Movin' on Up

The wife and I have left Manhattan for the slightly greener pastures of Western Westchester County. We know, however, that this was more of a transitional move than a permanent re-settlement. She eventually wants to settle in a small town like the one she grew up in, and I'd just as soon return to New England town life, and leave New York City and environs behind, keeping it as a memory of something cool and different I did for a couple of years.

We're looking to move within the next couple of years. We want to find a place where we can both get jobs, where we can afford to buy a house (eventually), and where we'd feel comfortable raising a family, should we decide to do so someday.

Here's where we're looking:

1. Further Upstate- We would stay in New York State, but basically just move further up the Hudson. Some of the communities we're considering are Hyde Park, Kinderhook, and Saratoga Springs. Each of these places are within an hour and a half of the Massachusetts Berkshires, where her parents will be living year-round. The area isn't prohibitively far from New York, should we want to go into the city for a weekend, and there are plenty of cultural offerings in the Berkshires. Staying in New York State would be easier for us in terms of our licenses. Unfortunately, the nearest big city for us would be Albany, which isn't that great a place.

2. Burlington, VT- I've never been there, but the wife has, and I'm eager to check it out. It's four hours from where her parents will be, but it's a college town, and Montreal is only two hours away, should we want a big city fix. It's supposed to be a nice place and it's right on a gigantic lake. It would be really cold in the winter though.

3. Greater Boston area- We're looking at Plymouth, the Lexington-Concord area, and the Newburyport-Amesbury area. The biggest drawback is that these aren't as affordable as some of the other places that we're considering, but they would provide very easy access to Boston. We both have family and friends in the area, too.

4. Portland, Maine- Portland is only about two hours from Boston, so it's close enough to go there in a day. It would also be about four hours from where the wife's parents would be. It would probably be similar to Burlington, only Portland is more of a city than a college town, though it's a nice one. Again, the weather would be cold, but I'd like living near the ocean.

We're planning to visit each of these places again, and then move maybe as soon as Summer of 2010.