My mom and dad spent a month in Phoenix to see if it was somewhere they'd want to winter. Keep in mind he had lived his entire life in MN. I called him one day to see how things were going. His response, "I'm so f'ing sick of rocks sand and old people!"

Im in CT and nobody wants to be here currently. The taxes are out of control. Its nice and safe, but definitely long winters.

I would normally plug my State as I love Vermont to death, but you mentioned not liking cold weather. My in-laws moved from Northern Vermont to Delaware and absolutely love it. They are a block away from the beach and spent under 200k for their home, taxes are almost nonexistent, cost of living is dirt cheap as its a major hub for imported goods, and they claim to have only had a few days below 40 last winter. It's not my cup of tea as I'm a die hard snowboarder, skier, mountain biker, and hiker but if I didn't like those things I'd move there.

Ive lived all over CA.

The best places to live (if you can afford it). >Santa Barbara, CA and San Diego, CA.

But like others have mentioned before we in CA are literally taxed to death. Highest state income tax. High property tax. Yes prop 13 limits it to 1% but add on school fees and it can go up to 1.25% or more. In Clovis we are at 1.19% property tax. And our great new governor Gavin Newscum is considering raising prop taxes on all properties over $2m. And he making it very unfriendly for businesses to operate from here. Like the new bill they just passed making most 1099 workers w2. There goes my daily morning newspaper!

On and Governor Newscum thinks Clovis, CA is too white and is going to do something about it. Lol

And get a job at the SAS Institute if you are a software person. one of the best rated companies as far as places to work.

You should pick them up some of those “Delaware, motherfucker” t-shirts. My cousin’s wife is from DE and they have a funny inferiority complex about their state, but it seems like a pretty pleasant place to live (at least the ocean-side parts).

if you want to get shot move to st. louis. lots of thugs everywhere.

Pretty challenging to find a place that has great weather all year around .... here are my thoughts on the Bay Area:

The Pros

1. Best weather in the world
2. Close to beaches and Mountains (best of both worlds)
3. Sports, concerts, shows, restaurants, activities
4. 3 international airports within an hour of each other
Great job market

The Cons

1. Taxed to death in California....the left wingers are running people out of here
2. Traffic and crowds
3. Cost of living - when you have to pay $1.3M+ for a small house on a busy street its safe to say its a little out of control. Its even crazier to think you have to spend $2M+ to live a nice area with good public schools (which are hard to find)

I'd add Luxembourg in that regard.

Great subject and very hard to answer honestly due to some rules of this site. Before I get rolling let it be made clear I am a tolerant person. I believe in respecting someone's beliefs even though I may not agree. I simply ask for tolerance be reciprocated. I saw one person mention where I currently live. Oregon. I dont care where you live the #1 thing that can make or break a place is politics.
The bad: (as a whole this part matters)
This state as a whole is mind numbingly out of control. (Blanket statement alert) People are vicious and down right rude. The city of Portland is a straight up shitfest. Homeless issue out of control, needles laying all over the place, after dark the real "prize winners" come out. Should your political beliefs differ you WILL be attacked "at a minimum verbally". It's completely intolerant. Traffic is beyond ridiculous. Rent/home prices are ridiculous.
Run by a mayor that encourages violent protests and restrains the police from doing their jobs. Judges that slap wrists... repeat offenders get back on the street in a matter of hours.

The good:
Pinball scene is really big here. About an hour from the beach. About an hour to the mountains. Hiking and general outdoor activities. Hunting big game. Dunes for avid ATV enthusiasts.

The neutral:
Weather depends on where you physically live.
You can drive 15 minutes and be arsehole deep in snow or simply get a dusting of snow. Drive an hour or so East and be in desert and a COMPLETELY different political ideology.

In closing, if you enjoy large crowds with crap attitudes, barely being able to afford to live then you will adore Portland Oregon. If you don't then look at Eastern Oregon. Less snow, more tolerance

For me, Idaho is on my radar as I enjoy freedom, heat and blue skies. I've also looked at New Zealand however super expensive to live, dual citizenship allowed, must possess a skill they find worthy to gain citizenship.

I heard all of oneangrymo's neighbors put their houses on the market recently. Saves ya a lot of airport trips.

All I'm getting from this is most people hate where they live.

Except the Texans. Man do they love them some Texas!

I love Idaho. I'm looking at buying some land soon.....the good news is its cheap (compared to the Bay Area), and awesome during the spring, summer, fall..the challenge is its cold a fuck 5 months out of the year....so yes could live there April - October, but Nov-March are really rough

About 12 years ago my wife and I sat down with a similar question.

We opted for Madison, WI for a handful of reasons and have been VERY happy with our decision.

Great employment opportunities
Affordable housing and great bang for the buck in lifestyle (this affords us the option to invest more and hopefully retire earlier)
Amazing weather year round (we like the 4 season and Madison offers a well balanced seasonal flux; Our winters are mild IMHO and we typically see only 1 week of very cold temps each year> which is great for hunkering down and slowing the pace of life)
Easy travel to Chi, MKE, Twin cities if we desire things that are not found in Madison
Lots of social activities and a highly educated populus
Outdoor opportunities abound with little effort and cost
Lots of freshwater and an environmentally safe place (no major weather things, earthquakes, military targets, etc...)
Midwestern sense of community and friendly vibe
In the past 5 years >> tons of location pinball and a very healthy pinball community. Plus Expo is a short drive and MGC is steadily become one of the best shows anywhere (IMO of course)

Anywhere in middle Tennessee. No state income tax, skilled workers are in high demand with very competitive pay, low property tax, fairly low cost of living. You get 4 true seasons but winter is mild. Nashville offers just about anything you would want to do other then professional baseball and basketball. Lots of things for outdoor people to do if you like hiking, cycling, fishing and hunting. Easy to get to and easy to use airport that is slowly adding more international flights

I live on Pinside...my opinion is invalid...

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We were just in your fair city, stayed a week at an Airbnb in the pearl district. We did see a lot of vagrancy and sleeping on the street, tent cities, etc., but for the most part, they weren't aggressive panhandling. Might ask for a Donut as you exit Voodoo It was a little disconcerting early in the morning on our walks to breakfast, the sheer number sleeping on the sidewalks. We did get into some semi spirited conversations in the taverns, but tried to stay well clear of politics as we had been warned about some of the intolerance of opposing views. Overall, tho, we had a nice time. Oh, and we were there during the Oregon Beer fest, so that was a pleasant surprise.

I'd like to live in the newly renovated Brady house in Studio City, CA.

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Texas. Whisky! And Funerals!

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What part ?
I've been looking

right to work state?????? don't really see the competitive salaries if that's the case.

I've been looking in the Jackson Hole/Swan Valley/Idaho Falls area....I'm big into fly fishing and its close to the South Fork and a bunch of other rivers....that being said u need to be relatively close to services i.e. grocery stores, medical, etc....theres a lot of factors

whats up with that hideous sidewalk?

Exactly, i was looking Idaho Falls area as well.
I'm a big skier, but the eastside of the state is really cold. Really cold.

"All I need is some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine". Spicoli. Words of wisdom. If you have enough money San Clemente is paradise for most locals. Sunny and Mid 70s year round. Climate is perfect for most. This was the most conservative part of the country in 70s. (Nixon, home of the western white house). Old people died and younger 2 income families moved in. Less conservative. Things change. But not the vibe. Still a small beach town. Camp Pendelton has open land south of us. So we have a unique location geographically. A reason retirees moved here in the 60s and 70s when it was affordable to many. Not so now. Commuting would suck from here, which is why so many people work from home around here, or are just plain rich. Another thing I liked about growing up here. The wealthy are harder to spot here. Rich people dress down that are from here. Neighbor town Dana Point let the Ritz Carlton, St. Regis and other high end hotels and restaurants. San Clemente stayed a small beach town when all other south orange county beaches wanted tourism. So if your rich and don't have to commute, love the outdoors and beach, it would be hard pressed to beat here. There are so many different places to socialize with the people you feel comfortable with, conservatives or liberals. Or as my neighbor said "people".

Another vote for Arizona if you can take hot summers.
We love it here.

But once again it depends where you move.
Some parts of our state are great and others are total shit.

That's what happens when people make assumptions about situations that they don't know much about. It's currently a hard competition to get qualified candidates for any skilled position as candidates have numerous options which results in having to pay more to get the people you want. If you suck or are inconsistent that's on you. People that have skills to offer employers are making substantially more in middle TN then they ever have and employers are aggressive about keeping their people and have to be aggressive about hiring new ones. There is a reason close to 100 people move to this area every day, and it's not so they can get paid crap and have a higher cost of living. It's because the economy is booming and there are more skilled jobs available then candidates to fill them.

Fine as long as you show a will of integration

If you spend 10 years here without speaking a word of french or german (depending of where you live) then you won't be very well received.
Don't laugh, it happens quite often...

But if you do show that you try to speak the language, then people are friendly and open minded.

The entire friggin state is cold in the winter....I like the fall weather, but the winters are brutal

You all live in an uninhabitable climate. The poster child for waste and pollution. I cannot disagree with this more.

Im sick, I love winter. I like to hunker down, have fires, cuddle up. Makes being in the basement for hours on the weekend much more tolerable when it isnt as inviting to go out. Also makes me appreciate the warmer times even more. ALSO NO BUGS IN THE WINTER.

You want to live in the most photographed house in America. More photos than the White House or the 'Full House'. The Los Angeles River is just over the back fence, maybe you could go fishing?

I just wanted to add a little more to this thought as it played a very big part for us.

Madison is a hip, fun, accepting town that to me is very similar to the CO front range, Portland, Boston, Austin, Seattle (other fun cities with a similar type vibe), but at a fraction of the cost with only somewhat reduced income capabilities.

In Madison, you can still but a very nice starter home in a good neighborhood for 150-200k, and only be 10min to eveything you want on your daily life.
The cost of living is very cheap relative to the wages (lots of good sci, engineering, IT, tech & those obviously help support the service and trades also). To me, this all seems to happen due to the natural geographical constraint of a city being placed between 2 lakes on an isthus (cool and unique it its own right).
The schools and education all the way through post graduate is some of the best in the US in such a small area. Madison is definitely a middle sized but booming town with tons of growth potential (which makes it a great place to invest in your family now).

Many other cities we researched seemed past the boom (or at l;east where we could afford to be part of it rather than fighting to catch up). We would be behind the game to jump in and competing with too much old town money while trying to carve out our notch.

By and large Madison has allowed us to afford a very solid middle class lifestyle but also importantly, the ability to save enough for retirement and travel to lots of other places.

My brother lives in the front range and makes comparable (adjusted for location) wages to us in Madison. He is constantly hustling and does the majority of his travel in the immediate region because his money does not go as far. We get to adventure all over the world due to the cheaper day to day life here.

I always joke that if you dont like winter, then it is a small sacrifice, esp when you have plenty of travel budget to blow off the worst 2 weeks and take a vacation to reset the clock (makes winter feel almost too short for me, but nice to get some mid-winter Vit D)

Westbrooke apartments on 11th Avenue in Hopkins, MN.

LTG : )

Less so with the influx of people from Cali paying cash, over asking price, without an inspection - which jacks up the housing market. But, that's apparently the Cali way of doing things.

But, I'm spoiled having lived in the DFW area all my life. Good balance of cost-of-living, non-crumbling infrastructure, somewhat level-headed people, etc. Not without its issues and not saying it's the best place on the planet, but seems to be a good overall compromise.

Since I've had all night to sleep on this.

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sounds like you've adapted well....for me I'm always outside working, playing so living through cold ass winters sucks ass....especially now that I've gotten a little older I've become a complete wimp in the cold weather.

Bay Area has prettygood weather, but I think San Diego has better weather. Sunny 75 year round. Something like that.

I hear around Boise isnt bad ?

San Diego. World's finest city.

I like north county coastline. Too bad the secret's been out on that for a while. Wasn't long ago it was dirt cheap relatively speaking.

I think part of his post was not too cold.

I’m retired and looking to move as well. This has been an interesting read. Been all over the USA and there are some great places and some crappy ones. Outside of being able to live inside of Yellowstone Natl park, it’s tough to pick a place.
One of my sons moved to Cary, I liked it and was considering it. In 2 years he moved to Asheville, Nc. It’s a great place, beautiful scenery, mountains, hiking, waterfalls, clean streams and rivers. Weather is moderate, winters and summers are mild. It could be 95 in NJ and 70’s there. Considering it. My other son is in Maricopa,AZ. They love it and don’t want to leave. I visited and it was nice....and hot. Everyday 100 to 115, but hey no humidity. To me hot is hot. It’s is a beautiful state but too brown for my taste.
Many of my friends moved to Venice, Fla and they all love it. Active lifestyle mostly all year long. But the summers are too hot.
So as much as I want to move, northern NJ has a lot to offer. Four seasons, winters suck, taxes are too high, but I live in a good community, wild life in my back yard, surrounding wooded area, good restaurants, etc. so as much as I want to move, hmm, maybe no place like home.
Still looking though....

I love the coastline from San Clemente down to San Diego...if I was forced to live in SoCal that would be my choice. That being access San Diego lack of access to mountains, rivers, etc is a big downside for me....9 months out of the year we have perfect weather...the other 3 months its a little colder (low 60's during the day, 40's at night)...I can live with that for the time being.

and Monaco?

The whole country is on this picture.

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If we are going that far, see you in San Tropez!

do your job well and you have nothing to worry about anyway

I like living here. It's not for everybody.

Pros:
-you can live a full life without owning a car
-Chinese food at 5 AM if you want it
-Every band comes to town on every tour
-Lots of direct flights
-Always something to do
-tons of great food
-zero random encounters with Whysnow
-diversity is off the charts

Cons:
-It's expensive
-It's loud
-It's dirty
-Random encounters with Chris Kaneda
-diversity is off the charts
-There's no good BBQ here. Plenty of shitty BBQ people think is good because they don't know better.
-Everybody on pinside thinks everybody here shits on the sidewalk. I see human feces like maybe ONCE a year, considering there's 9 million people here that's really not bad. And your chances of stepping in any kind of feces are probably way higher in the suburbs and country where people just let their dogs shit anywhere without cleaning it up.

So I guess it's a wash. It's never boring that's for sure.