Opinions wanted - where live in the USA

[ghunter]

I'm trying to convince my wife that we should move from Los Angeles to another area; the cost of living well is just too expensive here.

I've seen a similar thread here somewhere, but I wanted to add some additional requirements. Does such a place even exist in this country? If you know of a place, please tell me!

Where can I get a home and property in the USA that meets or exceeds the following:

1. House must be big, at least 3000 sq.ft. and less than 10 years old.
2. Must include at least 5 acres of usable property - more preferred.
3. Home/property must cost less than $500,000.00
4. Must be within 60 minutes of a public airport, i.e major airlines use it.
5. Three or more distinct seasons per year.
6. No colder than 30s in winter, no warmer than 90s in summer, and moderate humidity.
7. Below average crime rate.
8. Below average property/income tax rate.
9. Above average education system i.e. grade through high school.
10. Decent air quality.
11. Decent off-road riding areas within 1 hour.
12. Trees and mountains are a definite plus.
13. Lakes and rivers are cool, too.
14. No frequently occurring earthquakes/tornados/hurricanes.
15. Anything else you can add!

Thanks in advance for your opinions,
GHunter

 

[Okiewan]

I have no idea where that would be, but when you find out, let me know.

 

[tators]

East Tennessee or Atlanta

Sounds like east Tennessee,,, near Knoxville,,, Knoxville might not be big enough city for you though....

There's 70,000 Acres plus to play on just outside Knoxville, owned by Coal Creek Mining Co. $50 a year for a permit...
This area also connects to Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area, for more play area...

Smokey Mountains, big resort type area close by,, Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge...

 

[a454elk]

Temecula.

 

[FastMaveric]

dream house

There is such a place, although the only place to ride is 500 miles away because the airport sits where we used to ride, and its either to hot or to cold anywhere else,as for the air i love the smell of pre-mix burning but now because of the airport and all of the people who wanted to live so close to it I'd say it would be called dirty.Count your blessings pal, You got it made where your at!

 

[Miltonyz]

Yeah there used to be but some distant relatives ruined it for all of us by taking the owners fruit.:) j/k

 

[justql]

Let me think....... Kansas............in the teens in the winter 110 in the summer I guess it gets the x.

 

[Timr]

That place might exist somewhere in Kentucky. You'd be just south of Cincinnati, a major city with a large airport. The land in Kentucky is Horse Farms, so you should be able to find that type of house with that type of land. Wooded rolling hills make up the country side. Look at a map and try to position yourself within an hour or so drive to Cincinnati and Louisville.

I handle this region as a rep for my company. Lexington was recently rated as one of the top 20 most desirable locations to live.

I'm not sure about the riding opportunities. You'll have to check from other KY residents. They do have trails and motoX in the Daniel Boone National forest south of Lexington.

Your weather requirement will keep you from moving further south. If you don't mind High 90s, you should look at Tennessee. They have a state wide trail riding organization and are working on getting more public trails. Lots of racing going on in the Southeast, and year round riding.

Good luck.

 

[kmccune]

Well parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota win all but the 30 F low, but then you can't have more then 2 seasons if you don't at least get to 0 F.;)

FYI -40 deg F is OK, if you have a garage and your car starts well!
And besides it only gets below -20 F for a FEW weeks a year and and that is the supercross season on ESPN anyway,also the summers are the best anywhere.;)

Kevin

 

[JPIVEY]

Originally posted by a454elk
Temecula.

Thats twice you mentioned Temecula, so when you moving out here ?

 

[NVR FNSH]

Might be Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR. WA has no state income tax, OR has no sales tax. My folks ended up settling there when they retired. Geoff from Trailtech lives around there.

Brian

 

[bsmith]

We don't need anymore Californicators up in here:) :scream:

It seems whenever someone from cali moves up, they get about 10 acres, build a 10 foot wall around their 10,000 square foot home, want the same things they had in the city, I.E. police, fire, garbage collection, paved roads, snow plowed, and so on. My taxes just keep going up in the county.
Where do they think they live? Cali!

If you do find a sweet place somewhere close to town, please don't expect all the ammenities of the city out in the country, that's way it's the country, also you don't need 10 foot fence, justa 4 footer will do:)

Good luck, BTW Central WA(Tri Cities, Walla Walla) and southern Idaho have about what your looking for:eek: Yet land value keeps going up because of the influx of people:uh:

 

[kmccune]

Originally posted by bsmith
We don't need anymore Californicators up in here:) :scream:

It seems whenever someone from cali moves up, they get about 10 acres, build a 10 foot wall around their 10,000 square foot home, want the same things they had in the city, I.E. police, fire, garbage collection, paved roads, snow plowed, and so on. My taxes just keep going up in the county.
Where do they think they live? Cali!

If you do find a sweet place somewhere close to town, please don't expect all the ammenities of the city out in the country, that's way it's the country, also you don't need 10 foot fence, justa 4 footer will do:)

:

I agree, the same is happening in NW WI. I know people want to live in the country (I know I do) but don't expect culdisacs, paved roads, uniform house types, lack of cow sh*& smell, and don't try to make it the CITY, remember that you wanted to leave there and people who live in the country already know that they don’t want to live there! :eek:

That said, if you move next to me, you GOTTA go riding with me and YOU bring the beer! ( for after).:)

Good Luck!
Kevin

 

[motometal]

any concern about WHERE TO WORK, or isn't that a problem?

 

[Patman]

Sounds to me like your looking at about the middle of the east coast inland a state or two. I'd sat anyplace in hillbilly heaven is going to be about as close as your going to get and you'll still have to deal with some temps above and below your set limits but they should be pretty short in duration. Northern Alabama, almost all of Tennesee, 3/4 of Kentucky and the wester half of North Carolina. Any large city with either high humidity and / or mountians is going to have hazy, nasty air quality. Atlanta and Denver would seem to be two extremes but the AQ in both bites.

 

[BSWIFT]

For that half million, I'll build you a place next to me. 60 acres available, 1 hour from the airport, great riding within an hour drive, three distinct seasons(perfect, damn cold, and damn hot), no earthquakes, lakes, rivers, trees, mountains, good air quaulity. After you move in to your 3000 sq. ft house on 60 acres, I'll build my 6000 sq.ft. house on my 22 acres with the profit from building your place.

We can break ground right after tornado season ends.;)

 

[grsh]

central florida is a good place for every thing you are looking for exept the hurricanes but its been a while sence the last one hit. they dont hit often

 

[Camstyn]

You're in the wrong country! I live in Agassiz, a little town near the southwest tip of Canada.

1hr or 1 1/2hrs from YVR Vancouver airport
very rarely climbs over 100deg in the summer
very rarely drops below 30deg in the winter
mountains, creeks, lakes, trees galore
good air quality
riding in any direction, MX and trails
no earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes.
we had 22 acres, mostly farm but about 5 wooded in the farmland. A 3200sq/ft rancher, 30x40' heated, insulated, cement floored shop. We sold it for $475,000 Cdn. (approx. $320,000 US) to move to a smaller 5acre parcel.

 

[Kyron]

Me and my wife just went throught the SAME questions.... the place your looking for does not exist in this country.Good luck getting all 15 of your wishes

We ended up in the Noth West valley of Phoenix :p so ya, we got 3 season's

You might want to check out North Arz... Flagstaff,Prescott or Sedona . Or even Tucson in the south part of the state??

 

[Camstyn]

I think a great place is around southern Washington, northern Oregon.. Except for all the rain. Maybe inland a bit.. But then you get longer/colder winters. Hmm.

 

[MX265]

I hate to say it,because I moved from there to Atlanta, for employment, weather, family, taxes and a few other reasons. But if you don't mind taxes, snow, local employement as opposed to national level (eg-Haefners Red barn as opposed to Corporate employment), then what you are probably seeking is CNY (Central New York). I moved from Syracuse to Atlanta for many reasons. This move has served all of my needs and I don't think I would ever move back unless I absolutely needed to. But if you want somewhat inexpensive land, moderate temperatures, 15 degrees to 90 degrees, and plenty of areas to ride, hike and play, then CNY may be what you are looking for.

I should probably explain why I wouldn't move back to CNY. The reason is that I have established myself here in Atlanta, I don't like snow, and the Taxes are a bit high, not to mention, I, crazy as it sounds, enjoy working in the Corporate IT world.

CNY, though it does have it's drawbacks, It does make a great place to raise kids, to ride, to hike, to relax, and has very little traffic. Most of all, it has Broome-Tioga. Awsome track. Hope to ride there again someday.

Good luck in your quest for your perfect area.

 

[HiG4s]

Originally posted by Cam Mitchell
You're in the wrong country! I live in Agassiz, a little town near the southwest tip of Canada.

Don't let the fact that that part of North America has the least amount of sunshine and the highest suicide rate worry you, just be happy.

Centeral Florida really does do well with that list, and by the time the hurricanes get to the middle of the state they really are only big storms.

 

[ghunter]

Thanks to everyone that posted useful information. You have confirmed my thoughts that such a place does indeed exist in this country; I just have to look harder to find it. I've begun looking into many of the suggested areas, and to all those that think such a place only exists in la-la land, you might want to take a look as well.

For the record, I grew up in a small town in the East, in an area that many would consider 'the country'. I am also well aware of the differences between a rural and suburban area. I moved to California a few years ago on business, met my wife, and am now looking for a 'better' (in my opinion) area to raise my kids where they can experience things other than smog, desert, traffic, and outrageous costs of living.

While I don't think that better riding exists anywhere outside of California (again, my opinion), better/less expensive housing and property most certainly does. Priorities, at least mine, demand that my family's well-being, comfort, and safety is first on the list. Unfortunately, riding may have to suffer to get what I want.

As for employment, all I need is an airport in order to get to work. Being in the IT business, my clients are all over the world and rarely can I drive to a client site anyway. I don't care about the proximity to a major city, in fact, that's what I'm trying to get away from!

Thanks again for all the responses, positive and otherwise.

 

[a454elk]

Pivey, if I could persuade my other half to move I would, but that would be nearly impossible. I really like it down in Temecula but it's one of the places that I probably will never be able to move to. You looking for any roomates down in San Diego County!?

 

[KawieKX125]

I really think that you would like Conecticut. It is mild, beautiful, rarely gets storms and the riding is great if youa re willing to take day tripe to northern jersey and upstate new york.