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Hello. I am 26 now. Have lived in different parts of South and central Florida. Right now I live about 30 mins from Orlando and have been for the past 5 years. I have also lived in FT. Worth, TX (not for very long.) and upstate NY near Syracuse for many years (on and off). I don't miss the 6 month long brutal winters or the politics so I definitely don't want to move back up north or anywhere New England area for that matter. But I miss the change of seasons and not being so congested. I lived in a town of approx 10k people in upstate NY. Had a nice, community feel to it. Central FL is too expensive to live here now for the single person who makes a mediocre salary (40-50k a year) and wants to not just work to live in a studio or 1 bedroom apartment... I'm also getting really sick of the 12 month long summers. I work outside; that's just my profession... and working in this heat for 6-10 hrs a day, day after day; not letting up SUCKS.
I was thinking maybe somewhere midwest but I don't want to be in brutal snow. Nowhere west coast. Maybe Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma? I just want to get away from anywhere that feels like Florida. This place is only good if you have a lot of money to blow and love the beach and hot weather year-round. After a while it gets old. IMO.
I want to go somewhere where the fishing is good, I've never hunted but I'd like to get into hunting as well. In FL there is no public land to hunt really so never was able to get into it. But I remember in upstate NY a ton of people hunted deer and other stuff. That seems pretty cool... Affordable cost of living. And where GOD, family, community, and freedoms are important to the people. I am self-employed (service business) so that is kind of a concern of mine... as I need to be at least somewhat near a decent sized metro for work. Can't be too rural. Plus I'm single so I'd get lonely out in the boonies after a while.
Charleston, WV
Greenville, SC
Knoxville, TN
Huntsville, AL
In order to find the climate (meteorological, political, and religious) that you're looking for, you should look for a city in the mountains (or at least well away from the coast) of a Southern state. The ones I've listed might be good places to start looking, but there will be other choices as well. There will be a few places that don't fit (Asheville, NC for example), but most others will.
You'd love parts of Tennessee. I'm originally from east Tennessee, from a small town called Church Hill.
I'd look into the tri-cities region. Tons of hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation abounds. It's very conservative in the small towns and rural areas there, and the countryside is beautiful with rolling hills to mountains to forests and meadows.
Look at anywhere on the outskirts of Kingsport, Bristol or Johnson City. Also check out Greeneville and Morristown, further southwest a bit. I think you'll love the area in general.
Cost of living is low, and there are 4 seasons, with a winter that is mild by north and midwest standards, and you might see 3 - 5 inches of snow per season.
The last thing I'll point out though is that the economy is weak for high paying jobs--it is loaded with jobs under $15/hour. Good paying jobs are hard to come by, unless you know someone, have a skilled trade, or land the job before coming to the area.
Have you ever been to Missouri? I don't think I will be going back to TX. I didn't really care for the state edit: (at least where I lived)
I lived in Missouri for 65 years before getting out. The reasons for my exit are varied but I would never move back. The things that you are looking for would probably be found in Missouri. I recommend avoiding "the Ozarks". At your age there is nothing to do there but drink and do drugs. I would consider mid-Missouri somewhere along the Missouri River within striking distance to Columbia -- maybe within an hour away if you don't want to live in the city. There are other small cities close by and Columbia has about 126,000 population. It is progressive, not 100+ years in the past, and halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City on I-70. Lake of the Ozarks is to the south and there are other fishing lakes in the area. This is on the north edge of the Ozarks and there are some nice small rivers for fishing and places to hunt. Columbia is big enough that you would fit in. Some tiny places might be harder. Of course, Columbia has Mizzou, the flagship state university so there is a lot going on there. It has a midwestern 4-season climate with hot and humid summers and cold winters with some snow. But it is not extreme. The economy is pretty stable because of the University and the State Capital in Jefferson City. It is Midwestern, not Southern or Eastern.
If you want a better-paying job look at the Atlanta metro. The NE side up around Buford, Flowery Branch, Cumming and Braselton are near the thriving Alpharetta-Johns Creek area which offers good job prospects. It's also near Lake Lanier and plenty of other outdoor recreation. The climate is moderate and has four seasons with the usual three months of summer, and an equal split of the other three seasons with very little snow/ice.
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