Delta has just decided to close the Memphis base which means my husband and I willing have to move although not right away. I am interested in hearing from people who live in the Detroit area because I am leaning toward that choice because housing is affordable and it is only four hours away from my mother who is in her 70's and healthy now but that could easily change. Add to that while I am sure I will be able to find a job I will likely take a significant cut. I know that conventional wisdom would suggest moving to Detroit is a terrible idea but I am interested in being sold on it.
Our other choices are Salt Lake ( great for lifestyle reasons but far from my mother), Cincinnati (also a small base that could end up getting closed), New York (who can afford to live there), LA (who can afford to live there),Seattle (awesome place but spouse does not really have the seniority), and Atlanta ( seems all right but I am thinking I want to leave the south). I am an RN so I think I can find a job although it is not the recession proof job everybody thinks it is. My husband has to select his new base in the next week but the move itself won't be for a year or two or even longer, it depends on how hard it turns out for him to commute from Memphis to his new base and what he has to spend on a flop pad (shared rental place) and hotels.
We do not have children so we do not have to worry about picking a good school district. We live in a rural area now but lived in the city (not suburbs) of Memphis and loved it. Memphis has a bad reputation for bad schools, violent crime,and generalized urban decay but is not nearly as hellish as people living in the suburbs and gated communities would have one think. Our preference is to live completely rural or completely urban. I hate suburbs with no sidewalks and neighborhood associations and mega houses that nobody can afford anyway.
So, I am very interested in getting feedback. I am not excited about living in a winter climate again but I can deal with that. We aren't hip or cool, we are middle aged but in decent health and relatively active. I think we are fairly boring. Right now I lean to the generalized Detroit area thinking it will be helpful as my mother ages but if anybody has other ideas that I haven't considered: shout it out. Thanks.