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hikerjohnd
05-26-2006, 20:43
Well, I finally have a Masters Degree (and those of you who want to read the thesis, be patient, I am waiting for the committee to finish with it) and now my wife and I are trying to decide where to live. Our professions will allow us to live just about anywhere (she is an attorney and I can teach or work for museums/archives). Right now, we have pretty much decided that Savannah is just too small for us, as we miss some of the convenience that Atlanta offered. Our only criteria at the moment is seasons. I want a bit of snow in the winter (not digging my car out daily, but I don't want the city to panic if snow is in the forecast) and less humidity in the summer.

So - as WB folks live just about everywhere I'm hoping for some suggestions. We have been considering Kansas City, MO, and Portland, OR just to give you an idea of where our thoughts are for now.

Thanks for the advice!!! :D:D:D

Rendezvous01
05-26-2006, 21:42
My family was in a similar situation a few years ago, although both my wife and I had just lost jobs in a small town that we really, really wanted to move away from. The almost simultaneous job-losses were merely the catalysts we needed.

"So, where do you want to live, honey?"

Instead of getting a job and moving to a town, we decided to move to a town and get jobs. We spent hours on the internet searching for places that met our general criteria, then wrote to chambers of commerce to get their material, and eventually visited several cities before settling on Ithaca. We had factors which you haven't mentioned, specifically two gifted children who were undermotivated in their schools, so that played a big factor, but there were lots of things which contributed to our final decision.

A couple of websites which you may find helpful to kick-starting your search: www.findyourspot.com (http://www.findyourspot.com) and www.bestplaces.net/fybp/ (http://www.bestplaces.net/fybp/). There are probably others. Each has an interactive quiz to help you narrow your search, based on your responses. I'd advise you each to take the quizzes separately, then do a combined quiz for each site. Compare the three (or six) results to see what they have in common. Then go from there. PM me if you'd like more input/advice.

Congratulations on completing your Master's, and best of luck on your new life.

Jack Tarlin
05-26-2006, 22:03
I think Western North Carolina is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

I'd look at places near Boone and Asheville.

Also, considering your backgrounds, look at central Virginia, especially near Charlottesville/Waynesboro.

Let us know what happens!

Moon Monster
05-26-2006, 22:50
I really like findyourspot.com, but it slants towards politics and taxes a bit too much. Do you need a website to tell you Portland is a liberal city?

Based on your criteria, I think you should also consider Denver, Louisville and the resurgent Pittsburgh.

MedicineMan
05-27-2006, 00:48
but look at East TN, I've got a collection of 15 sea kayaks, North Carolina will tax me for each one. NC also has a state income tax...come to Johnson City, Bristol,Kingsport,Erwin,Elizabethton,Greenville,Kn oxville,etc.
No state income tax! Proximity to the AT! The Foothills Trail! Asheville (Beer Garden,EarthFair)!, TVA lake system (sea kayaking on 30 mile long lakes)! Snow (I get 8-10 snows/year), Johnson City is 5 hours from Charleston and ocean kayaking,,,East TN is growing growing (bad and good), Kincora! Miss Janets! Elmers! Hotsprings is a hour away! Snow skiing in NC is 30 minutes from my area (Roan Mountain)! ETSU! Milligan! I could go on, snow shoeing the Roan, cross country skiing the Roan, Hump mountain visible from too many ares. Damascus 1 hour away! Mountain biking trails EVERYWHERE! Scuba dive the old train under Watauga Lake.....my fingers are getting tired....Atlanta 5 hours, Charlotte 3.5 hours.....enough?

Local
05-27-2006, 08:25
MedicineMan, hush! :) We've got Floridians and Californians and New Englanders lined up on the sidewalks here waiting for some of the old folks to leave this worldy life so they can buy their house. Good property gets sold before being advertised. Traffic is increasing. Visions of a new Gatlinburg scare us. We're thinking of starting rumors that our mountains are full of venomous snakes and people waiting for a casting call for Deliverance II. Hikerjohnd would be welcome, but he might want to consider that it rains 320 days a year and people who leave their homes on sunny days get mauled by bears.

There's a train under Watauga Lake?

SGT Rock
05-27-2006, 08:28
East Tennessee, all the benifits of the mountains of Western NC without the property prices. Plus it is a short hop up to the AT or over to the hiking trails of NC.

hikerjohnd
05-27-2006, 08:46
Hikerjohnd would be welcome, but he might want to consider that it rains 320 days a year and people who leave their homes on sunny days get mauled by bears.

You can't fool me - I know there are no bears...:D

We really have just made the decision to leave Savannah so all options are being considered (with the seasons caveat).

We never really considered Tennessee - I'll share that one with my wife (although we have agreed to come up with our lists and then discuss this again next week). I definitely like the no state income tax idea - that is about the only thing I miss from Florida.

Rendezvous01 - thank you for the web sites - I had been looking online (for about 20 minutes before posted here) but could not find sites like that - I have forwarded the link to my wife and we will compare notes next Friday.

And just for other advisors - we do not have children to consider - just two puppies who act like children (especially the new one)

While AT access would be nice, we have decided to open the search to the continental US - she has spent time out west and really loved it. I figure there are trails all over to be explored - and the AT isn't going anywhere...

Footslogger
05-27-2006, 09:14
Well ...there's always the wild, wild west. My wife got a doctorate after her thru in 2001 and was offered a position at the University of Wyoming. I cringed at the thought when she first mentioned it but decided to give it a chance. Been here now since August 2002 and have to admit that it kind of grows on you. Flew back in March of 2003 for my own thru and found that I really did (still do) miss the AT corridor but for the time being ...Larmie Wyoming is home. No state tax, proximity to the mountains (the tall kind), more open spaces than people and no traffic. Heck, there were more people in the COUNTY that we moved from (Cobb - Atlanta) than there are in the entire state.

Anway, just thought I'd throw that out to balance the scale a tad, since it was leaning heavily to the East.

'Slogger

Kerosene
05-27-2006, 11:19
I will second the nominations for Ithaca and Asheville, and personally I'll turn my sights on eastern Tennessee for retirement consideration. There are some great college towns in the Midwest, including Ann Arbor and Madison, Wisconsin, but they lack much in the way of mountains (I long for the mountains and my wife loves the seashore, so we've lived in Ann Arbor since graduating from college so neither of us gets what we want. :o ) That said, I live just south of Ann Arbor in Saline, recently rated #43 on the CNN Best Places to Live.

Here are some other ideas: Burlington, Vermont; Bozeman, Montana; Helena, Montana; Sun Valley, Idaho; Spokane, WA/Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; or how about Telluride, Colorado?

Sly
05-27-2006, 11:20
No way would I want to live in the mid West but I'm considering... Carson City/Reno NV, Bozeman MT, Sedona/Flagstaff AZ

Lone Wolf
05-27-2006, 11:24
No way I could live in Asheville. I'd be in jail in no time for kickin hippies.:D

Sly
05-27-2006, 11:40
LOL I did findyourspot and would live in any of the suggestions. Salem/Eugene OR, Missoula MT, Carson City/Reno NV and Albuquerque NM

Sly
05-27-2006, 11:48
Ooops there were 4 pages. Two other suggestions had Cape Cod MA and Frederick MD. I've already lived there! Other places in OR, ID, NV, WA, UT which wouldn't be bad choices. Neat site.

Sly
05-27-2006, 11:50
No way I could live in Asheville. I'd be in jail in no time for kickin hippies.:D

It's not so bad, it's kinda like Trail Days! ;)

soad
05-27-2006, 11:54
1. Portland, MAINE...mountains and sea all within your reach (big city Boston real close)

2. Asheville, NC...one of the best "mountain" towns I have ever been in.

3. Scranton, PA...don't laugh...close to NYC, plus east access to Catskills, Poconos, and Finger Lakes of NY.

Programbo
05-27-2006, 12:46
It may be rainy but I loved the Pacific Northwest when I was stationed at Fort Lewis when in the Army..You are close to the big mountains and can see Mount Rainier from just about anywhere...Endless expanses of tall pine forest..Seems to be a lot of serial killers up that way though..Maybe it`s the rain :)

hikerjohnd
05-27-2006, 17:55
3. Scranton, PA...don't laugh...close to NYC, plus east access to Catskills, Poconos, and Finger Lakes of NY.


I have considered this option - there is an art museum there that is hiring, and the Anthricite Museum is, in my opinion, one of the best in the country. An additional bonus would be the proximity of family - my sister and her family live there. Well, Carbondale is where they call home - but close enough...

Heater
05-27-2006, 18:50
A couple of websites which you may find helpful to kick-starting your search: www.findyourspot.com (http://www.findyourspot.com)

Two of the place on my list are in my immediate area and I already own lake property at one of them. The other is San Marcos, Texas where I have been actively looking for property. :) Pretty cool site! :cool:

I think I'll stay in the area. :sun :D

Pacific Tortuga
05-27-2006, 19:05
LOL I did findyourspot and would live in any of the suggestions. Salem/Eugene OR, Missoula MT, Carson City/Reno NV and Albuquerque NM

I second Sly on Missoula,MT., Bozeman is too small and over-run by Californian's jack'in up the home prices. Reno-Virginia City and the Bucket of Blood Saloon would be my next pick.

Dances with Mice
05-27-2006, 19:13
The other is San Marcos, Texas where I have been actively looking for property. The ony thing wrong with Austin is its lack of higher educational opportunities (Gig'em!) I really liked San Marcos, especially the Wimberly / Dripping Springs area. Wimberly's open air movie theater (http://www.corraltheatre.com/) is just too cute. The whole town is one neighborhood.

Heater
05-27-2006, 19:26
The ony thing wrong with Austin is its lack of higher educational opportunities (Gig'em!) I really liked San Marcos, especially the Wimberly / Dripping Springs area. Wimberly's open air movie theater (http://www.corraltheatre.com/) is just too cute. The whole town is one neighborhood.

Wimberly is perfect for me. 12 miles to "town" (San Marcos) and a beautiful landscape. That is probably where I'll wind up unless I do something crazy like moving to Asheville. :)

weary
05-27-2006, 23:51
Over the years I've bounced around Chicago, Seattle, Yuma, AZ. and had shorter visits to most of the continental states, but I've ended up on midcoastal Maine, a convenient commute from Portland. It's not a decision I've ever regretted. I love the four seasons, the open spaces, the near "rain forest," the political enlightenment ...

Weary

fiddlehead
05-28-2006, 21:20
New Zealand, southern France, Switzerland or Tazmania would be my choices if i liked snow like you said you would prefer.
But Thailand is the place for me. (no snow though)

weary
05-29-2006, 00:04
New Zealand, southern France, Switzerland or Tazmania would be my choices if i liked snow like you said you would prefer.
But Thailand is the place for me. (no snow though)
I like visiting foreign lands, but I've never thought seriously about living anyplace but the United States of America.

I have been a critic of this nation's wars and government environmental and social policies. Over the years many people have told me that "if you don't like America then leave." I don't leave. I try to improve those things I don't like.

As soon as I get America the way I like it, I'll think about taking on "New Zealand, southern France, Switzerland or Tazmania," maybe even Thailand. But for the moment I'm too busy trying to protect the Appalachian Trail in Maine from industrial development.

You can help. Just open www.matc.org Bounce down the page and and click on the "donate now" button. Choose the "Protect Redington" option.

Weary

Local
05-29-2006, 08:27
The best place of all might Trinidad de Cuba, but I think finding work there under the communist regime might be difficult. But when the place opens up it will be flooded with gringos like myself who will be looking for one of the houses where you can tie your horse to your front door, and park your bicycle in the street. Hikes into the Appalachian-like mountains nearby give you a view of the Caribbean.

http://jewishcuba.org/photos/trinidad1.html

LuTotten
05-29-2006, 12:00
Here are some other ideas: Burlington, Vermont; Bozeman, Montana; Helena, Montana; Sun Valley, Idaho; Spokane, WA/Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; or how about Telluride, Colorado?

Something to think about is medical facilities...I visited Bozeman MT this year and had to go to the hospital, spent the most miserable hour and a half of my life driving to the hospital...

hacksaw
05-29-2006, 14:04
Wellllll, since you are already here, and hopefully a native of here, ain't a thaing wrong with Pooler, Ga. that YOU can't help fix! What with you being a highly educated product of the Ga. University system and whatall.

hikerjohnd
05-29-2006, 14:13
Wellllll, since you are already here, and hopefully a native of here, ain't a thaing wrong with Pooler, Ga. that YOU can't help fix! What with you being a highly educated product of the Ga. University system and whatall.

Are you suggesting that I can change the climate in Pooler through education? Believe me if I could make it snow, I would. Having grown up in Florida and never lived north of Atlanta, I am ready for seasons other than summer. We would like to live somewhere we do not need to run the air conditioner at Christmas. Savannah is nice, but it is time for a change.

hacksaw
05-29-2006, 14:28
No, I am suggesting that life, regardless of where you live it, is only what you make it.

Well, unless you limit yourself, I think with education, application, and dedication that you very well can make it snow in Savannah. And probably with a budget somewhat less than the cost of W's hunt for the elusive WMDs.

Of course you could move up to Montana and be a Dental Floss Tycoon as well.

Or any one of the myriad other fine suggestions.

Just realize, as I'm certain you must, that it ain't the place that makes the people, it's the people that make the place.

And, finally, All the best to you regardless of where you settle and wherever that might be.........don't be shy- contribute, strive to make a difference.

hikerjohnd
05-29-2006, 14:56
Just realize, as I'm certain you must, that it ain't the place that makes the people, it's the people that make the place.

And, finally, All the best to you regardless of where you settle and wherever that might be.........don't be shy- contribute, strive to make a difference.


You are absolutly correct! And I should have added a few smiley faces to my above response. We are active in the community here - I through the home owners association and city council, and my wife through her law firm and women's singing group.

The decision to move stems from the ability to do so without much trouble. We have no children to uproot, no family that is dependent on us here, and no jobs that keep us tied to the city or region. Why not find a better climate while we are looking?

fiddlehead
05-29-2006, 22:01
The best place of all might Trinidad de Cuba, but I think finding work there under the communist regime might be difficult. But when the place opens up it will be flooded with gringos like myself who will be looking for one of the houses where you can tie your horse to your front door, and park your bicycle in the street. Hikes into the Appalachian-like mountains nearby give you a view of the Caribbean.

http://jewishcuba.org/photos/trinidad1.html

It is my understanding that Americans will get a $50,000 fine if Cuba is found in their passport! And some call it a "free country"

fiddlehead
05-29-2006, 22:10
I like visiting foreign lands, but I've never thought seriously about living anyplace but the United States of America.

I have been a critic of this nation's wars and government environmental and social policies. Over the years many people have told me that "if you don't like America then leave." I don't leave. I try to improve those things I don't like.

As soon as I get America the way I like it, I'll think about taking on "New Zealand, southern France, Switzerland or Tazmania," maybe even Thailand. But for the moment I'm too busy trying to protect the Appalachian Trail in Maine from industrial development.

You can help. Just open www.matc.org (http://www.matc.org) Bounce down the page and and click on the "donate now" button. Choose the "Protect Redington" option.

Weary

I have lived in Maine (Sugarloaf ski area), Northen Idaho (true wilderness), Patagonia, AZ (hot), and northern CA. I too have big problems with our politics (especially the part about us starting wars all too often)
But i live in Thailand for 2 main reasons: I fell in love with a Thai woman who doesn't want to leave paradise (she is proving that to me), her religion (Bhuddist), her family (family values are very high on the social list here), and she has heard so many bad things about how Americans treat foreigners. And now we have a baby boy, who loves to smile!

The 2nd reason is that i am a musician and i have found many musicians, film makers, writers, and many people with artistic traits and have discovered Thailand as a place where there are many people like them. I have friends here who write music for a living and they are teaching me some of their ways (via computer) that i can't imagine i would learn about in PA, where deer hunting is the norm and i'm one of the few musicians around.
So, i can expand my passions here. (musicians in Thailand are one of the highest paid people vs. in the states, they are one of the lowest) For a long time, hiking was my passion but now that i have a young child, i have him, and my music and Thailand is the place for a while.

Shutterbug
05-29-2006, 23:23
...Thanks for the advice!!!... :D:D:D

I have traveled all over the world including all 50 states of the U.S. I can live anywhere I want, and I chose Gig Harbor, WA. It isn't perfect, but when all things are considered, it would be hard to beat.

I love living near water -- Gig Harbor is on Puget Sound.
I love mountains -- Mt. Rainier is less than 20 miles *as the crow flies" and the Olympic Mountains are less than 30 miles.
I enjoy the advantages of a large city -- Seattle is only 30 miles.
I need access to a major airport -- SeaTac is 25 miles.
No personal income tax is important -- WA still has no personal income tax.
No estate tax is important -- After I moved here, WA adopted an estate tax. That isn't good.
Low crime rate -- Gig Harbor has a very low crime rate.
Real Estate Prices -- Homes are still reasonable when compared to other places, but have been increasing significantly. The value of my home has doubled in the past five years.
Hiking -- Washington has excellent hiking opportunities, including the PCT, the Wonderland Trail and thousands of over trails. Mt. Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park have outstanding opportunities.

There are a few draw backs -- western Washington has an awful traffic problem. There has been some progress, but it is still bad.
January -- This year it rained every day in January. If one has to stay in Washington for the month of January, the rain gets very old.

http://www.cityofgigharbor.net/index.html

Pacific Tortuga
05-29-2006, 23:40
And "NO Cabbages' B&B in Gig Harbor don't about the others but I'll never forget my stay there.