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Old 05-14-2017, 01:49 AM
 
Location: Brackenwood
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Alaska (AK) sure is the odd man out on this list. Perhaps you meant Arkansas?
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Old 05-14-2017, 02:01 AM
 
Location: Back and Beyond
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^OP meant Arkansas as Northwest AK definitely isn't up and coming .

Northwest Arkansas wins for biking without going too far west. It's easy to get out of the up and coming part as it gets rural pretty fast. Include southwest missouri. Cheap land and little restrictions.

I'd give high priority to a place with an abundance of bike trails since you seem to enjoy that. Which NW AR definitely has.

All of the places on your list have brutal summers though. The weather and mountain biking is even better further out west and family would just be a plane ride away.

I'd definitely go with Northwest Arkansas based on your criteria and the biking seals the deal. No sense living in a place with no trails. Good luck to you.
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Old 05-14-2017, 07:48 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkay66 View Post
Well, the OK Panhandle is definitely dry with mild winters (compared to CT), but it's in Tornado Alley, just like the Texas Panhandle below it and Kansas above it. That said, tornados out here on the Great Plains don't do near as much damage as back east, because there is a lot more rural space. The vast majority of tornadoes don't hardly do any damage to speak of. Oklahoma isn't exactly "back east," either...

Don't let the media hype about tornadoes scare you. Tornados happen throughout the US. They are not so frequent that it stops anyone from living where they like. It's not a valid reason to disqualify any US location from your consideration.

Tennessee is getting rather expensive these days, according to my Tennessee kinfolk and friends who live there. South Carolina is a humid, sub-tropical climate throughout, so that might not work for SO.

West Virginia is lovely, but it has a New England climate in the easternmost mountains. If you want to get away from snow and bad winters, it's not your best choice.

Even though Indiana is Midwest, it's closer to your NE kinfolk than several of the other states you mentioned. It might be worth a close look.
Thanks for the confirmation on OK, that's pretty much what I thought but it's a big state. We do have tornados here - they are rare but they happen. I think you can still see the damage in MA on satellite images from 2012 or so.

TN - I know many of the cities and suburbs are booming. If I end up there it would have to be out in the sticks. CT still has the sticks but they do have winter.

Let me clarify that I don't need ZERO winter, I just want something that melts quickly and is warmer than what I have now. This 2-3' on the trails and snowbanks taller than me for weeks on end is getting old.

SC - that's what I thought too, but didn't know about the mountainous areas.

WV - and that's my favorite area for biking and all things beautiful. I've toured much of the state and just keep going back to the east side. I found a chunk of land with an 1860s cabin on the western side of WV - 60 or so acres and the owner had cut some dirt bike trails already. No excuse for not getting out, right?



Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT View Post
Look at the smaller towns along the southern appalachians, the higher the elevation the less humid the summers will be, slightly cooler also. We aren't talking a huge difference, but enough to matter, at least to me. If you aren't familiar with dew points you might want to google it, it will help you compare to where you are now and help find a place that's hopefully not too humid for your hubby.
I think many of the towns in northeast TN would fit what you are looking for, around Johnson City for the coolest temps without being too isolated, warmer in the towns around Knoxville and slightly warmer still towards Chattanooga. Stay away from west TN if you can't do humidity.
Erwin, Unicoi, Fall branch, Church Hill, Rogersville, Greeneville, Soddy Daisy, Strawberry Plains are all small towns that are pretty rural and seem like they might be places to see if they pique your interest.
Great! I will check those out. I am very familiar with dew points. I would have assumed east was more humid than west but I didn't take the mountains into consideration.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WorldKlas View Post
Arkansas
TN
Both on my shortlist

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sollaces View Post
Texas has homestead exemption.
Lots of homes of all sizes and lots of various sizes. Dallas area is more costly. You'd have to do your research on various areas in Texas and what suits you. The nice thing in the Houston area is it's flat. So bike riding is a breeze, no hills.


Humidity is there but then I've been to Ohio during the summer and that was just as humid. Cars are air conditioned as are homes. The nice thing is the climate is warm year round and you can have two gardens, one for summer harvest and one for winter.


I think the main thing that would sell me on moving to Texas are the people. There is a courteous polite hospitality here. I notice it wherever I go and yes I do live in the Houston area. The state is also diverse with all colors, races, religions, etc. It's a real melting pot.


And as your in your 50's the hospitals in the Houston area are top notch. Oh yes and we have a property freeze on taxes when you're 63, plus other discounts.
Hills are what makes biking fun I don't want it so humid that I have to use AC all the time. I haven't had AC in my car for at least 10 years (I have a short commute and casual jobs). As an outdoorsy person, having open windows is pretty important too - though I'm assuming everything can be open in winter!

I like the homestead injection and property tax freeze - 63 is not that far way - YIKES. Do other states have that?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sollaces View Post
One thing you'll miss when you move out of New England -- The seasons.
I will actually miss the old architecture. Not winter! I can always visit if I need a dose of fall.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitey View Post
Alaska (AK) sure is the odd man out on this list. Perhaps you meant Arkansas?
ARGH! Stupid mistake - so much for proofreading. Yes I meant AR. I'll see if a mod can fix that for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.7traveler View Post
^OP meant Arkansas as Northwest AK definitely isn't up and coming .

Northwest Arkansas wins for biking without going too far west. It's easy to get out of the up and coming part as it gets rural pretty fast. Include southwest missouri. Cheap land and little restrictions.

I'd give high priority to a place with an abundance of bike trails since you seem to enjoy that. Which NW AR definitely has.

All of the places on your list have brutal summers though. The weather and mountain biking is even better further out west and family would just be a plane ride away.

I'd definitely go with Northwest Arkansas based on your criteria and the biking seals the deal. No sense living in a place with no trails. Good luck to you.
Yeah, I didn't mention I hate flying. I haven't been on a plane in over 30 years. I certainly can fly but I love to drive. As long as it's not an emergency a long drive is not an issue. NW AR is about 20 hours which isn't too bad to me.

I've heard such great things about the trails in AR! I think IMBA had a conference there recently. I'm just worried about the build up of people there as the years go on. I follow a couple of the guys in the AR forum - OldFossil I think? He has great rural pix.

I realize I'm very spoiled where I live now when it comes to trails. Not only do we have a lot of them, I have some fantastic trail systems within a few miles of work. I road bike too but mountain biking is really my thing.

OK - so how brutal are the summers if we're looking at the mountains of AR?
And NW or even north central GA looks mountainous.
I've heard good things about some trail systems in TN recently and will figure out where they are too.

Thanks again everyone.
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Old 05-14-2017, 09:12 AM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,036,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sollaces View Post
One thing you'll miss when you move out of New England -- The seasons.
We have all seasons here in SW TN - don't miss the horrific cold of RI, NYC, and NJ winters (22 years in NJ, 21 in RI, 20 in NYC) and now 4.5 in SW TN.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo View Post
Thanks for the confirmation on OK, that's pretty much what I thought but it's a big state. We do have tornados here - they are rare but they happen. I think you can still see the damage in MA on satellite images from 2012 or so.

TN - I know many of the cities and suburbs are booming. If I end up there it would have to be out in the sticks. CT still has the sticks but they do have winter.

the booming cities: Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and possibly Johnson City/tri-cities area. Even the city of Jackson (halfway between Memphis and Nashville) is booming and looks more like big towns in northwestern CT. Within the city limits of Jackson are: several horse properties, a grape & fruit farm, cow farms, and lots of goat farms besides produce. There's a farmers' market in the middle of old Jackson, as well as most of the surrounding towns. We are south of Jackson and travel there for most of our shopping. Surrounding our 4 acres are homes on 100 acres or more with the scattered 1-10 acre homes that were at one time given to the child of the big farms. There are still 200+ acre farms all around us. In fact, there's a 140 acre parcel for sale not far from us and an over 1000 acre farm property just south of Jackson.

Let me clarify that I don't need ZERO winter, I just want something that melts quickly and is warmer than what I have now. This 2-3' on the trails and snowbanks taller than me for weeks on end is getting old.

We get all 4 seasons: but throw away that winter coat, just add a sweater under the warm jacket unless you're planning to work outside. Winter gets cold, below freezing some days, many nights; there's snowfall - last winter was strange for here, there was nearly 2" of snow! It lasted maybe 2 full days before melting completely. Some mornings walking the dogs at sunup there's a coating of ice on the deck, so we go out the front and listen to the crunch as we walk through the hay field (not growing hay any more). Spring came early this year, even for the south, but mostly it arrives in March and we usually turn on the outside water in late April and get the pool set up by mid-May and don't shut it down until October. I've been using the outdoor shower for almost a month and a half this year. Some days it's been a little chilly but it's my favorite so my shower is short. Summers are pretty close to the northeast. We don't farm so our winter coats went to Goodwill last year and I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt for nearly a month.



SC - that's what I thought too, but didn't know about the mountainous areas.

WV - and that's my favorite area for biking and all things beautiful. I've toured much of the state and just keep going back to the east side. I found a chunk of land with an 1860s cabin on the western side of WV - 60 or so acres and the owner had cut some dirt bike trails already. No excuse for not getting out, right?





Great! I will check those out. I am very familiar with dew points. I would have assumed east was more humid than west but I didn't take the mountains into consideration.



Both on my shortlist



Hills are what makes biking fun I don't want it so humid that I have to use AC all the time. I haven't had AC in my car for at least 10 years (I have a short commute and casual jobs). As an outdoorsy person, having open windows is pretty important too - though I'm assuming everything can be open in winter!

I like the homestead injection and property tax freeze - 63 is not that far way - YIKES. Do other states have that?



I will actually miss the old architecture. Not winter! I can always visit if I need a dose of fall.



ARGH! Stupid mistake - so much for proofreading. Yes I meant AR. I'll see if a mod can fix that for me.



Yeah, I didn't mention I hate flying. I haven't been on a plane in over 30 years. I certainly can fly but I love to drive. As long as it's not an emergency a long drive is not an issue. NW AR is about 20 hours which isn't too bad to me.
Family is still up in the northeast so we head up at least once a year. Being older, we make it a 2 day trip of 8 hour days - stopping in Wytheville VA which is approximately the halfway point between here and NYC. I-81 is easy driving assuming there's no snowfall - which we had one Thanksgiving. A friend from Nashville (from my hometown in NJ) makes the drive in 1 day - but both of them drive so take turns.

I've heard such great things about the trails in AR! I think IMBA had a conference there recently. I'm just worried about the build up of people there as the years go on. I follow a couple of the guys in the AR forum - OldFossil I think? He has great rural pix.

I realize I'm very spoiled where I live now when it comes to trails. Not only do we have a lot of them, I have some fantastic trail systems within a few miles of work. I road bike too but mountain biking is really my thing.

OK - so how brutal are the summers if we're looking at the mountains of AR?
And NW or even north central GA looks mountainous.
I've heard good things about some trail systems in TN recently and will figure out where they are too.

Thanks again everyone.
One of the reasons we looked into moving to TN was taxes - no income tax and property tax in the outlying areas (out of the cities) are pretty small - but then so are the services whether municipal or county-based. High-speed internet, if you care about it, can only be found in the cities with most people in the outer areas needing to use satellite for tv and internet. Cell-phone coverage is spotty and roads are not straight as they are in the northeast so you will need a GPS system in the car that is NOT your cell-phone. Getting lost can result in hours getting back to where you wanted to be.

I had gone to college in northeast TN and would have loved to live there but the mountains became a problem as both of us have vertigo issues, his is service related to an explosion which blew out one of his ear drums (the reason he has difficulty driving). Other than we bought in one of the poorest counties of TN, we've been happy for the most part. Attitudes towards pets has been an issue but we've gotten heavily involved in rescue.
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Old 05-14-2017, 10:09 AM
 
Location: SW Florida
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How come nobody has mentioned Western North Carolina? You will still have 4 seasons but shorter and less severe winters. Asheville is getting expensive but there are a lot of small towns in the mountain areas. I can't remember if they tax retirement income, we left before that was an issue.


The Florida Panhandle has 4 seasons and Florida is good to retirees as far as taxes and Homestead Exemptions.
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Old 05-14-2017, 11:00 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie View Post
We have all seasons here in SW TN - don't miss the horrific cold of RI, NYC, and NJ winters (22 years in NJ, 21 in RI, 20 in NYC) and now 4.5 in SW TN.



One of the reasons we looked into moving to TN was taxes - no income tax and property tax in the outlying areas (out of the cities) are pretty small - but then so are the services whether municipal or county-based. High-speed internet, if you care about it, can only be found in the cities with most people in the outer areas needing to use satellite for tv and internet. Cell-phone coverage is spotty and roads are not straight as they are in the northeast so you will need a GPS system in the car that is NOT your cell-phone. Getting lost can result in hours getting back to where you wanted to be.

I had gone to college in northeast TN and would have loved to live there but the mountains became a problem as both of us have vertigo issues, his is service related to an explosion which blew out one of his ear drums (the reason he has difficulty driving). Other than we bought in one of the poorest counties of TN, we've been happy for the most part. Attitudes towards pets has been an issue but we've gotten heavily involved in rescue.
NY Annie! I've read your posts in the past.

I do know there will be adjustments on certain things. Do you have Verizon? I've found it to work well in WV (that was when I was on 3G) and also on the eastern islands of MD/VA where networks were having problems. We actually just have cable internet now and use an antenna for TV, nothing fancy. Internet will be a necessity for some jobs, my speed is spotty as it is so it's something I will have to look at.

CT does not have straight roads LOL! I think you're thinking of NYC and NJ?

I don't think we will have a problem in the mountains - but I did read a post recently about someone relocating to CO and needing to stay under a certain height.

I have friends headed to TN right now for a week and they know what I like for houses.

BTW I'm still in jeans and a sweatshirt today :-/


I don't know if I mentioned this above - but I do not want a booming area as I'm afraid it will become what I'm leaving.
So a poorer county will be fine.


Quote:
Originally Posted by chiluvr1228 View Post
How come nobody has mentioned Western North Carolina? You will still have 4 seasons but shorter and less severe winters. Asheville is getting expensive but there are a lot of small towns in the mountain areas. I can't remember if they tax retirement income, we left before that was an issue.


The Florida Panhandle has 4 seasons and Florida is good to retirees as far as taxes and Homestead Exemptions.
I was told by a friend who lives in Charlotte that NC taxes are pretty high. Geographically (biking) and climate I think western NC would be fine, but I was concerned about that. I visited Chimney Rock for an event about 20 years ago and liked what I remember seeing then - though I rolled in around 3am. I do remember it being pretty chilly in the mountains for late April that year!

Florida - aways afraid it would be too hot. A coworker is moving down now and another friend lives in Panama City. The PC friend says it's brutal for a couple of months but he's a block from the ocean and loves that. (he does not miss winter at all). My coworker is going a bit further south but still on the west coast. Is the Panhandle a bit cooler or less humid?

Sometimes I think I should just say screw the east and go to AZ or something! :roll eyes: I know StealthRabbit would say do both!
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:33 PM
 
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Texas
Arkansas
Northern Georgia
Western NC
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:51 PM
 
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Originally Posted by StilltheSame View Post
Texas
Arkansas
Northern Georgia
Western NC
Thanks! TX is a big state and one I hadn't considered. Which part?
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Old 05-14-2017, 03:51 PM
 
Location: I is where I is
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo View Post
Thanks! TX is a big state and one I hadn't considered. Which part?
Waco, TX is a decent size town, but also a lot of rural areas around it. Housing prices & land prices aren't too terrible. I've spent a little time in Waco & Fort Worth, and if I were to move to either, I'd choose Waco
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Old 05-14-2017, 08:39 PM
 
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I lived in Trumbull, CT. Many moons ago but still miss it.

Take an internet look at Floyd county, VA. A bit eclectic but maybe to your liking.
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