This is kind of for fun, but also for some info! For lots of reasons, we're planning to move next summer. Right now we're in North Texas. I have 2 questions:
1) if you could live anywhere in the US, where would it be and why?
and
2) anyone know of any places that are policially more "blue," lean toward the left/liberal, have some differentiation between the 4 seasons, but no more than maybe 40 inches of snow a season? (so where you're not snowed in most of the winter), and hte cost of living is low-moderate?
Thanks!
I already moved to where I want to live (Florida) and if we leave this state I would most likely head to TX. I don’t want to live in liberal leaning states because you have way less freedoms there. Like NY where they feel the need to ban large sodas and not let people make their own decisions (JMO).
1. Right here in Missouri. I love it here.
2. "Blue"/Liberal states and "low cost of living" don't really go together. Taxes in blue states are generally higher. Good luck with that.
1. South Florida to be with my family... we just moved back and it's been a crazy couple of months but I don't think we've ever been more "settled"!
2. Those items rarely go together. Living up north is much more expensive (we just moved out of NY) than south of the M-D line. Liberal states tend to have higher taxes and more restrictions... meaning more expensive. You may want to consider Maryland. They get some snow in the northern/western part of the state, have complete change of seasons and depending on your proximity to DC, there will be a range of political affiliations. The closer you are to DC, though, the higher the cost of living.
We lived in Novato, CA and I LOVED IT. The only thing that was missing was family. There isn't much change season-wise - mostly Spring, Summer, and some fall. But Tahoe is a 3 hours drive away if you want snow :) Monterey is 3-4 hours away. The redwoods are about the same, and the coast is 1 hour or less away. Just lovely. Traffic is nutty if you work in the city, but if you can find a job locally, it's perfect.
not sure where washington stands on the blue or red standings as i dont pay any attention to it.
i moved here from southern california. if you dont live in the bigger cities houses are pretty cheap. we got maybe 14 inches to 2 feet of snow this winter. and you get all four seasons. where we live in this little town theres a small school (my kid has 20 in her class of kinder/first grade combo). cost of living isnt too bad here that i found. where we live we can choose to shop in idaho or washington. also depending on where you live in washington will depend on the wild life you see. we see the occaisonal moose, deer, squirrels, birds etc.
Why on earth would you want to leave this state? Ha, just kidding. Seasons would be nice. We're locked into Houston for a while though, the wife is about to start her own business.
Not sure I would ever let political affiliation effect my decision to move though. Interesting...
You could move to Pa. They are a blue state and experience all seasons. Or you could live in the hills of Ca. They experience the seasons but kind of expensive. Good luck with your hunt.
North Carolina generally leans conservative, but there are pockets in the "research triangle" area of NC which are a bit more "blue." That's also true in eastern areas of NC.
I'm from NC but live in Florida. Florida is fantastic but probably not enough change of seasons for you.
I think I would love Austin, TX.
I live in Chicago. We have 4 seasons, although the weather has been wonky in the past few years; cold when it's supposed to be warm, warm when it's supposed to be cold. Last winter it hardly snowed. We got some snow this winter, mostly from January on. It's very blue politically, as you might expect. Cost of living is not low. It's moderate in some of the suburbs.
1) I would move to Hawaii because I would love to have summer year round and be near to ocean. Pretty pricey though. And it would be far from family.
2) I live in Colorado currently and every year it is more left leaning. Mostly in the cities of Denver and Boulder. We have all four seasons for sure and if you are NOT in the mountains the snow is pretty moderate, and because of all the sunshine usually dissapears pretty quickly even after a big snow storm. Cost of living is not low though. Cant really say where is compares to the rest of the country. Definitley not as cheap as Texas, but a lot better than say California or New York or something.
Here in the NY metro area we have 4 seasons, usually have less than 40 inches of snow (but have very snowy winters every 4 or 5 years), is a VERY blue state but is not all all qualified in the area of cost of living. Plus the traffic is a mess.
The funny thing is that I refer to myself as a "red-stater living in a blue state" (for more reasons than one)! I would much rather find one of those red pockets of the country to live in as the liberal politics of NY are the reason why there's an exodus of young people and families from HY to other parts of the country. The unions seem to run the state, the schools, the local municipalities, the grocery stores, etc. Real estate taxes for 1/3 acre home are about $8,000 a year (ours are the lowest on the street), income tax is between 4% - 9% and sales tax is 8.25%. ! So only come here if you have tons of money to fork over and don't expect a high level of service. ;o)
You know, the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is a good place, not too many tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.....
There is a high population of same gender couples along side traditional couples. The whole area has different feelings within the areas....there are towns that have total traditional lifestyles and then a few miles away there are areas with tons of quaint boutiques, trendy restaurants, urban apartments and condo's.
The whole area is a bunch of small towns that have grown together into a huge megalopolis.
Anywhere there are mountains. I kick myself for not living near the mountains. If you can live anywhere, why not go to where it is beautiful?
