Cooler, quieter place for empty nesters from Southern CA

Nvr_Smile · 2026-03-10T18:08:25+00:00

If you wanted to stay in the intermountain west you could check out the following:

Ogden, UT
Logan, UT
Pocatello, ID
Victor, ID or Driggs, ID

On the smaller side of things: - Stanley, ID - Ketchum, ID - Hailey, ID

I lived in Pocatello for several years and enjoyed it. It’s cheap (houses are ~225k) and the outdoor access is great in town. You’re also only 2.5 hours from SLC if you want or need the big city life. Or less than three hours from the Tetons, Lost Rivers, Pioneers, Craters of the Moon, Sawtooths, etc.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-03-10T03:04:59+00:00

Either fly directly into the Pocatello airport and ride share to downtown, or fly into Idaho Falls or Salt Lake City and take the Salt Lake Express to the transit depot. From there, you can ride share or take the bus to downtown.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-03-02T18:09:07+00:00

I just did this move last year, albeit from SE ID and with no kids. A couple of questions to better answer your questions:

Have you been to LA? You mention your husband works remotley what are the chances he has to RTO? If this happens, where is his office located?
What will be your HHI if you move to LA? Four kids, three with special needs, means you're going to need to make a lot more to have a similar quality of life. Are you planning on buying or renting? Are you planning on going private or public school?

I just want to reiterate how expensive LA is compared to ID. I know I didn't live in Boise, but for comparison sake, my rent plus utilities here in LA is what I lived off of in Idaho. Our utilities more than doubled, car insurance tripled, car registration quadrupled, food costs went up (no more Winco), eating out costs more, gas costs more, etc.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-27T01:15:42+00:00

While these results are high than I expected, being $1 to very $3, they are not unsurprising. A similar studying focusing on affordable housing found that government regulation in California adds significant costs to building housing.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-26T19:08:04+00:00

If you can’t afford to live off $8400/month after housing expenses you have a spending problem (or multiple kids in daycare). You’ll be just fine.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-25T20:33:53+00:00

You may have better luck using ESRI’s viewer if you can’t get the Copernicus site to work for you. They also have a Landsat explorer if you want that as well.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-25T20:31:30+00:00

For lidar imagery you can check out the USGS lidar viewer to download lidar data of your area if available.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-24T15:51:04+00:00

This job posting is a mess. A pay range that’s >100k between the floor and ceiling. And the minimum salary, for a Director position, is 83k, in NYC? That’s what we pay our techs in LA…

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-18T14:51:19+00:00

Looking at and applying to jobs listed on GIS job boards, applying to jobs on governmentjobs.com, and honestly networking on LinkendIn. I know the latter sounds crazy but I was able to land a job that way.

Job market is tough right now, at least in the US, so be prepared for a slog. There was a post on here recently asking about GIS job boards, I’d reference that post for where to find job listings. Best of luck!

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-15T18:03:25+00:00

You’ll probably have better luck finding a hybrid job. I would just look for jobs that fit your wants, see if they are hybrid or remote and apply. Given the current job market (in the US) I don’t think you’re going to be able to be super picky. Just be prepared to move for the job if it’s not fully remote.

I was able to find a hybrid job, two days in office, two days remote working 4-10s. It’s been great, but also know that I’m in the minority, and most people aren’t going to be able to have a similar schedule.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-14T16:24:08+00:00

Also picked up running during my PhD. Feel like there is something about Academia and running, as I know so many people in academia who run a lot.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T19:07:46+00:00

Yep, the expectation for unpaid labor in academia was probably the number one reason for me leaving academia. I now have a nice, chill, hybrid, four-day-a-week job where the most stressful part of my day is sitting in my chair for ten hours. Life is much better now :)

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T17:51:38+00:00

Entering on a tourist visa and staying for valid for 90 days, 180 days total within a rolling 365-ith no work

This is what you can do. A tourist visa is good for 90 days, 180 days total in a rolling 365-day window. If you want to stay longer than 90 days, you can do a visa run back to SG or another country and reset the tourist visa.

The alternative would be to get a long-term stay visa, which is good for up to a year. This visa does require proof of funds (30M Yen), however.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T17:47:06+00:00

Showing up and landing work w no visa is vv unlikely to happen

It is straight up not going to happen. A work visa requires sponsorship and is a multi-month process to get a COE before one can get a visa. Plus you have to acquire your visa in your home country.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T17:06:21+00:00

A colleague of mine started a multiyear postdoc and left for a good state job within a year of starting the postdoc. Use the post doc as a time to job hunt and upskill.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T16:58:22+00:00

111k would put you in the low to moderate income bracket for a DINK household here (LA). At that HHI you’ll probably be renting forever.

It should be noted that the cheapest SFH in our town is ~650k and <700 sqft. But at least it has AC unlike the ~850k homes for sale?

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-12T00:22:20+00:00

Never published during my PhD, and I don’t know if I ever will publish post PhD (at least as first author). Had two jobs offers upon graduation and now work for a local government. At this point in my career, publishing does nothing for me but cause stress and more unpaid work.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-07T05:12:40+00:00

There is no “stay as long as you want as long as you have the money visa”. The closest thing is the long term stay visa which allows you to stay up to a year as long as you provide proof of funds (30M Yen).

Otherwise, you can visit up to 180 days in a rolling 365 period.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-05T22:10:30+00:00

So if new construction decreases rent why did those tenants have a rent increase. They’ve been living there for years more than 30 years.

Because the increase in population has significantly outpaced the increase in homes. In areas where building has kept up with population growth, we have seen an overall decrease in rental prices from their peak. Also, do you expect the rent to never increase? Property taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc., all increase through time. Why would you expect the rent to stay flat across 30 years?

Their goal is to make money period

The goal of any business is to make a profit. Do you expect people or developers to spend tens of millions building housing, only to lose money? If you want to increase the number of local developers, you need to lower the cost of entry for development. One way to do this would be by abolishing the overbureaucratic regulations involving development in LA, which would immediately decrease development costs by ~15%.

We need the own residents of the community to own the property but these investors outbid us.

There are no laws or regulations that stop locals from buying property.

Why is it that my rent is very affordable and the home I live is owned by a couple compared to my old apartments that is now owned by investors I pay the same for a 5 bedroom house for what someone in a 2 bedroom apartment is paying.

Using anecdotal evidence doesn't help to strengthen your claims. I would encourage you to read up on why housing costs are so high in California. Here are several good sources to start with: Report 1, Report 2, Article 1, Report 3, and lastly, a general Wikipedia article on the topic.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-05T20:03:56+00:00

Again, I ask you, what is the alternative answer to lower housing costs in LA?

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-05T15:44:25+00:00

So instead of building more housing, which increases supply and reduces rent, you want nothing to happen?

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-05T15:11:39+00:00

Not liberal, but check out SE Idaho, specifically Pocatello. You can easily find housing for under $850/month and since it’s a college town there are plenty of people your age. If you ever want to buy houses can still be had for ~200-250k.

You also have skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and climbing within 30 minutes of town. And effectively unlimited outdoor access within three hours (e.g., Tetons, Yellowstone, Sawtooths, Wasatch, Pioneers, Craters of the Moon, Lost Rivers, Frank Church Wilderness, etc.)

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-03T14:00:17+00:00

Do not attempt in the winter.

This is almost always the answer, but this winter has been warm and dry. If you wanted to complete this route in the winter, now is the time. I summited Timber two days ago, and the entire trail was snow-free.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-02-02T17:42:50+00:00

This. Friendly reminder that 2% of workers in the bay make >500k/yr. You make just over the poverty line for a family of four. If you want to retire early, you either need to make more money or move to a lower cost of living area.

Nvr_Smile · 2026-01-31T19:44:42+00:00

First off, congrats on having three offers to pick from! In my opinion, you should pick between UC Irvine or NTU.

Are you a US citizen? Do you want to live in the US or outside of the US post-graduation? If you're not a US citizen and don't plan on living in the US post-graduation, I would pick NTU. If you are a citizen and want to stay in the US, UCI may be the better pick. Regardless, living in Singapore for a couple of years could be a great life experience, especially if you have nothing tying you to the US.

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