Best Places to Live

[snowtulip]

Hi Everyone,
I tried the search function, because I vaguely remember a thread about this, but couldn't find it, so here goes.

DH and I had planned to buy some land in a city that we want to move to in the future. We are at that point in time when we can start putting some money toward that, however, five or so years ago we had a destination in mind that is not currently in line with our vision of the future. So we've been discussing what we want in a place to live.

How have you went about figuring your dream destination to live?

We know that we want to be somewhere with mountains, good bike and outdoor community, and this is the new one - dh wants to be in driving distance of surfing (didn't fit into our formula 5 yrs. ago), it also can't be extremely cold in the winter, and must have at least one movie theater and one bookstore.

Any advice on how you choose your place or advice about cities that fit the above bill, please let me know.

Thanks!!!:D

[PinkBike]

i'd say central coast of california. i think it probably has it all.
anybody from there wanna chime in?
i'd say san diego except no mountains, boulder except too cold, the south (south texas thru georgia) except no surf?

[Xrayted]

Yes, I think there was a thread about this in Nov or Dec, 2006. The web site is www.findyourspot.com. Check it out.

[kat_h]

If you're looking worldwide I'd say southern Sweden.

[crazycanuck]

Ummm if you don't want to spend a fortune on a house, Australia & NZ aren't great options atm...:rolleyes:

[tulip]

If it weren't for the surfing, I'd suggest Asheville. How would he like white water kayaking and rafting instead??

I'm currently in a similar quest. I've always wanted to live in Europe. I lived there once for a few months, but circumstances were different, and it did not work out. Now, however, I think I could do it. Paris, Dublin, Bordeaux, and some smaller cities in western France come to mind for me. I'm fortunate in that I am an EU citizen, so that really cuts down on the hassle.

My criteria are near the sea, access to a city, good cycling, fresh markets (European markets or farmers markets), and as few shopping centers, cul-de-sacs, and SUVs as possible. Oh, and good gardening climate.

[snowtulip]

Thanks for input everyone. It's amazing how hard it is to decide! DH and I even did a search on a small town we loved when we were in Slovenia, but don't think we are ready to leave our families that far away.

Our friends keep mentioning Asheville or Portland, I love Portland and have never been to Asheville. The whole surfing thing is throwing the formula off.

FindSpot seems to want us to move to Arkansas?

Thanks everyone!

[froglegs]

I live on the central coast of CA, in Santa Maria which is probably the least expensive central coast city with a beach climate (once you get past San Luis Obispo, it gets to be more of a desert climate).

It is about 10 miles from the ocean and there are plenty of mountains, quiet beautiful roads to ride on, and good places to surf all within a few minutes to an hour's drive. The weather simply can't be beat (average high for January is 64, July is 74). It really is a great place to live if you can find a local job, or don't mind having a (possibly very long) commute.

It does have a movie theater and a bookstore, but the bookstore is pretty small and is in the mall, which sucks. If I want to go to a bookstore I usually go up to SLO, or go one right next to my work in Goleta.

I probably would rather live in SLO (I did in college) but it is pretty expensive.

[Tuckervill]

Little Rock and Fayetteville, AR are great places to live (I'm sure those are the two places findyourspot recommended--and did you get Albuquerque, too?). If I had my choice, I'd choose Fayetteville, but just because of more progressive politics. Cultural amenities are more accessible in Little Rock, though Fayetteville has its opportunities, mostly due to the university, which brings a diverse and educated population from other places.

How many states have their very own encyclopedia? http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/

If you like outdoor stuff, Arkansas is a great place to live, although the economy seems too skewed towards fishing and hunting, and not so much towards more physical stuff. It's coming along, though. We have lots of places for paddle sports, including the pristine Buffalo National River. Lots of mountain biking opportunities. Of course, the roads are wide open for cycling, but we have some ways to go to educate drivers. The Ozark Highlands Trail is one of the best hiking trails in the country, and is pristine and mostly undiscovered.

I live only 30 miles from Fayetteville. I lived in the Little Rock area for many years and still own a house there. Hundreds and thousands of retirees from the North (Yankees!) have settled in the Harrison, Hot Springs and Mountain Home areas, so there must be something good about Arkansas.

Karen

[Blueberry]

Hmmm....maybe it's time to re-think where I live:rolleyes:

I did the find your spot, and ALL of my results (except for 3) were in AK, WA or OR. I had one each in Maine, Vermont and Mass.

I think perhaps NC isn't the best place for me;)

[bmccasland]

Yes, I think there was a thread about this in Nov or Dec, 2006. The web site is www.findyourspot.com. Check it out.

But they didn't ask to pick your poison - fire season, hurricane season, tornado season, ice season, or random earthquakes. (OK, they sort of got to winter). How about something near a coast without damp grey winters, and not in the hurricane blow zone where I can actually afford home owner's insurance and won't need flood insurance???? The only good thing I can say about hurricanes above the others is that you know two days in advance you're going to get hit - the others are pretty much unpredictable. And tornadoes scare the dickens out of me. The only time they're fun to watch is from the safety of my TV.

[Duck on Wheels]

If it were affordable, I'd say Santa Cruz, California fits your description. But the housing prices there (well, last I looked, which is now 6 years ago) are insane. There is surfing as far north as San Francisco, but the rip tides are dangerous and the water is pretty cold (Humboldt Current, ya know). As you go southwards, if you stay north of Santa Barbara and keep you distance from the occasional nuclear power plant, there are some nice communities with hills to east of them and surf to the west. Some, but not all of these, are affordable. From Santa Barbara southwards gets pretty expensive again.

[spokewench]

Big Bear - California - snow skiiing, mountain biking - I think it is close enough to San Diego/La Jolla area for surfin

[Drtgirl]

I agree with the above posts- Asheville is great. Nice weather, small town, awesome outdoor activities.

I live in Seattle but if I had a choice, I'd move somewhere that has drier and warmer weather. Somewhere like Bend, Oregon :D

[bruiser]

Try looking in the Northwest (US) if you think California is too expensive (I do). Anywhere in the Willamette Valley (from about Portland down to Eugene) puts you no more than an hour from mountains and an hour from the coasts. The surfing definitely is not as good as Cali, but its at least possible. I know lots of people who surf our beaches year-round. And you can't beat the cycling (especially through wine country ;) )!
The weather is mild, and it rarely gets hotter than 100 or colder than 20. The rain isn't as bad as people complain about; I think all the whiners are the California-imports, anyway :rolleyes:! But if you think grey winters would be a drag, try looking at central Oregon. It puts you closer to the mountains (and lots of snow instead of rain) but farther from the beach.


Granted, I am little biased as I have lived in the Willamette Valley for most of my life. Out of the 24 FindYourSpot locations, I think I got all of the Oregon cities... Coincidence? :D

[SlowButSteady]

I ditto what people have said about Asheville, NC.

Small town with scads of cultural opportunities, eclectic, funky and outdoorsy.

It's kind of alt-everything, in a good way.

Trails, mountain biking, good white water, snow skiing in winter. Not far to bass lakes and trout fishing. A good way to the beaches, though, depending on which ones you like. Probably five hours +/-

If you cycle much, you'd better like hills.

My DH took me there to get my tattoo, when tats weren't legal in SC. On a Friday night, we waited over 5 hours to get inked.

Also, consider Greenville, SC. 1 hour from Asheville, 2.5 to Atlanta. 3.5 to Charleston. Downtown is an eater's destination with a nice assortment of decent to excellent eateries. Enough shopping, cultural and sports opportunities. 2 hours to mountains and about 4 to beaches--yet still has a small town feel.

A cycling destination. Hincappie lives here and is developing a sports-friendly upscale community in the mountains. The surrounding countryside is rolling with lots of country roads.

Of course, the Greenville area people tell me how lucky we are just southeast of there to have great rural roads on which to cycle.

[snowtulip]

I need to start using my frequent flier miles and visit some of these places!

Tuckerville, thanks for the info. on Arkansas (unfortunately I've only heard negative things about it, so it was great to hear the positives). I currently live in Albuquerque, spot didn't recommend.

I'm concerned about CA because I'm not very inclined toward living in an area where there are earthquakes (or any potential natural disasters).

Are there many natural events (earthquakes, tornadoes, etc) in Pacific NW and Asheville?

[tulip]

there are sometimes little rumbles in Asheville, but nothing to even knock a picture off the wall. Maybe once every couple of years. Rare.

PM me if you get serious about AVL (local for Asheville). I have family there, my brother is a big cyclist there (and very cool real estate agent), and he and I can tell you about the neighborhoods.

[Tuckervill]

Glad to be an ambassador for all good things Arkie! :)

Parts of Arkansas are on the New Madrid Fault line, which runs up along the Mississippi River, kinda, up into Missouri. It's one of those faults that if it ever goes, it will be horrendous. There are little rumbles to be felt, but I've never ever felt one, even when I lived in Memphis.

People get concerned about tornadoes when they think of Arkansas, but I've never worried. There is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent them, so why waste your energy? We did find ourselves huddling in the hallway during that last megastorm.

Karen

[Brandi]

I live in San luis obispo and I would live no other place. And let me tell you I have been EVERWHERE In a America. There is great weather year round. Surfing, exellent biking both road and mountain. Ton's of hiking, ton's of places to camp! It is really a wonderful place to live. Wait no it sucks! You don't want to live here! What was I thinking?
There is a lot of property here for sale right now. And with the market the way it is it is a buyer's market right now. Let me know if you visit the area I can hook you up with a couple relators. And take you on a great ride!
I didn't know they had surf in the south? It is to hot and sweaty there anyway.

[emily_in_nc]

Hmmm....maybe it's time to re-think where I live:rolleyes:

I did the find your spot, and ALL of my results (except for 3) were in AK, WA or OR. I had one each in Maine, Vermont and Mass.

I think perhaps NC isn't the best place for me;)

You must have said you liked chilly weather! Brrrrr....

I did Find Your Spot awhile back and #1 for me was Silver City, NM, a very cool place indeed -- but I don't know if I'd ever move that far away from family. NC mountains or coast, or the Florida Keys, are more my speed.

Emily

[Blueberry]

Emily-

I said I liked snow, and that I wanted to be near the beach.

We're giving thought to whether we would want to leave NC - only time will tell! We loved Wilmington when we lived there, but really missed snow and (strangely enough) hills to ride on. I don't like to climb them (much), but they make the ride more interesting...

CA

[froglegs]

I'm concerned about CA because I'm not very inclined toward living in an area where there are earthquakes (or any potential natural disasters).

Large earthquakes happen pretty infrequently, but they do happen. I happened to be a half mile from the epicenter of the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and it was the scariest 20 seconds of my life.... but I haven't felt anything remotely close to it in the last 14 years, and haven't felt any earthquakes at all in at least three years. Earthquakes are something you can be prepared for just like any other natural disaster, and I would definitely take them over tornadoes or hurricanes.

South Carolina has all 3. :)

[maillotpois]

How can I not love where I live? It's where BJ Hunnicutt lived with Peg and the kids, close to SF but still rural (a large % of the land in Marin County is protected open space/farms), access by bike to mountains and beaches - and it has its own song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pUA_-oWeVw

:D