The best place to live?

[cattzeye]

Hi everybody,

I have a question, for any and all who wish to share their thoughts:

My husband and I are hankering to move somewhere else, and we are collecting info about different towns/cities in the US. I have lived in San Diego for almost 40 years (since I was 4 years old), and he has lived here for about 20+ years. I was born in Ohio, and he was born and grew up in Washington state.

We both really love the idea of moving to either Oregon or Washington, but after checking into things like unemployment rates, cost of living, etc, we are thinking maybe that's not such a good idea. I checked on national unemployment rates, and Oregon has one of the highest rates in the nation. Does anyone live there, and can offer some "real life" info on the job market/cost of living there? I would much appreciate it!

In addition, I would love to hear about other places people are living, or have lived, and what you like/don't like about it.

Thank you so much, I would really, really appreciate your input. We would love to move within the next 2 years. This city is really getting to be TOO BIG, too crowded, and too expensive. It's not the town I grew up in anymore :(

Christine

[Apasaraw]

Christine,

San Diego is my home town too and I moved away from there 2 years ago for work. Whenever I go back I experience what you are refering to. When did it get so big and full of traffic? I get sentimental for how is was 30 years ago.

It really depends on the kind of work you and hubby plan to do when you move that may help decide. I am in Environmental Mngmt so out in the quiet is where I found a job. Do you have certain career needs? What are your needs and wants as far as lifestyle and daily living? (Job, hobbies, weather, people). After you have that figured out moving to the right place might be easier.

If I had no holds barred I'd be in Washington in 2 seconds...my brother is a Ranger in Idaho and loves it there, Beauty, great people and good cost of living...you might enjoy it.

Apasaraw

[ljannise]

Dont move to SE Texas. I want out of here so bad.

Faithfully, are you familiar with Lumberton??? It's where hubbs & I have chosen. It's about an hour away, away from everything.

I hate it when you stay in a nice rural area & then ppl start knocking down all the gorgeous trees, building these homes, overpopulating, etc. This plae is nothing like it used to be.

[LisaK]

Hi Christine,

We moved to NE Oregon about 12 years ago, from the San Diego area.
I was born and raised in Oceanside, dh was from Ocean Beach. I cry whenever I go back to Oceanside, it is so sad...I want my little beach town back, we really miss the ocean. But, we do not miss the fast paced overcrowded area.
I was there a year ago. it took me amost 4 hours to go the 30 miles from San Diego to Oceanside :eek:
Well anyway, here in NE Oregon, it is very beautiful. A slower pace, housing costs have gone up since we moved here. But, you can still get a house for under $100,000. If you are in the health or education field you can get a decent paying job, or in construction. Other than that you won't find anything that pays more than $7.50-$10.00 an hour. We have found that you can live on alot less here. Other plus's caring community, everyone has a garden and shares the veggies and fruit. Children can play outside, you can ride your bike or walk almost everywhere. Lots of camping and hiking areas, it is really beautiful here. I am very glad we moved here, wish all my children were still here, 2 of my son's moved back to San Diego, they couldn't handle the slow pace.
If you send me your snail addy, I will send you some real estate info of the area.

Peace,
Lisa

[Eveleaf]

Hey there Christine.

I grew up in Auburn, WA (somewhere between Seattle & Tacoma), and now I live in a Aloha, OR, which is a little town on the west outskirts of Portland.

I truly loved Washington - like anywhere, the closer you get to the bigger cities, the more crowded and fast-paced it gets. But there are gobs and gobs of forests and lovely thick evergreens, farmlands and rivers. It's amazingly beautiful!

I also love where I live now. Portland is a VERY health-conscious place to be - there is a strong RAW community here, as well as health food in general. On the west side, biking trails and bike lanes EVERYWHERE, I mean you can actually bike to work no matter where you work - there are bike lanes on the freeway and bridges too! :) Health food stores are common, and farm country is all around, so we get lush organic produce with ease. My mom and I just got back from picking berries at a local farm this morning, and there are local farmer's markets at least twice a week.

In all, it's kind of a nice compromise between the modern and the old-fashioned way of life. :D

About the unemployment issues, I have read the same reports that show high unemployment, but it's always kind of hard to believe. I don't personally know anyone who has trouble finding a job. The only people I know who are unemployed are those that want to be. Wages are quite decent on the west side, especially in the high-tech area, though the cost of living always manages to keep up, doesn't it? ;)

Do you have friends and relatives out this way? My advice would be to take a few weekends and travel around up here, don't make an uninformed choice.

Good luck! :D

[ArcticMist]

Dont move to Michigan I just moved from there LOL


Right now we are in NE Texas. So far we like it. But we are between Forth Worth and Dallas. It has its positives and negatives.


The question I have for all you Washington and Oregon people? What about all the RAIN!

My husband wanted to move to Washington but the rain would be to much. Not the rain but the cloudiness. Michigan was ALWAYS cloudy and it was very depressing.

[Eveleaf]

Yeah if rain bothers you, don't move here. We do get lots of it.

I hardly notice it and don't mind it at all - in fact, when I spent a year in TX I was majorly depressed and missed the rain. Rain is Nature's watering can. :) I love feeling the earth soak up the nourishing rain. It makes me feel like the world around me is lovely and alive.

[LisaK]

In NE Oregon it is normally not as rainy as the "wet" side. It is called the high desert, I have lived in the desert of So. Ca. This is nothing like that, we are in a valley surrounded mountians, it is green and lush.

Peace,
Lisa

[Boz]

Hi everybody,

I have a question, for any and all who wish to share their thoughts:

My husband and I are hankering to move somewhere else, and we are collecting info about different towns/cities in the US. I have lived in San Diego for almost 40 years (since I was 4 years old), and he has lived here for about 20+ years. I was born in Ohio, and he was born and grew up in Washington state.
anymore :(

Christine

Christine
We are neighbors!!!! I currently live in San Diego as well, what area do you live in?

I moved here about 3 1/2 years ago from chicago, and I've hated it here since the day I got here. I love the weather, but overall I think I've had bad experiences with people here which is why I dislike it so much.

Anyways, I'm moving up to San Francisco in a couple months. Both you and your husband should move there too!!!!! you'll can be my raw buddies :D

[threedogs]

I love feeling the earth soak up the nourishing rain. It makes me feel like the world around me is lovely and alive.

I totally agree with you (about rain). I love it. However, I feel that I'm in the minority - I meet very few people who feel the same. (This spring New England has had more than our share of rain...)

Everyone is different. I lived in Tucson for a couple of years. The lack of seasons along with the constant sun and heat eventually made me depressed (not to mention how much I missed the diversity of people, buildings and the rich history of the Boston area). I ended up hating Arizona. Yet I met some who loved living there, and would, most likely, hate the Boston area. People in AZ who had lived in the east for any length of time told me that the closeness of the buildings made them feel as though they would suffocate. I found it interesting that my son said the same about Arizona's wide open spaces - It made him feel as though he would choke. We, as humans, are all so different...

I would say, cattzeye, make sure you visit any place you are considering making your new home - but I also realize that just visiting would not have revealed the fact that Tucson was not a right 'fit' for me. My best suggestion is know yourself as well as possible - then see if another area 'fits' you.

[rawpriestess]

I was born in Oregon, the moved all over, but only remember Washington state as my home, there is nothing as beautiful as the crisp blue skies, with white puffy clouds, and rolling hills, and majestic white capped mountains, the beautiful ocean at your feet and giant firs towering over you.


It is always like a paradis here, I haven't had a job since 1995, when I quit my job to be an artist, but I live way better now, I make tons more money, and we live on a beautiful lake with trees surrounding us.

there is no more beautiful place on Earth, but that is my opinion, I love the cool crisp rain, and the grey cloudy skies, I love the dampness that makes me always feel cool, and never hot and sticky, I never feel dried out like I do when I go inland.

I love the moist air, with a warm cup of tea, it is heaven.

cool green grass with no watering, everything grows so beautifully well, rich black organic soil to plant in, and meadows, forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, ocean, etc.

[SedonaSun]

Everyone is different. I lived in Tucson for a couple of years. The lack of seasons along with the constant sun and heat eventually made me depressed (not to mention how much I missed the diversity of people, buildings and the rich history of the Boston area). I ended up hating Arizona. Yet I met some who loved living there, and would, most likely, hate the Boston area. People in AZ who had lived in the east for any length of time told me that the closeness of the buildings made them feel as though they would suffocate.

I would say, cattzeye, make sure you visit any place you are considering making your new home - but I also realize that just visiting would not have revealed the fact that Tucson was not a right 'fit' for me. My best suggestion is know yourself as well as possible - then see if another area 'fits' you.

Ahh, how true! I live on the other side of this coin. I was born and raised and still live in Tucson. For the most part, I think it's kinda ugly, at least driving down most of the roads. About 10 years ago I moved to Jacksonville, FL for a few months. Wow! All the green, huge trees everywhere, grass on the sides of the highways, water, water, water... I loved it mostly. Then my job took me to Herdon/Reston, VA for a few months. Similar to Jax -- very green, but much more white collar (not my style). I loved the crisp air, the green trees, etc. I was never, ever going to move back to Tucson, but then after about 8 months away from Tucson, I began to feel totally closed in by the trees. They were everywhere, along every street it seemed. Couldn't see beyond the side of the road. We went sightseeing into some nearby mountains and could hardly see the mountains for all the trees on the side of the road. Then I started missing the smell of the desert after the rain, the changing colors of the Catalina mountains at sunset, the lightning storms that light up the entire sky (unhindered by a gazillion trees!), the crunch of dirt under my feet, but most importantly, I really started to miss the people I left behind. I realized that it wasn't so much where I live as it is who is around me. (And I was with a very not nice person I shall only refer to as The Evil One. I left him behind -- and that is another story in itself. ;) )

But now you guys talking about northern Oregon have me thinking :rolleyes: A friend of ours lives in Auburn (?) and has been trying to get us to move.

[Oceana]

Here is a site I like!

http://www.findyourspot.com/

[SedonaSun]

Here is a site I like!

http://www.findyourspot.com/

Cool! Bremerton, WA is my #1 recommendation. But Paris, TN looks interesting at #4. If only picking up and moving weren't such a hassle... :rolleyes:

[Conscious Midwife]

I love the following

Aberdeen MD
Johnson ity Tn
Germantown Tn
Fort Collins CO
Alpharetta GA
Sacramento CA
Bristol Virginia
Buffalo NY
Franklin TN

[moonstone523]

Dont move to Michigan I just moved from there LOL


Right now we are in NE Texas. So far we like it. But we are between Forth Worth and Dallas. It has its positives and negatives.


The question I have for all you Washington and Oregon people? What about all the RAIN!

My husband wanted to move to Washington but the rain would be to much. Not the rain but the cloudiness. Michigan was ALWAYS cloudy and it was very depressing.

ArticMist, What town do you live in? I grew up in Bedford Texas, in between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Now my parents are in Southlake.

Honestly, I don't dig suburbia. And it is one big neighborhood after another there.

As for Texas, I love Austin and the hill country, Graham and the Possum Kingdom Lake area, West Texas - Alpine and Big Bend.

We could be neighbors... well you and my parents.

And here is my pick of places to live:

Austin, TX (and surrounding HIll Country)
Possum Kingdom Lake, TX
Alpine, TX
Terlinga, TX (talk about ghost town bordering Big Bend National Park)
Ashville, NC
Boone, NC
Eugene, OR (and surrounding areas)
Portland, OR
Madison, WI
Milwaukee, WI
Burlington, VT (and surrounding areas)
Saratoga Springs, NY

[ArcticMist]

I am in Arlington. I would prefer a more rural setting but for now this will do.

I used to live in West Virginia. Absolutely Beautiful. I truly miss the mountains and the greenery.

I need someplace with green mountains and dry heat!

[Dawn39]

I am in Arlington. I would prefer a more rural setting but for now this will do.

I used to live in West Virginia. Absolutely Beautiful. I truly miss the mountains and the greenery.

I need someplace with green mountains and dry heat!
How about Flagstaff, AZ

[exurb]

cattzeye, have you thought of giving up the city and moving to the country? That's what we did, and man, gotta tell you, best move we ever made!

[dreamrawalwz]

I live 45 min. from Washington D.C. Just 10 minutes away each direction are cities, but I like my suburbia area...A LOT of trees and more then 1 acre per house (usually it's .25 or townhouses around here). Though, the 2 cities on either side of me aren't really "cities" compared to NYC, but to me they're big and conjested enough! The houses are close enough together. I do'nt know, I just love it here and wish that when I move to my own place it would be the same, if not even more space and land. The city is not my thing...gets me anxious and worried lol.

[Lay-Lay]

I live in the country and I love it. The only drawbacks are gas prices to travel to the city and local jobs. It took us 3 yrs to find a local job for my hubby so he didn't have to drive to the city, but we finally did. But I love everything else.

[Faithfullyfit]

Dont move to SE Texas. I want out of here so bad.

Faithfully, are you familiar with Lumberton??? It's where hubbs & I have chosen. It's about an hour away, away from everything.

I hate it when you stay in a nice rural area & then ppl start knocking down all the gorgeous trees, building these homes, overpopulating, etc. This plae is nothing like it used to be.


ljannise,

Hey, my computer has been down since Friday- Were you asking me or someone else...I think there was another member that was faith or faithful? haha...Anyway- where is Lumberton? Catzeye....I am in the Woodlands,Texas and I LOVE IT! But, alas we have purchased 16 acres in Conroe and will be able to have our horses and a garden or two...AND still only be 15 minutes to Market Street in the Woodlands- CISD is a GREAT school district! and a HUGE job market if you are in oil and gas! Hundreds of miles of wooded trails and nature reserves and major deed restrictions on forestry preservation- just beautiful- visit www.thewoodlands.com

Have a beautiful RAW day!

Faithfully FIT

[sport]

You can never predict where the best place to live is. Years ago they did a world survey of things like quality of life and polution levels and concluded that The Faulkland Islands was the best place. One year after the Argentenian army invaded.

[heabrook]

Westminster, CO

It is north of Denver between Denver and Boulder but closer to Boulder. We love it here. It is a beautiful suburb, you aren't living in Denver or Boulder so you don't have the traffic but you can easily drive to either if you want. We often go to Boulder (they have a farmer's market with local organic produce).

I like it here because...

the weather is great, you can have your windows open most of the year
we are close to the Rocky Mountain National Park
we have lots of organic produce
people are friendly
it gets warm for a couple months in the summer but not hot
it gets cold in the winter but not too cold or icy
the weather is our definition of perfect, because we like to have a nice cold winter with snow but not so much that it prevents you from getting around
the summers aren't very hot and when it does get hot (80-90F) it doesn't last long and then you can open the windows back to up 60-70F temps as the highs until Fall when it gets even nicer.

the weather is dry, very low humidity which makes a difference in both summer and winter

Even in the summer, you can see the snow-capped rocky mountains in the distance.. so beautiful.....

[Rawmommie]

Those of you that moved to the country, did you find that people were more conservative and close-minded? Where did you move to the country? Maybe that makes a difference.

We moved to the country (in Missouri) from St. Louis, and there have been some difficult adjustments. First off, no one wants any growth, so I have to drive 100 miles back to the city to get to many stores, etc. that aren't available. The other problem is that everyone is just so old fashioned/conservative! I feel like I'm in a time warp sometimes...I was sitting in a waiting room recently and listening to the *good ole boys* who had gathered there for their morning coffee/donuts talking about how "colored people" with money had moved in a certain area. I was shocked and disgusted.

BUT, I love the trees, I love the space and the fresh air and the beauty all around me. I have found some like-minded people, but I was just wondering if it was like this in rural areas everywhere or just Missouri. :rolleyes:

[cattzeye]

Hi everybody!

Just a quick note, as I am at work right now. Thank you all so much for your input so far, I greatly appreciate it. I am actually getting ready to move in a week (not out of state yet, just to a bigger apartment). So unfortunately I don't have much time to make individual replies here right now. I will keep checking back, but probably won't be online for active discussion again for a couple of weeks.

Gotta go back to work, and again, thank you SO MUCH,

Christine

[jjonak]

I know this is an old post, but what the heck. We live in the SF Bay Area. We have a house in Berkeley, which is great, because we love the culture and the politics and being so close to so many vegan and raw food resources. It's a great job market, and we live in the hills with a view of the ocean and right behind one of the largest parks. We have redwoods in our back yard and are only minutes from farmer's markets and an incredible variety of organic produce. Our street is very quiet and unusually safe (most of my neighbors do not lock their car doors or front doors), and we're close to the big city but don't have to look at too many skyscrapers or concrete.

But my favorite location is our vacation house, which is up in northern California on the coast, in Humboldt County in the Mattole River valley. We are only five miles from the ocean, the Lost Coast trailhead, which I believe is the largest wilderness area in the continental U.S. Our house is right on the riverbank, and the weather is gorgeous. It's never too hot, but doesn't get very cold. The house is all solar, and about 50% of the people up here are off the grid. We have a small fruit orchard, and the river silt is great for growing just about anything.

Our immediate community is 300 people, and it is a mix of farmers/ranchers, artists/writers and environmentalists. There are two environmental organizations here and they are pretty much the only "industries" nearby. Many people moved here in the 60's and 70's to live off the land, and there's a great book called Totem Salmon written about how this community banded together to fight off the lumber companies and preserve the Mattole's endangered salmon. We bought the house, because we fell in love with the land, but since then have counted our blessings over and over at the community.

So in response to the question about living in the country but still having a tolerant community, this is the best place we've ever found. The downsides or upsides, depending upon how you look at it, is that it is very remote. Not many people live here or visit here, so people are very self-sufficient. There aren't restaurants or shops here; people trade and barter what they need or grow, and you go to potlucks or dinners instead of visiting a restaurant. Everyone knows everyone else, and you're only as good as your word here. I am amazed that about half of the real estate transactions here never involve a bank, real estate agent, or any paperwork. It's a handshake with no down payment, just a promise to pay. (It drives the county tax appraisers crazy, because the sales prices never reflect what they want the tax rates to be.)

Our goal is to move up here permanently in about 5 years or so. In the meantime, we split our time between the two areas and just love it.

I was actually telling my husband tonight that this would be a perfect place to host a raw food retreat. The riverbanks are perfect for swimming and sunning, and there is plenty of land for camping. There's a pick your own organic blueberry farm nearby and a large community organic garden as well within walking distance.

[RawMissMiss]

Well, I was born & raised in S. FL, and can not stand FL! FL is becoming so overpopulated, it feels clausterphobic, I dunno, just my opinion. The only two cities I would even consider living is St. Augustine & Tallahassee. St. Augustine, is the oldest city in the nation & is really nice, different than other cities in FL. I briefly lived there for a few months about 15 yrs ago, and now my parents live there. Tallahassee is just nice because it doesn't seem or feel like it is in FL, you kinda feel like you are up north, with all of the hills & trees!

I lived up north in PA for about 3 yrs, & hated it, all the snow, snow, snow!!!! We had a blizzard every year, and it was depressing! The sun never shined, except maybe 2 mos of the year, unreal it was! I felt like I was in a totally different world, and that it was for a girl who was born & raised in FL on the beach!

I recently moved from the Savannah, GA area, to The Tucson, AZ area & love it, love it , love it! It is such a breath of fresh air here! The views are incredible, something out of a post card, I never new such beauty in our land, until I moved here! It is definitely different from anything I have ever experienced, of all of the places I have lived, but I think I am here for the long haul...we just love it! :D

[rawredbone]

[how "colored people" with money had moved in a certain area.


what color were the people ?


I was shocked and disgusted.

I could only imagine

[lavendarJ]

LOL Rawmommie

You are very observant and unfortunately correct. I live in IL, (right across the mississippi bridge). There are places certain places I wouldn't travel alone or at all.

My little city is growing very quickly. Many, many people have moved here from St. Louis and other nearby places. I am kinda itching for something with a faster pace. This is a great place for families I think. The school district is great. Many people like this city because its still small enough to feel like your living a rural life but it is also on beat and on pace with the other places. I think this area is great for nurses, doctors, engineers, teachers. It's kind of hard for the person (me) who wants to create their own job. It's kind of hard to re-create the wheel around here unless you have great connections.

[rawfigure]

I think you can find good and bad in every place.

I love Finger Lakes region of NY where I am building a home on Keuka Lake..I love Maine...I love things about Naples Florida, ...all for very different Reasons...

so it comes back to a saying I wrote in my Bible cover as a Child "BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED"
I even drew a flower next to it ! I think I was maybe 12....14...so its interesting I wrote that then forgot about it until I picked up my childhood bible recently, because I live by that...

where ever you go..there you are :D :D :D

[littleangelbear]

I concur with whoever said not to move to Michigan, unless you like cold winters :) Hee hee!

I'm drawn to Northern California myself...I have heard from friends though that Ashville, NC is very nice. I think I could live anywhere really, as long as I'm not in harsh elements...I don't do well in extremes of temperature.

When I traveled to Seattle, WA, I loved it! It's very gorgeous. It didn't even rain :) I think the only drawback for me was the higher mold counts...whew, lots of dampness there for me.

I enjoyed the summer I lived in Virgina close to Washington, D.C. It was a bit hot though for my tastes...well, humid :)

I thought Louisville, KY was nice, but it's not close enough to the ocean...

Florida is too hot for me...but very pretty and friendly and laidback.

I think I have to avoid the Bible belt...no offense to anyone :)

[Lady Green Jeans]

An old thread but would also like to comment. Was born and lived in Ohio for 20 years. Moved to LA and lived there about 10 years--way too crowded but lots of good jobs. Moved to San Diego (North County area) for another 10 years. Very nice open area until all the building began happening. Moved to outside of Portland, OR for about a year and a half. Absolutely loved it. Did not suceed at the business we bought, but enjoyed the area tremendously. Would move there or almost anywhere in Washington if I could. I do love the weather in Southern California, but it is getting increasingly built up and taking longer and longer to get through traffice to go anywhere.

Places I have visited and would consider include Utah, South Dakota was very cold in the winter but awsomely beautiful. Love DC for all the history and things to see, but wouldn't move there due to the crowding.

I would jump at the chance to have a one to two acre or larger piece of land with a little house. Anyone else living this way anywhere?

Please keep up posted where you decide--fun thread.