Where to live in the US (if you have a choice)

[keith]

Have you considered the Arizonan Patagonia?

Not the same but vaguely similar - cattle and grapes and Spanish and native Americans, but no visa required.

[Patagoniagirl]

Have you considered the Arizonan Patagonia?

Not the same but vaguely similar - cattle and grapes and Spanish and native Americans, but no visa required.

Oh noooo! No comparison.

But Slims description of the Ozarks intrigue me.

[slq]

The PNW, for sure. Seattle. High property prices, yes. But otherwise, I love it!

[Shizzle Popped]

For me and Mrs. Shizzle it's back to the Pacific Northwest once we're no longer needed here in the Midwaste. That is, if we can figure it out financially. The Seattle area is out. Houses in our old subdivision on the outskirts of the city are now selling for over a million dollars. We actually liked the weather there. Not (generally) too hot in the summer or cold in the winter. We never minded the wet winters where it rains frequently, but the rain is really more of a drizzle than the downpours we get here. Maybe off the coast somewhere in Oregon. I don't know. We're honestly just starting to think about it. We have maybe 5 years or so left with our parents after which we'll have no remaining ties to this area. Indiana is too conservative for me so anywhere south of here isn't going to happen.

[northland10]

Cost of real estate and living restricts me. Its ridiculously cheap for a lovely old home where I live and property taxes are under $700 a year. But if you want culture and food and music, you make your own. I expect the same is true in the Yoop, as well.

I have no clue about real estate and COL up in Northern Lower Michigan, but culture-wise, being around Traverse City is not too bad. I don't get around the music (non-classical) scene much but TC is a gem for various things. It is in part due to the nearby Interlochen which besides their arts academy and summer camps, has a festival with world-known performers. The Traverse City Film Festival (the one started by Michael Moore) is quite good I'm told.

The Interlochen Arts Festival had scheduled this year performers like Chicago, Harry Connick, Jr., and Foreigner, among other ones. I don't remember if it was larger in pre-Covid years. Probably was, with more diversity.

As for the cost of things and the pay up there, the old joke is "a view of the bay for half the pay."

Though further downstate, and not as pretty, Kalamazoo is very affordable and has a good music scene with Wings Event Center and Miller Auditorium. Lately, as younger folk like the urban life, they have been really building up their downtown area with new residences. This will likely lead to even better downtown nightlife. Good beer there such as at Bell's Eccentric Cafe, among others.

[Butterfly Bilderberg]

If money was no object I would split my time between Carmel and Sedona.

Tucson has the perfect winter climate and charming historic homes in the Sam Hughes neighborhood. I lived there from ages six to nine when my parents were students at the University of Arizona and I have seriously considered retiring there.

But for the hurricanes, however, I love my life in New Orleans. The secret is to live on the north shore of the lake, where the communities grew from summer homes for wealthy New Orleans residents in the early 19th century.