Quote:
Originally Posted by nheskie
Thanks for the suggestions so far.
ckhthankgod -We've visited Asheville. It is a lovely little city! Unfortunately as soon as we stepped outside of it into the surrounding towns, we got some unfriendly stares (I guess because we're an interracial couple). Don't know much about Knoxville, but will read up on it. I think Boulder is out of our price range, which is a bummer.
cjg5- A friend of mine lives in Olympia and loves it! I could handle the rainy days, (I think) but I'm not sure about my hubby. He also has a severe mold allergy. But thanks for the links!
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I lived in Knoxville TN for about 3+ years, back in 1990 or so. I had a few black friends and whenever they came over my house I got "hate calls" at 2 AM calling me N*lover and such...
I would really think twice about any area in the South unless you are in a large urban area where people are usually more tolerant. I also found people in general not to be too friendly to "outsiders"...Knoxville may have the population but it is a very small town both in things to do, and in attitudes.
I live in the Puget Sound area and am looking to move myself due to the fact that the climate has changed here in the last 5 years and you rarely see the sun. Even when it is not raining (which it does for the most part of 9 months) it is overcast and gloomy.
I am actually considering the Tri-cities area as well, due to the weather (I want to see the sun and also have arthritis which is miserable in this cool rainy and humid climate)
We have a winter home about 1 hour south of Phoenix AZ and that is definitely out of the question full time...it stays 110-115 5 mos out of the year...but I did find a place a bit north of Phoenix that sounds promising and that is the area of Cottonwood, Cornville, Verde Valley AZ. Lower elevation than Flagstaff which can get very cold in winter and is @ 7000+ feet, whereas Cottonwood is at 3500....still gets to 100 in the summer, but you are pretty close to Flagstaff, and I think a few other larger towns...so you might want to research there on the internet.
I am in the same boat as you are, looking for that "magical" place to live with a nice climate, and am having a really hard time zeroing in on someplace that suits me. I just want low humidity and a fair amount of sun (300 days or so) as I am tired of living in the dark and dreary PNW...PNW would be great if it weren't for the rain. Used to be nice summers but recently even the summers have a lot of rain and/or overcast days...I am SO ready to get out of here.
When looking for a place to go, try to pull up the demographics for that area...anyplace you see a majority of white rather than a mix of cultures, you are probably going to run into problems re racial tolerance.
One place I think a bit more racially tolerant might be outside the DC area. I lived there for a while, and since there is such a high black population in the city, I think perhaps people may be more tolerant. Virginia would be the place I would look at...I lived there for a while, and the weather is nice, with rare snow storms.
I like N Carolina also, but again you are getting into the "southern" thing...when looking at states in that area, keep in mind the interior of the states can get very hot and muggy, if you can afford to get closer to the coast, the weather will be nicer. Coastal weather in nicer all over the US, unfortunately it is also usually the most expensive. Northern FL might be a place to check out as well. I have a cousin who lives there, and she says they rarely get really bad weather when the hurricanes come through. Again you want to stay as close to the coast as possible, FL can be hot and muggy in summer but it is not as bad as the coast. I think housing prices down there are still pretty reasonable...hard to believe but true. Check out the St Petersburg area
It is a shame that one still has to worry about things like that in this day and age...I think larger towns are going to be your best best for racial tolerance, but even that is no guarantee...steer clear of Texas LOL for that and other reasons. Awfully hot and painfully humid.
I've lived all over the US and I have to say the weather on Long Island, NY is some of the nicest I have seen (I grew up there) unfortunately now it is very crowded and very expensive...but unlike the myth about NY'ers they really are pretty friendly people. I think anywhere you go with more sunshine, people are friendlier, at least that has been my experience
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Knoxville sounds very nice.
Re-think the Knoxville idea, or most anywhere in the Southeast
