To continue from a previous thread...

I'm looking to live the "down-slope" part of my life, the 50+ and beyond years, in a more cost effective, gentler, and temperate part of the country.

Since we have such a diverse group of people from all walks of life and parts of the country, I was wondering if you guys and gals can lay out the welcome wagon and speak about some of the benefits of living in your neck of the woods.

My priorities are:

Availability of work (Technology field)
Cost of Living
Climate
Schools
Crime
Music Scene

Where is the best place to live in this great country of ours?

Where ever YOU are happy ...
t.

For most of the items you posted, Delaware fits the bill fairly good, however, it still gets cold there in winter. There is no Utopia. The next best would be Florida's west coast. The housing is less expensive, the climiate (other than hurricane season) is warm most of the year, cost of living is somewhat lower than most states, but there are lots of folks that will perform for little or no money, thus making a living as a OMB there can be a challenge.

Good luck on your decission,

Gary

Well you certainly don't want to come to North Louisiana. You would miss all that snow in the winter. You wouldn't get to use your car nearly as much as everything is much closer together. And that's a good thing because gasoline prices are only a dollar less per gallon than California.
Getting a tee-time is not nearly the challenge it is in bigger locales. Taking a vacation is no fun because you don't get to drive more than a few miles to reach lakes, casinos, historic sites, etc. But if you insist on seeing a big city, Dallas is less than 3 hours.
Our 2,000+ square foot home on the golf course cost an outrageous $120,000 a few years ago.
If you are from the Washington D.C. area though, you'll feel right at home, because their is still plenty of government corruption, but this time on the state level!
But most importantly, there is no room for another entertainer. We have it all wrapped up here!

DonM

hmmmm...
Great Climate, currently 55 F at 10:45am.
Ocean at your doorstep.
Clean lakes & drinking water.
Mountains for skiing, hiking, biking...you name it.
Great medical plan.
Isolated...if & when you want it to be.
Close to big music scene if you want it.
Crime...nothing like the large metropolis'.Availability of Work: Large field for Techs.
COL: Average.
2000 sq. ft. home, nice subdivision, $400K Canadian. (somewhere between 250K & 285K U.S.
Gasoline: currently $3.48(Can.)/Gal.
Where:???

...Vancouver Island, B.C.

Imho the best place to live is the place where I can make music the whole day without being disturbed by anything I can imagine.



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Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

*****DREAMERS*****

No place is perfect, each location has its ups and downs, been looking for the perfect spot all my life, and still looking to relocate for the last time. This is really hard for me and the wife, No place want's a californian for a neighbor, not even here in California....

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Support the arts
FEED a Musician
Cheers....Pose

Yes, I'm a dreamer and I'm proud to be!!!

The world has been performed by dreamers. Even God had a dream too...
What's wrong with us? We live a dream inside a dream.


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Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

Dreaming? Do you think trying to improve my quality of life by getting out of New York is a dream? I'm not asking for Bali, or Hawaii, or Palau. I know there is no Shangri-La. But there has to be a more economical, safe, caring, place than New York; No?

Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head, South Carolina is as close to perfect as anywhere I've ever been so I've made it my home. We're just a full day's drive from the frigid Northeast so we get a lot of transplanted people here from NY, NJ, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio, etc. The climate is ideal - we're already in the 60's and have had some 70's for high this month (February) and we're just below the snow line - I haven't seen a snowflake here in years and have never seen any accumulation. Cost of living is relatively low due to nice climate most of the year and we have some of the cheapest gasoline in the country (don't know why but not complaining). Taxes are relatively low too. I've worked in the technology field myself here on and off and found jobs easily... now I'm a full-time muso and this is a tourist destination area so that tells you something about the music scene. Also, I play as far south as Jacksonville (3 hours) and as far north as Myrtle Beach (4 hours) as well in Charleston (less than 2 hours). If you want to check out the job scene, more local info and classified ads can be found in our local newspapers online:
http://www.savannahnow.com (Savannah) http://www.islandpacket.com (Hilton Head)

Savannah is my favorite city of any - it's completely shaded under magnificent oaks and is very lively thanks to a popular art college downtown. It was spared from the ravages of the Civil War and has lovely architecture. And it has it's own "Key West" beach area in quirky and fun Tybee Island. Hilton Head is 30 miles north and is the fastest growing area in South Carolina. It is very upscale and progressive and property on the island can be expensive but the surrounding areas are very affordable. Golf is king - there are 40 top golf courses on the island alone. I moved to Hilton Head almost six years ago but lived in Savannah for ten years before that and I'm here to stay.

I can't speak to the quality of the schools but I know people have moved here specifically because they liked the school system. Crime is lower here than in other regions, especially on Hilton Head which has a lot of private security.

I think the only drawback to this area is the cost of hurricane insurance because of our location. And every year we seem to be in the bull's eye for every storm that comes out of the Atlantic... but the fact is that we are "in the pocket" of the East Coast and somehow we manage to never get a direct hit (knock on wood). In fact, the last major hurricane to hit here happened over 105 years ago. This is where the east coast of Florida evacuates to.

If you feel like being tempted, you can always come for a visit... that's usually all it takes.