Recently my wife and I have been discussing moving back to where I grew up and near my family: the Hampton Roads, VA area. We currently live in Utah. I've been weighing the risks vs the rewards and I'm increasingly on the fence. I'm admittedly using the forum as a sounding board but I would appreciate anyone's input: what they would do, additional reasons to stay or go, or other places to move to.
Reasons to move to VA:
1. Bring my children and my family nearer to my family including parents, aunts, uncles, my cousins, and everyone. All of my family lives in Hampton Roads and the patriarch of our family, my grandfather, instilled in all of us a deep appreciation for strong extended family ties. Seeing family once or twice a year simply is unacceptable.
2. Bring my children and my family nearer to my wife's family (from Northeast). Ditto above.
3. Increase access to vacation destinations that interest us (American Revolutionary war and Civil war history, the Caribbean, and southeastern beaches)
Reasons not to move from UT:
1. It is cheaper to live in Utah than VA.
2. UT is much more conservative than VA. The probability of being afflicted with liberal policy foolishness is greater in VA than UT.
3. UT doesn't have large military installations like Hampton Roads and for that reason is less of a target for terrorists.
4. VA is more likely to have BLM related incidents and other violence related to race.
5. VA has more crime than UT.
6. UT is experiencing a big tech boom right now and I am a software engineer. That is good for me. Hampton Roads...not so sure...I know there is software development work for the DOD but (a) that requires clearance and (b) it is dependent on .GOV budgets and contracts which I really don't want to depend on.
7. VA is more likely to be subject to natural disasters than UT (the big earthquake and fires and drought are basically all we worry about here in UT).
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I feel like VA is inherently more dangerous for a number of reasons and in a number of ways than UT, but that is where family is and I feel strongly the need to be closer. We've considered North Carolina or even Pennsylvania and my wife and I are open to other places as well. Dallas, TX has a booming tech industry I hear.
Does anyone have any thoughts?