What state would you live in if you won the diversity lottery and why?

jme2010

So I believe the draw is coming up soon, are many people here entered?

Myself and my OH are in and hoping :rolleyes:

Anyway, I've been day dreaming of where we would live if we won and Arizona is my first choice for the following reasons.

1. Weather. We both love the heat so that's the biggest attraction.
2. Rent Value. Some of the places to rent are half the price of our Dublin apartment and have twice if not more square footage, plus a 24hr gym and pool etc ect.
3. Cost of living. Seems to be much better there. The salary for a similar job to here is about $20-40K more. Combine that with low rent.
4. Location. The west coast is my favorite side of the U.S and being 6 hour drive (Which is nothing to me) to San Diego and 6 hours to Vegas is a bonus.

Where would you live and why, and also any reason you think Arizona is a bad choice?

dave2pvd

jme2010 wrote: »

So I believe the draw is coming up soon, are many people here entered?

Myself and my OH are in and hoping :rolleyes:

Anyway, I've been day dreaming of where we would live if we won and Arizona is my first choice for the following reasons.

1. Weather. We both love the heat so that's the biggest attraction.
2. Rent Value. Some of the places to rent are half the price of our Dublin apartment and have twice if not more square footage, plus a 24hr gym and pool etc ect.
3. Cost of living. Seems to be much better there. The salary for a similar job to here is about $20-40K more. Combine that with low rent.
4. Location. The west coast is my favorite side of the U.S and being 6 hour drive (Which is nothing to me) to San Diego and 6 hours to Vegas is a bonus.

Where would you live and why, and also any reason you think Arizona is a bad choice?

I think asking 'what state?' is a bit pointless/vague.

For example, Arizona has many places that you would never want to live (Nogales), yet some some cities or areas that would be considered very desirable. Flagstaff would be a favorite of mine.

ProudDUB

Arizona would be a bad choice if you can not handle excessively hot weather. It's one thing going somewhere toasty on your holliers. It's another thing entirely, when you have to live your day to day life in it.

Fr Tod Umptious

Never underestimated the value of being close to home, or having people from Ireland close at hand.

Places like Arizona are at least two flights and God only knows how much traveling time from Ireland.

On the other hand you could be in Shannon from Boston in under 5 hours.

I know an Irish couple who moved to New Mexico after a few years in Boston.
They hated it, too spread out, no sense of community, a long way from Ireland.
Great scenery etc, but that was about it.

I'd stick to the east coast.

jme2010

Thanks for the responses.

A lot of my friends have emigrated so I am not too hung up on being far away from Ireland.

Yeah, the 'state' was a bit vague, but I'd be thinking Scottsdale/Phoenix or Tuscon.

Thing is, you can always move to a different city if you don't like it and within hours of driving have a completely different style of life.

Dave1442397

I seriously considered AZ when I first moved here. I ended up on the East Coast, but if I had my choice, I'd be living on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

I can see the attraction of AZ, and I wouldn't hesitate to go there (somewhere nice, obviously).

Here's a good post about the critters that live there:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizona/136728-some-facts-about-scorpions-spiders-snakes.html

InTheTrees

jme2010 wrote: »

Where would you live and why, and also any reason you think Arizona is a bad choice?

There's places with better climates than Arizona.

Its unbearable in the summer. You'll be nipping from one air conditioned environment to another. And you'll need a good reliable vehicle, you dont want to be using public transport(if there is any) when its 40+. Phoenix is famous for its pollution too.

Of course it depends on what you're going to be doing for a living.

If you really like the outdoors (not just Heat) then i'd go for California or maybe Oregon.

Riskymove

InTheTrees wrote: »

If you really like the outdoors (not just Heat) then i'd go for California or maybe Oregon.

I've always thought Oregon on the West Coast would be close to perfect form a climate perspective...a little bit less oppressive than further south and not as wet as further north

DM addict

I know a few people who are from our have lived in Arizona (Phoenix specifically) and most of them couldn't wait to get out.

As has been said the heat is beyond oppressive in the summer. The cost of living is low, but I'm not sure that's enough of an appeal.

Third_Echelon

Really depends on the type of work that you do and your income...

I'm currently living in California. Cost of living is high, but wages are good. Perfect climate in the SF Bay Area too... Lots of flight options to Ireland, either direct or 1 stop.

The 8 hour time difference to ireland is a bit of pain at times, but you just have to remember to call family and friends at home no later than around lunch time here. The 5 hour time difference on the East Coast is a lot more manageable, but then you most likely have to deal with harsh winters (if in the North East)...

él statutorio

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Really depends on the type of work that you do and your income...

I'm currently living in California. Cost of living is high, but wages are good. Perfect climate in the SF Bay Area too... Lots of flight options to Ireland, either direct or 1 stop.

The 8 hour time difference to ireland is a bit of pain at times, but you just have to remember to call family and friends at home no later than around lunch time here. The 5 hour time difference on the East Coast is a lot more manageable, but then you most likely have to deal with harsh winters (if in the North East)...

I'd agree with all of that.

The only thing I can see that would be better about the East coast is that friends and family from home can do a long weekend to the East coast and it's not that much travelling.

West Coast really needs 10 days minimum.

Third_Echelon

él statutorio wrote: »

I'd agree with all of that.

The only thing I can see that would be better about the East coast is that friends and family from home can do a long weekend to the East coast and it's not that much travelling.

West Coast really needs 10 days minimum.

Yeah, that's the one thing about the West Coast. The flight is long...

cena

Were is a good cheap place to live in the states? I would love to live in the state of new york. Poughkeepsie were I have family. It would have to near the family some or also in Florida, new jersey Brooklyn or park slope is a lovely area

Fr Tod Umptious

cena wrote: »

Were is a good cheap place to live in the states? I would love to live in the state of new york. Poughkeepsie were I have family. It would have to near the family some or also in Florida, new jersey Brooklyn or park slope is a lovely area

That's a very open ended question.

American is huge, there are loads of cheap places to live, but they are cheap for a reason, i.e. they are less desirable than other places.

gmurphy70

I have been to Scottsdale before and loved it. Would if I got a chance move to the Tucson or Scottsdale area. Heat in Summer would be a pain but so is the cold in New York/Chicago/Boston- Have to say loved San Antonio in Texas and would like to go there also. Cali is too expensive to make a proper living, San Diego is nice with a perfect climate but way too expensive. Wouldn't be bothered by getting 2 flights home, just been closer to Ireland should not be a factor on where you live in the USA. Best of luck in the Lottery am also in!

yew_tree

cena wrote: »

Were is a good cheap place to live in the states? I would love to live in the state of new york. Poughkeepsie were I have family. It would have to near the family some or also in Florida, new jersey Brooklyn or park slope is a lovely area

New York in not cheap to live in. Park Slope is one of the nicest places to live in NYC but also very expensive.

cena

yew_tree wrote: »

New York in not cheap to live in. Park Slope is one of the nicest places to live in NYC but also very expensive.

The cousins house is a brown stone home worth over a million. Would be nice inside if she did it up. Work life is very busy

cena

What is new jersey Like to live

yew_tree

cena wrote: »

What is new jersey Like to live

Watch the Sopranos

cena

yew_tree wrote: »

Watch the Sopranos

Great series

Aprilmay

We won the diversity lottery a number of years ago and moved to Charlotte NC.

At that time we won Scottsdale AZ was on our list of top 3 places to live and I recently have the opportunity to travel with work for a week. I'm in Real Estate so we traveled around and we saw a lot of the area, it would not have been a good fit for our family if we had moved there. The landscape I did not care for at all.

cena

Aprilmay wrote: »

We won the diversity lottery a number of years ago and moved to Charlotte NC.

At that time we won Scottsdale AZ was on our list of top 3 places to live and I recently have the opportunity to travel with work for a week. I'm in Real Estate so we traveled around and we saw a lot of the area, it would not have been a good fit for our family if we had moved there. The landscape I did not care for at all.

Is real estate hard to get into?

Aprilmay

cena wrote: »

Is real estate hard to get into?

It's not as easy as people think (million dollar listing has a lot to answer for!) I started as a personal assistant to a Builders rep before my boss suggested that I should go to school.It costs a lot to get your license time/money and continuing education on an ongoing basis.I'm fully licensed in both NC & SC.
I worked in new construction for over 3 years and recently started in general brokerage which I enjoy for flexibility I'm lucky that my husband has a steady income because there are a lot of outgoings.

Working as a builder representative has a steadier paycheck but you work every hour God sends.

jme2010

Aprilmay wrote: »

it would not have been a good fit for our family if we had moved there. The landscape I did not care for at all.

Could you go in to more detail on why it wouldn't have been a good fit? What if it had just been yourself and your partner?

Thanks

InTheTrees

gmurphy70 wrote: »

Heat in Summer would be a pain but so is the cold in New York/Chicago/Boston-

There's many places between those two extremes though. I lived in California for 10+ years, now in Seattle. My Gf is from Minnesota. We've talked a lot over the years about the different climates in the US and where would be nice to live.

I'm not a fan of air conditioning or deep snow. Places with extreme heat have as little "outdoor culture" as places that are in deep snow in the winter. Less outdoor eating, more indoor malls, more indoor parking lots, more car dependence, etc.

Having said that...

If you've done the research and its really what you want...go for it.

Aprilmay

jme2010 wrote: »

Could you go in to more detail on why it wouldn't have been a good fit? What if it had just been yourself and your partner?

Thanks

It was just boring, I worked for a builder at the time and we were in the HQ for corporate training. The HQ was were there were malls(Fashionsquare) bars etc but we were taken to different communities to see the homes our company offered, the homes were beautiful but they were all brown which we were told was because of the sand storms.

It wasn't walkable either and I know that there are plenty of places in the US were its not very walkable but there was nothing anywhere that we went.

We we were staying we had a view of Camelback mountain. I was tired of the view by the time the week was up.
It's pretty barren in comparison to NC.I'm from Dublin but I lived in Blessington in Wicklow before I moved to U.S, I like green.

My colleagues from Dallas & Austin Texas and they didn't care much for the landscape either.
Honestly If I hadn't got kids it still wouldn't be for me. Everyone is different.

jme2010

Aprilmay wrote: »

jme2010 wrote: »

Could you go in to more detail on why it wouldn't have been a good fit? What if it had just been yourself and your partner?

Thanks

It's pretty barren in comparison to NC.I'm from Dublin but I lived in Blessington in Wicklow before I moved to U.S, I like green.

Everyone is different.

I agree, personal choices and all that.

I'm from Dublin but to be honest, I am sick of the green...and the grey....and the rain. I've been coast to coast in the States and that whole Arizona/Utah/Nevada landscape is my idea of heaven.

Thanks for the response, it seems like you didn't like it for personal preferences etc. thats what I wanted to know. Cheers

InTheTrees

jme2010 wrote: »

I've been coast to coast in the States and that whole Arizona/Utah/Nevada landscape is my idea of heaven.

The only thing i'd say is avoid Phoenix. It has a reputation for its pollution.

coylemj

I worked for a US multinational and once had a visit from one of our colleagues who worked in Arizona. I'm interested in astronomy and science in general and I asked him why Arizona was unique among the contiguous 48 states (the 'continental USA') in not observing Daylight Saving Time. He reminded me that one of the purposes of DST was to extend the hours of sunlight in the evening in order to improve the opportunities for outdoor recreation. Turns out that in Arizona during the summer the heat is so overpowering that you can do nothing outdoors until the sun goes down so the last thing they need is extra daylight in the evening!

Sonnenblumen

I could easily love Virginia but fancy Georgia more.

Megahead

Somewhere along the appalachian range, Virginia or Maine would be lovely. Although the West coast is very appealing too!

jme2010

Megahead wrote: »

Somewhere along the appalachian range, Virginia or Maine would be lovely. Although the West coast is very appealing too!

Virgina would appeal more to me than Maine.

But if you're gonna live in Virgina the argument on distance to Ireland goes out the window it be just as many connecting flights away so may as well go further west if that's what you're into.

ProudDUB

Maine is stunningly beautiful, especially in the Autumn. (I'm there every October.) However, it gets very harsh winters.

Ah-Watch

I lived in Park Slope (Brooklyn) for the last year and a half and loved it. Sure its expensive but wages matched it for me so it was fine. I loved how busy and fast paced NY is but I wouldn't retire there. I lived in Chicago a few Summers and loved the place and was back there 7 times since last summer, I prefer New York now but Chicago is a beautiful spot. Snow does become annoying after a while but not to the point that I wanted to move. I moved to Toronto a fortnight ago and while I like it, its not New York. I'd be back there in New York in the morning if I won the greencard. Its closer to home but also far enough that I'm not in Ireland seeing the usual headcases. My move to Toronto might be brief and heading to Vancouver but I would rather stay this side , the fly time to Ireland from Vancouver puts me off it and the 4 odd hours to NY but we'll see. New Jersey wouldn't be too bad either. Heres to hoping they draw my name this year!

cena

Ah-Watch wrote: »

I lived in Park Slope (Brooklyn) for the last year and a half and loved it. Sure its expensive but wages matched it for me so it was fine. I loved how busy and fast paced NY is but I wouldn't retire there. I lived in Chicago a few Summers and loved the place and was back there 7 times since last summer, I prefer New York now but Chicago is a beautiful spot. Snow does become annoying after a while but not to the point that I wanted to move. I moved to Toronto a fortnight ago and while I like it, its not New York. I'd be back there in New York in the morning if I won the greencard. Its closer to home but also far enough that I'm not in Ireland seeing the usual headcases. My move to Toronto might be brief and heading to Vancouver but I would rather stay this side , the fly time to Ireland from Vancouver puts me off it and the 4 odd hours to NY but we'll see. New Jersey wouldn't be too bad either. Heres to hoping they draw my name this year!

By any chance did you ever eat a place called barebruger? Its in park slope

Eugene Norman

I lived in the Bay Area for a few years, and it's probably past it's sell by date. It must have been heaven, like most of California, when less populated but now its a spread out continuous suburb interrupted by an occasional strip mall or Main Street. San Francisco is nice but has its problems too. And is unaffordable.

I liked Montana a lot but it's isolated of course. Austin seems like the new cool gentrifying spot.

Ah-Watch

cena wrote: »

By any chance did you ever eat a place called barebruger? Its in park slope

Not the one in Park Slope no, met a friend in the one in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, first time eating there- I didn't even know there was one near me

Big Nasty

Santa Barbara.

Nice climate, not too hot / cold
Beautiful scenery
Plenty of nice bars / restaurants
Laid back atmosphere
Pretty low crime rate
Smallish population - people will nod at you / say hello on the street

Not cheap though!

cena

Ah-Watch wrote: »

Not the one in Park Slope no, met a friend in the one in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, first time eating there- I didn't even know there was one near me

My cousin is the manager there. In park slope. A family member is part owner

mad m

If I had my choice and money it would be Balboa Island, Irvine, California. Beautiful place.

Mars Bar

mad m wrote: »

If I had my choice and money it would be Balboa Island, Irvine, California. Beautiful place.

I'd join ya!! I loved my week there.

cena

I won't be going anywhere this year.:(

jme2010

cena wrote: »

I won't be going anywhere this year.:(

Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the Electronic Diversity Visa program at this time.

Is that hope? Does the status change?

cena

jme2010 wrote: »

Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the Electronic Diversity Visa program at this time.

Is that hope? Does the status change?

I really don't know.

myate

cena wrote: »

I won't be going anywhere this year.:(

I won't be going anywhere permanent this year either! A 3 week road trip Cali-Colorado is booked though to ease the pain!
Does the status change? Reading this site http://britsimonsays.com/
it sometimes does, but its rare. But still worth checking over the summer/autumn.

jme2010

myate wrote: »

I won't be going anywhere permanent this year either! A 3 week road trip Cali-Colorado is booked though to ease the pain!

That's all we can do. I have a 3-4 week NYC to Miami Keys road trip planned.

Just wish I could have used the money saved for that on relocation costs instead

mad m

Mars Bar wrote: »

I'd join ya!! I loved my week there.

was lucky enough to have 2 trips there and stayed 3 weeks at a time but did travel around a bit while there, Utah Zion was one place. Brother in law was living there at the time so free accommodation.

Did you get the Balboa frozen banana dipped in hot chocolate and then in nuts! Nom Nom Nom

McSween

I lived in Jacksonville, Fl on a (mature) graduate visa with my wife. We loved it but the food is awful compared to home.

I love the South, country and all that so I imagine west Florida which gives excellent access to Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi as well as the coast but I love pools. We were in a western store in Dallas in January and I tried on first pair of cowboy boots. If I lived there of course I'd buy them. I loved how country music was everywhere in those states. A good airport is essential too.

Mars Bar

mad m wrote: »

was lucky enough to have 2 trips there and stayed 3 weeks at a time but did travel around a bit while there, Utah Zion was one place. Brother in law was living there at the time so free accommodation.

Did you get the Balboa frozen banana dipped in hot chocolate and then in nuts! Nom Nom Nom

I was staying with a family in Costa Mesa for the week. Was driving from there to MacArthur Boulevard and back to Bob Henry park every morning and it was just so pleasant! Took two evenings to go to Newport Beach. Ashamed to say I didn't try the Balboa Bar.

Stojkovic

South Jersey.

FreudianSlippers

ProudDUB wrote: »

Arizona would be a bad choice if you can not handle excessively hot weather. It's one thing going somewhere toasty on your holliers. It's another thing entirely, when you have to live your day to day life in it.

Getting petrol when it's 120F is actual torture.