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If I were in your (rather enviable) position, I would seriously consider Bucks County, PA...I would spend summers there visiting my grandparents' farm (white clapboard house complete with apple orchard), and it's about as idyllic an existence as can be found on the east coast. The movie Signs (the M. Night Shyamalan movie with Mel Gibson) was filmed there. It's close to Philadelphia and the NJ shore, but it is really its' own little world.
thanks guys!!
me and my husband have now done lots of online research. we have looked at pictures, weather reports, houses and various figures for plenty of places.
we have decided that we will visit new england in august.
we really love RI, but also want to look in maine, new hampshire and conecticut (ok i spelt it wrong!!).
hopefully going to be in Ri in august, possibly NH. then back again in october for ME and CT.
our plan (we have one!) is to narrow it down to one state from there, and then come back after xmas.
im in love with RI from what i can see on the net - im so excited now about visiting, august is too far away!!
few qs about Ri: what are the summers like? plenty to do outdoors? lakes you can swim in? tornadoes!?
Tornadoes are rare throughout most of New England. And when they occur they are smaller and less violent than the Midwest or South. There was an F3 near Bennington, Vermont a few years ago that did a lot of damage and another one 15 miles north of Hartford in 1979 but those are rare exceptions.
RI. Beaches. Newport is a historic town with lots of old money. Summers are pleasant if you are right at the shoreline BUT if you want to live in RI and avoid tourists you will need to be inland. Not sure about lakes in RI because everyone goes to the shoreline. CT, NH and Maine have more outdoor activities than RI (IMHO).
I agree that you should break up the country into regions. If you intend on visitng the Midwest at all, the post on Madison is very true. You may also want to visit Minnesota-cold winters, but plenty of snow. You can be near over ten thousand lakes that all are great to swim in and have access to big city life in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Rochester and Duluth are nice too.
Good schools, great universities, good business climate, and a high quality of life. Also, low crime! You can easily get to the UK from Minneapolis via Gatwick or fly Iceland Air. My wife is from Scotland and we usually fly Iceland Air to Glasgow.
Upper midwest will get much more snow and colder, with probably milder summers.
Lower Midwest will get less snow and warmer summers. For example, St. Louis might get 15-20 inches of snow in a winter (an estimate) but July and August can get into the 90s.
A place like Detroit will get much more snow, like 35-40 inches. But summers might not be as brutal.
I'm not recommending either place, just using an example of the variations of the midwest.
hehe well, 'hook up' isnt the right way to put it - more like work hard at.....!!
we worked towards a dream thats all. and we are almost there!
as for the 8 beds - yes i see this becoming a prob. we need ideally 5 beds just for us - the others would be for friends and relatives who will be over by the bucketload! but i suppose just one extra bedroom will do. so 6 bed.
CT is looking really good, the pictures ive seen on the net are gorgeous. the houses are lovely (no pine pannelling yet).
this thread is going to be a long one tho im afraid, we dont plan to move til late next year. enough time to do some thorough planning haha xxx
x
I'd recommend Fairfield County, CT. There are a lot of uber wealthy towns, but there are many that have little if any pretense. You are 45 mins to an hour to NYC and right on the LI sound. It's one of the safest regions in the United States and culture, arts, family activities, and community prevails throughout the region. You should come visit Fairfield County--you'll be blown away! Good luck.
thanks guys!!
me and my husband have now done lots of online research. we have looked at pictures, weather reports, houses and various figures for plenty of places.
we have decided that we will visit new england in august.
we really love RI, but also want to look in maine, new hampshire and conecticut (ok i spelt it wrong!!).
hopefully going to be in Ri in august, possibly NH. then back again in october for ME and CT.
our plan (we have one!) is to narrow it down to one state from there, and then come back after xmas.
im in love with RI from what i can see on the net - im so excited now about visiting, august is too far away!!
few qs about Ri: what are the summers like? plenty to do outdoors? lakes you can swim in? tornadoes!?
cheers!
To make your traveling easier when you visit, you probably should visit ME and NH for one visit, and CT and RI together. ME and NH border each other, and RI and CT do as well in southern NE. It will make your visits much easier as it will be less driving. Just a thought.
The Central, and Upper Midwest sound like a match.
I am thinking Northwestern Illinois, Oregon, Galena, Freeport, DeKalb, Sterling... an hour from Chicago, and an hour from the Quad Cities IA/IL.
Wisconsin: Beloit, Janesville, Monroe, Platteville, Prairie du Chien, La Crosse
Minnesota: Winona, Bemidji, Duluth, Apple Valley, Albert Lea, Austin
Iowa: Asbury, Dyersville, Cedar Falls, Grinnell, Dubuque (60,000), Iowa City, Coralville, Lone Tree...
I would also recommend areas in central Illinois, Bloomington/Normal, Champaign/Urbana...
The only downfalls of these areas are: they could be a bit dull, some of them, severe weather can be a problem in the MW.
Look at the water towns of Connecticut, in Fairfield county. All are within an hour of NYC by train or car. Definite four seasons. Lots of big homes. Excellent public schools (each town pays for their own school systems) considered some of the best in the country. Westport is the most diverse or at least it used to be. Greenwich is very posh and closest to NYC, therefore the most expensive, Darien is country clubs and boats. Southport is quaint and a real new England feel.
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