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i am just drained, depressed about where to move to, any help greatly appreciated. Everywhere i discover for moving seems to have a major drawback-- dreary long rainy 9 months in Portland, snakes snakes snakes in SE USA, no lush green in arid AZ, boatloads of snow in Boulder CO. I can't take another winter in MN so I am desperately looking to move somewhere:
with little to no snow to shovel, so tired of shoveling snow
without snakes creeping around in one's yard
affordable 3BR home ($300,000 max)
property taxes on such a home not excessive, preferably 1% of the home's value or less
crime index 400 or less
at least partly sunny much of the year
green (not desert); ideally trees lining neighborhood streets
50% or higher white population demographics
academic community (college in the town)
commercial airport nearby for travel
requisite stores and such: barnes and nobel or similar bookstore, starbucks, fitness center
culture in the form of theatre/symphony/concerts
bicycle friendly so i can exercise by bicycling to a coffee shop most mornings
I know nowhere is perfect, and perhaps that is the problem; I suppose I have to let go of certain desired elements of where to live. Just that I wish such a place existed, wondering if I am not seeing it.
Ventura, CA. There are some houses in that budget and there are townhouses, and there are more in nearby Oxnard. It has everything else except the airport---you'd need to go to LAX.
Sacramento, CA comes to mind. Maybe Prescott, AZ or Flagstaff. Though as far as I know Prescott doesn't have any major universities. Flagstaff has U of Northern AZ, though it may get too much snow for you. None of these cities are "lush" the way they are in the Northeast and Midwest, but they aren't in the desert either.
Kansas City may be worth considering if you don't mind a hot (edited to add: and HUMID) summer. Winters are pretty mild by Midwestern standards - it does snow but typically melts within a day or two and a good amount of sunshine. There are plenty of areas with low crime. Low COL. Several universities, etc etc. It is really, really green and lush here in the summer. I don't know about snakes. I've been here 8 months and have yet to see any here, granted it's been winter for part of that. What I dislike most about here is the heat combined with humidity in the summer months but I didn't see that listed as a negative factor on your list.
Overall though Sacramento seems like the best fit though not sure about the taxes.
Your wish list is reasonable, but what do you plan on doing in the new city for money? Will the job market matter, or will you be making money via telecommuting or the internet?
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about where to move to, any help greatly appreciated. Everywhere i discover for moving seems to have a major drawback-- dreary long rainy 9 months in Portland, snakes snakes snakes in SE USA, no lush green in arid AZ, boatloads of snow in Boulder CO. I can't take another winter in MN so I am desperately looking to move somewhere:
