- 2 Should have never left Montana.
foxtrapper wrote: Do you go to the same mountains to ski, or do you always look for somewhere different each vacation? That alone should tell you a lot.
This is true. We (wife and I) are always trying someplace new for vacation. There are places we go back to, but that is to see the family that lives there (NJ, AZ, FL). We like to experience new places with each vacation but like the familiarity of where we live.
The wife lived in New Mexico, AZ, NJ and Indiana. She likes it here best. She loved the scenery of NM/AZ, but the desolation was too much. NJ she loved the food/shops, but the taxes/CoL/crowded feel is too much. About the only thing she dislikes about here is the lack of (in her own words) a "real bakery".
You and I need to talk. I've lived all over out west. As much as I'm still haunted by the scenery out there, I'm VERY glad to be back here for tons of reasons.
In reply to turtl631:
Do you see Pittsburgh as unaffordable? It's option 1 for me.
ScreaminE: I see Pittsburgh as quite affordable, especially compared to home (Chicago), which is affordable as far as megacities go. I'm finishing residency this year, so my income is about to increase significantly. Staying here would certainly fit option 2, it's just too far from our families for us to want to settle here.
My expensive vs cheap comparison came down to Seattle or San Diego vs Milwaukee or Madison. And I like to hike, fish, and camp, all of which are very doable in WI. mountains are pretty, but I don't ski so I feel like I would be paying a big premium to live somewhere like that without reaping much benefit. Wife is still a little hesitant about us going for plan 1 though...Maybe financial comfort and a few nice vacations will convince her of its merit. And I'll stop whining about no garage!
Swank Force One wrote:OSULemon wrote: Does being single and living in a town with no prospects change anything? It's tough to travel to meet women. Most relationships start through friends or mutual activities.It would for me... If I was single, i'd already be gone. I wouldnt be asking this question.
I suspected as much.
You only need to find one :D Our town isn't exactly a target-rich environment, but things worked out...
I am with z31. I will have all my E36 M3 paid off by 40 and have all the time/money I want to travel then. Columbia MO is actually a nice college town with good culture and decent scenery nearby with the Missouri River. I am 4 minutes from a nice curvy road. Industry exists and jobs can be found.
I vote 1. Think long term.
I think what i'm wrestling with internally is that it'd be exceedingly easy to save the same kind of money i am now even if i moved out to the Rockies. There's a lot of cutbacks i could quite easily make in my life to more than make up for the cost of living increase.
No matter how you slice it, skiing and mountain biking is cheaper than building cars like i build them. 
I'm more wondering if i'd get bored. How long before it's "same old same old?" Or if that happens, i didn't find the right place?
Swank Force One wrote: I'm more wondering if i'd get bored. How long before it's "same old same old?" Or if that happens, i didn't find the right place?
A bit of both. Some people always think the grass is greener elsewhere, and will never find a happy place. I've been where I am for over 12 years, and while I don't take the same sort of advantage of it that I used to, I'd far from bored with it. Looking forward all year to a two week vacation is nowhere near as good as living where people go on vacation.
Keith Tanner wrote: Some people always think the grass is greener elsewhere, and will never find a happy place.
This. Every place I've lived - and there have been quite a few - had people who were bound and determined to get away from there, certain that it sucked, etc. Likewise, each location also had people who loved it, and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
If you are happy where you are, you are already in paradise.
Keith Tanner wrote: Looking forward all year to a two week vacation is nowhere near as good as living where people go on vacation.
^ This. Especially when the vacationing in the area is seasonal and you get to enjoy it year round as a local.
For example I love going to Yosemite, so waking up on Sunday morning, deciding a quick trip to Yosemite is in order and being able to just hop in the car/on the bike and do it is extremely nice.
Swank Force One wrote: I think what i'm wrestling with internally is that it'd be exceedingly easy to save the same kind of money i am now even if i moved out to the Rockies. There's a lot of cutbacks i could quite easily make in my life to more than make up for the cost of living increase. No matter how you slice it, skiing and mountain biking is cheaper than building cars like i build them.
My suggestion, try to make those cutbacks now and see if you can actually handle doing it.
This is what I did when the wife became enamored with buying a larger house.
"Let's make the payment on our current house as though we had the big house, if you can handle it for 12 months, we will talk seriously about buying a bigger home."
We just made our 2nd payment on the refinance of our existing modest home. 
I think there is something missing from the equation...
Generally, the inexpensive places to live are also very short on jobs. That's why they are cheap.
In reply to SVreX:
I don't know about this. It is certainly true for many areas of the country but there are also lots of places with industry that are still inexpensive to live in. Missouri has a lot of employment options but most areas (STL and KC included) are still very reasonable compared to many other areas.
at 53 i was wondering "is this as good as it get's" then i went to Alaska this summer..........go forth and travel my brother.
The wrote:
amazing pic, btw
You were in my town this summer.
I live close to great skiing but I don't ski.
I do camp, ride motorcycles, mountain bikes and horses though.
I don't have money to travel much but I do get to do long weekends in one of the most beautiful places on earth whenever I want and there's something to be said for that.
Also, I took my motorcycle out for a good run while the turkey was in the oven.
I live in the California of Canada and I love it.
Shawn
Keith Tanner wrote: Looking forward all year to a two week vacation is nowhere near as good as living where people go on vacation.
Mental note: if looking to start a business that really isn't "location dependent" - like say... an aftermarket car parts company - locate your business in a cool location... Good thinking on Bill's part. 
Thanks, those are transient orcas in the Kenai Peninsula suppose to be pretty rare.
z31maniac wrote:Swank Force One wrote: I think what i'm wrestling with internally is that it'd be exceedingly easy to save the same kind of money i am now even if i moved out to the Rockies. There's a lot of cutbacks i could quite easily make in my life to more than make up for the cost of living increase. No matter how you slice it, skiing and mountain biking is cheaper than building cars like i build them.My suggestion, try to make those cutbacks now and see if you can actually handle doing it. This is what I did when the wife became enamored with buying a larger house. "Let's make the payment on our current house as though we had the big house, if you can handle it for 12 months, we will talk seriously about buying a bigger home." We just made our 2nd payment on the refinance of our existing modest home.
I can handle it just fine... i'd throw away the entire fleet except for the Cherokee, and probably just buy another Cherokee. Saves the tens of thousands of dollars i bleed into the other cars every year, and puts a big lump of change in my pocket to start. That'd cover the difference right there.
Remember, i'm renting right now (Apartment and two garages), so my current living costs are already inflated over buying a house in this area, which i'm having a hard time feeling interested in.
SVreX wrote: I think there is something missing from the equation... Generally, the inexpensive places to live are also very short on jobs. That's why they are cheap.
Tons of jobs where i am right now, and at the moment for the purpose of the discussion, i'd keep the same job, just transfer to another home base office (though would probably work from home). Current employer would offset salary by a small-ish amount to account for cost of living change.
The wrench in the works is that SWMBO wouldn't have a job, but that said, it's not essential for our survival for her to have a job.
Trans_Maro wrote: You were in my town this summer. I live close to great skiing but I don't ski. I do camp, ride motorcycles, mountain bikes and horses though. I don't have money to travel much but I do get to do long weekends in one of the most beautiful places on earth whenever I want and there's something to be said for that. Also, I took my motorcycle out for a good run while the turkey was in the oven. I live in the California of Canada and I love it. Shawn
That's sort of what's triggering this. The entire trip, the only two places that i ranked below my current area was Kansa (the entire state), and Los Angeles. (berkeley that place.)
Paradise isn't paradise when you live there. I lived near one of the top ten beaches in the country for two years and used all my time off to go to more boring places to visit family. Now I go to the beach on vacation to escape winter. I hate winter.
Even though I never have the time to do any of it, the area I live in has all of the outdoors stuff available very close to home. The cost of living isn't high and we have no state income tax. Hiking, fishing, mountain biking, canoeing well basically anything you'd want to do outdoors is less than an hour away from me. The views are beautiful too.
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