Best U.S. city to work remote in?

[lunchmoney]

I had posted a previous message in the travel section that I had a new opportunity come across that could potentially have me move from the East Coast out to the Phoenix/Tempe AZ area. I found out yesterday that while the company has a hub there, if I accept this role, I could ideally work location independent (as long as I am in a city with an international airport and open to traveling to sites 20 percent of the time)

I am perfectly fine with 4 days of travel one time a month, and this new wrinkle in this opportunity has me excited. The compensation wont ideally change no matter if I pick SF vs. Dallas vs. Anywhere else.

I am seeking a city on the coast (dont want to be landlocked) with decent population of single women and activities (sports teams) . If I were to look at land lock cities it would be in states with no income tax (Nashville, Vegas, Any city in TX or FL)

What city/cities would make the most sense for me?

New York metro and Cali aren't on my radar.

 

[Belize King]

Tampa or Orlando. Miami if you want to spend more money. There are data sheets on those cities. Vegas can be cheap for locals. Henderson area used to be safe and cheap when I was running around up there in the early 2010's.

 

[Alpone]

Miami for sure. Working remote here resolves two major issues with this city - traffic and low paying jobs. Then you're left with a tropical, international gateway city filled with beautiful women, outdoor recreation and some really unique neighborhoods.

 

[lunchmoney]

Any thoughts on Fort Lauderdale vs Miami to live?

 

[Alpone]

I take day trips to Ft. Lauderdale a few times a month. Las Olas is fun. Nice riverwalk, plenty of bars, more white girls and more of a college crowd than Miami. It's also more of a 9 to 5 white collar city, whereas Miami is more of an entrepreneurial place where people do legit and sometimes non-legit side gigs to make ends meet.

If you don't like the Latin flavor and uniqueness of Miami, Ft. Laud is a good alternative. West Palm Beach is nice too.

 

[jbkunt2]

I don't understand why anyone would choose Miami except for the weather. It's expensive as well.

I work remotely and chose Chicago. I like.it so much more than NYC, the only other place I would consider, and it's half the price.

I went to Tampa and it was okay. Good for winters.

 

[redbeard]

Before you up and move somewhere, definitely consider:

1. Visiting for a few weeks to get an actual, boots on the ground take on the place

2. Nailing down where your company needs you to travel. You don’t want to be living on the East Coast taking red eyes to California every month if that’s where you’re going.

 

[whitewashedblackguy]

I’d say Vegas to avoid flying any longer than you need to. Flying from Miami every month’s gonna get old after a while, and the Vegas airport’s stupid convenient. You can’t beat the amount of single women it has to offer, obviously. Get your state Id asap so you can pay local prices. I don’t know what it’s like off the strip or what the sport scenes like, but I’m sure you’ll meet some locals that’ll show you around.

 

[lunchmoney]

Thanks guys for the advice.

My company would ideally have me travel between 3 sites, 2 of which are on the East Coast and the 3rd in Illinois.

I have visited many of the places mentioned multiple times, and lived in FL in the past, albeit not South FL.

Cost of living is a factor, as my end goal isnt just to live in the place with the most beautiful women, but to be in a place where I can set myself up financially to do what I choose to do debt free in 5-7 years.

 

[whitewashedblackguy]

Thanks guys for the advice.

My company would ideally have me travel between 3 sites, 2 of which are on the East Coast and the 3rd in Illinois.

I have visited many of the places mentioned multiple times, and lived in FL in the past, albeit not South FL.

Cost of living is a factor, as my end goal isnt just to live in the place with the most beautiful women, but to be in a place where I can set myself up financially to do what I choose to do debt free in 5-7 years.

That changes things a bit. Sounds like Florida might be better for you. Don't know anything about it though.

 

[GyopoPlayboy]

I had posted a previous message in the travel section that I had a new opportunity come across that could potentially have me move from the East Coast out to the Phoenix/Tempe AZ area. I found out yesterday that while the company has a hub there, if I accept this role, I could ideally work location independent (as long as I am in a city with an international airport and open to traveling to sites 20 percent of the time)

I am perfectly fine with 4 days of travel one time a month, and this new wrinkle in this opportunity has me excited. The compensation wont ideally change no matter if I pick SF vs. Dallas vs. Anywhere else.

I am seeking a city on the coast (dont want to be landlocked) with decent population of single women and activities (sports teams) . If I were to look at land lock cities it would be in states with no income tax (Nashville, Vegas, Any city in TX or FL)

What city/cities would make the most sense for me?

New York metro and Cali aren't on my radar.

Finding Coastal+No Taxes is going to be difficult outside of Florida and Texas.

You should also take into consideration a state's various other taxes when there's no income tax. They make up the difference with property, car, sales, excise, etc taxes, so what you're really gonna want to look into is the overall tax burden. Obv, the trick here is to not do/own the thing getting taxed.

You mention wanting financial independence in 5-7 years, but FI is measured in terms of reaching a set Net Worth target, rather than in years. And it is more dependent on things like your salary, investments, spending habits, and so on, rather than on where you live.

 

[Cyclone]

Why not a spot in Oregon or Washington? I'm sure there's some gems besides Portland/Seattle, and the trips to Cali would be effortless.
.

 

[lunchmoney]

What's everyone's thoughts on Dallas? A college buddy is trying to convince me to check out getting a condo Downtown.

 

[FullThrottleTX]

What's everyone's thoughts on Dallas? A college buddy is trying to convince me to check out getting a condo Downtown.

I agree with the other posters on Florida as a target.
Texas cities don't add a lot of value over Florida cities for lifestyle, culture, cost of living, women, or climate. Nashville could be interesting too (friendly people), but international flights from that airport are tough. Vegas is going to be tough socially I think if you're working remote. Orlando or Fort Lauderdale seem like the best bet.

Dallas is full of "college buddies" and that pretty much sums up the social scene here and I'm pretty much the forum's "don't move to Dallas" guy now lol. It's pretty good to stack cash here and find high paying jobs, but it's not advantageous for much else. Cost of living is going up fast here because a ton of people are moving here, my rent just jumped 200 bucks and I don't even live in the downtown area...

 

[FullThrottleTX]

I had posted a previous message in the travel section that I had a new opportunity come across that could potentially have me move from the East Coast out to the Phoenix/Tempe AZ area. I found out yesterday that while the company has a hub there, if I accept this role, I could ideally work location independent (as long as I am in a city with an international airport and open to traveling to sites 20 percent of the time)

I am perfectly fine with 4 days of travel one time a month, and this new wrinkle in this opportunity has me excited. The compensation wont ideally change no matter if I pick SF vs. Dallas vs. Anywhere else.

I am seeking a city on the coast (dont want to be landlocked) with decent population of single women and activities (sports teams) . If I were to look at land lock cities it would be in states with no income tax (Nashville, Vegas, Any city in TX or FL)

What city/cities would make the most sense for me?

New York metro and Cali aren't on my radar.

Finding Coastal+No Taxes is going to be difficult outside of Florida and Texas.

You should also take into consideration a state's various other taxes when there's no income tax. They make up the difference with property, car, sales, excise, etc taxes, so what you're really gonna want to look into is the overall tax burden. Obv, the trick here is to not do/own the thing getting taxed.

You mention wanting financial independence in 5-7 years, but FI is measured in terms of reaching a set Net Worth target, rather than in years. And it is more dependent on things like your salary, investments, spending habits, and so on, rather than on where you live.

Also, the requirement for car ownership is a big financial burden coming from NYC. It's the hidden tax of living outside of the Coastal cities with good transit.

I personally don't commute much (I walk to work) which makes it less of an issue for me in terms of gas and maintenance costs, but the amount I spend yearly on a car is about what I paid in income taxes in NYC.

There's not many US cities where you can be car free and taxes/cost of living are relatively low. Miami is one of those places. Not always possible to be "car free" in Miami - it's not NYC. It really depends on your situation (I actually turned down a job in Miami because it would have required me to own a car there). But if you can mostly work remote, not owning a car in Miami proper is fairly easy and will negate the cost of living advantage of living in Orlando/Tampa... Though, I should say there are advantages to Orlando/Tampa other than cost of living.

The only other cities I can name where the income taxes won't matter compared to the cost of car ownership are Chicago, Philly, and Baltimore. The housing is pretty affordable in those cities - and you don't need a car. Still, Miami is a better deal than all 3 given no state income tax and low sales taxes. Car insurance is really high in Miami, it's one of the cities where you come out better ubering vs. owning a car.

Even if you live in somewhere really affordable like Nashville, you're going to be spending thousands of dollars a year on owning a car, which will impact your health and wellness negatively coming from NYC (?). I gained 20 pounds when I moved to Texas...

 

[lunchmoney]

Curious as to why you feel you gained weight moving to Dallas?

I ask because the only point of reference I have is a friend who lives Downtown and essentially uses Uber anytime he has to go anywhere outside of Downtown. He doesnt follow football, although he did buy season tickets to the Mavs and leveraged that in his dating life.
He has always done well with women, and prefers walking or uber over driving a car no matter where he lives.

Re: Miami - good insight and something to consider. I noticed the property taxes in TX exceed FL which is surprising.

 

[FullThrottleTX]

Curious as to why you feel you gained weight moving to Dallas?

I ask because the only point of reference I have is a friend who lives Downtown and essentially uses Uber anytime he has to go anywhere outside of Downtown. He doesnt follow football, although he did buy season tickets to the Mavs and leveraged that in his dating life.
He has always done well with women, and prefers walking or uber over driving a car no matter where he lives.

Re: Miami - good insight and something to consider. I noticed the property taxes in TX exceed FL which is surprising.

I walked everywhere in Manhattan and clocked some serious steps so when I bought a car and moved to the burbs here, I gained a bunch of weight (not a feeling, quite a reality). Dallas in general is a lot of concrete and few trees and limited outdoors opportunities. My best quality of life here was actually when I lived in Denton County, which is pretty far north of the city. I was still able to date up there (with a car).

I personally have lived in Downtown Dallas without a car for 4 months, and another forum member for 4 years. You can definitely make it work, but it sort of sucks and is kind of isolating. Downtown Dallas is pretty dead on Monday - Thursday. Also, your social life will be limited to people in the city proper - which is barely a scene right now. DFW is a huge region the size of Connecticut and young people live everywhere. Even going out in Deep Ellum, you will meet people from all over the region and they're used to driving long distances to get places, which with Uber would be cost prohibitive. I picked up a girl who lived in Denton a few weeks back which is too far to Uber. I had a cute latina girlfriend for 2 years here, and without a car I have no idea how I would have made that work being that she lived in the burbs. It's good your friend likes sports, that will take him far here being that other than for sports, Dallas is a cultural wasteland.

Technically you can live in any city without a car if you're willing to Uber and have grocery delivery, but why have that kind of lifestyle in a place not suited for it? Food for thought also, both my friend and I had bikes here in Dallas -- without a bike, I have no idea how I'd get by without a car with the 110 degree summers. It's just too hot and too much concrete to walk far distances. Phoenix is a similar issue.

 

[VNvet]

Miami sucks. Hope you know Spanish, like fat and bitchy Hispanic chicks (the "hot Miami women" thing is a meme put out by FL Tourism advertising), and a feels like of 96 in mid-September.

The weather just sucks. When it's sunny, it's too hot to really do anything outside without getting soaked in sweat. You can't really do anything when it rains, and it rains a lot.

It's also expensive and the drivers really suck. Basically a Latin American city with a 1st world cost of living.

I'd recommend visiting Miami before moving here.

 

[Investment Bro]

I'm currently in your shoes as well. I live in Downtown Tampa.

Cost of living here is what you make it. I live right on the river and I only pay 2k a month for a nice 2bed/1.5 bath.

The women here are great looking. I've written about it before. I lived on Clearwater Beach beforehand and was amazed with some of the stuff I saw.

Tampa International I fly out of all the time. I literally arrive at the airport with less than an hour before my flight boards and I walk right through security. I fly monthly for work as well and this is a huge plus.

The downsides to Tampa are mostly weather related. The summer is egregiously hot, but if you stay inside during the day it's okay at night. Right now it's quite crisp. The other danger is hurricanes. The road I live on is notorious for flooding even with strong rain. I can't imagine how bad a direct hit would be.

Tampa's true metro area is pretty compact which isn't ideal, but you also have access to St Pete which is a great city for nightlife and culture.

I'm on my phone right now, but let me know if you want to know more. Tampa is a great place.

 

[lunchmoney]

Good insight. Last time I was in Tampa I was with a friend at American Social, and met a girl who stayed in an apartment within walking distance. I assume that is the best part of town?