I couldn’t overly blame you, lol.
I think we will have to research places in the Pacific NW on an individual basis when my wife sees a college she would be interested working at. McMinnville had a college of some sort, don’t remember it in detail.
Some goes for Asheville and Greenville. They seem like they could be good. There was a small school outside Atlanta that was hiring. I have a friend in the area who said that could be nice.
I didn’t realize winter in CO could be so mild so we’ll have to keep our mind open to that too - but like I said I’d prefer to live in a greener area.
This could easily be describing Sedona (and Oak Creek), Arizona. Lovely places. Great trout fishing.
I don’t know about the local schools, though. I suspect they’re pretty good, but have no direct knowledge. I just used to go there a lot for the fishing.
I was thinking Orlando. But no. Too hot. Houses only cost around $145 - $200 thousand. Great schools. Lots of development. A rainy season and a dry season. Massive sun and water and pools and beaches.
Nah. Fuggedaboutit.
Yes, for the most part, although we’ve enjoyed three of the most perfect sunny days Monday-to-today that I’ve seen in a Portland winter. Two winters ago was dreadful. Last winter was milder. This winter has been downright tolerable. It does get dark early and light late, and when it rains, it is this intermittent drizzle with total overcast that is really dreary. When people compare rain between cities, they say things like, “Portland gets less rain annually than Chattanooga TN!” That’s nice, but amount of sunlight in the winter is a big difference.
The summers, though, are just stupendous, like @divedivedive said, although I’m sure Portland’s summers are somehow different from Seattle’s summers because everything about Portland is weird. Rarely rains (like, no rain for two months in 2017 as I recall) and the temperature rarely gets above 80 which feels like 70 because there is zero humidity.
The big problem with Oregon is the state taxes. Sure, there is no sales tax, which is nice for big-ticket items, but the income tax is killer. Washington, on the other hand, has no state income tax, which may be a reason to consider Washington.
I was there two winters ago, trying to get to PDX in the middle of the “blizzard”. Craziest thing I ever saw, Oregon drivers just gave up and stopped in the middle of the highway. Didn’t even pull over, just stopped right in the center lane.
Too humid! The hotness would be fine but the humidly is what kills you.
But we do have lot’s of things to do here in Orlando ! My wife and I go to see the mouse in the morning and leave the park early when the heat starts to get bad.
Well, the central valley has very mild winters (okay, it is hot in the summer), but while there are conservative pockets there are also some very liberal ones. The foothills are nice and property is considered affordable. As you go north of SF inland you find conservative areas, north coastal they would be liberal. Areas like Chico though, a college town in the foothills (near the last big fire) would be nice.
My one stay in Portland was during May about 30 years ago. It was 100 degrees.
Many houses don’t even have A/C there. That must have been an aberration.
I think it was record breaking or tying.
100 degrees in Portland had to be awful.
Here it’s just another dry and sunny summer day.
We were in a small motor home on Janzen Island.
It was nuts. They didn’t salt the roads, so all the roads got this rutted effect with solid ice where your tires go due to the compression. Completely insane.
I mean there were multiple days where it was 99+ in August. And, yeah, no AC where I was staying. It was pretty bad.
But @Brooski is spot on. The sunlight is the issue here, even when it isn’t raining it can be pretty overcast. But the last three days, to my wife in Chicago’s chagrin, have been incredibly nice and 50+.
Thing is it is highly variable. When I was staying in Vancouver, WA I would have basically three major weather shifts on some days. North of the Columbia, in the Portland side, and across the ridge into the Tualatin Valley. I’d go from mild rain, to driving in a cloud, cross the ridge and it be completely sunny and warm.
It’s not Chicago variable, where it can change quickly, but definitely changes over short distances more.
Honestly I’d say that the PNW is really where you want to be @robc04. You’re much like me in your desires, and the area is perfect for me.
Aside from housing costs really.
My wife and son would love the beaches. I’m not a water person. I’d be worried about getting washed away by an increased frequency of hurricanes.
Dude, your OP totally described Colorado. Granted, I’m not really up on housing prices. But since you want to be outside of the city, there are places like Longmont (northeast of Boulder) and maybe even Fort Collins (northern college town) that could be perfect for you.
We have snow every winter (actually, more in the spring), and cold snaps here and there. But typical is what just happened this week: Overnight Monday we had 5-6" of snow, it’s already melting by the next day, and this morning was 15-20 degrees, but by the middle of the day it’s 40. We get more sunshine per year than any place else in the country. Spring’s beautiful. Summer’s beautiful (it’ll hit the 100s once or twice; we usually get a few awesomely impressive thunderstorms). Autumn is beautiful. Winter is beautiful. And all in their own way.
There are no huge natural disasters here. No earthquakes. Forest fires are a theoretical problem if you live in the mountains. Tornadoes can happen, especially out on the plains. But they’re few and far between. We have some drought issues during dry years, like every place in the west, but it amounts to rules about watering your lawn and that’s it.
We’re a former red state, going purple-blue. Very cosmopolitan overall, unless you’re out in the rural places. More diverse than the PNW. Like a lot of places west of the Mississippi and east of San Francisco, we’re kind of small-l libertarian by philosophy.
We have the only mountains worth a damn in the lower 48. (Well, okay, I love the Idaho Rockies, too, but that’s just spillover from Colorado that goes up to Alaska.) We have Pikes Peak, Mesa Verde (ancient native American cliff dwellings) and dinosaur fossils. We have world class museums and libraries. We have weird places and ritzy places (you can find both in Boulder alone!).
We have kind of shitty public transport compared to a lot of places. Lots of cars on the road, and even more SUVs. But also lots of bicyclists and places for them to ride.
We aren’t endlessly lush like the PNW. There are plains with clutches of cottonwoods, until you get near the mountains. You can drive a little less than an hour from where I live in the suburbs of Denver and be in a forested canyon.
I was thinking about your post on my drive home and snapped this photo (we’re all very good drivers). Pardon the dirty window. I’m no photographer (especially with one hand on the wheel), and a cell phone camera doesn’t do the mountains justice. But this it pretty typical for a Colorado evening.
Orlando is in the center of Florida. Every one comes here during the hurricanes. I hate the beaches too. But my wife and daughter love it. They go I sit home and play a game. Life is good.
Boise I think fits a lot of your criteria. I like to shit on it, but the capital is actually fairly progressive, with some areas being downright hippie wonderlands. Houses are pretty cheap. Summers are hot and winters are cold, but we never get crazy weather like tornadoes or floods, and we rarely get more than a few inches of snow each year in the valley. Lots of outdoor activities in all seasons. Good breweries. Idaho wine country isn’t bad.
Public education here is rough - one of the worst in the nation. Very non-diverse population. Somewhat remote - Salt Lake City is the closest metropolitan area at five hours away, and Portland is next at eight hours (driving). Everything outside of Boise is unapologetically Trumpland.
I would suggest somewhere in Florida, probably in the Tampa or Orlando area.
The weather is very mild, and the cost of living is low. You will never have to deal with snow and ice.
The summers can be hot, but then again in central Florida, you get regular summer shows to cool you down and there is always staying inside in the AC.
About the only thing from your list that you would miss would be the mountains.
I hear Denver has terrible air quality. How much of that is an issue for Denver and the outlying areas? I get enough of that in OC, would like to leave it behind eventually.
CO has been occupying more of my head space lately because I have some family there that I need to visit and I freaking love the house designs with all the stone and wood.