Where to live if money is no object (house, college)

[bazazi28]

My husband and I are a young couple who plan to start a family in a few years. We're looking for a place to live for 20+ years where we can build our dream house on a modest piece of land. We'd like to be in or near a medium-sized town but with access to a major city. We like the west, but don't know many other areas too well. Luckily, affordability is not a concern.

Here is what we're looking for (ideally):
-We'd to actually be in a medium-sized town (100,000-200,000 people) but near a major city that's not too huge, on the progressive, cosmopolitan side and also very environmentally minded.
-Gorgeous and dramatic natural beauty (for example: mountains, water, lush greenery). Ideally the town or city also has many parks and trails.
-Good place to raise a family (good education, other families).
-Climate: in an absolutely ideal world, it would be seasonal but with mild temperatures all year (so no extremes), lots of sun is preferred.
-People are active and health-conscious and it's easy to find fresh food markets and/or organic products

I'm coming from: Minneapolis area which is a cosmpolitan city and good place for a family, but the winters are just TOO long and cold and I would love more dramatic scenery.

I'm currently looking at/considering: San Francisco area (pretty, city is a little big for me) and Seattle area (seems great but I've heard it has lots of cloudy days).

Any ideas/suggestions on: Your take on Seattle and San Francisco given what I'm looking for, suggestions for other areas in California or Washington, suggestions on any cities in the southeastern U.S. (like the Carolinas) or anywhere else that seems to fit what I'm looking for!

THANKS a million!

[Southlander]

Anyplace where you can work, and NOT for free!

[KYLE1]

Santa Barbara, California

Greenwich, Connecticut

Both are beautiful and well-to-do towns that are within distance to large cities.

[LovinDecatur]

Annapolis, MD
New Hope, PA
Spokane, WA/Coeur D'Alene, ID
Northampton, MA
Lake Geneva, WI
Asheville, NC
Austin, TX
Salt Lake City, UT
Charlottesville, VA
Greenville, SC

[bazazi28]

Thank you everyone, this is helping enormously! Keep 'em coming!

[censusdata]

Lexington KY
- 10th most educated US city (40% w/ a college degree)
- 15th safest city among 75 largest US cities
- surrounded by horse farms
- a vibrant downtown that much larger cities would love to have











Louisville, KY
- a beautiful city of huge parks and tree lined roads
- several great urban corridors with tons of shops and restaurants
- 8th safest large US city
- currently building a 110 mile long bike trail encircling the city, as well as adding 1200 new acres of city parks

[sweettea1]

Boulder, Colorado

[100%Michigan]

Dont drift too far from the midwest

Check out: Lansing, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids