Another state like WI but warmer? (Green Bay, Oregon: taxes, living, cost of living)

[adamnlisa]

It's not the snow, because I like the snow, it's the dreary sunless days and sub zero temperatures that I do not like. I'm fine with trading in the Great Lakes... we only periodically see Lake Michigan and it's not really that exciting anyway. I'll have to talk to my husband about the Carolinas... he spent time in NC and wanted to move there at one point.

[ccjarider]

Lived in WI for 46 years. Currently reside in Oregon.

Lots of water - more rivers than lakes though.
Enough natural beauty and wilderness to make all of WI look like the loop in Chicago.
Mountains and desert to east; forest and pacific coast to west.
This place is nature crazy.

Winter is coolish but the ground never freezes. Snow is rare here in Portland and the grass stays green all year. There are palm trees here. Low humidity and no mosquitoes are summer bonuses.

Cannot see us back in WI; but if we did move back, we would get the heck outta Dodge for the winter. NEVER AGAIN!

Here I can drive 40 minutes up MT Hood and "visit" winter. When all done, I drive home and cook on the grill in the backyard! Life is good.

[adamnlisa]

Holy cow, you just sold me on Oregon!!! But what about the "it rains all the time"? Does it really?

[Count David]

Originally Posted by adamnlisa

David - are you in CO? I'd LOVE to move there, but just hear that it's so brown and there are no lakes and greenery like we have here. Plus your snow melts faster than ours AND you have so much sunshine (the reason so many people in WI get so moody in winter, weeks with no sun). My husband works for the TSA and could transfer to any opening... but I think he's hitting the "I'd rather not move now" mood.

Yep, Denver.

You pegged it. It's brown, most lakes are reservoirs, most non-cottonwood trees on the plains were planted by man.

I'd imagine our winters are very mild in comparison to WI. Yes, it snows, and yes, it snows a lot, it gets cold, but none of it lasts for long, and sunny days are always right around the corner.

@GraniteStater, when I went to KC I couldn't believe how green it was in comparison to here. Maybe it was just my perspective.

@ram2, Northern Idaho might not be the place to escape cold winters. They get like 50" of snow, and when it's not snowing during winter, it is gray/cold/occasionally rainy. And then there is mud season. That being said, I would pull up stakes now to move back to the area.

[Fiddlehead]

I would put a plug in for rural Pennsylvania. Not so cold as WI, with lakes around, and nice woods. Likes WI, many Pennsylvanians were German farmers. Nice folk who work hard and value education.

You might like Oregon too, but jobs are darn hard to find here recently.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by adamnlisa

Holy cow, you just sold me on Oregon!!! But what about the "it rains all the time"? Does it really?

Yea it rains some in winter and it is overcast dec -mar. We get sun though in winter and the rain thing is Exaggerated in my opinion. I think locals started rain rumors decades ago to keep people away.

[adamnlisa]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Yep, Denver.

You pegged it. It's brown, most lakes are reservoirs, most non-cottonwood trees on the plains were planted by man.

I'd imagine our winters are very mild in comparison to WI. Yes, it snows, and yes, it snows a lot, it gets cold, but none of it lasts for long, and sunny days are always right around the corner.

That's the problem for me here, it's so cold and we have such a cold wind, on top of the ever-mounting snow piles, and it doesn't end until spring... no chance for melting any of it. I couldn't believe it when an old friend said it snowed a foot and a half up in Windsor, CO and by the next week it was all gone! That's a winter I could handle! However, my husband needs to hunt and fish... I think that's what's keeping him here... he has his hunting and fishing spots that he doesn't want to leave.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

I would put a plug in for rural Pennsylvania. Not so cold as WI, with lakes around, and nice woods. Likes WI, many Pennsylvanians were German farmers. Nice folk who work hard and value education.

You might like Oregon too, but jobs are darn hard to find here recently.

I thought about Pittsburgh. Perhaps Tennessee, Georgia, SC and NC near the mountains could work.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by adamnlisa

That's the problem for me here, it's so cold and we have such a cold wind, on top of the ever-mounting snow piles, and it doesn't end until spring... no chance for melting any of it. I couldn't believe it when an old friend said it snowed a foot and a half up in Windsor, CO and by the next week it was all gone! That's a winter I could handle! However, my husband needs to hunt and fish... I think that's what's keeping him here... he has his hunting and fishing spots that he doesn't want to leave.

Yeah, but sometimes it melts faster than others. For instance, in December it always seems to take long to melt (I actually don't like that it melts so fast ), we had snow last Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and it hasn't really melted at all yet. It has been off the major roads though, since at least Tuesday.

I understand your husband not wanting to leave his spots, but those things can be done here too.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Yea it rains some in winter and it is overcast dec -mar. We get sun though in winter and the rain thing is Exaggerated in my opinion. I think locals started rain rumors decades ago to keep people away.

I know you also lived in my area of NW C(r)ook Co. in IL. How gray and wet is Oregon in comparison? See any/many road bicyclists cruising around?

I think the issue with a warmer version of Wisconsin would be how important is it to find a place as pretty and do you want a similar or different "vibe"? I can recommend Hill Country in Austin all day long, but if you seek similar greenery/lushness then it won't work. It won't work if you can't handle 95+ degrees from mid-May through mid -Sep