MrsKiss

Southwestern PA!

boatcarman

I spent the last ten years looking for the best place to live. SLO,Cal. was my first pick. How could my kids ever aford to live near me. Will they couldn't and then our midwest roots would be so far from extened family. So we have the 4 seasons, safety no need to lock my car or house.I live on 3 acers next to a 168 acre city lake with my own dock and wave runner.This was bought three years ago for $170K. Our services start with great school #1 UMKC, JCCC,and with University of Kansas only 30 miles away. Go KU< good medical & low cost of living. Has the greatest people and history with a mix of cultures. easy to get around and great family values with out the religious guilt trip. This place is right in the middle of this country and has the best BBQ And Jazz
Called the city of fountains.My town Kansas City. WE are the Heart of this Nation and have the sprit and pride to prove it just watch a KC.foot ball or my favorite KU Basketball.

Metalbird91

I live in Kennesaw, which is a city/suburb of Atlanta, and I am absolutely fed up with this area. The traffic is ludicrous, the drivers use their turn signals once a year, our summer temperatures are constantly rising up into the 90s, the people here all dress the same, and development is eating up all of the forested lots.
I am a native to this area, and it makes me sick to see what has happened to my hometown within the past 5 or 6 years. Smog is a daily fact of life here, and we have more code orange and yellow days than the city of Chicago!!!
I am thinking about New Hampshire, Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or central/northern Michigan, because I want clean air, cooler temperatures, less traffic, and friendly people who aren't all part of the yuppie club. I am also still in college, but I don't really think I can take any more of Atlanta. What should I do?

kbenbow

I currently live in San Diego. Upside-perfect weather, rolling terain, beaches, and lots of things to see and do - I never get bored. But, we usually can't afford it, because we are sinking most of our paycheck into our mortgage. Downside - cost of living-(gas, groceries, just everything in general is just a little bit higher than LA), and tough to secure a job. We were able to squeeze into a small condo in a sketchy neighborhood for what would be considered a pretty decent combined income. Is it all worth it? Well, we moved here 5 years ago from 45 minutes north of Boston, and it was fun here while it lasted. But, now we are looking at some other places to land in a couple of years. Everytime I read about another city, I am comparing it to San Diego - I get disappointed. I definately do not want to move back to Nashua, NH. Too damn cold, and so are the people. Well, just wanted to vent. I know that Christy is not reading this post anymore, but maybe other people looking to relocate can benefit from our input.

kauaiwahine

anywhere in Hawaii, cuz there are NO SNAKES. i dont care how much the cost of living is, it's worth it. PARADISE and NO SNAKES. cant wait to move. and yes i know how tough it is to make ends meet there-my family lives on Kauai.

jojo7

I live in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state. Moved here almost five years ago just outside Seattle from New Jersey. Washington has very diverse areas offering a variety of beautiful places to see. It's a great place to raise a family and venture out on many nature trips within the state as well as being close to a major city and Seattle has much to offer with it's museums, theaters, great restaurants, ect. for a more cultural experience. HOWEVER.. I miss the beaches TRUMENDOUSLY (Pacific ocean is too cold and too rough for me). Even though Washington has become my home, I will still love my little state of New Jersey for different reasons and I will always remain a New York Yankee fan.

fil149

I am from philly and really like the city, but now want to explore the west coast. San Diego was at first at the top of my list, but the more I researched it I found out that it has alot of traffic. So I am looking for a more affordable and less traffic option on the west coast. I prefer to live in a city that has enough to do culture wise and nightlife wise. Also I city that has good weather, not too cold winters, not too hot summers. I prefer to live in a city that has a university nearby also. Lower cost of living is a plus but not a necessity. I have done some research on Portland and it sounds great but I don't know about the rain. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Fil

jamaltay

Definitely the best place to live is Arizona. It has more mountains than Switzerland, more sunshine than Hawaii, more golf courses than Florida and less people than the city of Los Angeles. Oh, and one more thing. You don't have to shovel sunshine. 8-)

Mixpixlix

If you're thinking of Asheville, NC...better think twice. Most of the data in articles and on the web is out of date. I know, I moved her almost a year ago and nothing is as reported.

There are dozens of applicants for every job. Wealthy seniors are moving here in droves driving the prices up . Gasoline is the highest in the mid-Atlantic region.

The area is evolving into rich versus poor and increasingly dependent on tourism.

An article in yesterday's newspaper reported the property valuations for tax purposes are increasing 45%.

Yes, the scenery is spectacular, but if you're looking for a place to start over, I quote what one community leader told me..."bring lots of money."

xandar2

I currently live in Washington DC and would NOT recommend it, especially if you have/are planning to raise children. Kennedy summed it up when he said that Washington is a city with Southern efficiency and Northern charm. The city is very segregated, both racially and socially. Crime is also very bad. I hope to leave Washington before I develop 'Too Much Time Inside the Beltway' syndrome.

That said, I prefer West Coast cities to East Coast ones, although I like Boston and Philadelphia is experiencing quite a revitalization.

I think Portland OR would be the best place to live. Oregon's land-development laws have ensured that the natural beauty of the Pacific NW is kept in harmonious co-existence with growth. Portland is a very pleasant city with friendly people. A disadvantage would be the high cost of living (it IS the West Coast, after all) but even then I find Portland to be cheaper than any other major Pacific Coast city.

Also, if you're a liberal, you'll fit right in. ;-)

kflodin

Brownstone Brooklyn -- for all the reasons everyone recommended New York City, with less of the New York City downsides. It's becoming a hot spot for families and people looking for a small(er) town take on the NYC experience. And when you're in the Brownstone section of Bklyn, it's historic, gorgeous and a 20 minute ride by subway to NYC, and that much closer to the Long Island beaches by car. Now it's ridiculously expensive and as I'm typing this, it's getting more so.... Ahhh, there is no perfection is there?

trippinkpj

Here's my top list:
San Jose, CA (I live there)
Auburn, CA
San Francisco
San Diego
Portland, OR
Austin, TX
Too many things to say why!

TahitiTams

Rancho Santa Fe just outside of San Diego is my first choice and my second choice would be Montecito outside of Santa Barbara..
International would be Moorea, French Polynesia and of course Paris!

jamaltay

Aaahh, we are building lists now

1 Scottsdale
2 Kauai (my daughter said so)
3 Oahu
8-)

JJ5

This is relative to your age, family situation, work situation, health etc. so much more than this thread details. Not just because peoples' wants/needs are subjective, but also because different things may be important during different phases of life for the same person or family over time. Or the economics of living expense have changed at a faster pace.

For instance, the part of the country I live in is rated well and has excellent schools, good health care, etc. But at my age I am being property tax out of my house- absolutely. There is a quality of life beyond the weather etc. also- if you are too poor after being so heavily taxed at so many levels; reducing your other life "choices" with travel being the least of the worries.

There is no frozen tax on property for anyone where I live, nothing is regulated upon any time scale of ownership etc. There are also state income taxes and large sales taxes, beyond the regular Federal taxes covering all of the USA.

When you are over 59 years old, most of the "best" places mentioned would be negative for some or all of the taxing criteria above as well. And might be also for young families with children to education, as some of them have poor schools, where private school tuitions would probably have to be factored into that "best" category.

BeanMan

Palisade, Colorado.
Short winters but close to great skiing without having to deal with Denver traffic. Beautiful fall and spring, the desert to explore when you don't feel like snow. A fledgling wine industry, fresh fruit and veggies. No stoplights. The worlds best mountain biking in any direction.
Great hunting.

If you are an outdoors person it can't be beat. Anywhere but a big city, you can always visit one.

Beanman

Dalin

Hey, im from London England, and am looking to move to the States within the next few years. We're looking for somewhere near the coast, not too hot or humid because we're obviously not used to that being in sunny old england!Looking for a small town to get away from the hustle and bustle of things, but plenty of young people, we've been looking along the east coast and a few places look nice but dont have much of a clue where to visit to be honest....any advice would be great...thanx alot xx

Loki

The eastern seaboard is very hot and humid in the summer. I would think that climatewise, the pacific northwest would be closer to that of the UK. Cities like Portland, OR and Seattle, WA have a large young population , and you could probably live in the suburbs to avoid the hustle and bustle, though neither Seattle nor Portland are as busy as London.

Dalin

Thanx Loki, much appreciated, i will look into that

Robespierre

Do Brits emigrating to the US really want to live in the same climate as they left behind in Blighty? I'd think they'd jump at the chance to live somewhere warm and dry. Every other London shop window seems to be advertising a package to Majorca or Nice.

Look at the desert southwest. The winter temperatures bottom out around 40F, and between seasons are in the 70s and 80s. It's 54 today, and we haven't seen any precipitation for almost four months.

Yes, it gets hot in the summer. But it's actually comfortable well over 100 due to the typical single-digit humidity.

Whatever you decide to do, I recommend renting for a year to satisfy yourself it's really what you want. Perhaps a rent-to-buy scheme if you find a really appealing house. Good luck.