--Low cost of living. Housing, food and gas prices that are at the lower end of the national average, along with a community college that is either free or very close to free for highschool students. (Yes, Virginians, there is free college for highschool students in some states.)
--Nice people. Friendly, well-educated. This presupposes a low crime rate. Criminals may be friendly with each other, but I really don't want my kids hanging out with gang members. Preferably many of these nice people will homeschool their kids and enough of them will be LDS that my kids have a good dating pool to choose from.
--Not Too far from my family members at BYU. This could perhaps be an extension of "Nice People." =) I like my kids, my parents and my siblings. And grandparents are a good thing for children to have around!
--Lots of trees, no billboards. Think of the mama duck (I think it's a duck) on Bambi (I think it's Bambi) who says, "Green's good for the eye!" (Or wait. Was that The Ugly Ducking? Anyway, you get the idea.) Trees make me happy. Billboards make me feel like white trash.
--Fun Stuff to Do. Nearby activities that are kid and family friendly and either free or pretty darn close to free is big on my list. This could include museums (think Smithsonian), hiking, fun parks, lakes and rivers for boating/canoeing, etc.
--Easy Homeschool Laws. Some states make it easy to homeschool your kids. Some seem to have forgotten who gave birth and who didn't. I like Alaska, where, if I understand correctly, the state assumes your child will be homeschooled unless you tell them otherwise. If anyone finds a way to move Alaska a little closer to CONUS, please let me know.
--Really, really good church congregation. One with a good assortment of happy, non-cliquish teens, where home and visiting teaching happen, ward parties are fun because the people like each other, and members are generally thrilled to be with their friends on Sunday and at YM/YW. If they happened to have a Girl's Camp that was comparable to Scout Camp, I might never leave.
I think this pretty well sums it up. Do you happen to know where I am describing? 'Cause if you do, please contact me ASAP! The hunt for the Perfect Location is on!
4 comments:
Is there somewhere in Arizona with all of the above qualifications? What is homeschooling like there, I wonder?
ELizabeth, You could have told me that was how you spell your name in Tibetan, and I would have completely believed you! =)
Random that I read your blog, I know. But I like blogs and I like you and your family, so why not? Right? Well, I couldn't help but think of Springville, UT when I read this post. We house-sat for my hubby's uncle for a year while he taught at the Jerusalem Center. There is definitely a spirit of "family" in the ward we lived in while in Springville. The cost of living is pretty low (from what everyone tells me), and I'm assuming the crime rate is low, too. We had awesome youth in our ward, and the young women's leaders were terrific! I really think you'd like it. There were even a few families that home schooled their children. :)
This is Courtney (Call) Emmett, by the way. :)
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