Suggestions for Relocation down the road

Can't help you with any personal experience (however, Chicago suburbs maybe? Someone? It's not the sea, persay, but it is water), but Kid Vivisector sounds like either an awesome band name or a kick ass horror movie. Or both.

I'd toss in Massachusetts, only because I lived there and it has some damned good schools. Water's cold as fuck, though, but hey, it is near the sea.

Teachers get paid fairly well in Texas (a friend took a first time teaching job for $46k a year with $5k sign on bonus), the economy here is steady, and depending on what you did for the state a job for yourself could be easy to come by. As well, housing prices in Texas are much cheaper than the average, and you're not too far from the beach as long as you live between along the Austin/San Antonio/Houston corridor.

Negatives about Texas though, it's flat as fuck until you reach the other side of Austin. Despite the stereotypes, we're not a bunch of uneducated hicks, but you'll come across your assholes, but no more than anywhere else I suppose. It is fucking HOT.

If I could move anywhere though, I would move back to Toronto. Teachers get paid very well there, and though it's not the ocean, the lake is really damn nice. I miss my place in Ajax just a block from the water.

Move to Columbia, SC. You are two hours from almost everywhere. Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Charlotte. Maybe 4 hours to the mountains.

The heat here is pretty intense because this portion of the state is in a bowl and we have a pretty large lake here.

The District 5 and 2 schools are really good for government schools but they have been going through budget cuts so I'm not sure what kind of hiring situation they are in. I know a wave of teachers have retired recently though.

Witness a mob murder...then, the government will relocate you.

I can't help you on the 'sea' aspect, but we've got a ton of lakes here in Minnesota that should fulfill any needs that you may have for water based activities. Our schools are great, but they are feeling the same budget squeeze that every other state is experiencing.

Northern Virginia. Specifically Alexandria.

I used to live in Washington and I always loved that area. If I end up moving back, I'll probably settle down there.

PA teachers make bank from what I've heard, just try to avoid the southern region, or, what I like to call Pennsyltucky.

Oh god, please don't go to Minnesota. The last thing we need is yet another member of the boards complaining about those cold Minnesota winters.

I love you too, Doc.

Right back at ya, Judas!

May I be the first to invite you to take up residence in America's Premier Cultural Resort. Pick up an issue of Berkshire Living (a fine magazine dedicated to life in this wonderful corner of America) and see what you're missing out on. In fact, i bet if you research The Berkshires, you'll want to sprint down the road to relocation! Movie stars come and hang out in my home town all summer and you wont even believe what happens in the winter, fall and spring!

Move to Maine, I have always enjoyed my trips there, or maybe Oregon.

I'll second Oregon, I lived in Redmond until I was 13, and having spent a lot of time in Portland (half of my relatives are there), I can tell you that Portland is pretty awesome, as far as cities go.

Oregon or southern Washington near Portland is very nice. Good schools, ocean, mountains, access to an international airport, art good theaters and all that. Good beer too. The area up near Bellingham, Washington (near Canadian border) is also nice for the same reasons and it is a university town. I grew up near Seattle, which is a great place to live, but I can’t recommend it due to the cost of living. It does not rain as much as people want you to believe.

You could go nuts and move to Australia. I’ve thought about it a few times.

If I had the option of living anywhere I'd like, I'd pick the Pacific Northwest.

The Mob is in Ohio? No wonder they're in decline.

Even though their climates couldn't be more different I like Chicago and Austin. I spent a lot of time as a kid in Chicago, so I have a soft spot. As for Austin, I think it'd be cool for the kid to grow up there, based on experiences I've had later on in my life. It's like San Francisco, but thankfully not. Or Seattle, minus all the rain.

We've got Favre now. Come to MN.

I've lived here in Austin since 1982. I basically grew up here, and it was pretty much wonderful to be a kid here.

That said:
-we now have some of the worst traffic in the nation for a city of this size.
-Our public transportation is half-assed at best. We have buses and a boondoggle of a shitty compromised light rail system that still hasn't properly launched, even though it was supposed to start operation back in March. You'll need cars.
-nearly every day since mid-May this year has been 100-degrees plus. Summers are fucking brutal here. Get used to running your A/C all day and all night and paying $200-300 utility bills 6 months of the year.
-Like snow? Tough. We get ice storms every couple of years, but precious little snow. When it ices, the city shuts down.
-Want to live close to town? Be prepared to buy a house that's at least 25-50 years old, needs work, is overpriced, and has high taxes. We have no state income tax, so schools are paid for via property taxes. FUN. Or you could buy in East Austin and contribute to the ongoing gentrification and displacement of poor people and minorities and try to feel good about it.
-The suburbs and exurbs that have sprung up in the last decade are almost uniformly awful (I lived in one for 7 years before moving back to North Austin. Best decision I've made in a long time). Sure, they have good schools, but they're populated by plastic people. The 'burbs almost uniformly vote republican, while central and south Austin are democratic-socialist strongholds. The Southies even look down on the area I'm living in, even though it's a 30 year old neighborhood. Go figure.
-You must be comfortable with being laid back, friendly, and not giving a fuck. It's the default setting of most long term Austinites. We're used to going to even the nicest restaurant in town in shorts and sandals here. There's been an invasion of hipster douchebags, but so far the hippie roots of this city seem to be pushing back enough to keep it weird, as they say.
-Being a teacher in Texas might suck. Our education board is the one that wants creationism in school textbooks, remember.
-The University and State Government, along with a robust high-tech sector, have kept the worst of the economic downturn at bay here. There are always state jobs and university jobs to be had.
-If you have interest in doing anything film-related after you retire, this would be a great place to network and learn.
-The food here is amazingly good, and we have a crazy ratio of restaurants to population. BBQ, Tex Mex, authentic interior Mexican, Sushi (Uchi is a world-class Sushi restaurant, and we have a few other really good ones too), whatever you want.
-Barton Springs, Lake Travis, Lake Austin. If you like water recreation, then you'll be in heaven. Once the drought ends.

Most of the corporate-ization and Dallas-ification of this city is due to the massive population influx from out of state, mostly Californians who cannot believe how cheap our housing is. They all buy in the burbs (It seemed like 2/3 of the people on our street when we lived in the burbs were from California) or in the expensive new condos they're building downtown. Bring on more northerners and mid-westerners, I say. I used to be one too. We seem to adapt to Austin-y gregariousness and liberalism better.

Eyeball: how is San Antonio nowadays? I used to live in Houston and travel around quite a bit, and I really loved Austin and San Antonio: both of them felt like cities on the brink of being discovered and inundated with people.

Both, really.

It's too bad you have the Vikings too. Oh and snow. Lots of snow.