Where would you live?

[AWCHIEF]

Unless I come across somewhere better I plan on ending up in the north Georgia/western NC area. I found no place better in North America.

[terryV]

As a kid, I traveled with my parents all over the lower 48, the British Isles, and Europe.

There are fantastic sights to see everywhere. I asked my dad why, with all the really great places we could live, did we have to live in Iowa.

He told me that the best thing about living in Iowa was you could escape in any of 4 directions. Then he added later, but you have to come back sooner or later because Iowa is where your roots are and it is where your family lives.

When I was 18, I left home. I lived and worked all over this great land. It would be hard to pick my very favorite place, but Texas ranks right up there.

In 1984 my dad was in bad shape, and I had to come back to Iowa.

My parents and grand parents are long gone, as are most of the elders of the family, but my kids, and their kids are here. My cousins, and their kids are here.
Family is here; my roots are here, like it or not. So, I will have to be content with "escaping" whenever I can, knowing that I must always return. There are people here who count on me, and there is nothing more valuable than that.

[moosetags]

We are pulled to northwest Florida in much the same way. Our four sons and other family are in Jacksonville, Tampa, Atlanta, and New Orleans. All of these are within a one day drive from Santa Rosa Beach. That makes us close, but not too close.

Brian

[eubank]

I'd have to stay someplace in the southwest: NM, AZ, southern CO, southern UT, southern NV, southeast CA. Mountains and deserts.

Lynn

[prairieschooner]

Great way to make us think!
I just retired this year and had to do allot of soul searching about just this. I do love Southern California, just not the taxes. I have a great little cabin in Idyllwild, CA but it does snow here and we like to chase 70 degrees. We can be at the beach in a couple of hours and in Arizona in just a few.
I lived on a boat for almost 20 years so don't want to do that again or even go Full-Time. I would like to see more of the US so we bought a Motorhome (Newell not AS). Our 1958 AS Traveler is a great little camper for a few days so we look forward to some Vintage Rallies.
Best part of an RV is that it is mobile...if you don't like where you are just move.

[Rocinante]

I learned something from my parents' selection of a home base. They chose Phoenix for its largely pleasant winters, which worked very well for them as long as they were healthy and could get away in their RV during the summers, even if it was only to Verde Valley or Flagstaff.

Unfortunately, when health issues came to the forefront, they found themselves "trapped" in Phoenix during the summer. It's God-awful in Phoenix during the summer, as you probably know. Just awful. Temps so high in summer that it's just nuts. Haboobs come blasting through later just to remind you that you live in the desert, with huge dust clouds that blot out the sky, sun and anything more than 100 feet away. Once when I was there, it even "rained mud" because the dust storm got hit with a brief but intense shower. Just awful.

So, we can't stand the Phoenix area except in the dead of winter.

Once we retire we will look for a home base that is at least tolerable all year, if not ideal. Hopefully, at least one season would be amazing. We don't know where that's gonna be yet, though places like Flagstaff and Santa Fe come to mind as possibilities. For us, anywhere in the PNW, even with it's ridiculously short days and non-stop rain in winter months, along with the exciting potential of an outrageous natural disaster, would be better than Phoenix.

As to natural disasters, PNW is blessed with potential. Between our multiple volcanoes and eventual arrival of "the big one" earthquake some day / some century (experts say it may be Richter 9.0+ when it finally hits), we've got plenty to think about between winter's rains and power-killing windstorms. Oh, and if you're on the coast within Tsunami range, don't forget about the possibility of a free car/trailer wash that neglects to return you and your vehicles to shore in one piece when it's over.

Maybe when we camp here we should camp at elevation in an open field and leave our stabilizer jacks up because in that earthquake a bouncy trailer would probably be our best friend.

That said, we do escape the snow, mostly, and temps are rarely outside an envelope of 40-90 degrees F year-round, which is a helpful bonus. And yes, it's beautiful and very green indeed, even in winter. Also, as others have noted, we're always within an hour or few of someplace amazing to go camping.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by blmitch5

Mod hat on. Let's keep politics out of this conversation. Discussing politics in the threads are against the community rules and will be deleted. Mod hat off. Arizona is looking good to us for retirement (a long ways away) due to its location. Warm winters and easy to get away from the heat in the summer. It's close to mountains and a short drive to be near the ocean. Someday we will not have to deal with these cold winters!

I always get a kick out of the "mod hat on and off". Part of the thing about agreeing to be a moderator is that you always are. As long as you have a moderator tag under your user name you will always be regarded as one. You will have the same effect posting in a thread, as a police officer entering a biker bar in uniform, and saying "Hey guys, whazzup?"

To answer the question posted:

Since the OP said "you", I'm going to answer as me. We are presently preparing to move back to the pacific northwest. One of the main reasons is that I am tired of being a three day trailer drive from all those places I enjoy the most. I would also consider California. In fact, I would prefer it in some ways. However, in retirement, we have to give some thought to the cost of living. In my case I am willing to endure the often cool cloudy weather to be close enough to mountains and salt water beaches to enjoy either one in just a day if I wish. Since I am, and my wife will shortly be, retired, longer journeys in the Airstream can satisfy our yearnings to explore new places.

Ken

[aftermath]

We have always considered the house we live in as our "home". Home anchors us, gives us a place to hold on to and to come back to. While we love traveling in our Airstream, we would never think of not having a home.

Ah, where to live, that is a question without an unqualified answer. Rolland posted, ..."I don't like to shovel rain, nor do I like to be trapped inside by cold weather"....

How about being trapped inside by the hot weather, or rainy weather, or stormy weather? I live in Eastern Washington where we have 4 seasons, all relatively moderate. The winter does cause some issues for us but that is when we choose to travel to warmer places. We have yet to pull our trailer out during January but might give that a try. There are about a half a million people living in our area yet we can be completely out of town within in a half an hour. There is little traffic, plenty of water, no hurricanes, tornadoes or floods to deal with. As long as the volcanoes remain at peace, all is good. We have lakes, rivers and mountains in all directions within an easy 3 hour drive. The PNW has a lot to offer.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Pat Cassity

As I sit here patiently waiting for my new AS be built and delivered to my dealer, I started to think about all of the road trips I have taken over the years within the state of Texas and beyond. From where I live in the Houston area (actually slightly north of Houston) it is a 12 hr dr to get out of the state heading west or northwest. I started to wonder, based on the most popular camping destinations throughout the country, what part of the country is the best place to live. Yes, I am bored but if you have an opinion I would love to hear it!


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Wow! With infinite amounts of money, that's an easier question! That being said, we go through the same mind-boggling discussion each year while on the road...or at home...the grass is always greener, right?
We are fortunate that we have a place in MT where we can spend time as a base camp, and easily get to great lakes/parks in a couple hours...we lived in Austin also up until last year, and we enjoyed taking our AS to Inks Lake State Park as it was an easy drive and we love the many lakes in the area to visit and stay also. The wine country near Fredericksburg also makes this area nice, but overall, TX gets a bit warm in the summer, as you know...but also, TX is a bit cheaper than a lot of states. For weather and parks, I do think Southern Utah offers a great option also...but it can get cold there too....I think the best part of AS'ing is that you CAN go and dream....when you find that special place, please share with us....

[Thalweg]

For my preferred lifestyle I can't think of too many places that could be an improvement on our current home in northern Wyoming. I can go west and be in the mountains in five minutes, or go east and be in the Black Hills in a couple of hours. There are thousands of boondocking opportunities within a 100 mile radius. I can be in the Yellowstone basin in about five hours. If I want a formal campground, there are dozens nearby. I also think it's kind of cool to come home and have 20 antelope in my driveway.

Living in a small town may not be for everybody. I talked to a guy from California about a month ago about the prospect of moving to Cheyenne. He was unsure about his ability to adapt to a "tiny" town like Cheyenne. I spent the last week in Cheyenne and couldn't wait to get out. There were just too many people and too much traffic. Our nearest Walmart is 35 miles away, and that is just fine. You get used to being "remote". The cost of living is low. There is no State income tax, property taxes are lower than most places in the country, and sales tax is moderate. I also do not need anyone's permission to keep my Airstream in my yard.

However, about this time of year, I start noticing the weather down around Florida, and that's mighty tempting. Winters here are cold, and the wind is nasty, however we don't get as much snow as you folks around the Great Lakes. One of the more difficult things to get used to is the short days in the winter, about nine hours of daylight now. I know it's not as bad as our Canadian friends experience, but it makes it tough to get things done at times.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Don't matter.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1VUNkukdHM

Bob

[Rocinante]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

[Pat Cassity]

Thanks for sharing Robert!


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[RangerJay]

One neat thing about retirement living - there is no pressure to make decisions quickly.

One neat thing about Streaming - the journey is as great as the destination - in fact - the longer the journey the better the trip .....


Jay

[Airtandem]

We have one sibling in Texas and the other in NC and we live in Iowa. This gives us some warmer places to visit when is is winter in Iowa. The wife and I have discussed moving somewhere in between them but the kids say they would no longer have a home to go to. Humm; one is 44 and the other 49 (kids?).
Moral of the story; we will live in Iowa and than go visit and travel elsewhere.

[Msmoto]

OK, southern Colorado, El Moro to be exact....

El Moro Sunrise 2010 by Fantinesvoice.com, on Flickr

[weirdstuff]

Well, it'd be great to escape Southern California's home prices, but we're very attached to our weather and lack of bugs/mosquitos. So, even though we constantly talk about where else to live, we just can't pull ourselves away.....yet!

[cwf]

Our initial goal was to have our grandkritters and their keepers stationed in places we want to visit and stay for a while...... Alaska....Hawaii...Texas...

That way we would have a place to 'stay' when we visited... well, thankfully they are much closer... but, still require the AS to visit...and 'stay'.. so, funny how things work out..

[dkottum]

Our needs

Moderate temperatures, rainfall, and low humidity,

in a town that attracts many artists, sportsmen,

but few druggies.

A decent, well kept village with

Two stoplights or less in town.

One franchise restaurant or less.

Thriving small business thanks to no Walmart.

Small home of masonry, wood, glass set on falling land toward a

pleasant, distant perspective of interesting natural features.

The home site a garden with a workshop.

A sense of community life, friendship about town, and personal safety

with our Airstream at hand to move about the country

for exploration and adventure, history, arts, agreeable weather

and fellowship among old and new friends.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

Well, it'd be great to escape Southern California's home prices, but we're very attached to our weather and lack of bugs/mosquitos. So, even though we constantly talk about where else to live, we just can't pull ourselves away.....yet!

Oh; well now that were in San Diego, we do not miss the fire ants, the "no see um's", mosquitos, humidity we had in TX...we DO miss the grand kids however...but, yesterday morning we went to the beach and had breakfast, walked the dog in the surf, talked about next AS trip, and were home by 11am....that is nice for sure. We can also take the AS inland to Borego Springs in winter months and to the beach like San Clemente State Park for great camping...Pechanga is nice also in Temecula for wine tasting. Negative down here is driving through Riverside or LA area pulling the AS to get to Big Bear or to Central or Northern California oasis...need to plan for that trip to avoid the white knuckle ride getting to the better spots outside of Southern California freeways...they say it's the adventure...I guess I am getting too old to experience the "adventure" pulling the AS at 65 on the SoCa freeways...