Author Topic: Best Places to Live  (Read 12017 times)

katrinajp

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Best Places to Live
« on: May 31, 2017, 11:30:40 AM »
Hi!
I'd love to learn from you guys what cities you live in and why. I want to move somewhere with lots of outdoor possibilities; mountains, parks, trails, bike friendly, etc.
Somewhere low in cost but rich in life experiences and natural beauty. Any suggestions?

bebegirl

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2017, 01:24:08 PM »
Well, Seattle is famous for outdoor activities. Plenty of parks and lakes and mountains. You hike in summer and ski in winter.

The only issue is that cost of living is high (though a lot of jobs) and rain, rain, rain, rain.

This year was especially nasty. Rain since October. Now we recover step by step and are waiting for the beginning of summer on ...July 5th. ))

Vindicated

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2017, 03:00:28 PM »
A good place to start is this thread which lists many places in great detail.  I hope you find your perfect location!

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/mustachian-relocation-guide/

ObviouslyNotAGolfer

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2017, 03:02:09 PM »
I used to love Portland area. I still do, but the prices for everything have skyrocketed in the past decades. I currently live in SoCal (job), and can strongly recommend you to stay the hell away, as this place is horrible in every way, including cost of living.

We are looking to possibly Montana or Idaho, or perhaps a not-too-brutally expensive area of coastal California for FIRE.

OR maybe go back to Canada (lived there for four years as a postdoc) or Ireland!

michaelrecycles

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2017, 09:23:27 PM »
...or perhaps a not-too-brutally expensive area of coastal California for FIRE.

Where is this unicorn? =p

Cerastez

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2017, 12:39:55 PM »
I live in a fairly expensive town, Bellingham Washington.  It is more than worth it because of the fantastic public transportation.  I was able to give up my car and save lots of money, more than enough to make up for the high costs of living. 

In other words look at things that will save you money or make your life better, and way that against the cost of groceries and housing.

nwhiker

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2017, 08:44:01 PM »
I just moved from Portland to Spokane, WA. Lots of outdoor activities, especially if you like lakes. There is slightly less culture here but enough for my liking. Housing costs and commuting times are amazing.

PR Mustachian

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2017, 12:27:22 PM »
Hey Cerastez!  I'm in Point Roberts.  I go down to Bellingham every now and then for Home Depot or for one of the Whatcom County offices (I'm building a house).  I moved up here from San Francisco when I retired last year.  I agree that Bellingham is a VERY cool town.  I wanted to be a little closer to Vancouver and Point Roberts is substantially cheaper than Bellingham, especially with the favorable exchange rate.  I LOVE Bellingham, though! 

tj

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2017, 02:12:54 PM »
...or perhaps a not-too-brutally expensive area of coastal California for FIRE.

Where is this unicorn? =p
that's what I was wondering too. When I FIREd I left coastal OC and moved to Big Bear Lake (have since moved). It was a decent compromise to be close to elderly parents and family and friends, close to ocean but in a place that offered more outdoor activity and quality of life ( at a lower cost) then the hellhole that is the  LA/OC metro area.

I would say Oceanside is the cheapest section of Coastal California. It's still expensive compared to most other states though.

NinaGood

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2017, 02:20:25 AM »
Well, Seattle is famous for outdoor activities. Plenty of parks and lakes and mountains. You hike in summer and ski in winter.

The only issue is that cost of living is high (though a lot of jobs) and rain, rain, rain, rain.

This year was especially nasty. Rain since October. Now we recover step by step and are waiting for the beginning of summer on ...July 5th. ))
Always wanted to visit Seattle ..

Rylito

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2017, 10:04:32 PM »
...or perhaps a not-too-brutally expensive area of coastal California for FIRE.

Where is this unicorn? =p
that's what I was wondering too. When I FIREd I left coastal OC and moved to Big Bear Lake (have since moved). It was a decent compromise to be close to elderly parents and family and friends, close to ocean but in a place that offered more outdoor activity and quality of life ( at a lower cost) then the hellhole that is the  LA/OC metro area.

I would say Oceanside is the cheapest section of Coastal California. It's still expensive compared to most other states though.

Oceano, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Eureka, and Humboldt are also not too bad.

tj

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2017, 10:19:20 PM »
...or perhaps a not-too-brutally expensive area of coastal California for FIRE.

Where is this unicorn? =p
that's what I was wondering too. When I FIREd I left coastal OC and moved to Big Bear Lake (have since moved). It was a decent compromise to be close to elderly parents and family and friends, close to ocean but in a place that offered more outdoor activity and quality of life ( at a lower cost) then the hellhole that is the  LA/OC metro area.

I would say Oceanside is the cheapest section of Coastal California. It's still expensive compared to most other states though.

Oceano, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Eureka, and Humboldt are also not too bad.

I think a lot of those are further out from the major cities though.

soumailaadamou

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2017, 07:13:27 PM »
Hi
I recently came to Ghana to accra. rather nice to live. the cost of life is low.

yuka

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2018, 12:03:14 AM »
Depending on your definitions of 'cheap' and 'outdoor possibilities', I'd echo a recent recommendation on the relocation guide (cited earlier in this thread) that you consider VA or NC mountains, basically going as far South as Asheville and as far North as Harrisonburg, and possibly going a bit East over to Charlottesville. I've been shopping for housing in San Diego these past few weeks; prices in those mountains are so much lower that you almost just feel like you should buy a couple extra houses, just in case. There are some towns with stuff going on and some quieter places. The weather is mild, with gentle winters featuring a few days of snow, and summers where you're spared most of the 95F+ super humid days that plague the coast. Flights tend to be pretty inconvenient, if that's important to you.

asosharp

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2018, 04:00:56 AM »
I'm in Australia so that's hard to beat in a lot of ways. :-p

But for the US - my ex-colleague married an American and lived there for 2 decades before returning home. She said that if I were to go there, Sacramento is one of the places that she would recommend me as it's quite nice, stable economy, and near Lake Tahoe.

She also mentioned a few other places on the west coast as that's where she stayed while she was living in the US. I just can't remember where they were.... I think Santa Monica and Seattle were mentioned as well.

MsGuided

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Re: Best Places to Live
« Reply #15 on: February 09, 2018, 02:11:29 PM »
I live in the Denver area, which has seen a big spike in population growth as well as cost of living.  I'd suggest Grand Junction, CO.  It's beautiful, warm (for Colorado), and real estate is more reasonable.  I've had two friends move out of Denver to Grand Junction in the last year.

 

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