nw31

My husband and I currently live in Austin, Texas and are considering moving. Austin has grown a lot fairly quickly, and we want to move to a small town (< 50,000 people) in either Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, or Colorado. Important: jobs, recreation (outdoor), cost of living and housing, and tolerance (we are a mixed race couple). We like trees and four distinct seasons, but do not like not plains. Our ultimate goal is to buy 10-20 acres with a house for us and the pets. Any suggestions out there on any of the above states or others?

clarkgriswold

Manitou Springs, Colorado

coteacher

I live in CO and think unless you move to the mountains (which is remote and far from everything) Colorado would not be for you. It has grown considerably since we moved here in the early 1990's and you can't even buy land like that in the metro area.
I would think Wyoming or Montana would have what you want. I think Oregon doesn't probably have the distinct four seasons that you are looking for.

LDLee

A friend of mine in Austin moved to Bozeman about 10 years ago and loves it. Small college town with many outdoor activities.

karens

I entertain fantasies about moving every once in awhile from the east coast to the states you mentioned.

These web sites are interesting:

Find your spot:

http://www.findyourspot.com

You answer questions about lifestyle preferances, etc. Some recommendations were right on target for me, others were baffling. (Like a recommendation for New Orleans when I indicated I wasn't a fan of heat/humidity).

Another site I find really interesting is:

http://www.clusterbigip1.claritas.co...ts/Default.jsp

Plug in the zip code for the area you are interested in, and it gives you a demographic breakdown of the types of people who live there. It's interesting to plug in your current zip code to see which category you fit in! We love Ouray, CO, but the demographic results make me wonder about a move there. A huge demographic there is the "shotguns and pick-ups". I'm not being judgmental, I'm just that I'm not a shot-gun kinda girl.


I've been to all the states you've mentioned and I like things about each one. But I will say this. Living in and near a large city has made me appreciate diversity (we live outside Phila), and Montana and Wyoming and parts of Colorado lack racial diversity. That's not saying you'll face any hostility, and this is just our observation. I would like to think that in these times you wouldn't have to worry about that, but sadly, I know that you do need to take it into consideration.

I was fascinated by a map published in Newsweek after the election. It didn't break down "red" and "blue" states, it broke down "red" and "blue" by counties. If politics are important, you might want to check out that map.

Are there any specific areas in these states you are considering?

girlonthego

Have you ever thought of east coast living? The area of Charlottesville Va is quite pretty. It is located near the blue ridge mts. You could move outside of Charlottesville (pricey) closer to the mountains and still be near a hip little college town. You will definitely get four seasons here. The fall is the nicest. It seems to last quite long in Va and then winter hits with a snap in early Jan.

Vittrad

karens - that was a fun quiz. I put in my criteria for a medium sized town as I often fantasize about moving out of this darn big city (no actually I like my town a lot) the answers I got were Hartford, Worcester, Providence, Boston, New Haven ... and Milwaukee . I found that a bit amusing as my grandmother lived in Worcester for awhile, so at least I'd know now to pronounce it. Perhaps I should start packing my bags for the east coast.