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My wife and I would love to combine our two favorite things in the world. I love mountains, she loves water. I am a mountain biker, she is a swimmer. We'd like to try living in a city that combined both. She'd like to swim in open water 8 months of the year, so obviously we are looking further south. Mountains must be open to the public. Both must be accessible via bicycles in a reasonable amount of time. We drive too much as it is. We have both done alright living in relatively small cities, I'd say we're both pretty resourceful in finding jobs. I'm trying to avoid California because of cost of living and I hate the long work commute.
A little snow is ok, but the more sun the better. We're both northerners and would like to spend some time in an area that doesn't get sloppy and cold in the winter.
Current thoughts:
Chattanooga, TN: Still gets snow, rarely, but sloppy winters. Swimming in river.
Boise, ID: Dry most of the year, but swimming opportunities require a drive.
Carson City, NV: Close to Tahoe, but requires driving.
Lake Tahoe, CA: Nearly perfect, but expensive.
Big Bear, CA: Similar to Tahoe.
Boulder City, NV: Riding nearby, quick drive to Boulder Beach.
Some places in Puerto Rico would be ideal but safety concerns and we're not very bilingual (not that we couldn't be.)
You pretty much just described the ideal place everyone is looking for. You're gonna pay top dollar and sit in traffic in most of those places.
Have you thought about Hawaii?
As for on the mainland. Your best bets are going to be anywhere in California. Ventura County is generally cheaper than its neighbors on either side, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, but it has the same weather and amenities of beaches and mountains. But the population is much smaller than LA, so much less traffic. Central California too. The whole San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Paso Robles stretch along the 101. I'm not sure about the cost of living there, but I can't imagine it's even close to LA or SF standards and the smaller population makes less traffic.
Honestly I can't think of any other places that don't get snow. All those cities you mentioned do get snow. Anything else in the South doesn't have mountain access, but has good swimming. At least as far as I can think of.
Impossible, outside of the tropics. Mountains, by definition will offer colder weather, even closer to the equator. Even somewhere like Bogota or Mexico City is quite cool in the summertime, due to high elevation.
If you think cost of living in CA is high, Hawaii will only be more so. CA is your best bet. You don't have to live in LA or SF or one of the big places with exorbitant cost of living.
Snow isn't as much of a big deal as "sloppiness" that we get here in the Northeast. Otherwise known as freeze/thaw. Makes being outdoors during the winters months wet, cold, muddy and generally miserable. We hope for snow and below freezing temps just to harden and cover up all the mud.
More important is winter time average lows. I'd be ok with a freak blizzard if most of the time it was in the 60's during the day.
Combine that type of climate with a mountain town surrounding a lake and I'd be golden.
Snow isn't as much of a big deal as "sloppiness" that we get here in the Northeast. Otherwise known as freeze/thaw. Makes being outdoors during the winters months wet, cold, muddy and generally miserable. We hope for snow and below freezing temps just to harden and cover up all the mud.
More important is winter time average lows. I'd be ok with a freak blizzard if most of the time it was in the 60's during the day.
Combine that type of climate with a mountain town surrounding a lake and I'd be golden.
Perhaps somewhere in Colorado, if that is the case.
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