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First thoughts when I read your post, OP: Eugene, Grants Pass, OR, that area, as several have mentioned, and Northern Arkansas.
Also, there are lots of "self-quizzes" out there, but here's one to start, with only eight questions. This way, you can answer your own questions and consider other personal variables: Find the Best City for You-Kiplinger
Everyone wants to live in Paradise, but Paradise is expensive.
And I also agree with the posters who mention that some of your criteria cancel each other out.
What I've seen:
A fair number of former AK homesteaders move to TN. I don't remember all their reasons but that's where they ended up after a lot of hand wringing and that was after whining about not wanting to be in the Bible belt, so I toss that out to you. Post in the TN forum. Some might read C-D. I also remember TN has been at the top of several lists for retirement in general, but make sure the problems with Tenn Care have been ironed out. I know that was an ongoing scandal that could've impacted retirees. Try the Knoxville area, first.
If you were younger, I'd recommend MN but it's awfully cold up there. I happen to really like Des Moines and think there is enough culture (and even more in Iowa City) but Iowa is probably too expensive for what you're seeking. And that's one of the problems: if you go too cheap, you'll end up with Willy's Wild World as the main cultural attraction.
I'm 55 so I'm looking as well, but if I can stand the winters, I'll hang on here. I have little desire to go South.
First thoughts when I read your post, OP: Eugene, Grants Pass, OR, that area, as several have mentioned, and Northern Arkansas.
Also, there are lots of "self-quizzes" out there, but here's one to start, with only eight questions. This way, you can answer your own questions and consider other personal variables: Find the Best City for You-Kiplinger
Good luck!
I just took that Kiplinger quiz. I asked for a city over a million people with a lot residents in the "creative class," a lot of restaurants and nightlife, with low housing costs. The answer I got was El Centro, CA. That's a farming community in the Imperial Valley with a population of 43,000. I guess the computer is broken. Then again, Cher is a native of El Centro, so maybe it is FABULOUS.
Sorry, we weren't able to find any cities that matched your criteria. Please try again with a broader search.
LOL! I put in that I wanted the Pacific region, that affordable housing was of max importance, that it was "somewhat important" that there be restaurants and nightlife, good and affordable healthcare, a city of 250,000 or less, that i didn't care if there were highly paid people or professionals, and I still got no place would match my criteria! Guess they never heard of Redding :-)
Idaho has been recommended to you for many of the reasons on your list, but it's one of our most conservative states. It is also the home (along with eastern Washington and Southeastern Michigan for some reason) of some of our nation's most most active domestic terrorist organizations.
The bolded text above is a bunch of horse pucky.
I can't speak for WA or MI, but Idaho's reputation in this regard is based on people who are ignorant of the facts endlessly repeating the same worn out stories.
Yes, it's true that some time ago there was an very small group of extremists who tried to settle in north Idaho. They were run out of town as quickly as possible, and there is no longer any meaningful presence of these extremists in Idaho.
First thoughts when I read your post, OP: Eugene, Grants Pass, OR, that area, as several have mentioned, and Northern Arkansas.
Also, there are lots of "self-quizzes" out there, but here's one to start, with only eight questions. This way, you can answer your own questions and consider other personal variables: Find the Best City for You-Kiplinger
Good luck!
I don't think an 8 question quiz is likely to product useful results for very many people. When I took it the answer was there are no cities that meet my criteria.
Find Your Spot is a much longer quiz, but it will lead to better recommendations.
I can't speak for WA or MI, but Idaho's reputation in this regard is based on people who are ignorant of the facts endlessly repeating the same worn out stories.
Yes, it's true that some time ago there was an very small group of extremists who tried to settle in north Idaho. They were run out of town as quickly as possible, and there is no longer any meaningful presence of these extremists in Idaho.
Dave
I know what you mean. Apparently there are hoards of zombie meth heads in Redding...somewhere...
Though, you will see homeless in Redding. They have apparently been run out of downtown, which suits me fine, as I live downtown. They do tend to hang out in the park next to the library now.
But, you get the blanket...Oh God, don't move to Redding - it's the meth capital of the universe! stories.
I like this Best Place to Live quiz. It allows you to assign a weight to the importance of the input, e.g., you can enter your three favorite climates from a listing and rank them 1-3. I think it gives you a listing of potential places - it has been a while since I took the quiz.
I can't speak for WA or MI, but Idaho's reputation in this regard is based on people who are ignorant of the facts endlessly repeating the same worn out stories.
Yes, it's true that some time ago there was an very small group of extremists who tried to settle in north Idaho. They were run out of town as quickly as possible, and there is no longer any meaningful presence of these extremists in Idaho.
Dave
Please note this post is somewhat off-topic, but I believe the post above needs a reply. Please ignore this if you have no interest in Idaho.
There are nine extremist groups currently active in Idaho. That's not nearly as many in some other states, but given the low population of Idaho, it's dramatic from a per-capita perspective.
The groups are Neo-Nazi (Aryan Nation and National Socialist Movement); racist skinheads (Crew 39 and Northwest Hammerskins); White Nationalists (Family Home Northwest, a chapter of the Northwest Front Aryan separatists, and a group dedicated to freeing Edgar Steele); a branch of America's Promise Ministries which identifies itself as a "Christian Identity organization," and two other anti-Jewish groups that are active in the Holocaust denial effort (the International Conspiratological Association and the Campaign for Radical Truth in History).
I don't know if the group you are describing as having been "run out of town as quickly as possible" is Randy Weaver's compound at Ruby Ridge or the Richard Butler-funded Aryan Nation compound in Coeur d’Alene, but neither of them was defused by local efforts. Butler was bankrupted in civil court thanks to a lawsuit won by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an anti-hate organization. Since Butler's death in 2004 many from his group have dispersed, but they are still in the area actively pursuing the aims of the Aryan Nation. While these groups are being tracked by law enforcement, most of their activities are protected by the First Amendment and their organizational activities occur online. The incident at Ruby Ridge and a similar disaster in Waco, Texas, has limited what Federal officials are willing to do to subdue armed hate groups.
[quote=ABQ2015;35164320]I like this Best Place to Live quiz. It allows you to assign a weight to the importance of the input, e.g., you can enter your three favorite climates from a listing and rank them 1-3. I think it gives you a listing of potential places - it has been a while since I took the quiz.
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
That worked a lot better than the other one. Thanks for the link.
Last edited by Yac; 09-07-2018 at 04:56 AM..
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