If you could live anywhere in the U.S., where would you live?

[Greg]

I know it might be a bit cliche, but I'd love to live in Hawaii for a while. I have some friends that moved there a few years back and absolutely love it even with the higher prices and tourists.

First 8 years of my life... :greg: Took me a long time to see what the 'main land' actually was. These days, I think I'd go a little stir crazy being on an island... I want to go somewhere w/o flying. That said, every now & again my wife and I will look at jobs and homes in Hawaii.

 

[ZUKEYPR]

Been in 49 states, 17 countries and lived in about a dozen, hail from the hills of PA. That said hands down Utah, it doesn't get cold here and hardly snows if you think otherwise you lived in a sheltered environment. If not Utah, probably Ouray, Colorado but who can afford that. Maybe McCall, ID.

 

[Greg]

... Maybe McCall, ID.

Spent a couple days in McCall this Summer... I agree with you there. Nice area, I could live there.

 

[193kyle]

Been in 49 states, 17 countries and lived in about a dozen, hail from the hills of PA. That said hands down Utah, it doesn't get cold here and hardly snows if you think otherwise you lived in a sheltered environment. If not Utah, probably Ouray, Colorado but who can afford that. Maybe McCall, ID.

While I agree that Utah doesn't get that cold compared to other places(I did live in AK 16 yrs) it does get colder than I like.

 

[Marsh99]

Southern Utah would be my choice.

 

[Marsh99]

Northern New Mexico or Alaska.

LT.

What city in NM Farmington?

 

[rholbrook]

I have always said I would love to retire somewhere around Dillon, Mt. St George is getting too crowded and summers are too hot. I lived in Pheonix, never again. I couldn't live where I cant see the mountains or for that matter, on the other side of the road a little ways. I spent the last 3 weeks in Atlanta. I like being able to see something other than trees.

 

[Caleb]

I know it might be a bit cliche, but I'd love to live in Hawaii for a while. I have some friends that moved there a few years back and absolutely love it even with the higher prices and tourists.

I can't even tell you how close my wife and I were to not coming home when we were on Maui a couple months back. We've been to Hawaii several times but we are really getting to the point that we are so tired of the winters and snow. My wife's company has a location over in Hawaii, they even had her exact position open so transferring should have been pretty easy. I think with my skill set I could find a job most anywhere. We started talking with a realtor and had gone through a few homes. The 9th day we were in Hawaii, my wife got cold feet and couldn't do it. However, I would;t be one bit surprised if we didn't end up on Hawaii for atleast a few years in the next couple years.

We also would love to go to the PNW. My wife lived there for several years before we were married and I've vacationed there many times, we love it up there. Rain doesn't bother me, so long as it's not snow. We've also briefly talked about Texas, but I don't know that I could do Texas. Our ultimate goal is to live somewhere outside the US for a few years. I think that would be a priceless experience for my son. Ofcourse it will be somewhere warm and tropical, Costa Rica, Belize, etc are places we've looked in to a bit.

 

[nnnnnate]

The thing that draws me towards the PNW is the greenery. I totally understand that for the green that is there you have the rain but I'm okay with that tradeoff. A couple years ago I changed careers and applied for jobs in Louisville and Denver. I ended up getting the same position but here in SLC which when it comes down to it is a good thing but I was excited at the idea of an adventure. I did a semester of college at a JC in California right after high school and had fun running around and a few years ago ended up doing a bit of out of town training for work. I just like getting out and seeing new places and think it would be real neat to move around a bit.

My wife is less inclined for adventure though and I think the only way I could get her to move is if she had family or friends near by. The only person she knows that is out of state is her sister who is going to school in Corvallis Oregon. We were up there for her wedding last year and I really liked that town as well. I'm sure I could be happy in any Oregon town on the western side of the state. I'm kind of tired of the desert.

 

[Kevin B.]

I'm pretty solidly converted to Utah. I would like to get out of the city though. Out of the valley completely. Maybe farther south on the interstate, or up past Kamas? I just spent a couple nights in an off-grid cabin outside La Sal, I could get to liking that a bunch. The fellow had a solar panel and battery setup big enough to keep us in 110v late into the night, and a propane range and lights just in case. Add a great big garden, a little livestock, and free shipping from Amazon and you wouldn't have to go into town very danged often. The only thing I'd miss would be internet because I'm addicted, but maybe I could bring in a fiber.

If I had to be somewhere else, I could go back to Oregon for the scenery and recreation, but only if I get to kick all the libtards back to Commiefornia. They've ruined that state as a place to live. Get rid of them and I could happily live anywhere in Oregon besides P-town. Bend, Medford, Klamath Falls, Coos Bay, you name it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't mind the Grand Junction or Durango areas, but see Oregon > Libtards > Stabby Kevin. There's places in most of the states around us that I know I could be happy - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona (northern AZ, please) and New Mexico all have their plusses, but I don't know if any besides maybe New Mexico match Utah for tolerable politics + awesome varied terrain.

What about outside the US? I've never been, but Baja seems like the sort of place I could spend a couple years.

 

[Jinx]

Fruita/Grand Junction area would be my choice. Good weather, not too-too crowded. Good access to just about everything I like to do. Big enough to have good medical facilities and such. Affordable. Only downside is the socialist state gov't of Calirado.

- DAA

Well said, I really like The GJ area. It has airport, medical facilities, small town feel.

The he other nice place would be Spokane/Cor de Lane area but that won't work for you with the cold...

 

[193kyle]

Thanks for all the input, this is helpful.

 

[blznnp]

I really want to retire on the Oregon Coast. I really feel I need to be near the Ocean, working on being able to afford a nice boat someday and settle down somewhere up there.

Seaside is a killer little town.

My parents live right on the puget sound, so I grew up with that for 18 years of waking up and looking out my window and having the beach/ocean right there. Probably the biggest thing I miss about washington, and my friends up there. Seaside is a cool town but I am not sure we would be able to live there. We spent a week in sunriver this past July, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually buy a house there to vacation at, plus it will be rented out the other times we aren't there and should be pretty easy to pay for itself.

The thing that draws me towards the PNW is the greenery. I totally understand that for the green that is there you have the rain but I'm okay with that tradeoff.

whenever we go drive back to washington, or when we lived there and came back from a vacation (usually from utah), it was so nice to come into the mountains and see all the greenery and not have it end when we came out of the mountains. we miss all the trees, especially bigger fuller trees around houses.

 

[Bart]

Moab Utah
Hurricane Utah
Grand Junction CO
Boise, ID

In that order

 

[Stephen]

Northern Utah. Except in the summer when its too hot. Then I'd like to have a summer home in Coeur D'Alene.
Seriously, though. Utah, you can't beat it. From Late September to Mid May the weather is perfect. And even in the miserable heat of the summer you can find a lake or head into the mountains to get cool. Recreational opportunities abound. Anything you want to do, you can do here. I've traveled all over the west and a bit in the midwest and out east, and you just can't beat it. New England is beautiful, lots of history, but the people and the politics are a big turn off. The North West would be my only other real option, but still, not nearly the chances to get out and enjoy life that there are here.

I know it's not the US, but I've contemplated trying to move to Wollongong, Australia. There is a reason people there refer to it as "Gods Country".

 

[Rot Box]

My wife and I talk about moving all the time. She's from Pittsburg and wants to live somewhere in the middle of the appalachians. I like the appalachian states a lot but I'm not sure I could settle down in the east unless I was in an area like Vermont/Maine. Too many people back east and not enough public land is a big downfall for me.

I grew up in the area that I live now on the north end of cache valley. It's paradise up here and I love love love Utah and southern Idaho but something about that Oregon coast and temperate climate makes me/us daydream a lot. We love Oregon. Almost daily I envision myself living somewhere in Cloverdale or Tillimook and being right near the ocean or in the forest. I would also like to spend more time in the eastern/desert side of the state which I think could possibly rival Utah in it's remoteness.

The only other state I've lived in besides Utah was Kansas (weird I know) for one year and hated it---really really hated it. No lakes, no trees, no rivers, no hills nothing but corn and miles upon miles of nothing to look at or do. If I could double my income by moving back I wouldn't do it. It was worth driving 4+ hours every weekend to Ft. Collins or Denver just to feel alive again haha.

 

[mesha]

I vote for NOT New Jersey.

I love Utah and don't think I will move. I like the cold and I like the desert. Utah has that better than anywhere else.

 

[LT.]

I'm from Alaska, I'll never live there again. Kinda nice for 3 months a year, way too cold the other 9 months.

My wife and I find ourselves watching many programs about Alaska. Everything from Alaska frontier, to Denali National Park. We want to go just to see some untouched beauty that Alaska has to offer.

What city in NM Farmington?

No, I live in Los Alamos currently and I like the Chama area pretty well. Farmington is a beautiful area and while I wouldn't mind living there I would prefer Chama or, TA. Love the little mountain towns there.

LT.

 

[skeptic]

+1 for the PNW. If you don't like the rainy season you could always go with something in OR/WA on the East side of the Cascades - much more UT like weather. If I was filthy rich I'd winter in HI and spend the rest of the year in OR. A lot of things to like about UT, but the winter isn't one and being land locked isn't another. The Oregon coast is great, but rain there is worse than the valley. The North WA coast is another nice area.

When my boys are out of High School my wife and I plan to move to OR, probably the Salem area. A few acres of wooded land just out of town some place.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

The places I'd live in order:

Layton, UT - current residence
Cody, WY - spent 10 years of married life here working in oil and gas.
Billings, MT- my home town.


I've lived in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and North Dakota.

I hated North Dakota. 10 months of winter sucks. No 4 wheeling at all, well mud bogging doesn't count.

I grew up in Montana, I still like it. No Sales Tax.

Wyoming is my favorite. No people, No State Income Tax, Low property taxes. But, there isn't much to do in the winter, you have to buy stuff in Montana or through Amazon, and the winters are cold.

Utah has a ton of recreation. I like it a lot here. I have a lot of friends here and I like my neighborhood and Layton a lot! I'm just close enough to SLC, but just far enough away to get away from all the people down there.