Reviving the thread.... Has anyone tried out AZ or New Mexico? Need to get out of the midwest winter...
Reviving the thread.... Has anyone tried out AZ or New Mexico? Need to get out of the midwest winter...
Both are unbeatable if you are the outdoors type. There's a thousand different terrains and landscapes within a few hundred miles of any direction you care to drive. And home prices have not bubbled as much as the coastal cities... I wouldn't live anywhere (in the US) except the desert southwest...
Have to agree but, as you touched on, Hawai'i is not the type of place a mainlander should just pick up and move too - the culture shock is very real. We call it rock fever but, having lived in several contries and read up, I can tell you most certainly Hawai'i rock fever is essentially just culture shock. What makes it 2x worse is that mainlanders arrive expecting to find essentially just another state of the union. Most never realize they need to take subtle adaptions - like soften some syllables and learn to walk slower flip-flop style ... You didn't ask for all that ... nevermind. You jus' got me homesick for da 'kin brah!
Texas - tornados, floods, massive hail storms, and if your are down South going towards the coast - hurricanes. But, overall it is a great place to live. Cities are just like any other as far as good/bad places - they each have them, so make sure you are not living in the third ward in houston...
i just spent a few days in lake tahoe. that place has to be heaven on earth. interesting tidbit. they have a lot of trader types there. seems to be a haven for market players.
Montana. Colorado. beauty's .... boulder is awesome...but im a city slicker at heart, im afraid in the end it wouldnt be for me....
It's interesting that back in the '80's there was a lot of interest in finding places to retire that would be safe in the event of insurrection, widespread rioting or civil war. Survivalist books, both financial and lifestyle, were popular. I wonder if we might start to see a bit more of that resurfacing. Certainly the financial markets have taken on a distinctly '70's feel to them. Personally, I really hope that doesn't contiue because the '70's were a terrible decade in just about every way conceivable. There are a lot of nice places to live, but unfortunately most of them are incompatible with earning big bucks, unless you can do it trading. One factor that people are overlooking here is access to a major airport. It really sucks to have to drive hours to get to an airport or take several connecting flights to get anywhere.
I live in Incline Village....no state taxes.....prettiest place on earth.....year round outdoor playground (snow skiing, water skiing, fishing, golfing, hiking, mtn biking, etc)....300 days of sunshine a year.....great restaurants.....live music/entertainment every night. Even a poker room at the Hyatt. And close to Reno and Carson City (about 1/2 hour each) and not too far from the Bay Area. There's a reason it is a haven for money managers. If you could choose to live anywhere, you may as well choose somewhere that can take your breath away everyday. Plus, I think that the mountains can help a trader put everything into perspective. It helps to dwarf the small day to day issues. You got to pay to play here, though. It ain't cheap. ------------------------ I lived in SF when I graduated from college and loved it. I think that it's a great city for a short while when you are young. Very liberal, though, and a bit foggy at times. Living north of the city up in Marin or Sonoma county is a pretty nice option. Again, Expensive. I can't believe that there are people that are hyping Houston. I lived there once upon a time and can say without a doubt that it is one of the armpits of the world. The city itself is ok, but why so many people have chosen to congregate in an ugly flatland with 100 degree weather and 100% humidity is just baffling to me. There are some pretty women and lots of money floating around, but that's about it. Entertainment consists of going to a local strip club, which is widely accepted, but gets extremely old after a while. Austin is the only city in TX even close to considering, in my not so humble opinion. I've also lived in Denver for a short while and don't have great things to say about it (I'll be the first). When I was there in the mid 90's, it felt like it was stuck in the 80's. I lived in the Cherry Creek area, which was pretty nice, but just dull. They do love their sports teams, though! If you are into college towns, Boulder is pretty cool, but Aspen is about the only place I would live in CO. I lived in Santa Monica for seven years, prior to moving to Lake Tahoe. Maybe the best weather on the planet, if you aren't really into seasons and just want 65 - 85 degree weather year round. Great fun place, but unfortunately it is surrounded by the rest of Los Angeles. Traffic blows and so does air quality (although the beach cities are much better than the rest of the area). Also, it's hard to find a more expensive city to live in, bar NYC and SF. I've spent a lot of time out in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and came very close to buying a place and moving there. I decided that I could get over the summer heat, after much agonizing, but ultimately it came down to a lack of culture for me. The golf is fantastic, but when somebody cops an attitude because they own a $500k home, I can't deal with it. There are some really nice areas up in North Scottsdale and Carefree areas, but snooty people that have no right to be snooty....that bothers me to no end. Also bothersome to me was that about the only places to eat are chain restaurants, and most people there think that straying away from a chain could be dangerous....ARGHHHH! Somebody mentioned Santa Barbara earlier. Other than CA taxes, this is maybe one of the finest places to live and raise a family. Beautiful and filled with culture. I've spent many a weekend there and in the Santa Ynez wine country and even went to summer school at UCSB one year. Fantastic place for quality of life. Unfortunately, the wine country just got pumped by the movie "Sideways" and is now overrun with a bunch of trend followers (not traders). Again, very expensive. Funny how the pretty places with culture and entertainment are always more expensive, isn't it? It usually follows that schools are better in those areas, as well..... Cheers!
Best place to live is not New York! I can't stand it anymore and I have to vent. What a better way than to vent in this forum. I am tired of the crowded trains. Smelly pissy platforms. Wierd crazy people walking around the stations that look like they want to kill somebody. Annoying cellphone users who think they are talking to someone on the other side of the continent! No I don't want to here your whole life story! Plus size americans who thing that two plus size people can sit together comfortable in a seat on the train. (I am plus size 18) High rents even in the worst neighborhoods. Bonuses? Thing of the past.