, closer to Olympia) gets occasional snow in the winter, and occasional 100+ degree days in the summer. Summer is gorgeous FTMP, with temps around 75-80 most days. Oct-Mar can be rough if you're prone to seasonal depression, from the lack of sunshine. Plan to vacation somewhere sunny for a week some time in January or February, and you'll do better.
  I will say this specific area is pretty rural and red, vs the city centers closer to Seattle and Tacoma.
  Michigan gets frigid winters, doesn't it?
  
  North of Sacramento? Not cold at all, and there are lots of great places to get out in nature. I can't speak to Seattle much, it will get colder than Sacramento but the nature is probably even better. Summer near Sac can be very warm and get over 100, but that's becoming more common more places

Seriously consider Scranton, PA. I live here and most houses go for well under your budget. You get all the seasons, are surrounded by state forest, and multi gigabit internet is available (thru Comcast unfortunately but other ISP's are moving in soon). Also it's in a county that remained blue during PA's 2016 turn to red.
- Would you say there’s any downsides to PA? Scranton seems like it may fall on the colder side yearly but not too bad
  
  PA can be fairly cold expect snow and ice every year. It does snow in Virginia as well but I can tell you it's on average atleast 10 degrees warmer in VA vs PA year round. (Lived in both areas). Virginia is wetter (and far more humid than CA) and has more hills since Appalachia cuts right through a lot of the western part of the state. If you don't like the outdoors I'd suggest eastern Virginia. If you like the outdoors western Virginia is great for outdoor activity (hit or miss on things like high speed internet, research any specific towns your interested in out there.) One thing I will say is that Virginia is NOT blue. But then Scranton is probably considered the beginnings of Pennsyltucky too.
  
  The Scranton Strangler qualifies as a downside…
- @FPSkra I also hear it's the electric city; they call it that because of the electricity
  @Anissem
  
  I know this was a joke but it is actually interesting...supposedly Scranton was the first city in the US (or maybe PA) with electric street lights.

It sounds like you want to move to Oregon or Washington. They have way better climates than Michigan.
- Oregon is blue, but mostly in the cities where home prices and cost of living are both high. Moving away from the cities give better affordability, but it turns red quickly. So pick your poison.
  
  That's true anywhere in the country though. Not a lot of blue rednecks.

You can do ok for 500k here in Rhode Island. No mountain wilderness, but the beaches and islands are gorgeous, and there’s lots of nature to the western part of the state.
- Thanks will check it out!
- The waterfires more than make up for it though!

Pennsylvania, depends on what you’d like exactly. Small city? Lancaster fits the bill perfectly. Big city? You have Pittsburg. Massive city? Philadelphia.
I’d vouch for Lancaster though, it’s very blue, very diverse, the area is on the cheaper side; and the city is thriving and growing extremely well. It’s a quaint little city. Further you get access to the absolutely gorgeous Appalachia with just a 20min-1 hour drive to various breathtaking national parks, state parks, lakes, mountains, and game lands.
The city is very walkable and is mainly pedestrian focused with a pretty good public transit system. Everyone also bikes everywhere and they are more common then cars. There are also several colleges and the historical Franklin and Marshall College so the area is maintained well and looked after.
Plenty of houses and apartments for less then 500k and the vast majority of the market is under 800k with not many outliers.
Climate is temperate year round, you have access to a major city as Philly is 1 hour away, there are scenes for pretty much anything, LGBT? Check. Art? Check. Film? Check. Alcohol? Check. Politics? Check. There’s something for every hobby.
Due to Franklin and Marshall and several companies there is a decently sized programmer, streamer, Youtuber, and computer scene as well since you might be interested in that.
The broadband and internet infrastructure is also very good and you can have direct access to fiber ground wire if you pay, so internet speeds can be lightening fast.
It honestly ticks all your boxes!

Western MD, upstate NY, somewhere in Illinois that’s not Chicago, western Oregon that’s not Portland…just off the top of my head. Those are all decent places in terms of long-term climate change issues, as well. Basically, pick a blue state, go to a red rural part. Blue state laws, red state prices. I’d be careful long-term considering Michigan and Virginia safely blue, as well.
- Thanks!

How "temperate" are we talking here? Michigan will for sure have actual winter. Is temperate comparable to SoCal, or just not absolutely miserable winters?
Come to Manitoba lmao
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba 😭
  Awwwww hell naw. Pretty sure everyone there is suicidal and desperately trying to escape. Not to mention that 98% of the population is all concentrated in Winnipeg since the rest is an Arctic tundra and impenetrable pine forests.

Washington would for the bill once you get outside the Seattle area. You can find things on the peninsula or up in B-ham for get $500k.
- Olympia area is still very affordable.

Rural western Virginia has fiber internet to your home in a lot of places.
For example: https://www.alleghanyhighlandsbroadband.com/
- thanks! Internet is a big requirement unfortunately. My work has me streaming 3 monitors, one with full screen video so even some latency is a problem
- Alleghany County is extremely red, Covington has a large paper plant which has a nasty smell, and Clifton Forge has a massive coal train terminal and is the most depressing place I have ever been.

I can't recommend Kentucky enough. It ain't blue, but it meets your other criteria. House prices are very reasonable. We live just outside Fort Knox and when the Army is done with my wife we're moving back
- Wha... what exactly are they doing to her??
  
  I laughed.
  They're working her too hard and paint her too little. In seven years she'll be at 30 years and it will be time to be done.
- What do you like about it so much? I’ve never lived in a place I wanted to live in. All my choices have been because of family or career. I really just don’t want be be too hot (Southern California here) or have to carry inflated prices because I live near ‘all this cool shit’ that I couldn’t care less about.
  
  It's beautiful.
  From where we live a bunch of interesting places are within an easy drive. Nashville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati are all three hours or less away.
  The people are mostly kind and mostly polite.
  The cost of living is relatively low.
  The pace of life feels slower.
- I second Kentucky. Wife is from there, and we are looking to move back there somewhere around Lexington or Louisville because it is extremely affordable and still a nice city.

I've been thinking of Puerto Rico.
- Why?
  
  Mostly all the natural beauty and the low cost of living.
  I visited for a few months and loved it.
- power goes out 12 times a week, water's on for only 5 hours a week, internet drops out every 2 hours, (only alternate option is musky), no cops, no fire dept, no schools, trash is just piled up with no plan whatsoever, no public transit, more superfund sites per sq mile than any state, more taxes than in the USA, .... hurricanes, earthquakes and narcos.
  if you knew all that, why would you choose Puerto Rico?
  
  power goes out 12 times a week, water's on for only 5 hours a week, internet drops out every 2 hours, (only alternate option is musky),
  I visited for 2 months the only one of these I experienced was the internet going out once.
  no cops, no fire dept, no schools
  That's just not true at all.
  trash is just piled up with no plan whatsoever,
  I'm from NYC, so I guess I'm just used to trash.
  no public transit
  That's true, but apartments in the middle of the city are so cheap that most things were within walking distance for me.
  more superfund sites per sq mile than any state,
  I've never looked at this when deciding where to live, but I just looked it up and there are way more within 50 miles of me than there are in all of Puerto Rico.
  more taxes than in the USA
  Still way cheaper cost of living than where I live.
  hurricanes, earthquakes and narcos.
  Those are the only things you mentioned that are an actual concern to me. Since I work remotely, I'd have the luxury of leaving temporary if there was a massive natural disaster.

For fully remote anywhere in the midwest is good as long as you don't need the big city nightlife. You can buy a starter house in the rich parts of KC for 500k, or a nice house in the middle-class areas.
- Illinois is a great option. Can easily find a house for less than 500k in most of the state. The state has really rebounded since Pritzker became governor.
  
  Having lived in both rural and metro IL and MO, I'd choose MO any day. Even with all it's problems, it's not as bad as IL.
- KC isn’t really blue-ish state wise. Missouri is full on MAGA and Kansas has a dem governor but is full on MAGA otherwise. And Kansas will have a republican governor in 2027 when governor Kelly’s term is up.
  
  KC is an excellent city! It's cheap with fiber nearly everywhere, great food, friendly people, and the best BBQ.
- Definitely don’t need access to anything much. Very much an introvert who avoids people

Ashland, OR.

Anywhere in New England is great, but I'm also biased.
Also except New Hampshire, but I'm also biased being from Massachusetts.
Plus you're so close to Quebec and Toronto which are super fun to visit. Western MA has a ton of nature trails in the summer and skiing trails in the winter. Plus Massachusetts history is great!
- New England tends to be a bit cold no? Seems like 6-8 months will be on the very cold side
  
  It depends on what your version of cold is haha. I love it but it tends to start to get colder toward the end of october and then get warmer around the middle or end of march; anywhere between 30ish to 50ish (as a high) though of course with climate change (sigh) it's pretty much all over the place!

I might be a bit biased for my own state, but Oregon sounds like it could be right up your alley. Real estate prices have kinda settled down recently after the inflation we had the past few years, so you can find nice houses for 350-500k in the slightly-rural areas surrounding Portland like Gresham, Oregon City, Estacada or Sandy.
Nature access is excellent, especially if you were to live around the Columbia River Gorge like in Corbett. A drive to the coast is under 2 hours from there also.
- I am in Oregon as well, outside of Eugene. I love it. Hour to the coast, hour to the mountains, and just a general great place to live.
- Brother in law wants to move to some Washington/Oregon border town to take advantage of tax stuff. What would you say are the downsides of Oregon?
  
  Aside from the social issues mentioned by Jim, if you're looking to move somewhere on the I-5 corridor be aware that Oregon's reputation for ceaseless rain is, in some ways, well-deserved. Fall through spring is very cloudy and rainy. It gets gloomy and if you suffer from SAD it can be hard on you. On the other hand, summers are beautiful, with mostly sunny and warm days with the occasional heat spell.
  Being a fairly large state with varied terrain, there are several climate zones:
  Summers are hotter on the I-5 corridor south of Eugene.
  The coast is cool and cloudy year-round, and rainier than the I-5 corridor.
  Areas east of the Cascade Mountains are much drier, with hotter summers and cold winters.
  
  The biggest downside of late in my opinion has been the homelessness and mentally unwell / drug abuse issues. Measure 110's decriminalization of hard drugs without actually having sufficient treatment options available just exacerbated existing problems. Rural areas have a lot less of this but you're almost guaranteed to see some nasty stuff if you're in the bigger cities.
  A lot of people do take advantage of taxes around here. There's no sales tax in Oregon so people from Vancouver just drive over one of the bridges to do their shopping.

Denver is a super nice city and, while it's NOT cheap, there are cheaper areas near by. Closer to the mountains it's all gentrified, but out on the plains, especially north east and south east of the city you can still find pretty affordable areas.

If you love the outdoors, I recommend Montana and the Wyoming/Idaho border (Teton counties).
- I would agree from an outdoors perspective but there's no part of those states that really fit "blueish". I keep hoping as a neighborhood state, but Wyoming continues to disappoint as does Montana.
  
  Yeah, I was thinking the Teton counties because they are blue, but the state governments are indeed a fascist clown show.

Connecticut is always good. An hour to the shore, close to Boston and NYC. Bradley is a great airport and there are lots of remote jobs if yours doesn’t work out long term. Plus the best pizza in the world.
- Italy has angrily entered the chat.

You may want to stay in the same time zone as work, or a close one.
- I lived in EST and liaised with a team in delhi. Yeah.
  So I got up super early so the gap wasn't bad. It was a regular schedule that didn't fluctuate and while it sucked to become an early bird, it was a great job so it was okay.

A little while ago, I read an argument that Traverse City, MI will be the next Portland. I think that's right. There's a lot of outdooring within a day drive, and it's pretty affordable.
Your main downsides are summer wildfire smoke will presumably be a regular thing going forward, and winters are cold with lots of snow thanks to lake effect. Michigan politics are interesting, and Traverse City is in a historically red part of the state - but I think that's changing.
500k will definitely get you a good house unless you want something extremely new or right downtown. That particular listing is also one block away from one of my favorite breweries of all time.
- Ironically my wife mentioned Traverse. We’re thinking of a lake house situation and I like the Michigan weather with climate change in mind. Thanks!
  
  If you go with this option and haven’t lived in a cold climate before, do your research! A lot of the lake towns up there clear out during the winter because it can be pretty rough. That also means a fair amount of property maintenance every Spring (weather damage etc). If you’re new there will be a bit of a learning curve (taking in docks, potentially a septic tank, etc). I would seriously consider visiting in the winter before you commit, and also looking up when spring typically kicks in (they have long winters).
  It is gorgeous and would be a lovely environment to sit on your computer.
  I would not say the area feels blue even though parts are— you’ll see more trump signs than in socal (still for some reason), and fishing, beer, and hunting are quite common hobbies which makes it feel a bit like living in a southern state imo. (I’ve lived in the east, west, Midwest, and south—can’t speak to southwest or northwest). I actually think I’d choose Minneapolis suburbs if I was in your boat and didn’t mind winter.

Depending how adventurous you feel MX is an awesome place.

Central New Jersey.

"Bluish state" or "makes sense financially".... pick one because AFAIK they seem to be mutually exclusive. If you find somewhere like this with good broadband, please let me know so we can be neighbors!
- Yeah, 500k might get you further in bumfuck nowhere, but good luck finding a grocery store, hospital, or job within 50 miles of you.
  Your closest neighbor will also probably be Blind Terry who fought in Korea and is very racist.

I’m eyeing big bear,ca.
- Been there, it’s but definitely on the cold side, no? Honestly I view this place as where I will die so I need as much info as possible
  
  Well yes they do get some cold weather. I’m hoping to have a place in the joshua tree area too and just migrate with the weather.
  Colorado, northern Arizona, and many other states have better CoL than Ca though.

Wichita, KS is a wonderful town with its own kind of chill vibe, and cost of living is low. But Kansas is definitely not a blue-ish state, despite its current Democratic governor.
Still, I love it here. But if I could pick up the city and move it over to Colorado or something, I would.
- Luckily even though I lean blue, I am an introvert to a fault and as long as I have enough buffer and seclusion, I honestly don't care. No children so I don’t have that worry.
- @ImADifferentBird I was going to say somewhere in Western Kansas would be good as Wichita is Koch-sucking territory, but OP said they're an introvert so they may be able to put up with the bullshit. Out on this side of the state it's mostly senile old people with backwards-ass views and the occasional extremist douche that the rest of the community laughs at the second they open their mouths.
  @Anissem
  
  Maybe it's just the crowd I hang out with in Wichita, but it feels like it's become that way as well. Younger generations here are much more liberal than old people. Koch is one of the largest employers in town still, but I feel like their influence on our politics is waning.

Virginia still has cheap areas and is a blue state thanks to the DC area and Hampton Roads, but the cheap areas suck and don't necessarily have broadband access or mobile coverage.
Are you a blue voter or do you just like blue areas?
https://www.kiplinger.com/real-estate/places-to-live/601488/25-cheapest-us-cities-to-live-in
Michigan isn't a friendly place for taxes on middle-class families. Things have changed with the influx of people from neighboring blue states. For example, my hometown of Grand Rapids, which once had an average midwestern cost of living, is now no longer affordable:
So-called affordable housing in Westside is around $2000/mo
Rooms start around $800/mo, which is more than my mortgage payment an hour south in Kalamazoo
Houses under $500,000 are plentiful, but you'll be a belligerent in a bidding war to get one. Furthermore, you won't be getting a palace at that price.
Also, if you are looking for somewhere temperate, you'll only have that here May through August.
- I honestly don’t care red vs blue but my wife would take a bit of convincing to move to a red state. We live in the outskirts of LA county and have never taken advantage of that so I feel like we’re wasting money and roasting, especially considering we’re now 100% remote
- Virginia still has cheap areas and is a blue state thanks to the DC area and Hampton Roads, but the cheap areas suck and don't necessarily have broadband access or mobile coverage.
  Virginia is roughly purple. The General Assembly is hung (one house majority Republican, the other majority Democratic), and the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are all Republican.
  The DC area is ridiculously expensive ($1 million or $2500/month is quite possible). I can't speak to Hampton Roads.
  The city of Richmond, most of Henrico County (not Varina), Charles City County, and part of Chesterfield County are blue. Charles City County is cheap but good luck getting a phone signal with certain carriers or getting internet access. Glen Allen, Short Pump, and the West End (all Henrico County) are all pretty expensive as well but less so than DC.
- Are you a blue voter or do you just like blue areas?
  People live longer in blue areas. In America, the difference could be as many as 10 years.

You should think about Minneapolis. The winters are gnarly, but very few climate change related problems on the horizon, reasonable cost of living, one of the most bike friendly cities in the U.S.

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