Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Its time for my annual "Retirement Destination" exploration road trip. DH loves the southwest but Phoenix is too hot for me and Las Cruces felt too small and isolated from a real university and airport. Our final destination will include:
A town/city with: mild climate
* scenic for hiking/walking
* State Sales tax a must (to keep high property taxes in check)
* Local university
* Nice housing that is reasonable ($250K house)
* Public Transporation desirable
* Good airport reasonable distance
* Not uber conservative
So where is a good place to explore this year? So far we have on our maybe list:
*San Diego (but too expensive)
*Denver (but too cold in winter)
*Berkeley (ditto on expensive)
*Sedona (expensive, distance from airport)
Regardless of the tourist district, Chattanooga is still a very conservative town. If you want access to Atlanta though, it's only a 2 hour drive.
Asheville is "hip" in the inner city but just as conservative once you get outside of the "artsy hippie zone". Both cities do offer a variety of outdoor recreational things.
Of your other list, Denver is a pretty nice town. Not too conservative but not "granola West Coaster", as well. Lots to do outdoors. Sure, it gets cold, but that's what fireplaces are for.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,745 posts, read 23,804,636 times
Reputation: 14660
There are other places in the Southwest
Flagstaff, AZ - 2 hours to PHX airport, NAU, Grand Canyon & Sedona close by, lots of recreation, I assume politically moderate (not near the border), 4 seasons, a bit chilly but not as humid as back east, plenty of good scenic hiking.
Albuquerque, NM - ABQ airport, UNM, fair mix of liberal and conservative but not too extreme on either side, close to Santa Fe, excellent climate (not as hot as Phoenix or Tucson, not as cold as Denver), great food, affordable real estate. Hiking in the Sandia's & Sangre de Cristos.
Flagstaff, AZ - 2 hours to PHX airport, NAU, Grand Canyon & Sedona close by, lots of recreation, I assume politically moderate (not near the border), 4 seasons, a bit chilly but not as humid as back east, plenty of good scenic hiking.
Albuquerque, NM - ABQ airport, UNM, fair mix of liberal and conservative but not too extreme on either side, close to Santa Fe, excellent climate (not as hot as Phoenix or Tucson, not as cold as Denver), great food, affordable real estate. Hiking in the Sandia's & Sangre de Cristos.
So, I just moved from ABQ to AVL recently, mainly to be closer to family. My family and I lived in ABQ for 11 years due to work obligations. You will definitely be able to find more affordable housing in ABQ. Also, because it is a bigger city, there are more services in the ABQ in comparison to AVL. Things that we did not like about ABQ: traffic can be horrible, it is definitely a commuter city, little pedestrian traffic, people definitely like chains in ABQ/little support for independently owned businesses, mass transit not developed for the size of the city, crime is high for the size of the city. If you like the outdoors, there are too numerous to count day trips that you can do.
Things that we have liked so far about Asheville: there is sense of community here. We met more of our neighbors in the first week in AVL than we knew in all the years we lived in our home in ABQ. People are really in to buying local food and products and eating at nonchain restaurants. People walk around a lot more. It is green, green, green---love it.
If you have more specific questions about ABQ I would be happy to answer them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
