The area I live in (Appleton WI) does pretty well in this "Best places" list. (#56)
It's not too big, not too small...
https://livability.com/best-places/top-100-best-places-to-live/2019/wi/appleton

But jeez! Madison took #3?!
https://livability.com/best-places/top-100-best-places-to-live/2019/wi/madison
And their #s 2 and 1 are in NC and ID? No offense, but no thanks.

Appleton is like a smaller Madison with more conservatives (not saying that's good or bad, it just is). The cost of living is low, dunno how you people in places with million dollar two bedroom houses do it.

Everyone I personally know that have plans to move are planning on CO, TN, or NC. One of them always said they were going to Phoenix, their Dad had a vacation home there and they loved it. I guess he got tired of the dry heat because now he is one that plans on NC.

I have no plans to ever move, too much hassle. I travel for a few weeks if I want a getaway. The summer heat/humidity sucks here, but I know it is pretty bad almost anywhere else I like to go. Not much threat of disaster here, mainly a occasional tornado within 50 miles. I like that I can drive to Panama City Beach in less than 5 hours, or The Smokey Mountains in just over 2 hours. I am 8 minutes from Six Flags Over Georgia...going there in a little while, I have a dining pass, eat for free with the $145.20 pass for a year.

Traffic sucks here, but luckily 95% of the time I am going against the flow to places I have to go.

A lot of crime here, most seems drug related.

If I were starting over I would not move here, but at the same time I never plan to move, too much here going for me now.

One thing that I have not seen a lot of people talk about is the relationship of jobs and location. I do tech sales to the government, so that means I have to live in the DC area (or a select handful of other locations). A lot of the tech hotbeds are located in expensive areas (Bay Area, DC, NYC, Boston, Austin, etc). You have some places that are more affordable like the RTP, Overland Park, etc. but those tend to be the exception. I look at it as the cost of me doing business.

Copperopolis, lake Tulloch

My employer had a plant in Mableton...the number of people that would come there trying to steal everything that wasn't bolted down outside the building was crazy. We shut it down and moved it to Duluth, GA. Duluth is another place that has been ruined by unchecked and unplanned sprawl. Traffic there is disgusting.

We had problems inside also. They have ripped roll up doors out to get in and everything else. Like I said, there is a lot of crime in the area.

At least the traffic is not as bad as Duluth. Getting worse all the time though.

Don't really see how your solar panels and Tesla factor into this discussion. They are not exclusive to CA.

Do it! I am also curious.

You're the one who gets moderated? Wow

Good post by the way. Right on point.

Seems like nobody has mentioned Hawaii. I've read Hawaii is the #1 Happiest State. Arguably prettiest state as well. No love here?

Great thread if we can keep it on track.

Super nice place in CA. A buddy lives in Angels Camp so I’ve been up through there a lot in recent years. Considering it as a possibility to go to.

A lot the size of yours so I can supersize the noone lagoon.

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My brother and sister live on Maui and are always trying to convince me of moving there. It is a beautiful place but it would probably be worse than living in the middle of Wyoming in terms of a pinball desert. Imagine trying to buy, trade or sell games on an island-this thought has actually been a determining factor for me. It is expensive in most parts but there are tons of job opportunities, especially in the construction industry. I have to say out of all the places I have visited the people of Hawaii are the kindest and most outgoing. The spirit of the locals is what makes it special for me.

I'd move there if I were you. Pinball isn't everything. There will be a day when you say you're done with them. Better to be in Hawaii than a place you don't like for the weather, scenery, culture or traffic.

Besides, if you can afford Hawaii, you can afford to have NIB pins shipped to you. Any pins for that matter. You can now use the internet to find & buy them. Fly to Banning, the Bay area and Seattle for awesome shows.

My family has property on Maui. Is is an amazing place to visit. I would have no interest to live there. Cool for at the most two weeks at a time and then get me off that island.

Since this thread is a little off track and if money is no object really the ideal situation for me would be to have a home base (Copperopolis), property in Hawaii and then maybe one other time share maybe in Colorado/Montana and just roll between the three of them depending on weather and time of the year.

I guess that would be my dream scenario and actually may be able to accomplish it in retirement but for now stuck in the bay.

I’m sure there’s a stern distro on Honolulu at least (probably not Maui) not sure about used market. I bet Honolulu would have “some” pinball community.

I don't mind...I couldn't help myself..drives me nuts when people paint either party with a broad brush. I love Hawaii by the way although not sure I could live there full time...I spent three months there for work about 20 years a go, and couldn't wait to get home....its the perfect place for a one or two week visit

Cool Thread! Copperopolis HUH... have to check that out, thanks for posting.

I did vote for GA, just not my area. Do research, there are some great areas. If you travel (drive) a lot, we have a great interstate system to quickly take you in any direction. If you fly a lot, while our airport is very busy, less than 2 hour drive to other cities that may have cheaper fares(People that used to live next door always drove to AL to fly).

I love to travel, but so far I have never found anywhere else I could live forever. After 2 weeks at the most I miss my home.

Home is where the heart is

I had one brother that lived there for about 25 years and loved it. The law finally caught up to him and he ended up in prison (but that's another story).

I had another brother that lived there for about 5 years then he moved back to MN. He said the weather is beautiful but it's always the same. Every day is the same as the next. He said it gets boring. He missed seasons changing. He also hated it was an island. There isn't a lot of traveling you can do.

My wife and I have been there numerous times (she used to work for an airline) over the years. Fun place to visit for a week or so, but I'll take MN any day of the week.

It's amazing, but not surprising, all of the different things people value which are different from person to person as it pertains to where people want to live or think they want to live. I'm a liberal, although not on everything but that's irrelevant here, and I love living in CA and really love living in the Bay Area. Is it perfect? No. But despite my success I'm not quite successful enough to find "perfection". I doubt really anyone here is with the possible exception or two. Politics in general over the last 20 years or so has really muddied the waters and turned people against each other. I won't put forth my own opinions here but I'd be they'd offend more than a few if I did. That doesn't make anyone a bad person but it does go to show just how polarized we've become. Local politics factors significantly into what's important for me and my wife so far as where we want to live. It's one of the main reasons why we left the midwest and moved to CA in the first place.

At the end of the day, all of us try to strike a balance between what we want and what we can afford or what our life circumstances allow us to make work. There are a number of places I think I'd like to live but they all include drawbacks just like where I live now.

Jeff

I just want people to stay out of my shit. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. It is probably way too over simplified but that is why I love Copperopolis so much. I don't need a law telling me everything I should and shouldn't do some of that should be straight common sense.

That's a nut-punch I just couldn't handle, especially combined with the humidity where you're sweating the minute you step out the door at 7 a.m. People seem to love living in Texas though so clearly there are offsetting virtues!

Trying to escape California we visited Texas. It wasn't for me. Atleast where we went wasn't, I understand it is a huge state, but the heat didn't kill me but the humidity sure did. We came back to California and it was 103 degrees and my wife and I commented on how it was the coolest 103 degrees we had ever felt after being in Texas. I guess I am a wussy, I just can't handle that!

I thought it would be interesting if you could move around and check out lots of places to live. I think if I did not have children I would be more incline to test the waters around the world. Imagine living in one place for 12 months and then moving to another place every year. One year in New York City, one year on Florida coast, Idaho, California, Texas, Seattle, Lake Como Italy, Amsterdam, Ibiza, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Belize, St. Bart's- the list goes on. Home is where the family is or where you make it, but you never know what you are missing until you give it a try.

It would be a pain in the ass moving pinball machines all over the world!

Yea the collection would probably have to go. I would not want to have to pack much and would probably look for a small apartment for rent. Get a part time job to keep the sanity and get to know the local people and surroundings. Not sure about a year in each location, but maybe at least six months. Sometimes we get too comfortable in our surroundings and avoid/fear change. Right now it is just a thought but who knows-maybe someday? One can only dream.

As stated my goal is to have home base and travel. May not go as extreme as your thinking but down for a couple months at a time. That is the goal once the kids are raised. Life always can throw curve balls but I am playing percentages and am putting myself in a financial position to do so.

Vancouver island
Spectacular scenery
Nice climate
No guns!

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Spent a week there a few years ago. Incredible! Loved it.

Looks like a great place for fishing and other watersports.

huffingtonpostdotcom22 (resized).jpg

That looks awesome having a 7-11 you can drive your boat right up to the pumps!

Pretty much all of this. I would also add Northern California is amazing and pretty vast.

Both northern Cali and southern are amazing.

You are driving distance essentially to banning museum and also golden state pinball festival up north. The people are Also amazing in both places.

Texas's own Venice has to be one of the best kept secrets in America.

We flew into Houston a few years back from Memphis, and it was all flooded. Looked amazing from the air. Then it flooded again a year after that!

I think someone needs to do some serious earthworks ....

rd

I grew up in San Jose, Ca (and still have family there), lived in Sacramento, CA for a few years while active duty in the USAF, lived in a suburb of Dayton, OH after graduating from college, lived and raised my family in Modesto, Ca, and am currently living in Reno, NV.

There's not enough money in the world to get me to move back to San Jose. Even if you can afford it, it is still ridiculously crowded with constant traffic.

Sacramento wasn't bad when I lived there but it was a lot smaller back then. Although hot in the summer, it is pleasant the rest of the year. There are plenty of job opportunities and the cost of housing is much lower than the bay area.

The most important thing I learned living in Dayton was that plenty of people live full and complete lives even though they can't surf and ski in the same day. It was definitely not an exciting town with lots of wealthy people and great weather like San Jose but I still liked it.

I had moved back to San Jose when I was offered a job in Modesto. I jumped at it and, like Dayton, was able to live a full and complete life in spite of it being a cow town in the Central Valley.

We ended up in Reno when we followed our oldest son who went to UNR. We love it here but ultimately will probably end up wherever our children land. Reno is a small city so there is little traffic. Because it is the gateway to the Lake Tahoe area and a gaming town, there are a lot more entertainment options than you would expect for a city of its' size. Being close to Lake Tahoe, there's world class skiing, lots of water sports, hiking and mt bike trails, camping, etc; definitely an outdoor paradise. The biggest downside to Reno is there just aren't that many jobs. Pinball wise, we only have one significant arcade (Press Start) although we're about 2 hours from Sacramento (in good weather!). No state income tax, sane gun laws (for a little longer), and more freedom oriented citizens are just bonuses.

When we get a serious earthquake, he can put it right back on me.

But for now, it was a warm Santa Ana day with only a slight breeze, and a chance of our first showers of fall by the weekend.

I don't think I'm going anywhere.

The word you missed is "less" and not 'no'.

What has made So Cal much more bearable for me is at least where I'm at the smog problem is history. Used to be the more people, the worse it got.

And there were many days with smog alerts where kids at school couldn't even go out and play. Or surfing back in the 80s there was a brown layer that would block the view to Catalina and we were gasping for breath after a few minutes. All gone now unless you are in downtown LA or near there, but still not as bad.

Clear as can be most days in OC now.

I guess I've been doing my job.

You really had to be here in the early 70s to appreciate it for what it was. That was some bad shit. There were days when driving to LA you could barely see ahead a short distance, like driving in fog. Your eyes would sting. Your chest would hurt when you breathed. Yes, we had smog days at school, no going outside, no physical activity. Its pretty amazing the way it got cleaned up.

Sung to the rhythm of Age of Aquarius by the 5th Dimension

When the sun is blotted out of sight.. and both your eyes begin to burn... and you can't even see the freeway... to make that left hand turn!

You know you're driving in..

the smog of Los Angeles

the smog of Los Angeles

Los Angeles! Los Angeles....

Forgot the rest but came from Mad Magazine in the early 70s.

In other words only the bad guys have guns.

"Sane guns laws"
Meaning, there are none?

If so, great!

Nobody should have guns, son.

Who shouldn't have guns?

A. law-abiding citizens
B. bad guys
C. police & armed forces

B & C will always have them. I would argue it's best to live where A is not forcibly disarmed or left defenseless against B & C.

At the risk of sounding like a weenie, no matter how many assault weapons I stockpile, my chances against a SWAT team aren't so good, let alone the US Army. And while it's certainly possible to win a shoot-out with a bad guy, the stats show that a firearm kept in the home is far more likely to end up being used on the owner or a family member (mostly suicide, but also domestic violence and accidents) than on an intruder.

To each his own, of course, but it seems like Vancouver Island is getting along OK without Texas-style gun laws.

Welcome to Baltimore, where you'll get shot just crossing the street. Stay far, far away from it. I hear Florida, Texas, and PA are nice.