Yet another "looking for my place" thread -- rainy, mild-to-warm, & peaceful (appointed)

[Cee-R]

Hey all,
I'm planning to move at some point in 2012 and I want to post on one or two state boards...but I don't know where I should be looking yet!

I've bolded some pieces of info, to curb the "TL-DNR" responses. You're welcome.

Right now, I'm thinking that I should "climate shop". But I need help because I haven't been to a place that I've loved the weather of year-round.

One big one before the nitpicky stuff:
The closer it is to NY (relatively speaking), the easier it is for me to move (and move earlier). West coast isn't out of the question, and I can always hire a moving van and fly out, but I'd guess my preference is for east coast.

CLIMATE CRITERIA
I've lived in upper MI, middle IN, rural NM, and northern and upstate NY (and I've stayed in urban Yucatan, northern TX, and southern OK), and I've learned a few things that I prefer...

Winters
I get sick of snow really quick! I'd much rather a few inches accumulation in December (or just a few months a year vs. the October to May snowfall we get in NY!). I get cold really easy and also hate it when the world looks dead for 4 months.

Humidity
I don't know how I would do in a super humid setting...especially if it's both super humid and very hot. But I do know that summers in NM and winters in NY (with the tendency to be over-zealous with the heating) are pretty awful. Those kinds of dry heat both make me really uncomfortable. I get dehydrated, have nosebleeds, etc. and I pretty much just have to drink like a camel and try to tough it out. I would guess that 100% humidity would be kinda tough (though I do love my Finnish saunas! Am I allowed to keep a sauna, but do without the winter?? ).

Weather & The Outdoors
I've found that I love rain though! My favorite times of year hands-down are fall rainy days in upstate NY, spring rainy days in IN, and summer thunderstorms on a lake in northern MI. Those all have trees in common, too. Even though I'm not a hugely outdoorsy person, I love trees and plants and enjoy the seasonal color changes and things like that.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Work
I work from home, which gives me a few requirements. I need super high speed internet access (which I know is difficult in some places). I also really need peace and quiet (hence the "peaceful" in the title)--which I think really means a house on at least a couple of acres--or surrounded by someone else's empty acreage--so that I don't have neighbor noise while I'm trying to concentrate. (This means no roommates, either! Unfortunately, might even mean no pets...we'll see.) I get real testy when I can't write 2 sentences without my brain having to pay attention to some other stupid noise, like my housemate coughing or a dog roaming around the house.

Budget
I don't make tons of money, so I think I need to rent at less than $1,000 per month. It depends on the rest of the cost of living, so I can't give a definite number, but cheaper is better. Still needs to be comfortable though, since I spend way more time at home than some people. This is definitely part of my own search later, but might help to narrow down certain areas. I probably need at least a two-bedroom so that I can have a big home office

Shopping & Society
I'm able to do a decent amount of shopping online, if needed, but I would like to be able to drive to a decent metro area in under 30 min. I do also fly at least once or twice a year, but I can tolerate driving a ways for that, if necessary. I can handle smaller airports meaning more connecting flights more than I can driving 2 hours one-way just to fly out.

I am vegan, which I know can be tough in a lot of places. I'd love an area near a couple of natural food store & ethnic market options and a good farmshare or other local fresh food option. (Farmer's markets are ok as long as they're reliably good and at least partially organic.) But I can make do with just a nice big "regular" grocery store and a somewhere to buy healthy bulk food (like beans and whole wheat flour) and tofu by the ton. (Kidding on that last part. You hope.)

I don't really have any major social requirements. I'm very liberal and not religious, which I don't find to be a problem at all (usually), but I find that some people might have a big problem with me. I don't really have any cultural ties. I tend to like people and I'm not super picky as long as they're interesting and/or fun.

I think that's it. Let me know if I've left anything out!

What I'm looking for is some shoves in the right direction. (Like, "I think you'd love western [state]." or "...anywhere in northeastern [state].) If you happen to be able to list out towns or something, that'd be awesome, but I can take myself to the board to ask specific states their opinions.

Thanks for any help you can give!
<3 Cee

P.S. I'm having trouble finding rental houses in the rural areas near small cities people say I might like. Any tips on that? For example, the site "Find Your Spot" tells me I might like Annapolis, MD...but I want a quiet, secluded place with high-speed internet that's near but not inside Annapolis. I can't figure out how to do that!

P.P.S., Holy cow, I wrote a manifesto! lol

[OyCrumbler]

I was thinking that towns and cities in the more southerly parts of the Appalachian mountains might fit your climate criteria just right.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I was thinking that towns and cities in the more southerly parts of the Appalachian mountains might fit your climate criteria just right.

Yeah, places like Asheville and Boone NC, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg VA, Clemson SC and Knoxville TN.

[west336]

You probably love rain because you hardly ever see it....I know I miss rain when there's a drought. But I don't think you'd want to live anywhere that rains all the time -- it's incredibly depressing! Just a thought.

Also, if you're a vegan, you'll probably need to be pretty close to a major metro area, as I've heard that being vegan is quite difficult if you don't have the resources nearby!

[creeksitter]

I think your problem will be finding a place with the seclusion AND super high speed internet. They probably exist but it's the needle in haystack.

You might post some wanted to rent ads on Craigslist and see what response you get.

Other cities to investigate are Roanoake VA and the research triangle (NC). Maybe Frederick MD or Cumberland if it has the natural grocery.

Then again, most of the chain groceries have a natural food section so you could stock up on specialties when you hit the bigger or more cruchy city.

[Cee-R]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I was thinking that towns and cities in the more southerly parts of the Appalachian mountains might fit your climate criteria just right.

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Yeah, places like Asheville and Boone NC, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg VA, Clemson SC and Knoxville TN.

Thank you both! I'm up in the northern foothills of the Adirondacks right now, and I like the scenery of the mountain and near-mountain areas...I just need about 75%+ less snow! I'll check out those places you've mentioned CHK.

Originally Posted by west336

You probably love rain because you hardly ever see it....I know I miss rain when there's a drought. But I don't think you'd want to live anywhere that rains all the time -- it's incredibly depressing! Just a thought.

Also, if you're a vegan, you'll probably need to be pretty close to a major metro area, as I've heard that being vegan is quite difficult if you don't have the resources nearby!

You're right, I don't want rain all day, every day, or anything like that. But I do genuinely like rain and it doesn't depress me at all. And I don't know why you think I live in drought...it's raining right now in northern NY! I like plants and I want to garden again...which I guess means I want a moderately wet climate, but not raining all the time. (Always-wet climates are difficult to grow many things in.) I guess I just mean that I want it to rain regularly.

Being vegan isn't all that difficult in non-metro areas...it just sometimes takes more creativity (and the ability to cook from scratch). I've been vegan while pretty much only relying on a big box grocery store. It's not as much fun as having a great natural food store and ethnic stores and lots of local produce options...but it's most definitely doable. Especially since lots of places sell organic bulk food online, such as flour, grains, dried beans, and specialty baking supplies. (Example: Bob's brand) And spices from places like Penzey's or The Spice House, Pendery's, and SF Spice.

If I had to choose between living in a suburban neighborhood or in the city and not having a natural food store within 25 minutes, but having great internet and a decent house to rent cheap, I'd definitely go for the latter every time.

Originally Posted by creeksitter

I think your problem will be finding a place with the seclusion AND super high speed internet. They probably exist but it's the needle in haystack.

You might post some wanted to rent ads on Craigslist and see what response you get.

Other cities to investigate are Roanoake VA and the research triangle (NC). Maybe Frederick MD or Cumberland if it has the natural grocery.

Then again, most of the chain groceries have a natural food section so you could stock up on specialties when you hit the bigger or more cruchy city.

Yes, this'll be a needle in the haystack search...that's why I'm looking now even though I won't be able to afford to move for at least a few months yet! I'm willing to make concessions, but since my work is location independent, I think it's entirely possible I can find what I'm looking for.

Craiglist want ads are a great idea. The reason why I'm asking for help here first is that CL is so segmented that I'd need an area to post a want ad in first, otherwise I'm just shooting in the dark. (Same with looking for houses to rent...I just have to search by some vague criteria and then do more research on each place that looks good.)

And yes on the natural foods...eating cleaner has gone so mainstream that I can often get things like tempeh and coconut milk and quinoa (and occasionally even vegan "ice cream") at the same big chain grocery store that I can get staples like fresh & frozen veggies and fruit and whole wheat pasta and canned goods. It's really not hard unless you don't cook.

--Clarifications--
I'm looking for a humid place with decent amount of rain (whatever that is...just not a place that rains all the time)...I would like to have a nice garden for a good portion of the year (though I'm not necessarily looking for a year-round garden and I'm flexible about what goes in it based on local climate/soil/etc., as long as I can have a nice mix of veggies, fruit, and herbs).

Would like to be able to have Fios or other high-speed internet, but I'll settle for "quite fast" instead of "blazingly fast" if necessary.

Would like to eat organic and have great natural food store(s) and farmshare options and the like, but can definitely settle for just a big normal grocery store.

[Stateisota]

Christ the Pacific Northwest region really fits much of your criteria. I would maybe recommend Portland if you could find the work there. Seattle has a better job market but is much more expensive to live in.

You could also try sub-cities such as Tacoma or Vancouver, WA(State border with Oregon and right next to Portland)

[Cee-R]

Originally Posted by Stateisota

Christ the Pacific Northwest region really fits much of your criteria. I would maybe recommend Portland if you could find the work there. Seattle has a better job market but is much more expensive to live in.

You could also try sub-cities such as Tacoma or Vancouver, WA(State border with Oregon and right next to Portland)

Thanks Stateisota. I'm looking for a rural spot to live (though not necessarily far from smaller cities like the ones you mentioned). I don't really know anything about the Pacific Northwest and it would be more expensive to move there than moving further down the east coast, but I don't need to depend on the job market because I work from home.

[Stateisota]

Originally Posted by Cee-R

Thanks Stateisota. I'm looking for a rural spot to live (though not necessarily far from smaller cities like the ones you mentioned). I don't really know anything about the Pacific Northwest and it would be more expensive to move there than moving further down the east coast, but I don't need to depend on the job market because I work from home.

Perhaps Olympia or somewhere along the coastal area of the pudget sound?

The scenery is beautiful and it rains often. The winters are very mild. People are really into organic things and such.

Also due to Washington State's tech influence that area should have very good internet access.

[creeksitter]

It occured to me that the most blazing fast internet i've ever encountered was in the teeeeny town of Green Bank WV which is miles away from anywhere. Then I looked out the back window of the small well appointed library and saw the GIANT telescope where they search for messages from outer space. Don't know if the blazing fast internet is available to civilians but its a thought. Along those lines, Oak Ridge TN likely has geat service for their labs, again I don't know if that spills over into the community.

You could start by looking at the service areas for the internet you prefer. Or call Comcast and see where they offer the fastest service. The Southern appalachians would be a good fit climate and terrain wise.