Lifestyle Design - where to live

[Tyler]

Austin is nice.

Positives:
- Relatively LCOL
- No state income tax
- Sunny, with mild winters
- Lots of jobs
- Blue city in a red state makes it sufficiently politically diverse
- Laid-back vibe, with friendly people

Negatives:
- Hot summers
- High property taxes
- Bad traffic (although that's always relative depending on where you live now)
- Rapid growth with everyone moving here

[MachineGhost]

In my research to far, the true value area (without being hill billy) in the USA is the Rust Belt which gave Trump his recent win.

Tyler, calling Austin a LCOL location is a bit silly. You're either lacking perspecive or you don't know what true LCOL really is. No one would move there unless they specifically want the same expensive, coastal elite zone inclusiveness that CA is infamous for but for some reason, couldn't afford or want to work for Apple or some other diversity-obsessed company with LGBTQIA's paying six figures.

Even Bend, OR is outrageously expensive (relative to rest of OR excluding the Portland metro area) now with all those rich, selfish, materialistic pricks coming from CA.

What I'm trying to say here is that mentality matters a great deal in deciding where one wants to live. Those obsessed with the hip and trendy, showing off materialistically and on the hedonism teadmill to be better than everyone else ironically all want to live around others of like-mind shallowness despite the psychological stress, hence same said prickish Californians migrating to Bend and Austin. Birds of a feather...

The challenge is to avoid places with these people because we all know how it will turn out in 10 years. We already have a shining example of it.

Also you forgot the killer humidity. Hot is not desert hot, its Southeast swamp hot.

[Kriegsspiel]

This topic has come up with a few of us recently, so I thought I'd start a new thread to discuss. The question is, for folks who are either looking to exit a high cost of living area or are simply serial optimizers, where are some great places to live? Obviously this will vary greatly depending on what we all find important. For me, I like:
1. Relatively low cost of living
2. Mild climate, strongly prefer high desert with low humidity and large diurnal temp swings
3. Availability of right-sized houses (1500-2000 ft2, for example) in decent neighborhoods
4. Proximity to a major metro area
5. Mountains nearby are a major plus
6. Don't really care about beaches and water
7. Not too red and not too blue ... in other words, not CA and not Mississippi.

In a previous life, I spent 4 years in Bend, OR and it was great at the time. Housing prices have rebounded now, and it's become pretty crowded with migrating Californians. It's also a long ways from a major metro. But the climate and nearby mountains were great.

Also, here's a Clark Howard list of affordable cities:
http://www.clark.com/live-large-60000-salary-cities

I'm interested in any thoughts y'all might have.

It sounds like you are describing Pueblo, CO?

[Tyler]

Tyler, calling Austin a LCOL location is a bit silly. You're either lacking perspecive or you don't know what true LCOL really is. No one would move there unless they specifically want the same expensive, coastal elite zone inclusiveness that CA is infamous for but for some reason, couldn't afford or want to work for Apple or some other diversity-obsessed company with LGBTQIA's paying six figures.

My perspective is that I've lived both in a very LCOL suburb of Dallas and an extremely high one in the Bay Area. It's all relative. It's true that real estate has been getting more expensive in Austin (especially by Texas standards), but the median house price in the area is still only about $275k and overall the cost of living in Austin is right near the national average. Whether that qualifies as LCOL is up to you.

I personally find it to be reasonable for what you get, and a much better deal than California. Why are you still there again?

[Pointedstick]

Needless to say, I really like New Mexico. Desert's list basically describes much of the state, especially Albuquerque's suburbs and bedroom communities, and there's a lot to like about this place. I like my Red town in a (somewhat) Blue state. In the interests of full disclosure, here are the cons:

- Lackluster economy; few great high-paying jobs
- Relatively high crime in much of Albuquerque itself that can spill out into the surrounding communities
- Very cyclical economy due to high dependence on federal government spending (military bases, government labs, etc) and oil & gas taxes
- Very hot summers ("it's a dry heat," but it's still HOT!)
- Total car-dependence (to be fair, this describes 99% of the country, but it's still true)

I think there are a lot of places in the mountain west that meet those criteria and are even better than New Mexico on a variety of metrics. There's a reason so many people are flocking to Colorado. Gotta watch out for it becoming Californicated, though.

[stuper1]

I grew up in Boise in the 1970s and 1980s. It's grown a lot since then. It has a very vibrant downtown and a nice river that goes right through the city. It's a very outdoorsy oriented place but with a good amount of culture also. To me, the best place to live is close to downtown. You can walk or bike just about anywhere, but I think properties get pricier the closer you get to downtown. The climate is pretty good for as far north as it is. Summers are beautiful and fairly long. Winters can be a bit grey and dreary. They get inversions that trap smog in the valley for weeks on end. If you are a skier (either downhill or cross county), there is a nice ski area about 40 minutes away that will take you above the inversion for a break.

As far as red and blue go, Boise would be the bluest place in a very red state. I.e., you can hang with either red or blue people in Boise, as you choose, whereas in other parts of Idaho, you would mainly be with red people.

Boise is the biggest city for many hundreds of miles in any direction, and the state capital, so there are better services (healthcare, etc.) than you would expect for a city of that size, especially because it's been discovered by many professionals as a nice place to live.

[MachineGhost]

If you're trying to avoid summer humidity, you can forget about the rust belt.

It can't be as bad as the Southeast. That's literally a murky swamp containing chupacabras instead of a rusty belt containing children of the corns.

What causes the humidity anyway?

Seriously, half the country seems to be swampy humid and the other half dry desert. What little variation or relief there is seems to be all along the coasts, short of aberration pockets here and there.

So long as I get four real seasons, I think I can tolerate humidity during summer, but not a year round hell o' bugs like in Florida. That's such a dastardly place. It's still hitting over 80 outside here and its almost Thanksgiving. What more proof do you need that global warming is happening?

Desert, one of the places thats a high desert thats on my list is a city in southeast Idaho. So that area looks good if you wanna avoid all the negatives but still have the amenities. I'm not into suburbanism so I've got different needs, though.

It took me a while to grok, but I suspect what I'm trying to do is recreate the experience of living in the military as much as possible, or more specifically, on a military base which is a self-contained, self-reliant community held together by a mutually-shared ideology (and physical barriers to reinforce "us" vs "them").

[Pointedstick]

It took me a while to grok, but I suspect what I'm trying to do is recreate the experience of living in the military as much as possible, or more specifically, on a military base which is a self-contained, self-reliant community held together by a mutually-shared ideology (and physical barriers to reinforce "us" vs "them").

Have you considered jointing the military?

[Kriegsspiel]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

[stuper1]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

Moving to southeast Idaho would be pretty close to that, if you ask me.

[Kriegsspiel]

Off the list Desert posted, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are nice places. I'm likely moving to Cincinnati next month after visiting a few times.

[Tyler]

I went on a long road trip a few months ago, and was really impressed with Kansas City. I had never been there before, but it seemed like a really nice place to live.

[MachineGhost]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

Moving to southeast Idaho would be pretty close to that, if you ask me.

Why???

[MachineGhost]

I went on a long road trip a few months ago, and was really impressed with Kansas City. I had never been there before, but it seemed like a really nice place to live.

Which side, Missouri or Kansas? I like how researchers can observe the effects of legislative policies by comparing the two.

[MachineGhost]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

You're getting the ideal! Where's the sense of adventure living in a zombie Borg suburb? I want to wake up everyday roaring to go about the mission not feeling dread and boredom.

[stuper1]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

Moving to southeast Idaho would be pretty close to that, if you ask me.

Why???

There's a large Mormon population in that area. Not everyone of course. Very red state type area. Nice, safe area. I really can't picture you fitting in very well.

[MachineGhost]

There's a large Mormon population in that area. Not everyone of course. Very red state type area. Nice, safe area. I really can't picture you fitting in very well.

[Tyler]

I went on a long road trip a few months ago, and was really impressed with Kansas City. I had never been there before, but it seemed like a really nice place to live.

Which side, Missouri or Kansas? I like how researchers can observe the effects of legislative policies by comparing the two.

We stayed mostly on the Missouri side between downtown and Brush Creek. It's a beautiful city.

[Mark Leavy]

The question "Where to Live" assumes a lot of things that may no longer apply in today's world.

Most people's income is dependent on location. If that is your situation, then it will be a large factor in where you live.

If not, then you might consider if "location" needs to be a thing anymore. It might be. Most folks still have regional ties based on family, schooling, stability for child raising, social structures and cultural preferences. But if you don't... the world is a very accessible place these days. I find the quality of life to be amazing when you can pick up your bag and move to a different city overnight. People, culture, food, literature, visiting family and friends, architecture, language, weather, investments, politics.

I can't imagine be stuck in one place anymore.

[Kriegsspiel]

Or a cult, commune, or convent?

You're getting the ideal! Where's the sense of adventure living in a zombie Borg suburb? I want to wake up everyday roaring to go about the mission not feeling dread and boredom.

Why don't you create your own fiefdom? Rural land is very reasonable in a lot of America (Maine, Michigan, etc). With careful selection and compliance techniques, followers will grow your food and perform other services, which is really the worst part of a feudal lifestyle. You can sit, safely ensconced in your throne room, reading financial news, posting charts, and directing the efforts of your minions, waiting for the day the FBI ends the magic in a hail of gunfire.

[flyingpylon]

Just a word of advice for anyone considering moving to the Midwest: find out if you have allergies to things like ragweed and other pollens. Living in Indiana, I now have annual months-long battles with allergies that I never had when I lived in Vermont or California.

[Pointedstick]

I came across a site that would seem highly relevant to people interested in this subject: http://places.findthehome.com

[Mountaineer]

Hey PS, since you live in NM, what are your thoughts about the Los Alamos area re. a good place to live?

... Mountaineer

[MachineGhost]

I can across site that would seem highly relevant to people interested in this subject: http://places.findthehome.com

Great find! I was wondering if a site like that existed. It will save alot of time.

[WiseOne]

Put New Hampshire and Maine on the list, if you don't mind cold snowy winters. Low taxes, cool summers, tons of natural beauty, and purple/swing states that are politically very different from the rest of the Northeast. You can live close to Boston, possibly along a train line if you don't want to drive, or go farther north to small towns in the White Mountains or near cities like Portland, Augusta, and Bangor.

There are some high-priced havens in Maine especially, like Kennebunkport, but otherwise cost of living is low.