we can go anywhere...but where? Short list of "wants"...any ideas?

[SteelCityRising]

Another local community that would fit the bill is Honesdale, located about a half-hour to the northeast of Scranton in Wayne County via scenic U.S. Route 6. Honesdale is a community of roughly 5,000 souls and is an oasis of shopping and that "Mayberry" feeling amongst miles of rolling farmlands and forests. Sprawl isn't a concern here; a Wal-Mart and Home Depot just outside of town do irk those of us who want to see Honesdale remain a vibrant mecca of nostalgic, small-town America. Honesdale is the type of town with historic homes, tree-lined streets, churches, a quaint Main Street, festivals, and a place where patriotic residents proudly display the American flag all year long. For some photos of Honesdale, which was the focal point of one of my photo tours, copy and paste this link:

//www.city-data.com/forum/penns...art-three.html

1.) The Wayne Highlands School District isn't ranked as highly as Abington Heights, but I still hear that it's a stellar district.
2.) Honesdale is surrounded by fertile farmlands in this rural county. I'm not very familiar with the town, but I'm assuming that a farmers' market is held somewhere during the warmer months. We visited recently during the town's Fall Harvest Festival, and it was so wonderful to see Main Street lined with arts & crafts vendors, fresh apple cider, baked goods, a band, harvest decorations, artists, etc. It was truly nice to see a town come alive when you hail from a town (Pittston) that has its downtown literally decaying into the streets.
3.) Well, while Honesdale is by no means as "hot" in the real estate market as the Abingtons are, it is still part of the Pocono Mountains, an area which has been adapting to a huge influx of NY/NJ transplants in the past 20 years or so. During the festival, seemingly every other car was from out-of-state, so I'm sure the locals are accustomed now to having "newbies" among them.
4.) Housing prices in Honesdale, and Wayne County in general, are quite reasonable. You can still find a great family home for well under $200,000.
5.) Some of the locals are indeed "rednecks", but they live harmoniously amongst the "Progressives" that have moved to town in recent years (Notice the yoga studio, coffee house, and unique, trendy shops lining Main Street to notice that this town isn't a "rebel yell" type of place).
6.) The topography in and around Honesdale is of rolling, wooded hills and mountains. You should enjoy the surroundings very much here!

[sweattea]

Originally Posted by friendnc

I'd say Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC. They're exactly what you discribed you wanted (4-season climate, small/mid-sized, affordable ((especially Greenville)), safe, clean & green, very nice, accepting people, good mix of beliefs/ideas and no one ((liberal or conservative)) feels they have to compromise or hide who they are, ect). Two AWESOME places! If you rule out the entire south because of rebel flags you saw in the past, you'll be missing out on MANY awesome places. South doesn't = racism. I've lived here in NC (the Charlotte area) all of my 41 years, and almost never see one. It's an unfair stereotype. Come on down! We'd love to have ya!!!

Let them think what they want about the south, enough people are moving there as it is.

[ontheroad]

Don't cross New England off your list. It isn't a snow hazard but a white Christmas kind of world

You might think about Western Massachusetts in the Pioneer Valley. It meets all of your list requirements. Or coastal Maine, up above Portland (the other one).

The Pioneer Valley sits at the hills of the Berkshire Mountains, plenty of green, 4 seasons, great food co-ops, local producers, friendly folk, nothing stuck-up, lots of home-schooling and more than five universities to whet your appetite for culture in towns that are generally under 5,000. The county seat, Northampton, is around 30,000.

Sounds like fun--anywhere, but the where is hard! I'm in about the way situation, and seriously considering a move back East to this very spot on the map.

Good luck!

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by cheekypercy

We've spent the most time in California but like many on these boards, we found we had to leave due to its crazy lifestyle. Traffic, congestion, general feeling that "this is a messed up way to live".

We can go anywhere. We have an online income, though not enough to afford the expensive places.

I'd like what most people want: safety, cleanliness, mellow lifestyle, some sense of culture or creative activities happening, mix of ideologies, not strip-mall hell. Small or mid size towns are ideal.

My only climate considerations are:
1. 4 seasons...longer growing season would be nice as I garden.
2. A lovely autumn, not the drizzly mess they call "fall" here. Autumn's crisp breezy days and foliage colors are truly one of my great joys in life.

Others on my wish list:
1. Homeschooling OK or else superior public school system
2. Local produce
3. Influx/new people accepted, not stared at
4. Away from west coast prices
5. Not the south or southeast (I'll pass on the humidity and rebel flags--it's where I came from.)
6. Hills

I do have in-laws in Dallas TX I'd love to be closer to, but not sure I can get any city/town in TX that fits my criteria.

I've thought New England would fit but I'm wary of being snowed in for weeks. I'm pretty inexperienced with snow although I could see enjoying it. Also wonder how heavy the New York/Boston influence is...I mean, which parts of New England are not just suburbs of those cities?

Thank you all.

Oil City, PA is the place for you, Girl. Actually it might be worth checking out. If you stay out of those old cramped areas of town. You don't want to do the same old "Me Too" drag of looking at the trendy places of the moment.

Go somewhere your money will buy the "Good Life".

Actually if I wanted what you state, I would give the most serious consideration to a place like Scranton, PA and its general environs. Close enough to what you might be crazy for but far enough to avoid its full impact. The cavet may be the weather, bit too far east and north to get into the well sheltered lee areas that can be found over in Ohio or maybe even western PA.

Stay out of New England, all of it just on principle. The people that promote it, do so with a bias and usually by selling the past. The present is a mess. All of it wants to run your life. Nothing but taxes and filling long form lil pieces of paper for permission to go to the bathroom and all other essentials. The Government is like God. The old time locals aren't called Yankees for nothing. If you aren't a Yankee, you must be against them. Plus mix in all them illegals and all the ills of modern life, too include scanner f_rau_d as a standard business practice, high cost of living, more taxes, traffic, insane one way people with the idea you owe them something. They promote move to Boston or New York City then name only the trendy suburbs outside of them as places worth living in. All of it is boring, expensive, dangerous and nothing but a hassle. Forget that stuff, you will get used to the weather too. The Pilgrims didn't like it much, neither will you. If you love a Kennedy making the rules to run your life, you will love Boston and all of New England. They don't need your permission to raise your taxes or invent new ones or even peek under your dress. That part of the compound works full time on the problem. Different rules for different folks and you git no say about nothing.

All parts of New England are just suburbs of those two screwed up places. There is nothing mellow about it all. Lots of very small people with large agendas for things you MUST do. There are no hassle free big cities left in most of the World.