I want to leave California. I've almost come to the conclusion that what I'm looking for doesn't exist, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. These are some of my prime bullet points in relocating:

* WEATHER: Four seasons would be nice, but I'd settle for a place that has the weather that suits me. That means LOW heat and little humidity. I can deal with snow, but I'd prefer as little as possible.
* Since I'm retired, I don't need to know anything about schools, and, in fact, my preference is for a place that has no colleges or universities. A higher median age of the population would be nice. Commute times and jobs are unimportant.
* Living in California for so long, I want to now go back to a small town/city, but I'd like that town to have "amenities," at least when it comes to shopping, like a Walmart, or a Kmart, or a Costco, or other large department-type store, and more than one little neighborhood grocery store.
* Housing affordability is very important. I don't want to live in an apartment. I prefer a house, whether renting or buying, or I wouldn't mind finding a spot where I could place a mobile/manufactured home.
* I envision a downtown area, maybe with a couple of neighborhoods around, lots of nature, greenery, water (ponds, lakes), walking areas, although lots of outdoor activities aren't essential.
* In my 60's, I'd like to have medical facilities nearby, even if that means an hour's drive. An airport within a couple hour's drive.
* Low taxes is always a plus.

My preference as of late has been the Idaho/Montana/Oregon areas, but I'm willing to look anywhere, as long as I can find what I want. I like Flagstaff AZ, but have not been able to locate affordable housing there. I'm from Michigan, so I wouldn't mind going back there or to Midwest states, but generally speaking, the weather can be too extreme, and I don't want to have to deal with excessive heat or tons of snow.

If anyone has any input that I could possibly use as a lead, I would certainly appreciate it. Please help me find my way out of California.

You have two responses to your identically titled post:

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Ok.

Well, first of all, scratch Idaho, Montana, and (most of) Oregon off your list. If it has a pleasant summer, it more than likely has a snowy winter. If it has a mild winter, it has a hot like the surface of the sun summer. Desert, ya know. The exception to this (maybe) is Portland and the coast in Oregon. Unfortunately, those are disqualified by your college town thing or your low taxes or your affordable housing thing. Or ALL 3 (Mind, depending on where you live in CA, anywhere might look reasonable in comparison in terms of taxes and houses.)

Another issue. You want shopping, small towns, and affordable housing. You know what that sounds like to me? College town. But you don't want a college town. So I'm at a loss there. I mean, if your shopping can really be limited to walmart, that leaves a lot of options. Walmart is everywhere. But it sounds like you want both the indie shops and chain stores.

You may want to clarify the whole college town thing, really. I mean, Moscow ID is a completely different story than Walla Walla WA. Both have colleges. But Moscow is a college town and Walla Walla is a town that happens to have a colllege. Different atmosphere.

Someone recently told me that Vermont was the most rural state in the US...so maybe Vermont? Has everything you want.

There are several smaller communities along the puget sound that would qualify. But as pleasant as the weather is, we definitely have high humidity. And high house prices, but again in comparison to CA...

Also- consider that California is a big, big state. I wouldn't think that you've got to leave it to find a place that fits most of your requirements.

Look at Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. It's a gated planned community (but not age-restricted) just 15 miles from Hot Springs National Park and about an hour from Little Rock, which has a pretty good airport and medical facilities. There are four seasons, although the winters are getting increasingly mild, beautiful scenery because we are in the Ouachita Mountains and adjacent to the Ouachita National Forest. Housing is very affordable--$100 s/f will get you a very nice house. There are 14,000 permanent residents in the 40 square miles of HSV. Monthly POA dues are about $65, which gives us public water, sewer, professional fire, police, ambulance, etc.

The website is down right now but it's hsvpoa.org.

OP has another thread going with the exact same topic that has over 40 responses - no need to respond here.

I thought my joke was funny.