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[songsofexperience]

No, I don't have a job offer and that's the problem. I think it's over for me. I'm out of love with academe and feeling betrayed by it all . . . years of work and debt and no jobs.

SO . . . my husband and I (who is also an academic with no TT job) have decided to get the hell out of the northeast and find a cheaper, nicer place to live and figure out our next moves. I've been unemployed for a year and his VAP contract is up in June so he will then be unemployed. There are no jobs where we live since the state is at something like 11% unemployment.

We'd like to move to a small/medium city where the cost of living is pretty low and where we might find something to do. I'm more interested in people's suggestions for good places. We've heard good things about Albuquerque, NM. Anyone have any thoughts? We'd both like Portland, OR but it will be too expensive. We don't want to go too far south or north or be right in the middle of the country and, obviously, want to leave the northeast so New England (which is where we are now), NY/NJ/PA/DE/D.C. are out. Our short list now stands at:

Albuquerque, NM
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC
Nashville, TN
Memphis, TN
Louisville, KY

Any other suggestions?  Thanks!


 

[miseenabyme]

Albuquerque and the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area are both fantastic places to live. The cost of living is reasonable, and the quality of life is excellent. There are plenty of interesting cultural events, and both are great for outdoor enthusiasts. Albuquerque has a more diverse population, but the lack of infrastructure in New Mexico and way of life can be shocking to those who have lived in the NE. Personally I love the West. There is nothing quite like the wide-open vistas and beauty of New Mexico. I don't know what sorts of job opportunities exist in either locale at the moment.

[thurston]

I think you'd have to consider other interests and tolerances, obviously. Albuquerque is beautiful but the west can can feel very isolated. Memphis has such great cultural history but harbors a lot of racial tensions even still. RDU can look a little new-south-y (lacking character) and is kind of spread out, but has a generally progressive climate.
Obviously, Nashville has a lot of music and culture, but it's very different from Albuquerque.

Don't know much about Louisville, I'm afraid.

[tandem]

Albuquerque is great!  Kansas City (MO) is also great, but it's close to the middle of the country.  I've heard good things about Denver, but don't know about the price.  Tucson is really nice, and can be inexpensive depending on where you live.  If Portland, OR is too expensive, how about Eugene?  Or, better - Tacoma, WA!  Cheap-o-rama, and an hour to Seattle.

I love random cities. Good luck to you, songsofexperience.  I'm on the verge of joining you in that brave new world of moving wherever the hell I want.  Once these next interviews in random places fail to pan out, that is.
 

[thurston]

Further...I personally would look at Richmond before Memphis, but that's me. Other cities you might consider if you have not already, that seem to fit the size and weather profile, include Fort Worth, Boise (which has good weather for somewhere so far north and is not expensive), Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City (some friends have spoken quite highly of SLC).

[oldadjunct]

Sounds like you have done your homework, they all look great.

Did you check out this site http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/bestcities_sort/index.php?sortby=cost&sortorder=ASC?  Pretty much confirms your short list.

[dr_alcott]

Albuquerque is nice; Santa Fe is even nicer in terms of landscape, food, and the arts. I adore Santa Fe.

Do you have kids, or are you planning to have them? My SO and I left ABQ 12 years ago or so when we knew we were going to start a family. Many of the public schools are awful. A couple are very strong, but we were concerned about the direction they seemed to be heading. I'd echo mieseenabyme's point about the infrastructure.

But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I miss it after all.

[songsofexperience]

The collective knowledge and wisdom of the fora is mighty!

Thanks for the Kiplinger's link. According to the quiz, Durham is the best choice for us. I think I'd like to get further away from the East than that but will still check it out as it is on our list anyway.

We don't have kids and no plans for kids so that's one less concern. We've been toying with the idea of starting a charter school so if we decide to go that route we'll need a state and location where that is feasible.

We are pretty liberal so want to avoid political conservatism and racism.

I love the idea of the pacific northwest so I think Olympia, Eugene, and Tacoma may need to be added to the list.

There's something liberating about the idea of just packing up and moving wherever, especially after being at the mercy of the job market and having no control!

Keep the comments and suggestions coming in . . . I suspect it'll help folks other than myself!

[racerboy]

but it's close to the middle of the country. 

Many of us do not regard this as not a bad thing. 

[songsofexperience]

Indeed, the middle of the country isn't a bad thing. I'm open to "middle" places but if I can't have ocean I need hills. I can't do flat land I'm afraid . . . .

[thurston]

Kansas City has lots of hills, surprisingly, and is a really great place as long as you're ok with weather extremes. It's got a lot of character and is pretty exceptional culturally for a city of its size: outstanding museums, a ton of visual art, great bbq, the history of jazz in America.

It's very spread out--almost like several cities in one--with about 1.2 mil MSA population. I would live there over all of the cities on your list, personally.

[tenured_cat]

Adding on for the Duke's City (that's Albuquerque, by the way); Santa Fé is very expensive, and just about 40 minutes away. Kansas City (either MO or KS) are nice (Prairie Village is kind of cute), but I would (and did) live an hour west in Lawrence, KS. Very nice city, got everything but the malls (for those you go to KC). And both highways connecting to KC have their own snowplow ...

I would go by weather/humidity/tornado preferences. New Mexico has just one out of three and even that is comparatively subdued. Kansas City, of course, being in the middle, has the best airport location (and my favorite airport arrangement). ABQ is, well, it's in a corner.

North Carolina ... mmhh ... visited once, heard a lot about certain truck stickers, flags, and attitudes, and am not likely to return.

[prytania3]

CARY, NC

Containment Area for Relocated Yankees.

Seriously. Right in the Triangle.

[merce]

If you want to avoid Conservatism I wouldn't do TN at all.

But I guess if you stay in city limits you could, perhaps, maybe, be ok.

I like Nashville better than Memphis but I don't really know Memphis that well-- it just seemed further away from civilization to me; Nashville is only a few hours from Atlanta and Louisville.

Nashville is a great city because people of all ages go out.  It isn't odd to see an audience at a small concert range in age from children to people past retirement.  My grad school city and my current town are both places where people who go out to dinner or out for a beer are all between the ages of 19 and 35. 

It is a little funny or annoying, depending on your disposition, to hear the conversations while out. Everyone is in the biz-- the music business-- and they talk really loud so everyone a mile around can hear that they just had a meeting with so and so.  I can always tell it's someone famous from the tone of delivery rather than actually recognizing the name. 

Also, I've been hearing a lot about people from all over the US flocking to Chattanooga.  It was pretty country a couple of decades ago but supposedly it is very progressive and full of activities these days.

I've fantasized about where I'll go when I realize I am no longer being employed by Current U.
I love Charleston, SC and I love Louisiana.
If I could I'd leave the states altogether and go to Ireland or France.
Those are probably too far South for y'all though.

[songsofexperience]

Well, I grew up in England (to 16), my sisters and brother are there, and I just got back from 6 weeks over there. There's no way we can afford to move back though - too expensive.

I like Savannah and New Orleans but I can't stand the heat and humidity. I'd be better in dry heat which is why I think NM will be ok. I've visited Nashville and liked it and I think it would be better than Memphis for us but maybe I'll look into Chattanooga too!