Best Places to Live

[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

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