Best places to live in the US? If you could move, where would you go?

I really dig Oregon, the coffee shacks everywhere, the drive along I-84. I hope to go back someday.
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I like where I am, the Pacific NW. I've been in every State, over 40 countries, and lived all over in some of the nicest places you can think of. But this is where I plan to retire to. Average is less than an inch of snow, less than a month of freezing weather, less rain than Portland, I can walk to the ocean and get crab or salmon in season, bird hunting less than an hour away, deer 15 minutes from the house (because I can't shoot the ones bedding across the street), I don't mind wet days, rarely see 90 degree weather, have major medical and all support (world class) 15 minutes away, and taxes aren't too crazy (like SoCal). I live in a small town (less than 8000) that's mostly single family residences. Very little through traffic, world class golf and boating, all kinds of public land, decent wine and seafood, and a big city not too far away.

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Bob W said:
RedvDevil, I've been driving through Arizona lately. Some nice places in your state, as long as you can avoid the Phoenix/Tuscon area or congested tourist towns.

Flagstaff is nice, but I wouldn't want to live right in the city. Maybe in one of the small towns near there?
I've worked in Bagdad before. That is 'real' Arizona to me, completely untouched by commercialized tourism or sprawling population growth.
Stayed in Show Low last night and drove through the mountains today. Beautiful country, but I wonder how overpopulated it gets in certain times of the year? Seemed like there were millions of vacation/retirement trailers and new housing developments.
East of Show-Low was equally beautiful and much less developed.
Bisbee seems like a nice area, just from driving through.
Thought I would like Wickenburg, but didn't. The Phoenix sprawl seems to reach almost that far, the traffic was non-stop, and it was thick with tourists.
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Bob, unfortunately the higher paying jobs with retirement benefits are all in PHX and TUC. One of the best places to work in Tucson is Ratheon, in Phoenix there are several opportunities. It;s the 1-2 hour commute each way that ruins it for me. I thought about moving to Goodyear, I visited twice this year and alst year and its clean, lots of places to work, and there were a lot of offices, tech opportunities, hospitals, clinics, etc.
Snowbirds seem to like stopping and taking a picture of every cactus they see, it's a silly traffic situation. I had a friend that lived in Wickenburg and he could not wait to leave, too much of nothing to do, no work, no leisure activities, nothing really. The tourists in the PHX metro are are usually driving through on their way to Vegas or California. Most tourists don;t like hanging out in 118 degree weather, or getting in and out of a car that is over 140 degrees inside. I spend a lot of time in Phoenix, the cost of living is not too bad and the overall outlook financially looks much better than Tucson. I do love the ability to carry any knife/gun I want without any real issue at all. I do feel that in Phoenix I would make much more use of that right than Tucson.

Flagstaff is nice, but very expensive from what I hear, property tax, utilities, and a ton of snow would not be ideal in my experience. It is beautiful no doubt. Some friends did go to NAU for 4 years and then moved there for 10 years to work. I've thought about possibly relocating to Georgia and even New Mexico, It;s a tough call at this point.

Planterz said:
I've only lived in 4 places for any significant amount of time. One is Kansas (and not all that significant), and it's out of the question because...Kansas. One is Colorado, which I'd love...for about half the year (the warmer half). The only 2 places I'd really care to live in are where you and I are now, Charlie, and where Chris lives, because I grew up there. I love the desert, and frankly don't see myself leaving any time soon. If I were ever to move, it'd be back to Geneva (or thereabouts) so I can revisit my youth and re-enjoy everything the Chicago area has to offer, even if it was for only a year or 2.
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I'm a native Arizonan, but I've lived in San Diego, California, and a few other states though the years for short stints. It was terrific to see new things.I worked with a girl for a short time, she was our departments finance clerk, she got married and moved to Hawaii. Must be nice to just pick up and leave. I for one agree, I will need mountains, I feel strange being in a place where it's as flat as a dinner plate for miles and miles.
 
I'm quite fond of California. But it's getting crowded and real estate is silly. Oregon seems dope.
 
socalknifecollector said:
My wife and I live in costly California. The company we work for has stations all over the country but, our home is here right now..at least until we pay off our house. Retiring here is out of the question, way to expensive.
We really like Northern Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming as we will more than likely stay on the Western half of the US.
We love Northern Georgia too.
Just don't really know for sure right now.
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We are in the same boat. We will not be able to retire here; if we were to stay in CA we'd have to work until we died. Our house isn't paid off, but we would consider moving to the PNW or the Northern East Coast. Maybe somewhere scenic and rural... so really, not many states are out of the running. However, my dad is in CA and as long as he is alive, we will stay here.
 
Except for about 2 years of the 4 in the USAF I lived in the PRK for most of my life. We lived in Goleta for 28 years. It was nice for the first 15, but it started getting weird. We moved to north central AZ in 2004. It was probably the 3rd or 4th best decision of my life.
 
Born and raised in south Florida, at 59 it was still part of the south when I was a kid. As for now, Wyoming would be great, 30 years ago I would have said Montana.
 
I like cold weather.

So for me, I would prefer the Pacific Northwest (Washington/Oregon) or The North East (RI/Maine...etc etc)

I've lived in PA and WV my whole life, I'm more drawn towards cold damp climate, I hate the heat.
 
Besides, I'm a weather nut. I need my thunderstorms and Southern Cal rarely has them but in the Mojave during summer months.
Another reason why we love Laughlin, NV so much during July and August plus I carry my 3.25" auto :-)
 
Born and raised in W.V. in my 20's i moved to east central FL. (Space shuttle area.) in my mid 30,s and life crisis i moved to KEY WEST. Earned my Captain,s license. Bought a 42ft. Sport Fishing Yacht and took people Sport Fishing for the next 15yrs. Disc problems and no insurance to fix it with ended that. Moved back to central Fl. Got the job with the insurance to fix the back problems, but not enuff money to go back to the Keys. If i could I would go back to Key West! In a halfa a second.
 
Born and raised in W.V. in my 20's i moved to east central FL. (Space shuttle area.) in my mid 30,s and in a life crisis i moved to KEY WEST, (which healed me). Earned my Captain,s license. Bought a 42ft. Sport Fishing Yacht and took people Sport Fishing for the next 15yrs. Disc problems and no insurance to fix it with ended that. Moved back to central Fl. Got the job with the insurance to fix the back problems, but not enuff money to go back to the Keys. If i could I would go back to Key West! In a halfa a second.
 
eisman said:
I like where I am, the Pacific NW. I've been in every State, over 40 countries, and lived all over in some of the nicest places you can think of. But this is where I plan to retire to. Average is less than an inch of snow, less than a month of freezing weather, less rain than Portland, I can walk to the ocean and get crab or salmon in season, bird hunting less than an hour away, deer 15 minutes from the house (because I can't shoot the ones bedding across the street), I don't mind wet days, rarely see 90 degree weather, have major medical and all support (world class) 15 minutes away, and taxes aren't too crazy (like SoCal). I live in a small town (less than 8000) that's mostly single family residences. Very little through traffic, world class golf and boating, all kinds of public land, decent wine and seafood, and a big city not too far away.

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Well that sounds appealing! :thumbup:
 
Bob W said:
Aside from the "not too cold" I did well to pick Raton, New Mexico. :thumbup:
We're full up now though, so don't even think about it. :p
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I've said for the past 20 years that I wanted to retire to the Eagle Nest area....we'll see in about 20 more years....I hope.
 
It's difficult to get a fair impression from a single drive-through, but here are some more neat towns in Arizona that looked interesting, weren't congested, and with some decent scenery:

Florence. Just a regular small town. Clean and attractive. Authentic and functioning historic downtown. Scenery, not so great; it's in a flat and low location set amid desert scrub and irrigated agricultural lands. It might appeal to someone really wanting to avoid the cold or mountain driving.

Superior, Miami, Globe, etc. I left the main highway and explored the main streets through a few of these towns. Absolutely fascinating - historic towns with much original architecture and historic mining remnants. All are surrounded by public land. Would take several lifetimes to explore all of the canyons and backroads in this region. The town of Globe, especially, was begging for a week-long stay with a camera and tripod.

Eager seemed like a typical rural town, not touristy at all, just locals going about their business. Hard to tell how much of the surrounding land was public / BLM or private ranches, but it's a short drive to large swaths of national forest. The geology here was interesting as well - volcanoes everywhere!
 
My work allows me to live wherever I'd like in the US, and I chose Oregon. I'm originally from Louisiana, and have lived in Texas, Mass, Florida and TN, among other places. I'm far happier in OR than anywhere else I've lived. Amazing natural beauty and resources here, and the first place I've lived where most folks don't really need air conditioning during the summer. We also have world-class coffee, restaurants, micro brews, wine, and newly relaxed laws about recreational things :roll eyes: OR also has very permissive knife laws -- you can carry an auto no problem. Kershaw, Benchmade and Leatherman all have headquarters here, along with Colombia, Nike, Adidas, Keen, Intel and a host of other companies, which makes for an interesting mix of people and services. Also, no sales tax.
 
GermanyChris said:
I think I'll follow this thread as I'll have to head back to the US sooner rather than later and have no real idea about where I want to go.
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The 'best' places for you to visit will be determined by your own personal interests, and what time of year you'll arrive. :thumbup:

I've talked to many foreigners about The States, many that have been here and many more who would like to and are planning to. Most think Disney World, New York City, and Vegas are the true "American" destinations. All I can say about those places is, "Yuck."

I'm also surprised by the large number of foreigners who have heard of Route 66 and want to drive it. As someone who has driven practically the entire route, I say "yuck" again. Not only has most of the original route been bulldozed and replaced by 4-lane interstates, but it ranks low on my list of scenic and interesting drives; the route was chosen because it was the fastest and easiest and flattest place to build a cross-country highway at the time. :D
 
Bob W said:
I'm also surprised by the large number of foreigners who have heard of Route 66 and want to drive it. As someone who has driven practically the entire route, I say "yuck" again. Not only has most of the original route been bulldozed and replaced by 4-lane interstates, but it ranks low on my list of scenic and interesting drives; the route was chosen because it was the fastest and easiest and flattest place to build a cross-country highway at the time. :D
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I've stood on Michigan Ave. & Adams (Rte 66 begin) and on Santa Monica Pier (Rte 66 end). Have never driven a mile of it and don't have any desire to. ;) Neither of those places would make my list of "best places to live".
 
I was born and raised here in Santa Fe, and love it, and right now have no plans on going anywhere else.

That said, I love Colorado and would happily live there. My wife and I have some land and a cabin in southern Colorado and we often vacation there. I could also see myself in Portland, Oregon or Vancouver, Canada.
 
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