Crossroads, relocating.

[brian2o0o]

Franklin, NC... plenty of trails around: AT, Bartram, Chattooga River area, Foothills, MTS, Shining Rock, local outfitters, population of around 4,000, within a two hour drive of Atlanta, Greenville SC, Asheville, Knoxville.

[peakbagger]

NH doesn't have income tax or sales taxes. Pick the right town and property taxes are not outrageous (pick the wrong one and they could be). Low unemployment rate in Southern NH. Plenty of seasonal tourism jobs up in the whites. Pick the right spot and its an 1.5 hour drive to the Atlantic Ocean and a 1.5 hour drive to anywhere in the whites. There are real seasons, snows in the winter and not unreasonably hot in the summer. I tell folks I live where they vacation. I am about 2 hours from the Adirondacks, 3 hours to Boston, 2.5 hours to Montreal, 3 hours to Baxter State Park and the AT runs through my town. I can hike to the Northern Presidential from my front porch $200,000 gets you a nice house in the area.

Realistically at 35 you hopefully know what you want to be when you grow up and probably aren't switching careers so it really comes down to what do you do for a living and if the area you want to live in has a demand for what you do?

[Slo-go'en]

I'm really glad I live where I do and that most other people don't

[Dogwood]

Much of urbanized America is in the midst of another housing bubble...

Some insiders say it's getting near term to another pulling back from recent housing gains. Interest rates are rising back to more normal levels. Markets vary locally and regionally though. There are certainly home residence markets with very good value and upside.

[chiefiepoo]

Shepherdstown, WV, near the C&O canal for biking, short ride to the AT in Harpers Ferry, rail commuter nearby in HF and Brunswick, MD. Small college town with some local arts events. 90 minute drive to DC and Baltimore. I'm thinking of Sheptown or, being a Florida close to the beach guy, coastal Delaware. Pinellas county has 3.500 people per sq mile. After 44 years here I'm close to being over it. Also, the granddaughters live in MD. Time is passing.

[BuckeyeBill]

What's the old say "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

[blw2]

interesting thread. I know what you mean.

I've been thinking along these lines a lot lately. My brother in law's family has a lake house up in Wisconsin. It's a small fishing town, not really touristy exactly but a seasonal place. The kind of place you can leave your doors unlocked and walk a couple blocks for an ice cream or dinner down near the waterfront park...and during the summer they have a steady stream of little concerts on the waterfront, water ski shows, etc....
I really want to find a place like that, but much further South....
from what I can tell towns such as Blowing Rock, NC are close...actually busier with more life and energy. Just missing the lakefront.
Seems like most lakes in the South are manmade and therefore don't have the steady water levels they do up there though, anyway...
on the other hand
I never would have thought about the desert Southwest before our family trip out to the canyon.... but in Northern AZ temps weren't bad even mid summer! Lots of wide open spaces out there, lots of public lands....Drove past a lot of places where I thought I wouldn't mind pitching my tent and staying there a while.

[kestral]

Thanks everyone for you well thought out input. Have spent whole life in east, the West seems to be calling me. Never really considered desert either, but Taos area looks great. Pacific Northwest looks wonderful, but has become so pricey. Information overload, have felt stagnated here for a few years, time to move or settle.

i grew up in a small town, love the atmosphere and breathing space. Melbourne has changed so much, has become suburban sprawl.

[Venchka]

Washington looks a lot more inviting the closer you get to Idaho. Spokane Area. Hwy 20 can still get you to the coastal mountains. Glacier is about the same distance east. British Columbia is right next door.
Idaho is next door too.
Wayne

[martinb]

kestral, understand completely. I'm kinda in the same boat, I want out of FL. Too much development and the big problem no one is talking about, the aquifer can only support about 12 million people. Were is the water going to come from and at what cost? Hoping I can get out west some day but might need to wait until retirement as most companies will not hire older folks.

[TexasBob]

kestral, understand completely. I'm kinda in the same boat, I want out of FL. Too much development and the big problem no one is talking about, the aquifer can only support about 12 million people. Were is the water going to come from and at what cost? Hoping I can get out west some day but might need to wait until retirement as most companies will not hire older folks.

Water may become a problem in the future in more places than Florida. Something to think about when deciding where you want to go especially in the western US.
The population in the US has doubled in my lifetime and population growth doesn't show any signs of slowing down any time soon.

[saltysack]

Thanks everyone for you well thought out input. Have spent whole life in east, the West seems to be calling me. Never really considered desert either, but Taos area looks great. Pacific Northwest looks wonderful, but has become so pricey. Information overload, have felt stagnated here for a few years, time to move or settle.

i grew up in a small town, love the atmosphere and breathing space. Melbourne has changed so much, has become suburban sprawl.

Growing up in north Fl...I’m 43 and can say it’s sad to watch what some call progress....Im glad I got too see “The Real Florida” before it fell to urban sprawl....some of my most memorable experiences were while paddle boarding the 300+ miles up the SJR from its headwaters in Vero to my home near it’s northern terminus at the Atlantic Ocean. Some of my favorite parts...and BIGGEST GATORS are in your back yard.......JJ Grey and Mofro sing about the troubles the state faces...if you haven’t listened to him definitely check him out....on a positive note conservation funding has seen an increase this year......but in the end my heart has always been out west since going to the Rockies as a kid! When my kids are grown....van life calls my name...why settle for one place....home is where you park it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cosmo]

The Berkshires. Less than an hour to the Trail from anywhere.

Cosmo

[kestral]

Salty sac, (damn what a name!) we drank the same cool aid. I took a van trip with the pup to visit my son in Seattle last year. 5 weeks in a 2002 windstar, seats out, sleep pad in, tried to hit as many national parks as possible. Best trip ever although my family was mortified I looked like a homeless person. No nights in motel, few meals out, tent or van to sleep in. Trip cost less then my monthly expenses at home. Hmm.... my pretty house and nice things are an anchor weighing me down.

Some of the obvious scenic areas, Ranier, Glacier, Rockies, Crater Lake, Roosevelt, Yellowstone, Great Smokies , but also little nowhere pull overs like cascade farms area, cherry orchards, a little back road in Oregon that had a farm with miniature horses, some rest area in some area(Montana?) with a view to make you cry, Wisconsin pull over by a forest stream, the forest scent just made me smile for an hour, redwoods driving down out of crescent beach (I hugged a tree and actually felt the ancient vibe), so many more.

The east is wonderfull, Asheville area has many fond memories, but the West is calling. ;#)

[Thefurther]

Not strictly a long distance hiking question, but related.

I’m at a crossroad in my life, need to relocate. The area I’m currently living in has grown up exponentially around me, cow pastures and farms replaced by subdivisions, malls and roads. Been here about 35 years, so I’m a ‘stayer’. Need to relocate to an area that’s cooler, much closer to or in the mountains, near to beautiful hiking, not super ritzy or pricey. Livable home for 2 around $200k in safe neighborhood, or outskirts of town. Ideally no yard, stand alone home for privacy, little maintenance, able to lock and leave for trips hiking or just traveling. Keeping it in the USA.

So , if this was you, where would you go? Why? Retirement age is coming on strong, and I’m a stayer, so would like this to be a last move if possible. Grew up in upstate NY, snow belt, so I’m used to weather.

Thanks for your input, hope to meet you all out on the trail.

i grew up in the same type of small town also my friend . i have been all over the us an lived in many different parts of the us . as i grew older i would step further away from my upbringing and eventually move to a large city where you get the finger if you smile and wave at someone . i finally stepped away form the city and moved back to the mountains in ga . i have been extremely pleased to see that the area i moved to is a really kind place to be with the weather being mild cold in the winter and warm in the summer . i will never leave this area and will be building in the next three years somewhere in north west ga . people are great and there is good food and the prices to conduct everyday life expenses are amazingly low compared to rent and food in the city . tenn is a good place to look since there is no building codes and i believe no land taxes also . do not mark my words on that . you can find some nice land here for dirt cheap on a mtn if you look for it . i would do west nc , tenn , nw ga . peace my friend and good luck on relocating . by the way i'm from maine so you know where i'm from and what i compare this place too

[colorado_rob]

Thanks everyone for you well thought out input. Have spent whole life in east, the West seems to be calling me. Never really considered desert either, but Taos area looks great. Pacific Northwest looks wonderful, but has become so pricey. Information overload, have felt stagnated here for a few years, time to move or settle.

i grew up in a small town, love the atmosphere and breathing space. Melbourne has changed so much, has become suburban sprawl.

Yeah, head west! Plenty of places out here haven't exploded yet. I personally am very happy living in the Denver area, because we live on the far west side of town, 5 minutes from foothills, less than one hour from "real" mountains ("real" being defined in CO as over 10K). And our side of town has no additional land to build on, so it cannot grow much at all, and it currently feels very uncrowded (west "Littleton", unincorporated Jefferson County). Low taxes, both real estate and sales tax (about a buck a square foot a year for real estate tax and 4.2% sales tax). I don't recommend anywhere else along the CO "front range" as in general the front range (basically the populated areas just east of the mountains) is growing like crazy. And Denver itself is already crazy crowded (by western standards) and has much higher taxes (twice the real estate taxes, ~8% sales plus an additional income tax).

All that being said about the Denver area, as has been said below, there are so many cool mountain towns in CO, though those are growing pretty quickly and prices are pretty high. IF I were starting over in CO, or didn't have grandkids and kids in the Denver area, I'd move to the "Western Slope", in particular maybe the Grand Junction area, or the Durango area, or if you want a bargain place to live, still very close to the Best of CO, look at Montrose. The additional benefit of living in western CO is the proximity to the 2nd best state in terms of raw beauty, which would be Utah. At least southern Utah, in the canyon country. Given the religious influence and overall law weirdness of Utah though, I could not actually live there.

We love visiting WA and OR, but I could not deal with the extremely wet climate up there. And WY/MT is fantastic, but too long of a winter for our tastes. Fantastic places in NM and AZ, but too long of summers, or too dry for our tastes. CO is our personal sweet spot weather-wise.

One big negative for CO and most of the non-coastal west is of course the lack of bodies of water to play on, if you enjoy water sports, boating, etc.

[perrymk]

The only place I haven't seen mentioned so far that might interest you is eastern Alabama. I've done some hiking along the Pinhoti Trail in and near Cheaha State Park. Nearby cities include Ashland, Talladega, Anniston. Atlanta is airport is an hour or two, New Orleans and Panama City are close enough for weekend trips. When I lived in Alabama in the early 90s the joke was they could double the property taxes and still have the lowest in the country. House prices well within your stated budget. They have a state income tax but IIRC most pensions are exempt. Not sure about other retirement income.

Also not clear whether you are close to retirement.

I live in the Florida Panhandle near Tallahassee and like it. It's a world away from south Florida in almost every respect.

[Dogwood]

"but in Northern AZ temps weren't bad even mid summer!"

Going latitudinal north is not the only way to get cooler. Go vertical, altitudinal. Taos elevation is about 7000 ft.

It's the same in Cali or Hawaii from sea level to 14k ft on one hike.

Oh you east coast flat landers. He he.