Where should I live?

My Dear Wife and I have lived in Georgia our whole lives so far. We still live in the town where she grew up and I've been since sixth grade, Warner Robins. We lived in NW Georgia (rome) for a couple years but it wasn't a good time for a lot of reasons. Lately we've both been thinking about trying out another area of the country. It just kind of seems a shame to never live anywhere different. I have a great job, and she has a decent one. We have a nice little house. Maybe it's wanderlust or whatever, but we are 40 with no kids, so WTH. It may be idle speculation anyway.

So I'm asking the hive for places to investigate that meet our criteria. Basically, we have a list of activities and climate that we'd like to enjoy, and then would investigate the economic climate to see if we could find worthwhile employment. This would be moving for a lifestyle instead of moving to a job and dealing with the area you land in. (of course, I wouldn't ever move cross country BEFORE finding a job - not what I mean there.)

So, requirements:

• Good climate. Not too damn hot in the summer (<95 avg hi?), not too damn cold in the winter (>15 avg lo?). Some snow is okay (even be nice for a change), but I'd like to still be able to drive clear roads, ride a bike, and hike/ camp through most of the winter. Lower humidity is a big plus here - one of the things we'd like to experience is living in a drier climate than the subtropical heat and wet of central Georgia.

• active cycling scene - access to good roads for road biking and good trails for mountain biking. Which means at least one good bike shop

• other opportunities for outdoor recreation, specifically camping and hiking.

• A lake big enough to go sailing. Doesn't have to be huge, our current lake of choice is only about 3600 acres. Up to an hour drive from town is acceptable, we trailer the boat now, so no biggie.

• A more progressive social culture. We're pretty liberal on social issues, and it's like living as a missionary in a foreign land in Georgia. We'd prefer somewhere more like Asheville or Austin in that regard, but probably not California. Even strongly libertarian is fine, I'm a big fan of "you do you."

• Big enough city to have good restaurants (including ethnic choices) and conveniences, but small enough that traffic's not a nightmare. I figure this is around 30k - 150k population give or take.

One of the current places I'm eyeballing is Santa Fe, NM. It seems to hit all these nails. Most of the places I've kind of looked at fall on that side of the country - a little more open space and lower population density would be great. Colorado? Utah? Oregon?

So...what ya got?

Tennessee or Colorado, with Colorado being most likely.

Look at Prescott, Arizona. Foothills of the mountains, great climate.

I'd look southwest. The only thing that might not meet your conditions would probably be the heat in the summer, but the humidity is low enough that 100 degrees in Phoenix feels more like 80-85 in GA. I've found it pretty tolerable anytime I travel there.

The Carolinas might meet your criteria too, but would probably be similar to what you have now as well. Maybe that's good for comfort and familiarity, or maybe it's not enough of a change. You pick.

Denver area...in the foothills, not up in the mountains.

Klayfish wrote: Denver area...in the foothills, not up in the mountains.

Yep, but everybody and their mother is making that same decision right now as well, so housing is ridonkulous. maybe try ft. collins, colorado springs, grand junction, etc.

In a van down by the river.

Try www.findyourspot.com.
After a series of questions it'll spit out 20 or 25 possibilities. I've actually been able to visit a few of the places it has chosen for me and I must say, seems spot on.

Bentonville, Springdale, Fayetteville Arkansas. Not much in the way of mountains but some great lakes and good riding.

Austin TX is jam packed with traffic.

Prescott has a few lakes and is surrounded by mountains. It's slowly becoming a higher-end retiree town, but that also makes it a nice quiet place to live. It's like a smaller Phoenix. I could live there.

Durango CO or Bend OR? Santa Fe was a good suggestion too. These are all very strong bicycling places, and from what I understand you are pretty serious about cycling.

The company that I retired from, in Boca Raton FL, recently opened a new office in Denver. The guys that moved there absolutely love it.

Austin is waaay too big and congested to meet your criteria. Despite everyone who goes there trying to pull the ladder up after them, the Austin vibe has pretty much been ruined by the growth. You'll find it is an island of liberalism in a state that otherwise is very conservative, so you'll probably still feel surrounded.

I lived in the Raleigh area for about a year and found it a beautiful place to live. Still big by your criteria, but maybe some place a little more rural around there. The climate was great with moderate heat in the summer and just enough cold and snow in the winter for it to be special, rather than a PITA.

Problem is, as with many of these places, lots of people want to live there (which drives up housing costs) and there aren't many jobs (which drives down compensation). I certainly wouldn't move to Raleigh, for example, unless I already had a job lined up. Oh, and along with the liberal bent comes high taxes, BTW. NC gigs you for 7%-8%, depending on income.

SEADave wrote: Durango CO or Bend OR? Santa Fe was a good suggestion too. These are all very strong bicycling places, and from what I understand you are pretty serious about cycling.

All of those places have limited job opportunities. Get a job prior to moving? Good to go. Go there expecting to job search? Good luck.

Santa Fe and Durango don't have lakes and small rivers.

Bend has a decent river and nearby lakes.

Grtechguy wrote: In a van down by the river.

Is that residence for sale?

But seriously - I started out looking at the Boulder / front range area but came to the same conclusion about population increase. Grand Junction CO, Durango CO, etc on the west side of the state seem to be a better option. Good tip on Prescott AZ - that looks nice. Looked at Flagstaff but too much snow, otherwise it would be great.

There's actually a great small-boat sailing lake just outside Sante Fe - Cochiti Lake.

I'm okay with slightly higher taxes when used for things I agree with. Nothing happens for free.

I agree about Austin - it's past its heyday, just an example.

I certainly would be landing a job before moving. I'm not resource-flush enough to do otherwise.

I'd consider Fort Collins Colorado. It's much smaller than Denver, so less traffic / congestion etc. Great outdoors scene, plenty of biking, hiking, camping, very nice weather, and most folks are in shape and educated. It's also the home of Colorado State University, so there is a decent music / art scene and fun nightlife.

Employment isn't easy to find, and real estate isn't the cheapest, but for quality of life---it's pretty hard to beat.

CO isn't great for water recreation, but there is Horsetooth reservoir in Ft. Collins, which may suit your needs.

One of the nice things about CO is there are fun things to do year-round. No oppressive heat in the Summer, and the Winters really aren't that cold. (nothing like the upper Midwest or Northeast)

Durango is a magnificent place--- but it's a very remote, smallish town. It's not anywhere near a large city.

I'm with you on a lot of things. I loved living in Sacramento, CA. I moved to Columbus, OH, and that has worked well for me. California would not be too liberal for you as long as you stay out of the bay area. Oregon is more liberal than northern CA.

It really sounds like you want to live in Oregon.

Columbus would meet your needs well. It's a lot bigger than you projected, but the traffic is quite manageable. Not as much terrain as I'd really like, but you can get to decent hills pretty easily and conveniently. There are lots of very nice walking/biking trails along the rivers and creeks in town. Managing biking around the city would be a bit rough.

Have you thought about Charlottesville, VA? Misses the lake requirement by a touch (Smith Mountain Lake is more like 2 hours from Charlottesville), but I think it hits all the rest.

What field do you work in? May change answers a bit depending on the kind of work you'd be looking for.

captdownshift wrote: Tennessee or Colorado, with Colorado being most likely.

My buddy lived in Colorado for a year and two and loved it. He said he will move back when he can.

Here in Flagstaff when it's winter we get snow. Unlike some places that get rain and mud.

Unlike most places, when it snows, you can drive an hour south and get 20º warmer temps and clear skies.

My field is....

How long ya got?

Right now I'm Senior Chemist in R&D for a small cleaning chemicals company. Where my real skill set lies is in translating highly technical concepts in understandable terms for less technical consumption, backed by a strong computer/IT skills (Access, Excel, VBA, etc.) I problem solve, I'm good with the public, well spoken, and I enjoy R&D and have done it in chemistry and in the electronic signage industry, where I was Chief Technology Officer for a small company. If someone can suggest a carer I should be doing with these skills, I'm open to new adventures. I prefer smaller companies that are big enough to be financially strong and pay/benefit well, but small enough that you still know the person at the top by first name.

PHeller wrote: Here in Flagstaff when it's winter we get snow. Unlike some places that get rain and mud. Unlike most places, when it snows, you can drive an hour south and get 20º warmer temps and clear skies.

Yeah, but you guys get more snow than any other state capital. I've seen snow 4 times in my life. Not sure I'd be okay.

How about project management in healthcare IT? https://careers.verisk.com/viewjob.html?erjob=36782

It does snow in Salt Lake City, but hey, skiing is fun and you can see the slopes from that office. I would be willing to bet that there are a TON of companies in the SLC area that would be very interested in your particular skill set. Beautiful place too.

Given your qualifications, Columbia MO is likely to be perfect. The summer highs are generally less than that. Great restaurants for a small town. Lots of cyclists. Progressive in many ways, especially for Missouri. Cheap. Cheap. cheap. Pm me if you want to ask specific questions. I like it a fair bit. Finding work is the most difficult part of living here.

What was the problem with Rome, because I used to live in Calhoun and loved it? Now this was a long, long time ago, but there are some cool rail trails and parks in the area.

I was going to suggest Dahlonega, GA. I think the libs have pushed the locals out.

spitfirebill wrote: What was the problem with Rome, because I used to live in Calhoun and loved it? Now this was a long, long time ago, but there are some cool rail trails and parks in the area. I was going to suggest Dahlonega, GA. I think the libs have pushed the locals out.

We lived in Rome in 2000. It was like living in a Steven King novel. Google Ray Brent Marsh, that seemed to be the kind of thing that was normal in Rome. Strangely, it seemed to be a very localized effect. Add a bad work situation, lots of other compounding factors. I've been back in the last couple years and it seems better.

OTOH, I vacation and ride in Dahlonega and would love to live there but it's small enough that there's not as much economic opportunity. I almost bought a B&B there once...