I’ve had the same experience as njtosd. Originally from Ohio. Moved back there, lasted 18 months. It was great to see the family on visits, snow (more like slush) and cold was fun and a novelty. Living and working there was different.
As with njtosd’s experience, most people grew up and live there, which I though would make things even better. Nice neighbors, family neighborhoods, etc. But in a lot of cases they are not as accepting of new people and its really hard to become a part of a group that has been together 20 years (since high school).
Cost savings were not even close to what I had calculated. Although housing was less, there were a lot of expenses I hadn’t considered: property tax was higher, trash pickup, utilities in winter, etc.
Living essentially indoors for 4-5 months a year was a major change from socal.
People are different, experiences are different, so yours may be completely different. But this story is a very common one.
PS. I would think texas is a better choice: loewer taxes, better weather, and one of the few growing economies with gov’t in place focused on making it better.
