Now that I can work from home for the foreseeable future, I've been thinking about moving somewhere else. I'm from the east coast, but have lived in Southern California for the past few years.
California is out because the taxes are insane.
I'm thinking about moving to Denver, Austin, Houston, or Miami beach. I like sports like surfing and kitesurfing which is why Houston and Miami are a bit higher on my list.
My job is not location-dependent, but I do feel like it's worth it to be around other like-minded people.
What do you think? Has anyone else recently made a move due to being able to work from home?
Instead of trying to guess right, spend a month in each of these using Airbnb monthly rentals, then decide. A monthly rental is roughly the price of rent. For the cost of rent, you'll have a fantastic experience and conclusively answer a question only you can answer.
I've done this and others I've suggested it to have done this, and the possible outcomes are:
1. Any of them is fine. Choose based on non-experiential stuff, like taxes, ease of travel, relatives nearby, etc.
2. One of them is obviously better than the rest.
3. None of them were better than places you've lived. Don't move.
4. Some aspect is actually much more important than you thought. For example, an aspect you know is important like access to water sports, or an unexpected one like access to transit or a friend to introduce you to their social circle. You pick a city based mostly on that.
Just live your life there, don't be a tourist on vacation. Pick months with representative weather for the area, ie, don't go to Texas during the winter.