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Old 12-17-2015, 11:11 PM
 
Location: Traveling
7,018 posts, read 6,219,411 times
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Every time I turn around I add more places!

I'm certain before I start my travels I will narrow it down but I keep adding as I hear from friends that have moved. I think I will be more comfortable living close to friends but wish they weren't so spread out!
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Old 12-17-2015, 11:31 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,812 posts, read 32,248,860 times
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I can tell you about living in WA. I grew up in CA, and moved the year out of high school (SF Bay Area) to WA state and ended up there a total of about 18 years.

I lived all over the west side of the state, including the east side up against the Cascades and had friends in Eastern WA.

Winters for the entire state are very long. Snow can be on the ground as early as Halloween. And you better not plant your garden before June, because inevitably it freezes or may even snow again. The joke up there was, "We have 9 months of winter and 3 months of bad sledding."

On the west side, it's very wet. So you're looking at sleet and ice. When people say it doesn't snow much, or snow doesn't stick much, that's mostly true, unless you get north of Seattle. But, that doesn't mean it won't be covered in sleet and ice and especially black ice on the roads, which is much more dangerous than snow.

The western part of the state is also very cloudy most of the year. Yes, you can have glorious months. But, expect it to be overcast most of the year.

The eastern side is much drier, but also gets a lot more actual snowfall. But, it's sunnier. But, it's also not very pretty. Same for eastern OR. It looks like central CA. Lots of rolling golden hills without many trees.

Now, if you can handle the weather, Portland and Seattle are wonderful cities, as is Bellingham. I've lived in or near all of them. I'd love to visit again in August. I'll never move up there again, though.

It's funny, when I lived in western WA, we used to joke about how it even rained in August, nearly every year. Otherwise, glorious, but it still rained even in August. And you'd inevitably hear someone say that they didn't know what people were talking about as far as the weather being bad. "We were there in August and couldn't believe how green it was!"

Hello, we'd joke with each other. Do the math. August, green = what? Rain!
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Old 12-18-2015, 12:36 AM
 
Location: Traveling
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A friend of mine moved to Shelton. Do you know anything about that town?
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Old 12-18-2015, 08:01 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,896,279 times
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Having lived in tornado alley twice, I suggest researching that aspect in Indiana.
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Old 12-18-2015, 08:20 AM
 
Location: Retired
890 posts, read 874,148 times
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The major drawback to retiring in Indiana is the cold winters, but they are not as cold as Minnesota winters. Suggest looking at Indianapolis or further south in the state, such as Bloomington or New Albany, for better weather; to get away from lake effect snow and winds.
Social Security is not taxed, as it is in Minnesota. Cost of housing is low, and property taxes are low. Cost of renting is low, compared to most of the US. The state finances are well managed.
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Old 12-18-2015, 11:00 AM
 
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Hi Meo, I have been doing the same thing as you. Comparing places to land. I currently live in southern Indiana. I myself am planning on moving to the west coast. Anywhere between Crescent City to Port Angeles Wa. I have visited a lot of the places in between, and still can't make up my mind. I do know that I will end up on the west coast somewhere. Reading through all of the forums on these areas has been a great help though. Heck nomoresnow almost had me ready to pack up and move to where she lives lol. Good luck with your search and know you are not alone in doing it.
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Old 12-18-2015, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Silicon Valley
18,812 posts, read 32,248,860 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meo92953 View Post
A friend of mine moved to Shelton. Do you know anything about that town?
No. I looked on a map, and I see that it's close to the Olympic National Forest - which is a rain forest. I went there once when I was young and yep, it was raining. It was beautiful and I remember seeing a yellow banana slug and a newt. It was magical. And very, very wet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mamadog1 View Post
Heck nomoresnow almost had me ready to pack up and move to where she lives lol.
Uh, oh, just "almost"? Bwah ahhhh ahhhhhhh...... are you afraid of me? Or just of having webbing grow between your toes?
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Old 12-18-2015, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Traveling
7,018 posts, read 6,219,411 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mamadog1 View Post
Hi Meo, I have been doing the same thing as you. Comparing places to land. I currently live in southern Indiana. I myself am planning on moving to the west coast. Anywhere between Crescent City to Port Angeles Wa. I have visited a lot of the places in between, and still can't make up my mind. I do know that I will end up on the west coast somewhere. Reading through all of the forums on these areas has been a great help though. Heck nomoresnow almost had me ready to pack up and move to where she lives lol. Good luck with your search and know you are not alone in doing it.
Thank you. Tennessee is still the highest on my list. I think I'm being emotional right now as Washinton is because of a dear friend retired there, Cleveland is because of Minivera, she makes it sound great, plus a high school friend lives in WV. California I so, so debatable. A dear old friend lives there & yes, it will be so wonderful to see him but it may be unrealistic. Las Vegas is because of the cost of living but, realistically, I doubt if I could take the heat.

Example: It's 18° here & it really didn't bother me because I'm dressed for winter but there is no way I can take skin off, lol.
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Old 12-18-2015, 09:54 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,809 posts, read 30,852,651 times
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I responded on the Indiana forum, but given you're looking at more than one place, I'll chime in here.

Tennessee, especially upper east Tennessee, caters to retirees. I know that in my hometown of Kingsport, the focus of the local government has been to attract retirees instead of growing local business, attracting more than minimum wage businesses, or retaining the local natives. The fact is that the area isn't desirable enough to simply power itself on retiree driven growth. Tennessee, outside of Nashville, is suffering economically, and IMO has one of the worst economies in the nation. I have been trying to get to either Tampa, Jacksonville, or Nashville, and I get about three call backs in Florida to every one in Tennessee.

If you want to live in Indiana, I'd also recommend satellite towns to Indianapolis like Pendleton, Fortville, and even Anderson. Anderson is dirt cheap as an old Rust Belt town and is about thirty miles from the northside shopping and office areas of Indianapolis. Far enough removed to be its own independent town, and with enough there to not have to come into Indy frequently, it may be a decent option. Pendleton is probably the next northside suburban hotspot. On the south side, you have Greenwood, which is more expensive than Anderson, but probably less expensive than Pendleton and Fortville. With that said, I would be in southern IN if I didn't need a job.
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Old 12-18-2015, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Traveling
7,018 posts, read 6,219,411 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Serious Conversation View Post
I responded on the Indiana forum, but given you're looking at more than one place, I'll chime in here.

Tennessee, especially upper east Tennessee, caters to retirees. I know that in my hometown of Kingsport, the focus of the local government has been to attract retirees instead of growing local business, attracting more than minimum wage businesses, or retaining the local natives. The fact is that the area isn't desirable enough to simply power itself on retiree driven growth. Tennessee, outside of Nashville, is suffering economically, and IMO has one of the worst economies in the nation. I have been trying to get to either Tampa, Jacksonville, or Nashville, and I get about three call backs in Florida to every one in Tennessee.

If you want to live in Indiana, I'd also recommend satellite towns to Indianapolis like Pendleton, Fortville, and even Anderson. Anderson is dirt cheap as an old Rust Belt town and is about thirty miles from the northside shopping and office areas of Indianapolis. Far enough removed to be its own independent town, and with enough there to not have to come into Indy frequently, it may be a decent option. Pendleton is probably the next northside suburban hotspot. On the south side, you have Greenwood, which is more expensive than Anderson, but probably less expensive than Pendleton and Fortville. With that said, I would be in southern IN if I didn't need a job.
Thanks. I am going to put them into my graph & see how they do. That is what I am doing; making a graph of the different places I am looking at. I may take a year+ but I only want to move once.
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