Friday, July 6, 2012

Where Should I Live? 14 Factors When Deciding the Best Place to Live



by David Quilty

family mapHome is where the heart is, but what if your heart doesn't know where it should be?

From low crime rates to a great education system, there are many variables to consider when choosing that perfect place that you and your family can call home.

To help you make this important decision, I've provided an analysis of the most important factors to help you find a home that suits the needs of you and your family.

How to Choose a Place to Live

Begin by determining what is most important to you and your family. If you're single, living in a bustling city might be an ideal choice for your next home. If you have a family, on the other hand, a small town offers amenities that your kids will love.

Moving from Los Angeles to a small town in New Mexico gives me a unique perspective, since I've experienced both life in the big city and the slower pace of rural, small-town America. I did a lot of research before I decided where I wanted to move. Here are some of the tips that helped me the most when I was choosing a place to live.

1. Affordability

No matter what your pay grade is, living comfortably and within your means should be your first concern. Affordability includes more than just housing expenses; the prices for consumable goods, like groceries, vary greatly from town to town. The price of gasoline, utility services including electric and water, and taxes, also varies.

When I moved from California to New Mexico, my expenses dropped like a rock overnight. My rent was cut in half, and I now spend a lot less money on groceries, gas, and utility bills. Because I'm a freelancer, my income stayed about the same, so I felt like I had received a big raise! Affordability has since become my top priority whenever I think about moving to a new locale.

2. Taxes

Did you know that there are five states that have no sales taxes? That's right: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon don't collect sales tax for retail sales and some services. In addition, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming don't collect individual income taxes.

These are important factors to consider when choosing a place to live. The Tax Foundation measures the state-local tax burden, which calculates the percentage of income that taxpayers pay for state and local taxes. Their latest report, from 2009, states that citizens of New Jersey pay the most taxes, while Alaska's residents pay the least taxes. In addition, 40 states provide property tax credits or homestead exemptions that can provide homeowners with some additional tax relief. Consider local sales tax, income tax, and tax credits and exemptions when you're looking for the perfect place to live.

3. Employment Opportunities

Employment opportunities vary from state to state and city to city, so spend some time researching the job markets in different areas of the country. Start by analyzing quality employment opportunities within your industry, then determine where the highest concentration of these jobs are located.

Do you want to be an investment banker? You'll need to live in a big city, like New York or Boston. Are you a teacher? Your options will expand considerably since education is sought after in just about any city or town.

Income levels for jobs can vary greatly from state to state. Salary.com lets you compare pay rates for various careers across the country. Salaries are often based on where the job is located. For example, a marketing manager job might come with a large salary in San Diego, but the cost of living is very high in Southern California. Do your research before you move, and ideally, find a job before you relocate.

los angeles map pin

4. Real Estate Value

Since buying a home is the single largest investment you will probably ever make, you need to seriously consider this factor. With real estate in a constant state of flux, it's important to research current home prices, the length of time homes are for sale, the resale values of homes, and probable long-term value estimates.

In addition, carefully review local housing price trends. Websites like Zillow.com and Trulia.com can help you gain a grasp of the local real estate market. Do you have the opportunity to buy a home in an area where prices are at an all-time high, perhaps representing a bubble? Is the local town or city in the process of being further developed and therefore may become more attractive to future home buyers?

5. Crime Rates and Statistics

No one wants to live in a high-crime area, but that doesn't mean that everyone can live in a Utopian society where crime never happens. By researching the crime rates and statistics for various areas, you can learn more about the safety of a town or neighborhood.

If you have already decided where you want to live, stop by the local police stations to discuss your new neighborhood. The police will be happy to discuss any concerns you have about the area. You can also check out Crime Reports, which lets you review crime statistics for different neighborhoods.

Keep in mind that just because an area is safe today does not guarantee that it will be safe in the future. The long-term stability for a neighborhood can be a determining factor in how safe your surroundings are. Also, consider the future development of a particular location as you narrow down your choices.

6. Proximity to Family and Friends

Do you have a large extended family? Do you spend the holidays with your family and friends? These are important factors to consider when choosing where to live.

If extended family and friends are important to you, choose a place either within driving distance or within a reasonable distance by plane. Otherwise, you'll constantly feel torn, and likely spend all of your vacation time and energy shuttling back and forth to visit friends and family.

sunny nyc park

7. Climate

Like to ski all winter long? Maybe southern Arizona isn't the place that you should call home. Not a fan of humidity? You may want to avoid settling in Florida any time soon.

I grew up in New England and swore that I would one day escape to a warmer climate; I hated winter that much. I knew that I would be more comfortable in dry, hot climates, so my entire adult life I have lived in California and New Mexico, away from snow, bugs, and humidity.

The climate plays a large role in our lives as it impacts our hobbies, behavior, and sometimes even our jobs. Living in the climate in which you are most comfortable contributes to your mental health, so choose wisely!

8. Education System

A good education is essential to setting up children to better handle the rest of their lives, so the importance of good schools cannot be overstated.

My parents chose the town where we lived because of the public school system's reputation. I have friends who moved from California to the Midwest so their kids could go to better schools.

Nonprofit websites like GreatSchools are a great source for parents looking for the ideal schools for their children. The quality of the public schools factors into your finances, too, since tuition for a private school can be extremely expensive.

9. Culture

If you crave constant cultural stimulation, you definitely want to choose a place that has a lot of cultural offerings. When I lived in Los Angeles, I could see concerts, operas, sports teams, plays, and musicals all the time. I took full advantage of Los Angeles' cultural scene when I lived there, but I've become less active over the years. Now that I live in New Mexico, the options for cultural experiences are much more limited, but that is OK with my new lifestyle.

Many people need to be near their favorite team, or a vibrant music scene or the theater. If you have a favorite hobby or recreational activity, make sure that you can continue to pursue these interests in your new home. Finally, if you enjoy being around a specific religious or ethnic community with your same beliefs and interests, this should be a factor in where you choose to live.

time square broadway

10. Commute Time and Public Transportation Options

The explosive growth of the suburbs surrounding metropolitan areas have made commuting times in many areas unbearable. A recently released report from Swedenindicates that long-distance commuters actually have an increased risk of divorce. The length of time it takes to get to work can be a determining factor in the decision to move to a new locale.

I commuted in Los Angeles for years and you couldn't pay me enough money to do it again. If you have a family, commuting can also drastically reduce the amount of time you spend at home. With gas prices rising and commute times becoming longer, utilizing public transportation options like light rail, train, or bus can be an inexpensive, time-saving way for you and your family to get around – and cut the cost of commuting to work. It can also help your kids get around when you're not home to drive them. A good public transportation system is a major plus when choosing a place to live.

11. Food Options

If you're a foodie, you may want to try to find a place to live near the ocean or near a metropolitan city center. Grocery store fare, while plentiful, doesn't replace the quality of fresh food from the ocean or fresh produce from the farmers' market. If eating locally and sustainably is important to you, consider whether you can pursue this lifestyle in your new home.

For me, the ability to grow my own food year-round with ahome vegetable garden is a determining factor for choosing where to live. I don't want to shut my garden down from October to April. However, if trying new, diverse cuisines is one of your passions, a bigger metropolitan area is going to offer more choices than small-town America.

12. Town or City Size

If you enjoy a friendly wave from everyone you pass while driving to the post office, then a smaller town is definitely for you. If you wish to remain relatively anonymous, a larger town or a big city is better suited to your personality.

I grew up in a smaller-sized town, moved to Los Angeles, and now I live in a rural town, so I have experienced both ends of the spectrum. I sometimes miss the anonymity of living in a big city, but I also like going to my favorite small-town diner where my waitress always knows my usual order.

small town america

13. Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare facilities are important at any stage in life, but they are especially relevant if you have children or if you are nearing retirement age. Easy access to good healthcare can increase your quality of life exponentially, so be on the lookout for towns and cities with good hospitals and medical schools. Often, there will be a correlation between cities and the quality of the healthcare.

14. Proximity to an Airport

If you travel a lot, you may need to live within close proximity of an airport. If you live more than an hour away from the closest airport, traveling to and from the airport can become very time-consuming and expensive. If you spend a healthy amount of time traveling, definitely consider the distance to the airport.

Additional Resources

While the above factors should be considered when choosing the ideal place to live, there are many more factors which will all play a role in your decision-making process. Luckily, there are several websites available to provide additional assistance when conducting your research:

  • City-Data. Full of geographical data and statistics on crime, cost of living, climate, hospitals, schools, and air pollution, along with a vast social network with 1,000,000 members, City-Data.com is a great place to start your search for a perfect place to live. The information can seem endless at times and it can take quite a bit of work to find exactly what you are looking for. However, it's a tremendous resource for all sorts of useful data.
  • International Living. This site offers a 45-second quiz designed to help you decide where to live overseas.
  • Kiplinger's Find Your Best City. Answer eight questions to see five areas in the U.S. that match your individual needs.
  • Money's Best Places to Live. Money Magazine compiles a list of the Top 100 places to live each year, and it's a valuable resource for people considering a move.
  • NeighborhoodScout. NeighborhoodScout lets you research neighborhoods, real estate, and real estate brokers all over the U.S. The website requires a paid subscription, but if you are serious about finding the ideal place to live, it may be a worthwhile investment.
  • Sperling's Best Places. This website has a quiz that asks a series of questions about climate, economy, housing, and education, and then provides you with a list of places to live based on your answers. I took the quiz and was told that my ideal places to live were in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Right on the money!
  • WalkScore.com. This site lets you calculate your "Walk Score," designed to help you determine how accessible nearby resources are for a particular address. Enter the address on the website and the site instantly populates with a list including stores, restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, banks, and movie theaters in the immediate area, along with a Walk Score. Rural areas will have a low Walk Score, and indicate that the neighborhood is "Car-Dependent." On the other hand, addresses close to an urban center will have a high Walk Score, with a "Walker's Paradise" rating.
  • Which City Fits You Best?. A series of 17 questions will help match your personality to your ideal locale.

Final Word

The reality of choosing a new place to live encompasses an incredibly large series of factors, all competing for your attention. In order to be successful in your search, you must determine what is most important to you and your family, do your homework, and then continue to be vigilant in your search until you find the right place to live. It can be intimidating and frustrating at times, but all that effort is worth it in the end once you are settled in your ideal location. Happy hunting!

Where are you living now and how did you decide to settle there? What are the factors that are most important to you?

(photo credit: Shutterstock)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Reading Better and Faster

Resource: http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/speed1.html

Reading Better and Faster

by Dennis Doyle

For most people, it is easy to learn to read faster. Your reading rate is often just a matter of habit. But to begin, you may need to try to change some habits and try these tips:
1. Pay attention when you read and read as if it really matters. Most people read in the same way that they watch television, i.e. in an inattentive, passive way. Reading takes effort and you must make the effort. A wise teacher once told me that you can learn anything if you do three things:

PAY ATTENTION

PAY ATTENTION and

PAY ATTENTION.

There are some simple methods that you can use to pay better attention and get more out of your textbook reading time. Different authors call it different things, but many researchers say that you will improve your comprehension if you somehow "preview" the passage before you actually sit down and read every word.

To do a preview you:

take 30 to 60 seconds.
look over the title of the chapter.
look at all the headings, subheadings and marked, italic or dark print.
look at any pictures or illustrations, charts or graphs.
quickly skim over the passage, reading the first and last paragraph and glancing at the first sentence of every other paragraph.
close the book and ask yourself:
---What is the main idea?
---What kind of writing is it?
---What is the author's purpose?
You might not think that you could possibly answer these questions with so little exposure to the material, but if you do the preview correctly, you should have some very good general ideas. If you have a general idea of what the passage is about before you really read it, you will be able to understand and remember the passage better.
When you finally get to the point where you are actually slowly reading the passage, read in a "questioning" manner -as if you were seaching for something. It sometimes helps if you take the heading or title of a chapter and turn it into a question.

For example, if the heading of a section in the text is "The Causes of the Civil War", take that title and switch it into a question like: "What are the causes of the Civil War?". Now you have a goal; something to look for; something to find out. When you are goal-oriented, you are more likely to reach the goal. At least you'll remember one thing about the text which you have just read.

2. Stop talking to yourself when you read. People talk to themselves in 2 ways, by:

vocalizing, which is the actual moving of your lips as you read, and
subvocalizing, which is talking to yourself in your head as you silently read.
Both of these will slow you down to the point in which you find that you can't read any faster than you can speak. Speech is a relatively slow activity; for most, the average speed is about 250 WPM (words per minute).

Reading should be an activity which involves only the eyes and the brain. Vocalization ties reading to actual speaking. Try to think of reading as if you were looking at a landscape, a panorama of ideas, rather than looking at the rocks at your feet.

3. Read in thought groups. Studies have shown that when we read, our eyes must make small stops along the line. Poor readers make many, many more fixations (eyestops) than good readers. Not only does this slow you down, but it inhibits comprehension because meaning is easier to pull from groups of words rather than from individual words or even single letters. Try to read in phrases of three or four words, especially in complete clauses and prepositional phrases. Your mind may internalize them as if the whole phrase is like one big meaning-rich word.

4. Don't keep re-reading the same phrases. Poor readers habitually read and re-read the same phrase over and over again. This habit of making "regressions" doubles or triples reading time and often does not result in better comprehension. A single careful, attentive reading may not be enough for full comprehension, but is often more effective than constant regressions in the middle of a reading. It is best to work on paying closer attention the first time through. Do a preview first before the careful reading and try the tips I mentioned above. You'll remember better without the rereading.

5. Vary your reading rate to suit the difficulty and type of writing of the text. Poor readers always read at the same slow rate. An efficient reader speeds up for easier material and slows down for the hard. Some things were not meant to be read quickly at all. Legal material and very difficult text should be read slowly. Easier material and magazines and newspapers can be read quickly. Poetry and plays were meant to be performed, and if not acted out, then at least, spoken out loud orally. This obviously will conflict with good speed reading method which forbids vocalization. Religious writings and scripture were originally written to be recited and listened to by an audience which was likely to be intelligent, but illiterate. The "fun" of poetry, plays, or prayer is not really experienced if you "speed read" the text.

(To Next Article) Speed Reading Self-Pacing Methods

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Watercolor Brush Photoshop Tutorial

Canvas Overlay LAYER



Download NKS3 brushes.
Gouche Light on Watercolor Paper texture MASK FOLDER for EVERYTHING. Photoshop DEFAULT paper.
> Add ARTIST SURFACES for FILL.
> LEVELS: Bring down white (or the rightest notch to middle).

New Layer: Put to MULTIPY.




Sunday, March 25, 2012

ORGANIZATION

HOW TO ORGANIZE DRESSER DRAWERS and FOLDING CLOTHES


HEADPHONES AND CORD



MP3 PLAYER with HEADPHONES