Community Chat

[Oznell]

We like a moderate climate, access to cultural events and institutions, amenities and good shoppiing, smaller communities as opposed to giant metropolises.  You can't always get all you want in one package, but...   We wil probably never move, but I enjoy the parlor game of what if?

We like:

Prescott, Arizona--  90 miles north of Phoenix.  Mountains, lovely scenery, historic.  Has four seasons.  For a relatively small area, there's quite a bit to do.  Nice schools in area.

Williamsburg, Virginia area--  Historic, historic, historic!  Beautiful surroundings.  Nice resataurants and cultural activities...

Stockbridge, Massachusetts--  Storybook beauty and charm.  Not stagnant-- has the gentle bustle of a resort area, at least in summer.

Ithaca, New York--  Fun college town.  We love the galleries, the Johnson Gallery we could visit on a weekly basis.  Botanic gardens, restaurants, theater, music.  Waterfalls and gorges...

Asheville, North Carolina--  Beauty all around.  Appealing arty atmosphere.  Mountains, beautiful tucked away neighborhoods.

All that being said, my favorite part of the country is the Midwest, for sheer friendliness and quality of life.  Anybody know of any small or midsize communities there they'd recommend? 

I've always been fascinated by Galena, Illinois and Oberlin, Ohio.

[cherry]

I love where I live.  I don't mind winter.  I am near hospitals ,good Drs. and DDS. Don't forget to enter this into your equation, and good luck

[SahmIam]

We've been researching for the past few years and it's been difficult because so much info is bias; EVERY place looks great on paper. What you want to do is talk to the people who live there, who have moved away from there and then get a print out of the crime report for the past few years. Check out the medical situation for care is crucial as friends in Delaware are starting to regret moving there: Primary Care doctors are few and far between they have found. Why? So many seniors are moving there and have Medicare; doctors, especially new doctors and specialists can't afford to work there. NEVER thought of that until we started hearing about it from friends there.

It's those little things that can add up and make an ideal place not so ideal in a big way. A few of those place on Forbes list I know quite well and I would NEVER move there nor recommend it to someone. I often wonder just how some places get on these lists.

[151949]

6 years ago my DH retired and we came to Florida on vacation in our camper, as we had done many times before. We came to the Sarasota suburbs because we have family here.Looked at houses , thinking we would take our time , we had all winter to look, and weren't planning to committ. Well, we found a place, the price was fabulous, the location perfect, size perfect had everything on our wish list. We ended up buying it, and moving here.I had sorta grown up in Florida and loved it here - DH was tired of gardening and lawn care and shovelling snow. We knew we were ready to make this move. Financially, the bubble had burst in Florida and the cost of a home here was low then.However, homes were maintaining their value in Pittsburgh, so we knew we would do well selling there and buying here. Plus the president's stimulus package was available to get people to buy &  stimulate the economy,and the builder here was offering a lot of incentives to get this development going.It really felt like the stars were perfectly aligned for us to buy this house.

We are so happy we made this move. Since we love camping we do snowbird back to a campground near Pittsburgh and spend the summer in our camper there, so the Florida summer doesn't really affect us. However, every year we seem to stay a little less time in Pa - go up later and come back sooner, so we are slowly transitioning to staying in Fl.full time. 

Something I personally enjoy here is that there are so many people our age here. We enjoy the company of our peers, and have made some dear friends here, as well as some of our long time friends from Pa have visited us , loved this area so much, they moved here. Some of our neighbors have had similar experience - it is nice to bring your friends with you!

[hoosieroriginal]

Oh San Francisco for sure!  But it's too expensive for me.  I would be that weird little woman wearing a headress  and a weird mixture of clothing on the bus and I would blend right in with everyone else.  I love the wonderful blend of people and characters there.  I would live in North Beach and eat pizza every day.

[scatcat]

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@Goldengate8361 wrote:

I love the city I live in right now (Nashville), but if I were moving, my first choice would be Chicago---which I consider to be the greatest city on earth. 

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Wow! Very cool! We live in Chicago and I would like to say thanks for loving it! With all the negative press, your comment sure sounds nice 

[house_cat]

I know I'm fixed here until retirement, which is still several years away, but I've always wanted to live in Seattle. We visited recently and I loved it.  DH says he couldn't handle the frequent rain and gray skies.  I think it would be perfect for me.

[jaxs mom]

Seattle or Portland. I love Seattle, I wanted to move there after the first time I went. So far work wise I haven't been able to move there, but once I get out of where I am, those two cities are where I'm looking first. I've lived in a handful of states and different areas within the same state and they all have their plusses and minuses.  

[kelsey17]

Lifelong resident of NY.............my family moved out west for a couple years...found it really wasn't a great fit for us althought BEAUTIUFL country....we moved back to NY and never regretted it..............but if i had to pick a town i would consider moving to...it would be where we often vacation and that is Saratoga Springs......just a lovely little community......like a country/little city feel........lots of visitors but quiets down in the winter months.....................