Deciding on a new place to live. The options are between Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina? Anyone live in those states? Any suggestions?

Well, i know someone who spends about half the year in AZ for his children, but has to come to FL for the hotter parts of the year. TX ain't much better, as my brother used to live there and after a year decided there are much better places to live.....hell being higher on the list.
From a climate stand point i'd say NC is going to be a good choice for a canuck. You still get the changing of the seasons but the extremes are far and few between. NC is centrally located on the east coast so you are within a 12 hours drive from everything East of the Mississippi. Actually about half the country.
The realestate isn't as out of hand in NC as it is in AZ and TX. Cost of living is about on par with the country, where as it tends to be higher in metro AZ & TX. I'd probably move there if i didn't hate the cold weather so much. But i'd never willfully move to either of the desert states.

It all really depends on what you plan to be doing to support yourself and how that relates to your standard of living. It would help others give you much better responses if you got more specific about what you do now, what your reasons for moving are, what you are hoping to see/accomplish by moving to these destinations, how your recreational life balances with your corporate aspirations, etc.

colorado!

don't forget that deals gap and the blue ridge mountains are right there in NC. being a former desert rat i must say that I do love arizona and texas for many reasons, but It does get damn hot for a good portion of the year. 120f plus. northern parts of the states aren't as bad though. that being said if you can handle realy hot weather there is a lot to do, especialy if you are into dirtbikes and dunebuggies and such. is there a particular reason for those three states?

Out of the 3, I would say North Carolina. I'm a fan of having 4 distinct seasons. Only way I would live somewhere hot, is if it was on the water.

NC.

Close to Florida, yet little winter to speak of....

That's not necessarily a good thing.

In all seriousness, I lived in NC for 7 years and loved it. If humidity isn't too big of a deal for you, you will love it. An interesting and unique part of NC is you can drive 10 minutes in any direction and find yourself in a tobacco plantation.

Well we will probably be flying down because my wife has a job interview (nursing) in Greenville, NC. Seems like a lower wage for both of us, but low real estate. But by any standard its lower then here. The average single family home is 420,000 and condo 310,000. Just need to get away from the expensive cost of living and snow! Also the 1300 bike insurance sux!

Arizona resident here.

Over 300+ days of perfect riding weather.
Cost of living isn't too awfully bad.
We have Snowbowl and Sunrise here for skiing in the winter.
A few good lakes for boating/jet skiing.

Lots of illegals, but that's more for tourists I think.

Pretty good jobs available in and around Phoenix.

Oh, and lots of good riding weather.

Being a NC native, anyone would say that my opinion is biased, but looking at the state from the pros and cons would be:
PROS-
Beaches on one side, Mountains on other
Wonderful travel destinations within 3-4 hour drive
4 distinct seasons
The Dragon is here
VIR is just across the border
Real estate never really boomed here
Kiplinger's voted Raleigh, NC the #2 place to live in the US
Just to name a few....

Cons-
Not many people are actually from here anymore... lots and lots of transplants so you will not be out of place, haha

You still have the occasional rednecks and the hispanic immigrant population is growing daily

Don't be put off by Greenville... the city itself is small, and there's nothing outside of Greenville for a few miles, but NC is a beautiful state.

This may be i bit off topic, but is probably most vital piece of suggestions i could ever give. Trust me on this........NEVER, and i mean NEVER take a pay cut if you value your ability to climb any corporate ladder.

You will run across many varying ideas/thoughts about this, but one thing is undeniable. Any highering company will look at a backwards, or lateral, move in pay as a red flag. Even if it isn't actually a red flag at all HR and the powers that be will always hold it against you.

If there is a COL difference a suggestion to even out the cost of relocation for a company that is difficult to work with but you really wish to stay with them) is to forgo the relocation package as long as you can negotiate a pay increase(no matter how slight it may be). The reason i say this is because here is how it will all shake out to any potential employer.
Any highering company want motivated rising stars to work for them. If every move you make is to the plus you don't have to try to combat any red flags. Say you will relocate but want the company to cover your expenses. The company will do so, but actually want to decrease your pay, or keep it the same. If they are being difficult and you have/want to stay with them for the time being(for whatever reason) then work it out so the recolation package is actually subsidized by a pay increase. I.E. HR says we will pay for relocation, but would rather not offer a pay hike. The smart thing to do is to say you are willing to help them out. Worst case senario as to tell them you will forgo, or negotiate a reduced, relocation package(usually between 10-15K) in exchange for a slight pay increase. Now ever circumstance is different, but you can usually feel it out. Obviously you want to recoup the relocation package as soon as possible through your negotiated pay increase, but even if you have to spread it out over the course of 2 years you still are ahead of the game. Any potential employer will only see the pay increase as a positive and no reg flags are thrown. So you have to wait a year to recoup your relocation expenses....no big deal. This only makes your hand stronger when it comes to future negotiated pay hikes and packages whether it be with the same company or another.



Caveat: Nursing(and the medical field in general) here in the states is in huge demand with little supply. Going to be this way for a long time. Wages and incentive packages are in the employed's favor. Not sure if you know about this but the U.S. has a very well paying traveling nursing program. Basically you are a sub contracted medical professional that goes where the money is. Have run across more than a few nurses that do this and can make just as much as doctors just in wages. Some of these programs have incredible employee packages.

rc51canada, congrats, there are some really cool places to live in the US though! Good oportunity, I say jump on it!

Thanks, I appreciate it. I am definitely looking forwards to it. Now the question is to keep the bike or sell it and buy an RC in the US.

1300 on insurance for a bike is insane. I pay 50 a month for fully comprehensive.

Dallas Texas

That would be nice. We take it up the butt here. There is nothing affordable about living. Even beer. 12 beer for $23 at the beer store.