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Hello all,
I have lived in South Carolina for all of my 25 years. Every year I lament about the heat and humidity. It was about 97 yesterday and it's only the middle of June. I have never been able to handle heat very well and I also don't like to spend a whole lot of time in the sun. I've decided to start looking across the country for a new place to call home. I don't know where to start!
I have a few requirements:
Very mild summer and low humidity; temps that rarely exceed the mid 70's.
Mild winter; I'm not used to much snow. I don't mind cold temperatures though.
Natural disasters that are few and far between.
Somewhere a vegetable garden can be easily grown.
A decent job market.
Low crime rate.
Not super conservative.
Instead of the Pacific Northwest, I'd actually recommend Northern California, specifically the area along the 101 stretching from Petaluma in the south to Healdsburg in the north plus Sonoma and Napa to the east. IMO, this is one of the most beautiful regions of the United States with warmer, drier, and sunnier winters than most, if not all, of the Pacific Northwest.
Santa Rosa in particular seems to have everything you're looking, up to and including mild summers with little to no humidity; mild winters with virtually no snow/ice; hardly any weather-related natural disasters; a long growing season; generally low crime; and a decent enough economy.
Santa Rosa has a West Coast vibe--very casual; polite; open-minded; tolerant, even if not approving; and although people can seem aloof, they're usually pleasant if you talk first. No one cares what religion you are, and people revere nature. Most people in the area shop/cook/eat healthily/organically and lead active/fitness-oriented lifestyles.
Santa Rosa has a cute little downtown with some nice restaurants. In fact, Food Network personality Guy Fieri and his family make their home in the Santa Rosa area, and Guy owns and operates Tex Wasabi's, a popular restaurant in downtown Santa Rosa. For a small town, Santa Rosa offers quite an assortment of different cuisine due to the presence of many different cultures residing in the area, although this is fairly typical of California.
You can travel to the Bay Area on occasion for things you really need, which is only a little over an hour away, depending on traffic. Sonoma and the Wine Country are nearby, although there are quite a few wineries and breweries in and around Santa Rosa. Annadel State Park and Spring Lake are right in town with the Russian River, Lake Sonoma, Point Reyes, and Bodega Bay all within short driving distance. My God, what a beautiful area.
Have you considered Midwestern cities such as Omaha or Des Moines? They're not "hip" like the West Coast, and yes, there is *some* heat and humidity in the summer, but the summers are considerably shorter than those in the Southeast and the humidity is a touch more bearable. Your typical summer day is probably 75-85 degrees for a high, though it *can* creep into the 90s for a few days (rarely for long periods unlike the South). It gets cold in the lower Midwest, but not as bad as most of Minnesota or Michigan. Highs are around 30-35 (40 if you're lucky), lows often below freezing. There is the annual tornado threat, but it's not like it's Oklahoma or north Texas. The job market is about as good as any in the country, and while they won't pay like they would out in Seattle or the Bay Area, the cost of living is low - even lower than most of the South. Politically, they're moderate (Omaha leans ever-so-slightly to the right mainly due to the presence of Offutt Air Force base, Des Moines leans just a little bit to the left) so maybe that's what you're looking for. The soil is some of the most fertile in the country so you can grow just any vegetable. Crime is low in both cities.
This is the time of year to take a trip to check out both cities. I can't say for sure that either of them are for you, but it's certainly an alternative to the West Coast.
Coastal California is climate-controlled, as mentioned. Most places can get pretty hot in the summer, but it's nothing like what you experience with humidity. I liked summers in the Rockies, even though temperatures can get into the 90s. If you don't mind very cold winters, the upper midwest is an option.
Coastal California is climate-controlled, as mentioned. Most places can get pretty hot in the summer, but it's nothing like what you experience with humidity. I liked summers in the Rockies, even though temperatures can get into the 90s. If you don't mind very cold winters, the upper midwest is an option.
I was thinking of Madison WI as an option, but I didn't know if its winters would be an issue.
Coastal California is climate-controlled, as mentioned. Most places can get pretty hot in the summer, but it's nothing like what you experience with humidity. I liked summers in the Rockies, even though temperatures can get into the 90s. If you don't mind very cold winters, the upper midwest is an option.
Great idea, but I don't think the Avg. Annual High temp would work out too well in the areas due to winter high temperatures misrepresenting the summer high temp averages. Cool map though.
Hello all,
I have lived in South Carolina for all of my 25 years. Every year I lament about the heat and humidity. It was about 97 yesterday and it's only the middle of June. I have never been able to handle heat very well and I also don't like to spend a whole lot of time in the sun. I've decided to start looking across the country for a new place to call home. I don't know where to start!
I have a few requirements:
Very mild summer and low humidity; temps that rarely exceed the mid 70's.
Mild winter; I'm not used to much snow. I don't mind cold temperatures though.
Natural disasters that are few and far between.
Somewhere a vegetable garden can be easily grown.
A decent job market.
Low crime rate.
Not super conservative.
Does this sound like anything you know of?
If you don't plan on living on the immediate West Coast, then you're going to have to sacrifice something. Anyplace else that's mild with low humidity during the summer is going to be very cold during the winter. Anyplace else that's mild during the winter without much snow is going to be very hot during the summer. Anyplace else that fits either of these criteria is more than likely located in the Great Plains, where tornadoes and blizzards are common.
Aside from the immediate West Coast, the closest you're going to get is in the upper Midwest and the northern Great Plains, specifically Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas and Nebraska. The economies in all those states are relatively healthy; crime rates are low even in the cities, and they all tend to be politically moderate to libertarian. Summers in those states are relatively mild, and heat waves tend to be short-lived and involve a more "dry" heat than anywhere east of the Mississippi River. The big trade-off, as I said, is the risk of tornadoes and blizzards. Also, the farther north you go, the longer winter lasts.
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