Where would you move to?

[Hatchdog]

just for snickers and giggles here’s my question to the forum. With the variety of areas that you members hail from, north to south and east to west I think this is a great place to post this inquiry. From time to time my wife and I discuss moving and in the past we mostly talked about heading to Idaho or perhaps somewhere in the southwest. But we are expanding our thoughts. We have NO firm plans to move but both the political climate here in Washington State and some issues with our HOA we are talking again.

So, if you were moving to anywhere in the lower 48 where would you likely land? No large cities please but most folks on here don’t live in the huge metropolis around. We live rural and would like to continue that but we may be priced out of some areas.

Other than New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc there’s no wrong answer here. Would love to hear your opinions.

[Vaquero]

Well, I feel for you on those two accounts. I could never live in a HOA, I don't like close neighbors at all.
There are a pair of residents across the street, really closer than I like, but we get along.

But, as to moving I really like it here quite well. Ten miles to the city limits, it's quite... well, except for me from time to time.
There are others that I hear shoot occasionally off in the distance. City water & gas, county Elc., that rarely fails.
No state income tax, vehicle tags aren't bad compared to other states.
We do have tornadoes, but no hurricanes.
Lots of humidity What? What's n it to Love??
Really don't care about moving, it's not heaven here, but it is close enough for this old man.
It would be nice to be nearer the other grandchildren, but then we"d be farther from these close by.
My main regret is not preparing for my old age any better than I have, then we could just visit more often , but in all fairness.
The way I ran in my youth, I never expected to live this long.

The mountains of East TN would work as a close second if I just have to pick something.
I'm sure others will have better answers than I. Should be interesting.

RP

[BigAl52]

I can tell where not to move. Colorado its a total ____ show. If I had my way Blanco Tx would be my next stop. Its a little warm in the summer but I have wheels to go north.

[cooperhawk]

Well, the Grandkids are mostly here, so.....................
Minnesota is not bad except in the Winter and of course the taxes and politics.
I do like Texas a lot and of of course Arizona, but not in the Summer.
I suppose we have it pretty good. We live in the woods, on a lake, five miles from town. Our taxes on the
property aren't too bad and since we're old, and retired, we don't spend much except for food, which isn't taxed.
Then we have the big motorhome and we get the heck out of here in the worst of the Winter, so....................
Life ain't too bad.

[CT_Shooter]

I live in a town of 3500 people along the last ten miles of the CT river where there's no shoreline industry or manufacturing, it's tidal, and ultimately forms a large, briny estuary as it merges into The Long Island Sound. I'm surrounded by seventeen thousand acres of State Forest and I'm close to great medical facilities, universities, and museums. I like the government here, including our firearms licensing policies, and I don't mind paying taxes to educate and care for other people's children. My brothers and other relatives and friends are all within state lines and it's a fairly small state. And, I'm very comfortable here. It's home.

Nonetheless, sadly, there are too many times while watching an episode of news that I think I'd really like to find someplace peaceful to live. Weird.

[Sir Henry]

I recommend the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I moved from Woodinville (Seattle) four years ago and love it here. The cost of living here is low and if you are retired it’s a wonderful place to live. If you are still working jobs are scarce. The only downside is the annual ice age.

[GunnyGene]

I'm already there - here. I moved far too many times in my life. My next move will be wherever my ashes end up.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I'm already there........Here in the woods of South Carolina........Can shoot off the front or back porch.......In fact I kill deer yearly off my front porch......There is only one house in my subdivision..........MINE........Here I am King.

[RanchRoper]

Happy right here.

IMG_3075.jpeg (2.36 MiB) Viewed 882 times

[BrokenolMarine]

We decided to move from VA when the politics kicked in. We looked long and hard at a number of locations.

* Florida for the weather and the fishing.
* Tennessee for the beauty.
* North Carolina because I had lived them for Half my Marine Corps career and liked the state, but would have lived in the mountains in the western part of that state.
* Texas, because it's Texas,
* Arkansas because it's pretty there.

But alas, each of those had reasons NOT to move there, so we settled on Oklahoma for a number of reasons in the
PRO column.

* Great treatment of Veterans
* Constitution Carry
* Excellent Property prices when we moved in 2020
* LOW population, the state has the same population as LA or Half the population of New York City
* Choose your environment, Plains, mountains, whatever. We chose mountain (Like)
* Friendly for the most part. Low Drama... unless you go to a major city. There are maybe four or five in the state.

The Cons?

* Roads Suck
* Schools are not the greatest, but we are retired.
* Jobs aren't plentiful, but we are retired.
* Healthcare isn't the best, but I use the VA.
* When you want to go somewhere, it's a ways away. (And see #1)
* Weather, it's HOT, and there are tornados, and the high winds.
(But when I lived in Florida we had hurricanes, in VA we had Hurricanes and Earthquakes.)

We don't regret the move, it's quiet, we love our little farm.
I can work in my shop at 2am and noone is close enough to complain, and I have a range out the back door.
And the views on our little farm are beautiful.

pasture clipped wide view 250601.jpg (534.99 KiB) Viewed 850 times

[Centaur]

We spend a couple of months in the winter in Arizona, but Wyoming is home. Winters can be pretty chilly, and the wind likes to blow, but you can’t beat the scenery, and we’re the least populated state in the lower 48.
I am just about ready to suffer through Wyoming winter again rather than put up with all the humans that flock to Az in the winter, and I sure wouldn’t live there in the summer.

[markiver54]

In spite of the fact that a year ago we had a biblical hurricane/tropical storm that hit western North Carolina, there is still nowhere else I would rather be.

I was born in Texas, but we only lived there till I was 4 years old, so no real experience there. My Dad was a corporate executive. He accepted a job in New Jersey and off we went. Was there till I was 16 years old and then my Dad accepted a job in the Chicago area where I attended HS.

During my previous profession of 30 years, I was re-located a few times. I lived in the Chicago suburbs when I began that job. I had been there for 20 years and never got used to the extreme cold and snowy winters. Was transferred to New Jersey for just under two years and did not care for that area for various reasons. Was transferred to southern California where I had an office for about 5+1/2 years. The weather was wonderful, but way too many people. The cost of living was off the charts, and I experienced several earthquakes, most notably the 7.2 Northridge quake. I guess that was about 1992 or so. I was then recruited to North Carolina. After 1+1/2 years the company was sold, and they transferred me to Cincinnati Ohio. Was there for just over five years. That was when I parted ways with the printing and packaging industry and made the decision to move back to North Carolina.

I do not regret making that decision. I love how green and beautiful these mountains are. The outdoor recreational activities are unlimited. We are far enough inland that we are USUALLY not affected much by coastal hurricanes such as Helene last year. Not much snow in the winter. Our worst threat are ice storms on occasion. Any snow or ice melts off pretty quickly. No notable earthquakes, and lower humidity on average than farther south. People are very friendly.

I could go on and on with comparisons of the different parts of the country where I have lived, but I won't bore you with anymore of that.

I will be in western North Carolina for the rest of my life. I feel blessed to have landed here.

[Hatchdog]

Thanks for the replies everybody, more are welcome.

I should expand on the HOA concerns more. Our HOA isn’t too restrictive, mostly relating to building a home with some very east requirements to follow. The issue right now is with our president. She is the glue that holds this community together and recently got very frustrated and told me in confidence she might either resign or at least not run for reelection. We have private roads here in the community and the road in front of my (and her) home had deteriorated terribly. We spent thousands of dollars dollars doing asphalt patching to the point the paving company advised us we were wasting money as the road was shot. So for the last few years we have just been using gravel to fill potholes. We had increased the dues hoping to save enough money to get the road re-paved. After several years we had only saved 50% of the estimate from several years ago of $80K. The saving rate was not even keeping up with the inflation cost for the project.

This year the community decided to get a loan to get the project done. Our president put many hours into getting the loan and contracting with the paving company to get the work done. Finally this week our road was paved and all she asked of the residents was to not drive on the fresh still warm/soft asphalt. So of course one selfish neighbor drove on it and caused some minor damage. So she got pissed and that’s when she told me she might be done with the presidency. Can’t blame her one bit.

Our concern is if she does quit this community could go downhill quickly including the financial aspect. She is also the treasurer and does a great job of getting after residents who are behind paying the dues. One condition of our paving loan is maintaining a very low amount of past due dues. So maybe we should get out while the getting is good??????

Heres a picture of the newly paved road that is wonderful. The pavers will come back and dress the edges and the driveway approaches. Note the three tire tracks, three inconsiderate neighbors who cut the caution tape that indicated the road was closed and just drove up anyway.

IMG_6129.jpeg (4.66 MiB) Viewed 745 times

[RanchRoper]

Paved roads? Way too civilized for me.

[BigAl52]

Thanks for the replies everybody, more are welcome.

I should expand on the HOA concerns more. Our HOA isn’t too restrictive, mostly relating to building a home with some very east requirements to follow. The issue right now is with our president. She is the glue that holds this community together and recently got very frustrated and told me in confidence she might either resign or at least not run for reelection. We have private roads here in the community and the road in front of my (and her) home had deteriorated terribly. We spent thousands of dollars dollars doing asphalt patching to the point the paving company advised us we were wasting money as the road was shot. So for the last few years we have just been using gravel to fill potholes. We had increased the dues hoping to save enough money to get the road re-paved. After several years we had only saved 50% of the estimate from several years ago of $80K. The saving rate was not even keeping up with the inflation cost for the project.

This year the community decided to get a loan to get the project done. Our president put many hours into getting the loan and contracting with the paving company to get the work done. Finally this week our road was paved and all she asked of the residents was to not drive on the fresh still warm/soft asphalt. So of course one selfish neighbor drove on it and caused some minor damage. So she got pissed and that’s when she told me she might be done with the presidency. Can’t blame her one bit.

Our concern is if she does quit this community could go downhill quickly including the financial aspect. She is also the treasurer and does a great job of getting after residents who are behind paying the dues. One condition of our paving loan is maintaining a very low amount of past due dues. So maybe we should get out while the getting is good??????

Heres a picture of the newly paved road that is wonderful. The pavers will come back and dress the edges and the driveway approaches. Note the three tire tracks, three inconsiderate neighbors who cut the caution tape that indicated the road was closed and just drove up anyway.


IMG_6129.jpeg

Thats just living proof of you cant fix stupid Hatch. Surely those people knew the road was going to be redone ahead time and could have made arrangements

[Mags]

just for snickers and giggles here’s my question to the forum. With the variety of areas that you members hail from, north to south and east to west I think this is a great place to post this inquiry. From time to time my wife and I discuss moving and in the past we mostly talked about heading to Idaho or perhaps somewhere in the southwest. But we are expanding our thoughts. We have NO firm plans to move but both the political climate here in Washington State and some issues with our HOA we are talking again.

So, if you were moving to anywhere in the lower 48 where would you likely land? No large cities please but most folks on here don’t live in the huge metropolis around. We live rural and would like to continue that but we may be priced out of some areas.

Other than New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc there’s no wrong answer here. Would love to hear your opinions.

To your property up north, or idaho.

[fortyshooter]

Too late for me to move but I have been in Central Va. for 71 years. One thing I don't like is that Northern Va. is still part of Va. as far as politics go.
Yes we have lots of little taxes that all add up. Weather can be anything at anytime! Right now we have a great Fall type system moving thru finally to break the months long heat and humidity. If I were to move it would be East Tenn. if you like beautiful mountains and valleys. We have a Govenor Election coming up in November which will be VERY interesting how the vote goes....check it out!

[Hatchdog]

just for snickers and giggles here’s my question to the forum. With the variety of areas that you members hail from, north to south and east to west I think this is a great place to post this inquiry. From time to time my wife and I discuss moving and in the past we mostly talked about heading to Idaho or perhaps somewhere in the southwest. But we are expanding our thoughts. We have NO firm plans to move but both the political climate here in Washington State and some issues with our HOA we are talking again.

So, if you were moving to anywhere in the lower 48 where would you likely land? No large cities please but most folks on here don’t live in the huge metropolis around. We live rural and would like to continue that but we may be priced out of some areas.

Other than New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc there’s no wrong answer here. Would love to hear your opinions.

To your property up north, or idaho.

Both great suggestions in my opinion. Our property is pretty remote from civilization and I don’t think I could get my wife to live there. However I sure would love to buy a place in a southern state, AZ or Texas maybe and do a reverse snowbird heading up the the property in the summer when it’s so hot down south. The property has power and phone but no well so one would have to be drilled. Moving to Idaho is pretty much my number one choice, no improvement on weather but a huge improvement on politics. Also an Idaho move would be only 30 - 40 miles which makes a move very easy.

[cooperhawk]

Too late for me to move but I have been in Central Va. for 71 years. One thing I don't like is that Northern Va. is still part of Va. as far as politics go.

I lived in Northern Virginia for 15 years and loved the area, just not the politics. I was actually in Loudon County, the center of all the discourse and it was bad when I left in 1983 already.

[Hatchdog]

Thanks for the replies everybody, more are welcome.

I should expand on the HOA concerns more. Our HOA isn’t too restrictive, mostly relating to building a home with some very east requirements to follow. The issue right now is with our president. She is the glue that holds this community together and recently got very frustrated and told me in confidence she might either resign or at least not run for reelection. We have private roads here in the community and the road in front of my (and her) home had deteriorated terribly. We spent thousands of dollars dollars doing asphalt patching to the point the paving company advised us we were wasting money as the road was shot. So for the last few years we have just been using gravel to fill potholes. We had increased the dues hoping to save enough money to get the road re-paved. After several years we had only saved 50% of the estimate from several years ago of $80K. The saving rate was not even keeping up with the inflation cost for the project.

This year the community decided to get a loan to get the project done. Our president put many hours into getting the loan and contracting with the paving company to get the work done. Finally this week our road was paved and all she asked of the residents was to not drive on the fresh still warm/soft asphalt. So of course one selfish neighbor drove on it and caused some minor damage. So she got pissed and that’s when she told me she might be done with the presidency. Can’t blame her one bit.

Our concern is if she does quit this community could go downhill quickly including the financial aspect. She is also the treasurer and does a great job of getting after residents who are behind paying the dues. One condition of our paving loan is maintaining a very low amount of past due dues. So maybe we should get out while the getting is good??????

Heres a picture of the newly paved road that is wonderful. The pavers will come back and dress the edges and the driveway approaches. Note the three tire tracks, three inconsiderate neighbors who cut the caution tape that indicated the road was closed and just drove up anyway.


IMG_6129.jpeg

Thats just living proof of you cant fix stupid Hatch. Surely those people knew the road was going to be redone ahead time and could have made arrangements

Yep, plenty of warning and suggestions to work around the paving. Most of the “non stupid” neighbors parked their cars ar the end of the road and walked to their homes. It was only one day so not much of an inconvenience.