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We are both east coasters that have lived in Portland for 7 years now and love the city, but the rain is really getting to us (the past couple of years have been especially awful). I need some sun!! Where to move? I'm hoping that some of you in this forum may have some good suggestions as google searches have come up empty.
Looking for a small city/big town: 20,000-100,000. NW, Utah, Northern California, Colorado all ok. Must have more sun, be near (preferably IN) mountains, and have a good population of 30-40 somethings (we'd like to raise a family with a community that we want to be involved in). We are both pretty typical Portlanders when it comes to lifestyle; eat organic, no tv, cook a lot, bike places, backpack, etc.
We've looked at Missoula, MT. I love the younger population there and the access to the wilderness. It is attractive that it is not yet over-developed. Am concerned about the weather however. I have these dreams of growing a garden all year round that wouldn't happen there certainly.
I've also been thinking about Park City, UT; I have spent some time there, but the winters are very long. Same with Bend, OR. Both of these seem a bit too polished for us as well.
There must be places in California and Colorado that we could call home. I would love any suggestions from you all.
You might want to check into the Grand Valley of western Colorado near Grand Junction. The area receives very little rain (9 inches annually), yet still manages to have orchards with fruit. They don't receive a lot of snow either, and what does fall, melts quickly. I don't know if you could garden year round, but there is nowhere in Colorado that stays above freezing in the winter at night. Summers get hot, with highs in the 90s and even 100s. But as the saying goes, it's a dry heat. Summer nights still dip into 60s usually.
The population of the city is between 50,000-60,000, and the metro is nearing 150,000. Neabry areas around Grand Junction include Palisade, Fruita, Clifton, and Orchard Mesa. If yu can afford Portland or Missoula, you'll be okay there.
We've looked at Missoula, MT. I love the younger population there and the access to the wilderness. It is attractive that it is not yet over-developed. Am concerned about the weather however. I have these dreams of growing a garden all year round that wouldn't happen there certainly.
Um.....Missoula has some of that same suburban sprawl crap that you can find anywhere in the country.
Some additional ideas:
Medford-Ashland, OR
Coeur d'Alene, ID
Moscow, ID
Bozeman, MT
Redding, CA
Chico, CA
Flagstaff, AZ
Cedar City, UT
Fort Collins, CO
Loveland, CO
Boulder, CO
Manitou Springs, CO
Glenwood Springs, CO
Estes Park, CO
Sheridan, WY
Laramie, WY
I think we're going to explore the Grand Junction area in CO, and definitely check out Redding and Chico.
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