And just over the mountain from Mayberry....
Best place to live?!?!
- Thread starter Skkeel01
- Start date
And just over the mountain from Mayberry....
sunnypruit
New member
I just read through this thread and have enjoyed reading everyones opinion and experiences. I grew up in Mid coast Maine, lived in Raleigh, NC and the Lakes region of NH, currently in Hampton, VA and I hate it. 3-4 hours to the mountains to do any of the hobbies that I have. I am looking to locate somewhere near the mountains and preferably west. I have been to San Diego, CA, Bremerton, WA, Ventura, CA and San Jose, CA out West. California is too expensive for me. I am thinking AZ, NM, CO, WY, ID, UT possibly WA and OR but I don't care for a lot of rain or snow. I did visit WA in the summer and I thought it was pretty awesome, I just don't think I can deal with gloomy weather for 6 months. The biggest issue that I am having is what to do for a job. I currently am a Shipfitter (welder/fabricator) at a shipyard that builds Aircraft carriers and Subs, so that means I need to find a job that my skill set can transfer over to. I also have a Construction background with about 10 years of experience.
Clearly WA comes to mind if you want an apples to apples job transfer. If you're serious you might look into the micro-climates a bit as not all of WA is gloomy all the time. Just moving 20 miles one way or the other can make a significant difference in some areas. But it will still be expensive. Of course salaries are generally adjusted to compensate for cost of living but I have no idea how it would actually compare to your current area. On the plus side California, or at least the bay area, has perhaps the strongest economy in the country currently. (and the most expensive housing market in the country to go with it) We also have ship fitting jobs in the bay area where you could make a direct transfer. For example, having lived in San Jose, you may be familiar with Bay Ship in Alameda.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
A person who moves from CA to NC wasnt a CA native to start with. Just sayn. NC is a cool place but far far too different in both weather and EDU / politics for a native CA to move there. Though I know plenty of strike it rich in CA then move back to NC to be close to family types. They were never CA peeps to start with. LoL
Oregon, Washington ST, Colorado, Idaho on the other hand see lots of California familys relocate.
Oregon, Washington ST, Colorado, Idaho on the other hand see lots of California familys relocate.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Lots of ship work in the Seattle area. Little secret, Anacortes weather is nearly identical to San Francisco weather except they get less fog in Anacortes. Read up on the Olympic Mt range rain shadow. ;-) little PNW inside info.
Portland area would be the only Or area with some level of ship fitters work, and probably not much. A good friend runs a ship yard in San Diego, just south of the Coronado Bridge. Rare occassions hes in SF checking on a small project.
Flagstaff is a good place to live (decent weather, close to major attractions, nice scenery, etc) IF you:
A. Don't have to make a living here, OR:
B. Can find a high-paying job with the Govmint/University/Gore Corporation.
Luckily, I've never had to have a job here, so I've done OK. Compared to a lot of places, it's expensive to live here (high housing costs), and it's a tourist economy in a minimum-wage, right-to-work state.
Over the past two decades, many people have relocated to the Flagstaff area; Current population is around 70,000 (including students).
A. Don't have to make a living here, OR:
B. Can find a high-paying job with the Govmint/University/Gore Corporation.
Luckily, I've never had to have a job here, so I've done OK. Compared to a lot of places, it's expensive to live here (high housing costs), and it's a tourist economy in a minimum-wage, right-to-work state.
Over the past two decades, many people have relocated to the Flagstaff area; Current population is around 70,000 (including students).
Tembo
topless adventures
I grew up in Canada, lived all over the country. Spent five years in Germany in the Black Forest while serving in the military. After that lived five years in Zimbabwe. Then two in Tanzania, a year and a half in Sierra Leone and then a year in South Africa. Having seen Africa, went and lived in New Zealand for two years. After a short stint back in Canada in Calgary I moved to England and have been there five years. Out of all that, my favorite was New Zealand and if it wasn't stuck at the *ss end of the planet probably would have stayed. But my heart was really won by Zimbabwe (old Rhodesia). Loved it there until Mugabe and cronies ruined it. Hoping that when he and the rest finally die that it will come back and that is where you will find me. Mana Pools, Matusadona, Hwange and Vic Falls banging around in Tembo.
cabarnett92
New member
I was born and raised in Lexington, KY. Spent most of my summers (as well as a full year, after leaving Kentucky) in Mississippi. After that, I moved west, and have been based in Phoenix for the past 5 years. I've traveled all over the west, as well as nearly every state in between. Politically, I swing left on social issues, and right on fiscal ones. Here's my thoughts --
Arizona is a beautiful state, surrounded by beautiful scenery. The education system is sorely lacking, and the massive amounts of people moving in (yes, I understand the irony that I'm also a transplant) is causing traffic to get worse. If you have kids, I would not suggest AZ for education alone, unless home school or private school is an option. I currently live in Phoenix, but would love to move to Prescott if I could land a job there. The climate is more mild than Phoenix, and it's easier to access all the areas of Northern AZ. It's one of the few cities in AZ that really has a cultural "feel" to it. The downtown area reminds me of a lot of cities back east, with a center square with the courthouse. You're close to Red Rock country and the mountains, and can be in a lake or a river pretty quickly.
I spent a year in Flagstaff, still one of my favorite towns in Arizona, but the job market there SUCKS. Retirees and students (who's parents pay their bills) have driven up the cost of housing to where it doesn't correlate with the average wages. All of the jobs are in tourism or service industry, and they're all filled by students earning minimum wage for some beer money (why do you need to make more when your parents pay your rent?).
As others have mentioned -- Colorado is full. All the dirt back roads are full of vacation houses and Californian Transplants. Denver is overrun. There's still some neat stuff in Western Colorado, but the job market is slim and the housing costs are expensive. Northern New Mexico is nice, but similar issues with the job market. The city that surprised me the most, however, was Salt Lake City. I've heard it's hard to live there if you're not Mormon, but in my limited exposure I had nothing but good interactions with the locals. The town is absolutely beautiful, with great weather year round. Traffic isn't too bad. Drivers are assertive and quick, but still manage to be polite (put a blinker on and they'll back off and let you in -- but they're also not afraid to do 90mph, or floor it on a short on-ramp). The lake is MASSIVE, and you've got easy access to the mountains or the desert. Plenty of national parks in every direction, and just about any type of scenery you could want. If you want to escape people and civilization, northern Nevada is only a few hours away. The other direction puts you into Moab, or the San Juan Mountains pretty easily. Yellowstone, Western Montana, and Idaho are all pretty accessible for weekend adventures as well. My friends live in Provo -- it's big enough to have everything you need, small enough to have some breathing room, close enough to SLC to grab dinner or hit the mall, but far enough away to avoid the traffic and congestion. Provo Canyon gives you access to some of the best skiing in the US, and is an incredibly scenic drive.
Off of the Colorado Plateau, I'd probably end up in the Pacific Northwest. More wet / green, and more expensive, but I'd find myself near either Portland or Seattle. Strong economies, good jobs, high wages. Cost of living is higher, but you have access to mountains, inland high-desert, coast, canyons, and more.
California is fun to visit, but I could never live with that traffic or the absurd housing costs.
Arizona is a beautiful state, surrounded by beautiful scenery. The education system is sorely lacking, and the massive amounts of people moving in (yes, I understand the irony that I'm also a transplant) is causing traffic to get worse. If you have kids, I would not suggest AZ for education alone, unless home school or private school is an option. I currently live in Phoenix, but would love to move to Prescott if I could land a job there. The climate is more mild than Phoenix, and it's easier to access all the areas of Northern AZ. It's one of the few cities in AZ that really has a cultural "feel" to it. The downtown area reminds me of a lot of cities back east, with a center square with the courthouse. You're close to Red Rock country and the mountains, and can be in a lake or a river pretty quickly.
I spent a year in Flagstaff, still one of my favorite towns in Arizona, but the job market there SUCKS. Retirees and students (who's parents pay their bills) have driven up the cost of housing to where it doesn't correlate with the average wages. All of the jobs are in tourism or service industry, and they're all filled by students earning minimum wage for some beer money (why do you need to make more when your parents pay your rent?).
As others have mentioned -- Colorado is full. All the dirt back roads are full of vacation houses and Californian Transplants. Denver is overrun. There's still some neat stuff in Western Colorado, but the job market is slim and the housing costs are expensive. Northern New Mexico is nice, but similar issues with the job market. The city that surprised me the most, however, was Salt Lake City. I've heard it's hard to live there if you're not Mormon, but in my limited exposure I had nothing but good interactions with the locals. The town is absolutely beautiful, with great weather year round. Traffic isn't too bad. Drivers are assertive and quick, but still manage to be polite (put a blinker on and they'll back off and let you in -- but they're also not afraid to do 90mph, or floor it on a short on-ramp). The lake is MASSIVE, and you've got easy access to the mountains or the desert. Plenty of national parks in every direction, and just about any type of scenery you could want. If you want to escape people and civilization, northern Nevada is only a few hours away. The other direction puts you into Moab, or the San Juan Mountains pretty easily. Yellowstone, Western Montana, and Idaho are all pretty accessible for weekend adventures as well. My friends live in Provo -- it's big enough to have everything you need, small enough to have some breathing room, close enough to SLC to grab dinner or hit the mall, but far enough away to avoid the traffic and congestion. Provo Canyon gives you access to some of the best skiing in the US, and is an incredibly scenic drive.
Off of the Colorado Plateau, I'd probably end up in the Pacific Northwest. More wet / green, and more expensive, but I'd find myself near either Portland or Seattle. Strong economies, good jobs, high wages. Cost of living is higher, but you have access to mountains, inland high-desert, coast, canyons, and more.
California is fun to visit, but I could never live with that traffic or the absurd housing costs.
I've thought Salt Lake could be a good option if I were looking for a new place to live. The wife could work there (all she needs is an airport near by) but it would be a little hard for me to move my yacht service business inland...
As for the CA traffic, you learn to deal with it. It's not quite so bad if you get away from the major population centers of course, just as housing prices come down from Absolutely Stupid to merely crazy.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Whoever said Anacortes, I love that place. Definitely a candidate moving from SF bay to somewhere more quiet by California standards... How is rust up there?
ocpd8518
New member
I'm gonna go with, The Jeep. I'm currently staying and working in Atlanta. Using my brothers address in south Florida. But not really living any one place. When I get done paying off bills I will be hopefully doing a full Overlanding trip from Alaska thru to Baja Mexico. Spending an undetermined amount of time not in one place.
I grew up in the D.C. Metro area and the Maryland libtards have managed to close almost everything. Greenridge state forest just has a few camping spots left and I'm sure that'll be gone in 10 years. Paragon AP in P.a. was fun till the locals chased the people out of there. Haven't been to Rausch creek yet. West by God Virginia has Hatfield McCoy trails and some other great private trail parks. So if we wanted to wheel or explore the mid Atlanta area is not the place to do it.
So far here in Atlanta I've spent the night stuck in Beasley knob, so was glad I found some place to go. So still my answer is in my Jeep.
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I grew up in the D.C. Metro area and the Maryland libtards have managed to close almost everything. Greenridge state forest just has a few camping spots left and I'm sure that'll be gone in 10 years. Paragon AP in P.a. was fun till the locals chased the people out of there. Haven't been to Rausch creek yet. West by God Virginia has Hatfield McCoy trails and some other great private trail parks. So if we wanted to wheel or explore the mid Atlanta area is not the place to do it.
So far here in Atlanta I've spent the night stuck in Beasley knob, so was glad I found some place to go. So still my answer is in my Jeep.
Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk