"And now for something Entirely Different"* (Portland, Lewiston: low crime, house)

[middleoftheroad]

*monty python

We are going to be retiring coming up quixkly. We have looked at two areas, North of Phoenix, AX, and a town in Central OR, Redmond, OR. The heat in AZ has pretty much ruled it out. It doesn't seem possible to find that happy medium. Surprise has nice shoulder seasons, (spring and fall) but its freezing in the winter, and you KNOW about the summer...110-120. So, I have been checking the maps, looking 'up the hill, down the hill, to the North, to the East" etc, etc, and have not found the "ideal" town.

Our search in Redmond is much closer to what we would like, with two MINOR exceptions. There are severe drops in temp often. It can be 90 in the day, and 38 at night. I think this could be acclimated to, but the real worry is the winter. It gets cold at night in the winter, sometimes the US coldest spot for a night. We can love the warmth in the summer, up to about 88-90. After that it will feel warm, but it is so dry (7-10% humidity) that it isn't as bad as 78 in the South, where the humidity gets to 70-90%. THATS tough to take.

Anyway, the reason for posting on the Nevada Forum is to ask if there is a town that meets our "wish list" there. Inexpensive housing.....low crime rate......within 1/2 - 3/4 hour to a medical hospital or facility.......low rainfall (5-20", no more than 20")......winters mild, with maybe a little snow, but not major packs......summers between 60-95 day, and 40-60 night.

So someone said Maine might be a real surprise. Do you have a town with great seasons, with mild winters?

Just trying to find a "Happy Place" to finish out our years!

Thanks for the help.
Fred

[lawmom]

"Mild winters"? Compared to Buffalo maybe, but most would not consider the winters here "mild."

[Zarathu]

OK..... I have charted the winters in Bar Harbor, ME, which is on the Downeast Coast about two hours from Canada by car. I've been comparing the numbers to south central PA since 2007.

During most seasons of the year(except for summer), BH daytime temperatures are about 6 degrees less than south central PA, and about 10 degress less at night. When we have 36 degree icky rain, they have easily plowed 30 degree snow.

In the summer the difference is greater since the 95 degree temps we are having right now in PA are compared to a normal of at the most 83, altho at the moment its about to rain and the temp is 64.

But if you go as little as 15 miles inland from BH, you will get a lot of difference, particularly in the winter.

Depends where you go; Maine is a large state.

Z

[lawmom]

Absolutely. This past week I've been staying with my parents in Lewiston and had to take my daughter to a theater camp in Portland every day. The humidity in Lewiston was appreciably higher than in Portland. The coastal areas tend to get less snow than inland, too.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by middleoftheroad

*monty python

We are going to be retiring coming up quixkly. We have looked at two areas, North of Phoenix, AX, and a town in Central OR, Redmond, OR. The heat in AZ has pretty much ruled it out. It doesn't seem possible to find that happy medium. Surprise has nice shoulder seasons, (spring and fall) but its freezing in the winter, and you KNOW about the summer...110-120. So, I have been checking the maps, looking 'up the hill, down the hill, to the North, to the East" etc, etc, and have not found the "ideal" town.

Our search in Redmond is much closer to what we would like, with two MINOR exceptions. There are severe drops in temp often. It can be 90 in the day, and 38 at night. I think this could be acclimated to, but the real worry is the winter. It gets cold at night in the winter, sometimes the US coldest spot for a night. We can love the warmth in the summer, up to about 88-90. After that it will feel warm, but it is so dry (7-10% humidity) that it isn't as bad as 78 in the South, where the humidity gets to 70-90%. THATS tough to take.

Anyway, the reason for posting on the Nevada Forum is to ask if there is a town that meets our "wish list" there. Inexpensive housing.....low crime rate......within 1/2 - 3/4 hour to a medical hospital or facility.......low rainfall (5-20", no more than 20")......winters mild, with maybe a little snow, but not major packs......summers between 60-95 day, and 40-60 night.

So someone said Maine might be a real surprise. Do you have a town with great seasons, with mild winters?

Just trying to find a "Happy Place" to finish out our years!

Thanks for the help.
Fred

You should also think ahead to when you get older.

Do you really want to be shoveling snow off your roof in Maine when your in your seventies?

How about the Northwest, e.g, Oregon or Washington state?

[maureenb]

This is the coast. We get plenty of snow & ice. January, 2010, saw the coast receive more precipitation than inland; unusual, perhaps, but it happened.

[middleoftheroad]

Originally Posted by maureenb

This is the coast. We get plenty of snow & ice. January, 2010, saw the coast receive more precipitation than inland; unusual, perhaps, but it happened.

IM on the coast.....But not THAT coast....

Is that extreme? or a normal Jan day?

[maureenb]

Um, Maine Coast.

[shadowfax1997]

Coastal Connecticut. Brother is in mystic. Low snow fall. Flowers be early march. modest summer heat.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

You should also think ahead to when you get older.

Do you really want to be shoveling snow off your roof in Maine when your in your seventies?

How about the Northwest, e.g, Oregon or Washington state?

I gotta tell ya, I have never, nor did my father, ever shovel snow off the roof here. My parents bought this house in 1943. I have seen some people do this but not not vrey often. Winters differ from year to year and place to place in Maine. Last winter we had one bad storm maybe two. Two years before we were inundated all the way to April, in my neck off the woods. Hard to chart with any degree of accuracy. That's why we call them "weather-guessers" and snicker after their forcasts wso much.