I live in NYC and would love to live in a place with a milder winter. This past winter was just awful.
I visited Denver several years ago and was impressed. That's not much to go on so I have to research the job market and climate before I do anything else.

I simply cannot stand the oppressive heat anymore.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

I've spent a lot of time there and the Rockies just mess with the weather all the time. Things change quickly. You have a 75 degree day in May and then, boom, it starts to snow the next day. I spent a summer in the mountains and a day or two after we left, around Labor Day, they got the first snowfall. The thunderstorms in the mountains are NUTS, too -- unbelievable bolts of lightning just hitting all over the place. The climate is very, very dry, and it's hard not to feel dehydrated. The land looks brown much of the year.

Personally I'm more of a fan of living closer to sea level, with a bit of moisture in the air, and more greenery around, but I know a lot of people like it there.

but I really like the state....plus they need some help in turning it completely blue. This back and forth from red to blue has to stop. I love Maryland, but someday Florida for sure.

Miami is such a vibrant and interesting place to live and most of the year the weather is divine.

I much, much prefer Maryland's politics and I still root for the local Maryland teams. (Go Ravens! Go O's!) But everything else I have to give to Florida.

Don't be ashamed of wanting to move to Florida. It's an incredible place to live, despite all its flaws. I don't regret moving here one bit.

(Although a part of me will always be a Marylander as well)

1) weather: it's unpredictable. Very occasional tornadoes, usually small and they do limited damage -- the mountains mean they don't have a lot of room to build up to nasty. Most years, the cracking thunder storms start in July or August, but this year, they started in May and haven't let up. We don't get a lot of lingering rain storms, though they happen (last autumn, five days of rain did hundreds of millions of dollars of damage.) It's generally dry, though this year is wetter than normal. Most locals keep at least a sweater or a hoodie or a fleece handy year-round because temps can drop 30 degrees just because. Halloween blizzards are common enough that most parents plan for them; OTOH, late September snows aren't uncommon, either. But see first line about unpredictable. Most gardeners will not plant anything frost-intolerant until May 12 or Mother's Day, whichever comes later. I've still had to cover tomatoes a couple times, but I usually make up for the late spring start by harvesting into October. Most years, we average 12-14 heavy snows between November 1 and April 30. This year was heavy and colder than normal, so the snow hung around from early December to April. It doesn't stay on pavement for more than a few days -- our snow tends to be light and dry so easy to plow. We don't salt -- we use a derivative of sugar beet processing that doesn't kill metal. I've managed to bicycle commute for 90% of a year, but that was my personal best, before I had my accident, and in a particularly mild winter.

2) housing: By NYC standards, it's cheap, but not compared to most places. Median house price is in the high $2-300s for 15-2500 square feet. Expect to pay around $160-200 per square foot. Most of the housing stock is under 40 years old. We have a sprawl problem, but we also build tight -- again, not to NYC standards, but tighter than Santa Fe, Phoenix, or the Chicago burbs. The east side of the metro (Aurora, Parker, Commerce City, Henderson, Brighton) is much cheaper than the west (Littleton, Arvada, Golden, Boulder). Rent is high -- low stock and high demand, with no rent control.

3) traffic & transit: the Regional Transit District (RTD) is excellent for West of the Mississippi, but meh compared to Chicago, NYC, DC or Boston. But we're much better than Atlanta, so yay us! It is possible to be car free, but it takes serious planning and biking is recommended. I've done it, and it didn't suck. However, sprawl means that the places with inexpensive housing may not yet have adequate transit. Cars aren't as absolutely required as in Phoenix, but they're closer to essential. The beltway is a toll road that is rapaciously expensive and goes way out of the way of everything except DIA. The major NS artery, I-25, is over capacity, so getting from north to south or south to north on weekdays is painful. We do have designated bike lanes and a significant bike population. If you're serious, find your job first, then find housing. The flocking pattern is much more West coast than East (cooperative driving rather than competitive; see Kim Stanley Robinson Forty Days Of Rain for a description, with the regional modification that pedestrians have right of way, honking doesn't help, and cyclists have rights to the road.

4) environment: it's dry. It's high. It's usually sunny. The mountains are under deep stress from too little rain for too long, too few long, hard freezes, and too few controlled fires, so we've got 160 trees per acre when we should have 20, and pine bark beetles killing every pine they can. Thus, most summers, several thousand acres go up in smoke. It has to happen, but necessity doesn't make it easier. We also have a ground-level pollution problem (see transit, housing). Water is in short supply. Most cities have made drought conditions permanent. Fracking is a reality. We're trying to fix it, but we'll be fighting over it for a while.

5) education: k-12 is mostly underfunded, but still manages to be pretty good. Post is generally good. It's local control, so district matters.

6) pot. Yeah, so?

7) culture: We have it -- Denver's Performing Arts Complex is world-class. The music scene is eclectic and interesting. But... It's hard to describe. You can probably find whatever niche suits you, but we don't really have anything like an Arts District or a Garment District or ethnic neighborhoods. This is good -- neighborhoods are more integrated -- and bad -- less cultural preservation. Also, since the population has grown rapidly in the past 4 decades, a lot of people are from somewhere else, and an old family is probably only 3rd or 4th generation.

8) economy: varied, and doing well, with caveats. Current growth is in tech and oil services with a side of green energy and pot cultivation. Service, of course, but manufacturing is mostly at the cottage/small scale/light end of the range. Construction is still off, along with ancillary.

9) politics, local ethic: think social/paleo-libertarian. For the most part, the ethic of "do your thing as long as it doesn't bug me" is dominant. We tend to pay for things with sales taxes, which suck, but we have the prototypical TABOR that we haven't managed to repeal. Denver metro trends blue, but other parts of the state trend into deep paleo-con red, teavangelical red, or batshit red, and they vomit up candidates and amendments on a regular basis. Up here in the People's Republic of Boulder, we have a higher than average share of soy-latte, arugula and academia liberals (I'm one, except for the soy.) with a distinct odor of Glibertarian (either tech or survivalist variety) but we also have a long history with union activity, and learned some hard lessons that we haven't forgotten. (This happened about 3 miles from my house, and I live in old mine housing. ) some of the southerners I know find us brusque and rude because for the most part, people leave each other alone, and our speech patterns tend towards information conveyance and practicality, not circumlocution and social lubricant. Listen to Jared Polis (HoR for CO2) -- he's fairly typical for a middle aged geeky People's Republic type. Mark Udall is typical of our social liberal with civil libertarian leanings. We have a high potential for corruption (underfunded enforcement) but seem to have less than would be expected. Most people seem to follow most rules most of the time. Sure, there's some sexism, but Colorado got the vote early, ratified the ERA, legalized abortion before Roe, put strong protections for clinics in place, and handles equal employment pretty well. GLBT is tougher -- we performed the first same-sex marriages (in 1975) though they were voided. Immediately after, Boulder county implemented universal common law partnerships, which were a workaround. But then Amendment 2 passed, and we're stuck with it now. (The fact that it's so easy to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot is both blessing and curse.) It's being fought, and the community is strong, with strong allies. Until then, we have civil unions which are legally identical to marriage, but still not quite there. We use mail ballots mostly, which helps turnout.

10) random: car windshields last 2-3 years before they need to be replaced because of nicks and cracks from kicked up gravel. Local uniform is somewhere between business casual and casual. The fish is meh at best because we're 1500 miles from an ocean. The local, pastured beef and lamb is superb. For the first six months, drink booze with care -- it hits harder at high altitude. You'll sunburn a couple times before you get the right reapplication protocol. Baking takes more attention to detail.

Possibly Denver. Liberal. Beautiful. Legal weed.

Also, Washington state, or Vermont. I love the outdoors.

except Denver. I hadn't even considered it...was looking at Albuquerque though.

It fits your criteria and has a mild winter.
Unfortunately the mild winter has very, very short days, lots of mild rain, and lots of gray skies. In mid-winter, the sky and road blur into shades of gray and you need to drive with your lights on even in the afternoon.
Twenty years of that made me move back to NYC. Now I'm ready to try new surroundings again.

Portland's winter is less gray than Seattle, I understand. Have you checked it out? Liberal and beautiful.

Since then, seven here. I'd move back if I could figure out how to get a job there (I have a pretty good one here) and talk my lady into moving there.

The rain and gray skies never bothered me, I never had to shovel them off of my car. Microbrew beer at night and good strong coffee in the morning, that was the yin and yang of my existence there!

Good local government, and excellent state government. NO Republicans at the state level, and it looks promising for the future too.

The cost of living, however, is awful, and certainly would be a factor for most folks moving in.

Good luck!

I'd go back to New York. I grew up there.

If I couldn't go there, I'd consider somewhere else in the Northeast.

The weather is as good as you could hope for. At 4600 feet, it doesn't get too hot, and the winters are never severe. No flooding, no hurricanes, no tornadoes. If the oceans rise I'll be safe. I used to live in Hawaii and love the ocean very much, but the cost to live there is prohibitive. I also used to live in Oregon and I love the rivers, trees and fishing, but the endless rain gets old. Plus, if I tried to pick up and move it be a huge undertaking.
I have the swamp cooler going, nice and cool in the house, drinking a wee coldie, waiting for the monsoon to start.

I love green and cool.

relocating. (We live in Northern VA). We traveled around and visited some places and came up with:

Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Pittsburgh, PA
Rochester, NY (thrown out because of the winters)

We ended up staying put, but will revisit when our youngest finishes college.

Ever seen this website?
http://www.findyourspot.com/
You can even say, I want to live around other liberals and it'll help you select.

Too much road construction for me....I avoid driving in VA like the plague!

I am scared of getting lost in Va....I have only been here a little over 3 yrs and I am a pretty comfortable driving around here now....But while looking for work....I turned down any offer from Va!

and pleased with the area AND the way people drive!

Don't the nutballs *already* own the state??

I hate the heat, too.

I second the nominations of Vermont (absolutely beautiful, great outdoors scene, awesome microbreweries, LIBERAL), and Washington. Colorado is a bit of a mixed bag with all the fundies, but still I'd rank it highly. Add Oregon to Washington State.

Shhh...

Okay, we gave them their own town and county, and made it as attractive to them as we could.

They have their own personal echo chamber and for the most part, the rest of us aren't bothered.

It works amazingly well.

Don't tell. They think they chose.

after she's gone. Climate is the number one factor for me so I'm thinking maybe Florida, but only if Scott is defeated in November. The thought of living in another (I live in Ohio) right wing hell hole chills me to the bone.

Right now I'm thinking a mobile home in a retirement community in Florida would be perfect for me.

central and northern Fla!

Tallahassee and Gainesville are pretty Democratic. I live in Leon County and there are a lot of liberals here and they have spread to some of the surrounding counties, especially Jefferson and Gadsden.

I think that is true of every state, no matter how red or teabag the state as a whole might seem - there are pockets of liberal sanity. If more strong Democrats moved to those areas, maybe we could prevail!

I have lived in Pensacola, St Augustine, Jacksonville, Titusville, Yulee, Punta Gorda, Big Pine Key.

When Spiro Agnew became Nixon's VP.

EVERY state has blue areas. The more we can grow those blue zones, the better. Smearing an entire state's populace because of one short period of their history is not progressive.

My daughter and her husband live there now. Both are stationed with the Coast Guard. She tells me everyone knows everyone there. Seems like a helpful place.

Way back when. And yes....out of all the many many places I have lived....Big Pine Key is my absolute favorite. I actually finally got my drivers license after driving around that little island. Yes it is so small everyone kinda does know each other...I loved the slow laid back lifestyle too....wonderful wonderful place. I envy your daughter!

And a lovely town at that.

But I've known people who went to UF and love the Gainesville area.

I love the Red Hills of this part of Florida and was lucky enough to find a wonderful piece of property right after I graduated. We're on a 200' ridge with a drop 50' into a wetlands on the north end of a wildlife corridor that ends in the St. Marks River system.

If circumstances had taken me to Gainesville, I probably would have stayed there - I certainly wasn't going to return to Polk County!

I love Wakulla Springs just to the south of it--jumping off the tall diving platform right into the middle of the spring.

Honestly, I'm partial to just about anywhere in the State of Florida. Except--ironically enough--Disney World.

I love the sinkholes for swimming - but the private ones are now fenced off and the ones in the National Forest are now patrolled and no swimming allowed. One of the best things to do was to spend the day on the coast at the beach, then stop at a sinkhole to swim in the cool fresh water in the shade of the trees. Big Dismal Sink was one of the best for this. For pictures: http://www.floridasprings.us/2007/02/leon-sinks-geological-area-directions.html

I don't like any of the urban areas of Florida. And Disney World is so plastic, I swear I get allergic reactions to it simply driving by on the Interstate.

I'm old enough I remember riding up I-4 with my parents and seeing the sign on the side of the road "Future Home of Disney World" in the middle of a palmetto covered, swampy cow pasture. I believe that was in 1966 - we seldom went to Orlando but that year we drove up to drop my sister off at the airport for her trip to Germany (I just scanned her scrapbook from that trip!). I thought it was a stupid place to put a theme park.

Since then I've only been close to DW, never been in the park itself. But what I've seen is NOT Florida and is sooooo fake. My BIL worked there for many years and offered free tickets - I was never tempted.

I'd rather spend the day at Merritt Island or Corkscrew Swamp or Highlands Hammock - that's the REAL Florida!

FYI

Parts of Arizona are okay, but they've got the galloping Goop going.

NM tends towards sensible and pretty, and the southern part of the state is warm.

And it just happens to have all four seasons - milder, more beautiful seasons.

For a small town Hippy Haven though with access to a good college....I would consider Boone NC!

but there's still a lot of crap happening in that formerly rational state.

I'd enjoy living. Very nice progressive downtown vibe, friendly people, good restaurants, lots of things to do. If I was younger and open to moving I'd go in a second.

CO, CA, OR and WA

ME has a wing nut governor and they speak funny just like Texas so that may be easy for a transition
Central PA is just like the south except with hills and small mountains so that could help you ease in to life in the North

The biggest thing you can learn BEFORE you relocate is when driving "if you ain't speed your are impeading"

I hate driving out side of the north east everyone drives way to slow and that includes CA.

but people here depend on me, so I'll just wait for the legal weed to come to me

In our "your-on-your-own" society we'll all be surviving off the crumbs of the rich, so place yourself as best you can under the banquet table.

I'm in Colorado & it is lovely! I am 20 minutes away from some of the most stunning trails you can imagine! Fitness & entertainment all for free. This trail is just 5 minutes from my front door:

It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it.

Not really a hike, but a lovely walk!

MN still believe in helping each other.

Born and bred here. I've lived at various times in Colorado, California, Washington state, and Alaska. But after all my years of wandering, I came back home to Minnesota, and here I will stay.

Grand Rapids in Itasca County.

owning a family fishing cabin in Northern Minnesota, but probably will never come true unless I win the lottery.

have him alive. I usually stay as close to home in the icy days as possible.

for a number of reasons that disqualified Texas. I find the high altitude desert suits me very nicely. I've been looking at places around the world and I just don't think I could cope with humidity again. I'm far too spoiled.

Politics? Climate?

I was thinking around Albuquerque...but still want to be slightly rural.

It's fairly liberal, from what I have seen. And, it's a smallish city, about 70 K in population. I wouldn't call it "rural", but one doesn't have to go far to get to the open spaces. Taos is a pretty cool place, too. I'd move to either in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself.

There are four seasons here. Summers can be very hot and winters can be very cold, but the arid climate seems to moderate both. It snows in winter but is usually gone from pavement by noon.

If you insist on water sports, forget it. There is one reservoir in the state and is generally packed solid. We're having a horrific drought out west. The air is so dry that swimming pools that aren't covered can lose 2 inches of depth per day just from evaporation.

I love the climate, personally, although that desert sun can seem relentless when people first come out here. If you live away from the river, you can sit outdoors at dawn and dusk without any bloodsucking insects, at all.

There is now high speed rail running north and south along the Rio Grande, so if you wanted to live in a small town along it, you're all set.

I've thought about Santa Fe, but it's too chichi for me. I've lived in tourist traps before, and no thanks.

And I wish I'd had enough time to find an affordable place in Santa Fe. Both have a great climate 10 to 15 degrees cooler than my home in Florida, and much more comfortable because of the lack of humidity. The politics are interesting from what I've seen. The Democratic party is very strong and you see signs for their candidates on every corner (a great change from Florida where the democrats are timid, disorganized, and weak), but there is a strong undercurrent of Catholic activism th lends a bit of social conservatism to the scene here. They tried a municipal ban on abortions a while, but fortunately it failed. I have also noticed more homophobia and antisemitism in my two months here than in my whole life in St. Petersburg, FL. But if you want to live somewhere rural, that will probably be the case anywhere.

Santa Fe is nice because it's compact in the center of the city, but there are semi-rural areas like El Dorado if you like some space. And if you want truly rural, like somewhere you need all wheel drive to get to, there is plenty for you. Albuquerque is sort of just a bloated suburb and doesn't have much to appeal to urban or rural sensibilities. Also, Santa Fe has that wonderful feeling a city gets when its inhabitants care about their community. Albuquerque, not so much.

The main things I like here are the weather, the food, and the open-minded, liberal nature of many of the locals. But they have all that in Santa Fe, so I will definitely be heading the there when my lease is up.

Can't remember which city, but one of them is consistently on or near the rip of those 'best places to live' lists.

And don't be callin' it Louie-ville!

for anyone who grew up near the place...

When I was in Indiana, for the first time, I heard people say "In-din-napolis" and I thought... huh? But apparently that's the regionalism.

I don't know if I could ever get used to saying "Louiss ville" when I saw those words! LOL.

But in TN, it's La-faye-et, not Lah-fi-yette, so I guess we can all get used to many things...

i'm a lifelong resident of the fort and it's not a bad place to live. there's a lot of issues with affordable housing and i still can't get over the sprawl, but it has its upsides. weather is usually tolerable, schools are decent, csu has some nationally-ranked programs, crime is low and the mountains are wonderful.

think I'll stay here. I've lived here all my life so I'll just say it's home. It's a good blue state (though I'm afraid Gov. Quinn will be voted out in Nov.) and same sex marriage is legal.

But if I had to move to another state I'd pick New Orleans. That's my favorite of all the cities I've ever visited. I like it so much that to live there I'd ignore the fact that Louisiana is a red state.

Very liberal and cheap. Great restaurants and bars. Wide variety of food.

I'd say that the Pacific Northwest is probably my favorite area of the country, from the SF Bay Area to Seattle. I love the scenery and the people are generally good as well. Being from the South, I really appreciate the cool weather they have up there. Even their hot weather is about as mild as our cold weather on the Gulf Coast. Hell, if I had enough money, I'd move up there in a heartbeat.

He would travel to Washington, Oregon, and Northern California with a case of samples for high end bars and restaurants.

I thought that was the greatest job ever.

Because I'm on disability, I can only work part-time, but I've thought about what it would be like to be a park ranger up there. I'm sure they need some support jobs. That would be a job I'd really appreciate. It's so beautiful up there; I can't imagine ever getting tired of looking at that scenery.

The only state to where I'd consider moving from Florida.

I haven't even visited yet, but if the scenery is half as gorgeous as the pictures make it out to be, it has to be incredible.

Definitely nowhere cold. It has to be some place warm, but preferably not a dry heat.

I'd like to live where history is being made in regard to drug policy, where a Democratic governor and Democratic representatives are willing to enact laws that represent the will of the voter. Hickenlooper isn't and wasn't all that "pro" legalization, but he has signed off on the laws the citizens there voted for, as he should.

Colorado has a booming economy now because of this smart action, and will take in revenue that would've been lost if they had stuck with outmoded thinking of drug warriors.

We love it here. Four seasons, no extreme weather, affordable, full of unique neighborhoods. What's not to like?

I was in Ohio. I hopped on my bike and ended up in Orlando. After a year I rode to Nashville, where I stayed for 20 years and had a very satisfying career as a landscaper. Would do it again in a heartbeat if I weren't confined to a wheelchair.

This Texan would move there at the drop of a hat. I lived in Seattle for awhile when I was a kid. Green, cool, & no droughts. Not much snow either. Winters aren't too cold.

However, if you like warmer weather then California. There are some small towns along the coast such as Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.

The north east is also good, but winters are kinda cold.

You're lucky that you have the means to leave move. I would too!

mainly because of my very long distance multi-hour commutes to different cities keep me from enjoying the area much. I've really grown weary of people who need to be snobby and judgmental about things. There's a lot of "inside-the-box" thinking in this city. Plus the yuppieness is making rent unaffordable. I think the universe wants me to move.

It would be good to have a fresh start somewhere that has more options to work that are not consulting or contracting.

My list in no order:
Minneapolis, MN
Denver, CO
Bay Area, CA
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Vancouver, BC
Boston, MA
Vermont
Maine

I like cold climates that have warm friendly liberal people.

it would be Vermont or Maine, and certainly NOT Florida where we now live because of a job. I LOVE my 4 Seasons, and being close enough to where my kids still live, and being in a PROGRESSIVE State.

almost six months ago, Best move I ever made!

I was so sick of living in a red state.

(fair warning.... the West Side is soooooo expensive, but the wages are much more reasonable than in rural red America)

The weather is just to die for.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Santa+Monica&state=CA&site=LOX&lat=34.0119&lon=-118.468#.U5oVE00g9D8

solidly blue states, then move somewhere that isn't going to be hammered flat by hurricanes or subject to ever worse drought conditions in which my representation would actually represent me, and the state legislators weren't working to take away voting and reproductive rights.

I'm staying put in Vermont

I don't mind the snow and the summers are pretty special!

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know what we all know about Vermont politics, and not change all their votes to 'Vermont', is beyond me. Especially picture #3, which is so peaceful and tranquil it makes me feel calm and relaxed from four states away.

Beautiful. Thank you.

the straw that broke the camel's back. I have been there several times but never in the summer, not sure if I can take the heat.
Here it is June 12th in Ohio and we haven't had 5 nice summer days yet. Every day it is overcast with a chance of severe thunderstorms, I am sick of it. You spend the whole winter inside and the summer repairing the damage caused by the last winter and cutting grass.
Oh and it couldn't possibly be any more right wing than SE Ohio.

I live down the road in Eugene, but if i had it it do over, in a different life from mine...

worked there a few years ago... awesome place!

I'd still be there if my job hadn't been crazy-making.

Compact, great music scene, exceptionally bike-friendly.

Currently in Florida but I'd live anywhere along the coast from South Carolina to Louisiana. No snow is also a general rule even though I enjoy snow skiing vacations occasionally, just went to Tahoe in February, it was awesome to visit.

the Columbia River, maybe near The Dalles, Oregon.




Tikki

I love Maine, but not in the winter

I live in Nor Cal, Sacramento, which is really too hot for me. I only moved up here from So Cal for the state job, but that's done, so free to move. Oregon doesn't have as much rain as Washington (I have lived there before), and it has salmon rivers, trees, and lots of space for a garden and privacy, something I do not have here.

Not too far out, but an older house and a big yard would be nice. And a shop building so I could waste more money on tools I don't need.

I'm really not interested in moving to Not-California. Our weather is nice and our government is sane and oh god the food.

I've been all over the country. I've lived for extended periods in the Canadian Rockies, on the Great Plains, in Texas, and in Washington, DC. The Pacific Northwest is the best.

I currently reside in Sonoma County, California, and it's sweeeeeetness. Rugged Pacific coast, coastal mountains, vineyards, orchards, doesn't rain all summer, fresh air blowing off the Pacific, and an hour to San Francisco or Berkeley/Oakland.

Arkansas 17 years ago. Had a job lined up on N. California. I love it here.

Santa Fe is a nice size. Beautiful country up there, great food, big skies with clouds AND it gets cold in the winter, unlike Los Angeles. I'm so sick of the same hot weather all year around. Too many people in SoCal for my taste now. Traffic at all hours of the day. Some day I hope to move when I'm older and just rent a small place. I could rent a house there for the price of a 1 bdrm or studio apt. here.

Eugene, OR is another contender. I do think the gray and all the rain would be too much for me after awhile. I'm a CA native and I love blue skies So, basically, I want to be closer to nature, less people and traffic, liberal city, not blazing hot like L.A.

I want to return to Ohio.

a place that is close enough to a larger city with plenty of museums, science centers, and other interesting hobbies, but out in the woods far enough that I don't have to hear cars going down the road every minute of the day and night.

My step dad says I am dreaming and that place doesn't exist. I wish it did. If I could find that place and pot was legal there and it was an affordable place to live, I'd want to go there, get a few acres of land(I wish I could afford more, of all forested land), build a cabin in the center of it(really the largest sized shed like they sell at Lowes, with modifications to bring it up to code and modify the insides of it), and let the rest stay wilderness/forest. Only use the little area in a small clearing for my cabin and a path in and out to go to town.

I could live happily ever after if it was also a place with regular snow. It doesn't have to be ass deep in snow year round, just snow more often than once a year if you are lucky. I want any place I would go to actually have cold weather and cold winters. Where I was born and still live now, I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I have spent Christmas in shorts and a t-shirt sweating to Christmas carols and no snow that winter at all. I hate that. I want snow around. So, for a place to be perfect for me, it has to also have actual cold winters and snow.

Other than a cabin on a few acres of land in a wilderness area with good winters and snow next to a nice big city where I can go entertain myself, I'm not asking for much, right? My family tells me there is no such Utopia and I need to quit dreaming. So, I let 5/6ths of my yard grow wild and all of the wildlife in the neighborhood lives with me here.

I do enjoy that all of the wildlife in the neighborhood is comfortable around me but not other humans in the neighborhood, and they all live with me, but it's too damn hot here, too many right wingers surround me, there is no place for gay people here to meet each other or feel safe, there is no culture for intelligent people, and it is in the Bible Belt.

When I walk into my jungle of a backyard (I'm not talking about a few dandelions like most people when they call their yard a jungle, I'm talking wisteria, Japanese, knotweed, old pecan and oak trees, lots of underbrush, and tons of wildlife), I can almost forget the city where I live is a pit of despair in the Bible Belt...almost. And I own it now. So, I guess I'll stay put....at least until I win a lottery or get lots of money somehow. Then, I want acreage and a cabin and oodles of wildlife that is comfortable around me, a small music studio inside of part of the cabin, and snow, miles and miles of forests/wilderness filled with snow.

and share it with others.

But it's so expensive. It would be an even trade for my house in San Francisco. Also Vermont is tempting to me after looking at a previous post's pictures!

packed up bare necessities, picked up my baby girl, and the two of us drove away from Ohio without looking back.

At first, the climate change was hard to get used to, but the hot summers back home had made working difficult for me; to this day I miss a real winter, but not the unbearable heat. What I eventually found out was that here one can find all the snow you'd like, a short drive away, up into the mountains.

The grey skies have never bothered me, we have exquisite islands here that don't receive nearly the rainy days that the rest of Western Washington gets; the San Juans are almost like paradise, if you can figure out how to stay put on them. So, I guess that Orcas Island might be where I'd love to live now that I'm old (or move back to), tho I doubt that'll ever happen.

if I could move to the Boulder area where there are more liberal types, that would be nice. I'm south of Denver and it's conservative nutville down here. I used to live right outside of Denver in the Washington Park area and loved it. But it's expensive and with kids, now, its kind of camped spaces. Aurora tends to be a bit more diverse with more liberal minded people and not overrun but christian conservatives like where I live.

Also, if I could afford to move to southern California around San Diego or Carlsbad I would highly consider it. So pretty and the weather is just beautiful! So weird to see ficus trees growing huge outside and I fight to grow them inside my house

Housing and schools are both reasonable in Thornton, Brighton, Henderson, Northglenn, Westminster. Even Broomfield isn't too expensive if you don't mind older.

Also... Sometime in the next year, I know of a house in Boulder county that will be available $1100 /month plus utilities for 3 BR 2 BA, plus den. It's in the best performing elementary school in BVSD, near the best charter, and in a top high school. It's also an easy commute to CU.

The timeline isn't firm, but if you're interested, feel free to PM me.

But we live in a pretty, pretty place. We're kind of rural up on a hill with views of Pikes Peak all the way over to Lone's Peak. We bought this fixer upper because we wanted to live where we live, was all we could afford, and have put a lot of work into the place. Ten years ago it wasn't so nutty out here. But it's become very blatantly conservative and our school district is being destroyed by a bunch of privatizing/voucherizing conservative reformers on our BOE. I'd love to move just for the kids education but it's such a huge undertaking to uproot and move.

It's nice to fantasize about it though.

You pretty much describe my house in Colorado Springs, except it was in town, and I had to be done with the OMGWTFery. Loved the house, loved the place.

The pendulum always swings, if that's any consolation.

It used to be more moderate out here. Or maybe people were always conservative but talk radio and Fox News have given them permission to be loud and obnoxious. And everyone assumes everyone is conservative. I've had some really ugly things about liberals and Obama said to me when the person thought I was "one of them". I just keep my opinions and thoughts to myself. I'm one against hundreds out here and I have to live near them and my kids have to go to school with them. Might seem cowardly, but really, what change can I impart with nuts like that? I think we've seen all too well that debating them can be fruitless.

They are religious nuts -- big fans of Focus on the Family, you get the picture. I think towns like that get a reputation and attract the nutters, just as college towns attract liberals.

It's a beautiful town! But it is so christain conservative. You have Focus on the Family headquarters there. The defunct Ted Haggard's New Life Mega church is there. The Air Force Academy is there. But it's a lovely city if you can ignore all of that.

Not my cup of tea, to say the least.

If I were forced to move, I'd move to southern LA county (Manhattan, Hermosa or Redondo Beach) or San Diego. Beautiful weather and friends.

but move to the wetter, milder, and more liberal west side of the Cascades.

I moved here five years ago after a divorce and after giving serious consideration to Asheville, NC, and Portland, OR.

The climate is great here. There are probably not ten days all year long that the sun doesn't shine at least part of the time. Because it's a couple of thousand feet higher than Albuquerque it's noticeably cooler in the summer. I actually manage without a/c, thanks to the layout of my home and a ceiling fan in the living room. But the level of corruption here astonishes me. Oh, it's generally not as bad as say, New Jersey, but it's here. A couple of years ago our county sheriff had to resign because he was caught selling county equipment on ebay. Plus, all of the locals here are related to each other, and they all know each other. Which helps account for the corruption.

On the other hand, we have St. John's College which has great programs for adults in the country plus lectures and such anyone can attend. A strong junior college, the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, as well as Southwestern College which calls itself "a consciousness-centered graduate school". There's the opera, for you opera fans. For those of you who are church goers, there are plenty of denominations, plus a strong Jewish and Muslim community given the small size of the city, as well as a community of Sikhs. There's a strong interfaith organization. This is an especially good place to be somewhat older. I'm 65 and I would not want to be a young person here.

I have also lived in Boulder, CO, which is the only city I've ever known that looks exactly like its post cards. We were only there a couple of years, and I'm not likely to move back because now, 25 years after I left, when I go there all I can see is the tremendous population growth in that whole part of the Front Range.

I have a son in Portland, OR, and I may eventually relocate there. A lot depends on whether he winds up there permanently, or where his brother ends up. I know how inconvenient it was when my mother was in her final illness and none of us six kids lived within 800 miles of her.

New Mexico is considered a blue state, although the southern part tends red. Our governor, Susana Martinez is considered to be a rising star in the Republican party. She got elected four years ago because the people of this state were quite tired of Bill Richardson and so most of them weren't willing to vote for his lt. governor to replace him. So Martinez won. In a redder state Martinez would be as bad as Rick Scott or Scott Walker. Fortunately for us we have a very Democratic state legislature. So we got the Medicaid expansion here. If Martinez moves on to the national scene, our gain will be the nation's loss.

I have also lived in northern Virginia and Minneapolis and liked them both. But I'm not likely to live in either locale again.

Anyone seriously considering Santa Fe, feel free to PM me.

The northwest corner (Carroll county) is incredibly beautiful and progressive. There is a real sweetness the the area. Thre are of course lots of fundies and white churches filled with white people; but much of that can be overlooked. There isn't a real diverstity of racial color, but there isn't overt animosity. There are a lot of Latinos because of Tyson and Cargill; Native culture seeps in, but mostly old white hippies and their children.

The mountain is called the Boston Mountains in the Ozark range and this is the oldest mountain in the world (continuously exposed surface) The southern part of the state is a diamond and quartz range that is about 50 miles wide and I don't know how long. THe water is abundant and most of the rivers run clear. The forests still have some health and the activists are abundant. We need help in keeping the state blue/purple. We (democrats) lost the state house for the first time since reconstruction and we are working to take it back. We don't have a pool of candidates to choose from and we need people who will be active in politics.

We left the paradise of northern California because of the water issues, but love the place dearly.

If I were to leave the states, I would move to Chile.

say hi. Just kidding. . .

Arkansas is a beautiful state, my brother lives down in Heber Springs.

but I'm sure beautiful none the less.

Greers Ferry Lake. President Clinton came to town a few months ago and my brother got a picture of him. They use to live in Mountain Home before moving to Heber Springs. They been in Heber now probably close to 20 years.

Lum and Abner was and old nationally broadcast radio show back in the 50's about Arkansas hillbillies.

Got lots of friends up there, weather is generally cool, scenery is beautiful, there are plentiful options for outdoor activities, and values are significantly more progressive than in most of the Southeast -- where I've lived my whole life. (Months of gray sky + rain would be a challenge, but I kinda like rainy days.)

Leaving the SE region would certainly be a mixed bag. I have many friends and relatives here, and uprooting at this point would be hard. Also, let's face it -- if black-eyed peas, collard greens, fried okra, and iced tea weren't readily available, life would lose some of its luster for me. And increasingly, there are really interesting international influences throughout the Southeast -- despite what you might think from seeing backward Teabagger idiots on TV. ("Backward Teabagger idiots" -- how's that for a redundant phrase?!)

And there are so many great places and experiences in this region -- Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountains, funky little Florida towns, the Mississippi river, Atlanta, Memphis (!), New Orleans (!!!), and fascinating creative and progressive people all over plugging away working to make life better for themselves and others.

BUT -- There are plenty of times when I feel like I have forehead-smacked myself so many times I'm going to need a neck brace. (For example, my state Georgia's monumentally stupid "Guns Everwhar" law. Blecch!!)

Anyway, back to fantasies about other places...

New York City would be great also -- I visit there when I can to get a dose of culture and creativity. But I probably don't have the $$ to live there comfortably.

I've had wonderful times in California as well -- again it's expensive, but not everywhere -- and wow, what an incredible, diverse, stimulating environment!

There are actually hundreds of places in the U.S. where I think I could be happy. Dang, I forgot to become stinking rich so I could have 7 houses like John McCain!

Please! We need the influx of population in order to stay the liberal political ecosystem we are. Pretty much, as long as you don't need a job upon arrival, we're heaven. We have culture, arts, restaurants, nature, a beautiful state, four seasons, beaches, forests, cheap luxury housing, Democratic political dominance from the local level up to the Governor's mansion.

Back to my beloved home state of Oregon, near the coast.

very progressive in many ways, smallish and climate similar to Seattle but more sun. In seattle summer doesn't start until after fourth of July.