Warm places - where to live?
 

OK, i'm 22 and will be graduating from college soon and would like to hear your opinions about where I could relocate. Take into consideration i'm from the PNW and could do without the rain for a while. Here are my interests and/or preferences:

- Jet skiing (lakes or ocean in vicinty is almost a must)
- warm enough to do decent amount of jet skiing
- NO constant 110+ type warmth though
- 100,000+ people is attractive
- NO huge cities (i.e. L.A., NYC, San Fran, etc)
- I prefer the terrain of the West
- Nothing REALLY expensive/overpriced
- Nothing too liberal

Don't want to sound TOO picky, lol. I'll listen to any comments and suggestions of all places. Those are just preferences/interests. You can't have everything. Remember though, i'm a 22 year old, single guy so nothing too boring, hehe. Thanks very much in advance

Austin Texas comes to mind. Lake Travis for jet skiing. Big but not too big. Liberal by Texas standards, but that means moderate. And it has lots of young people. I'm not sure what you mean be "western terrain" but it is in Hill Country.

Try www.findyourspot.com.

How about New Mexico?

Lee Ann

I agree with Suzanne, Austin Texas fits the bill. It does get pretty warm in July and August though. Check out either citysearch.com or austin360.com for more info. Suzanne are you an Austinite?

Sacramento/Stockton area? While it does get in the "low hunnys" in the summertime, it cools down in the eves with the nice delta breezes.

A lot of lakes and rivers and the delta to do your jet skiing...and not too far from Lake Tahoe.

Job market decent and as for Lib/Cons, pretty fair mix.

What do you mean by "nothing too liberal", may I ask? And what are you planning to do to afford the jetski lifestyle? These two questions will help us steer you in the right direction.

I'm jealous. It isn't often someone at 22 can pick their place to relocate based totally on leisure rather than work objectives! Lucky you!

What about one of those horrible inland San Diego county suburbs like Santee? Or Temecula?

Thanks for the replies so far. That was quick.

I have checked into Austin a few times already and it seems like a pretty interesting place. Seems to be getting popular. And by western terrain, I meant the the mountainous areas west of the plains states. And for the New Mexico comment, I have checked out places down there too but only found Santa Fe and Albaquerque(sp?) to be suitable, but wasn't too interested.

As for the comment I made about the place not being too liberal; I guess a city like Portland or San Francisco might be a reasonable comparison. I've lived near Portland(in WA) and found that I'm just a little uncomfortable being around that kind of environment for too long. No offense to anybody though, really. And as far as the jet skiing lifestyle; I've never found it be a problem so far. I'm very good at managing my money and have basically been an active, full time investor since I enrolled in college. It's one of my only real hobbies - jet skiing that is. Well, trading stocks on a more regular basis though.

And lastly, in reply to the last response. This isn't a certainty. I'm just trying to gather all the info I can before I settle in for a career. I'm looking at a future with Pepsi/Frito Lay where I will have many locations to seek and I'm a pretty flexible guy(minus my preferences, lol) which I hope will help me get what I want quickly, concerning my career preferences. Again, thanks for all the advice so far and keep it coming if there's more :)

Utah.

Agree. Utah.

Another vote for Austin. You have described our city perfectly. You should come for a visit and check it out.

Funny how this thread has brought out all the Austinites on the board. :-)

That's funny because I almost knew I would be getting some responses from Austin residents. I've seriously been considering the place so if there's anything special about the area that you guys would like to share with me that would be great. You know, stuff I won't get from an online brochure or statistics website ;)

I can read the crime stats, but how would you guys describe it? Like the feeling of safety? There's certain towns and cities where I just get this dirty feeling. I like new and clean. That's why I've been looking at Colorado Springs too. That place almost seems PERFECT for me except I really don't want to be 6000ft up in CO. I love to snowboard but I feel like there's going to be snow/ice around a lot which I get tired of.

Also, I see some Utah suggestions. I always wondered about Utah. Anywhere in particular you could suggest? It would be great if there were places down south with large enough populations but I don't think there is. Is there? Would be AWESOME to be close to Lake Powell :) But alas, I gotta be looking for areas with Pepsi/Frito Lay and for some reason, Southern Utah doesn't seem to fit that requirement, lol

Your concept is fantastic. The execution may be more difficult. Sounds like you are committed to Frito. That limits you to their locations of course and my bet is that they will have more say where you go than you do.

That being said, I would go for Vegas if possible. Lake Mead is right there. The only downside may be too hot in the summer but overall a ton more sun than you are used to.

Hi Scuba,

Park City, Utah, my home!

Summer weather in the high 80's, great skiing and water sports. Utah has many resevoirs close by that provide great jet skiing. 5 hour drive to Lake Powell. 5 hour drive to Zion. 4 hours to Moab. 4 1/2 hours to Tetons.

You can live in Park City (fun relatively small resort town) and work in SLC if you must. I do it every day. It takes me 20 minutes to drive down the canyon.

Check it out.

You wanted warm; Utah gets pretty doggone cold. You wanted mountains; you wanted lakes/ocean; you wanted more sunshine than rain; you wanted a larger city. Adjust your thinking cap and consider the area around Atlanta, especially in the far northern suburbs. There are pretty big hills, plenty of lakes, lots of reasonably priced housing, and access to the city where I'm sure Frito-Lay must have some sort of facility -- plus lots of other companies.

Besides Atlanta, I'd also suggest Austin.

Wayne, please don't send scubalife here! (Atlanta)

The only criteria that Austin does not meet is "nothing too liberal". It is fondly referred to as the People's Republif of Austin. Some friends of mine who taught at Berkley thought their peers who graduated from UT were too radical.

It is an excellent place to be single, especially at your age. Lots of college students and new graduates working for high tech companies. Some poll rated Austin as the number one place for being single in the United States.

Austin has lots of outdoor activities. Lakes for jet skiing are close, real close. If you work downtown, you can leave your office, change clothes, drive to the dock and launch your jet ski at the public dock in about 30 minutes.

I live near Colorado Springs and you are a bit off base about it being cold all the time. We have 60 degree days in January, but then it can get cold. Much less snow on the front range, but you can drive 2 hours and be at world class ski resorts. We do get spring snowstorms, but the snow melts within a day or two. Jet skiing at Pueblo reservior or several other reserviors along the front range. I lived in Vancouver WA. and couldn't wait to get back here. We do, however, have more than our fair share of conservatives.