Would Virginia or North Carolina be good states to move to?

Question

I want to move to a state where the winters are warmer than in Chicago. I'm also thnking about Arizona, Texas, and Florida, but I'm thinking that they are too hot in the summer. Also, I want to look for engineering jobs (specifically civil engineering) in the future. I'd also like to move to a good-sized city that is near the ocean.

Answer 1

Although both Virginia and North Carolina fit your desire to live in a more moderate climate than where you are North Carolina may offer lower taxes and have a lower cost of living than Virginia.  

As an engineer you will find many opportunites especially in the Winston-Salem area.  This are is with in a short ride to the ocean, provides a very moderate winter without getting unbearably hot in the summer and is far enough away from the coast line that you won't feel the most brutal parts of any tropical storm (such as a hurricane) that might come by.

Good luck in your move.

Answer 2

Texas would have the most jobs for an engineer, but florida and virginia would be good too. Oh you could also try looking into louisiana because there are some jobs there for engineering, i'm sorry to say though that all of these places would be hot.

Answer 3

Virginia and North Carolina are great places to live in but the civil engineering jobs are drying up pretty fast in those states.  The job market in Florida is pretty abysmal right now also.   I think Arizona is the same.  I heard Houston and San Antonio have decent job markets for Civil Engineers.  Also, North Dakota because of all the oil wells they are drilling out there now.  But I guess since you don't like Chicago winters, you will probably hate North Dakota winters even more.

It seems like Civil Engineering jobs in the U.S. are drying up since all the major Civil Engineering firms are now owned by non-U.S. companies that have most of their design staff outside the U.S. and they just hire a handful of local Civil Engineers just to review the plans and signed and seal them.