If you could live anywhere....
 

grumpy and I have been talking for a few years about moving. Well, it looks like we may be seriously thinking about moving to a warmer climate. I have lived in Michigan my whole life, and I have lived with ice and snow, maybe it is time to find out what it is like without it.

We have been looking to find a place where we can get at least one or two acres of land. Right now we live in a small city and have a small corner lot on a main street, with a little house. We understand that the cost of living may be low in one place, but the cost of food is higher. There are so many things to consider, but we need to start looking now so that when we are ready to move we will have as much information as we can.

So if you could live anywhere, where would it be and why ?

Springfield Tennessee or the surrounding area ,close to Nashville ,Bowling Green ,Kentucky .Out in the country but close enough to the city .That is where Chuck Hanson and some other friends live .It would be hard for me to leave Georgia but if I did that would be my favorite place to live although Oregon would be high up on my list .

I agree with Flash, Oregon has a lot to offer, do get tired of the rain at time, but we don't have tornado's, high humidity and extreme heat like the rest of the US. Lots of mountains, great beaches, and the east side of oregon is the dry and hot side. Central Oregon is where I would like to move, much dryer and warmer in the summer. It does get more snow in the winter, but has some of the best scenery in the US. And it green here most of the time. I have to admit I'm bias.

flash, I really liked the area where they held Chevellabration, near where Chuck lived. But it was so damn hot, and humid, not sure if that is for me.

Ray, I have never been to Oregon. Living here in Michigan it is not a state that I have heard people talk a lot about. Give me a medium priced house. Do you have cattle fed or corn fed beef and what is the average price of a gallon of milk ? May sound like funny questions, but we have come to find out that they have given us some kind of an idea of what it will cost us.

OK. One more thing I have kids in one in mid Texas and one in Las Vegas, Nevada. Any input on either one of those states ? We are open to anything, but just wondering.

I really like Eastern Ohio right near the West Virginia border... we broke down there on a family trip when I was about 16, and fell in love with the place while we were stuck there for 2 days.

Cold climate...I can relate to that Ms.
We moved from western NY in 1985 to here in Marietta, GA in 1985 and never looked back.
When my wife finally retires...hopefully able to convince her in less than two years...we'll be selling this house and moving to either north FL (Daytona Shores/Orange Beach) or AZ (Scottsdale).
No state income taxes.
We both love the heat and hate the cold!!
Our daughter and her family live in mid Louisiana and our son and his clan live in north GA. All it will take is to jump on a plane to visit either.

Texas. If you don't like heat, stay away from there. It's triple digits most of the summer. ...and nobody give me that, "it's a dry heat" stuff. 120 degrees is hot no matter how you slice it. It's ever hotter in Nevada.

I have 5 acres in Middle Tennessee about an hour and half from Goodlettsville. About an hour from Knoxville and Nashville. Right near Cookeville. It's on the western edge of the Cumberland plateau and it sits on top of a mountain. VERY pretty. I'll sell it to you cheap! :D

We live in Missouri and we like it here. The job market is decent, the cost of living is low and people are friendly. Land is not a problem, every property outside of town usually comes with 2+ acres anyway.

I like Missouri too as long as its not Branson.

We're about 30 minutes north of there. Close enough to visit, but far enough away that we don't have to deal with it if we don't want to.

Keep it coming guys. You are giving me a lot of things to think about. I like the no income taxes, I knew that Nevada was that way, didn't know about Arizona (don't tell grumpy he would move there in a heartbeat).

Tennessee has no income tax either. No state inspection on vehicles, either.

Really ? Now that I think of it, we did see some interesting vehicles when we drove thru Tennessee.

Interesting how ? About to fall apart or barely pieced together .I see some really junky ones here that I wonder how they pass emissions or move under their own power .

I was trying to say it nicely. :) I don't know how some of those cars even make it down the road.

So we have friends that have been looking at houses, knowing what grumpy and I are looking for. One of our friends found this one in South Carolina.

If this house were in Michigan, it would be a lot more than the asking price in SC.

http://www.homes.com/listing/photo/1...NSTER_SC_29693

Westminster, SC is right across the GA/SC border...I've got a Camaro buddy that lives there...been there many times.
Nice area.

South Carolina is another place I would consider living but the humidity would probably be about the same as here and Tennessee but would be closer to our friends who are Silver Travis Band .

Clearwater beach selling suntan products while having a beer buzz 7 days a week!

That's a really good question. It would be hard to pick a place to move to when you have roots where you are.
I've been looking for property to buy locally but most are over priced and taxed heavy. I plan on retiring in five years so maybe an out of state location would be better.....Hmmmm

Garyb, I have a son in Texas, a daughter in Las Vegas, and a daughter in New York. And I may be one of 6 kids, but I am only really close to my brother Eric who live here. The only reason we have stayed in Michigan this long is because of my mother. But, and her is a big but, my mother has said that she may be ready for a warmer climate. It may sound funny, but my mom gets along really well with hubby.

I'm partial to North East Texas. Yeah, there is the heat during the summer, but not much cold during the winter. But, with my Fibromyalgia and other problems, joints hate cold, it works for me.

I used to really love Oregon. Still visit there once a year to see relatives. But visiting there, they just have too many weird laws and the cost of living difference is a shocker compared to east Texas. Texas has no income tax, Oregon has no sales tax. But then Oregon doesn't have self-serve gas either.

But then, I live in the country, never liked cities. I noticed in Oregon, and in South Carolina (my brother lives there) that they have laws restricting what you can do/build on your property, even outside the cities. Here, if I want to add a shed or barn, I just put it up, no permits, no inspections.

So what do you think is better. No income tax, no sales tax, besides a job or the weather what is the biggest draw for moving to a particular place ?

Being disabled and retired, job is not big for me. However, if job is, check unemployment rates. Oregon is high, Texas is medium. As far as Taxes, I take sales tax over income tax. Sales taxes vary depending on what you buy, food little to no tax, so depending on your spending habits, it affects you differently. Income tax however is you make X amount and the government is going to take a percentage of it regardless.

Weather is only part of a choice for me. Politics and people make a big difference to me and can disqualify someplace that I might like for scenery or weather. When I first came to east Texas, some people waved when I drove by, even though they didn't know me. Good indication of Friendly people. How much the government is into my business definitely affects my choice.

Cost of living is high on my list also. I have a fixed income and the lower the cost of living, the more comfortable I can live. Costs such as housing can vary even in close proximity. In my county, two of the school districts are rated very high, so costs in those districts are higher than others, even in the same county. Property tax and school tax are separate here, so vary by district.

This does not affect me as much being a disabled veteran, I don't have to pay Property or School taxes in Texas. I also get to register 1 vehicle for free. Veterans benefits is another factor for me, maybe not for you.

What are utility/energy costs? Ours is pretty low on average, but then, we are the largest energy producing state. Again, location within the state can vary. Traveling between the two states, Oregon and Texas, on average, Oregon's gas prices are usually $.50-$1.00 more per gallon. Oklahoma actually seems to have about the lowest on average from my experience, you can probably look it up.

What activities do you like to do? Are they available in a particular location? If your into snow skiing, Texas ain't for you. Like scenic drives, ok, Oregon, or at least western Oregon has us beat hands down on that. So does Alaska and Colorado (yes, I love mountains). Tennessee has some beautiful scenery also.

Being a car guy, I take into account if the state requires DEQ in a particular location or not. My county has only visual checks and safety checks, not full DEQ. I'm not sure, but I think Oregon only requires it in certain counties also. Other states, I haven't looked into. Oklahoma doesn't have any vehicle inspections at all. Texas goes by federal standards, Oregon, like the whole west coast goes by California standards. Personally, I avoid so called "green" states.

So what do you want? Weather? Cost of living? Activities? Car friendly? My area doesn't really rate the highest in any of these categories, but does decent in most of them. The further west you go in Texas though, the lesser the scenery becomes. (unless of course you like deserts)

Wow..those are great things to think about and consider. We are still in the "want to move" state and have been looking into housing costs. Schools are a huge thing for us as well as being able to drive/register my Chevelle.

Thank you for the food for thought on many important issues.

Well, moving is a big thing sometimes. In my case I have to admit, that my choice also was made easier since that is where my parents and 1 of my sisters live. Family is always important.

I know, part of the reason that we are still here in Michigan is because of family. Years ago I moved to Indiana and it devastated my mom. She is 76 yrs old and even though one of my sisters lives in my moms house, my mom still depends on me being around. I love my mom to death and grumpy knows that if we move, there had better be room for her. He likes my mom too and knows that my sister is taking advantage of her and would gladly take her just because he knows what a special lady she is. So there are so many factors in deciding where and when to move.

Georgia has both sales and income taxes ,you just cant escape them.

Came across this article today...seven states with no income tax.
http://247wallst.com/2013/03/19/seve...-income-tax/2/

I just keep finding things that are making the decision harder and harder. Thank you Bill.