If you HAD TO leave Long Island... (Boston, Whitehall: ski resort, renting)

[anotherNYer]

Having relocated south, I would say somewhere warm. I do not miss the snow and ice. Although there is nothing like that first snowfall, it gets old really fast. I think California I would like to try and Hawaii seems like a great lifestyle.

[LIMA]

Somewhere that resembles long island 30 years ago.....

[Peter B]

A question that 1000 people would have 1000 different answers. The point of your question is????????

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

.... where (in the USA) would you want to move to, and why? Assume that your income would remain the same as it is now (no lottery winnings or deceased rich relatives!).

Also, where would you absolutely NEVER under any circumstances want to move to, and why?

I'd have a really tough time with the Want-To question because there really is noplace else that attracts me more than here. But the hypothetical is "have to leave" and so for me the least of all evils would end up being either of these two areas:

- somewhere in Fairfield County, CT, probably Darien. The income restriction would mean that I'd end up with far less house and property than I could have here, but it's probably the closest appealing match for me as far as weather, demographics, lifestyle, etc.

- somewhere in Massachusetts within a half hour of Boston, such as Wakefield. Ditto the matches as with Fairfield County and add the plus of having an emotional connection to Masschusetts, but I seriously doubt I could handle the New England winters and I would not be able to afford to be a "snowbird".

In either case I would probably end up annoying people no end with my whining about "when I lived on Long Island there was......." --- so in all honesty I would not actively WANT to move to either area, it would just be them as the Best of the Rest.

Making a list of "Over My Dead Body" relocation areas is much easier!

- anywhere in the South because I dislike all of the following: heat, high humidity, bugs/creepycrawlies, recurring hurricanes, Bible Belt culture, snails-pace lifestyle attitude - not to mention that annoying accent!

- the Pacific Northwest. Although I hear it's beautiful I also hear the prevailing weather pattern is rain/overcast/damp for a majority of the year and that would drive me nuts in short order. I get crabby when we have 4 or 5 days of rainy weather HERE (like we just had this week)! And when we had those 11 days of nonstop rain a couple of autumns ago, I thought I was going to start climbing the walls screaming. Plus the damp weather would be murder on my increasingly bad knee, back, elbow and wrist.

- the Southwest (Arizona, Texas). Way too desertlike hot and dry. I'm a gardener but being limited to prairie grasses and succulents is a challenge I would not want to take on. Also would not want to deal with the increasing Mexican-border problems/issues down there and local impact.

- California. Earthquakes, fires, immigration problems, and a cost of living that's even higher than here. Other than palm trees and 70 degrees year-round I can't think of anything there I'd like.

[sickofnyc99]

I believe the point of the question is to get people's opinions. You are allowed to do that on this forum still right?

[djdairyp]

Originally Posted by Peter B

A question that 1000 people would have 1000 different answers. The point of your question is????????

The better question is what is your point to question the original question, is there some harm to it? Tons of questions on here have seemingly 'no point' who cares.

[ResearchMom]

Cambridge or Wellesley, Massachusetts for a little while, then somewhere around Clinton, MA for a little while longer

[AlexisT]

Philadelphia, or probably just outside since Philadelphia schools are iffy. Nice city, similar climate. I also like Boston but it's no cheaper than LI. Baltimore has some charm, but it's a little small.

Pittsburgh is surprisingly cool, but you're getting far enough west to get the cloudiness problem.

DC would frustrate me because the city itself is mainly government and the sprawl is awful. Southern cities are too identikit and sprawling.

California has all of the downsides of LI with a few more, and none of the advantages. It's just got good weather.

[click]

Okay, I'll play, I already did my "where would I live when I purchased a second home in Phoenix, Arizona"! Absolutely love, love, love, it! And, on a side note, don't remember, think it was totally frazzled that said, you love gardening and couldn't get used to desert with it's prairie grasses and succulents! Well you would be in for a rude surprise if you lived there. We had been going out there for 20 years, but not till you live there for any length of time do you realize the beautiful colors of the plants as well as, the amounts of plants and diveristy that grows there. So many people are under the impression that only cactus grow there, but that is so far from the truth. Anyway, that is my wish place and hope to make it permanent one of these days. My place that I wouldn't want to live would be Seattle, Washington, only because it rains way to much for me there.

[OhBeeHave]

YES: Vermont, Maine, NH, CT, Asheville, NC, Northern CA, Oregon, HI, Alaska, VA, Montana

NO: FL, GA, SC, AL, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, WVA, TX, OK, IA, OH, IN, PA, DC, MA, RI, ND, SD, WI, MI, NE, UT, NM, AZ, DE, Nevada, TN

To name a few...

[sickofnyc99]

Well with the way everything is so much better over there it shocks me to my core that nobody has even mentioned the Glorious and Infalible Europe!