Southerners - Help a bruh find a warmer place to live

[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by 45K10

Dude, take some extra Vitamin D and stay put. I grew up in Tennessee, lived in NC for a number of years and Tallahassee for awhile as well. I also lived in the PNW for a few years before moving to the Boston area.

The PNW is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than anywhere down South.

i can always come back, when im tired of being warm, fit, tan, and happy.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by dancinkozmo

Bentonville AR

People probably thought this was a joke, but...

As I like to tell people, the area around Bentonville is the summer playground for that whole corner of the Midwest, so there are really nice lakes (some WPA-created), golf courses, MTB trails and such. And it is emphatically NOT the South--it is (to all intents and purposes) the mid-west. Also, the University in Fayatteville (and a performing arts center that is on the circuit in town) is close by, and there are two good sized cities within an easy drive (Tulsa or Kansas City), and more local amenities than you would expect because of the Wal-Mart effect.

Good small airport with daily direct flights to Newark/NY, Dallas and Chicago.

Moderate weather (although you do get Gulf humidity in the summer), and just below the typical path for Tornado Alley.

That said, my lovely wife decided that she would not retire there, even though we renovated the house that we were supposed to retire in while we were there.

Like a lot of small US cities it is not cosmopolitan--and its more progressive politics gets obliterated in state-wide elections by Tidewater Arkansas--which is the South... If we had moved back we had the beginnings of a nice network of friends to hang with, and I think it would have worked. Financially it would have been so much better than the tax hell-hole that New York is.

[Dead Man]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Maybe not.


-2 feet of snow yesterday..temp about 10 degrees F right now
-not much sailing, particularly now..ice sailing?
-EXPENSIVE-median house >$1MILLION
-west of Texas..yo

I think something in Georgia, NC, SC, VA.....maybe Florida(altho the riding there, P-Cola and Tampa was downright scary).

Virginia Beach was nice..I was there as recently as 34 years ago...

yea.. denver aint happening, though i think theres a lot about ol 'Rado id really like.. "great place to visit, wouldnt want to live there."

[AngryScientist]

don't you have like 46 kids? is proximity to them not a concern?

[grateful]

Grew up in Seattle, didn't leave until my 30's. Explored a bit. In 2008 I was living in Coeur d'Alene and received 12 feet of snow and that was it for my wife.

We moved to the outskirts of Austin (Round Rock) in April, 2009. At that time the commute to downtown was 45 minutes to an hour. When I arrived it Round Rock was basically an outlet malls and developing "communities). You will know what I mean by "communities" if you move down here. Not what I considered communities up in the NW.

Round Rock is now a fully developed 'burb of Austin. Very little if any vacant land, if any. It takes at least 20 minutes to get to the freeway to head to Austin. Luckily I no longer make that trip but I would guess the time has doubled.

I recently got tired of traffic just going to the store and I was able to sell my lovely community house and get relocate to Lago Vista.

Lago Vista is a small town a from commute from Austin. If you consider the 'burbs (Cedar Park in this case) you are 20 minutes from Big Box stores and all the fast food you could desire.

The riding here is awesome. It is Hill Country and there are backroads (both paved and gravel) galore. Many are brand new pavement with little to no traffic as the area prepares for the onslaught of Austin. I was not the very first to move here and I certainly won't be the last.

If you are curious I just closed on the lot behind my home and we picked it up for less than $20,000.

Lago Vista sits on Lake Travis. It reminds me of the Northwest without the clouds and the cold.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[zap]

Originally Posted by EricChanning

Washington DC. It's officially a southern town. I'm thinking you might really like Takoma Park, MD in particular.

I lived in metro D.C. for 32 years, 17 of those years in Potomac. Never considered D.C. a southern town. Takoma Park is an interesting place but never thought of living there from a cycling standpoint. Plus it takes too long to get on the beltway.

Finally, D.C. area motorists.......not very nice towards cyclists.

[zap]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

I guess that’s why there are Canadian snowbird communities all over the Southern USA.

Driving down I95 from D.C. earlier in the month, every RV we saw had Quebec plates. I grew up in Montreal and we spent Christmas breaks in Florida.

[mjb266]

As I read, and re-read the OP, why not Wenatchee?

[paredown]

Originally Posted by mjb266

As I read, and re-read the OP, why not Wenatchee?

That has been our short list for a while, as well as Spokane. Lee side of the Coastal Range, so much less precipitation--but they do get real winter...

[grateful]

And 300 days of sunshine!

[Ken Robb]

Dave Thompson can tell you all about Spokane from a cyclist's perspective.

[EricChanning]

Originally Posted by zap

I lived in metro D.C. for 32 years, 17 of those years in Potomac. Never considered D.C. a southern town. Takoma Park is an interesting place but never thought of living there from a cycling standpoint. Plus it takes too long to get on the beltway.

Finally, D.C. area motorists.......not very nice towards cyclists.

Some of our best routes are in Potomac! Can't tell you how many miles I've racked up riding roads there. Most my experiences on the roads there have been fine.

I don't know how I would rate DC driver hostility compared to what exists in other cities of similar size. Is there a survey out there somewhere?

[paredown]

Originally Posted by EricChanning

Some of our best routes are in Potomac! Can't tell you how many miles I've racked up riding roads there. Most my experiences on the roads there have been fine.

I don't know how I would rate DC driver hostility compared to what exists in other cities of similar size. Is there a survey out there somewhere?

I have to say--I absolutely detest the DC area weather in the summer, hate the drivers and actually actively dislike a lot of the people in that area. I did ten years there when I was first married, and I will be happy if I never go back...

[zap]

Originally Posted by EricChanning

Some of our best routes are in Potomac! Can't tell you how many miles I've racked up riding roads there. Most my experiences on the roads there have been fine.

I don't know how I would rate DC driver hostility compared to what exists in other cities of similar size. Is there a survey out there somewhere?

That's one reason why we moved to Potomac. Country roads one light away. Driver anger worsened with each passing year.

The experience are my own. I've ridden and raced in Toronto, Montreal (metro area's) and many eastern US states now including the Raleigh area. Some in Europe too.

Oh, I love the summer weather in DC . NC is not much different.

[Rpoole8537]

Originally Posted by MrCannonCam

Saw a few people post Asheville...I lived in Asheville and loved it but the job market sucks (which is irrelevant in your case as you posted). It rains a ton in the spring and with the elevation you still get all kinds of weather. Great all around riding (as long as you like to go up) and a really fun city to live in though. Good nightlife, progressive thinkers, reasonable cost of living overall. Extremely scenic and outdoors oriented. Not much water anywhere remotely close for sailing though. It’s becoming a huge tourist town, I didn’t mind it but you really have to mindful of when you plan to ride in the warmer months because the tourists don’t know how to drive on the tight, winding mountain roads...

I’d really recommend Greenville SC (about an hour south of Asheville). Smaller than some of the other cities but still a decent sized metro area (bigger than Asheville). You are at the foothills but still below most of the winter weather (you can be in Highlands or Brevard in the 'real' mountains in 45 min-hr). You have hills/flats anything you want to ride and good road conditions. The cycling community there is great, more full time dwellers and less touristy than Asheville. A bigger road community in Greenville than MTB (Asheville is a mixed bag, more of an mtb destination but good road scene as well). Lots of awareness for cyclists. Downtown is really nice, lots to do, big arts scene, good food. You can live downtown very reasonably and get around by bike. By far the most progressive city in SC politically and socially. Lake Keowee and Lake Hartwell are an easy drive and the ocean is only 3-4 hours as well. Easy access to Atlanta, Charlotte, Charleston as well for what it’s worth.

If I moved back down south I’d pick Greenville...

+1 on Greenville, South Carolina. I used to live there, now I live 30 miles north in a small town with three red lights which is 2 miles from another small town with three red lights. Greenviile can have it’s conservative politicians, but it has changed a great deal over the last 25 years as for international businesses have moved in. About 10 miles north of Greenville is the Travelers rest area. You are close to Furman University, and a bike path that will take you into Greenville. You’re also close to many rural roads that will take you through the hills and into the mountains. As stated earlier, Lake Keowee is just over an hour away and it is beautiful.