This is going to be a toughie, I'm sure!
My wife and I want to relocate, anywhere in the USA.
Where should we go considering:
No employment issues,
Already escaped UK damp weather,
Don't like built-up areas, preferring country location?
We're off to Asheville, NC at end of February as I'm assured of good rides.
Looking forward to ALL answers.
[QUOTE=royal1;282473][SIZE="4"]This is going to be a toughie, I'm sure!
My wife and I want to relocate, anywhere in the USA.
Where should we go considering:
No employment issues,
Already escaped UK damp weather,
Don't like built-up areas, preferring country location?
We're off to Asheville, NC at end of February as I'm assured of good rides.
Looking forward to ALL answers.
Gillette, Wyoming
The thing about traveling is, you never want it to end and you can't wait to get home.
I answer to Roy, Chief, or Sarg.
13 R 1200 RT, 04 R-1150-RT Sold 94 R-1100-RS Sold, 78 R-80/7, K.I.A by a D.U.I
YankeeBeemer.org
Standard Lawyer Answer?®: It depends.Originally Posted by royal1
Do you want four seasons?
Subquestions:
Do you tolerate very cold or very hot well?
Do you hate snow & ice?
Do you hunt, fish, hike, ski, camp, or skydive?
Do you want to be able to reach all areas of the country equally well?
Do you want great riding roads nearby?
Subquestion: Flat & straight or hills & curves?
Do you want 'civilization' (culture) nearby?
Subquestions:
Bluegrass, rock, or opera?
Art, music, or theater?
Michelin Guide or diner food?
It's a Big Damn?® country.
As an ex-pat, I'd pick the geography and climate you like and go there.
Unlike parts of England where towns blur into towns, this place is big enough to have swathes of countryside between each conurbation.
East coast is busier than the west. Pac NW is still a virtual wilderness in places, although it is seasonal.
Pac NW-Seasonal has distinct boundaries, unlike the UK where there can be a blurring of one to the other. In fact, the weather on a whole is more extreme than blighty, so factor that in.
It is ridiculously cheap at the moment, although be careful, food isn't the bargain we believed it to be...let me qualify that, it is cheaper in comparison to the UK, but only because of the portion sizes, not the final price. A 5 quid breakfast for example will be the same dollar equivilent over here, but you'll get 1 1/2 times the amount. That's okay, but you rarely want 1 1/2 times the amount, so it's either waste, or over indulgence.
Then, once you are here, travel around a lot.
Medical care...rip off!
Gas, even if they double it's price, is cheap.
Housing cheap, relatively (see food) 3000 sq ft for two people is excessive, although you will fill the space given time.
There are a few pros and cons. I'll not go into them here for fear of offending some folk (they are very sensitive!).
PM me and I'll see how I can help you with insider info.
Last edited by lamble; 01-18-2008 at 05:29 PM.
It's a huge country, and a huge question.
Weather? Temperate; not too cold and not too hot and dusty.
Music? We enjoy mostly country but can vary according to mood and company. Coming from the 60's era our music is quite diverse really.
Sporting? Most sports requiring too much physical are out these days although we enjoy walking. The gym is a daily occurrance for keeping the bones working!
We enjoy history, the arts, good food and wines.
Have already noticed the difference of friendliness between states so we're looking for a friendly nation. I know!!
In the words of Freddie Mercury of 'Queen', "I want it all, I want it now!"
Hills, flat whatever!
Oh, and being on a Service pension, not overly expensive.
Is there such a place?
If I had time; if I was on my own, I would just travel and not bother putting down roots.
I know I'll have to sacrifice some needs for the ideal which is not a problem.
I am looking forward to answers with reasons for that town, state, area whatever.
A good friend of ours retired young (around 55 years of age) with a generous pension from UPS. He and the wife sold the house, bought an RV, and became nomads.
They took "Permanent Residency" in South Dakota because it was fiscally the wisest state for them to live. NOTE - they don't actually live there - they have a post office box there. Their license plates and drivers licenses say South Dakota, etc. I don't recall of the incentives, but they were substantial.
As you investigate ideas, that's one. Of course, YMMV.
Sue Rihn #43753
Ambassador
*** Sometimes it's the bend in the road that makes life worth the ride ***
Nashville, TN
oh, no...
western north carolina is a terrible location and there is no good riding there. very motorcycle-unfriendly, too.
avoid it like the plaque.
ian
psssst: PM me and i will send you a very good ride sheet....
Go soothingly through the grease mud, as there lurks the skid demon.
__________________________________________________ ________
'67 Trail 90 || '86 R80 G/SPD+ || '13 CB500X || '14 Grom || '19 CB500X
This puts you into a wide band right across the eastern middle of the country, stopping around Colorado (where it gets flat & dusty just before the Rockies).
So you don't need to be near any of the great symphonies or galleries of New York, Chicago, or LA. Still in the same area.Music? We enjoy mostly country but can vary according to mood and company. Coming from the 60's era our music is quite diverse really.
Available everywhere.Sporting? Most sports requiring too much physical are out these days although we enjoy walking. The gym is a daily occurrance for keeping the bones working!
Remembering that we are a young nation, the farther east you go, the more recorded history you find. Not that there is no pre-Columbian history throughout the continent. Just that less of it is preserved because European settlers didn't care much about it. You will find the arts and good food in most of our major cities. You're on your own for wines (since I know next to nothing about them).We enjoy history, the arts, good food and wines.
I think that band of states I'm aiming for qualifies. Every one of them. You do get some regional snottiness in New England, the upper Midwest, and the Pacific northwest. Then, you get typical big-city overcrowded rudeness in the largest metropolitan areas - but you're avoiding those anyway.Have already noticed the difference of friendliness between states so we're looking for a friendly nation. I know!!
Sadly, he's gone. I tend to favor hills, but having no aversion to flat places opens up more possibilities for you.In the words of Freddie Mercury of 'Queen', "I want it all, I want it now!"
Hills, flat whatever!
Travel is fun when you have the most options, so I favor aiming for the geographical middle of the country. If you live on or near the east coast, you can only ground travel in three directions and the west coast is all but impossible without spending a week going and returning. I think Missouri may be your state. Somewhere relatively close to St. Louis as your 'cultural center'. If not St. Louis, maybe closer to Kansas City or, if you can handle the hotter climate, maybe somewhere near Memphis, Tennessee, in eastern Arkansas or western Tennessee. These are some of the most affordable places in the country as long you are outside the urban sprawl of the city. I do not think I would stray more than an hour or two from a major metropolitan area simply because folks far out in what we know as 'the sticks' tend not to accept 'outsiders' as well. It also means you travel farther for your 'culture & arts fix'. Good luck with your choice.Oh, and being on a Service pension, not overly expensive.
Is there such a place?
If I had time; if I was on my own, I would just travel and not bother putting down roots.
[SIZE="4"]Thanks 535is for the comprehensive reply.
I had thought of Tennessee but don't know anything about the area.
Maybe my next vacation?
Any rides coming up out there?/SIZE]
When my brother retired and returned to the US, he and his wife pretty well covered the country looking for the best place to settle. They finalled picked southwestern Missouri near Branson. Not too hot and not too cold with lots of nice countryside all around. And, of course, it is centrally located.
Bob Schrader
Wentzville, Mo.
'00LTC
Consider
Ashville NC area is a good place to start
Austin, Texas
Santa Fee, New Mexico
Erie, Penn
Fort Smith, Arkansaw
Chattanoga, Tennessee
If you are rich consider
San Diego, Cal
San Fanscisco, Cal
Naples FL (watch out for real old drivers)
Miami FL area
Well, Tennessee is close to, but not quite, the 'Deep South' and I am not certain that even a native of the western Appalachian foothills ('hill folk' throughout the US tend to be a little 'different', but much the same as one another, whether in the Ozarks or in the Appalachians) like me could adjust culturally. Western Tennessee is somewhat different, even smack dab up against Mississippi (which is 'Deep South') and as you move on up toward Missouri, you run into plain ol' Midwesterners that are about as middle-of-the-road as Americans get. It can get brutally hot down there (it was 105?? last time I was in Memphis - but that was abnormal, even for them) but you might moderate that by living on the north or northeastern side of a mountain where it's always shaded. It's worth a trip, if only for the barbecue.
I have friends in Raleigh who are ex pats and find the life style very comfortable. There's a good BMW dealership there too.
Oregon has a lot to offer. The key will be your neighbours, they can make or break any relocation.
When you get to Asheville (San Francisco of the East), you will be close to an excellent place to live. Western North Carolina, East Tennesee and Southwestern Virginia (near where they all meet) is an excellent location if employment is not an issue. I moved away but moved back here to retire when I realized what I had left. We are getting a lot of halfbacks moving here. A halfback is someone from up North that moved to Florida, didn't like it (natural disasters, cost of living, no change of seasons, racial or ethnic issues, etc) and moved halfway back and ended up around here. Around here, property as well as the cost of living is cheap, there are not a lot of people, no natural disasters, moderate weather and we have good country folks. We have great riding and camping within minutes of where we live. Some folks from up north and out west have a difficult time adjusting to our laid back ways because we don't get in a hurry to do anything. Our Tri-Cities center is Bristol Tn/VA, Kingsport and Johnson City, TN. Anywhere within about a 100 miles of there is a good place to live (you might want to avoid the coalfields).
'You can say what you want about the South, but I almost never hear of anyone wanting to retire to the North.
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