If you could live anywhere. . .

[Abby Normal]

I love Friday Harbor!

[weltschmerz]

May 25, 2012 13:00:43 GMT -5 @moxie said:

I will say that a few Canadians are a little too quick to jump on peoples' backs before they have ALL the information. On that, I am out!

And I'll say that this thread is about peoples' favourite places to live. I submitted my choice, didn't slam anyone else's and next thing I know, people are denigrating mine.

[moxie]

I was speaking of France, then YOU posted my comment and started talking about tourists at a cathedral in Montreal, a place I have never been nor did I make a comment about the people there...where is the connection to my post about the French?

[moxie]

Whateva...you have always had a problem with me, weltsch...

[deantrip]

I got to say, I love living in Montana, clean air, mountains, farmland, fairly conservative monetary policies and very little gun laws!

[Abby Normal]

May 25, 2012 13:24:53 GMT -5 deantrip said:

I got to say, I love living in Montana, clean air, mountains, farmland, fairly conservative monetary policies and very little gun laws!

And drive-thru liqour stores!

Wait- maybe that was Wyoming...

[Deleted]

San Diego hands down.

[thyme4change]

San Diego hands down.

Do you habla espanol?

[souldoubt]

May 25, 2012 7:32:45 GMT -5 Waffle said:

I think I'm afraid of CA - mudslides, fires, earthquakes, broke state government.

Born and raised in CA and I've never had to deal with mudslides, I've stayed out of the way of fires and you don't even notice most earth quakes. I'll definitely give you that it's broke though and far far far from perfect.

For me if I were to stay in the continental US I'd say Colorado. If not there definitely Hawaii but it's expensive. Outside of the US of the places I've visited I think it would be fun to live in London, Germany or Amsterdam for a while but I don't think I'd want to settle there. I think retiring in Mexico or central/south America where I don't fear for my life would be nice.

[weltschmerz]

Whateva...you have always had a problem with me, weltsch...
----------------
I have? It's news to me. How so? Refresh my memory, because it's not ringing any bells.

[thyme4change]

I could never live on an island. Even though I don't go far, the idea of not being able to jump in the car and drive a long, long way - it just bothers me.

[weltschmerz]

May 25, 2012 17:03:26 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I could never live on an island. Even though I don't go far, the idea of not being able to jump in the car and drive a long, long way - it just bothers me.

We used to rent a cabin on an island in the summers. It was a PITA.

[Deleted]

Oregon is at the top of my list. I am still looking, as I can't stand MD, but Oregon has been the closest to what I want.

[Happy prose]

Call me crazy, but i love NJ. We have it all. I'm in northern NJ- a little over an hour one way is the beach and the other way the mountains/country. I'm also only 15 minutes from NYC.

[Deleted]

Message deleted by debthaven2.

[lurkyloo]

Hmm...Traverse City, MI maybe? Or Madison WI? Actually, I think about half of the Big 10 home towns would be fun to live in...New England would be good if I could strike the right balance between not too crowded/expensive but still enough amenities to keep me happy. Basically somewhere with seasons, leaves that turn in the fall, enough rain to keep things green, and a nearby lake to swim in a few months a year.

We live in CA in a place many people would love to live full-time. It's pleasant enough, but a total mismatch for my preferences: I like seasons, sunburn VERY easily, miss playing ice hockey, and hate that everything is brown half the year or more. I actually miss rain during the summer. I also don't care about wine and dislike the way the evenings are pretty much always cold no matter how warm the day was (and living within technical walking distance of the ocean is less fun when it's always way too cold to swim in, even with wetsuit).

I lived in Germany for a year and might be interested in moving back if I could persuade DH to come with. There's something about the culture there that I find very relaxing--everyone's matter of fact, people aren't automatically out to squeeze you for everything they can get, and their rules/laws make enough sense that I don't usually mind following them. Plus, bakeries!

[Anne_in_VA]

Hey Moxie - We have a house for sale in Shepardsville - wanna buy it? It's up on a hill, 5 acres, 3bd 2ba, great deck, a six stall barn with tack room, and deer, lots of deer.

[cronewitch]

I like Seattle but if I had to leave maybe Vancouver, WA or Mossyrock, WA. Mossyrock has great fishing but is very small town. Vancouver, WA is pretty big city and near enough to drive to Portland. Oregon doesn't have sales tax and WA doesn't have income tax so lots of people live in WA and shop in OR. Another place that is pretty good is Port Angeles, WA it is on the straight of Juan de Fuca so it has shrimp, halibut and salmon among other things right in the city. The hills behind the city have elk, deer, rabbits, mountain goats and it is only a short drive to the ocean. It is in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains so not as rainy, Squim is very dry and dungeness is crabby.

[TheOtherMe]

My dream, which will never happen, is London.

My next dream, which I don't think I can make happen, is Vancouver, BC.

In the US, it would have to be Boulder, CO, home of the liberal hippies where I was raised from 1975-2008.

[Deleted]

Waffle, scratch Nashville TN and Memphis TN off your 2nd list. Well, I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I know people that moved to Memphis from other places and they like it. Crime is a big problem, the surrounding areas are more peaceful. I'm less familiar with Nashville, but I've been there several times. Meh.

This is a good thread. I've been wishing I could leave my hometown since I've been an adult. Where would I go? Not north, I hate being cold and snow is very pretty but I'd rather not deal with mountains of it every winter. Southwest sounds good, but I need green grass, not brown stuff. I've been to Hawaii and I loved it, but it's expensive to live there. For some reason, when I try to think of somewhere reasonable I'd like to relocate to, I keep coming up with the Carolinas or Virginias. I don't know why, I've never been to any of them. lol Oh, and a small city in California (I've never been to California either), but I like warm summer nights. Is it cool at night everywhere in California? Oh well, California is too expensive for me anyway.

This thread made me really think about what kind of place I'd want to live in if I did relocate. What's appealing to you? A big city, a slower-paced smaller city, towns near a big city, country life, places with charm, history, or culture? Those are some of the questions I ask myself.

[Deleted]

It's already been said but I love the SF Bay Area. Despite all of its wackiness it's a really fun and interesting place. The house we're moving back to is in a little blue collar town south of SF itself and north of Half Moon Bay on the San Mateo County coast. It's not ideal but pretty good. We have our ocean view, and can walk to the beach, market, and coffee shop. We can take the bus to BART and head into SF proper. Our plan is to fix up this house and sell in 5 years but I think I'll have a hard time letting go of this house.

Our "real" retirement house is our former home in AZ which is just north of Phoenix. I like it up there but hate the month of July when the Monsoon is building up. I told DH I would retire there so long as I could stay a month at the condo I inherited from my mother which is located at the beach in San Diego.

I love to travel but after living in Europe for three years I'm ready to "go home".

[Deleted]

Waffle,

If Bisbee, AZ is on your list you should also check out Jerome, AZ too. Both are old mining towns which have converted to "Artsy" towns.

I like Tuscon too; both for it's smaller scale and the hiking!

[Deleted]

May 25, 2012 16:51:11 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

San Diego hands down.

Do you habla espanol?

Not at all.

[moxie]

"Hey Moxie - We have a house for sale in Shepardsville - wanna buy it? It's up on a hill, 5 acres, 3bd 2ba, great deck, a six stall barn with tack room, and deer, lots of deer."

^Where the heck is Shepardsville...what state? Sounds like a perfect place! I love deer.

[moxie]

AZ...no way! Barren!!

[Golden Cavalier]

I'd live in Ireland, but they'd have to change the weather for me first. Their weather blows chunks.

[Deleted]

To categorize AZ as barren means you haven't visited much of the state.

Where we lived in Northern Maricopa County (greater Phoenix area) actually gets more annual rainfall than San Diego (13 inches vs 10).

[Apple]

I live in (what I think is) one of the most beautiful places in the world and am working on moving to "if I could live anywhere" in a not-a-town in Washington, near the Columbia. Eastern Oregon is much drier as the rain slows way down after the Cascades, it is also much more conservative. You can live in a big city (Portland) or much smaller ones (no street lights, gravel roads). You can be anywhere in a couple hours--the mountains (real mountains, not hills like the east coast ) the ocean, the forest, the river, desert, rainforest, etc.

I've been in London for a week, and I have to say, I really miss the fresh air of home (whocanibe was right, my hair has been filthy and gross by the end of the day, where at home I can wash it, then go a couple days just rinsing it because it doesn't get dirty).

So, in the US I'd do the back-roads of OR/WA in the world... I'd love to move to Ireland--beautiful, the people were friendly (to me) and it feels like home (with a cool accent).

ETA: For small town, artsy, gorgeous (to me it's expensive and a little snobby with all the newcomers) check out Hood River, Oregon.

[qofcc]

California, somewhere in the hills where you can see the ocean probably north of Santa Barbara. I've been to different parts of CA several times on vacation and business and I love it. But WNY is home, because it's where the people I love are and unless I can take them all with me, I'm content to stay right here. I've moved away from home before and I always come back.

[Plain Old Petunia]

I have mold allergies, so my ideal place has dry air.

Lately I've been thinking perhaps Reno, Nv. It is big enough to have plenty of services, yet not a big city. It is just a few hours drive down to the valley (where I have lived most of my life) to visit family & friends. The bulk of my family is here in Ca's central valley and the bay area. As a plus, housing costs are lower than they are here. Also, the casinos have lots of good shows.