26 yo that used to live in California, but lives in NY now. You don't get sunshine everywhere in California. I personally hated the weather in San Francisco,

26 yo that used to live in California, but lives in NY now. You don't get sunshine everywhere in California. I personally hated the weather in San Francisco, but a bit to the south (Mountain View) is already much nicer. Now I'll go through your requirements: 40h workweek: Yes easy to find 5 weeks of holiday a year: That is almost impossible to find in my experience, except if you are willing to get 3 weeks out of your pocket. (meaning you are actually deducting your pay) free/cheap health insurance: Find a company with health insurance, and then you should be able to have one for your family, and only pay an extra of 200 to 600$ / month (yes that is cheap in the US) free/cheap education up to university level for our daughter: that's not possible, you will have to pay for college. I think you can get one cheaper if you live more than 6 months in that state, and then send your daughter to a state college. Here is an example of a university near me (starts at 4000$ / year): http://www.stonybrook.edu/bursar/tuition/tuition-and-fee-rates.shtml http://www.stonybrook.edu/bursar/tuition/tuition-and-fee-rat...