We just got back from a trip to Upstate NY and it was so beautiful. Even DH's crazy mother didn't make me want to leave. We currently live in the southeast and I HATE it so much. I don't deal with the heat well and fall is my favorite season. I grew up in the northeast and miss it so much this time of year. Right now we are stuck where we are, but there is a chance we could relocate in the next year. DH's job will mostly be remote (WFH), but he will have to come to north florida every other month or so.
Easiest would be for us to move back to NF since we have a house there (currently renting) and the schools are good, but DH seems like he would actually be open to a more northern location as long as it is near an airport that he could easily get to FL if needed. I am probably just dreaming, but I am starting to look around and am overwhelmed with where to start looking.
Here is what is on my wish list. I would prefer to be east coast since both our families are in the NE but are open to anywhere right now. -L-MCOL homes in neighborhoods/suburbs -good public schools -soft grass (haha I hate the grass we have in FL/GA) -mountains (we love to hike, take walks) -Lakes/streams (we really want to get a boat at some point and love to fish/go boating -basements, I miss them so much -culture/diversity -closer to a decent size city -not a ton of snow. We have been away from the snow for years, and I miss it, but DH does not. I am sad my kids won't grow up with weekend ski trips, snow days, and sled riding.
I'm not sure there is any perfect place, but I miss the changing of the seasons and the cooler weather so much this time of year.
Post by Velar Fricative on Aug 24, 2015 13:19:14 GMT -5
Upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania seemed to check out until I got to your very last list item. Where there are mountains, there will probably be a bit of snow.
I used to live in upstate NY and I was with you until you got to no snow. There is a lot of snow. One year my city had 180 inches of snow thoughout the winter. But when you live in a place that deals with a lot of snow, they know how to deal with it and I always felt more comfortable driving there then I do when we get four inches here in the Midwest. We get ice here and I don't remember a lot of ice there, just snow. Lots and lots of snow.
The housing there is so cheap though, and it really is a beautiful place to live.
Post by redpenmama on Aug 24, 2015 13:31:53 GMT -5
Lexington, KY hits on a lot of your points: LCOL, beautiful fall weather, hiking/boating opportunities nearby, many homes have basements, 1-hour drive to Cincinnati and Louisville, a few big snowfalls a year but nothing like the Northeast.
on your list i would look in maryland, virginia, and north carolina. the snow is the kicker. i grew up in northern pa and spent several years in upstate ny, love them both, but snow is very much the reality.
my ideal place is exactly where we are. 4 hours from the ocean, 4 hours from the rockies, with a big lake and lots of mountains in our own neighborhood. lots of amazing wineries, great weather especially for canada.
Post by turtlegirl on Aug 24, 2015 13:38:19 GMT -5
I think it would be awesome to live on the beach in SoCal, but only if I could walk to the ocean. And since I don't have millions of dollars, that won't happen. DH's grandma's house fits that description and DH and i die of jealousy everytime we go to visit her.
On the other extreme DH also really wants to live in the mountains, like Lake Tahoe, CA. But I'm not a big snow person at all and don't know of I could hack it.
Denver, which is why we moved here. It's been very good to us. When we moved here none of our family was within 800miles. Now DHs family is here now (& BILs are doing better $$ wise here than when they were in the SE).
It fits your criteria too except it's far from the East Coast.
As an upstate NYer, I was checking off all of your criteria until the snow thing!
Where I live, we don't get a TON of snow - we are 2 hours drive each from buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse (southern Finger lakes) and we don't get near the amount of snow they do. No lake effect here.
When DH retires from the military we would like to either end up in Colorado or the northeast,, probably in mass somewhere. We are both from western/central ny but I don't think we want to live in ny again.
We want 4 seasons, not the south, low humidity, and access to an outdoor lifestyle. Snow doesn't really bother us, and I prefer dealing with some snow over a hot sweltering summer where you can't even go outside without sweating to death.
We have decided that if we won the lottery we would settle in CO. I think that ticks most of your boxes. There is snow, but it falls and then melts the rest of the week.
I'm in NC and its humid AS SHIT in the summer BUT I don't miss the NY winters. I would love to live in SF or SD. SF is a place we could transfer to easily but its SO expensive it would be like moving back to NY and that was a huge reason why we left.
I'm ok with snow. I grew up in PA so I am used to it and I do want *some* snow. Where DH grew up, they get the lake effect snow, so that is a bit much. I think ideal location would be NC, Maryland,VA. I think once DD is in school we will stay put for awhile, so I want it to be somewhere we will enjoy.
My other choice is around Asheville but I have an issue with it not being close to the beach.
I want to visit Asheville soon. I have heard its amazing. After living near the beach for the last several years, I'm kinda over it right now. It is nice being close, but I would rather have mountains/lakes.
When DH retires from the military we would like to either end up in Colorado or the northeast,, probably in mass somewhere. We are both from western/central ny but I don't think we want to live in ny again.
We want 4 seasons, not the south, low humidity, and access to an outdoor lifestyle. Snow doesn't really bother us, and I prefer dealing with some snow over a hot sweltering summer where you can't even go outside without sweating to death.
This is exactly what I want. Snow bothers DH much more than me, but it was mainly bc he didn't want to commute in it. Since he won't have to... I cannot stand not being able to go outside much in the summer. It was better when we were in FL and had a pool, but its horrible in GA, the bugs eat me and DD alive in 2 seconds. Its nice in the fall/winter, but the rest of the year I hate it. I live in a walkable area, but still drive in the Summer bc of the heat.
I agree with @mrsbecky! I love Maryland and we plan to stay here forever. DH was born and raised here. My family moved to MD from Atlanta when I was in HS. I have no family here but I think it's a great place to live. My parents are in Delaware (2 hours away) but they plan to move closer to us in the next few years.
It's not LCOL here but they are definitely some areas that are more affordable than others.
Post by leonard131 on Aug 24, 2015 14:24:21 GMT -5
Another Maryland vote. But not the burbs. Not sure what you do but there are places near Fredrick which are pretty close the mtns and not too bad of drive to BWI. Or if you want to be on the water for boating there there are tons of places. I would stay away for the burbs of DC parts of MD. They are going to higher cost of living.
CO hits a lot of your points. Areas like golden or western foothills are super close to the mountains (like real mountains ) and have streams and places to hike. I would say we are in a MCOL area but real estate this summer has been crazy. It has to level off at some point I would think but who knows.
Pittsburgh ticks all of your boxes except the last and is an amazing place to live. Honestly, we didn't get THAT MUCH snow last year, but it was cold as hell.
Pittsburgh ticks all of your boxes except the last and is an amazing place to live. Honestly, we didn't get THAT MUCH snow last year, but it was cold as hell.
I grew up outside of Pittsburgh and love it so much. That is my ideal location, I'm just not sure I could get Dh to move that far north. I think he might consider NC so I'm on my way