PalmTrees

Nashville is a great place for families, especially the Southern Suburbs. For the cost of a 2 bed apartment in London you would get a house of roughly 4000 sq feet in a nice neighborhood with a pool.
Commute time into downtown is approx 15-20 minutes in rush hour traffic, the area is incredibly green with lovely parks, there are several malls with high street and high end shops, hundreds of different restaurants to choose from and all the people I've met have been very welcoming.

joto

I'm not being biased, but I would go with Denver every time. It depends if you would rather be in the city or one of the suburbs. If you are going to be staying until your son is at least school age, there is quite a bit of data on the various school districts in the area.

The weather is good for most of the year, with sunny days for the most part, even in winter.

Will the company do a recce trip for you to any or all of the cities that are being thought about?

penguinsix

Hi

It's really a broad question so as to help narrow down our answers, let's try to dig up some more information.

In general they recommend spending about 30-35% of your 'gross income' on housing expenses. Not to pry, but could you give us a monthly budget for housing. In some places, like San Francisco, people go a bit higher, even quite a bit higher, but in some places like Charlotte it might be quite easy.

Second, do you have any weather preference. Mixed seasons, hot, cold, snow, no snow. Any allergies to pollen (which can be heavy in some places).

Third, do you need easy access back to the UK via an international airport, or are your trips back going to be infrequent enough that you can one stop / two stop it if need be?

Fourth, do you really want to live in an 'urban' environment, i.e. in a city proper (hint: expensive as hell) or are you willing to live in a suburb near a major city, or would you prefer a rural or smaller city as an option?

There are a ton of other question but some of these answer might knock a few places off the list.

Michael

Although the SF bay area climate is near ideal (except SF), the whole of the bay area will cost you 2x or more for housing than any of the other cities. As a comparison, the average house in the bay area is probably over $750,000 which is 2 to 3 times or more as much as an equivalent house in any of the other cities on your list. A fairly nice house in the bay area is in the millions.

When you think of the bay area, think London as a comparison with very expensive in the heart of SF, Marin county (north of the golden gate bridge), Hillsbrough, Woodside, and other cities on the peninsula as well as some south bay cities, and certain cities in the east bay hills but nowhere is it inexpensive.

tnzetasigep

Nashville is my current home so I’ll make the pitch for it and some quick notes on other cities:

San Francisco: I don’t have anything to what’s already been said about San Francisco, excellent weather, great restaurants, ‘progressive’ city…the downside is the housing costs are astronomical and you do pay state income tax. It’s also a long flight to the UK so there is that to consider.

Nashville: My current home – I love Nashville. There are great things about Nashville, the climate is warm, and it’s usually sunny. The cost of living in Nashville is the lowest on the list – there are also no state income taxes. Nashville offers great affordable housing. Metro Nashville Public schools aren’t great but go to any of the surrounding counties and you’ll find the public schools there are excellent, or you can consider the benefits of private education in Davidson Co. There are lots of thing to do in the evening as far as entertainment goes – lots of bars and restaurants. Nashville has many professional sports teams, Tennessee Titans NFL team, Nashville Predators NHL team and a minor league baseball team. There is lots to do in Nashville outside, many public parks, golf courses ect. Nashville also has an international airport 8 miles from downtown – most flights to the UK connect in NYC but the trip from downtown to the airport isn’t taxing. Music City USA is also well catered for when it comes to fine arts, Nashville has a ballet company, along with Opera and Symphony which perform at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center – a truly amazing facility where I proposed to my wife! All in all I love Nashville, it’s a progressive city (that isn’t true much outside Nashville) great for young families.

Denver: I would live here if I didn’t love Nashville so much – nice climate during summer (snow in winter) healthy population, lots to do. Housing is a con (relatively expensive) and traffic can be a hassle (but will feel like a breeze compared to London).

Charlotte: A lot like Nashville in terms of climate, a bit bigger and more expensive. You do have to pay state income tax in North Carolina. Major international airport, most UK flights connect via NYC.

Tampa: Would be perfect for a young couple or for single – wouldn’t recommend for families. Schools are hohum and daycare is expensive. You do pay state income tax in Florida.

Atlanta: Don’t move to Atlanta, it’s expensive, sprawling hot backwards. I’d live anywhere on the list before Atlanta. There are a few nice places (Marietta) but you have to drive several miles to get to them from downtown and traffic is awful.

JSL8610

The trouble with a thread like this is that everyone will have their own opinions on what the like or don't like about a place, and those opinions might be the complete opposite of yours. FWIW, I loved Nashville when I drove down to visit a friend there last Christmas and she loves living there. It'll be a hell of a shock coming from London, but that's true of just about anywhere.

My sister-in-law lives on the outskirts of Atlanta. I agree with tnzetasigep that it's hot as balls down there - oppresively so. She also claims to have a discovered a large Black Widow living in her mailbox so, you know, there's that (not that I think Atlanta is infested with Black Widows, but it's put me off visiting them for a while )

tnzetasigep

To be fair, there are things I don’t like about Nashville (that aren’t specific to the rest of the US).

Tennessee is a ‘Right to Work’ state. That means basically you can’t be fired for discriminatory reasons (age, sex, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation…) but you can be fired for any other reason and there is no official (state) recourse for the former employee. You can (in some cases, depending on why you were fired) go on unemployment but that’s it.

If you’re not religious you will meet people who are – and aren’t shy. The area has a lot of conservative people and it’s not uncommon to run across someone who shares their religious/political beliefs – sometimes unprompted.

Public schools aren’t great in Nashville/Davidson Co but there are private (pricy) alternatives available in the county – if you go to the surrounding counties you’ll find good public schools.

There aren’t a lot of problems in Tennessee that aren’t in other southern states (Florida, North Carolina and Georgia). That being said I’m not native to Nashville but my wife is and I love it here – warts and all!

tnzetasigep

FYI

Saw this in the paper this morning:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120530/DAVIDSON/305300011/Nashville-International-Cup-brings-nations-together?odyssey=mod|newswell|text||p

penguinsix

Just sort of FYI, that's not what "Right to Work" means in US employment law terminology. Think it's one of those terms that gets lost in translation between US and UK English. "Right to Work" means that you can take a job and opt NOT to pay Union dues if you don't want to join the labor unions. I think the term for what you are describing is commonly known as "Employment at will" or "At will employment" where you can be fired at anytime (though conversely, you can leave at any time). This is the law in basically every US state, though some exceptions in certain circumstances do exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law

A "right-to-work" law is a statute that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees' membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment

“any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work.”

davenay67

They are everywhere in SoCal. They have more of a bad rep than they deserve, as they stick to dark places and their bite isn't that bad. The Brown Recluse we have in the MidWest is much more of a worry to me.

We had a BW living in our lawn sprinkler box, and every time I needed to alter the timings I would have to make sure to shoo him off to one side before putting my hand in there. I knew he was there and was glad of the bugs he ate. Really cool looking too.

I lived in the Bay Area for a year before moving to LA for 8 years. Spent 6 months in Walnut Creek in the Easy Bay and 6 months in Foster City on the Penninsula. Both were great places. East Bay was much hotter and was cheaper for rent and house prices. The Penninsula was better for commuting into SF for work and near the beaches.

SoCal has the weather that most Brits think about when they think CA.

All in all, th SF Bay area was a great introduction to living in the US. People were friendly and the cosmopolitan atmosphere was great for a noob like me. I still look back at that 1st year in the US with wonderment and fond memories.

fsm

Personally I would choose Denver or Charlotte.

The only place I have not been to on the list is Nashville, so do not have an opinion on Nashville.

Sally Redux

Yeah I had a Black Widow in my mailbox too.

Chrisdc

I totally agree with JSL8610 - it's so personal.

Here's my tuppenceworth:

Heat: If you choose an area with hot summers, and hope to use public transport, you might have to carry a change of clothes to the office. During my summers in DC my shirt was sopping wet by the time I got to my cubicle (yuk.)

Leaving London: I spent three years in a beautiful, leafy part of DC. I was climbing the walls because I had come from 7 years in London and really missed the infinite variety of restaurants, bars and shopping experiences. Schelpping to and from from Pentagon City Mall got really old. The subway is great though. The culture shock was pretty intense.

jackattack

I nearly lived in Charlotte a few years ago (proposed to by then boyfriend). I spent a considerable time there and was petrified of moving there permanently from London (so I chose a new boyfriend, now husband and live in the Bay Area, but that's not the point).

I found Charlotte to be really quite 'small', particularly coming from a large urban city. It was super friendly, and quite commutable. Weather was stinking hot in summer but manageable most of the rest of the year. Drive to the coast was nice and beaches there were great. We also used to drive to go boating on some of the lakes north of Charlotte and often drive to go hiking an hour or so north of the city. So plenty of activities (although Bay Area wins hands down in comparison).

The first time I went to downtown Charlotte, I was looking for somewhere to park. I drove to the city and started looking around for a spot, and before I knew it, I had driven out the other side of the city and had to turn round and drive more slowly! I remember thinking how small it was. if thats what you're looking for, then Charlotte could be great.

Leyther

I would disagree with both of the bolded points, not so much because they are false statements but simply because the same could be said for almost any city! You are going to get rush hour traffic no matter where you live if you work within the city and also there are always going to be expensive and cheaper neighborhoods for housings. It is just one of the cons of living in any city.

However, the one thing that I like about Denver is that the light-rail system is superb, very timely and very in-expensive. So if you work downtown or near the DTC (Denver Tech Center) then the light-rail is a very viable option with its multiple park n rides.

There are certainly expensive neighborhoods in Denver (Wash Park, Cherry Creek, Observatory Park etc), but there are also more affordable neighborhoods such as Platt Park, Englewood & Capitol Hill-- none of these areas are more than a 15-20min commute to downtown and they all avoid the traffic jams on the I-25.

I think Denver is also excellent for children and adults with things to do year round: hiking, camping, fishing, boating (lakes), rafting, snowshoeing, skiing-- the list is pretty endless and if you live in or near the city then you are only 30min-45min away from all the mountain fun. Sporting events are also great (Rockies, Broncos, Nuggets & the Avs, as well as four collegiate teams (CU, CSU, DU & Air Force).

There is also a theme and water park right downtown as well as the usual restaurants, bars and a few nice piano bars if you are into that kind of thing. One of my other favorite things is Red Rocks--- nothing quite like catching an out-door concert in the middle of summer.

Other misc things: the climate is 4-seasons (70s-90s) most of the summer, winters in the city can be fairly cold and snowy, however there are many blue-bird days also. Spring can still hold a chance of snow and rain, but this year we have been in the 70s since about late Feb and March. Denver (well Aurora) also has an international airport with direct flights to London Heathrow if that is important.

I guess it would be helpful if you posted some more information regarding your budget and what things are important to you in helping to make you decision.