Where Should I Move to (Play) In The U.S.?

[Nave]

Hello everyone
I am returning to this forum after years of absence from the game. It is still the best forum there is.

We are in the process of relocating to the US and choosing an area to live. (I am from Europe and in South Korea for work)
I would be grateful for your recommendations on where (state, city) to live for affordable and accessible golf under good weather

I break 100 and want to become a consistent bogey player after we move to the US this year.

Thank you,
Nave

 

 

[WarrenB]

Texas 

[Larry Stevener]

Texas. Kerrville and Texas Hill Country great living and golf

[Patch]

Yeah, I would also say Texas for affordable, year around access to golf. . 

My second choice would be the desert southwest, which is where I am .

[chilepepper]

SoCal if you can afford it, Florida if you like 9 months of 90% + humidity

[GolfLug]

Tampa/Orlando/Jacksonville, FL. I also 2nd Texas. Houston is great city.

[gbogey]

South Carolina is where I intend to head someday.  There are multiple good areas to retire depending on budget and whether one wants to be close to beaches, lakes, or mountains.  Pretty much year round golf and good cost of living without the extreme heat of Florida.

[HJJ003]

7 hours ago, Patch said:

Yeah, I would also say Texas for affordable, year around access to golf. . 

My second choice would be the desert southwest, which is where I am .

Yup. For such a large state we don’t have as many great public tracks as you would think, but plenty of year round affordable golf here in the Lone Star State. 

[Nave]

Wow, thank you everyone. Yeah, Texas is number one on our list so far. I will start my job search and contact headhunters there, soon. Nevada is second on our list, but I find it difficult for my career there.

The other areas you listed (California, Florida) are amazing, but seem costly in comparison to TX.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Nave

[WarrenB]

If you work in technology field  Dallas is supposed to bypass Silicon Valley in the next couple years. Companies are moving out of California and down to Texas to get away from the wacko taxes in California. Also housing is cheaper int Texas 

[Pretzel]

16 hours ago, WarrenB said:

Also housing is cheaper int Texas 

It really depends on where you live. In the Austin and Dallas area housing costs are rising rapidly to match California with all of the tech companies moving out there recently (they know tech companies pay $$$ and that the people moving with their companies are a captive market). 

That said, Texas is a good location if you choose an area with golf courses nearby. Some areas won't have one for miles, but near the city hubs there are plenty of options. The Carolinas also have tons of golf courses, though they can be on the more expensive side if you're near the Mytle Beach/Pinehurst areas.

[3jacker]

Also, speaking as a lifelong FL native who grew up in the Panhandle and lives in Central FL, our state is full of nutjobs of every type.  Seriously.  It's an angry mob of carnies.  

Now some folks will say they live here and disagree (that's how you know they're one of them).

[Cantankerish]

Well, I...

I thought I had something to say, but now I really don't know how to respond to that, 3jacker!

 

Oh yeah. I can appreciate the variety of affordable golf options in South Florida.  But in summer, I take my family anywhere to escape the insane heat.  I keep my carnie costume locked safely away, too.

[David in FL]

45 minutes ago, 3jacker said:

Also, speaking as a lifelong FL native who grew up in the Panhandle and lives in Central FL, our state is full of nutjobs of every type.  Seriously.  It's an angry mob of carnies.  

Now some folks will say they live here and disagree (that's how you know they're one of them).

Huh.  I can’t imagine why you would stay.

 

To the OP.  Not in any order, but Florida, Texas, and Nevada all have excellent courses, year-round golf weather, and importantly, no state income tax!  Those would be my first choices to explore.

[Nave]

4 hours ago, David in FL said:

Florida, Texas, and Nevada all have excellent courses, year-round golf weather

Thank you - this seems to be the overall opinion so far. 
I rank it as Texas, Nevada and Florida because of job availability, weather and living cost. Unfortunately California is on my list too because of the positive job response so far.

We expect to make a decision within two months. Now I am in job interviews and researching districts and house prices.

[WarrenB]

What field do you work in? I go to Dallas quite a bit. It is nice. We live in western Arkansas and love it. If you want to live on the golf course there are several you can choose. Danville Arkansas has a beautiful tough championship course that is affordable in a small town package. They have beautiful homes on the course starting at around 200 grand for a really nice home. The course was put in by the brothers-in-law of the owners of the Dallas Cowboys. Johnny Chambers. Who owns a bunch of banks. Course is special 

We live in Russellville Arkansas live on the course and the golf is really affordable if you use it. With fees and dinners we pay about $5000 a year but we eat at the club a lot 

[Jspin]

I’ve been to and played most of the places mentioned already (Live in SoCal) and IMHO, Las Vegas @ resident rates has the best selection of first rate courses you can play year round at reasonable (<$50) rates in the country. Mind you, LV has its drawbacks (crime, very hot summers, easy access to so many vices) but I believe the courses are comparable to the other desert golf Meccas like Palm Springs or Scottsdale for much less coin. Hard to beat it. 

[Nave]

31 minutes ago, WarrenB said:

What field do you work in?

I work in the tech field (been a program manager for a chip maker, smart device maker and worked on semi self-driving cars), but I'm flexible now. I plan to first rent an apartment in Dallas or Austin until I find a job and then buy a house.

As a European I only know of the famous US cities, so this forum's feedback is really valuable and I told my wife how grateful I am for the insights here.

19 minutes ago, Jspin said:

I’ve been to and played most of the places mentioned already (Live in SoCal) and IMHO, Las Vegas @ resident rates has the best selection of first rate courses you can play year round at reasonable (<$50) rates in the country. Mind you, LV has its drawbacks (crime, very hot summers, easy access to so many vices) but I believe the courses are comparable to the other desert golf Meccas like Palm Springs or Scottsdale for much less coin. Hard to beat it. 

That is very interesting, I heard about the home invasions in LV a lot. However I guess everywhere in the world there is crime. I did some research about living in Henderson and Summerlin near Las Vegas - the only issue is the limited number of tech jobs in comparison to California, Texas and Seattle area.