Sounds to me like you should move to the Netherlands instead…
No big cities in the Netherlands at all, at least not compared to US standards. However, you are always fairly close (within two hours drive) to the largest ones, no matter where in the country you are going to live. Within that same time, you can get to the beach, to forested areas, to Germany, Belgium, France…
€200.000 to €300.000 will only buy you a tiny appartment In Amsterdam or Utrecht, but you can get awesome places for that money in the northern- and eastern part of the Netherlands.
and 4. No worries whatsover!
5: very good public education. Also excellent health care!
6: No harsh winters. We do get a few centimeters of snow every now and then (like this week/today), but not every year and it’s usually gone in a few days. Relatively large amounts of rain though, and the summers are (usually) not very hot. But that’s what you go on holiday for, right?
yeah… mountains are going to be a problem… Our highest one is a staggering 322.4 meters high… Sorry about that…
Last year, we had a water shortage. But that was the first time in about 200 years, so it’s not something to worry about, No tornados, no eartquakes unless you live in Groningen, only local forest fires…
In other words: the Netherlands fit the bill perfectly. And everyone speaks English… See you soon!
Edit: interesting: Discourse messes with the layout of my post. It should be 1-8, but somehow it turns it into 1-5, 5, 6, 4, 5…???
What’s up with the Dutch? They all seem to speak perfect English. (Edit: Netherlands is also the best country to play in EU4, so there’s that too!) I’ve been watching World Cup skiing (alpine and x-country) and it really struck me that at all the events, people speak English - the podium ceremony, and interviews w/ host country journalists and athletes. It’s remarkable. (Events held in Russia are the exception.)
Back to the topic at hand
The other criteria (largely ignored) is the request to avoid “miles and miles of development.” I don’t know about the PNW, but most anywhere with an agreeable climate is going to have this (at least from what I’ve seen from travelling and using Google maps.) But it did just dawn on me, with the recent problems in Puerto Rico, that might be someplace to look at; personally I’m pondering Costa Rica, Belize or Panama for retirement. There isn’t anywhere in the Sun Belt I’d want to move to, and although I’d love to live in Hawaii, I’d have to pitch a tent in order to afford it
I feel like the recent problems in Puerto Rico are a reason to avoid looking there. Not that it’s their fault, to be sure…but hurricanes are only going to be more of a thing going forward, and if they’re hit this badly now, what happens when the mainland doesn’t help not because the president ignores them but because all the resources are already tied up dealing with other disasters?
Note you can see generally when it’s too hot, when it’s too muggy, and at the bottom of that chart, the best times of year to travel there (or when life is most enjoyable here.)
Other graphs cover a more specific view of the temperatures, precipitation (rain and snow,) humidity, sunlight, wind, best tourism times, beach/pool times, growing season lengths, and even solar energy yearly graphs.
It is a fantastic amount of information for anyone looking to move here in the U.S.
Huh. What does it take to become a citizen or get access to local health care, etc. out of curiosity? Is this an actual practical idea for a US citizen?
Weather sounds like the Pacific North West, maybe a bit colder?
Yeah, it never gets below 50F or above 75F, never snows, and doesn’t get too humid. It’s usually room temperature, and the coldest it gets is sweater weather.
It gets a lot hotter unless you are right on the coast. 15 miles inland it’s a totally different ballgame in most areas. When we bought our house the distance from the ocean was one of the top 3 factors, not because we care about the beach but just general temperature. So it was a balancing game, newer houses and cheaper costs vs temperature increase. 5-6 miles was the sweet spot for us.
Sure, the water is a giant thermal mass which evens out the temperature.
El Cajon is 17 miles east of San Diego downtown, it frequently gets in the high 80s in the summertime. Still much nicer than most other places in the continental US including NYC, but not perfect like San Diego.
To anyone using that site, be sure and try the compare feature from the front page. It’s awesome. You get the same charts color coded with the comparison cities.I think you can also link to it by adding a city once you’re looking at another.
Nightgaunt, I’m going out on a limb and suggest you don’t want to live in Ankara, whatever the weather is like. It’s (IMO) not an attractive city, with an odd mix of architecture, and is mostly in the middle of nowhere in the center of the country. Plus the wannabe-Putin Islamist in charge has a taste for confiscating the property of political enemies and foreigners he doesn’t approve of.
Thanks Skipper, this is a useful site. I especially like the way they present the solar energy and tourism graphs. Also, lets check out the “the summer in the south” humidity graphs (Raleigh, NC), yeah lol
The first think I did a while back was do a Charlotte vs. Raleigh. And, well, it was a tossup. We’re both pretty miserable, only in very slightly different ways.
I found it based on trying to find a site for vacation in the winter and during this discussion it dawned on me how useful that might be for home/retirement searches.
Also as a a resident of the North Carolina Piedmont region, I can confirm July and August are primarily oppressive.
