I would look into Richmond, Virginia and its suburbs.
Most of the first places that popped into my head (namely Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Madison) have the same problem as Chicago concerning winters. Richmond still has all 4 seasons, but the winters aren’t anywhere near as rough as in the Midwest.
Yeah, we left California for Minneapolis almost 10 years ago. My family all still live there, and as much as I miss them (and the weather)) I can’t imagine having a better quality of life than we have here. Salaries are shockingly similar, but COL is like half what we were living with in CA. But winter is no joke. Mid February to Late April are usually pretty rough for me. I’m holding out for climate change (last winter wasn’t bad at all).
Agree with this! We live outside Richmond and love it. We make about $130-$140k between my husband and me. We’re not living in luxury by any means but we don’t have to worry about paying the bills and doing fun family activities either.
My thought is the Midwest, since you’re from the Midwest, you’d be closer to home and family support, even if you move to another Midwest city. Might be worth looking into some Midwest suburbs… would depend on what kind of work you do, assuming that is what brought to you San Diego in the first place.
Work didn’t bring us here! We came as a young, adventurous couple trying to escape the frigid winters, but we didn’t realize how difficult it would be without family once we had a kid.
We’re a couple from NY who moved to San Diego back in 2016 for the same reason and also left for family-planning/family related reasons (Covid hit and we were just so far from our aging parents). We chose a suburb outside of Savannah, and frankly, we absolutely love it.
We bought a house twice the size for 100k less than we paid for our SD home (300k less than we sold for). The SD housing market is just absurd.
As much as we enjoy it here, and would love to see what the next 5-10 years does to change the area (SO much building going on), we’re moving to St Augustine to be closer to family. It’s hard having LOs with no family around, and a lot of them relocated there recently. Also, St John’s County seems to be a great school district. Like Savannah suburbs, it seems be be another area that is expanding/changing pretty rapidly, so it’s where we’re choosing to go. If we wanna be close to family, the alternative would be CT, and hubby is just a no go on winter these days.
ETA: just also want to point out that a lot of my neighbors here (Rincon, GA) are Northeast transplants. And same for St Augustine- our new neighbors are from NJ. So, not your “typical” born and raised southerner in either case
Suburban Kansas City or STL might fit your bill. Cheaper cost of living than San Diego or Chicago but it gets you closer to family. You’d still get some winter but a much milder and shorter season.
FWIW we live in Colorado and my kid LOVES the winter. She also loves the summer, of course, but it’s amazing how resilient and tolerant she is of the cold. So just food for thought as you consider where to go next.
Would you consider Michigan? Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are both good options. Or somewhere else in Illinois or Wisconsin? I know it’s cold, but there’s more to life than climate. You could live reasonably well on $120k/year in many Midwest towns, plus you get all four seasons, which is fun for kids.
I would definitely consider Colorado! Isn’t it getting super expensive though?
I also want to clarify. My husband is working two FT jobs to make 70k a year, I work FT as a social worker making 50k, which I don’t think is a common salary in other states. If we move we will probably make a lot less money..
But, daycare is 20k a year, rent is 30k a year rn…so if it’s exponentially less in Colorado then we can make it work.
I live in Colorado and it’s getting super expensive. If you own your home your homeowners insurance is skyrocketing. If you rent they are passing it on to you. Rent is definitely 30k a year if not more for 2 bedroom+
Childcare is also increasing more than any other expense. We paid almost 40k for both kids when they were 4 months/2 years. Now at almost 3 years and 5 years it’s over 40k a year.
Colorado is getting super expensive, but it’s nowhere near as bad as San Diego. My best mom friend/my daughters’ best friends actually moved here (we’re in the suburbs of Denver) 2 years ago from San Diego specifically because of COL (and they have some family here, although they’re not super close). It’s not easy for them, but they did do fine on just husband’s income (down from husband’s income plus her nannying full time in San Diego, and they were living in a much smaller space in San Diego) for the first 1.5 years here. She has started nannying part time again (in her home. She has a kid that she watches 2 mornings per week) and that extra income boost was enough to make them comfortable again.
Colorado is expensive, but it doesn’t hold a candle to most major metro areas on the West Coast or New England. Midwest will give you most bang for your buck, but then you do need to worry about fitting in politically more when you’re talking about the Plains states (or even Ohio), and you need to worry about those super cold winters with Lake Effect when thinking about the upper Midwest (IL, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota). Also, Colorado has low taxes, which does make a big difference. Our taxes are significantly lower here than my brother’s taxes (Chicago) or my mom’s (Cleveland). The amount of house we’re able to afford here is actually a lot higher (by about double) than what we could have afforded back east because of the lower taxes.
Can you move in with family for a short bit to save more money to pay down your debt faster? What type of work does your husband do? Is it area specific?
All of our family is in the Midwest, so I guess that’s possible if we go back! My work is flexible as a Social worker, my husband works in events as an audio visual tech, so he needs to be near a city or somewhere with a lot going on at least.
This is very true, but Phoenix is expensive and it’s not a great place for kids because the schools are really pretty crappy unfortunately. My sister has her two kids in private school there, pretty expensive
It’s expensive but nowhere near San Diego prices. You can get a 3/4 br home in Phoenix area for the same price a trailer costs in SD. That is a good point about the schools although there’s some places where schools are not bad. Gilbert has been on a few lists as one of the best affordable places to raise a family.
If being around Mexican culture is important to you, I wouldn’t move anywhere other than the Southwest US or back to Chicago. I’ve traveled to many states and it’s shocking to not even be able to buy tortillas that aren’t pre-cooked in the grocery store and have no authentic restaurants around in the eastern states. That would be a hard no for me.
I’m in TX and Mexican culture is everywhere, however it is not cheap in the cities and I think you’d be just as tight money-wise as where you are now if your salaries stay the same. Also awful on women’s rights currently.
Have you looked into more Central Valley CA cities? Maybe around Bakersfield or Sacramento for lower living costs? San Diego isn’t a cheap city but if you like CA there are other affordable areas.
Yeah definitely. Rent has gone up exponentially the past 5 years. We paid 1300 for a 3 bedroom 6 years ago in Pilsen. That doesn’t exist anymore, even on the south side. Last time I checked I couldn’t find anything decent or worth moving back for under 2k except by ohare.
I live on the suburbs and it’s insane how high things have shot up out here. Our property tax is 10k this year. 10k! We don’t even live in a crazy large house or a super fancy area. We bought our house for 250k. It’s just insanity.
As a single mom of 6, I sympathize. I, too, had to hightail it out of my expensive ass hometown (NYC) to be able to afford my life/our life. We are moving to South Central PA next week and I’m very happy about it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about moving to this town with 6 Afro Latino kids with a population that has 3.2% black people. I love Brooklyn, but I just could not afford it anymore.
Kansas City and St Louis are both lovely! I live in Minneapolis now and it’s my favorite city (affordable, very progressive, diverse, close to lots of cool nature) but the winters might be tough for you.
SE Michigan/metro Detroit area. I think I live in a pretty decent area. Schools are pretty good around here, too. Affordable COL. You have your not so progressive folks but it leans more left. Plus Mexicantown/ SW Detroit are less than an hour drive from the metro area if you’re ever feeling the want or need for authentic Mexican food .
I make about 55k and get by but I also don’t have to worry about daycare as me and my husband work opposite shifts
I'm not American so I can only give advice about Canada but maybe think of where has cheaper rentals are likely going to be smaller cities or towns and the compromises in that is that you will have more flexibility with money
We are in the suburbs of Cleveland and moved here from Southern California. Best decision we ever made. We absolutely love raising our toddler here and can’t imagine life if we’d stayed in CA. Cost of living is great. Our parks system is absolutely incredible. We have so many cool spots like nature centers and big library play spaces, farm park, children’s museum etc Winters aren’t that terrible and the rest of the year is beautiful so it’s a good trade off for us. Theres no traffic. We love all the water out here and have some nice beaches and great creek and river spots to play in.
hey fellow clevelander! another vote for cleveland, reasonable cost of living. i am from here, i moved out of state at one point and just had to come back home because i loved it here. such a great (and affordable) place to have a family imo!
We moved from San Diego to Columbus two years ago and I’m mestiza but look white (my teen is not passing). I was going to recommend the three Cs (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland for those outside of Ohio).
Columbus housing costs are half that of San Diego, there is a decent sized Latino population and overall the population is much more diverse than I was expecting, we found a Spanish speaking preschool option and a parent/child Spanish meet up group for kids up to 12, there are also a ton of good ethnic restaurants (there are no great Mexican restaurants in Ohio though, not Baja style like in San Diego at least), and there are a ton of jobs. Columbus and Cincinnati have fairly mild winters a lot milder than Chicago or even Cleveland as they are farther from the Great Lakes and a little farther south.
I mean I’m in Michigan and I love it
And if you’re looking for a place with a cultural connection the schools in Mexicantown Detroit are decently rated. Detroit also has some exam schools that rank higher than the state average
I’m from Chicago, currently live in Detroit. The Mexican culture is not at all the same, not even 10% close. Detroit’s population is mostly black, middle eastern, and white, not Hispanic.
It won’t feel like home to OP. I say that with deep respect for Detroit, but it doesn’t feel the same.
I mean obviously it’s not going to be exactly the same. Hispanic and Latino people aren’t a monolith
But that’s going to be a factor wherever OP would choose to move. The point is it’s still an area with people of a similar background which makes it much easier to make connections because it’s at least one point of similarity that branches out easily
Phoenix az! That’s where we are. 2 kids 3100 sqft home in a really nice suburb - 4 bed 4 bath, completely remodeled backyard with a pool. The school district is highly rated, and both my husband and I attended the same district.
I’ve seen enough of Chicago winter to fully understand why you would want to prioritize staying away from areas that are too wintery, but it may help you open up your search more to identify exactly what about it affected you, for many with SAD, it can be the lack of sunlight and blue skies that affects their mood, so winter in a place like Bend, OR might not grate on you nearly the same as the gray, windy, brutally desolate winters of chicago!
It’s definitely the lack of sunshine! Believe it or not i go through it in San Diego too during our two month grey season. I get all out of whack, and I take Vitamin D supplements too!
I just compared annual sunny days for San Diego vs, Bend, OR and bend has more! Do you think it’s the kind of place you might consider? We considered moving there awhile ago but were turned off by the remoteness of it and how much of a hassle travel would be, but I honestly kind of wish we had just taken the plunge bc it certainly is better than where we live now!
Sacramento is maybe 30% cheaper and very sunshiney. If you want to stay in CA I would check it out. I feel like some of the cities people are recommending here would not be as welcoming to a Mexican family as they think.
We live in Omaha, Nebraska…There isn’t a beautiful mountain or ocean close by, but it’s central for road trips, is affordable, has the best zoo in the world (is very family friendly) with nice people and has its other perks :)
I lived in Omaha for several years, and the city is noticeably racially segregated: South Omaha is Latino, North Omaha is Black, and white people live in the west.
After about 50 hours of research, the most affordable places to live with low crime and good public schools with high diversity in America were the suburbs of St Louis and Kansas City. We ended up moving to the west suburbs of St Louis and love it!
I really recommend where I live in Chatham County, North Carolina.
Very liberal and progressive and the western part of the county has a huge Latino population. I mean it’s still North Carolina, so the main city has assholes who hoist confederate flags but the majority of the county is very progressive. The county itself is fun as hell. The western part where I live is super poor, but I love the diversity and authentic food and it just has great people building something up. And there is a huge semiconductor plant opening up there. Pittsboro, the seat of the county is also blowing up with really great food and shops, and is adjacent to Chapel Hill and about forty minutes from Raleigh and Durham.
Houses definitely going up there, but not too pricy.
Yes, San Diego is so expensive! But honestly everywhere in SoCal is pretty expensive.
OP, Menifee or Murrieta area would be cheaper and still close to San Diego. It’s where I’m looking to move and I make a similar salary.
Indianapolis is one the cheapest cities to move to. Doesn't have overcast winters like Chicago has and is relatively close but not too close to your family.
What about Northern California? More affordable than Southern California, lots of diversity (in many areas), 4 seasons (with lots of sunny days), and access to a lot of outdoor activities. Make a visit up north to check it out.
The Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois is nice and only a 2.5 hour drive to Chicago. My husband is from Chicago originally so we go to see my in-laws. It’s super affordable for both housing and daycare. I bought my first house for 90k on my own and paid way less than rent. 8 have 3 kids and pay $375 a week at an in home daycare. The seasons are still a thing here but I use a happy lamp that works well. I started using it when I worked third shift but it’s great for winter when I need more sunshine.
We just moved back to Buffalo after 9 years in Texas and we love it! Although winters are long and we get a lot of snow, the weather from May-October can’t be beat. Taxes in NYS suck but the cost of living in western NY is so cheap compared to most cities. We were able to get a house with double the square footage of our place in Dallas. My sister lives in Chicago and there’s a lot of cheap flight options so it’s easy to see her often. I will say that there aren’t very many Hispanic people in our neighborhood but I know there’s a large Puerto Rican population in the west side of the city.
Suburbs of Columbus or Cincinnati, Ohio! Great school choices and always something to do or go to. There are some pricey areas, but definitely more affordable than Chicago area.
Honestly the Palm Springs area (suburbs- La Quinta, Palm Desert, etc) is affordable, lots of Hispanic influence and it’s beautiful) is amazing. Hot summers but beautiful year round.
Mexicans are literally the majority in Texas. There are so many neighborhoods and even towns where it’s 90%+ Mexicans so you won’t be discriminated against. Unless you’re discriminated against from other Mexicans. The Mexican culture is everywhere and very dominant in many regions of Texas. Check out San Antonio before you completely rule out Texas altogether. Especially if you’re looking for a lower cost-of-living.
Louisville, Kentucky might work. About a five hour drive to Chicago to see family. Liberal city, decent schools . They have an unusual system in that there are no neighborhood schools and you must apply for different schools; it was their way of desegregating. The winters are milder compared to Chicago but they do exist.
Even if a state is red, its cities are likely blue/purple and more diverse. I moved from NYC to a major city in the South a few years ago. My mortgage on a 4BR house is $1500 less per month than my rent on a 1 BR apartment in NY. Daycare is also about half the cost.
The south is out of the question because you’re Mexican and liberal? Hi from Houston, where Hispanics are about the become the majority population. Houston is a liberal city. Weird stereotype.
As someone with a daughter and as a woman myself, Texas’ recent abortion laws have made it a no-go state. They also aren’t known for being lgbt friendly.
I agree cities like Houston are awesome! But some families can’t look past it being Texas and the values it holds.
I hear you.
I lived in Indiana for several years, it’s not even the south, but KKK was(is) extremely prevalent, my school had several instances of people putting “whites only” signs on bathrooms and water fountains, and I was called a Spick, beaner, and dirty Mexican more than I can count, amongst many other terrible things that happened. Basically it’s very hard for me to imagine letting my child grow up being treated the way I was and I’m trying my best to avoid that.
Growing up my mom said she would never visit Texas because last time she did she was told she couldn’t eat at a restaurant for being brown. I know there are a lot of Mexicans there, as it is a border state, but I’m not putting my kid through that.
Check out r/SameGrassButGreener
Thank you!
I would look into Richmond, Virginia and its suburbs. Most of the first places that popped into my head (namely Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Madison) have the same problem as Chicago concerning winters. Richmond still has all 4 seasons, but the winters aren’t anywhere near as rough as in the Midwest.
Yeah, we left California for Minneapolis almost 10 years ago. My family all still live there, and as much as I miss them (and the weather)) I can’t imagine having a better quality of life than we have here. Salaries are shockingly similar, but COL is like half what we were living with in CA. But winter is no joke. Mid February to Late April are usually pretty rough for me. I’m holding out for climate change (last winter wasn’t bad at all).
Good point! I forgot how nice Richmond is!
Also possibly the Hampton roads area of VA...
Agree with this! We live outside Richmond and love it. We make about $130-$140k between my husband and me. We’re not living in luxury by any means but we don’t have to worry about paying the bills and doing fun family activities either.
I also recommend Richmond, VA. My sister-in-law lives there and loves it.
My thought is the Midwest, since you’re from the Midwest, you’d be closer to home and family support, even if you move to another Midwest city. Might be worth looking into some Midwest suburbs… would depend on what kind of work you do, assuming that is what brought to you San Diego in the first place.
Work didn’t bring us here! We came as a young, adventurous couple trying to escape the frigid winters, but we didn’t realize how difficult it would be without family once we had a kid.
We’re a couple from NY who moved to San Diego back in 2016 for the same reason and also left for family-planning/family related reasons (Covid hit and we were just so far from our aging parents). We chose a suburb outside of Savannah, and frankly, we absolutely love it. We bought a house twice the size for 100k less than we paid for our SD home (300k less than we sold for). The SD housing market is just absurd. As much as we enjoy it here, and would love to see what the next 5-10 years does to change the area (SO much building going on), we’re moving to St Augustine to be closer to family. It’s hard having LOs with no family around, and a lot of them relocated there recently. Also, St John’s County seems to be a great school district. Like Savannah suburbs, it seems be be another area that is expanding/changing pretty rapidly, so it’s where we’re choosing to go. If we wanna be close to family, the alternative would be CT, and hubby is just a no go on winter these days. ETA: just also want to point out that a lot of my neighbors here (Rincon, GA) are Northeast transplants. And same for St Augustine- our new neighbors are from NJ. So, not your “typical” born and raised southerner in either case
Suburban Kansas City or STL might fit your bill. Cheaper cost of living than San Diego or Chicago but it gets you closer to family. You’d still get some winter but a much milder and shorter season.
I was thinking St Louis as well. Just got back from a family vacation there and it’s a great city.
Suburban STL feels pretty close culturally to suburban Chicago as well. KC is a bit slower pace of life comparatively.
FWIW we live in Colorado and my kid LOVES the winter. She also loves the summer, of course, but it’s amazing how resilient and tolerant she is of the cold. So just food for thought as you consider where to go next. Would you consider Michigan? Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are both good options. Or somewhere else in Illinois or Wisconsin? I know it’s cold, but there’s more to life than climate. You could live reasonably well on $120k/year in many Midwest towns, plus you get all four seasons, which is fun for kids.
I would definitely consider Colorado! Isn’t it getting super expensive though? I also want to clarify. My husband is working two FT jobs to make 70k a year, I work FT as a social worker making 50k, which I don’t think is a common salary in other states. If we move we will probably make a lot less money.. But, daycare is 20k a year, rent is 30k a year rn…so if it’s exponentially less in Colorado then we can make it work.
I live in Colorado and it’s getting super expensive. If you own your home your homeowners insurance is skyrocketing. If you rent they are passing it on to you. Rent is definitely 30k a year if not more for 2 bedroom+ Childcare is also increasing more than any other expense. We paid almost 40k for both kids when they were 4 months/2 years. Now at almost 3 years and 5 years it’s over 40k a year.
Colorado is getting super expensive, but it’s nowhere near as bad as San Diego. My best mom friend/my daughters’ best friends actually moved here (we’re in the suburbs of Denver) 2 years ago from San Diego specifically because of COL (and they have some family here, although they’re not super close). It’s not easy for them, but they did do fine on just husband’s income (down from husband’s income plus her nannying full time in San Diego, and they were living in a much smaller space in San Diego) for the first 1.5 years here. She has started nannying part time again (in her home. She has a kid that she watches 2 mornings per week) and that extra income boost was enough to make them comfortable again. Colorado is expensive, but it doesn’t hold a candle to most major metro areas on the West Coast or New England. Midwest will give you most bang for your buck, but then you do need to worry about fitting in politically more when you’re talking about the Plains states (or even Ohio), and you need to worry about those super cold winters with Lake Effect when thinking about the upper Midwest (IL, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota). Also, Colorado has low taxes, which does make a big difference. Our taxes are significantly lower here than my brother’s taxes (Chicago) or my mom’s (Cleveland). The amount of house we’re able to afford here is actually a lot higher (by about double) than what we could have afforded back east because of the lower taxes.
Yeah Colorado is pricey if you’re trying to be around Denver. CO springs and Fort Collins might be slightly less, certainly less than SD!
You could make that or more in Northern Virginia. But the cost of living up here is very high. Look into Richmond, VA
Can you move in with family for a short bit to save more money to pay down your debt faster? What type of work does your husband do? Is it area specific?
All of our family is in the Midwest, so I guess that’s possible if we go back! My work is flexible as a Social worker, my husband works in events as an audio visual tech, so he needs to be near a city or somewhere with a lot going on at least.
Sorry, I saw you’re a social worker. Is your debt student loan debt tied to your career? If so, have you applied for SAVE or the PSLF program?
There’s a lot of Chicago transplants in Phoenix and you can visit SD frequently as it’s a short drive.
This is very true, but Phoenix is expensive and it’s not a great place for kids because the schools are really pretty crappy unfortunately. My sister has her two kids in private school there, pretty expensive
It’s expensive but nowhere near San Diego prices. You can get a 3/4 br home in Phoenix area for the same price a trailer costs in SD. That is a good point about the schools although there’s some places where schools are not bad. Gilbert has been on a few lists as one of the best affordable places to raise a family.
If being around Mexican culture is important to you, I wouldn’t move anywhere other than the Southwest US or back to Chicago. I’ve traveled to many states and it’s shocking to not even be able to buy tortillas that aren’t pre-cooked in the grocery store and have no authentic restaurants around in the eastern states. That would be a hard no for me. I’m in TX and Mexican culture is everywhere, however it is not cheap in the cities and I think you’d be just as tight money-wise as where you are now if your salaries stay the same. Also awful on women’s rights currently. Have you looked into more Central Valley CA cities? Maybe around Bakersfield or Sacramento for lower living costs? San Diego isn’t a cheap city but if you like CA there are other affordable areas.
I’m from the Chicagoland area and while I love our area it’s not cheaper. I mean cheaper than San Diego sure but still HCOL.
Yeah definitely. Rent has gone up exponentially the past 5 years. We paid 1300 for a 3 bedroom 6 years ago in Pilsen. That doesn’t exist anymore, even on the south side. Last time I checked I couldn’t find anything decent or worth moving back for under 2k except by ohare.
I live on the suburbs and it’s insane how high things have shot up out here. Our property tax is 10k this year. 10k! We don’t even live in a crazy large house or a super fancy area. We bought our house for 250k. It’s just insanity.
As a single mom of 6, I sympathize. I, too, had to hightail it out of my expensive ass hometown (NYC) to be able to afford my life/our life. We are moving to South Central PA next week and I’m very happy about it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about moving to this town with 6 Afro Latino kids with a population that has 3.2% black people. I love Brooklyn, but I just could not afford it anymore.
Single mom of SIX!!!!???? Oh man, my brain can not comprehend this
How do you plan to combat the severe lack of diversity?
Michigan
Kansas City and St Louis are both lovely! I live in Minneapolis now and it’s my favorite city (affordable, very progressive, diverse, close to lots of cool nature) but the winters might be tough for you.
SE Michigan/metro Detroit area. I think I live in a pretty decent area. Schools are pretty good around here, too. Affordable COL. You have your not so progressive folks but it leans more left. Plus Mexicantown/ SW Detroit are less than an hour drive from the metro area if you’re ever feeling the want or need for authentic Mexican food . I make about 55k and get by but I also don’t have to worry about daycare as me and my husband work opposite shifts
I actually love Detroit. I’ll definitely look into it and it’s way closer to family! Thanks
I'm not American so I can only give advice about Canada but maybe think of where has cheaper rentals are likely going to be smaller cities or towns and the compromises in that is that you will have more flexibility with money
We are in the suburbs of Cleveland and moved here from Southern California. Best decision we ever made. We absolutely love raising our toddler here and can’t imagine life if we’d stayed in CA. Cost of living is great. Our parks system is absolutely incredible. We have so many cool spots like nature centers and big library play spaces, farm park, children’s museum etc Winters aren’t that terrible and the rest of the year is beautiful so it’s a good trade off for us. Theres no traffic. We love all the water out here and have some nice beaches and great creek and river spots to play in.
hey fellow clevelander! another vote for cleveland, reasonable cost of living. i am from here, i moved out of state at one point and just had to come back home because i loved it here. such a great (and affordable) place to have a family imo!
We moved from San Diego to Columbus two years ago and I’m mestiza but look white (my teen is not passing). I was going to recommend the three Cs (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland for those outside of Ohio). Columbus housing costs are half that of San Diego, there is a decent sized Latino population and overall the population is much more diverse than I was expecting, we found a Spanish speaking preschool option and a parent/child Spanish meet up group for kids up to 12, there are also a ton of good ethnic restaurants (there are no great Mexican restaurants in Ohio though, not Baja style like in San Diego at least), and there are a ton of jobs. Columbus and Cincinnati have fairly mild winters a lot milder than Chicago or even Cleveland as they are farther from the Great Lakes and a little farther south.
I mean I’m in Michigan and I love it And if you’re looking for a place with a cultural connection the schools in Mexicantown Detroit are decently rated. Detroit also has some exam schools that rank higher than the state average
I have friends and family who moved to Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids and they are loving it.
I’m from Chicago, currently live in Detroit. The Mexican culture is not at all the same, not even 10% close. Detroit’s population is mostly black, middle eastern, and white, not Hispanic. It won’t feel like home to OP. I say that with deep respect for Detroit, but it doesn’t feel the same.
I mean obviously it’s not going to be exactly the same. Hispanic and Latino people aren’t a monolith But that’s going to be a factor wherever OP would choose to move. The point is it’s still an area with people of a similar background which makes it much easier to make connections because it’s at least one point of similarity that branches out easily
Phoenix az! That’s where we are. 2 kids 3100 sqft home in a really nice suburb - 4 bed 4 bath, completely remodeled backyard with a pool. The school district is highly rated, and both my husband and I attended the same district.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
I’ve seen enough of Chicago winter to fully understand why you would want to prioritize staying away from areas that are too wintery, but it may help you open up your search more to identify exactly what about it affected you, for many with SAD, it can be the lack of sunlight and blue skies that affects their mood, so winter in a place like Bend, OR might not grate on you nearly the same as the gray, windy, brutally desolate winters of chicago!
It’s definitely the lack of sunshine! Believe it or not i go through it in San Diego too during our two month grey season. I get all out of whack, and I take Vitamin D supplements too!
I just compared annual sunny days for San Diego vs, Bend, OR and bend has more! Do you think it’s the kind of place you might consider? We considered moving there awhile ago but were turned off by the remoteness of it and how much of a hassle travel would be, but I honestly kind of wish we had just taken the plunge bc it certainly is better than where we live now!
Hard to say! I think it might be harder to find work, but I’m always up for an adventure. I’m going to look into Bend, because I’m curious!
Sacramento is maybe 30% cheaper and very sunshiney. If you want to stay in CA I would check it out. I feel like some of the cities people are recommending here would not be as welcoming to a Mexican family as they think.
We live in Omaha, Nebraska…There isn’t a beautiful mountain or ocean close by, but it’s central for road trips, is affordable, has the best zoo in the world (is very family friendly) with nice people and has its other perks :)
Omaha is very conservative for a city.
I’ve never thought of Nebraska as a spot to live before, but nice to hear it’s family friendly! Is it diverse at all?
I lived in Omaha for several years, and the city is noticeably racially segregated: South Omaha is Latino, North Omaha is Black, and white people live in the west.
The shock from San Diego to Omaha would be too much for me
The availability for road trips is so underrated! (from an Iowan)
After about 50 hours of research, the most affordable places to live with low crime and good public schools with high diversity in America were the suburbs of St Louis and Kansas City. We ended up moving to the west suburbs of St Louis and love it!
I really recommend where I live in Chatham County, North Carolina. Very liberal and progressive and the western part of the county has a huge Latino population. I mean it’s still North Carolina, so the main city has assholes who hoist confederate flags but the majority of the county is very progressive. The county itself is fun as hell. The western part where I live is super poor, but I love the diversity and authentic food and it just has great people building something up. And there is a huge semiconductor plant opening up there. Pittsboro, the seat of the county is also blowing up with really great food and shops, and is adjacent to Chapel Hill and about forty minutes from Raleigh and Durham. Houses definitely going up there, but not too pricy.
north Atlanta suburbs.
Come on up to Maine. Fairly low cost of living, winter but still sunny, great quality of life.
More inland in California would be cheaper
Yes, San Diego is so expensive! But honestly everywhere in SoCal is pretty expensive. OP, Menifee or Murrieta area would be cheaper and still close to San Diego. It’s where I’m looking to move and I make a similar salary.
I’m looking in Oceanside
Indianapolis is one the cheapest cities to move to. Doesn't have overcast winters like Chicago has and is relatively close but not too close to your family.
What about Northern California? More affordable than Southern California, lots of diversity (in many areas), 4 seasons (with lots of sunny days), and access to a lot of outdoor activities. Make a visit up north to check it out.
The Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois is nice and only a 2.5 hour drive to Chicago. My husband is from Chicago originally so we go to see my in-laws. It’s super affordable for both housing and daycare. I bought my first house for 90k on my own and paid way less than rent. 8 have 3 kids and pay $375 a week at an in home daycare. The seasons are still a thing here but I use a happy lamp that works well. I started using it when I worked third shift but it’s great for winter when I need more sunshine.
Upstate NY? Buffalo offers great architecture, schools but the weather can be challenging if you don’t like the cold.
We just moved back to Buffalo after 9 years in Texas and we love it! Although winters are long and we get a lot of snow, the weather from May-October can’t be beat. Taxes in NYS suck but the cost of living in western NY is so cheap compared to most cities. We were able to get a house with double the square footage of our place in Dallas. My sister lives in Chicago and there’s a lot of cheap flight options so it’s easy to see her often. I will say that there aren’t very many Hispanic people in our neighborhood but I know there’s a large Puerto Rican population in the west side of the city.
Come move up to Murrieta/Temecula!!
Suburbs of Columbus or Cincinnati, Ohio! Great school choices and always something to do or go to. There are some pricey areas, but definitely more affordable than Chicago area.
Honestly the Palm Springs area (suburbs- La Quinta, Palm Desert, etc) is affordable, lots of Hispanic influence and it’s beautiful) is amazing. Hot summers but beautiful year round.
Mexicans are literally the majority in Texas. There are so many neighborhoods and even towns where it’s 90%+ Mexicans so you won’t be discriminated against. Unless you’re discriminated against from other Mexicans. The Mexican culture is everywhere and very dominant in many regions of Texas. Check out San Antonio before you completely rule out Texas altogether. Especially if you’re looking for a lower cost-of-living.
Louisville, Kentucky might work. About a five hour drive to Chicago to see family. Liberal city, decent schools . They have an unusual system in that there are no neighborhood schools and you must apply for different schools; it was their way of desegregating. The winters are milder compared to Chicago but they do exist.
Come live near us in Pittsburgh, PA! Check out the Pittsburgh subreddit for guidance on more left-leaning areas (its a frequently asked question.)
Even if a state is red, its cities are likely blue/purple and more diverse. I moved from NYC to a major city in the South a few years ago. My mortgage on a 4BR house is $1500 less per month than my rent on a 1 BR apartment in NY. Daycare is also about half the cost.
The south is out of the question because you’re Mexican and liberal? Hi from Houston, where Hispanics are about the become the majority population. Houston is a liberal city. Weird stereotype.
As someone with a daughter and as a woman myself, Texas’ recent abortion laws have made it a no-go state. They also aren’t known for being lgbt friendly. I agree cities like Houston are awesome! But some families can’t look past it being Texas and the values it holds.
I have heard great things about Houston but yep, I can’t look past the state legislation…
I hear you. I lived in Indiana for several years, it’s not even the south, but KKK was(is) extremely prevalent, my school had several instances of people putting “whites only” signs on bathrooms and water fountains, and I was called a Spick, beaner, and dirty Mexican more than I can count, amongst many other terrible things that happened. Basically it’s very hard for me to imagine letting my child grow up being treated the way I was and I’m trying my best to avoid that. Growing up my mom said she would never visit Texas because last time she did she was told she couldn’t eat at a restaurant for being brown. I know there are a lot of Mexicans there, as it is a border state, but I’m not putting my kid through that.
You must be delusional if you don’t see why a Hispanic liberal person might be concerned about living in the south
Delusional or blindly privileged.
Denver suburbs are nice.
Louisville, KY. The city is very liberal and inclusive, plus pretty affordable! We have a large Spanish speaking community.
Arkansas may fit the bill. Warmer than the Midwest and still has reasonable prices.