Yeah I think Oregon or East Seattle would be the best bet I have been looking in those areas myself to see what the possibilities are.
Actually, hoodooman is right. I lived near Raleigh for about 5 years and the climate, cost of living, things to do, etc was pretty good. I grew up around Baltimore/Washington and found that the peak temps there are higher that in NC. Balt/Wash will get into the 100's every summer, but the hottest I ever saw was mid-90's in NC. It does get humid, but good beaches (waaaay better than MD/DEL/VA) are 2 hours away. Mountains are 3-4 hours the other way. Culturally, it's surprisingly cosmopolitan for the south. Lots of Chinese, Indians, etc = good food.
If you can take the heat Florida is dirt cheap right now and could be a good long term investment. But otherwise I have to agree with others that Carolinas seem to be what you are looking for. Wilmington would be great but I am not sure how cheap it is there. I lived in Greensboro and it was nice and located in central NC. I believe it is the third or fourth largest city in NC, however coming from NYC I consider what they call a city down there to be a town.
Humidity is not a problem. Unless its raining outside in summer, it wouldn't ever get greater than 50% tops. We do have hot spells (90 degrees) but they are relatively short and not like Charlotte and South Carolina. Taxes aren't too bad here either and the people are friendly. When I moved from the Outer Banks (Figured it was time to move when I lost one of my houses in a hurricane), I looked all over the south. On the coast down to the keys and over to the Florida panhandle then up through Alabama, Georgia mountains, South Carolina and up to Ashville North Carolina. I'ed lived and worked in Virginia most of my life and didn't care for it. Wake county was the best all around place that I could find. I've been here going on 5 years and I still like it alot.
i am used to that area. i only live about 300 hundred miles from there now.looking for more moderate climate.
You would want to have a property relativly close to a river, and farmland and oil rig/woods for energy, yet also close to a city. Also a property void of earthquakes, hurricanes extreme temperature swings, tornadoes, floods, riots, avalanches and capitalism. I think you should buy a property in chicago, the great lakers
vhehn, Check out the Franktown Roads area of Tahoe. It's on the Eastern slope of Sierras. Between Carson and Reno. I don't about price around there as I haven't checked on it lately. But whole area is full of family farms and Golf Courses and Washoe Lake which is a great wind surfing lake. And they're expanding. High/Low for the past month is about 55/28.
I suggest you check out the Nashville area (surrounding towns), northwest Arkansas and northern Georgia. All are very nice areas. You may also want to check the income and property taxes for the areas you consider.