I choose where I live based on the people I want to hang out with.
But if that was not a consideration, I might like Albuquerque or Santa Fe. I might like Montana. I know I like small mountain town Colorado. I might like an island like Hawaii. Hard to really separate the people from the place to me. New York City can be boring, and middle of nowhere nebraska can be a blast. Just depends on who you are with.
Where do your favorite long distance friends/family live?
Full time RV? Live in cold places when they aren't cold, hot places when they aren't hot. One website, but there are dozens if you search.
tb said:In reply to Mndsm :
Yeah, you are not wrong. I know a ton of people that have done just that and are very happy. My concerns are the culture, or lack thereof! I visit FL often enough but just never fell in love with it...
Move further south, lots of culture as long as you don't mind it being more of a Spanish/Cuban/Caribbean bent.
As for the PNW, there's lots of great culture, food, etc. however you're going to have to seek some of it out since things are a bit more spread out on the West Coast.
Portland and Seattle both have seen massive changes in the restaurant and food worlds as more and more people are moving there and looking for a change. The drawback is that Seattle is expensive to live in, so you end up in the suburbs and that can be pretty boring. Portland is headed the same way. Neither are quite as bad as San Francisco (which has more restaurants per capita than nearly anywhere else). California is great on paper until you look at the taxes and the other costs of living, its getting difficult for the average person to live there and be near an urban area. Many are escaping to Arizona or Nevada where the weather can still be reasonable, taxes are reasonable but the pluses of California aren't a terrible drive away.
As weird as it may sound, Vegas can be a great option, decent weather (as long as heat doesn't bother too much), lots of entertainment and food if you're willing to deal with the strip, no income tax, there's some great outdoorsy options, of course there's racing, etc.
Austin, TX is a weird pocket of a melting pot in Texas and could be an option to look into as well.
tb said:Do you like where you live? Dream about moving to somewhere specific? Maybe just hate some place really passionately? Please, I am all ears.
Some criteria:
Must be near to a major airport (so much flying)
High quality of living without breaking the bank (low taxes!)
Nothing too cold; done enough of that
Good cultural scene; we like museums, theater, dining out and walkable neighborhoods
Family friendly and all that
So a bit of a dark horse but I love living in Huntsville Al.
We have an airport but you would probably have to make stops rather then flying direct. Also Nashville and Birmingham airports are not that far away (hour and half each).
There was recently a thing comparing a lot of "STEM" cities and Huntsville came up as the second best cost of living versus income ratio (behind Detriot).
It is Alabama. Cold isn't a huge problem.
The cultural scene maybe behind most of these bigger cities but it is developing quickly. I have found plenty to do. Downtown is really starting to redevelop and we have 9 breweries in Huntsville metro if you like beer plus three entertainment districts (open container alcohol on certain days). There are traveling Broadway shows that come through plus a new comedy club who has been bring in plenty of very well known comedians. Art museum, an old cotton mill that has been converted into artist stalls (Lowe Mill), a great local autocross club, hockey, local theater, a number of tasty local ethic places and a few nicer dining places and some great food trucks. The one complaint I have the music scene is a bit lackluster. Walkable depends on where you are. But where I am I can walk to downtown or there are trails running up the Monte Sano mountain a half mile away inside the neighborhood.
Also pretty low crime rates.
barefootskater said:Keith Tanner said:barefootskater said:St. George Ut or therabouts. Nice quiet *safe* town, good for raising kids. Less than 2hrs to Las Vegas for airport and social needs. If you like the outdoors this is the place to be. 2 hours from the grand canyon, two and a bit to lake powell. Tons of small lakes and scenery. Mountains and ski resorts. It's january and I didn't check the thermometer but I'd say it is ~50*f. I like it.
Come back in six months and read us that thermostat again
St George is gorgeous but a little toasty come summertime.
I'd volunteer Grand Junction, CO but every flight out starts with a hop to Denver or SLC and we're a little too small town to have real culture other than local culture. And we don't want any more people here anyhow
As someone whose DD has had the AC removed, I think I am qualified to say that the heat isn't *that* bad. Especially in a thread where Phoenix is another suggestion.
Well, if Phoenix is in the conversation than anywhere short of the surface of the sun is under consideration!
St George has an average high of 102F in July and 99F in August (source: St. George chamber of commerce). Only 96 average in June and 92 in Sept. That average July heat is only 3F cooler than our record temperature in GJ. I think most people would prefer AC in those conditions, and I have noticed during my summer visits that a suspiciously large number of cars have their windows up.
It's a dry heat, but still this needs to be acknowledged to anyone interested in the area. Just like I acknowledge our small town cultural activities (all festivals are centered around crops).
In reply to 93EXCivic :
I was going to suggest Huntsville.
To OP: A little more info might help. Your vocation, hobbies/interests?
This thread is gold so far, thanks!
A couple of thoughts:
Anywhere that is actually cold is probably not really a good choice
Our income is above average but we live well below our means
Definitely city, not country
Flying is super important; 50+ flights a year
I'm a stay at home dad, wife is upper management at a huge consulting firm
We like to go to museums, theater, eating, parks / gardens, motorsports
Houston is *definitely* too close to New Orleans. ;-)
Oh, and Greenville SC for the win
pheller said:For starters, IMO, everything costal west is pretty ridiculous for housing prices.
Yeah but they're moving inland. Housing in Prescott, AZ (100 miles north of Phoenix) are out of sight due to SoCals moving in. We like Sante Fe, NM, but don't have little kids.
Edit: Forgot to add that where we are now we can walk two blocks to nice restaurants, library, post office but still have that Mayberry feel. Probably not a biggie now, but some day these make life more pleasurable, but you move around a bit.
In reply to Robbie :
interesting idea. Most friends live either in the DC/Philly/NY area or out in SF or Portland; not much in between really but we can fly anywhere easily enough.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
I'm intrigued by Huntsville and will check it out more. I am a northerner by nature and am reserved about the deep south but am open minded. A smaller, developing city might be just right.
FWIW we really like the southwest (pheonix / alabqurque / sante fe) but I think that it might not be our ideal climate and it is also a bit isolated out there; just not used to all that open space...
I'll suggest Richmond, VA. Yes, I'm biased, I live here. It's a fantastic place to live and raise kids. We have:
We don't have much in the way of direct flights but Delta does have a major presence in our airport. Real estate is pretty affordable here too.
tb said:FWIW we really like the southwest (pheonix / alabqurque / sante fe) but I think that it might not be our ideal climate and it is also a bit isolated out there; just not used to all that open space...
You may learn to love it. I grew up in a big city in Canada, now I live in the middle of a bunch of nothing in the high desert. If you move around that much purposefully, I'd give it a try to find out.
My wife was doing the fly-and-consult thing for a couple of years. Fly out Monday, come home Thursday. Having that puddle jump flight to a hub definitely limited her flight options especially when going east. I'd take that into considerations and try to be close to a hub. That means Phoenix, SLC, Denver, etc. Out of those, I'd probably give SLC a close look just because it's an interestingly different place. Both SLC and Denver are going to have big city traffic but that's not a problem unless you've become used to small city traffic. I'm told Denver isn't that bad. I'm just used to being the first guy in line at the traffic light.
In reply to tb :
austin. y'all belong in austin
In reply to tb :
I searched a museum/theatre/culture site and was somewhat suprised. Obvious choices were NYC/BOSTON/PHILLY, ETC. But was suprised with suggestions high on list of Kansas City, Nashville, Louisville and Atlanta and Charleston. KC apparently has a very active cultural rating for museums and art.
Nashville is a lovely area not totally about country opry and really close to lots of motorsports venues...barber, road atlanta, mmp, etc. Ditto charleston.
Now that we know a little more I'd probably say Denver would be a good pick.
That being said, it does get cold in Denver (5 day forecast is highs in 50's and lows in 20's), but like most of the high-desert and rocky mountains, cold also means snow. We don't really get cold rain out here, it's either snowing, or it's sunny (at least during the winter). The temperature swings are bigger when it is drier and higher (elevation).
What's funny is that between Denver and Albuquerque there isn't much difference in terms of climate. The later is a bit drier, but nothing like Arizona or Nevada.
For every person who says they could never stand the heat of Phoenix, there are plenty who do. My wife will hike on 110º days down there and absolutely love it. She's quite cold blooded and needs external heat sources to survive. Me, on the other hand, could use an upgrade radiator.
Although being a stay at home dad in SLC might give you some odds looks from some of your neighbors, it's probably one of the most family friendly cities in America, but yea, once you get an hour away from SLC, there aint nothing till you hit Park City, Provo, Ogden which aren't really much different from SLC.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
The schedule is tough and getting tougher all of the time so I think that her access to a quality airport is like me getting a decent daily driver to enjoy...
I haven't been to Utah in 20 years, I guess it deserves a fresh look.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Fair enough, it does get uncomfortably hot here. I'm actually surprised the average in august isn't higher.
I'll also promote SLC. I've got family there and love visiting any time there isn't snow on the ground. Friendly people, lots of local culture. The one thing is the local motorsports park is in a constant state of limbo regarding future owners, whether it'll stay open...
I was TDY in Sierra Vista for a four months (about an hour for Tuscon.) Can confirm that Tuscon is a pretty awesome place.
South Daytona, and Daytona Beach's surrounding area in general, was a ton of fun when I attended college there. It seems like there's been some pretty good development in the area over the last 10 years so it's quite the place to be and still pretty affordable.
I was just in Chattanooga TN for business. Highly developed IT infrastructure, lots of great driving roads to the east, pretty temperate climate, actual maintained infrastructure. Made me think about moving down that way eventually.
I've thought over the years that a really nice travel trailer with a couple of slides would be a pretty good way to retire. "I'm gonna spend some time in Texas." 3 months later, "Its too hot/hurricaney here. I wonder what Seattle is like?"
In terms of places with good downtown city living, I'd scratch Phoenix off the list. I think most cities in Florida (except Orlando) have more downtown charm than anywhere in Phoenix.
Same goes for Las Vegas. It's "city center" sucks, and it doesn't have a not-sucky one.
Reno is a bit better. Albuquerque has a good downtown (although not especially vibrant). Tucson is pretty good.
That's my biggest gripe with many western cities, they are built out, not up, and so the cities lack the charm of older eastern cities with 3-5 story old brick buildings.
pheller said:That's my biggest gripe with many western cities, they are built out, not up, and so the cities lack the charm of older eastern cities with 3-5 story old brick buildings.
You have to keep going West to the other side of the mountains, generally either on the Pacific or within a few hours of it. The middle of the country is blessed and cursed with lots of open land to build on and building up is bloody expensive compared to out. Due to the Gold Rush and other population explosion causing situations, there's more building up of the cities (for good and bad).
My mother lives in Belen and my younger brother lives in Albuquerque, NM. When I visited them last, I could never get comfortable there due to how spread out everything is and how few taller buildings there were. Combined with how everything seemed like different shades of brown, I just can't see the attraction.
That said, Sante Fe was a completely different situation. Its a much older town, so there's more diversity and history in its structures and due to its location, its much more tightly configured. It still can get cold though, so there's that.
My only worry of Chattanooga is humidity. After living in the desert southwest whenever I'm in humidity above 50% I should probably just be naked because clothing seems worthlessly wet.
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