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If you’re considering a move to a new city, this MarketWatch article from Catey Hill highlights a few cities that are perfect for families, based on their ability to provide an ideal work/life balance.
Parents, if you live in a near-perpetual state of work/life imbalance, it may be time to move.
Fully 56% of working parents say balancing the responsibilities of a career and family is difficult, according to a survey released in November by the Pew Research Center — and that’s gotten worse for many. Nearly one-third of full-time U.S. employees with kids say that, in the past five years, it has become more difficult to balance work and family responsibilities, according to a survey by professional services company EY.
While some of this has to do with factors like long hours and inflexible work arrangements, a lot of it can be blamed on where you live. Expensive cities with workaholic cultures and long commute times make balancing work and family life even harder. And that’s especially true in those cities where you have to spend a high percentage of your income to live in a good public school district (or else shell out plenty of dough for private schools).
So MarketWatch has identified cities where it’s easier to achieve work/life balance. To compile this list, we first looked at cities with affordable homes in good school districts. From that list, we then looked at the cities in which parents could find jobs (with unemployment rates below 6%),where the cost of living was no more than 10% higher than the national average and average commute times were less than 30 minutes each way. We also looked for cities that did not have crime scores. Finally, we factored in lifestyle criteria like weather, culture, arts, entertainment and parks, as well as childcare costs.
Austin, Texas
You may know it best for its vibrant music scene and top-notch restaurants. But the Austin-Round Rock area is more than just a hipster haven: It’s also a great place to raise a family.
Despite the fact that it’s a thriving tech hub filled with well-paid jobs, residents describe the vibe here as laid back and arty. The city’s unofficial slogan, which you’ll see donning the bumpers of everything from Priuses to pickups, is “Keep Austin Weird.” That’s a draw for many overstressed parents, who still want to be surrounded by plenty of culture.
Indeed, the city has something for mom and dad – excellent restaurants (Travel & Leisure magazine named it America’s “Next Great Food Town”), myriad theater companies, hundreds of live music venues, and dozens of museums – as well as for the kids. It’s also home to the South by Southwest Music Festival and is often called the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
The ability to spend a lot of time outdoors is one of the things new mom and project manager Emily Haydon, 35, loves about the area. “I love being outside as much as I a can with my son, and the amount of festivals, parks, and other outdoor activities allow me to do so,” she says. Austin offers more than 30 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents (compared to fewer than five acres for every 1,000 residents in New York), with the 351-acre Zilker Park, home to the freshwater Barton Springs Pool that remains about 68 degrees year around, a particular draw for families.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Those looking for urban living – but with the pace of life taken down a notch – may want to consider Charlotte. This city of roughly 800,000 residents has a cosmopolitan feel – residents hail from all over, many from the Northeast (in fact, you won’t hear as many southern accents here as you might expect), and dozens of shiny, new buildings and lofts make up the ever-changing skyline.
Rochelle Rivas, the founder of consulting firm Darton Group Consulting, moved here from Chicago eight years ago with her husband and twin girls, to start her business. The city appealed to her as an entrepreneur because it was large enough that “the talent was here, the infrastructure was here” but small enough that she felt she could create a very successful firm. “You can have an impact here on what you touch,” she says. Indeed, Charlotte has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, and even if you’re not an entrepreneur, the job market is solid with companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy employing thousands, as well as unemployment below 5%.
Rivas came to love it as a place to raise her family as well. “We’re avid sports fans,” she says — and Charlotte has a lot of offer on that front. Charlotte also has a symphony, ballet and dozens of museums (Discovery Place, a science center with an IMAX theater is a family favorite), and a well-respected craft brewery scene (you’re welcome, parents). “You’ve got all the fine dressing of a big city, but a small-town feel,” Rivas says.
Tucson, Arizona
You may think of Tucson, home to the famous Canyon Ranch spa, as a mecca for retirees seeking R&R – and it is still that – but it’s become something more: A respite for stressed families. Not only does it have a low cost of living, decent economy and quality schools in reasonably priced neighborhoods, it’s got particular appeal for outdoorsy families.
Tucson boasts roughly 350 days a year of sunshine (no more cabin-fever-crazed kids) with average temperatures in most months in the mid-60s to mid-80s. Plus, there are hundreds of miles of bike-friendly roads (including The Loop, a 55-mile car-free trail) and outdoor activities that range from rock climbing (the city is surrounded by five mountain ranges and the 1.8 million acre Coronado National Forest) to hiking and horseback riding.
What’s more, the presence of the University of Arizona and a revamped downtown (though still bursting with old charm, plus a new streetcar to help you get around) give Tucson a youthful energy. The city has plenty of arts offerings for the whole family, including the funky Fourth Avenue arts district and its many street fairs are family favorites. And, thanks in part to its close proximity to the border, some of the best Mexican food in the nation.
Would a home located on Castle Street sell for more than a similar home on Cabin Lane? This article from Leigh Kamping-Carder of The Wall Street Journal looks at home prices on architecturally-named streets, to see if the street names have any effect on the selling prices of the homes.
Looking for a real-estate steal? Try shopping on Mansion Drive. Despite its highfalutin name, homes there are a relative bargain.
Spread Sheet looked at home prices on streets with architectural names – bungalow, cabin, castle, cottage, mansion and villa – to see if the street name correlated with the home price.
Homes on Mansion Street (and equivalents, such as Mansion Road, Avenue, Court and Boulevard) were the least expensive, with a median asking price of $110.70 per square foot, according to real-estate website Zillow, which examined listings as of Dec. 1. Homes on Bungalow Street had the highest prices, at $205.08 per square foot.
Cabin Street homes were the largest, with a median size of 1,990 square feet, while Villa Street homes measured a relatively miniscule 1,339 square feet. Cottage Street home listings were the most numerous, at 353.
The most expensive home for sale on a Mansion-named street was a two-bedroom on Mansion Court in Menlo Park, Calif., listed for $1.995 million. “Everyone feels that when you say you have a condo at Mansion Court, that it’s very prestigious,” says listing agent Lyn Jason Cobb.
From a marketing perspective, a mansion moniker could improve the perception of a road with less-expensive homes, while luxury buyers might prefer something less ostentatious, says Miro Copic, a marketing professor at San Diego State University.
“If Mansion Street is really lower-end homes, it helps elevate the perception of that area, but not among the high-end consumers,” he says. “They tend to want to be a little more subtle and a little more low-key.”
Has the time come to relocate? This Trulia article from Jen Juneau offers 16 signs it might be time for you to consider making the move to a new home.
[Read the full article for signs #9 through #16]
Americans are moving to new homes in new states again, reflecting the pattern that was prominent before the recent economic downturn. This article from Wendell Cox, Contributing Editor for New Geography, highlights the regions and states that are seeing the most interstate migration.
The 2015 state population estimates, recently released by the Census Bureau, indicate that interstate annual migration has begun to surge again. Between July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, up to 0.24% of US residents have migrated, returning to levels not experienced since the early 2000s. Interstate migration was just below the 2004 level of 0.25%, but trailed the much higher 2005 and 2006 levels (0.31% and 0.42%). By 2011, after the devastation of the housing bust and the Great Financial Crisis, interstate migration fell to 0.13% (Figure 1). In 2015, 763,000 US residents made interstate moves, the fifth highest figure since 2000. This was well below the peak of 1,251,000 in 2007 and well above the trough of 412,000 in 2011.
As opposed to those who claimed the Recession changed migration patterns, it turns out that domestic migrants are moving to just about the same places they did before. They continue to move principally to the South and, to a secondary degree, to the West. The South has gained 5.6 million domestic migrants, followed by 0.8 million in the West. The Northeast has lost 3.7 million domestic migrants, while the Midwest has lost 2.7 million.
By far the most net domestic migration has been to the South Atlantic division, which stretches along the Atlantic coast from Delaware to Florida and includes West Virginia. The South Atlantic has added 3.8 million net domestic migrants since 2000. This is approximately double the 1.9 million gain of the Mountain division, which includes Western states that do not have a Pacific coast. The West South Central division, which includes Texas, added 1.4 million net domestic migrants, while the East South Central division, stretching from Alabama and Mississippi to Kentucky added 400,000 net domestic migrants.
Overall, eight states gained net domestic migrants in all 14 of the years since 2000. Of these, Arizona had the largest percentage gain, at 16.5%. However the greatest percentage gain was in Nevada, at 21.5%. However, Nevada had net domestic migration gains only in 12 years, having experienced declines in the years immediately following the housing bust.
Florida had the largest net domestic migration numeric gain at 1,793,000, but like Nevada suffered two years of net domestic migration losses following the housing bust. Overall, 20 states have experienced net domestic migration gains over the period since 2000.
What features will define the design of the homes of the near future? Writing for the American Institute of Architects, Kermit Baker and Jennifer Riskus highlight some of the key trends.
While it seems safe to assume that the design of U.S. homes will undergo fairly significant changes over the coming decade, it’s equally likely that these changes will be determined by fundamental economic and demographic developments instead of Jetsons-style technological innovations.
In the AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey, leading residential architecture firms provided their vision for the next 10 years in terms of home layout; features, systems, and products; neighborhood and community design; and kitchens and baths. The key trends that they identified are the growing popularity of universal design; increased attention to a healthy living environment; infill development and its focus on improved design; and the growing popularity of kitchens as the focus of household activities.
A recovering housing market, coupled with evolving demographic patterns nationally, will largely determine emerging home design trends through 2025. Identified by leading architecture firms in our survey, some of these trends are already in place and will continue to develop while others are still in the early stages of adoption.
Obviously, other factors will have a major influence on how homes are designed over the coming decade. New technological breakthroughs, evolving building code and regulatory issues, and changing consumer preferences for housing features and materials are obvious considerations that will influence home design. Still, residential architects see that changes in design features are incremental, and generally reflective of underlying social and economic trends.
As the U.S. housing market continues its recovery, there are some markets that are leading the way based on income growth and steady employment. In this article, Catherine Sherman of Zillow highlights ten of the strongest housing markets for 2016.
Housing experts predict U.S. home value growth around 3.5 percent this year. But which markets are leading the charge?
To determine the hottest real estate markets for 2016, we looked at the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) Forecast, recent income growth and current unemployment rates. These variables were scaled and combined equally to form a “hotness score.”
Here’s a look at some of the top metros:
Denver, Colorado. The ZHVI is expected to increase 5 percent year-over-year in the Denver metro, where the unemployment rate is a low 3.1 percent. Neighborhoods in Aurora, CO – Delmar Parkway, Highline Villages and Centretech – are the hottest. Denver’s Ruby Hill is also among the metro’s hottest ‘hoods.
Seattle, Washington. In Seattle, the ZHVI is expected to rise 5.4 percent year-over-year. Northwest Bellevue is the area’s hottest neighborhood with the median home value predicted to increase 9.2 percent to $1.15 million year-over-year. Seattle’s University District, Holly Park and Olympic Manor are also hot spots.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth market is holding strong with a 4 percent unemployment rate and solid income growth. The median home value is also expected to go up by 5.6 percent year-over-year, according to the ZHVI Forecast. Holford, Oak Lawn and M Streets are the hottest neighborhoods.
Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, VA is seeing the strongest income growth of the top 10 markets, and unemployment is low. The housing market is also expected to be hot, with the ZHVI increasing 2.2 percent year-over-year. Church Hill, Carytown and The Fan should be the hottest hoods in terms of home value growth.
Sacramento, California. Sacramento’s median home value is predicted to rise 5.1 percent year-over-year. The Southeast Village, Folsom Road and Hagginwood neighborhoods should lead the way with a ZHVI Forecast over 8 percent.
Portland, Oregon. Portland, OR is the 10th hottest market for 2016 with the median home value expected to rise 5 percent. Woodlawn is predicted to have the most home value growth (7.2 percent year-over-year), followed by Parkrose (7.1 percent) and Sumner (7 percent).
For those of you who happen to be planning on buying a home in the new year – or even just trying to – there’s a whole lot to celebrate. Why? A variety of financial vectors have dovetailed to make this the perfect storm for home buyers. Here are six reasons why home buyers can be thankful in 2016, according to this Realtor.com article from Kimberly Dawn Neumann.
Interest rates are still at record lows.
Even though they may creep up at any moment, it’s nonetheless a fact that interest rates on home loans are at historic lows, with a 30-year fixed-rate home loan still hovering around 4%.
“Remember 18.5% in the ’80s?” asks Tom Postilio, a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate and a star of HGTV’s “Selling New York.” “It is likely that we’ll never see interest rates this low again. So while prices are high in some markets, the savings in interest payments could easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage.”
Rents have skyrocketed.
Another reason home buyers are lucky is that rents are going up, up, up! (This, on the other hand, is a reason not to be thankful if you’re a renter.) In fact, rents outpaced home values in 20 of the 35 biggest housing markets in 2015. What’s more, according to the 2015 Rent.com Rental Market Report, 88% of property managers raised their rent in the past 12 months, and an 8% hike is predicted for 2016.
“In most metropolitan cities, monthly rent is comparable to that of a monthly mortgage payment, sometimes more,” says Heather Garriock, mortgage agent for The Mortgage Group. “Doesn’t it make more sense to put those monthly chunks of money into your own appreciating asset rather than handing it over to your landlord and saying goodbye to it forever?”
Down payments don’t need to break the bank.
Probably the biggest obstacle that prevents renters from becoming homeowners is pulling together a down payment. But today, that chunk of change can be smaller, thanks to a variety of programs to help home buyers.
Other advantages for home buyers this year:
If you’re considering a move to a new town, and a healthy, active lifestyle is important to you, this article from Richie Bernardo of WalletHub is a must-read. In order to identify the cities that encourage an active lifestyle, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, “Budget & Participation” and “Sports Facilities & Outdoor Environment” – based on the idea that the accessibility of public facilities mainly determines how well the population can engage in physical activity.
Topping the list of best cities for an active lifestyle was Scottsdale, Arizona. Other cities in the top 20 include:
There’s a reason why bodybuilding experts invented the concept of “cheat day”: Even the fittest of the fit and the strictest of dieters sometimes need to live a little.
But sometimes we live too much. The average person in the U.S. consumes more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone. And as we struggle to forgive ourselves for that last holiday binge of 2015, grocery stores are already tempting us with Valentine’s Day sweets — and it’s only the first week of the new year. Those who’ve ever traveled during the holidays also know how tough it can be to squeeze in an exercise routine, let alone some cardio.
It’s no wonder “lose weight and get fit” consistently ranks both the No. 1 New Year’s resolution in America and the No. 1 most commonly broken. We all have a responsibility to stay healthy and fit. But some of us have a harder time kicking old bad habits because of where we live, which simply fail to promote an active lifestyle.
WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 most populated cities based on 24 key metrics to identify those that help their residents stick to their health goals. Our data set ranges from the average monthly fitness club fee to the number of sports clubs per capita.
NerdWallet analyzed 181 metropolitan areas in the United States to determine the best cities for young entrepreneurs. According to this article from Jonathan Todd, the top cities include:
Many young entrepreneurs are looking at 2016 as the year to launch the businesses they’ve been dreaming about. With success stories like Slack and Snapchat as inspiration, the entrepreneurial path has seldom been more appealing to those just starting out.
Such optimism is understandable. It’s easier than ever to start a business, to get backers to invest in your dream and to find sources of small-business loans.
Even the workplace communities within cities are changing to accommodate entrepreneurs. Companies like WeWork offer short-term workspaces, reducing the required upfront capital and the headaches caused by managing an office. Young entrepreneurs in some cities have gone even further by combining their living and business spaces and moving into homes populated with other like-minded individuals. The New York Times dubbed these residences “millennial communes.”
Some places are friendlier — and cheaper — than others to launch a business, especially if you’re just starting out in your career. We also factored in the population ages 25 to 34 and the education level of each city, because a young, local entrepreneurial community is most likely to thrive with more networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities. To find these places, NerdWallet analyzed 181 metropolitan areas in America, parsing data on the local business environment and economy from sources including the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and more.
It’s not all about San Francisco and New York. These two cities are well-known for their entrepreneurial ecosystems, but you can find small-business loans in any city. For small-business loan dollars received per 100,000 residents, Salt Lake City ranks second nationally, and Austin, Texas, was fifth — above eighth-ranked San Francisco and 52nd-ranked New York.
