Where to move Goldilocks? Not too hot, not too cold... BUT LOTS OF SUNSHINE

What parts of the country see a lot of the sun and don't get too cold/snowy, but not too oppressively humid in summers (I'm looking at you, central GA)? We'd prefer somewhere near a decent sized city, too. Lansing, MI is on the small side and feels pretty podunk, for example. I have a friend trying to talk me into Scottsdale but the cost of living is crazy. Also, it's only April and they're at 102 today, dry heat or no. Also, no CA. Otherwise San Diego would be the easy button.

I'm working from memory here but in KC where I came from there are about 220 days a year where you see sunshine. Mid-Michigan is more like >180. I'm definitely solar powered and this is killing me. KC would be the default answer for other reasons but while its winters are reasonably short, they still get bitterly cold.

And no, happy lamps aren't helping.

Not humid pretty much means West/South West. The problem is that you'll likely either have to deal with snow or stupid heat, although there might be places in the rain shadow of the mountains out West that don't get stupidly cold and don't have too much snow.

TBH I'd rather deal with the dry heat in the Southwest than the "gotta cut out some air so I can step out my front door" humidity in the Southeast.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

So even like TN, WV or KY don't foot the bill? Too muggy there?

Denver might work for you.

Big city, but not huge... yet

Winters have a few snow days but are mostly mild and it doesnt accumulate much in the city. Summer temps rarely hit 90 and humidity is nonexistent. Above all, it is very, very sunny. Cloudy days are rare, rain is rarer.

Cost of living is kinda high, but crime and pollution are low.

P3PPY said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

So even like TN, WV or KY don't foot the bill? Too muggy there?

If you're using GA as your baseline, then yes.  TN, WV or KY (or anywhere East of the Mississippi River) will be similar, just less severe. Some parts of WV can be OK, but it varies. 

San Diego is supposed to be pretty temperate all year round, but it can be pricey.  

I have only lived in extreme heat or cold so I'm a terrible reference other than where we go on vacations.

US Virgin Islands? Hawaii?

Warm, not too hot because of the ocean breeze....It's going to be expensive though. Your criteria is the same criteria about 600 million retired people have too which is why the get crowded and expensive.

Not sure what you do for work but those would seem to fit the bill pretty easily.

Guam 

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Can you list all the places you've lived so we can just cross them off the list now? 

P3PPY said:

In reply to BoxheadTim :

So even like TN, WV or KY don't foot the bill? Too muggy there?

WV gets snow, more on the Western side of the mountains but we get snow up here, too. And it gets rather muggy in summer, at least here in the Eastern Panhandle.

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Can you list all the places you've lived so we can just cross them off the list now? 

Atlanta

Anchorage

They would work well if the OP considered being a snowbird for half the year.

Johnson city Tennessee or Knoxville would fit the bill in my mind. 

Sequim, WA. 
(Pronounced like squim.)

That has sunny days, not hot nor humid in summer, not much snow. However if you think Lansing is podunk, then Sequim is not for you. You could be in Seattle in a couple hours though. 

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Johnson city Tennessee or Knoxville would fit the bill in my mind. 

Johnson City smaller than Lansing.  Even if you consider the tri-city metro of Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport...still smaller than Lansing and generally really far to anything bigger. 

Knoxville bigger than Lansing and seem to generally be a nice place. 

crankwalk (Forum Supporter) said:

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Can you list all the places you've lived so we can just cross them off the list now? 

Atlanta

Anchorage

 

They would work well if the OP considered being a snowbird for half the year.

Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped.  Thought this might be a more extensive list...

Prescott Arizona would fit your requirements, but might be too pricey. I was there 3 rd week of August one year and it was mid 70's daytime and low 50's night. The owner of the motel I stayed at said this was typical 10 months of the year with a very mild 6-8 weeks in the winter.

If I was going to move the AZ, I would go to Flagstaff. If I ever wanted to experience a dry heat, it would not be that far of a drive. Also, they even have trees there that are not Saguaros.

As someone who has lived in 9 states and traveled 49 of them, Nowhere near the east coast.

It entirely has to do with the jet stream versus the predominant coastal currents.  The Atlantic's primary currents flow S-N, bringing warmer water up the coast.  The Pacific's predominant current is N-S bringing cooler water and less humidity from the north.

On the west coast, you typically have incredibly mild differences between seasons.  I used to joke in L.A. that we got 50 weeks of 72.8 degrees, then one week of summer that was in the 90s and one week of winter that was in the 50s.  That isn't too far from true.  San Francisco is more or less permanently spring.

Anywhere near the west coast, you still get all the seasons, they're just a few degrees different.  Here in PA, summer is highs in the 90s and humid, and winter is lows in the 20s (average).  As you move south, the temperatures just go up.  In Florida you get summer highs in the 100s and winter lows in the 50s.

The Midwest seems intriguing, but they get surprisingly extreme.  I grew up in PA and lived three years in Evansville, IN.  The summers were hotter and the winters were colder with MUCH more snow.  The Badlands in the Dakotas have the highest temperature swings between winter and summer of any region in the US.  In the spring (according to National Geographic), spring and fall temp swings in one day can average 50 degrees.  Wake up and it's 20, then by 2pm it's 70.  Then by midnight it's back down to 20 again.

Southwest is great weather.  I would happily live anywhere up in the mountains between AZ and CO.  I would do some parts of MT, but they can get pretty brutal in the winter if you're too high up.

Hi P3PPY,

You mentioned weather & city size but I think we’d just be guessing without knowing your age and financial situation at a minimum. Do you need to work…if so, do you have transportable skills…is this a forever destination or a pass through?

Taxes are a HUGE consideration and not just at the summary level…how are various sources of income (wages, investment returns, etc.) taxed. Where do you spend your money, if it’s on having a nice home, states like Texas are less desirable as they get a disproportionately large percent of their revenue from property tax.

My preferences for weather and city size are a good match to yours. However, I’m 55 and living more than 30 minutes away from a high quality, full service hospital is highly correlated to increased morbidity for those at or above my age group so medical care is a big consideration for me.

Also, no flounder, but I’d prefer to be in a purple state…extreme left or right leaning states aren’t as good of fit for me and I feel the risk of what I’d consider to be crazy legislation getting passed is increased in these polarized states.

Having said all this…

Many parts of Nevada (Reno in particular)

Rain blocked areas in Eastern Oregon

Central valley of CA (you said no CA but once you’re 40ish miles inland, prices are on pare with the rest of the country.

Parts of New Mexico (don’t know the area well).

Idaho (a little cold but low population and a surprising amount of good water access)

In reply to RX Reven' :

My outlaws #2 moved to NM about 5 years ago.  Santa Fe to be specific.  The only research they did was they had taken a trip there 5-10 years earlier.  Within a month they were bitchin' about it.  Yes, the scenery and weather are beautiful.  Cost of living and taxes are high and there aren't much if any tax breaks on retirees. Also, health care seems to be a challenge as in not enough resources to serve the needs.  FIL couldn't find a family doc where he could even get an appointment in less than a year from the date he called.  While they were complaining to my wife, I did a quick google & found a listing of the worst states to retire in.  #2 was NM.  Only lead by Alaska...YMMV etc...

P3PPY,

I grew up in Lansing and went all the way across town to college at MSU. I left Lansing 20+ years ago for the same reasons you mentioned. Crap weather and podunk attitude, at least outside the University.

Where I ended up meets your criteria nicely. I am in the San Francisco Bay area.  As much as I love it, I am slowly getting priced out of the area and will likely move in few more years. I am very interested to see where this thread goes.

Charlotte NC can tick a lot of your boxes, but does have some humidity. It has seasons, but not bitter cold, or stupid heat, at the peaks. 

In reply to RX Reven' :

The Northern NV area gets pretty cold in winter, tends to have some snow. Usually not that much, but I've also experienced it tipping down a good foot of snow within a couple of hours. It also gets pretty hot in summer - 90s and low hundreds, but it cools down a lot at night. I did find the climate much more bearable than out here in WV when it got hot. Keep in mind the valley floor in that area is in the 4500-5000' range.

One real annoyance with Reno and Carson City specifically (and also a bit in Gardnerville further South) is that you tend to get an inversion layer in the valley that keeps the valley floor much colder in winter than the surrounding areas. All this improves if you go further East but there you pretty quickly get from the back of beyond to the middle of nowhere. The Reno/Carson City area is also pretty pricey although still somewhat of a bargain compared to the Sacramento area and especially the Bay Area.

North Florida (Tallahassee area) from October 1 to April 30, then anywhere along the St. Lawrence River from May 1 to September 30.

Tallahassee area is close to Gulf coast for salt water activities.  Rolling hills, trees, not stupid like Florida south of I-4, shorter drive to Road Atlanta, Barber, Roebling Road, nice winter weather, with just enough cold to get out different clothes.  Big college town with all the arts and entertainment.   Just get out of town by June.

Growing up in Miami in 5os and 60s we made fun of the "snowbirds".  Now i realize they were laughing at us.

There are locations in Washington that get 200 days of sun a year (Lake Chelan), and on the other hand, there are rain forests. And we have everything in between. The sunniest spots are typically more rural, though. Usually Eastern Washington on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. Barely farther east is Boise, also with 200 days of sun a year. Lots of recreational opportunities.

John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:

Knoxville bigger than Lansing and seem to generally be a nice place. 

And where the mayor will bodyslam anyone crossing him.