Doesn't it seem like I am always moving? Well, it does to me. But have no fear, we're not moving (at least we don't think so) any time soon. But it is always in our discussions.
We've moved from Central, PA to Rochester, NY to Denver, CO, to Rochester, NY, to Syracuse, NY in about a year and a half. All because of school and now that we are both out of school, we're looking to do one more (hopefully last) move. Some place for ourselves, some place for our children, some place for a very very long time. But where do young black professionals with two kids go?
Here are some things that we know:
The South is out. South being defined as Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. For one, I don't particularly like the culture and the South (sorry for any Southern readers) seems a bit backwards to me. I also don't like the heat.
The Midwest is out. States like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kanas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Ohio. This is probably mean, but who lives in these places anyway? We're looking for locations that have a strong professional Black culture and these just don't fit the bill.
The Mountains are out. States like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. Primarily for the same reasons I listed in the Midwest section.
The Pacific is out. States like California, Alaska, an Hawaii. They are just too expensive.
So what does that leave us with?
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
I'm aware that some of the states in our live zone don't have that big of a Black population (like Washington, Oregon, Maine, etc.) but they do have a more soccially concious environment that we enjoy and could see ourselves living and raising our kids, so that's why they're on the list.
Some of those states also offer larger cities that we enjoy (like Richmond, D.C, Seattle, etc) so that's why they are on the list.
So you see our dilemma right? Half the problem is that we've never been to some of the states and/or cities we're thinking about and we don't know anyone else who has either. So besides looking at medium income, race statistics, crime rates, social action activities, and family friendliness how else do we research some of these states and cities? We certainly can't afford to visit them all and sometimes looking around the internet gets overwhelming.
So does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, I'd love to hear about opinions regarding any of the states we are okay with living in and even those we wouldn't dream of moving to.
-M
