For those of you who moved to a completely different state you didn’t have ties to….

My family moved to Tennessee because it had no state income tax. I knew very little about the job opportunities but every state needs teachers. I am very glad we made the move. The people are very nice and the hunting/fishing is great.

Before I got sick I was set up to move to Nebraska - Fremont, specifically. Job opportunites galore out there for grain hauling and flat bedders, had been out there quite a bit while working for my cross country job but planned on switching to agricultural hauling when I got settled. I had been researching the area as far as hospital rankings, home ownership %, cost of living, etc. I know a lot of people crap on that state any chance they get because of how remote it is and how awful the weather can be, but I was 100% set and ready to pull the trigger - then cancer happened. Womp womp.

Googled best places to live. USNews said Des Moines, so I ordered a moving truck.

I have some friends who are in the process of moving to Nova Scotia. She inherited a good bit of money and he has a profession that's not geographic dependent, so they had a lot of options. They vacationed there and loved it. Parts of it are beautiful but overall it seems pretty bleak, especially in the winter, which lasts about ten months a year. We'll see if they stick it out.

Don’t move without a solid job opportunity. If the place is completely new to you it will take you a couple years to settle in and make your new connections. Kids and school make this easier. After 5 years you will never leave.

look at crime stats, cost of living, what will the city offer you and yours for entertainment, meals, schools? go spend some time there before making the decision and look at the local news for that area as well.

My wife's firm gave her the choice of Austin or risk a protracted wait to Partner. She debated resigning to stay in Nashville, but in the end she caved to the Partnership promise, and we moved to Texas. We've regretted it as the biggest mistake we ever made. She also turned down a position with CALTEX(Chevron) in Melbourne. I can live anywhere and commute to work, but would've been reduced to Mr Mom if we had moved to Australia. So Austin it was. Years later, and we both wish we had packed up and left for OZ.