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first some background...
i was born in the UK, during my first 16 yrs we spent aproximatly 1/4 of my life (1 yr in the uk, 6 months away) traveling.
we moved to the USA when i was 16 due to my fathers transfere and ive been in CONNECTICUT since.
im now 24...
im sick of CT, my feet are itching and i think its time soon to move away from this state and try somewhere new to lay my own roots.
so yes., here goes.
i am 24 and female and would either be living alone or would have my young college age sister with me part of the time...id prefer a place with a lower crime rate, i can take care of myself, but id prefer not to have my car broken into every night...
i like to be able to sleep soundly at night without bars on my windows or a car alarm blaring.
im pagan, while im not "in your face" i do have my belifs and prefer to keep them that way...MINE.
i dont mind living in a "church town" as long as there good people who accept a "no thank you" for an answer, a local pagan population would be nice, but im more interested in not having the local population knocking on my door in attemtps to save my soul.
im a rennie! that means i like to work at and attend rennaisance faires...
having one fairly local (within 2 hours in any direction) would be WONDERFULL
that being said im also big into PIRATES, pirate festivals are also wonderfull and same rules apply.
i like a "community" feel...
festivals, state faires, craft and agricultural faires, parades, musical festivals, ect, all great things, id like a town that does that kind of thing...a place that instills a sense of comunity...and ENJOYS itself...i dont want to live neer a ghost town.
i like "small towns"...again with that sense of community, where neighbors help each other out and people watch each others backs...
BUT i dont like towns that go to bed at 5pm...a town with a nice local pub/bar where you can kick back have a drink and chat or play pool or just listen ot music...mabe somewhere thats known for live acts, summer concerts on the green ect...
i like "friendly towns" im almost painfully shy (and suffer from social anxitey disorder) so making frineds is hard...being in a town full of standoffish people makes it even harder...a welcomeing town is a MUST.
i do love to swim, i dont care in what, im attracted and drawn to large bodies of water, big rivers and lakes or the ocean is a must...
sorry dry states, i cant live in a state that doesnt at least have some good sized lakes and natural water courses.
im also attracted to natural places...trees, forrests, parks, pretty scenery...
NO BIG CITIES!
location wise:
i am planning on eventually having my own online buisness making/selling hand made natural products, i would HAVE to be within 30 minute drive of a larger town or small city, somewhere with acess to a good full line craft store, and fedex/UPS or similar for packages.
i generally shop for groceries in bulk, because of this i dont mind driving an hour to a big warehous type place...im currently a costco member, so id prefer to live within an hour of a costco or similar for bulk stock up once a month, and mabe walmart and similar...
beyond that i can get most needs at a general grocers/country store for fresh goods, so the town itslef would have to have a nice green grocer.
i dont want to live IN town, id much prefer to be on the outskirts, i dont mind taking a a 20 minute drive to the feedstore, or grocery shops...
id need a local butcher who would be able to butcher my eats for me...this is one thing ive never been able to muster the courage for despite my years, so being in an area thats close to an agricultural hub where slaughter house services are provided to the publinc/small farms would be a must. (yes im a wuss lol)
the property:
im looking for somewhere CHEAP, im hoping to slowly become at least 50% self sufficient and would like 5+ acres...
however i have no job currently (i am working to get money set aside) but am looking for a place with a LOW cost of living, i would be hoping to support myself on income from a small online busisness using products ive raised and made myself, LOW cost of living and cheap land are a must.
i dont need anything fancy to live in. a cabin i can modify, a nicely upkept doublewide, a little house...anything.
id be hoping to purchase about 5 acres and a 2 bedroom "home" for under $50K, yes this is a minisucle amount but im assured it can be done...
if i can get more land for that money WONDERFULL, and if i have to buy the land and home seperatly, id be willing if it stays in that price zone.
as much as eventually im planning on slowly removing myself from the grid, electric and cellphone/internet are a MUST, again i will be working from home with an internet based business...
WEATHER:
im british, please keep this in mind, i do NOT do well in scorching 100degree weather, nor do i do well in 3ft of snow...humidity that comes in the form of rain is fine, but the humidity that comes with hot and makes you just plain out sticky and uncomfortable is NOT an option.
im looking for a place with sunny mildish summers (80 degrees is ok, 90s is REALY pushing it) that dont get too humid...
i can take a cold winter if its WET, im not a big snow fan, and i HATE ice...
id prefer not to live in a place with 360 days of rain a year, seasons are nice...but i dont mind a some soggyness, and am NOT opposed to overcast skys...
i will have a small farm however and would prefer not to spend all year trudging through wet muddy pastures and treating for foot rot!
i realy love spring and fall here in CT, weather like that yr round would be perfect with a winter wet period and a few weeks of hotter weather in the summer im all good.
i LOVE animals! i want an animal frinedly area, i breed dogs, chinese cresteds (and eventually great danes) traveling for dog shows is not a problem...but i do want somewhere pet friendly.
i plan on having rabbits, goats, pigs, chickens and alpaca along with a "small" number of dogs
now i know this is a LONG post..
and i know im asking for an awefull lot...
but keep in mind, since moving here ive not left ct other than a week in maine and a few weekends a year in tuxedo NY for renfaire.
this is a huge country, and ive NO idea whats out there.
wow...you know exactly what you want. first city that popped in my head for some reason was Portland, OR. Never been, don't know what it's like...but I do know they have a Pirate festival :-)
Wow, that's a lot. Kind of hard for me to say, but it sounds like some college towns might fit the bill for you. Perhaps Lexington, KY or Boulder, CO or Madison, WI? I think it might be a little hard to find a place that fits all of your criteria.
You might like Wisconsin especially around Mt. Horab. There is a nice pagan community there. Wisconsin is very kind to the pagan population so far as I know. Unfortunately, you're in for a lot of snow if most all of Wisconsin. I am in Kentucky and just love it here. I find it just right for me but you might find it hotter and more humid in the Summer than you would like. Even Lexington gets pretty hot in the Summer time. There are a lot of lovely events in Kentucky though. If what you want is cool and damp without a great deal of snow, the Pacific Northwest sounds like it's closer to what you need than anywhere else.
some of the states that have thus far been suggested are TN (some areas) NC and WA.
Other suggestions include montana, colerado and oregon...
my biggest concern with NC is humidity and bad winters.
WA looks perfect in almost all senses, but a little above my price range for most areas (areas around olympia have been suggested) and flooding is a concern for the land that would be in my range...
i honestly dont knwo much about anywhere else...
im fairly flexible on what i want, weather and land (and cost of living) are realy my 3 biggest concerns at this point...im not interested in anything less than 3 acres, but id much prefer a minimum of 5 and $50K would be my cap.
Actually, I've heard that the Watertown area of NY has it's share of pagans. I had a roommate when I was stationed up there that had a girlfriend that was a pagan. This might help too: United States Pagan periodicals I noticed that two of the publications for NY were in the Watertown area(Watertown and Dexter). It's close to Canada and has Fort Drum military base close by.
50k for 5 acres and a house is going to be your biggest issue. There are very few places in the country where land is that cheap, and those areas are well off the beaten path. You can forget about pirate festivals when talking about land that cheap, and the weather is going to be one of the two extremes....otherwise the land would cost more.
The upper Midwest has cheap land away from the cities, and there is a lot of water in that region. I'd look there, I doubt you'll find cheaper land anywhere else this side of Alaska..... your price range would probably put you in some place like the Dakotas or the UP of Michigan, you'll have to compromise on the price or the size if you want other locations....
Someone mentioned Portland, OR - but I would personally put a thumbs down on Portland for you. That's where I'm from, and I think it's too big for what you are wanting.
Check out Eugene, Oregon. I think it might just have EVERYTHING on your list. Seriously. It is a very Renn-friendly and pagan-friendly place with all kinds of solstice celebrations, pagan supply shops, Renn festivals, etc. The weather is mild (rarely ever any snow and heat is normally rare, although they had an unusually hot summer this year). It's a 1/2 hour drive into nature (mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, hotsprings, etc). It's a small town (college town - University of Oregon) that's just big enough to have all the ammenities that you need and keep everyone out of your business, but small enough to still be safe and friendly. It's surrounded by farmland (where I'm sure you could find yourself a butcher) and some smaller communities, many populated by the old hippie types who love their organic farms and eco-huts. It has a big farmer's market. Every summer there is a HUGE country fair in Veneta, which is one of those little communities outside of Eugene. The Oregon Country Fair has been going continuously since the hippie days and it is a lot of fun! Eugene even has a decent sized airport with a handful of the major carriers, so you could fly out to see your family whenever you wanted to and not have to drive hours to a "real" airport. Seriously, check out Eugene. I think it would be a perfect fit for you!!
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