Where is best place to live and why? (am in residential limbo)

[Whoa_Nelly]

Having moved again in last six months, and not being in any place I want to stay permanently, I feel I'm in limbo right now. While also having moved recently to be near son and family, and the imminent birth of second grandchild, (a boy this time), am willing to stay here for that event and to be present for some time afterward, but I still feel that living in rural California (Central Valley) is just so dead end. I grew up in the midwest, love Minnesota in the summer, love tornado season in the plains (would be a storm chaser if I had ability and were younger...am 51), I find CA too expensive...housing, buying a home, gas prices, taxes, food, and more.

Anyway...am curious, and open to suggestion, as to where to live. Would love to live where I can afford a home, do Interior Design (I have a degree in it), or go back to teaching (have two BS degrees in Gen. Ed and Sp. Ed), and live where there are cultural events (ain't the haps here...), and weather that is tolerable year round. I can deal with snow having spent over 20 years in Reno/Carson City, NV, in the foothills of the Sierras, but I know Reno is not where I want to return.

Tell me where you think is a good, or great!, place to finally settle. I can handle being the visiting grandma to my son and family. What I am finding difficult to handle is being in what more and more seems to be a dead end place in the US...too many good ol' boys, so many that remind me of the Joad family, and the weather with high temps in the summer and mega fog in the winter doesn't appeal to me.

Who knows? (now :rant:ing) Maybe I'll adjust, get on with being the close by grandma. But, being single, starting a new career here, and trying to get in with the good "folks" of what seems to be a pretty backward and cliquish group of people, is losing whatever appeal there was in being near my son and grandkids.

HELP!

[yorkiemommie1]

1. i'm here in the south bay

redondo / torrance area

and totally sympathize w/ you. haven't lived there, but been thru there enough times in blazing heat and thick fog. " Joad " family reference is funny!

I love it here but it's expensive and the traffic is bad. In a perfect world I would live in Santa Barbara, Summerland, Carpinteria, even Goleta.

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. I love Santa Barbara!

but am sure you totally inderstand the cost of livining in CA. Shoot!, here in Central Valley, homes go for over $285/sq. ft....insane! When I do a search on homes in the midwest, it's less than half that!

PS
Thanks for responding :party:

[yorkiemommie1]

17. oh, i know

i hope you find your niche. i'm a little ahead of you in age but i've always thought that if i had nothing to hold me here i would go back to hawaii where i'm from. talk about expensive!

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Just kickin'

:kick:
am feeling a bit low tonight...would love some input...am serious in getting views on where other think is great place to settle down. Have been a hippie chick too long...'course, am sure will always be one of the original hippie chicks...lol...but need input for next move. Right now am in a month-to month 1800 sq. ft. house, knockin' around all ny my lonesome. I am really considering moving back to midwest somewhere...

[Catchawave]

14. Southeast Virginia is wonderful.....

...affordable living and good jobs, but housing costs ri$ing fast! Hurry :)

IMHO, best weather in the country, very moderate temps, but all 4 seasons,spring flowers, thunderstorms,fall colors and snowflakes and the occassional drama of brushes with hurricanes. And you can still be a hippie chick in the very blue Norfolk on the river with the Ches Bay and Atlantic only 20 minutes away!

Now if I had to leave here, it would be to the Miami or NYC areas, but never, ever back to California. Lovely state, hated the weather, too boring...oy! Their 4 seasons, dry-wildfires-wet-mudslides and the occassional drama of brushes with earthquakes. Lived at the beach for 6 years and never saw the sun til 3pm everyday :( I NEED sun!

I liked the Chicago area, but need to be close to the ocean :)

Tell ya what Nelly, check in with the DU State Forums of those states you're interested in....they are so great and helpful.

Our family is retired now, we can live anywhere we want, yet we choose the Norfolk, Va area. Hope that helps.

[leftofthedial]

4. Colorado

sounds like the place for you

[Whoa_Nelly]

8. Maybe

My brother wants me there..he lives outside of Denver...but, am not sure I could deal with him being so nearby all the time...he's a control freak, not to mention totally anal.

[leftofthedial]

11. try a different part of the state

southwest

western slope

mountains

northern front range


all would be far enough away from Bro

[Whoa_Nelly]

13. *LOL* Maybe

but you don't know my bro...would try to be in my personal biz no matter what...and ther are other issues about which am certain living near the guy would not be a good thing. However, have been to CO many times, spent time there...it does hold a lot of appeal for me.

[salin]

5. I can not believe I am about to type this

indeed I NEVER thought I would meet anyone who would move to Indiana except to be close to family (I grew up here - and after years, returned to be close to family). But, have found a large number of folks who have moved to Bloomington, Indiana - due to the U (with a major Music school which results in a lot of cultural events) mixed with a bit of a smaller city atmosphere (under 100,000 - unless you count students.) It is a beautiful community, pretty progressive, and relatively cosmopolitan - and pretty affordable.

And - in the over all state - we need as many progressive voters as possible (honest part of the plug comes out here!)

I also lived in Ann Arbor (a number of years ago) - and loved it. It is more expensive than B-ton - but a great city to live in.

I would look at the cities that are homes to major Universities as potential places to which to relocate.

I used to live in the Sf Bay Area (which I loved). And while not the same - I would say that the midwestern college towns that I have lived in - have had many of the same pluses - though less cost, less congestion (but ultimately less progressive due to the sheer numbers - thus one has to go to a city in which the U has a pretty big influence for it to help set the tone of the city.)

[Squatch]

6. Victoria, BC

Or Banff, AB

[Whoa_Nelly]

7. I love BC!

Spent time there in the 80s, camoing, traveling...Fraser River...absolutely beautiful! And Canadians were so wonderfully freindly. Had a culture shock when returned to US...just over the border, the lay of the land became dirty and spoiled.

[Tallison]

9. Charlottesville, VA and Asheville, NC are best in south n/t

[Whoa_Nelly]

10. How long have you lived in that area?

Tell me more as to why it's such a great place to live...O8)

[Tallison]

16. Lived in C-ville 12 years, never in Asheville

First, they're set among mountains, the Blue Ridge in C-ville's case, and Smokies in Asheville's, lots of green, lakes, and rivers around, outdoor activity potential with really old, well-preserved neighborhoods in town with spectacular architecture. The populations are fairly small and stable, about 40-70,000 and real left-leaning that's evident if you read any of their local papers (The Hook and C'ville Weekly in C'ville's case, a great way to gague a community's disposition). The city councils of both are entirely, 100% Democrat. Both towns support thriving arts scenes and have a really active downtown communities. I read a statistic somewhere that Charlottesville has more bars and restaurants per capita than any city in the country, NYC included. And with UVa just down the streat, expect your waitstaff or bartender to be at least as educated as yourself and conversant on the arcane subject of your choice, which is always fun when you're out on the town. As southern towns, the people in both are really friendly and hospitable, and super-social. Lots of European and New England transplants/retirees in both, seduced by the idyllic surroundings and saner, more aesthetic pace of life. I remember stopping through Asheville once, having lunch at an outdoor cafe run by a Spaniard and having fried green tomatos with goat-cheese grits and one of the best glasses of Chilean Shiraz I've had in my life. Both towns are about as ideal as I've ever experienced (I went to UVa when I was 18 and wound up staying in C'ville 'til I was 29 - not at all uncommon down there). Oh, and like a lot of European communities, people of different ages tend to interact a lot more extensively in the social scenes of those towns than in the rest of the country. You'll be at a Fridays After Five or Saturdays After Noon show at the downtown ampitheater (where they do everything from rock, to folk to bluegrass) and you'll see people from every age range represented, lots of kids, lots of adults, lots of seniors, all integrated into the social fabric. It's a true community like that, conscientious and fiercely loyal to the welfare of its own.

On edit: God, I miss it. Do want to check out Asheville, though, as a future possibility, as everyone I know down there is so content...

[evlbstrd]

12. I'm not normally a civic booster,

But Kansas City, Mo ain't bad.
Downtown is being revived, with lots of urban living space. As you found, housing is less expensive. And, despite the Cowtown image, some of which is deserved, it's culturally diverse. Some great theatre, a lively arts scene, a university, the Art Institute, the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Living in Midtown to Downtown here is actually getting a lot better. But I've always preferred urban life.
On the other hand, I've spent a lot of time in Minneapolis, and just love that city. Don't know if I could stand the Minnesota winters. Just as cold as here, but seemingly everlasting. At least here, it gets frequently broken up with relatively warm periods.

[Whoa_Nelly]

15. Have spent time there as well

having grown up in OKC. Have seen the urban changes, and they're good! Have actually given thought to KCMO, or even just being in KS, with KCMO and OKC a small drive away. Thanks for your input
xo

[RPM]

18. Pittsburgh PA

if you can find a job... that can be hard sometimes...

low cost of living
very blue
good recreation
accessable to midwest and east coast for fun 3 dy weekends...

[Democracy White]

19. Don't come to SW Michigan

especially GR, too many conservatives and the economy sucks!!

Dee