Not sure where to go! (cities, lifestyle, Sacramento, Kansas)
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I have a coworker who grew up in the very same town as Dick Cheney... and when she retired I asked if she were going back. OH HELL NO was her response. The small-town small minded "libertarianism" and "rugged individualism" were just nice words for arrogance and people who really don't like living with anyone around them telling them what to do. Those were her words not mine.
The winters there also were miserable.
''...people who really don't like living with anyone around them telling them what to do.''
That's certainly true; it's why we live here. We can live our lives as we wish. It's said that Wyoming is a hard land for harder people, but I'll take a Wyoming winter over a Chicago winter anytime.
There's another old saying here that if you survive your first winter you'll never leave. People who move away for business usually move back. Young people who leave for college and then live somewhere else afterwards seem to come back as well when they're ready to start families.
It's better to think of Wyoming as a special place for special people.
And look at this. Check #5. From MSN of all places.
As usual that list is clearly made up by people without a clue. Seriously....North Dakota??? Iowa?? My sister lived in Iowa and the first winter nearly killed her. They actually paid her and her husband to move there because the town was dying and they were desperate for new blood. She said the snow was drifted so deep it went almost to the telephone wires and the air was so cold her nose hairs froze. It was also almost an 8 hour drive to the nearest hospital in her insurance plan and they had to move because her husband became chronically ill and they couldn't keep making that drive. No thank you.
I would recommend NAPLES, FL
Have been here 15 years, and it is great.
I need to move for a change so wish I could
trade with someone in another area. SWest
maybe.
I would recommend NAPLES, FL
Have been here 15 years, and it is great.
I need to move for a change so wish I could
trade with someone in another area. SWest
maybe.
We have a place in the Phoenix area and had been considering finding something in NC or FL as well as I've mentioned. We're coming to the conclusion that owning yet another property might not be desirable/realistic, though, and we did choose Phoenix after a lot of deliberation about climate among other things. Still, it seems to not tick all the boxes (beach!!!!).
Your post makes me think that maybe we should just do one of those home swaps with someone who is looking for a change, and call it good!
I wonder if a lot of people do that? It'd be great for all the retirees (or future retirees, like us) who just can't settle on a single location that does everything we want it to. I want a place to be settled, but I can see wanting to change it up sometimes too!!
Western New England, as in Western Massachusetts, is 2 hrs to NYC, 1.5 hrs to Boston and the coast, 2 hrs to the Maine coast. I think you'd like it. I recommend Northampton, home of Smith College, for the criteria you outlined esp the arts.
I would recommend NAPLES, FL
Have been here 15 years, and it is great.
I need to move for a change so wish I could
trade with someone in another area. SWest
maybe.
That's interesting since I've started looking to move and have a $500,000 house full of furniture on 1.5 acres I'm almost ready to sell. I'm still torn between moving up north to be around people more like myself or to Florida where it would be easier to fly to Europe every 5-6 weeks.
Wherever you look, make sure there is good medical care not too far away. If you find an idyllic paradise that will an ambulance an hour to find, that's not a good place.
I'm looking for a place to settle in in a year or so, but everywhere I look it seems that residents complain about high real estate prices, high taxes, crime, drug problems, etc. This is probably because I'm trying to find a more reasonably-priced area with, say, well-maintained condos or townhomes under 200K.
Here are my specific requirements: I love fall and winter, hate spring and summer (I especially hate heat and humidity, so places like Florida or the South are out and the desert is just too hot--I need four seasons, anyway), but consistent winter temperatures below zero, as in the upper Midwest or the Dakotas are off my list; I'm not a big city lover (I would choose the suburbs of a large city); wind is fine, but too much rain is not (I've heard that the rain in Oregon and Washington is more of a mist than a consistent downpour, which I think is O.K. (cloudy days on end don't bother me); I would love to live on a seacoast but it's just too unaffordable; I like artsy areas (Mendocino would be great, for example, but it's too pricey for what you get and ditto for Flagstaff/Sedona, for example); good hospitals; locals who welcome newcomers; low property taxes, etc.
I'm wondering about: Vancouver, WA; Bangor, ME (I've read about drug problems, crime, and unfriendly locals); Burlington, VT (I think it might be unaffordable); Bloomington, IN; Reno, NV area.
Anywhere else? General input would be much appreciated!
My suggestion is try Pocatello, Idaho.
1. You say you love "fall and winter" and you need four seasons. You'll get them all in Pocatello and its a little more cold than hot. Its not really cold though like Minnesota or the Dakotas.
2. Its not a big city. It has about 50,000 people. Enough to have a hospital and a university, but not enough to feel overwhelmed.
3. There is not a lot of rain in Pocatello, but I wouldn't all it desert either.
4. Its an affordable place to live. I read median home prices were about $130,000.
5. Not on a sea coast, but I can't imagine one that is remotely affordable with the possible exception of the Mississippi/Alabama Gulf Coast.
6. A good hospital is in Pocatello.
7. I can't speak to whether the locals are standoffish. I don't live in Pocatello. I've just been there many times.
8. Property taxes are relatively low. Idaho does not provide much in the way of services though.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markg91359
My suggestion is try Pocatello, Idaho.
...
SE ID is very LDS +/-
ID is a GREAT suggestion. Do look into nearby Id Falls Rexburg, and Driggs too! as an option as well. I try to swing by Lava Hot Springs each trip I am near.
I prefer Sandpoint and North. and south to Kendrick (my favorite ID town... due to me being a Dryland farm / prairie kid and also needing to be near Mtns) Moscow, ID is VERY nice!!! Hayden Lake too!
Bozeman, Thompson Falls, and Columbia Falls are favorite spots in MT. (minimal Building codes, no sales tax)
Powell and Sheridan in WY (tax free)
Spearfish and Sturgis in SD (Tax Free)
As for WA (and OR... High income tax, no sales tax))... There are lots of places within 1 hr of coast and mtns that you can find a small rural place for under $150k (need to dig... and NOT use a realtor) .. These locations will be small rural towns with minimal services, but 1 hr to coast, mtn / large town.
I find my properties by driving around, finding the most attractive neighborhoods, then spending a lot of time at the courthouse or online researching ownership. Then I start contacting owners (usually I start with absentee owners of view property with trashed homes). I do this about tax time...
I stay with locals when researching an area to live / invest.
I attend lots of community activities.
I always visit the tax assessor and building department and long range planning. (I like to know where the next freeway is planned...)
Farm stores, hardware, grocery (I like to visit the produce dept early in the morning for a days supply of FREE outdated food!).
Asking local questions to EVERYONE (including kids... they can be bluntly honest!)
I don't add merit to the sales pitch of Chamber of Commerce or economic development person, but I schedule time with the director of each to understand the regional long term plans and past barriers, and what they see as 'value added' & needs of the community.
Never hurts to look up the CEDS, Community Economic Development Strategy. (Any place getting USDA / ED $$ will have one. Larger cities do too but not through Rural Economic Development).)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 08-16-2014 at 08:38 AM..
Nice quiet town of +/- 7,000 people.
Except for the first week of August when the population is +/- 307,000 to 507,000.
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