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Mupps, from your post I'd have to agree with several others on this thread that Asheville, NC would be a good fit. The Appalachian Mountains are truly beautiful. Other places in very close running would be the Adirondacks in upstate New York or the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
The US is a wonderful place with SO MUCH beauty to choose from.
If you're a libertarian - come to New Hampshire, the best place on earth! Awesome hiking, forests, mountains, lakes, skiing, etc. And major urbanity is just a few hours south if/when you need it.
You might want to consider somewhere in South Dakota. The western side of South Dakota is where the Black Hills with Mount Rushmore is but it is also one of the most beautiful places I have been in. I produce a website of South Dakota that features all the highways and cities in the state. It is pictural with town histories - it used to teach SD geography to elementary students but it was produced for travelers and people like you that is looking to know more about the state. Just go to www.travelinfomap.com and take a look. THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT - we sell nothing to the general public.
I think Boise, ID fits the OP's criteria the most. It's a very nice, relatively small city with local access to nice mountains/forests and is also centrally located (by car or flight) relative to all that the great American West has to offer.
As everyone else has said: Asheville, NC. Boone, NC. Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol) TN. Knoxville, TN. Chattanooga, TN. I live in Johnson City and I hike at least once or twice a week and I have never grown tired of it. There are endless hiking trails in this area. It's a fantastic location if you want a laid back, mid-sized city with wonderful hiking and little traffic. It never takes me more than 20 minutes to get where I need to go ;-) Hope this helps
I live just outside of the LA area and commute in. Perhaps I can be of some help to you.
California, as you may know has many different types of scenery and it depends on what you like. You mentioned mountains, but the mountain range is almost everywhere around LA. I live in Upland, CA which is 40 miles East of LA. In the winter the snow covered mountains surrounding Mt. Baldy tower over the city. There are endless trails through Mt. Baldy and surrounding mountains. There are snow lifts on Baldy but it it is not known as terrific skiing and doesn't always get enough snow for a season. In the summertime folks ride the ski lifts to hike and mountain bike ride. You might look it up.
Near Santa Monica and the West side are the Santa Monica Mountains. If I had my choice of where to live and money was not an issue I would choose Sierra Madre [url=http://cityofsierramadre.com/]The Official Site of the City of Sierra Madre:[/url] . Its a darling area with tiny houses built along the mountain roads. Its really a little hidden town nestled in the foothills less than 10 minutes away from Pasadena. Do NOT rent a place there online, some of the places literally are like tiny hunting shacks. The Pasadena area in general is very alive and diverse. Pasadena is home of Caltech, Fuller Seminary, Rose Bowl, Old Town Pasadena (lots of places to eat and good shopping) and the Norton Simon. [url=http://ci.pasadena.ca.us/]City of Pasadena California Home Page[/url] There are trails in the North part of Pasadena and also in Arcadia. Monrovia which is a little further east is known for trails like Chantry Flats.
Now that I think of it I think Pasadena might be very nice. It is pretty well located and close to LA if you want to head that way.
Best of luck.
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