Monday, August 31, 2009

Destination Unknown

I have a question for both military and non-military folks. When it's all said and done where do you want to end up living?

Sean and I had been discussing where we wanted to live after his time was up in the Army. As of right now, he's positive he's getting out after this re-enlistment is up. I think this time he might actually be serious. He's getting very burnt out in the Army and I can tell this and I think his body has just had enough.

So far we've discussed moving to the suburbs of the nearest big city to our hometown in Oklahoma. He likes the area, I like the area and it's close to my parents and friends.



We're also throwing around the idea of Louisiana. We both really liked being there. Granted, we don't want to move to Leesville, but we've discussed a few other areas in Louisiana that we wouldn't mind moving to.

At this point though I think we just want to move home. Sean is throwing around the idea of going back to school and becoming a history teacher. Interesting no? I think he'd be great at it and I can see him enjoying it as well. As for me I think I could be happy being a librarian at an elementary school or having my own photography business. Maybe even a little of both.

So if you aren't living where you want to live right now, where do you want to live? Or if you're military, where do you want to live once you are done with your time of service or after retirement?

41 comments:

hmb said...

We always say we want to live in Savannah, but I'm not so sure we could afford a home there :(

Sara said...

We're pretty sure we'll live in Texas. Likely in Austin or Houston. We both love each city, get a lot of bang for the buck and have family nearby in each.

I had no idea you guys liked Louisiana enough to live there again. Although leesville might not be the best representative of the state. Where were you guys thinking?

Kelly said...

What a great question! Right now we live near Baltimore, MD for jobs. We would like to move back home to Michigan to be near our families. That is what is important to us right now. So, we will hopefully do that in a few years. However, we LOVE North Carolina. If family wasn't a factor we would move there. I have it in my mind that we will retire there someday... maybe.

Carissa said...

That is a great question! I have to say that I don't think we have seen enough of the country to make an informed decision about it, but I'm guessing we will end up back where we came from...Wisconsin. Eww cold cold winters with lots and lots of shoveling!

ABW said...

Texas!!!! Our families are there, there's no state income tax, and it's beautiful! Of course we just left there, so I might change my mind before we get to that point. Gunner is from California, and I can promise you that we will not go there!

Jessica Lynn said...

We'll be coming back to New Mexico. Both of our families live here and it's just "home" for both of us. It's weird to think about the end of his career when our lives are just beginning to start.

lola said...

I see us ending up either in Florida or close to Florida. I hate, hate, hate how hot it is though and wouldn't mind being somewhere with milder weather. :)

The Rest is Still Unwritten said...

We are living in a suburb of Houston now...I like it because it's close to my family.

We had fun living in Shreveport though. It was great there! I wouldn't want to move back though. I would want to move to New York...big surprise...

Kpod said...

We definitely want to get back to Maryland because that's where both our families are, but if either of us ends up going to grad school we might be detoured to Virginia or North Carolina (again) for a couple years, which I wouldn't mind too terribly.

Unknown said...

Humm...this is a tough question, but I really think we will end up back in the Mountains of NC, Asheville. We are both born and raised there and absolutely LOVE it. My hubby hasn't decided how long he wants to stay in so we'll see how long it will be before we get back there. What a great question!

loqi said...

I have a feeling we'll end up back in Pennsylvania, but we have also been talking about Virginia or North Carolina. My preference is to live somewhere with all 4 seasons, so NC is probably less likely than a more northern state. In the end I'm sure we will be influenced by jobs, and also by any needs that our parents have as they get older. Mine are already in their 60s.

J.L.S. said...

Interesting that you pose this question now. Scott gets out in mid December. As of right now, we want to head to Colorado. I'm trying to get into a nursing school there. We say we wouldn't mind settling down there... might actually love to live there the rest of our lives. But, I don't think either of us will know for sure until we get out there. If we weren't moving there, it'd probably be our hometown in SC.

Jane said...

I'm in Tulsa right now. RLA will be back in OKC in 11 DAYS! YAY! We actually had this conversation this morning (which leads me to believe things are headed the right direction again) about where we'll live. The next 5-8 years are totally up in the air depending on where I end up for residency. Who knows where he'll end up at next. I'd be happy if he just got to stay at Tinker forever ... but that's not gonna happen! So ... down the road when he's out of the AF and I'm done with my residency ... we'll probably live in ... its a toss up between Jenks and Tulsa! I know ... they're so far apart. :)

Mrs. S said...

My hubby is wanting to get out too. The kids and I moved to TN so that if he does decide to take the civie plunge, we are in a good area for employment opportunities.

On the flip side, we've been considering moving to a small county like Belize. After so much time apart, we just want a simple life together again, even if it does mean living without some niceties.

JG said...

We've already agreed that when Hubs is out of the army we're moving back here. We haven't agreed about how long to stay in, thinking somewhere between 4-12 years, which would let us come home and raise our family with our families.

kd said...

Hmm...I'm not sure I could say exactly. I have a few requirements: be within 30 minutes of a major international airport, be near water, have access to a farmer's market and a kick ass mall.

Probably Austin. But we've considered London as well.

Fidgeting Gidget said...

I'm living in Canada for work right now, and we are hoping to get back to the US soon. We will probably go back to Michigan (not where we grew up, but within a few hours of our hometown) because we want to be close to our family. I'm sure you can relate to that being so far away from yours right now! I think either one of your choices would be great! I'd also love to live in Denver, CO....it's so beautiful there.

Dana said...

I would want to live in Louisiana, but that's because that's where I'm from and what I know. Also, my family is all there, and the older I get the more I value a connection with them. Louisiana has a culture all it's own. It's a good place for me, but it's not for everyone. I would not even consider Leesville, or any place North of BR, expect for maybe St. Francisville.

HOWEVER.....

Teacher salaries are awful -- just plain awful. Granted, the cost of living is lower, but even with the lower cost of living. . . it's still pretty bad. I may consider returning there after I retire, but that's a long ways off for me :(

Dana
School Librarian and Photographer Wanna Be

Sondre Lyn said...

My husband and I have been having this discussion for over 20 years! I have to say that now that our children are grown (and hubs is in his second career, and we STILL move every few years) we say we want to live wherever our children end up living... So I guess we still don't know! Ha! We have 12 more years until he retires, so I guess we still have loads of time to decide where to go...

Having said that, I love the north GA, mountains of TN area. Beautiful. Mountains. Forests. Lakes/rivers. And close-ish to family.

Josie said...

For Louisiana, Lafayette is a great city with lots of industry, good food, great culture. But being a fellow Oklahoma girl, I'd have to say my first vote would be for the OK!

Megan said...

Honestly? We'll probably move to wherever the money is. We are planning on staying in until retirement, after that it will just depend on where the jobs are at.

Anonymous said...

We are throwing around the idea of moving back to the D.C. area. Either living in Northern Virginia or Maryland for a bit. But ultimately we want to end up back in Lexington, VA. We both love it there.

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

No matter what, when I'm older I'd like to be somewhere near my family and friends so maybe the good ol' hometown.

Windy City Kelley's said...

I love Chicago but the winter is cold. I'd say I'd live in Souther California if we could afford it :)

Katie said...

We know we'll settle in the South and I've basically convinced my mom to move down South from NY eventually so she's near me! Right now our plan is to stay in until retirement so we've got some time. We have 6 acres of land in the mountains of NC which we might settle down on or sell and buy land and build in Asheville, NC or maybe TN somewhere- heck SC, GA! Anything in the South but probably NC. :)

Casey (@ Chaos and Cardboard) said...

Easy for us- Texas for sure. As of right now we are in for 20, so after retirement we would like to live in the San Marcos/Hill Country area. We have been looking at property in Boerne already.

Has Sean looked into the Troops to Teachers program? Something to keep in mind- almost every single guy that goes into teaching does history or health and wants to coach. Because of this, the jobs for those subjects are few and far between. He might consider getting something else on top of that like speech, special ed, or science. Just a thought!

Stacey Cannon said...

Oklahoma for sure is my vote...We're undecided between Edmond and Yukon. Yukon/Mustang is closer to my family and is growing so much that I think that is my favorite of the two...we'll see. It does depend on where hubby can get a job - if OKC can't offer anything up then we'll probably head to Dallas. I've lived there before and it's not too far, but Oklahoma is my first pick for sure.

Anonymous said...

We definitly want to be back in Texas. Probably Lubbock. We hope to go a couple other places on the Army's dime, but when it's all said and done, we wouldn't be happy unless we were back "home"

The Mrs. said...

We'd like to end up in the south, but ultimately we'll go where flyboy gets a job and the place that fits for our family. The nice thing about the military is that its given us a perspective that well, home is where WE are, where ever we may choose. So many people I went to high school with are terrified to live five minutes outside of our county and we dont have that same hesitation.

Karren said...

Well if my husband decides to retire with the Navy then we would like to find a place that is not far from Ohio (where his family is) or from Mississippi (where my family is). We were thinking Tennessee would be great. If he decides to get out then we will most likely move to Wyoming so that he can attend WyoTech. Not sure where we would go after he graduated from WyoTech though.

Sarah said...

Funnily enough my husband has also thrown around the idea of using his GI bill to go to school to become a history teacher! Must be a love for your country thing and loving US history along with it.
We eventually want to move back to California. His enlistment will be up in two and a half years but I'm worried the economy won't be stable enough for us to go back. Even if it is, the housing prices for the area we're from are insane. I guess only time will tell.

Amanda said...

Well, if the hubby had his way we would be living in Manhattan forever... I have to bring him back to financial reality frequently :) We will probably end up in New Jersey or upstate New York once we are in a place to purchase a permanent home.

Allison said...

No question, we will live in Texas. Most likely in Houston :) Although Paul would probably prefer Austin.

Christy said...

Great Question!! I think we'd both like to end up somewhere in North Carolina near the beach.

As a fellow Okie, I definitely know how you feel about living there - "there's no place like home!!" :)

Abbie said...

History teacher huh?! Sounds like your hubs and I would get along great!

Shoshanah said...

I grew up in California and all my family is currently there. I'm currently living in Louisiana with my boyfriend, and his immediate family is here. Most of his extended family lives either in Louisiana or Georgia.

If it were completely up to me I'd want to move back to California, but he's pretty much said he doesn't want to live in California. While part of me does like the idea of staying in Louisiana, the other side almost feels like its unfair to my parents being so close to his parents and for far from them.

The boy does still have a few years left of grad school before we have to make a decision, so hopefully we'll figure something out by then

Rachael said...

Right now, I think we'll be heading south. We both like the east coast, and since Mr.T may very well end up with another govt job after he's done in the air force, Washington DC is looking like it might be home someday.

Lisa said...

I'd love to move home to Madison, Wisconsin, but I know it would be different, so I don't know that I'll ever go back for good.

Can I be corny and say as long as I'm with the people I love, I don't care? :) P's talked about North Carolina as long as I've known him, mostly because his brother lives there. I'd enjoy that, as my dad is in Eastern Tennessee.

I guess we'll see what happens.

Jon and Steph said...

Definitely Oklahoma when we move back from Germany! Then we've talked about Seattle area?? But Oklahoma is where both of our parents are, so it only fits that we move back there. Plus we both love it.

Full of Heart said...

I think we'll probably end up back in the town I grew up. It's a great place to live (if you can afford it. And you're not in your mid-20s doing nothing with your life) and Sailor Boy LOVES it there as much as I do!

Kebi Cedawna said...

I think I'll probably be living around the same big town as you :)

Matt's talked to the lady in charge of Wildlife preservation for the Osage Nation and is seriously thinking about getting a job in Pawhuska when he graduates in Dec. I bet we'll probably move back to the parent's. I'm just praying that he makes some decent money and can afford to support us both while I'm finishing school. Then the wedding bells can finally ring!!! However, I will never live in Barnsdall. Maybe Skiatook or Owasso area?

Love you and give yourself a big hug from me!