Help me find a new place to live~ (crime rates, houses)

[LongIsland2anywhere]

Hello everyone, my name is shaun and a 24 yr old US Navy sailor/ College student. Im married with a son and am about to get out of the military in a few short months. I was born and raised from Long Island, NY and currently reside in the outskirts of philly (Im stationed here)
My wife lives back in Long Island and were looking for a place to buy a home. THat being said - Ive had enough of LI. The traffic sucks, the weather sucks, the taxes suck, the houses cost wayyyy to much, the morale of the people are increasingly declining. Im just ready for something new. Ive lived here in PA for about 4.5 yrs and to me this place is worse than long island. So enough about my whining about LI and PA.

Ive been looking out west, and ive been finding beautiful homes for a 1/3 or even more than what houses cost on LI. Places like UT, CO, NV etc seem to be great states to live in. Specifically, I want to live in a place where the winters arent to cold, the summers arent to hot (mainly not humid, if its 95 with no humidity thats ok i guess) the land is beautiful and the people arent in such a rush.

Places ive been looking at were:

Reno, NV but I hear its a dump
Las Vegas, NV but i hear crime rates arent the best and its disgusting in the summer heat wise.
Ogden, Cedar City, and other surrounding areas in UT. I have heard nothing about these areas but they look nice - but then again so did reno.
Henderson NV same as Vegas.

Basically im open to any of the 46 states(obviously except NY PA and AL and HI). Just keep the taxes low and the humidity non existant and the winters above 15o. I really want to hear everyones opinion no matter where you live. Im sure there are going to be long islanders who ive pissed off. But let me tell you - Its nothing personal, Ive just been all over the US and while there is no place like long island; its just not for me any more.

I know - alot to ask but I can do all the research in the world but Im trying to tailor fit my needs specifically.

[BPerone201]

You could long up and down the California coast.
Some areas will be expensive, but places like the Santa Maria area is beautiful and on the cheaper side (if your comparing it to LI)...

[LongIsland2anywhere]

But how are the taxes?

[LongIsland2anywhere]

And what about earthquakes?

[BPerone201]

I'm not familiar with the area, i should of said that originally, but I've heard that CA had some of the lowest taxes in the country. (Behind Louisiana)
http://www.city-data.com/top2/c543.html

[jack r]

Washington.

[LongIsland2anywhere]

Where in washington?

[dude1984]

Albuquerque, New Mexico
http://www.climate-zone.com/climate/united-states/new-mexico/albuquerque/
http://www.cabq.gov/econdev/whyabqquickfacts.html

Boise, Idaho
Climate Information for Boise*-*Idaho*-*Rocky Mountains*-*United States*-*Climate Zone
3 Good Reasons to Move to Boise, Idaho - Associated Content

Louisville, Kentucky
Climate Information for Louisville*-*Kentucky*-*South*-*United States*-*Climate Zone
http://www.thinkkentucky.com/kyedc/pdfs/medianhm.pdf
Economy of Louisville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[DailyJournalist]

I think Albuquerque New Mexico may be a perfect fit:

Albuquerque - Albuquerque New Mexico - Albuquerque NM

[livecontent]

I agree that Albuquerque, New Mexico is a good fit for weather and for finding homes more reasonably priced than metro NYC.

I am an ex New York and I live in the Denver Metro area. I have been here going on 31 years I think where I live is the best for me, but it does have some cold days with some heavy snow days. Most of the time, in winter, it is sunny and warmer, and with the low humidity the snow melts quickly and does not stay on the ground all winter long. Denver sits on semi-arid high plains and with the low humidity, hot days feel cooler and cool days feel warmer. It is common in winter, for people to wear shorts and spend most days outside as Denver has extensive Parks.

Albuquerque is drier and hotter than Denver and does not have the heavy snow days but it does snow lightly. The weather, the climate and the topography are much different in the west than NY. The less humidity comes from less rainfall and consequently it is not as green as NY. There are very few natural bodies of water and most are reservoirs. Many easterners cannot accept the stark reality of arid and semi-arid living. If you cannot, you will be unhappy.

Another aspect of differences, especially in Albuquerque and all New Mexico, is that the Hispanic culture is extensive and dominate. I like that culture; I like the people and I definitely like the food. Denver has an Hispanic culture, just as the whole Southwest, but New Mexico Hispanic and Native Indian culture is much stronger and has indigenous people who have existed well before it became the USA. Obviously it is extensively influenced by Mexican people and culture and you must embrace those issues and see the good. If you can do that with toleration, it is a great experience and magical place to live. However, it is much different than NY and you must be comfortable and appreciate the differences.

Livecontent