Recommendations for movers back to the US

[Lisafuller]

I’ve stopped watching the news, so am not very clued into the latest “sensations” but have been back to the US four times in 2022 (making up for lost time during Covid), including the entire months of June and December. I spent time in seven states. California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. I took the inner city L-train at least a half-dozen times in Chicago (daytime only, of course) and spent several weeks right downtown - walked around quite bit, even in the early evening. Never had any issues whatsoever.

The most disconcerting encounter the whole time was when I was checking into a hotel - left the wife and kids in the car (public parking garage at 2am) and apparently some crazy guy came up and was begging them to roll down the window and speak to him. They refused and ignored the guy until he left.

I agree that you'll be safe living in the US if you know where not to go, and what time to avoid certain places. I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience in Chicago, because the recent news about crime in the city isn't good.

I've been going to LA every quarter for work meetings, so I make it a point to read the news and keep in touch with things like gas prices and crime.

And in Austin where I live, you can't dial 911 anymore for crime, unless it's immediately life threatening, like when someone's actively attacking you.

For anything else like people "just" stealing or wrecking your property, you have to dial 311 for the city misc. hotline. All thanks to "Defund the police"...

What?! I had no idea. Is the movement gaining traction? Thought that most of the protests fizzled out after the George Floyd incident.

[HogHollow]

[/quote]

The question is whether or not will settle in Miami or up north, where it's a lot colder. If we decide to return to Florida, we'll try getting a place on Miami Beach. It would've been ideal to buy during Covid as property prices were way down, but we weren't able to view in person so we skipped out. Have been in SG for over 20 years!
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Oh, wow, over 20 years??? You and your family must like it here then!

[malcontent]

The question is whether or not will settle in Miami or up north, where it's a lot colder. If we decide to return to Florida, we'll try getting a place on Miami Beach. It would've been ideal to buy during Covid as property prices were way down, but we weren't able to view in person so we skipped out. Have been in SG for over 20 years!

If your daughter is not going to a public school, state residency won’t matter tuition wise - - but it’s also nice to be within driving distance. Back when I was in university, I stayed in the dorm for two years. I always headed back to my parent’s home (45 min drive) every single weekend. I’d say more than half of the students in my dorm did the same; it would have been kind of sad and lonely otherwise… or maybe it’s just me?

[Lisafuller]

The question is whether or not will settle in Miami or up north, where it's a lot colder. If we decide to return to Florida, we'll try getting a place on Miami Beach. It would've been ideal to buy during Covid as property prices were way down, but we weren't able to view in person so we skipped out. Have been in SG for over 20 years!
[/quote]

Oh, wow, over 20 years??? You and your family must like it here then!
[/quote]

Our daughter was born here in 2003 and by then we already had a house and a car so we decided to stay. We wanted her to be educated here which has worked out well for us, she graduated from JC in 2021 and is now waiting to enter college.

[Lisafuller]

The question is whether or not will settle in Miami or up north, where it's a lot colder. If we decide to return to Florida, we'll try getting a place on Miami Beach. It would've been ideal to buy during Covid as property prices were way down, but we weren't able to view in person so we skipped out. Have been in SG for over 20 years!

If your daughter is not going to a public school, state residency won’t matter tuition wise - - but it’s also nice to be within driving distance. Back when I was in university, I stayed in the dorm for two years. I always headed back to my parent’s home (45 min drive) every single weekend. I’d say more than half of the students in my dorm did the same; it would have been kind of sad and lonely otherwise… or maybe it’s just me?

She has not applied to any public or state schools. Our consideration has very little to do with cost of attendance, and more to deal with proximity. A lot of the schools she's applied to are small liberal arts colleges that have a very large percentage of students living on campus, so residential life is very lively. We do want to be closer to her though, as she's our only child, so we're balancing these concerns with our thoughts on whether we want to settle up north permanently.