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Be aware there are simply a lot of fields that do not exist in this part of Tennessee, especially if it's a white collar or "office professional" type of position.
I have a cousin who completed a BS in accounting program at the local state university and passed all four parts of the CPA exam, but cannot get the CPA certification because she can't find work under a practicing CPA to meet the work hour requirements, so she's stuck in a call center. Stuff like that happens fairly regularly here. Asheville and probably Roanoke will have the same issues. Wages are also generally very low - I doubled my salary moving from TN to Indiana, but was able to keep my "up north" salary moving back.
Roanoke is a lot more isolated than the other options and feels grittier and more run-down IMO than Chattanooga, Knoxville, and especially Greenville. It seems more like a Pittsburgh than an up and coming city.
With that said, TN has no state income tax, like Florida. SC has a 7% state income tax rate on income over $14,550. IMO, that is brutal. Greenville is still one of my favorite cities in the country, even though SC is not as well run as TN.
i believe TN has the highest sales tax in the country to make for the lost of income tax.
SC does not have a state sales tax on unprepared foods but I think TN does.
Your suggestion seems crazy to me, but I'll look into it. Thank you.
It's so hard cause I don't know anything about a lot of these states. And EVERY place I look that seems appealing ends up having a huge downside. The quest for information continues...
Crazy? Check into it. New Mexico is generally off the radar so you need to dig into COL, locations, etc. Of course, western areas will be drier and somewhat higher and have more exposed rock so that will influence how green things appear. Of course, there is a lot of arid back country like Ojito Wilderness and Kasha Katuwe that is well worth exploring.
Wow, that does look like a great place to live. I am surprised i never heard of it.
It's not very big, but it's famous for being the apple capital of the world, the whole valley is covered in apple orchards. And the Headquarters of Liberty Orchards (Aplets and Cotlets, don't know if you've ever heard of them but very popular here in WA) is in the nearby town of Cashmere.
OP, have you even VISITED the states on your short list? Have you visited them at different times of the year, in different years? In your case, since you place great value on greenness, have you visited those areas in DRY years?
Anybody can cherry pick the nicest or the worst weather an area ever served up. But to know what is usual over the long term for a region takes more study and, preferably, actual experience.
And that doesn't even include the indefinable quality that makes someplace "right" for you. NO set of pros and cons will tell you that. A place can come out smelling like roses based on promotional photos, realtor ads, tourism accolades, crime stats, average home price, and a whole lot of other numbers, but they are still just that--numbers. And in the case of what feels right, sometimes the numbers don't add up. The numbers may summarize things such as how conservative or liberal the locals vote, but again it is just a set of numbers that don't necessarily mean squat when you interact with the people.
Even living in an area doesn't tell you the real story...at first. Sometimes it takes a year or longer for the real character of a place to reveal itself.
Also, some things are flat out non-negotiable. If you think you can tolerate a little snow--IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, not just the "nearby" mountains--but fall apart when your roads don't get plowed for two or three days and the electricity goes out because the snow downed the power lines, that place will not be a good match for you.
You are coming across as requiring a guaranteed match for a very rare (maybe nonexistent) combination of variables---without even having visited the places. Armchair relocation! Unrealistic, to say the least. You WILL have to give up some of the things on your list. And only you can determine which things to give up.
Also, a smaller thing (probably): you are from FL and mention kayaking. Other posters assumed you meant whitewater kayaking, but I am guessing you might have meant sea kayaking. If so, and if you don't also like WW kayaking, the selections will be fewer. Some states have very few reservoirs or lakes with public access. If you really, really like SEA kayaking, you will have to either live near the coast or give up the salt except on road trip vacations.
OP, have you even VISITED the states on your short list? Have you visited them at different times of the year, in different years? In your case, since you place great value on greenness, have you visited those areas in DRY years?
Anybody can cherry pick the nicest or the worst weather an area ever served up. But to know what is usual over the long term for a region takes more study and, preferably, actual experience.
And that doesn't even include the indefinable quality that makes someplace "right" for you. NO set of pros and cons will tell you that. A place can come out smelling like roses based on promotional photos, realtor ads, tourism accolades, crime stats, average home price, and a whole lot of other numbers, but they are still just that--numbers. And in the case of what feels right, sometimes the numbers don't add up. The numbers may summarize things such as how conservative or liberal the locals vote, but again it is just a set of numbers that don't necessarily mean squat when you interact with the people.
Even living in an area doesn't tell you the real story...at first. Sometimes it takes a year or longer for the real character of a place to reveal itself.
Also, some things are flat out non-negotiable. If you think you can tolerate a little snow--IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, not just the "nearby" mountains--but fall apart when your roads don't get plowed for two or three days and the electricity goes out because the snow downed the power lines, that place will not be a good match for you.
You are coming across as requiring a guaranteed match for a very rare (maybe nonexistent) combination of variables---without even having visited the places. Armchair relocation! Unrealistic, to say the least. You WILL have to give up some of the things on your list. And only you can determine which things to give up.
Also, a smaller thing (probably): you are from FL and mention kayaking. Other posters assumed you meant whitewater kayaking, but I am guessing you might have meant sea kayaking. If so, and if you don't also like WW kayaking, the selections will be fewer. Some states have very few reservoirs or lakes with public access. If you really, really like SEA kayaking, you will have to either live near the coast or give up the salt except on road trip vacations.
Unfortunately, most of them, no.
I've been to Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina (including Greenville) North Carolina (Asheville, briefly) at various times. I've also been to Alaska, Vancouver in late winter, Las Vegas twice (once city, once got to the outskirts a little) and Cuarcao, which is probably not representative of any of the areas discussed. I also grew up in Michigan and spent a good amount of time in Chicago and parts of Indiana/Kentucky over the years.
But no, I haven't been to a vast majority of the places on the list. We want to go to as many as we can before we make our decision, but we may have to cut some off the list just so we can find time to visit them all.
The ones that are most intriguing are Colorado/Utah, Idaho/Montana and various cities in the Southeast. I don't think we can do the gray skies short days in winter of the PNW.
But I'm still looking at all options. I don't want to limit myself or take something off the table. I realize everyone's opinion is just that, an opinion. But if I get enough of them I can start to get a decent idea of what I will likely observe in a certain locale.
I fully realize we can't know a place, truly, until we spend some time there. I'm not trying to find the perfect place from my couch. I'm trying to create a short list of places that are worth the time and money to determine if they would be a great match for us. I definitely get no place will be perfect and we will have to make sacrifices. I'm also trying to determine where we are willing to sacrifice and where we aren't. I feel like these discussions help me do that. Lots of people have raised considerations I hadn't previously thought of.
As for the kayaking... we like both. We've white water rafted a number of major rivers and I personally would like to get into some light white water kayaking. But we also like the more relaxing lake or quiet river kayaking.
I think CO, UT, MT, and ID will be too brown and/or too cold for you, but that is just my impression based on what you posted.
As for the short days in WA, they were not that much shorter than what we experienced living in CO. Why? Because we had lived among steep ridges. The winter sun at our place in CO set at 2:30 pm, and a hill in back of us in WA also resulted in, effectively, a 2:30 winter sunset. In both cases, just walking to a more open area allowed sun exposure until about 4:30 (CO) and 4:15 (WA). We are talking about only a 15-minute difference at sunset, and a similar amount at sunrise!
The skies in the PNW winter will likely be gray a fair bit. I actually didn't mind it, which surprised me. What surprised me was missing four very distinct seasons, and I don't even like snow...but I was definitely accustomed to it and the hard work it entailed. I could never, ever live in FL although it is fun to visit. If you did not grow up in a snowy climate, it will be a big shock to move where there are big mountains. Those mountains dominate the weather patterns, both summer and winter.
I think CO, UT, MT, and ID will be too brown and/or too cold for you, but that is just my impression based on what you posted.
As for the short days in WA, they were not that much shorter than what we experienced living in CO. Why? Because we had lived among steep ridges. The winter sun at our place in CO set at 2:30 pm, and a hill in back of us in WA also resulted in, effectively, a 2:30 winter sunset. In both cases, just walking to a more open area allowed sun exposure until about 4:30 (CO) and 4:15 (WA). We are talking about only a 15-minute difference at sunset, and a similar amount at sunrise!
The skies in the PNW winter will likely be gray a fair bit. I actually didn't mind it, which surprised me. What surprised me was missing four very distinct seasons, and I don't even like snow...but I was definitely accustomed to it and the hard work it entailed. I could never, ever live in FL although it is fun to visit. If you did not grow up in a snowy climate, it will be a big shock to move where there are big mountains. Those mountains dominate the weather patterns, both summer and winter.
Idaho is the greenest state out of CO, UT, and MT. Idaho is the most forested state of the inland western states. North Idaho has an inland temperate rain forest and large cedar groves. But, alas it is cold during winter.
Asheville is good spot for kayaking. Nantahala River is a great one, and it is easy to do a morning run and afternoon run. You end up at the Nantahala Outdoor Center outfitters, you can eat lunch at restaurant there, and then they bus you back upriver for afternoon run. the rapids are class 1, 2 with the last one being 3. the French Broad river is closer to Asheville, and i believe there are others in east TN that have bigger rapids.
Greenville would put you about halfway between the Nantahala, and the Chattooga River (the river in Deliverance). The Chatooga has an easier upper section and then a challenging lower section. It is more remote than the Nantahala.
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