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We’re a family living in central CA. After our last child graduates from high school in 2011, we want to move someplace new that will meet the needs and wants of each member of our family. Not sure we can find a place that would please everybody 100%, but I wanted to present this to the City-Data community and ask for ideas.
Our family consists of middle-aged married parents with two daughters, #1 -- age 25, #2 -- age 16.
Family summary: Dad is a licensed general contractor with 30+ years of experience, mainly in residential remodeling, but also new home and light commercial construction. Hobbies: hunting & fishing.
Mom is a certified rehabilitation counselor. Has experience working with people with disabilities in educational and vocational settings. Interests: sustainable agriculture and rare livestock breeds. Enjoys renaissance faires.
#1 daughter has held various jobs from retail to clerical to non-profit. Now pursuing a career in nursing. Has EMT certification. LIkes aquariums and tidepools; being by the ocean, in general.
#2 daughter is still in high school, but at this point is interested in law enforcement. Likes horses, country music and driving her pickup truck.
Needs:
Jobs, above all. We're flexible in the work we'll do.
Access to community college (and/or college or university) for the girls.
A home on rural acreage (at least 2 acres, more would be better), room for a small orchard, big garden, livestock and our many pets ($200-$300K price range).
Low humidity summers.
Clean water and air.
Adequate to abundant rainfall.
Wants:
Within driving distance of an ocean.
4 seasons.
Western USA location
Moderate winter.
As I write this, it looks like an impossible task. But who knows? That's why I wanted to ask here. There are so many places in this country. Maybe there is a place for us that would fit (or nearly fit) the bill. Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions.
How are Cincinnati summers? We're used to heat. Our area gets 100 degree+ days every summer, but we have very low humidity. When it does get humid here, it's so much harder to take.
Thanks for your input. Ohio is a state none of us have ever visited. We can always look into it.
I thought you were describing my area until I got to 'Western US' and 'low humidity summers' (This summer has been fairly dry, but usually it's a little sticky.)
Other than those we have all the attributes; within a few minutes of a Shepherd University (nursing programs) as well as several community colleges, lots of work, lots of green, 4 seasons, moderate winters, day trip to the ocean, and low cost of living. Take a look at my post over in the classified section.
I'll also say that it sounded like my area until I hit the "western" want. We don't have salt water ocean, but we are surrounded by 77,000 square miles of water not counting any of the 11,000+ inland lakes. Clean, clear and some of the best shipwreck diving in the US. 85 Universities and colleges make Michigan their home so there are plenty of places and programs to choose from. Over 1/2 the states 50,000 square miles of land area are forested, it is not all urban and "Detroit". Give it a quick look, you might be pleasantly surprised. You could find a home in my area that already has an established small orchard for the 200 - 300k you are looking at. Only hard part here would be deciding on which type of orchard you want, apple, peach, pear, apricot, cherry (sweet or tart), etc....
Generally Cincy gets about 10 days of summer that are "miserable" (95 degree heat and 85+ percent humidity). Still, we are not even close on the humidity scale as most southern locales (the west is less humid, though). Also, winter snow storms rarely ever leave more than two inches, and the coldest it ever gets is about zero to ten degrees, again for only about a dozen days. The weather can be way random, but it's definitely not terrible.
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