Where to Live?? need your suggestions

Well,
I guess I'll post some info on Atlanta GA. Cost of living in the perimeter is high, but drops DRAMATICALLY when you get outside the belt line. You could pick up houses on a 2 for 1 basis in Alpharetta right now and the schools are top notch there. The break down listy for you:

The bad:

1. Traffic. If you live in the suburbs, work in the suburbs. The commute into/out of the city during rush hour will kill you.
2. Suburbs (to include: Alpharetta, Dekalb, Decatur, Gwinnett) are mostly new construction and clear cut with cookiecutter strip malls.
3. Unemployment is higher than the national average right now.
4. We are running out of water. Severe drought conditions have persisted for several years now.

The Good:

1. The Hope Scholorship currently sends every qualifying student in GA to a GA State University, Tuition Paid. If your child graduates high school with a good average, and maintains a 3.0 or higher GPA they go to an in state College or University free.
2. Pretty decent weather but very hot during the summer.
3. Great museums, symphony, Hockey, Baseball, Football, Basketball at the pro level.
4. Fantastic restaurants in a very broad range of cuisine, great farmers markets.
5. The airport is the busiest in the world, literally: Every major airline uses it as a hub for international destinations. Finding a flight is always possible.

Living in the city, it is possible to live in a neighbor hood that seems like it is out of the city but is walking distance to great features. Consider the following neighborhoods which have decent to great schools:

Virginia Highlands
Morningside
Druid Hills
Midtown (separate from downtown)
Piedmont Heights
Buckhead
Collier Hills
Peachtree Hills

Home prices can range from 500k to the Millions Though they are falling finally in these neighborhoods. Atlanta is pretty cosmopolitan since hosting the olympics and the city is decidedly liberal though the state is conservative.


Hope this is helpful!

-Rob

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Originally Posted by Doc

a reasonably affordable cost of living

thats not Asheville NC cost of living is sky high here!

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I have family in Fletcher that I visit on occasion. I was down last fall for a class at the Doubletree at Biltmore. I picked up a couple of real estate guides and housing seemed a high but food and gas seemed on keel to what I am used to in Ohio. The night life was good and the arts scene is good. Close to the App. Trail and the blue ridge parkway. A little white water near. Mild winters. I thought as a whole though the town was a little libral for my tastes.

Don

Another vote for the Dallas area; I lived there quite happily for some years before job circumstances moved me to Florida. I still occasionally think of moving back but SWMBO would never leave the beach...

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Originally Posted by Quick

Ummm, he said "liberal arts scene"... They ain't liberal, and there aren't any arts. Unless you go to see the arch. :rofl2:

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Got a little carried away, I started thinking I was going to move there.

Others have already listed most of these, but I have spent lots of time in the following cities and I think you'd be happy:
1: Portland Oregon (maybe not a strict four seasons, but pretty close)
2: Denver Colorado-- fits the bill
3: Asheville North Carolina-- fits well too
4: Seattle area suburbs

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Originally Posted by Quick

You're looking for SEATTLE! or maybe south of there on the sound (you didn't include perpetual sunshine in the list).

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I'm like you, I want to live away from other people and my job will let me. My wife's job requires her to live in the metro area. We live in Ballard, a suburb just northwest of downtown Seattle. The Seattle-Everett-Tacoma metro area has a very high cost of living. You won't be able to get into a decent house (1500-2000 sq ft) for less than $400,000, even with the real estate downturn, unless you live 'way the hell out from the cities (hour+ drive). The metro requirement is the kicker; anywhere your wife will want to live, you will be too close to cities and costs are significantly higher.

We have friends who used to live in Florida, him for 20+ years, her for 2 years, and they moved 'way up north to Bellingham, WA. It's half an hour from the Canadian border and one+ hours from Vancouver B.C., has a liberal arts college, a relatively decent-sized town, and prices are affordable in the nearby outer areas. The economy up there has been in the tank for a while, so few jobs are available. It's worth a look.

I'm with Wescap- there's plenty of places in NorCal that would fit you perfectly. There's a lot of cool little towns on the East Bay of San Francisco that don't suffer from its high cost of living. But you get great little towns, and with the BART, you have city life at your immediate access while maintaining a small town feel.

There's a little town called Benicia that I've been considering moving up to as the GF is in the Bay Area. Aded bonus: lots of antique stores where I've made some great razor finds.

I'd say Boston is the place for you, not too big, and the best of all, a European would feel at home there as it resembles a European city..with a living city core..not like Orlando for instance!!!

Everything you ask for you have in Albuquerque, N.M. Nothing at all like Santa Fe which is a tourist town and retreat for rich people.

Boston is nice, and fits all the requirements, but cost of housing is quite high.