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Since you will not be here in the summer months but would like sunshine, I think Arizona is one of your best bets. Coastal California, apart from being expensive, is quite often cool and overcast during the months you'll be here.
Just be prepared for the nature and scenery to be VERY different from what you're used to. It's gorgeous, but...very different.
Coastal California is very sunny from Oct to May. The fog is in the summer.
I could well be wrong since I haven't been there in a while- but I think of Tucson as being more interesting and having more of a sense of history and charm.
Scottsdale to me seems like it would be more like Hilton Head, SC- a little more of a "planned suburban community". But hey, it's a vacay and if the outdoors is the primary factor, then character of cities don't factor as much.
Now, if I were to spend a winter somewhere else in the US- it might be New Orleans- charm, history, culture, architecture, food-- but it's not known for its overall safety and low crime rate, and it ain't cheap, so doesn't really meet your criteria.
Old Town Scotts, Pinnacle peak area of Scottsdale, cave creek, carefree, Sedona, flagstaff, and numerous other small towns here in Arizona are not planned suburban sprawl.
I don't know anything about Tucson but glad to hear from you that its more charming.
Old Town Scotts, Pinnacle peak area of Scottsdale, cave creek, carefree, Sedona, flagstaff, and numerous other small towns here in Arizona are not planned suburban sprawl.
I don't know anything about Tucson but glad to hear from you that its more charming.
For the record, I didn't use the term "sprawl"- I wrote "community".
I don't think sprawl is planned (unless you're aiming for it - ha!).
Glad to hear the Pinnacle Peak area of Scottsdale is nicer. I'll have to get out there to see it again someday. The desert can be quite beautiful.
Freezing cold and windy all winter, highs in the 30s, lows in the teens. Ice and snow clogs the streets, dangerous, cold, and dark.
Summers, are beautiful, as is the fall season.
Never been there in the winter, but according to Wiki the average highs in December/January (which are the coldest part of the year) are 43 degrees. Annual snow accumulation is only 23 inches, which isn't much. Overall, the winter weather seems pretty much identical to Denver, but with a lot less snow. I wouldn't call that a cold winter, but then again, I've lived my whole life up north. I'd certainly rather live somewhere with a climate like that than further south, where there was no freezing weather but it gets too hot.
Guys, Sounds like maybe Asheville NC, should aslo be on my radar given my list. Thoughts?
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- Outdoor life. We want the kids to spend lots of time outdoors, preferably in beautiful scenery. We enjoy hiking, cycling and mountain biking for example.
- Weather! Having lived in a wet, mild Irish climate for most of our lives we want to experience sun, sun and more sun. We could do harsh winters, but would prefer not to.
- We want something quite different from life in Ireland. For this reason the east coast doesn't appeal as much (as beautiful as I'm sure it is). Different in terms of scenery, culture and weather
- Safe for us and of course the kids.
- We don't want to live downtown in a big city. Prefer small/medium town or suburb.
- We are very health conscious (food and exercise) and like living in places where other people have similar lifestyles and organic food etc being available is a nice to have
- Nature and beautiful scenery.
- We appreciate 'nice' things, as I'm sure most people do...nicely kept, pretty towns, nice restaurants etc
- I don't want to let budget be the determining factor but of course we prefer to spend less if possible.
- Wifey hates mosquitos...minor point, but worth mentioning. Also we are wary of lyme and things of that nature.
St George even colder than Vegas.
Vegas and St George also rather cloudy from Nov to March.
They're from 35 degrees latitude and north, subject to more storms.
I know you're boosting the places you've suggested, but let's be real for a moment. The OP is coming from Ireland where the average high in the middle of summer is in the 60s. St. George is in the 50s in December, January, and February.
St. George is also within a couple hours drive of SIX National Parks. It's also 2 hours from Vegas and 4 from Salt Lake.
On top of that the COL of St. George is considerably lower than any of the cities the OP was originally looking at.
Coastal California is very sunny from Oct to May. The fog is in the summer.
You must be talking about a specific part of California, San Francisco maybe? Where I live in Southern California, fog aka marine layer is expected in May and June, not all summer. Actually, we've had some morning marine layer right now in the beginning of August, but that's quite unusual.
I wouldn't say it's very sunny and warm here from October to May. The last few years with the drought it's been warmer and sunnier than usual, but from November on, temps are typically 50s, 60s, low 70s. Probably warm to someone from Ireland, but not exactly beach weather.
Yuck, not Scottsdale. Boring and beige and even more boring than beige. Yuck.
Secondly, Austin isn't a thing like Scottsdale. It's fun but is getting too big and more bland than it was, and it isn't really in an environmentally beautiful area.
Of the 3 you first mentioned, Santa Barbara would be most beautiful and fun, but it is EXPENSIVE!
What about these options: Sheridan Wyoming. Spearfish, SD. Durango, CO. Flagstaff, AZ. Alpine, TX. Taos, NM. Bend, OR. Ashland, OR. Portland, OR. Bellingham, WA.
Have fun! (And please don't go to deadly boring Scottsdale!)
Ha 601, throwing a spanner in there just when I thought I was closing in on a location. Why do you think Flagstaff might be a better option than Scottsdale, in relation to the list I highlighted?
------------------------
- Outdoor life. We want the kids to spend lots of time outdoors, preferably in beautiful scenery. We enjoy hiking, cycling and mountain biking for example.
- Weather! Having lived in a wet, mild Irish climate for most of our lives we want to experience sun, sun and more sun. We could do harsh winters, but would prefer not to.
- We want something quite different from life in Ireland. For this reason the east coast doesn't appeal as much (as beautiful as I'm sure it is). Different in terms of scenery, culture and weather
- Safe for us and of course the kids.
- We don't want to live downtown in a big city. Prefer small/medium town or suburb.
- We are very health conscious (food and exercise) and like living in places where other people have similar lifestyles and organic food etc being available is a nice to have
- Nature and beautiful scenery.
- We appreciate 'nice' things, as I'm sure most people do...nicely kept, pretty towns, nice restaurants etc
- I don't want to let budget be the determining factor but of course we prefer to spend less if possible.
- Wifey hates mosquitos...minor point, but worth mentioning. Also we are wary of lyme and things of that nature.
Scottsdale is essentially a suburb of Phoenix and it's mostly full of retirees.
Flagstaff is an independent university town in a beautiful area.
If you want to live in plastic big box store air conditioned tedium, pick Scottsdale.
If you want your kids to have some fun memories of adventures in America, pick some of the other options. If you're set on Arizona, pick either Flagstaff or Sedona (but Sedona's full of retirees, too.)
Add Silver City and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to your list of places to consider.
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