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So tbh, and I sound so ignorant. I didn’t think there was green in nm outside of maybe the mountains. Good to know that area has some green. I love a place with history and deep routed in other cultures as well. It intrigues me. It might be out of my budget but I’ll check the area out to see if it’s even feasible. Also,
When I mean shopping I mean like food shopping. I do most other shopping online. If Taos has more green and cooler temps, does that mean there’s actually a fall season?
My husband is Hispanic. My kids really just look white like me but I still want them to always be around diversity
What towns are in the Sierra foothills? Are there wildfire issues there?
There's a great locally-owned organic grocery store in town, that's kind of a community center. And as previously mentioned, there's Wal-Mart outside of town. And yes, fall in northern NM is glorious! The aspens turn yellow, and people spend time driving around the mountains, just enjoying the scenery at that time of year. The fall season in the Taos area also has a couple of art-related events; the town has a big art fair that is its response to the big summer art market events in Santa Fe, to draw collectors from around the US to the local galleries. And there's a studio open-house tour for a couple of weekends, through the little mountain villages south of Taos, to draw people from Santa Fe and elsewhere, to the local artists and craft producers. Your family would fit right into Taos, but it's a question of finding affordable housing. Look all over the area, including out of town, and in Ranchos de Taos, just south of town.
There are several towns in the Sierra foothills, that have been getting attention the last few years, from refugees from the Bay Area congestion and high prices. I think I mentioned Placerville, and up-mountain from there--Pollock Pines, which is smaller and more rustic in style. There's Grass Valley. GV and Placerville are old Gold Rush towns, so they have old-time architecture, as well as beautiful scenery. You might also consider Truckee, which is up near Lake Tahoe, and would have cooler summers than Placerville and Grass Valley. I don't know about housing prices there, though. You could post on the California forum, to get more info and more recommendations. There are no wildlife issues in the larger "small towns", but Pollock Pines might have bear sightings, IDK.
Idaho and Montana would be horrible places if she's looking for racial diversity.
One of the first things I thought were the towns in the Shennandoah Valley in Virginia. There are several college towns there so they'll have some diversity. Or, maybe a place like Rolla in the Missouri Ozarks, which is also a college town (and you get the Ozarks).
- not higher than 80s in the summer. We have a constant breeze where I live because of the lakes. I don’t even need central air here. Tradeoff is the winter lol. So- a more mild climate
Unless you find something in coastal WA or OR, you're not going to find anywhere that meets that criteria. Maybe somewhere in the upper Midwest will get that, but the tradeoff would be brutal winters.
Sorry, OP, I misread your earlier question to me. Are there wildfire concerns in the Sierra foothills? Not currently, but if you're concerned about that, you should write off the entire West Coast. Even western WA and OR, famous for their rain, will be getting forest fires, as time goes on. The summers are getting drying, and the dry season is expanding to include half of the spring season. IDK, you might do better out in the small towns on the coast, in or near the rainforest. I don't know of any towns in that general area that are "quaint", though. Oregon might have some. But housing is definitely cheap out there, because the coast is remote. Well, and, there's the rain...
How about Tillamook, OR? Where the cheese comes from? It's on the OR coast. Has some villagey aspects. IDK about RE values, though. OR isn't known for its diversity, though.
I love:
-small town feel
- low(er) taxes. Being that we are from NY, most of the US has lower taxes
- four seasons- this is a must. I need fall foliage and pumpkin picking and need some snow
- cute quaint villagey like towns
- affordable housing
- easy access to highways for shopping
- mountains
- diversity- my kids are mixed. I don’t want to live in a place with only white people
- down to earth people (not snooty)
- beautiful surroundings
- not higher than 80s in the summer. We have a constant breeze where I live because of the lakes. I don’t even need central air here. Tradeoff is the winter lol. So- a more mild climate
Only two places I can think of that basically match your list are Camelot (the mythical home of Arthur and Guinevere) and Taos, New Mexico. Camelot would have "diversity" in the sense of questing knights from all over medieval Europe but the ethnicity would likely have been pretty standard. Taos has an amazing cultural and ethnic mix of native culture, descendants of Spanish settlers from the 1600's, and funky artist hippy heiress counter-culture whites who discovered the place 100 years ago or so. Camelot maybe had a few low hills around, on which the knights could practice rescuing maidens. Taos is nestled up against 12 to 13 thousand foot mountain peaks. Camelot was probably "cute, quaint, and villagey" but I'm telling you Arthur should think twice about letting Guinevere visit Taos or she'd be all "oh my gosh, forget Lancelot can we sell the castle and move here so I can open a gallery with Merlin, he'd love it here!?!?" I'm guessing Camelot folks were pretty dang snooty with all their posturing and trying to outdo each other with acts of chivalry and questing for the Holy Grail and stuff. Taos has had its share of famous NY heiress types who rebel and move to Taos and wear turquoise everything but at this point the most famous local resident I think is Julia Roberts but I understand she's super chill and keeps a low profile. Camelot has "history" I guess but it's mythical so that's kind of limiting if you actually want a place to move and live. Taos and Santa Fe are the oldest towns in the USA having just celebrated their 400 year anniversaries, and the Taos Pueblo has been continuously occupied by the ancestors of current residents since before Camelot was even dreamed up.
So, like Ruth4Truth suggests, with your list I'd go look at Taos. But be careful, you might end up running a gallery or some eclectic shop in 5 or 10 years.
The Taos, NM recommendations are not going to suit you. Its a tourist town. Read: heavy tourist traffic, almost year round. People there are quite snooty, even celebrities are building homes there. The climate gets hotter than 80 degrees, and there is no pumpkin picking to be had like you find out East. Plus, Taos is quite pricey to live in, and isolated, too.
I would recommend looking at maybe some place in MI's Upper Peninsula. Tiny towns, big hills, etc. Its not diverse, that's the only thing I can think that doesn't suit your needs.
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