I LOVED living in Asheville, some years ago, but it's losing what I loved about it while getting more and more expensive. However, if I had 500k to drop on a house and was retired (or not needing to work mostly full time) I would probably move there. Neither of those being true I'd rather look for a better combo of jobs/housing.
No love for Huntsville, AL? You can probably google and find the litany of awards Huntsville has won over the last 5-10 years. Metro area is about 420k, highly educated (STEM) workforce. Arts scene has exploded over the last 10 years here. Home to Lowe Mill, the largest privately owned arts center in the country. Something like 300 artists in residence there (it's an old textile mill that they've converted to studios), they host a free outdoor concert series that draws 500-1k every week and has hosted future big name artists like St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Huntsville has a litany of farmer's markets (I think the one downtown has been on several lists of best in the nation). If you're a craft beer person, we've also been called the craft beer capital of the south (I'm assuming they're putting Asheville in the mid-Atlantic, b/c I think they're still a better beer destination than Huntsville, but it's getting closer). I think we currently have 11 or 12 breweries here. The city is not the most walkable, but some areas are. There are tradeoffs. For $250k in a super walkable area (just next to downtown, easily walkable to brewpubs, restaurants, shopping, main attractions downtown, etc), you can get a house like this: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Huntsville-AL/92155754_zpid/12014_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/34.748612,-86.550658,34.718916,-86.596792_rect/14_zm/If you want to be centrally located but don't mind driving short distances (or are fine biking), you can get something more like :https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Huntsville-AL/92114265_zpid/12014_rid/0-265000_price/0-966_mp/globalrelevanceex_sort/34.728828,-86.547182,34.699125,-86.593316_rect/14_zm/ORhttps://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Huntsville-AL/92173220_zpid/12014_rid/0-265000_price/0-966_mp/globalrelevanceex_sort/34.726923,-86.546452,34.69722,-86.592586_rect/14_zm/And then of course, if you like newere construction and don't mind living a 10-15 minute drive from downtown, you can get stuff more like this: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/109520280_zpid/0-265000_price/0-966_mp/2000-_built/globalrelevanceex_sort/34.686087,-86.473303,34.56715,-86.657839_rect/12_zm/But yeah, maybe I need to shut up about Huntsville so I can keep it a secret. Although now that I own a primary residence and a rental here I"m happy to have people move in and continue to drive prices up:-) Other great things about Huntsville-Food truck scene is exploding-Great art museum for a mid-sized city-Decent greenway system and improving bikability-Very little traffic -4 distinct seasons (a hot, but not overly long summer, a pleasant fall, a short, but cold winter (average lows in the 20s, highs in the 40s, generally some snow every year, and typically an awesome spring)-Hiking, trails, topography. IN the foothills of the Appalachians, have a state park almost adjacent to downtown that sits on top of a mountain w/good hikingSo yeah, I'm a big advocate of Huntsville. MOved here about 8 years ago and have no plans to leave.
Quote from: VAR on September 05, 2017, 07:16:46 AMI LOVED living in Asheville, some years ago, but it's losing what I loved about it while getting more and more expensive. However, if I had 500k to drop on a house and was retired (or not needing to work mostly full time) I would probably move there. Neither of those being true I'd rather look for a better combo of jobs/housing.Why would you drop $500K on a home somewhere that is losing what you loved about it in the first place? If it's on that trajectory, it seems like it will only get worse. I realize you said you didn't have the $500K to drop on a house, but I was still curious about those comments, although if the increasing housing costs was what you didn't like about it, that would make more sense why you would move there if you had the extra cash to compensate for those increased costs.
Quote from: GenXbiker on September 05, 2017, 07:54:04 AMQuote from: VAR on September 05, 2017, 07:16:46 AMI LOVED living in Asheville, some years ago, but it's losing what I loved about it while getting more and more expensive. However, if I had 500k to drop on a house and was retired (or not needing to work mostly full time) I would probably move there. Neither of those being true I'd rather look for a better combo of jobs/housing.Why would you drop $500K on a home somewhere that is losing what you loved about it in the first place? If it's on that trajectory, it seems like it will only get worse. I realize you said you didn't have the $500K to drop on a house, but I was still curious about those comments, although if the increasing housing costs was what you didn't like about it, that would make more sense why you would move there if you had the extra cash to compensate for those increased costs.I know for me (not Asheville, but in general) - as population increases in the country and people are more mobile - they look for "the place". So, where I live, population has gone up, so increasing costs and increasing traffic and more people. It's just not the same as it was 20 years ago.But, population is increasing in all towns around here, so I'm not sure somewhere else would be better.
AVL is pretty near to family and has a lot of nature stuff I love no matter what craziness the people do & how downtown changes . And I know so many people there (the longest I've lived anyway as an adult is in AVL). Those are pros. The mts will be there, the hiking, etc. When I first moved there I seriously considered buying a sweet lil cottage near a beau. area for 45k$. Now a decent house far outstrips the sort of pay and job market available, so yeah part is just $$. But it is also the changes. There's massive sprawl now, traffic, ugh the strip malls and widening the hwy will just bring in more sprawl and traffic. I might have moved back to TN border near NC for cheaper COL but access to all the AVL positives but the license for my profession is stupidly high so that's put me off. I do not want to be locked into 650+$ a year for the rest of my career, especially when my plan is to go increasingly part time (then the percentage of professional all fees to income just gets worse).
Quote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.
Quote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.
Quote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.
Every time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.
Quote from: Monkey Uncle on September 01, 2017, 05:13:47 PMQuote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.
Huntsville isn't particularly walkable, and it's not very bike friendly either. You can make it work, and I do, but it's not particularly pleasant. It is very good for being LCOL, though. We bought a 1300 sq ft house across the street as a rental for $74k, and our neighborhood is very central.
I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.
Columbus, OHI'm moving there myself in a few years. It's a bit far from the ocean, but it's close to the Great Lakes which are big enough to seem like a very calm ocean. There's a ton of hiking in OH and neighboring states. You can get a nice house in a nice neighborhood for your budget.
Quote from: Dmoceri91 on August 31, 2017, 05:48:09 AMMy wife and I live in St. Augustine, Florida. Lots of history and culture here and fairly low COL as long as you avoid the beach side. http://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/My husband's company has been opening up new locations in the Florida area and we have a real possibility of moving to the area in 1 1/2 to 2 years. St. Augustine, St. Johns, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg & Ponte Vedra are all on our list of possibly places to move when our youngest graduates from High School. We really want to move into a LCOL area and re-evaluate (clean slate) our finances at that time. Right now we are just holding on, stuck where we are at until our youngest is off to college and we can move out of this school district. We live in Georgia, but in a very fancy pants area, which used to be LCOL, but has rapidly become more and more HCOL. Our property taxes have almost doubled in 10 years. Anyway, my question for you is about property taxes, insurance and CDD fees for the Florida area. They all seem to be extremely high. I know there is no state income taxes, which helps, but it seems like you lose all that savings in property taxes & CDD fees. Do you think some areas of Florida are better tax wise than other areas? I know some places have the CDD fees paid off or down, but some areas like Nocatee in Ponte Vedra have brand new bonds to pay. The monthly fees are very high. What is your recommendation on places to live that are LCOL?
My wife and I live in St. Augustine, Florida. Lots of history and culture here and fairly low COL as long as you avoid the beach side. http://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/
Quote from: pdxmonkey on September 05, 2017, 09:08:01 PMQuote from: Monkey Uncle on September 01, 2017, 05:13:47 PMQuote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.Just a guess based on your username and comment about hipsters, but maybe the coded meaning you've uncovered is a local thing. Perhaps it doesn't apply more broadly.
Quote from: pdxmonkey on September 05, 2017, 09:08:01 PMQuote from: Monkey Uncle on September 01, 2017, 05:13:47 PMQuote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.I share your disdain for hipsters, but my experience with rednecks does not match yours. And having grown up in NC and lived in WV for a while, I've got plenty of experience.
Quote from: Monkey Uncle on September 06, 2017, 04:32:29 AMQuote from: pdxmonkey on September 05, 2017, 09:08:01 PMQuote from: Monkey Uncle on September 01, 2017, 05:13:47 PMQuote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.I share your disdain for hipsters, but my experience with rednecks does not match yours. And having grown up in NC and lived in WV for a while, I've got plenty of experience.Western rednecks may very well be different from southern rednecks.
Quote from: Undecided on September 05, 2017, 09:34:16 PMQuote from: pdxmonkey on September 05, 2017, 09:08:01 PMQuote from: Monkey Uncle on September 01, 2017, 05:13:47 PMQuote from: Cranky on September 01, 2017, 01:02:49 PMQuote from: dcheesi on August 31, 2017, 03:33:04 PMQuote from: Cranky on August 31, 2017, 05:20:06 AMEvery time this question comes up, I ask... how much culture do you anticipate consuming? Do you currently go to a museum every day? Every week?I live in a low COL area, and my personal COL is certainly low, which is not really famous for its high CPC, I guess... and yet, we go out to something interesting pretty much every week - an art show, a concert, a speaker on something that interests us. We're involved in our community, so we are pretty tuned in to what's going on.There's pretty much as much outdoors here as anywhere else. We walk in the park every week, but there are groups for more serious hikers than we'll ever be. If you want mountains, you do have to drive a bit, and the ocean, alas, is not very conveniently located - but there are plenty of lakes.Anyway, I've lived a bunch of different places, and concluded that outside of the weather, I would do pretty much the same stuff wherever I am.So I'd say - pick a house you can afford in a community that seems pleasant and safe, and settle in. You'll find plenty to do.I think for a lot of us, "culture" is a stand-in for other things that aren't as easy to quantify. Sure, you can find pockets of things and people/mindsets that you're looking for in almost any decent-sized city. But if the prevailing culture is both monolithic and not to your liking, it's like a stiff headwind in your face, making finding those things more difficult, and your choices fewer when you do find them. "Culture" promises enough intellectual diversity and open-mindedness that you're likely to find what you're looking for more easily and more often.Of course if you happen find a town where the prevailing culture matches your own attitudes & interests, then that's great. But that doesn't always work for a lot of people.Oh, I think "culture" is a code word all right, but I think the secret meaning is "not a lot of poor people in my neighborhood". Which, frankly, is why those High Culture areas aren't going to be cheap.I define "diversity and open mindedness" as actually being able to interact and get along with people who are actually different from myself.In the most common usage, I find it is more a code word for "not dominated by narrow-minded rednecks," which is not the same thing as "not a lot of poor people." But I don't think the OP was using it for either of those. He/she seemed to be looking for cultural activities, which isn't code at all.I find it to be code for "dominated by narrow-minded hipsters" who are unsufferable and much worse than narrow-minded rednecks in my opinion as hipsters generally have the benefit of an education and are choosing to be narrow minded rather than just uneducated like the rednecks...who if you talk to them although ignorant tend to be fairly open minded in my experience.Just a guess based on your username and comment about hipsters, but maybe the coded meaning you've uncovered is a local thing. Perhaps it doesn't apply more broadly.I suspect all codes are local or they wouldn't be codes.
Quote from: Sockigal on August 31, 2017, 12:11:56 PMQuote from: Dmoceri91 on August 31, 2017, 05:48:09 AMMy wife and I live in St. Augustine, Florida. Lots of history and culture here and fairly low COL as long as you avoid the beach side. http://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/My husband's company has been opening up new locations in the Florida area and we have a real possibility of moving to the area in 1 1/2 to 2 years. St. Augustine, St. Johns, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg & Ponte Vedra are all on our list of possibly places to move when our youngest graduates from High School. We really want to move into a LCOL area and re-evaluate (clean slate) our finances at that time. Right now we are just holding on, stuck where we are at until our youngest is off to college and we can move out of this school district. We live in Georgia, but in a very fancy pants area, which used to be LCOL, but has rapidly become more and more HCOL. Our property taxes have almost doubled in 10 years. Anyway, my question for you is about property taxes, insurance and CDD fees for the Florida area. They all seem to be extremely high. I know there is no state income taxes, which helps, but it seems like you lose all that savings in property taxes & CDD fees. Do you think some areas of Florida are better tax wise than other areas? I know some places have the CDD fees paid off or down, but some areas like Nocatee in Ponte Vedra have brand new bonds to pay. The monthly fees are very high. What is your recommendation on places to live that are LCOL?I come from Long Island so to me taxes are more than reasonable, but I am not sure what you think of as high. HOA and CDD is almost always dependent on the community or sub division. Our division has no CDD fee and a fairly reasonable HOA fee for what we get. we are further south than Nocatee and Ponte Vedra.
Richmond VA hits all of your requirements if you're selective about neighborhoods. Plenty of college towns could also work.
In less than a year, I'm FIREing to Roanoke VA.Several colleges in town and nearbySymphonyCivic Center that gets big actsSeveral MuseumsGreat downtown restaurants and clubsDeschutes Brewery is opening their east coast hub hereGreat hiking and mountain viewsGreen-way to bike around/through the citykayaking down the Roanoke river through townTubing on the New RiverMild climateSmith Mountain Lake 45 minutes awayVirginia Tech 45 minutes awayVirginia Beach 4 hours awayDC 4 hours awayIt's going to suck...
