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.

scubalife, most of us who live on the water abhor jetskis. The are such pollution to the wildlife, waters, and the noise pollution is the worst.

I do wish you luck in finding a wonderful place to live and please be careful on your jetski.

PS The SC Coast is not a good idea.

I live in a town north of Austin but I can give you some of the scoop. The lifestyle is very laid back and by that I mean- we have some really nice restaurants but people don't have to dress up to go to them. As far as the music, everyone can find their niche- we have rock, country, alternative, classical, jazz, blues and everything in between. Depending on where you live, it may be "liberal" it is a college town after all. I am just not sure what you consider "too liberal". Some of the outlying areas like Cedar Park and Round Rock are anything but liberal, more conservative. I guess the best thing for me, is that Austin is just flat out a beautiful city with a wonderful combination of beauty, culture and music. People have moved away since the tech boom so the housing market is more affordable than it was in the mid to late 90's. I always tell people if you are interested in moving here come for a week or so and check it out. As far as jetskiing- we have so many lakes including Lake Travis, Austin, Georgetown, Inks, LBJ,and even more.

Atlanta is way too hot in the summer, esp for someone from the PNW! And the bugs, well, Deet will become your best friend if you move there. Some people even put velcro on the soles of their children's shoes to keep the mosquitos from carrying them away. Isn't this right, Starrsville?

I have to agree with Orcas. Shortly after we got married in Portland, OR we moved to Florida. A while later it was SE Georgia. OMG, what a shock to my system! I was used to PNW weather and so the heat and humidity were absolutely miserable for me. I can handle dry heat, but that humidity is a whole different ballgame. Wherever you think you may want to settle, I urge you to go visit first. Of course, corporate transfers are not always optional and many times you may have to live in places that you would rather not. If that happens, just remember that it is all temporary. That got me through a few duty stations while dh was military, lol!

Forget the job for now and take some of that money you've earned through investing and go on a trip to see the world. You may be surprised where you end up living.
-Bill

The Mississippi Gulf Coast. Cost of living is low. Lots of sunshine, but coastal breezes. Mild winters, water fun most of the year. Conservative, but culturally mixed because of local air force base. Casino with night clubs for that type of entertainment.

I was going to reccomend Lake tahoe, but gambling and drinking are traits that can lead to evil liberal ideals...hehehe.
Maybe Utah would fit the bill, Lakes, mountains, and Bush supporters.
I'll stay in Tahoe thank you. More jobs in Lake Tahoe year round though.

Lake Thaoe would be nice. But, I don't think it's warm enough for the OP to like it there - especially during the winter.

Besides, the OP can never relocate there unless there's enough Frito Lay consumption in the area.

How about Washington, D.C., scubalife?

They have a big white house where you can live and nary a hairy-legged, braless woman in sight. And I hear that the jetskiing in the reflecting pool near the washington monument can't be beat. There must be a frito lay office there because pretzels are really popular. It certainly heats up temperature-wise, especially every four years around November. And the abundance of cowboy hats and texan accents will give you that "Western terrain" feel. I can't promise that you won't get an unclean, gritty feeling there, though.

Yep, the mosquitoes are really bad down here. What's worse is that they're LIBERAL!

I can comment on Austin and Colorado Springs. My husband and I currently live in Plano, but as soon as I finish grad school we'll be moving to Austin. It's in a beautiful part of Texas, the weather is good, it's not too big and not too small, and it seems to have a diverse, and therefore fairly interesting population (in part because of UT).

I can also comment on Colorado Springs. I lived in Colorado Springs for 13 years, and I lived in Denver the 18 years before that. If I could, I would move back to Colorado in a heartbeat. Colorado Springs is beautiful. "Hapata" is right about the weather -- while it snows more often than in some areas of the country, it melts really fast. (6,000 ft. in elevation helps in this regard.) I've heard Colorado gets up to 300 days of sunshine each year -- lots of opportunities for outdoor activities. On another note, Colorado Springs does have a healthy share of conservatives. That could be a pro or con depending on your inclinations.

The above post was from Mrs. Roger Hopper. I, on the other hand, grew up in Texas. The big cities in Texas stink. We do look forward to moving to Austin - most likely the surrounding hill country. It has many activities for outdoors fun - lakes, cold-fed springs, state parks, great food and any kind of music...

Of course, I'm biased. I am a Texas-ex.

Hookem!

Roger

The perfect place for you would be the southern Calif. cities of Temecula and Murrieta. Prices are higher than any of the cities mentioned in TX, MN, AZ, UT, etc, but as a college grad you can easily stake your claim. Do some research. Combined population is about 150,000, jet-ski locales, cools off every night during summer, 50 miles to downtown San Diego, 75 miles to LA, 35 minutes to beach, 45 minutes to snow, 3 hours to the CO river, conservative politics, the most beautiful women in the world, plenty of nightlife, Californias biggest and best casino (Casinos actually). The list goes on and on...

I second the suggestion for So Cal. Great beaches and lakes too. The "River" is a weekend getaway. The only drawback is the housing market is difficult for us singles (if you're looking to buy). Which is why Murrieta was recommended. Although, Colorado is so beautiful...

MLGB--what's so horrible about Santee? They have a Target, and even Old Navy right in town now! ; hee hee