umarider Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 As I mentioned in my "Worst Place" posting, dh is nearing retirement from the military and we still have no real idea where we would like to live. We know a few places that wouldn't suit us, but no place that would be a truly good candidate. I'll post our basic criteria and perhaps some of you can make a few suggestions for us. 1. A change of seasons (preferably w/ some snow, but not buried under it!) 2. I don't want to be constantly dealing w/ small-minded, bigotted people. A poster on the "Worst Places" thread summed it up perfectly for me... I, too, am driven to tears by some of the cutting, heartless things people say/do to/about each other. 3. Decent COL... 4. Access to horses, we'd love to have some land, but I'd prefer to board the horses at a nice facility for the first few years. We ride English, and after living in So.Cal, I know that I need to have green pastures for them. 5. DH's work is pretty flexible, govt contracting, or perhaps a logistics-type job. He'll probably go to freelancing in a couple years. I will be returning to teaching (elementary) in a year or two, so anywhere there are schools I should do okay. So our work doesn't tie us down to one location too much. 5. Adequate shopping/library/restaurants within 20 +/- minutes. We are curious about the Charlottesville area of VA, but seeing as we are currently living in HI, there is little chance to explore. And all we know of Charlottesville is from a trip to Greenbriar and DH having been offered a job nearby. Being USMC, we have lived around the Quantico (DC) area several times and like it, although it is way to overbuilt for my long-term comfort. I'm guessing that we will need to be near a college town for my sanity and no more than 1-1 1/2 hours from a good-sized airport w/ International capabilities. Okay, so now that I've offered up my wish list is there anywhere in the US that might suit our wants/needs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Western VA... even into West Virginia, southeastern Pennsylvania, and pretty much anywhere between Fredericksburg, Richmond and Lynchburg... including around Williamsburg would probably be great fits. I wouldn't get to far into SE Virginia...and Roanoke starts getting really mountainous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umarider Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 Yeah, we have friends who live in SE Virginia and while they'd love for us to live close to them, neither DH nor I can see ourselves being comfortable in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 You just described Prescott, AZ. I don't know if it made the list of places NOT to live, but I cannot imagine that it did! I do not live there, but we visit there occasionally (from Phoenix, one of the worst places) and it is just fantastic. The people are always friendly, there are community gatherings and it is beautiful! There is a LA college, as well as Embry Riddle, plenty of restaurants/shopping (I was actually surprised by this) but it is about 100 miles from the airport. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Asheville, NC!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 We were supposed to move Charlottesville, Va. It is beautiful and appears to be a great place to live, not too small not too big. The houses are expensive, but of course you are coming from Hawaii. The company is allowing my husband to work from home in Atlanta. We have a mountain house about an hour from Atlanta and I love the North Georgia mountains. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 If airport access is important (as is situation for us), areas near Minneapolis, Chicago, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, and Dallas. All of the aforementioned cities have suburbs within an hour of international airport to house/ride horses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieAir Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 As I mentioned in my "Worst Place" posting, dh is nearing retirement from the military and we still have no real idea where we would like to live. We know a few places that wouldn't suit us, but no place that would be a truly good candidate. I'll post our basic criteria and perhaps some of you can make a few suggestions for us. 1. A change of seasons (preferably w/ some snow, but not buried under it!) 2. I don't want to be constantly dealing w/ small-minded, bigotted people. A poster on the "Worst Places" thread summed it up perfectly for me... I, too, am driven to tears by some of the cutting, heartless things people say/do to/about each other. 3. Decent COL... 4. Access to horses, we'd love to have some land, but I'd prefer to board the horses at a nice facility for the first few years. We ride English, and after living in So.Cal, I know that I need to have green pastures for them. 5. DH's work is pretty flexible, govt contracting, or perhaps a logistics-type job. He'll probably go to freelancing in a couple years. I will be returning to teaching (elementary) in a year or two, so anywhere there are schools I should do okay. So our work doesn't tie us down to one location too much. 5. Adequate shopping/library/restaurants within 20 +/- minutes. We are curious about the Charlottesville area of VA, but seeing as we are currently living in HI, there is little chance to explore. And all we know of Charlottesville is from a trip to Greenbriar and DH having been offered a job nearby. Being USMC, we have lived around the Quantico (DC) area several times and like it, although it is way to overbuilt for my long-term comfort. I'm guessing that we will need to be near a college town for my sanity and no more than 1-1 1/2 hours from a good-sized airport w/ International capabilities. Okay, so now that I've offered up my wish list is there anywhere in the US that might suit our wants/needs? I'd say the area we live in fits most of your criteria. Cost of living is very good compared to many places in the U.S. People are very friendly. Summers are a bit long and hot, but we do have four seasons with some snow and usually not too much. Land is much cheaper compared to other places. We live in Butler County, but if you looked a few miles south (Cowley) or a little further east, land and property taxes are even cheaper. We are 25-45 minutes from any place in Wichita, which is not a large city but has plenty of shopping/dining/cultural opportunities for me and a good library system. Many people around here ride, but not so many ride English. There are a lot of places to stable horses. I would say Oklahoma would fit most of those criteria as well and you could find places close to Tulsa or OKC that would be suitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I didn't see it as a requirement, but wondering if being near a base is something of interest. I love the Nashville area although the snowfall is definitely on the minimal side. Ft. Campbell is about 45 minutes away and there are several colleges/universities in the area. Another option could also be Louisville, KY, which isn't far from Ft. Knox. A website I've used to research possible relocations is: http://www.city-data.com/ I've found the message boards can on the site can he helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 I love Northern Cal. or southern Oregon, perhaps Ashland, its absolutely beautiful. Or Washington, I hear Sequim is nice and doesnt get plummeted w/snow. Mind you, never been, stuck in SD.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 We were supposed to move Charlottesville, Va. It is beautiful and appears to be a great place to live, not too small not too big. The houses are expensive, but of course you are coming from Hawaii. The company is allowing my husband to work from home in Atlanta. We have a mountain house about an hour from Atlanta and I love the North Georgia mountains. Good Luck Charlottesville is a great town - I grew up there and my family is still there. BUT, the housing is very expensive. You pretty much need $400,000 to get something nice in a nice area. That is why we are in southwest Va. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umarider Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 I love Northern Cal. or southern Oregon, perhaps Ashland, its absolutely beautiful. Or Washington, I hear Sequim is nice and doesnt get plummeted w/snow. We took a trip back to the mainland this fall and drove from Seattle to near Sacramento. There were parts of both Washington and Oregon that interested me. But as one pp asked, we are interested in being at least close enough to a military base to allow for once a month commissary shopping, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umarider Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 Charlottesville is a great town - I grew up there and my family is still there. BUT, the housing is very expensive. You pretty much need $400,000 to get something nice in a nice area. That is why we are in southwest Va. What qualifies as SW Virginia? And how are the housing costs in that area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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