We want to move to.... someplace in the United States where we will find it easy to go fishing and kayaking, we can hike mountain trails, we can swim in lakes, there are four seasons, summer heat rarely goes over 95, blue skies are just a little more common than overcast/rainy, trees and woods and preserved wild areas are abundant, plenty of opportunities exist for hunting deer/turkey/waterfowl, property taxes are not too outrageous, there's enough land we can buy 7- 20 usable wooded acres, population growth is relatively slow, population density is moderate - spaced between the kinda crowded cities and the kinda sparse country, delineations between urban and rural are clear/pronounced, towns and small cities have unique characteristics, crime rates are lower than natl avg, small business does well - strictly confined to zones away from private property, if big box stores are present it's in moderation, there are places nearby for continuing education, hospitals are well-rated, there are plenty of physicians, there are plenty of interesting day trip destinations, museums and symphony halls are within an hour's drive, a coastline is reachable within two hours, an international airport is within about three hours' drive, several grocery store chains operate in friendly competition, commercial farming is most often organic, natural disasters don't include tornadoes, AND... a person approaching middle age who is well-versed in executive level project management + database administration + software systems + information technology would have at least several avenues of opportunity. We ALSO would really like the area we next choose to line in to have a population that generally values community harmony + ecological preservation + looking to the future instead of demonstrating a selfish, self-serving, immediate gratification mindset. We're looking for civility. :-)
If you read my last post, you'll know one reason my husband and I want to move. We feel squeezed on all sides by "progress" and "development" that hinders our own progress through life and destroys what we have enjoyed about this area. When we move I'll say, Good riddance to the illogically sprawling urbanity that carelessly knocks down majestic tall woods with ugly flat pavement and gaudy shopping and housing complexes. Adios to the long, extraordinarily hot and humid summers, too!
Being a military brat, I've lived in: northern VA (so lovely and so many great places within a day's drive but soooo crowded), El Paso (nice to drive thru but uck to stay), Sierra Vista (super place, I'm probably going to retire there and still like to visit for at least a week at a time), Salisbury (scenic and full of pear trees with shoreline everywhere but so humid and isolated), Pensacola (amazing beaches also amazing rain storms and hurricanes), and Los Alamos (majestic mountains surrounded by desert terrain and famous for deep snows). Spent a few days or more in: Keene New Hampshire (it was fall and I greatly admired area but wondered about employers), Ocean City Maryland (a nice enough spring break trip), Paducah Kentucky (so many tobacco farms there, geez), Mountain Home Arkansas (enjoyable place for camping tho overall rustic and pretty far from niceties of art and music), Albuquerque New Mexico (enjoy visiting the Desert Southwest from time to time), Napa Valley (tremendously beautiful up and down that coast and as pricey as it is attractive), Portland Oregon (such a green city with so many trails but also unfortunately so many unfortunates; I wonder what the countryside is like surrounding it and to the south),
I'm aware of the usefulness, and limits, of city-data.com and I have tried search engines like findyourspot.com and I scan magazines for "best of..." and "top places to..." articles. I'm figuring USAA members have seen as much or more of the USA as I have and can offer insights. I welcome all your comments. And thanks for reading this far! :-)
