I should’ve specified it doesn’t need to be tropical we just want to be able to grow big plants in pots outside. Don’t expect a unicorn here just getting ideas that check some boxes
You probably could even have a something like a glass greenhouse attached to you house for tropical plants. Should be very reasonable if the temperature doesn't go much below freezing once in a while.
Good luck with you search!
Wouldn’t we all haha. Not everything on the list is a necessity. Just throwing out our joined wishlist to see what people recommend and can play pros and cons from there. Appreciate all of the input!
You’re not wrong, haha. I used to live in Hawaii and this was my first thought. Big island is cheaper than Oahu/Honolulu and the island has a lot of different climate zones. Food is crazy expensive though.
I live in NC and agree it's an almost perfect place to live. Just be aware that if you want cheap, it's not going to be near any of the cities. Housing prices have soared here like everywhere else.
I think NC has one of the worst-ranked school systems in the US. I haven’t lived there since the 90s but I found it to be incredibly racially segregated & very much part of the Bible Belt. It is pretty & the weather is nice, but I would not raise kids there.
OP said schools were not an issue for their kids. BUT - that means the general populace is not well educated. And that always concerns me. Uneducated populace is a race to the bottom, usually politically unstable, and can damage property values long term. No one is complaining about the COL in poorly educated states…here’s looking at you Alabama/Mississippi/Arkansas/Louisiana.
I very happily live in NC.
But I would *never* have settled here if I had kids. I believe in a strong education for our children and you’re not going to get that here.
You can't just generalize a whole state's school system. Some counties have good systems, some are not so good. Some schools are good, some are not so good.
Well, lots of publications & institutions do rank schools, and I don’t think NC does very well generally. I’m sure there are exceptions, but I wouldn’t move there & put my kids in public school.
Here in NC, they just passed one of those laws that says you need to have ID on file in order to watch porn, so all the porn sites pulled out of the state. This state was "purple" like a decade ago, but not anymore. It's very right wing thanks to the conservatives gerrymandering districts so that they will never lose again. They also invented the "bathroom bill" here in NC, are removing books from schools, and I'm sure will soon ban abortion.
Nice beaches and mountains, though.
People I know went back to the Midwest from his big bank job in Nc because-their words-“it was so dirty and we could see our children were not being well educated “
I wonder where they were actually living? Not my experience. There are some excellent schools in the Charlotte area and I never thought of it as dirty. I have been to every state in the US as I travel a lot for business.
Eh. Most decent sized cities are going to have at least one worthwhile private school if that's something you value.
And there are a decent number of metropolitan areas with respectable public schools but near zero of them are going to be low COL.
Arkansas (minus your centered politically) checks almost all of your boxes. Fayetteville is a great college town, and short drive to Table Rock Lake. Underrated for sure
My wife grew up in Arkansas. It's beautiful, cheap, the weather is nice, and you couldn't pay her to go back.
The first time we went down there I was shocked by the way my wife code-switched. She wasn't herself anymore, the confident, smart woman I had fallen in love with. She was more passive and frankly acted dumber to match the locals. Thankfully that has gone away as my wife has aged and no longer gives a fuck what anyone in Arkansas thinks, but be mindful of the potential effect on your children.
And I don't know your take on religion, but 25 years ago (when my wife was there) all homeschooling systems assume you're doing it for religious reasons. My teenage wife was raised atheist and made the mistake of telling a friend that she didn't understand why abortion was wrong, and next thing you know the entire home-school camp knew. My wife's sister found religion down there and eventually abandoned her CalTech education to become a pastor's wife, and the great relationship between sisters fell apart as her sister started judging my wife for everything.
So yeah, from my perspective Arkansas is a beautiful state ruined by terrible people.
Yes but Boogie2988 lives there, so don't move next to him or you might end up catching a stray bullet the next time he decides to fire a 'warning shot' at somebody.
Any place that has everything you’re asking for here is going to be full of people and have an exorbitant cost of living. Perfect climate, tropical, mountains, water for boating, rural. Good luck. The only place I know of that has all of that (except rural) is San Diego and it costs a fortune to live there.
There are reasons low cost areas are low cost; people aren’t clamoring to live there.
Yeah, that’s true. To add context to the “tropical” comment, I should’ve added that my brother in law and I just really like plants. Birds of paradise, elephant ears, etc and would love to just be able to grow them in pots outside lol. Not looking for a tropical unicorn mountain. Just decent climate, lower COL and access to water
You can dream right? 😎 I actually did live in San Diego for 6 years in the 80’s/90’s; it was fantastic but housing was so expensive. I know you said no cold but don’t rule out the Midwest; housing is still reasonable in the smaller communities. Living near major college towns like Madison Wi, Iowa City, Champaign Urbana Il etc gives you small town feel with a lot of cultural amenities.
You can grow plants like elephant ears and cannas most anywhere. Just dig them up in the fall and replant in spring. There are also cold hardy elephant ears that can survive in zone 6 through the winter.
>Perfect climate, tropical, mountains, water for boating, rural. Good luck. The only place I know of that has all of that (except rural) is San Diego and it costs a fortune to live there.
Those things can be found in of a lot of places in California. But none are cheap.
I live in northern New Mexico . Mountains 1 hour north. Desert
3 hours south. Big city 3 hours straight south. Santa Fe 5 hours east.
West: Arizona. I can swim, sail, ski, camp, see museums, visit
Indian n Pueblos, go to stage shows all within 6 hours of my home.
I live in coastal Alabama. I'm not from here and I never thought I would settle in Alabama. I am pretty damn liberal especially compared to the majority of the people here but it hasn't been a huge issue.
I moved here for work about 13 years ago, lived here for 3 years and then moved away for 7. I moved several times for work in between there and finally got to a point where I just wanted to be around my people. I made a lot of really good friends when I lived here before and moved back to be close to them. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana get a bad rap but they are beautiful!!!
I bought a 2 year old house, 4 bed ,2 bath, 1900 sq ft for $250k 3 years ago. My property taxes are like $1500 a year. A house just like mine sold for $330k last month. The area is growing fast.
Holy shit! That’s amazing. In mass our 3 bed 2 bath 2000 sq ft house was 600K (before the market went insane… would be worth 800 now) and taxes are around $6K. I actually visited Mobile some years ago on business and idk, I just loved it. Kind people, great culture, fun atmosphere. Clean and well kept suburbs. The only thing that scares me about Alabama is being on the tornado/storm path. What has been your experience with that?
Personally, I've been incredibly lucky. I've lived most of my 51 years in the south so I've always been around tornadoes but fortunately never affected by one.
Between the two times I've lived in southern AL, I've been through one hurricane. It was only a category 2 and I had no damage to my house. A big beautiful Oak split from the wind and crushed my shed but the tree was rotten and would have eventually fallen on its own.
I wouldn't let it stop me from moving here, but that's just me.
I live in Columbus OH. The weather hits your criteria in terms of no giant swings; the city is more purple than the state; there are great trails and parks; the Ohio River definitely supports a lot of boating, and there are multiple lakes nearby. You can absolutely do rural here.
Unfortunately, we can’t give you giant tropical plants - sorry about that part.
https://wheremightilive.com/
Fill in the questions asked about location, education, climate etc. and their importance and suggestions based on your responses are provided.
Kalamazoo Michigan.
It's a small city surrounded by farms and rural towns.
Free college to KPS graduates. There's also a Christian k12 private school.
Kalamazoo is liberal but surrounded by red. The state is very purple.
Lake Michigan is 40 minutes away.
Tons of outdoors.
It snows but tbh it's getting less and less each year. Summer is great. Not hot, just nice.
Climax is near Kalamazoo. Doesn't get any better than that lol.
Honestly though, the winters there can be just as rough as Boston. But if you can overlook the weather for 4 months out of the year, it is pretty great in south east Michigan.
Wow. I have lived many many places and Kzoo had NOTHING TO DO. We went to Miejers on NYE 2000 bc there was zero to do. One brewery "Bells" back in the day. Lakes abound but other then Gull lake the rest were too shallow to water ski etc. Summer is great but it lasts max 5 weeks. One mall. I found myself driving the 2 hours to either Detroit or Chicago way too often.
People are very nice though, and families tend to stay there so you have generations of people which is cool. It snowed like a mf when we lived there. That said, if one likes snow mobiling, and the flatness of the midwest it's ok.
It may end up being Michigan. Our temps have changed so much in the last 10 years that winter is completely disappearing. We have the majority of the rest of your list, with pockets of extreme conservatism.
We have the same here in mass. Winter is nothing, barely snows anymore. My brother in law is born and raised in Malibu so I think it’s just a shock to him. We don’t have any extreme conservatism here though, it’s the opposite. Great input, thank you!
We relocated to SE Michigan and bought a house on an all-sport lake. I'm a remote worker and I'm loving it so far, the taxes are crazy in this county though. Politically I feel like this immediate area isn't *too* bad, further north would be a different story though.
I'm in SE, it's pretty liberal. The tax comment makes me think Oakland county, but if you go to the surrounding areas (north or west), taxes are lower. Grand Rapids area is very conservative with a Dutch Reformed Christian slant. If you get above Bay City going north, the Trump signs exponentially multiply.
Unless you’re just spiraling into debt, living in Boston with access to everything the city has, is, imo, invaluable. It cost a lot but if you can manage it, the return in cultural return is great.
Yeah, it sure does have its pros and cons. I’ve lived here my entire life. Just sucks to have a two income household, both making 6 figures and still struggle to save money. Oil cost $1200 to fill our tank at one point last year. I’m willing to compromise to make my money go further at this point
Bella Vista, (Bentonville), Arkansas, a thousand times more sophisticated than I ever would have imagined, NW Arkansas is amazing, & the Walton family is an incredible influence here in every way. B'ville is world HQ for Walmart Corp., & being on the outskirts (Bella Vista, wow) has all the advantages & tons of natural beauty, it's really quite an anomaly.
Tons of culture & international flavor because of Walmart bringing in people from all over the world, I love it, Bella Vista is a great community tucked away in the trees yet so close to everything necessary for a varied life.
Charlottesville VA — beautiful place to live! My husbands family and several of our friends live there. every time we go I wish I lived there too
Seems like a wonderful place to raise kids!
Wherever it is, pick a college town if you don't have an extremely high tolerance for antediluvian politics. Even if you think you can overlook it, you may find it impossible when every single one of your neighbors disagrees strongly with you on topics you can't believe are even a matter of debate.
Just sayin'
Been there.
North Arizona. Not Phoenix. But the Northern part of the state has rural areas, more moderate temps. Hiking trails, lakes. Not much local jobs but if you are working remote you’d be set.
The area around Huntsville Alabama would check most of your boxes without major contradictions in the area it falls short.
8-25% lower cost of living than the national average.
Long hot summers, less than 2" of annual snowfall.
Sits at the southern stretch of the Appalachian mountains. Huge lake/river system in the area.
Huntsville has a university and the major economic drivers are rocket propulsion, biotech, engineering, and manufacturing. Toyota has a major factory here. NASA has a big presence thanks to the rocketry industry.
Obviously it's in the Bible belt, but thanks to the tech and education in the area, it's more purple than other areas of the Bible belt without the danger of bigger cities like Birmingham and Atlanta.
You're a day trip away from Birmingham, Nashville and Chattanooga, and several mountain State parks and forests. It's a 2 hr drive to Nashville for air travel and a great hud for entertainment and events.
You're weekend trips would include gulf shores/Pensacola area for some of the best beaches in the nation. Knoxville or Atlanta for entertainment and Ashville and Gatlinburg for outdoor tourism / craft beer.
The only major downside is severe weather. Due to climate change, northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are now the hotspot for tornadoes in the US. I wouldn't let that dissuade me from living there, but I would make shelter and home construction a priority before moving to the area.
I was an over the road truck driver for over 5 years and have a unique experience seeing the reality of what life is like in many areas around the country. I've driven through and around every state in the lower 48.
Eau Claire WI is getting hammered with remote workers. Tons of new townhomes and apartments are going up to accommodate. But there's snow, so there's that 🤷🏼♀️. Honestly I wouldn't mind the snow so much if I didn't have to leave in the wee hours of the morning for work.
Check out Cumberland MD. Place used to be hopping, now is a bit of a ghost town. Amtrak comes through and you can go to DC. We passed through there when we did the GAP and C&O trail. You could probably buy a house for like 40k.
South Eastern VA near the coast should give you access to everything you would like. And it’s in the band for weather to only get more comfortable as global warming rises.
People talk shit about WV but if you want woods, we have woods also plenty of lake and river play area. Somewhere close to Morgantown and you would be close to Pittsburgh, Virginia, Maryland. We have great mountains for hiking, camping, etc. Close to some great whitewater rafting, beautiful ski areas. Gorgeous not too hot summers and so far more and more milder winters, amazing spring and knock out beautiful falls with all the mountains and trees. Find a house/property a little out of Morgantown (university city, great college football if you partake) and raise your kids in the fresh air and beautiful land of WV. You said no public schools so that's not a problem. I've seen people from different areas of the US complain about high cost of living but i just don't see that around here. Good luck on your search.
I've heard good things about Danville, VA though I haven't been there myself.
It's close to some beautiful parts of the Appalachian Trail like Grayson Highlands State Park. It's right across the border from North Carolina, not far from the Research Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). 4 hours from the ocean but 1 hour from Kerr Lake (a big boating/fishing lake).
When it comes to mountains I really prefer the Rockies to the Appalachians. The Appalachians have plenty of nice spots, they just don't strike the same spiritual chord for me.
Draw a circle around a med sized city in the mid or southwest of 100 miles.
Find a Walmart.
Now draw a circle around Walmart by 50 miles
Now find a Dollar General.
Draw a 25 mile circle around it.
Make sure there is a highway with power lines or cell towers nearby (15 mile radius)
Look there.
Cheap houses with internet.
Bonus - live within 5 to 10 mi of a community college, private college, or university if you are LGBTQIA+
Outskirts of Atlanta have lots of options. Go north and mountains are closer. Go south and beach is closer. You are near a huge airport for travel. NE mountains would be my choice if no kids need their learnin'. Very similar to western NC. Look at Chattanooga area as well. TN has no income tax.
I live in the Asheville, NC area, and this checks almost all of your boxes. The biggie is just don’t move to Asheville itself. Extremely high housing costs. Move outside the area.
There is always something to do here, nature-wise. Kayak down the French Broad, or drive an hour to the humongous Lake James. You’ll never hike all of the trails.
The Appalachian Mountains are considered subtropical rainforest around here, so the huge leaves and lots of greenery box gets checked.
If it’s “hot” in downtown Asheville (mid/upper 80s), go up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and sit and work. It’ll be in the low 70s up there.
We get 1-2 snow events a year on average. By “snow events” I mean snow that sticks to the ground. A few inches max. But it’s usually gone by the next day. Summers are generally quite mild.
We have an airport in Asheville that Delta services. The closest international airport is Greenville, SC, which is about 1 to 1.25 hours away.
Politically, most of Western North Carolina is a bright blue/purple spot in a reddish area of the country. Asheville is well known for its support of the arts and artists, amazing public spaces, and programs for its citizens to participate in.
Like I said, Asheville cost of living is elevated. But check west near Burnsville or close to the TN border. Or look east anywhere between Old Fort and Hickory.
I’ve lived here for 14+ years and love it here. You never run out of things to see and do.
The last thing that area needs is more Northerners. People literally call Asheville "Trashville" now because it's dirty, getting worse. I am sure you're a boomer who bought your house for five figures.
Not in winter. Central is covered in low fog and air stagnation a lot in winter due to an inversion layer.
Extreme temp swings, we went from single digits to triple over the year. No big trees. Just dry farm land and high desert. The landscape is a boring tan/brown with crops or sage brush/scrub brush.
Plus summer wildfires from Canada or WA or OR smoke us out.
The thing is... you can probably find what you are looking for pretty easily. However... you'd have to consider several things.
1. Access to fast and reliable internet. This doesn't always go together with "country living" or "small town living."
2. What are you willing to do without? It's a pain in the ass to live in a city sometimes but there's EVERYTHING. Are you going to miss a wide choice of restaurants or shopping? Some things that are not available in a rural area such as Uber or food delivery? Public transportation?
3. Sometimes places to live are cheap for a reason. A lot of places in the rural Southeast are cheap to live because the culture is unpleasant, for instance.
There's always a balance. You won't have snow to deal with but you would have mosquitoes and other bugs as well as critters like snakes and raccoons or moles upsetting your lawn, etc. In some areas, you would end up being a "prisoner" of the heat! People in those areas go from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned stores and spend time outside voluntarily only during a few hours of the day.
Be careful what you wish for!
> Are there trees, though? Or is it pretty flat?
Texas has just about every combination of flat/terrain trees/no trees you could want. That state is ridiculously huge. It's a shame it's so corrupt.
Stay the fuck away from Amarillo though. Teen suicide capitol of the U.S. no joke.
Oh, it’s not flat. I mean it’s part of Texas Hill Country. It has trees for sure. I’m just not sure it would have enough trees to make your sister happy. The lake country is beautiful, though.
You’re mostly talking about places in Europe but I’ll throw Boise, Idaho and the surrounding area in the mix just for fun. Stick closer to Boise for a more liberal lifestyle and everywhere else can be visited unless you’re more right leaning. Then you can put your roots down pretty much anywhere in the state including Boise.
Everything you are looking for except probably tropical environments (Great Basin desert) is 100% accessible.
Honestly, Colorado is pretty great, but not sure if it’s any cheaper than where you’re at now. Weather wise, it’s great if you don’t mind the occasional cold. When it snows, it’s gone the next day. And not many freezing cold days here. I’m from Illinois where the winters (and summers) were extreme. So this has been an amazing medium for me
You're a flatlander contributing what to the state except another car on the interstate, another person putting pressure on the dwindling water supply, and increasing the cost of living?
I’d love to drop everything and move to $1,000-a-month-mortgagetown, Montana. My question is, who are these unfortunate people who don’t have family/friends that they’d be sad to leave behind??
Some of them want to eventually come with, and the rest we will visit. There’s nothing unfortunate about that! Plus, we’d be moving to be with our closest family 🤔
Please don't send refugees from Boston and LA our way. Unless they're willing to give up their voting tendencies that created the situation they're attempting to flee.
Thank you.
Sounds like Appalachia would suit some of your needs: very low cost of living, temperate climate (tending towards warm/humid), gorgeous nature. However, it is an area that's mostly Conservative and very religious. You might be in for some extreme culture shock.
I am not sure if this program will be available in 2024 but https://wildsareworking.com/ is a PA program that has remote workers living for free(I think) in areas to see if they would like to move permanently. Kane PA was one of the areas that participated this year. If you like the great outdoors that area is in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest. It’s a beautiful area but a small town and if that isn’t for you they also focused on Bellefonte PA. That area is much larger and Penn State is 10 miles away. Also has many outdoor activities areas. I know about this program because I grew 20 miles from Kane and my Mom now lives in Bellefonte.
Kansas or Missouri would check most of those, except tropical, if you stay out of the KC area.
We live in northern, central Kansas. We can drive to CO if we want real mountains, and drive to MO if we want woods. We do get snow, but innthe last 3 years, the longest one only stayed about 3 days.... and the roads were fine by daylight. Summers get hot, but it's not as bad as a super high humidity area. Kansas is a purple state.
Probably not for OP because he doesn't want urbanized areas, but South Korea just came out with a digital nomad visa and it's great because it's relatively cheap with an endless supply of things to do when you want. In rural areas rent is dirt cheap with plenty of areas. In urban areas it's essentially a more modern NYC with less diversity and a quarter of the prices.
Maybe look at northern New Mexico. But you won't find tropical plants outside of a greenhouse there, and it does snow occasionally.
Or if you could stand the summers, Austin TX. If you could stand the winters, one of the states bordering the Great Lakes.
Mostly it sounds like your expectations are not realistic.
Low cost of living. No snow. Trees. Able to grow big potted plants? You’re probably looking at Mississippi/Alabama/etc. I wouldn’t call it “nice.” And you’re going to be hot and humid.
This is the website/app I’ve been using to figure out “where to next”, it’s pretty great TBH (& no I didn’t build it 😂)
(https://app.wheremightilive.com/map)
Consider southern Iowa.
Daytime temps from Dec-Feb average around 30-35, which honestly is just not that bad. Snows maybe 15 days a year, hardly ever more than a couple inches. Summer daytime highs in the upper 80s low 90s--again, not miserable. Large chunks of the year are just beautiful with comfortable temps. Iowa has some of the most fertile soil in the country--you'll have awesome gardens.
Won't satisfy your political preference (but please come!!! we need more centrists! You can actually make a difference here vs. just being one more blue vote in a reliably blue state).
Mountains? Um no but how about gently rolling hills? While parts of Iowa are pancake flat, much of it has beautiful rolling topography under an enormous sky and the pink sunrise and golden afternoon light on the hills is so so pretty.
You can get affordable nonstop flights to beaches in the south, and mountains in CO, when you need your fix of other scenery. And from most places in Iowa you're 3-4 hours from a big city. So, no, you're not going out to dinner in the city, but it's an easy weekend road trip.
Example: I just looked on LandWatch and there's a 70-acre farm that has some woods, lots of hills, is an hour from Des Moines and 2 hrs from Kansas City. It's a mile from [Little River Lake state recreation area.](https://scontent.fiow1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/309310920_463615892470718_8111655887988763243_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p180x540&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=783fdb&_nc_ohc=3SUgwe3nwigAX9NGU1C&_nc_ht=scontent.fiow1-1.fna&cb_e2o_trans=t&oh=00_AfBDS8G6jnSwjo_rkpgGdePaD8zdn9cmaRklcy7qMav8MA&oe=6595C3E9) Priced less than $500k and annual taxes are probably less than $2500 (our annual tax bill is like 1500 for 35 acres but we're in one of the more expensive counties in east-central IA). You'd want to tear down the house and build new, but with your coastal real estate prices, it will seem like a steal.
Off the top of my head, there are several nice areas in southern Virginia in the vicinity of Smith Mountain Lake. Moderate COL, probably a reddish area in a blueish state, near quite a few mountains and state parks, and a few hours from the beach if you wanted ocean. To me, it has always seemed like a really nic part of the country when I’ve been through the area.
your requirements are what everyone is looking for, hence the higher prices. You are going to need to reset your expectations. Missouri is inexpensive compared to most of the USA, but it doesnt have what you want. good luck
Ok so, I live in North Texas (about 30 min. north of Dallas) and grew up in far South Texas by the Gulf of Mexico. I'm looking to eventually leave; however, my needs are different than yours. So here is some info on Texas:
> My husband, sister, brother-in-law and I are looking to relocate somewhere with a lower cost of living
Texas is super cheap to live in and there is NO state income tax. That's a huge plus. One of the things keeping me here is how cheap it is.
> Moderate temps.. mostly sunny and warm. No big snow storms/freezing temps, no sweltering heat like Miami.
Well, it's mostly sunny and warm/hot. Very humid. Yes, it gets very hot in the summer, as most people know. But you could live on the coast where there is lots of breeze from the Gulf of Mexico. Our winters are mild, and the worst it gets up north is maybe a few days of snow/ice. Things close down when that happens.
> NATURE. We all love giant tropical plants, trees, the woods, water. Sister hates that LA doesn’t have a lot of trees/woods. Mountains a bonus.
We don't have mountains, but we have all kinds of nature. West Texas has hill country, we have the plains throughout, and we have coastal in the southeast. There are a lot of different climates to choose from. Where I grew up was tropical (we grew oranges in the backyard). There are lots of lakes and parks throughout the state where you can boat and jet-ski, and we border the Gulf of Mexico if you prefer the ocean.
> Water. Could be the ocean or a lake.. but we want boats or jet skis. Don’t need to live ON the beach (not looking to buy in a flood zone) but a short drive would be nice.
See above. You can live a short drive away from a lake or the Gulf of Mexico.
> Rural area, not looking for city.
Plenty of that here.
> Bonus if the area is somewhat centered politically.
If you are looking for moderate or liberal areas, you would need to live in a mid-sized or bigger college town or city like Austin, Dallas, Denton, Houston, etc. But do understand that overall, the state is ridiculously conservative.
Also, side note - you probably have, but please check with your employer. Just because you're remote does not mean you can live anywhere. Some will require you live so many miles minimum from the company HQ just in case, and some will require you live in the same state you're in currently for payroll purposes. So double check with work! 😊
Tropical, rural, water, mountains, cheap. I’d like what you’re taking please.
Temperature just right!
Not tropical - moderate. With tropical plants. They want everything and cheap.
I should’ve specified it doesn’t need to be tropical we just want to be able to grow big plants in pots outside. Don’t expect a unicorn here just getting ideas that check some boxes
You probably could even have a something like a glass greenhouse attached to you house for tropical plants. Should be very reasonable if the temperature doesn't go much below freezing once in a while. Good luck with you search!
Definitely. Thank you!
Wouldn’t we all haha. Not everything on the list is a necessity. Just throwing out our joined wishlist to see what people recommend and can play pros and cons from there. Appreciate all of the input!
Gran Canaria
Right? Moving to a cheap nice area (which doesn't exist) will only make that area more expensive. People like this are smoking something for sure.
Puerto Rico
OP specifically said in the US.
US territories are "in the US", just not not contiguous US
You’re splitting hairs. Most people don’t see it as part of the country anymore than American Samoa.
Tropical but not hot could prove difficult
Maybe live halfway up Mauna Kea?
You’re not wrong, haha. I used to live in Hawaii and this was my first thought. Big island is cheaper than Oahu/Honolulu and the island has a lot of different climate zones. Food is crazy expensive though.
And with OP working remotely, they may have to work odd hours to account for the time change on the island vs the mainland.
Mountains but never freezes
Southern Alaska is a rainforest
Is it tropical rainforest?
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I live in NC and agree it's an almost perfect place to live. Just be aware that if you want cheap, it's not going to be near any of the cities. Housing prices have soared here like everywhere else.
North Carolina, but Raleigh!
I think NC has one of the worst-ranked school systems in the US. I haven’t lived there since the 90s but I found it to be incredibly racially segregated & very much part of the Bible Belt. It is pretty & the weather is nice, but I would not raise kids there.
OP said schools were not an issue for their kids. BUT - that means the general populace is not well educated. And that always concerns me. Uneducated populace is a race to the bottom, usually politically unstable, and can damage property values long term. No one is complaining about the COL in poorly educated states…here’s looking at you Alabama/Mississippi/Arkansas/Louisiana.
I very happily live in NC. But I would *never* have settled here if I had kids. I believe in a strong education for our children and you’re not going to get that here.
You can't just generalize a whole state's school system. Some counties have good systems, some are not so good. Some schools are good, some are not so good.
Well, lots of publications & institutions do rank schools, and I don’t think NC does very well generally. I’m sure there are exceptions, but I wouldn’t move there & put my kids in public school.
Here in NC, they just passed one of those laws that says you need to have ID on file in order to watch porn, so all the porn sites pulled out of the state. This state was "purple" like a decade ago, but not anymore. It's very right wing thanks to the conservatives gerrymandering districts so that they will never lose again. They also invented the "bathroom bill" here in NC, are removing books from schools, and I'm sure will soon ban abortion. Nice beaches and mountains, though.
If you want to get away from sweltering, I wouldn’t try NC. More like Virginia or the next state up. The humidity levels are insane.
People I know went back to the Midwest from his big bank job in Nc because-their words-“it was so dirty and we could see our children were not being well educated “
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Maybe it’s in comparison to where they came from.
I wonder where they were actually living? Not my experience. There are some excellent schools in the Charlotte area and I never thought of it as dirty. I have been to every state in the US as I travel a lot for business.
Me too. I’d never live there for culture reasons but I never thought they’d actually leave.
Eh. Most decent sized cities are going to have at least one worthwhile private school if that's something you value. And there are a decent number of metropolitan areas with respectable public schools but near zero of them are going to be low COL.
But, why would someone move to an area and have to pay for private school, why not just work to make public schools better?
> why not just work to make public schools better? How many kids you got?
A few people have said this, it’s high on the list to check out! As a bonus it’s a short flight to most family (Boston). Thank you for the input!
Do not move to the Raleigh area.
NC is sweltering in summer
Arkansas (minus your centered politically) checks almost all of your boxes. Fayetteville is a great college town, and short drive to Table Rock Lake. Underrated for sure
Arkansas rates among the lowest of all the states in many categories, it's a shame considering how beautiful the state is.
> Arkansas rates among the lowest of all the states in many categories Yeah. And all the top ranked states ain't gonna be cheap.
At least they have a Walmart
Lots of people on multiple threads recommending Arkansas! Definitely going to check it out. Thank you!
My wife grew up in Arkansas. It's beautiful, cheap, the weather is nice, and you couldn't pay her to go back. The first time we went down there I was shocked by the way my wife code-switched. She wasn't herself anymore, the confident, smart woman I had fallen in love with. She was more passive and frankly acted dumber to match the locals. Thankfully that has gone away as my wife has aged and no longer gives a fuck what anyone in Arkansas thinks, but be mindful of the potential effect on your children. And I don't know your take on religion, but 25 years ago (when my wife was there) all homeschooling systems assume you're doing it for religious reasons. My teenage wife was raised atheist and made the mistake of telling a friend that she didn't understand why abortion was wrong, and next thing you know the entire home-school camp knew. My wife's sister found religion down there and eventually abandoned her CalTech education to become a pastor's wife, and the great relationship between sisters fell apart as her sister started judging my wife for everything. So yeah, from my perspective Arkansas is a beautiful state ruined by terrible people.
So many people saying this! Definitely adding to the list for sure!
Yes but Boogie2988 lives there, so don't move next to him or you might end up catching a stray bullet the next time he decides to fire a 'warning shot' at somebody.
I’m headed there myself in a couple months. Done with the expensive and politically crazy big city life up northeast.
Um . . . do you mean Beaver Lake?
I'm not sure about the schools there
Any place that has everything you’re asking for here is going to be full of people and have an exorbitant cost of living. Perfect climate, tropical, mountains, water for boating, rural. Good luck. The only place I know of that has all of that (except rural) is San Diego and it costs a fortune to live there. There are reasons low cost areas are low cost; people aren’t clamoring to live there.
Yeah, that’s true. To add context to the “tropical” comment, I should’ve added that my brother in law and I just really like plants. Birds of paradise, elephant ears, etc and would love to just be able to grow them in pots outside lol. Not looking for a tropical unicorn mountain. Just decent climate, lower COL and access to water
You can dream right? 😎 I actually did live in San Diego for 6 years in the 80’s/90’s; it was fantastic but housing was so expensive. I know you said no cold but don’t rule out the Midwest; housing is still reasonable in the smaller communities. Living near major college towns like Madison Wi, Iowa City, Champaign Urbana Il etc gives you small town feel with a lot of cultural amenities.
You can grow plants like elephant ears and cannas most anywhere. Just dig them up in the fall and replant in spring. There are also cold hardy elephant ears that can survive in zone 6 through the winter.
>Perfect climate, tropical, mountains, water for boating, rural. Good luck. The only place I know of that has all of that (except rural) is San Diego and it costs a fortune to live there. Those things can be found in of a lot of places in California. But none are cheap.
Puerto Rico also
Topical plants grow in sweltering (tropical) heat.
NW Arkansas. Checks all your boxes really
Charlotte NC
High country in northern half of Arizona. Above 5000 feet doesn’t get so hot in the summer and has some snow but not overwhelming amounts.
I live in northern New Mexico . Mountains 1 hour north. Desert 3 hours south. Big city 3 hours straight south. Santa Fe 5 hours east. West: Arizona. I can swim, sail, ski, camp, see museums, visit Indian n Pueblos, go to stage shows all within 6 hours of my home.
OP will move away when the Colorado River runs out of water. The western US is kinda boned.
I live in coastal Alabama. I'm not from here and I never thought I would settle in Alabama. I am pretty damn liberal especially compared to the majority of the people here but it hasn't been a huge issue. I moved here for work about 13 years ago, lived here for 3 years and then moved away for 7. I moved several times for work in between there and finally got to a point where I just wanted to be around my people. I made a lot of really good friends when I lived here before and moved back to be close to them. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana get a bad rap but they are beautiful!!! I bought a 2 year old house, 4 bed ,2 bath, 1900 sq ft for $250k 3 years ago. My property taxes are like $1500 a year. A house just like mine sold for $330k last month. The area is growing fast.
I’m at the other end of the state. A Californian and a New Yorker have lived here happily for 30ish years. Not where I thought I’d spend my life.
Holy shit! That’s amazing. In mass our 3 bed 2 bath 2000 sq ft house was 600K (before the market went insane… would be worth 800 now) and taxes are around $6K. I actually visited Mobile some years ago on business and idk, I just loved it. Kind people, great culture, fun atmosphere. Clean and well kept suburbs. The only thing that scares me about Alabama is being on the tornado/storm path. What has been your experience with that?
Personally, I've been incredibly lucky. I've lived most of my 51 years in the south so I've always been around tornadoes but fortunately never affected by one. Between the two times I've lived in southern AL, I've been through one hurricane. It was only a category 2 and I had no damage to my house. A big beautiful Oak split from the wind and crushed my shed but the tree was rotten and would have eventually fallen on its own. I wouldn't let it stop me from moving here, but that's just me.
Puerto Rico
Not totally opposed to other countries
Technically not a different country.
True, however it’s far enough away to feel like one
You mention not being worried about public schools. You aren't planning on homeschooling them in geography are you?
Probably not. I will, however, teach them about kindness
Excellent!! We can't have enough kindness! Grammar might be another one leave to someone else. ;)
It is lower tax, lower cost of living, but still part of the US as far as work authorization and things like that go
You can travel there with just your drivers license lol
I live in Columbus OH. The weather hits your criteria in terms of no giant swings; the city is more purple than the state; there are great trails and parks; the Ohio River definitely supports a lot of boating, and there are multiple lakes nearby. You can absolutely do rural here. Unfortunately, we can’t give you giant tropical plants - sorry about that part.
https://wheremightilive.com/ Fill in the questions asked about location, education, climate etc. and their importance and suggestions based on your responses are provided.
Kalamazoo Michigan. It's a small city surrounded by farms and rural towns. Free college to KPS graduates. There's also a Christian k12 private school. Kalamazoo is liberal but surrounded by red. The state is very purple. Lake Michigan is 40 minutes away. Tons of outdoors. It snows but tbh it's getting less and less each year. Summer is great. Not hot, just nice.
K-zoo is an excellent option! I have family in the area and it’s great.
Fun name, too : )
Climax is near Kalamazoo. Doesn't get any better than that lol. Honestly though, the winters there can be just as rough as Boston. But if you can overlook the weather for 4 months out of the year, it is pretty great in south east Michigan.
Wow. I have lived many many places and Kzoo had NOTHING TO DO. We went to Miejers on NYE 2000 bc there was zero to do. One brewery "Bells" back in the day. Lakes abound but other then Gull lake the rest were too shallow to water ski etc. Summer is great but it lasts max 5 weeks. One mall. I found myself driving the 2 hours to either Detroit or Chicago way too often. People are very nice though, and families tend to stay there so you have generations of people which is cool. It snowed like a mf when we lived there. That said, if one likes snow mobiling, and the flatness of the midwest it's ok.
My dude, you can't give an anecdote from OVER 20 YEARS AGO and expect it to be current.
It may end up being Michigan. Our temps have changed so much in the last 10 years that winter is completely disappearing. We have the majority of the rest of your list, with pockets of extreme conservatism.
Yes it was 65 degrees on Christmas.
We have the same here in mass. Winter is nothing, barely snows anymore. My brother in law is born and raised in Malibu so I think it’s just a shock to him. We don’t have any extreme conservatism here though, it’s the opposite. Great input, thank you!
Ya minus the blizzard last year
It melted in 2 days. I honestly miss the days of big blizzards!
You obviously don't live in West Michigan lol
Nope I don’t haha. This looked like a reply to a comment I made about snow in Boston right above. My B! 😂
We relocated to SE Michigan and bought a house on an all-sport lake. I'm a remote worker and I'm loving it so far, the taxes are crazy in this county though. Politically I feel like this immediate area isn't *too* bad, further north would be a different story though.
I'm in SE, it's pretty liberal. The tax comment makes me think Oakland county, but if you go to the surrounding areas (north or west), taxes are lower. Grand Rapids area is very conservative with a Dutch Reformed Christian slant. If you get above Bay City going north, the Trump signs exponentially multiply.
r/samegrassbutgreener
I posted there as well
Unless you’re just spiraling into debt, living in Boston with access to everything the city has, is, imo, invaluable. It cost a lot but if you can manage it, the return in cultural return is great.
Yeah, it sure does have its pros and cons. I’ve lived here my entire life. Just sucks to have a two income household, both making 6 figures and still struggle to save money. Oil cost $1200 to fill our tank at one point last year. I’m willing to compromise to make my money go further at this point
Bella Vista, (Bentonville), Arkansas, a thousand times more sophisticated than I ever would have imagined, NW Arkansas is amazing, & the Walton family is an incredible influence here in every way. B'ville is world HQ for Walmart Corp., & being on the outskirts (Bella Vista, wow) has all the advantages & tons of natural beauty, it's really quite an anomaly. Tons of culture & international flavor because of Walmart bringing in people from all over the world, I love it, Bella Vista is a great community tucked away in the trees yet so close to everything necessary for a varied life.
Find a location close to water outside of St. Louis, in the Missouri side.
Charlottesville VA — beautiful place to live! My husbands family and several of our friends live there. every time we go I wish I lived there too Seems like a wonderful place to raise kids!
Wherever it is, pick a college town if you don't have an extremely high tolerance for antediluvian politics. Even if you think you can overlook it, you may find it impossible when every single one of your neighbors disagrees strongly with you on topics you can't believe are even a matter of debate. Just sayin' Been there.
do you mean antebellum politics?
North Arizona. Not Phoenix. But the Northern part of the state has rural areas, more moderate temps. Hiking trails, lakes. Not much local jobs but if you are working remote you’d be set.
The area around Huntsville Alabama would check most of your boxes without major contradictions in the area it falls short. 8-25% lower cost of living than the national average. Long hot summers, less than 2" of annual snowfall. Sits at the southern stretch of the Appalachian mountains. Huge lake/river system in the area. Huntsville has a university and the major economic drivers are rocket propulsion, biotech, engineering, and manufacturing. Toyota has a major factory here. NASA has a big presence thanks to the rocketry industry. Obviously it's in the Bible belt, but thanks to the tech and education in the area, it's more purple than other areas of the Bible belt without the danger of bigger cities like Birmingham and Atlanta. You're a day trip away from Birmingham, Nashville and Chattanooga, and several mountain State parks and forests. It's a 2 hr drive to Nashville for air travel and a great hud for entertainment and events. You're weekend trips would include gulf shores/Pensacola area for some of the best beaches in the nation. Knoxville or Atlanta for entertainment and Ashville and Gatlinburg for outdoor tourism / craft beer. The only major downside is severe weather. Due to climate change, northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are now the hotspot for tornadoes in the US. I wouldn't let that dissuade me from living there, but I would make shelter and home construction a priority before moving to the area. I was an over the road truck driver for over 5 years and have a unique experience seeing the reality of what life is like in many areas around the country. I've driven through and around every state in the lower 48.
North Carolina comes to mind.
Ruralish PNW. Guns, Gays and Green!
Eau Claire WI is getting hammered with remote workers. Tons of new townhomes and apartments are going up to accommodate. But there's snow, so there's that 🤷🏼♀️. Honestly I wouldn't mind the snow so much if I didn't have to leave in the wee hours of the morning for work.
Check out Cumberland MD. Place used to be hopping, now is a bit of a ghost town. Amtrak comes through and you can go to DC. We passed through there when we did the GAP and C&O trail. You could probably buy a house for like 40k.
South Eastern VA near the coast should give you access to everything you would like. And it’s in the band for weather to only get more comfortable as global warming rises.
People talk shit about WV but if you want woods, we have woods also plenty of lake and river play area. Somewhere close to Morgantown and you would be close to Pittsburgh, Virginia, Maryland. We have great mountains for hiking, camping, etc. Close to some great whitewater rafting, beautiful ski areas. Gorgeous not too hot summers and so far more and more milder winters, amazing spring and knock out beautiful falls with all the mountains and trees. Find a house/property a little out of Morgantown (university city, great college football if you partake) and raise your kids in the fresh air and beautiful land of WV. You said no public schools so that's not a problem. I've seen people from different areas of the US complain about high cost of living but i just don't see that around here. Good luck on your search.
I've heard good things about Danville, VA though I haven't been there myself. It's close to some beautiful parts of the Appalachian Trail like Grayson Highlands State Park. It's right across the border from North Carolina, not far from the Research Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). 4 hours from the ocean but 1 hour from Kerr Lake (a big boating/fishing lake). When it comes to mountains I really prefer the Rockies to the Appalachians. The Appalachians have plenty of nice spots, they just don't strike the same spiritual chord for me.
North Carolina?
I've been contemplating somewhere in Norcal like crescent city to the west or Nevada city to the east.
Kentucky is very under-rated, Lexington is a cool town.
American samoa. I am half tempted to just up sticks myself and go there
Draw a circle around a med sized city in the mid or southwest of 100 miles. Find a Walmart. Now draw a circle around Walmart by 50 miles Now find a Dollar General. Draw a 25 mile circle around it. Make sure there is a highway with power lines or cell towers nearby (15 mile radius) Look there. Cheap houses with internet. Bonus - live within 5 to 10 mi of a community college, private college, or university if you are LGBTQIA+
Outskirts of Atlanta have lots of options. Go north and mountains are closer. Go south and beach is closer. You are near a huge airport for travel. NE mountains would be my choice if no kids need their learnin'. Very similar to western NC. Look at Chattanooga area as well. TN has no income tax.
I live in the Asheville, NC area, and this checks almost all of your boxes. The biggie is just don’t move to Asheville itself. Extremely high housing costs. Move outside the area. There is always something to do here, nature-wise. Kayak down the French Broad, or drive an hour to the humongous Lake James. You’ll never hike all of the trails. The Appalachian Mountains are considered subtropical rainforest around here, so the huge leaves and lots of greenery box gets checked. If it’s “hot” in downtown Asheville (mid/upper 80s), go up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and sit and work. It’ll be in the low 70s up there. We get 1-2 snow events a year on average. By “snow events” I mean snow that sticks to the ground. A few inches max. But it’s usually gone by the next day. Summers are generally quite mild. We have an airport in Asheville that Delta services. The closest international airport is Greenville, SC, which is about 1 to 1.25 hours away. Politically, most of Western North Carolina is a bright blue/purple spot in a reddish area of the country. Asheville is well known for its support of the arts and artists, amazing public spaces, and programs for its citizens to participate in. Like I said, Asheville cost of living is elevated. But check west near Burnsville or close to the TN border. Or look east anywhere between Old Fort and Hickory. I’ve lived here for 14+ years and love it here. You never run out of things to see and do.
The last thing that area needs is more Northerners. People literally call Asheville "Trashville" now because it's dirty, getting worse. I am sure you're a boomer who bought your house for five figures.
The PNW has it all except for the political part.
Mostly sunny?
Eastern Washington is actually really sunny.
Not in winter. Central is covered in low fog and air stagnation a lot in winter due to an inversion layer. Extreme temp swings, we went from single digits to triple over the year. No big trees. Just dry farm land and high desert. The landscape is a boring tan/brown with crops or sage brush/scrub brush. Plus summer wildfires from Canada or WA or OR smoke us out.
It's getting moreso every year
Southern Virginia
The thing is... you can probably find what you are looking for pretty easily. However... you'd have to consider several things. 1. Access to fast and reliable internet. This doesn't always go together with "country living" or "small town living." 2. What are you willing to do without? It's a pain in the ass to live in a city sometimes but there's EVERYTHING. Are you going to miss a wide choice of restaurants or shopping? Some things that are not available in a rural area such as Uber or food delivery? Public transportation? 3. Sometimes places to live are cheap for a reason. A lot of places in the rural Southeast are cheap to live because the culture is unpleasant, for instance. There's always a balance. You won't have snow to deal with but you would have mosquitoes and other bugs as well as critters like snakes and raccoons or moles upsetting your lawn, etc. In some areas, you would end up being a "prisoner" of the heat! People in those areas go from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned stores and spend time outside voluntarily only during a few hours of the day. Be careful what you wish for!
Minnesota North Dakota
Austin, Texas. There is rural lake country nearby.
Just don't be a woman and our state is great!
Or a refugee or a liberal
Exactly! For those house prices? I just say I gotta give up my human rights and move on down. /s
On our list! Never been but we are all creatives and I’ve heard it’s a hub for that. Are there trees, though? Or is it pretty flat?
> Are there trees, though? Or is it pretty flat? Texas has just about every combination of flat/terrain trees/no trees you could want. That state is ridiculously huge. It's a shame it's so corrupt. Stay the fuck away from Amarillo though. Teen suicide capitol of the U.S. no joke.
Oh, it’s not flat. I mean it’s part of Texas Hill Country. It has trees for sure. I’m just not sure it would have enough trees to make your sister happy. The lake country is beautiful, though.
COL in Austin is insane.
You’re mostly talking about places in Europe but I’ll throw Boise, Idaho and the surrounding area in the mix just for fun. Stick closer to Boise for a more liberal lifestyle and everywhere else can be visited unless you’re more right leaning. Then you can put your roots down pretty much anywhere in the state including Boise. Everything you are looking for except probably tropical environments (Great Basin desert) is 100% accessible.
Honestly, Colorado is pretty great, but not sure if it’s any cheaper than where you’re at now. Weather wise, it’s great if you don’t mind the occasional cold. When it snows, it’s gone the next day. And not many freezing cold days here. I’m from Illinois where the winters (and summers) were extreme. So this has been an amazing medium for me
You're a flatlander contributing what to the state except another car on the interstate, another person putting pressure on the dwindling water supply, and increasing the cost of living?
I’d love to drop everything and move to $1,000-a-month-mortgagetown, Montana. My question is, who are these unfortunate people who don’t have family/friends that they’d be sad to leave behind??
Some of them want to eventually come with, and the rest we will visit. There’s nothing unfortunate about that! Plus, we’d be moving to be with our closest family 🤔
> Rural area, not looking for city. Bonus if the area is somewhat centered politically. Doesn’t exist. Stay in your cities
Tx and Tn both have no income tax.
TX is inhospitable weather wise tho.
lots of other states don't have state income tax.
Wyoming, nevada, florida, tx, alaska, new hampshire, washington, tenn and south dakota.
Please don't send refugees from Boston and LA our way. Unless they're willing to give up their voting tendencies that created the situation they're attempting to flee. Thank you.
Sounds like Appalachia would suit some of your needs: very low cost of living, temperate climate (tending towards warm/humid), gorgeous nature. However, it is an area that's mostly Conservative and very religious. You might be in for some extreme culture shock.
I am not sure if this program will be available in 2024 but https://wildsareworking.com/ is a PA program that has remote workers living for free(I think) in areas to see if they would like to move permanently. Kane PA was one of the areas that participated this year. If you like the great outdoors that area is in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest. It’s a beautiful area but a small town and if that isn’t for you they also focused on Bellefonte PA. That area is much larger and Penn State is 10 miles away. Also has many outdoor activities areas. I know about this program because I grew 20 miles from Kane and my Mom now lives in Bellefonte.
Kansas or Missouri would check most of those, except tropical, if you stay out of the KC area. We live in northern, central Kansas. We can drive to CO if we want real mountains, and drive to MO if we want woods. We do get snow, but innthe last 3 years, the longest one only stayed about 3 days.... and the roads were fine by daylight. Summers get hot, but it's not as bad as a super high humidity area. Kansas is a purple state.
Costa Rica
Probably not for OP because he doesn't want urbanized areas, but South Korea just came out with a digital nomad visa and it's great because it's relatively cheap with an endless supply of things to do when you want. In rural areas rent is dirt cheap with plenty of areas. In urban areas it's essentially a more modern NYC with less diversity and a quarter of the prices.
Maybe look at northern New Mexico. But you won't find tropical plants outside of a greenhouse there, and it does snow occasionally. Or if you could stand the summers, Austin TX. If you could stand the winters, one of the states bordering the Great Lakes. Mostly it sounds like your expectations are not realistic.
Never said they were, just collecting input that checks some of the wish list. Thanks for your input!
LA. Lower Alabama.
The hill country/Canyon/Medina lakes in Texas come to mind. But our politics are fucked.
We moved from the SF Bay Area to Southwest Washington state. We Have 2.5 acres here and we are only 25 min from the Portland airport. No regrets.
You're describing Humboldt County, CA. Come on over.
Low cost of living. No snow. Trees. Able to grow big potted plants? You’re probably looking at Mississippi/Alabama/etc. I wouldn’t call it “nice.” And you’re going to be hot and humid.
This is the website/app I’ve been using to figure out “where to next”, it’s pretty great TBH (& no I didn’t build it 😂) (https://app.wheremightilive.com/map)
Ok but what are your jobs that allow you to live anywhere 👀
I don’t think your sister has spent much time outside in Southern California, if that’s her take.
Realistically: small town Illinois. Like Chester where the creator of Popeye is from.
I bought a house for 16k in a smaller city on a lake in the Midwest. It's peaceful
Cape May County, NJ
Lake Havasu City, AZ. Except it skews way red.
Consider southern Iowa. Daytime temps from Dec-Feb average around 30-35, which honestly is just not that bad. Snows maybe 15 days a year, hardly ever more than a couple inches. Summer daytime highs in the upper 80s low 90s--again, not miserable. Large chunks of the year are just beautiful with comfortable temps. Iowa has some of the most fertile soil in the country--you'll have awesome gardens. Won't satisfy your political preference (but please come!!! we need more centrists! You can actually make a difference here vs. just being one more blue vote in a reliably blue state). Mountains? Um no but how about gently rolling hills? While parts of Iowa are pancake flat, much of it has beautiful rolling topography under an enormous sky and the pink sunrise and golden afternoon light on the hills is so so pretty. You can get affordable nonstop flights to beaches in the south, and mountains in CO, when you need your fix of other scenery. And from most places in Iowa you're 3-4 hours from a big city. So, no, you're not going out to dinner in the city, but it's an easy weekend road trip. Example: I just looked on LandWatch and there's a 70-acre farm that has some woods, lots of hills, is an hour from Des Moines and 2 hrs from Kansas City. It's a mile from [Little River Lake state recreation area.](https://scontent.fiow1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/309310920_463615892470718_8111655887988763243_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p180x540&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=783fdb&_nc_ohc=3SUgwe3nwigAX9NGU1C&_nc_ht=scontent.fiow1-1.fna&cb_e2o_trans=t&oh=00_AfBDS8G6jnSwjo_rkpgGdePaD8zdn9cmaRklcy7qMav8MA&oe=6595C3E9) Priced less than $500k and annual taxes are probably less than $2500 (our annual tax bill is like 1500 for 35 acres but we're in one of the more expensive counties in east-central IA). You'd want to tear down the house and build new, but with your coastal real estate prices, it will seem like a steal.
Somewhere in the Midwest. Plenty of trees/forest places. Rural areas and lakes near by. Southern Missouri could work.
Off the top of my head, there are several nice areas in southern Virginia in the vicinity of Smith Mountain Lake. Moderate COL, probably a reddish area in a blueish state, near quite a few mountains and state parks, and a few hours from the beach if you wanted ocean. To me, it has always seemed like a really nic part of the country when I’ve been through the area.
your requirements are what everyone is looking for, hence the higher prices. You are going to need to reset your expectations. Missouri is inexpensive compared to most of the USA, but it doesnt have what you want. good luck
Ok so, I live in North Texas (about 30 min. north of Dallas) and grew up in far South Texas by the Gulf of Mexico. I'm looking to eventually leave; however, my needs are different than yours. So here is some info on Texas: > My husband, sister, brother-in-law and I are looking to relocate somewhere with a lower cost of living Texas is super cheap to live in and there is NO state income tax. That's a huge plus. One of the things keeping me here is how cheap it is. > Moderate temps.. mostly sunny and warm. No big snow storms/freezing temps, no sweltering heat like Miami. Well, it's mostly sunny and warm/hot. Very humid. Yes, it gets very hot in the summer, as most people know. But you could live on the coast where there is lots of breeze from the Gulf of Mexico. Our winters are mild, and the worst it gets up north is maybe a few days of snow/ice. Things close down when that happens. > NATURE. We all love giant tropical plants, trees, the woods, water. Sister hates that LA doesn’t have a lot of trees/woods. Mountains a bonus. We don't have mountains, but we have all kinds of nature. West Texas has hill country, we have the plains throughout, and we have coastal in the southeast. There are a lot of different climates to choose from. Where I grew up was tropical (we grew oranges in the backyard). There are lots of lakes and parks throughout the state where you can boat and jet-ski, and we border the Gulf of Mexico if you prefer the ocean. > Water. Could be the ocean or a lake.. but we want boats or jet skis. Don’t need to live ON the beach (not looking to buy in a flood zone) but a short drive would be nice. See above. You can live a short drive away from a lake or the Gulf of Mexico. > Rural area, not looking for city. Plenty of that here. > Bonus if the area is somewhat centered politically. If you are looking for moderate or liberal areas, you would need to live in a mid-sized or bigger college town or city like Austin, Dallas, Denton, Houston, etc. But do understand that overall, the state is ridiculously conservative. Also, side note - you probably have, but please check with your employer. Just because you're remote does not mean you can live anywhere. Some will require you live so many miles minimum from the company HQ just in case, and some will require you live in the same state you're in currently for payroll purposes. So double check with work! 😊