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You need a couple of vacations. The one in the east is a road trip that starts in Chattanooga, stop in Knoxville, on to Roanoke. come south via Johnson city, Asheville & Greenville. Someone else can suggest a western itinerary.
I'm including Johnson city because it is closest to great skiing and has a good school system.
You need to give up on trying to figure this out from afar. There is no substitute for actually experiencing a place.
I like how you have decided the entire state of CA costs a billion dollars to live in LOL.
I know I could be wrong. And am open to considering areas. But I'd imagine it's hard to find a lower cost of living area without a ton of traffic that is still appealing to live in.
i can't see too many companies out west being willing to pay to relocate a person living in Florida because they probably would be worried you would not like it
i can't see too many companies out west being willing to pay to relocate a person living in Florida because they probably would be worried you would not like it
I'm not worried or planning on having any companies pay for relocation expenses.
So given this information, outside of the PNW and their gray skies and short winters... where can you get real mountains, green scenery and not freezing cold temperatures!
It seems like that place doesn't really exist
Wyoming/Montana - to cold. Far to cold.
PNW - gray skies, short winters, lots of rain
blue ridge mountains - not real mountains, lol. They are... they are just... small.
Alaska - Cold
Northeast - Cold
Utah/Colorado - Brown
California - costs a billion dollars to live there
I get there is no perfect area... but why can't there be one perfect area?!?!? :P
Well, because when you find something close to the ideal combination, then people flock there and it becomes expensive, ergo - California. There are places in Montana, Utah, and Colorado that meet most your criteria, except the price of real estate and cost of living. Again, desirability drives cost. There are very few undiscovered gems you are going to get in at the base level with and each of us have to decide what factors we can or can't live with/out and where we can compromise to achieve the majority of our desires. Not unlike choosing a partner to live your life with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartonizer
I agree that nowhere is perfect, but I think you're generalizing too much. Especially since we're talking mountains. And there's a substantial variation within the regions you've listed. There are mild and dry parts to the Northwest, there are greener parts within the Rockies, and yes- there are real mountains in the Southeast. Again, I've lived around a lot of mountains, and the 3,000'-5,000' local vertical relief on parts of the Blue Ridge and near the NC/TN line are as big as they get on the east, and on par with many mountains that you'll experience out west. Go to the top of Roan Mountain, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Clingman's Dome, or better yet drive the Blue Ridge Parkway through NC and you'll likely be impressed!
Very good points. 3-5k worth of vertical elevation in an eastern mountain range is not vertically different from being at 10k and looking up at 14k peaks in the Rockies. Perhaps the rugged starkness of it all is the differentiating factor for the OP.
You need a couple of vacations. The one in the east is a road trip that starts in Chattanooga, stop in Knoxville, on to Roanoke. come south via Johnson city, Asheville & Greenville. Someone else can suggest a western itinerary.
I'm including Johnson city because it is closest to great skiing and has a good school system.
You need to give up on trying to figure this out from afar. There is no substitute for actually experiencing a place.
I didn't see what the OP does for a living, but keep in mind the economy in most of these Blue Ridge cities is poor.
I live in the Tri-Cities (where Johnson City is) and the small professional economy is really based around medical services, Eastman Chemical Company, and government (including university/local school system) work. If you don't work for one of a handful of decent, large employers in the Tri-Cities, you're likely working in a call center, retail, or food service. Outside of those few large companies and government/university, it's difficult to find any professional work here.
Knoxville honestly isn't much better. Asheville is a well-known tourist mecca with a shallow economy. I'm not as familiar with Roanoke, but it's not a hot destination. Greenville has the best economy in the general region.
The OP is self employed and wife is a teacher. Are the schools in Johnson city a good working environment as well as being good academically?
Sure they'd like the other downtowns better, but being close enough to sugar/beech for day trips has got to be a big plus for a skier. Asheville is an easy day trip, too.
I didn't see what the OP does for a living, but keep in mind the economy in most of these Blue Ridge cities is poor.
I live in the Tri-Cities (where Johnson City is) and the small professional economy is really based around medical services, Eastman Chemical Company, and government (including university/local school system) work. If you don't work for one of a handful of decent, large employers in the Tri-Cities, you're likely working in a call center, retail, or food service. Outside of those few large companies and government/university, it's difficult to find any professional work here.
Knoxville honestly isn't much better. Asheville is a well-known tourist mecca with a shallow economy. I'm not as familiar with Roanoke, but it's not a hot destination. Greenville has the best economy in the general region.
Like someone above me said, my wife is a teacher and, although I'm not self employed, for arguments sake lets assume I am. My line of work I can find anywhere with any decent population size. Although some areas of the country will pay better, they are also higher cost of living areas, therefore it's a consideration, but not the main one.
Your point still stands though, I'd prefer to be somewhere with an economy than one without, if for no other reason than my neighbors/friends will also have jobs and money. Living in a poor town, even if I had money, is still not fun.
For those reasons, Greenville has been our number one area in the blueridge mountains. We are thinking of visiting Chattanooga, I'm intrigued by their gigabit internet and they seem to have a growing economy, although I am hesitant about the crime rate there.
Roanoke I don't know a lot about, but it is an area we are eyeing. Asheville looks beautiful, but I think it's a better head there on a Saturday from Greenville type of city, rather than living there.
Based on everything everybody has said, there are a few other areas I'm still strongly considering.
Colorado is super intriguing, but I'm really worried about the brownness of it. I don't think I'll have an answer on this until I go out there and spend some time. The point about the prominence of the mountains not being any higher than the blue ridge is a great point. I think the reason it looks more alluring is due to the long sight ranges you have from many of the hiking/biking pictures I've seen. Whereas with the Blue Ridge area it seems that you are IN the mountain and don't get those huge sight lines.
Boise I don't know a lot about, but will continue to search into. I am slightly worried about the cold there.
Bend, OR is also intriguing. I've read mixed opinions about the area.
My wife is keen on SLC. I'm not to sure if its more like Colorado or not... still researching that too.
I've also taken the considerations of a few people here and looking at some cities in AZ and NM, although I'm not super optimistic I'll find something that hits all the right areas for us.
I wish there was a nice little city of 50k outside of Yellowstone or Yosemite so I could live in the city and drive an hour to one of these amazing national parks on the weekend. That's my ideal scenario, but I realize that city doesn't really exist.
I know I could be wrong. And am open to considering areas. But I'd imagine it's hard to find a lower cost of living area without a ton of traffic that is still appealing to live in.
I'm sure you're right.
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