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My husband and I are retiring in a couple years. He is interested in Kentucky (near Lexington?), and I am interested in either western NC (near but not in Asheville) or Oregon. We would like to be able to own a few acres of land for gardening and dog-raising, but outdoor recreation is important - water for kayaking, forest for hiking, and someplace for biking. We currently live in rural Nebraska (terrible weather, not much water, no trees and no scenery other than cornfields), so the ability to be outdoors for most or at least more of the year, and be able to see something other than corn and cows, will determine where we end up. We'd also like to be within reasonable driving distance of a medium-sized city where we can see plays and hear live classical music...and please, some good restaurants for a change (I'm a vegetarian, which is challenging in cow country). Having a university nearby would be a bonus.
I never thought that the political atmosphere would bother me, but this is such a ridiculously conservative state, it's annoying. That's actually one of the reasons I"m hesitant about Kentucky, and I'm not too sure about NC.
We've never lived in any of those places...any opinions?
I live in Oregon.I'll just give you some information on that state. Price must be something you'll need to consider,and a few acres in western Oregon can be expensive. A lot of eastern Oregon is cheaper. The only thing is you won't be near a big city in most of eastern Oregon and it's not too liberal.
There is lots of outdoor activities here. There are places to fish,ski,hike,windsurf and swim.The scenery is great with lots of trees,mountains and water. A place outside of one of the big cities in Oregon would work for you. A smaller city outside of Eugene,Salem or Portland would be what you'd need. That part of Oregon gets a fair amount of rain. I don't know how you feel about having some rain and gloom.Anyway all of these bigger cities have some smaller cities a few miles away.
I live in Charlotte, North Carolina and have lived in Omaha and across the river from Kentucky. I think NC is a wonderful place to retire. I'm not sure I would want to be in Ashville but If you want nice weather most of the year, plenty of plays and a reasonable cost of living I don't think you can beat the Carolinas. You can visit the mountains or the beach easily from here or NY for a weekend of Broadway shows is a cheap ticket away. NC is also one of the most beautiful places to be. We don't know anyone who is actually from Charlotte, but it's a favorite place for active retired people.
If weather affects you, I would visit in person the location you are considering moving to at the time of the year when their weather is the worse.
It is easy for a person to "fall in love" with an area at the time of the year when their weather is at its best.
If weather affects you, I would visit in person the location you are considering moving to at the time of the year when their weather is the worse.
It is easy for a person to "fall in love" with an area at the time of the year when their weather is at its best.
Excellent idea. My wife and I will be going down to check out various parts of SC at the end of January. I know it's beautiful in November and March, but would like to see what the state is like in the dead of winter!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by Tesaje
Better check it out in the dead of summer. The humidity can be pretty uncomfortable.
Fill me in as to where on the eastside of the plains... the summer humidity is low enough and evening temps 'sleep-able' (~ 60F)? I'm planning 3 places across USA, and one will be east, so I need some direction. I've only lived west of Missouri River, and North of 40deg Latitude but visit the east frequently (between Sept and May, but not summer...) I would miss my 19 hrs of daylight and 50F nights in the summers, being a farmer / gardener type...
anywhere east of the Mississippi can be very humid at times, some more than others. Even New England can be quite humid on some days, though northern parts will have the cooler nights you mentioned (but you will need to be able to deal with their winters, too).
You mentioned Lexington, KY - it can have some very humid days, though not all summer, and the area is beautiful, has most of what you mentioned (forest nearby, it's a university town, etc). Cost of living quite reasonable. What else are you looking for ?
I think you have to get up into Maine, Vermont, NH before you get reliably cool nights all summer. They stay north of the jet stream where the dew points are lower. Below the jet stream (and this varies a lot depending on the weather pattern), you get high dew points in the upper 60s and 70s with warm, wet tropical air swirling over the gulf stream onto the whole east coast. 70+ dew points are uncomfortable. Most of the summer is decent in N PA and NY state. Those places get a lot of lake effect snow in winter.
If you are a life long westerner who loves the outdoors, come stay for an extended period before making any permanent decisions. The east has much to recommend it, but it is different in culture and climate. The north is quite different from the south, tho the scenery is only a little different.
A music teacher frient of mine says the classical music scene in and around Asheville is very good, Black Mountain college, and all. Maybe you could consider being a decent drive on the other side of BMC, and as far from Asheville as you need to be?
Peterborough, NH, is also a classical music haven. Lovely town.
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