Seattlite looking for a new town to move to (Seattle: condo, chapel)

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

Says who?

I should clarify that I was referring to the actual physical conditions of the roads in the Bay Area.

How SF's Potholes Stack Up Nationally

"The San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas were tied for second worst in the nation behind Los Angeles. Even Boston, the land of a million potholes, which even has a notorious pothole with it’s own Facebook page (I kid you not), ranks far higher than we do. 61% of San Francisco’s roads are in poor condition, 22% are fair, 4% are mediocre, and only 13% are in good condition."

I am in no way defending the condition of the streets of Seattle...I realize that they are not in the best of shape either.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by RustinginSeattle

Inkpoe, Sorry to hear about your pregnancy keeping you down for now. I would love to hear where you end up at. Is your husband game to move, too? The places that you mentioned intrigue me. I'm brimming with envy right now when I talk to my sister-in-law in Chicago and they had a 96 degree Memorial Day weekend. They spent tons of time at the pool or on the slip and slide. I don't think they bother selling slip and slides around here! ;-)

I always hated it when I was a teenager and I would get out of school in June all ready for summer, then we wouldn't get sun for at least 3 more weeks. I even craved hot summers back then. I think I read too many books about playing in the hot sun during summer vacations, but rarely experienced it! :-)

It's also so hilarious that when the sun/heat does come out around here, people go into a panic - where are we going to go? What are we going to do? Quick take advantage of it before it's gone! We get more hyped up instead of more relaxed like places where people are accustomed to experiencing heat.

DH is definitely game to move. He has severe RA in his elbow and it actually hurts him when its rainy and damp. He's also of the Seattle stock... family's been here for generations and and just about all of them with the exception of one cousin still live in the state.

He has lived in DC and while weather wasn't exactly his favorite, he did love everything else DC had to offer. That's one reason why NOVA's on the list. I have family in TN/SC (hence, Nashville/Charleston). And Portsmouth is... such a beautiful place! (Seriously, look at the pictures.)

I think you should definitely DM Jennibc for more information about Austin. She's lived in Seattle for quite awhile only to be disenchanted about the changes here and finally moved to Austin. I believe she actually was flamed on this forum because she criticized some aspect of the Seattle changes and there were posters who told her that Austin wasn't going to cut it either and she would be worse off. She made it a point to come back later after the move and... tell us it wasn't bad at all. That Austin is a better fit for her and her family. She did talk about how her son transformed as well.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

I should clarify that I was referring to the actual physical conditions of the roads in the Bay Area.

How SF's Potholes Stack Up Nationally

"The San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas were tied for second worst in the nation behind Los Angeles. Even Boston, the land of a million potholes, which even has a notorious pothole with it’s own Facebook page (I kid you not), ranks far higher than we do. 61% of San Francisco’s roads are in poor condition, 22% are fair, 4% are mediocre, and only 13% are in good condition."

I am in no way defending the condition of the streets of Seattle...I realize that they are not in the best of shape either.

LOL... yes, my dad has remarked about the condition of SF roads (we lived there some 20+ years ago)... So its still bad? He won't be driving there anytime soon. He hated the roads here.

[mrman78]

Austin is ok, but it's still in Texas...

[texastrigirl]

I have lived in both Austin and Denver and liked them both but from what you describe, Denver/Boulder might be the best fit for your whole family. Austin is a great town in a lot of ways but it is HOT much of the year (like too hot) and it lacks in natural beauty when compared to Seattle and Denver. Austin is liberal for Texas but not relative to Seattle or Boulder. Denver has a good temperate climate. Even though it gets cold, it can easily be 65 degrees the next day.

[gogabe]

You might consider Santa Fe. The weather is considered temperate (according to my cousin who lives there) since the elevation is 7000 ft, high desert. The surrounding mountains are beautiful, with great hiking and skiing. The town is different and interesting.

We just got back from a visit and the highs were in the high 70's/low 80's and the lows in the low 40's/high 30's. There was no humidity; it was wonderful! Coming back to the Texas coast felt like drowning in the humidity.

I haven't done much research into the area. I'm just throwing it out there and I'm sure there are far more knowledgable people who could give you a much better picture of Santa Fe.

I live near Corpus Christi in Texas. The winters are great and the summers, the long hot humid summers, are miserable. We've been spending a few weeks in the Seattle area the last few summers. This year it will be 6 weeks (yeah!). We have family in the area.

We have no plans to leave Texas anytime soon, but are trying to enjoy our and make the most of our winters, and escape as often as we can during our long summers. Santa Fe is one of our escapes.

[BellevueNative]

My picks:

- San Jose, CA or somewhere out on the peninsula like Santa Rosa. I love the Sonoma wine country, personally
- Sacramento, CA
- Seal Beach, CA
- Several towns in Orange County, CA - southern part of the county is really charming
- San Diego, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Minneapolis, MN
- Boston, MA

My husband is also a native midwesterner, so I hear you on the "no snow," but the reality is that there are few places in the country that have long, hot summers and no frigid winters. You have to stick to the south. Fine for some, but limiting for others. Oh, and some advice regarding Florida: we've got lots of family there, mostly in the central and northern parts, and it's a terrible place to be right now. Really screwed up financially, in economic crisis. And it seems to have a lot of really uneducated people, which doesn't bode well for employment prospects. It's very tourism minded. I would stay away from there.

[Lamplight]

You might like Nashville's weather. It still gets pretty cool in winter (similar average highs as here, but cooler at night), but it's a much shorter season and it's not at all out of the ordinary to have occasional 60-70 degree days sprinkled throughout. Though pretty liberal compared to the surrounding areas, it's still nothing like this part of the country. But there are some pockets that have a funky/progressive feel to them. The entire area (to me) seems noticeably less dense/more spread out. Far less public transportation, bike lanes, and even sidewalks, but depending on where you live there and how much you drive in the first place, that might not matter. I actually moved to Bellingham from the Nashville area because I hated it, but I also didn't live in Nashville, but a very conservative nearby town, so that didn't help. But for me it was mostly the hot, humid summers that prompted me to leave.

[rmagpie]

I'm amazed that no one's mentioned east of San Francisco, like Oakland or Berkeley. I actually left the bay area because I missed seasons, but I also crave warm summers and I would live in the Oakland hills if I ever went back. Towns like Richmond, Walnut Creek and Concord are also chill, liberal, much cheaper than San Francisco, and the more east you go the warmer you get... year round with a bit of a cool down in the winter. You avoid the rat race because few people are commuting to Silicon Valley from those places. San Francisco was too frenetic for me for that reason... lots of money and infatuation with the newest things. But the bay area in general has a lot in common with Seattle because there's lots of tech, smart people, political awareness, and there's nature within a short drive. No mountains though. Less green too.

[Swigchow]

Originally Posted by RustinginSeattle

I'm curious about areas around Sarasota and Tampa. I'm not too worried about hurricanes, but I am a bit worried about home insurance!

You know what they say about Tampa Bay - St. Petersburg: It's perfect for those who are newlyweds or nearly deads.