Taking money out of the equation , where in the USA would you live ?

[torredcuda]

Only lived in Mass and NH and I haven`t travelled all that much, been all around New England and driven down to the Carolinas a couple times. flown to Florida and also been to Ohio (Mopar Nats), of course Carlilse and flown to Tennessee to visit my sister. I would love to travel west to Colorado and California - maybe someday but since friends and family are all east coast would like to stay over here. My current dream is to move south to a warmer climate, have no interest in Florida so looking around Virginia/North Carolina area, very mild winters and not too unbearably hot for extended times in the summer. Right after I got divorced I looked at moving to Tennessee near my sister who is just north of Nashville and loved that area but wife is paranoid of tornados so I think that is out.  We had a trip planned for April vacation down the Blue Ridge parkway to check out some property in the Roanoke area but obviously had to cancel till hopefully later in the year once this whole virus crap has calmed down.

[7E-Bodies]

ALMOST anywhere but Illinois, aka "The Peoples Republic of Chicago"

[JS29]

Or NY state, we are no better off! 

[soundcontrol]

Love it when a thread takes a 3 year break then suddenly everyone just jumps right back in! 

I lived in L.A for 10 years, liked it, but now when I go back it's so different, way more traffic (but way cleaner air though!) and all
the homeless people in tents on the streets was quite a shock.

I would go for Carmel or Santa Barbara. Sweden is nice during the summer, winter weather sucks.

[Cuda416]

property taxes in TX are a good deciding factor? I'd hate to see what you pay because I'm getting screwed. No income taxes, but they make up for that in spades...

[torredcuda]

I grew up and lived north of Boston in Mass till I was 28 yrs old but would NEVER live there again.

[Cuda416]

Here is a screen shot I took of our weather in Texas one week.  I couldn't find the shot I took when it was 115* for a week.    It is low humidity though..a dry heat. 

I've never experienced this " dry heat" before? Maybe someday?  I'd guess the nearer you are to the coast it gets humid though? 

Not sure where in TX is a dry heat, but nowhere near San Antonio, it's humid as hell. As for people saying stuff doesn't rust here? I had a bare e body dash in the rafters in my garage in CO for three years, NO rust. Move here and withing a few months, the whole thing is covered in a light dusting. It's NOT a dry heat here at all.

[340challconvert]

I think I am giving away a hint of a possible paradise from my wife's perspective.  A number of years back we watched a Nicholas Sparks movie based on a book that was filmed in Southport, North Carolina.  I stated to look up information and google pics on the town.  You have the ocean waterfront, many opportunities for fishing and boating, a winery, an artist community, and piers and riverwalks to enjoy.  The climate is warm in the summer with relatively mild winters. You do not get that stifling humidity that you find in Georgia and Florida (been to both places and it is brutal in the summer). You are close to the "big" city of Wilmington, and Southport itself is not overly crowded (not like Northern NJ where I currently live) I am an old house fan and there is a lot of new construction going on in Southport, so you have a choice.  Taxes are cheap and house prices very reasonable, even if money is no object. A middle class house in New Jersey would get you quite a nice home in Southport! There are homes there (Southern style if you like that type of architecture) that do sell for a million and up.  Again if money were no barrier.
If you like being close to the ocean, living in a smaller quiet town and having a temperate climate, this place looks ideal.  Not sure of the car scene there, but the newer houses there often come on a larger piece of land with multiple garages and or place for a shop if you go 5 miles inland. Just my thoughts. The town is located on the Cape Fear Inlet (sound familiar) which is the inter-coastal waterway inlet to the ocean. A very appealing place for me at least.
A great pic of the more grand homes there:

[Wedg2Go]

Money was out of the equation when my wife and I made the final move to Salida (CO). lol! wow! *Heavy Sigh*

We moved from Phoenix (AZ) to escape the heat, insanity, crime, political chicanery (county mostly), crowds, and heavy traffic. Did I mentioned the heat? Sixty years of it is enough! Much to the dismay of our friends in AZ.

Now Salida is no perfect utopia! Fact is, it has it's problems as well, but less of it. We are happy here and the final move gave me the opportunity, after designing hundreds of homes in the southwest, to design one for us in CO. It's not much, the way it looks from the outside, but the inside living space is exactly what we like with a panoramic view of the Sawatch Mountain range.

However, if we had to do it again, I would pick the Ozarks. It would be interesting to design a full climate control garage to counter the humidity and heat on such days. 

[torredcuda]

If money were no object we`d love something like this, a remodeled old farm house, big garage, large lot, country setting with mountain view, low crime rate but still close enough to jobs.   

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1563-Marshall-Hill-Rd-Ferrum-VA-24088/107873642_zpid/

[RUNCHARGER]

I'm starting to think a summer place in the bush of the B.C. interior away from people and a second place to live in the winter. Pretty much what we're doing I think. U.S. is getting too populated for me although I like Montana.

[gzig5]

There are some spots in northern California that I like.

It's not the money keeping me out.  But if the political climate and a few other things could be changed, I'd move back to Sonoma County, CA or Northern CA in a heartbeat.  Loved it but there are some serious issues there, socially and politically. 

[Matt13]

There are some spots in northern California that I like.

It's not the money keeping me out.  But if the political climate and a few other things could be changed, I'd move back to Sonoma County, CA or Northern CA in a heartbeat.  Loved it but there are some serious issues there, socially and politically.

That's an understatement! I thought Chicago was bad....

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: I still like northern California but no way would I live in a state with that much control over your life, it's getting bad enough here in Canaduh.

[Racer57]

Somewhere between Hill City and Keystone South Dakota.