Where should I move to?

[JazznFunk]

I bet Asheville will bounce back faster than folks are worried about. There is quite a bit of affluence there.

The affluent won't make the difference here, since it's us working folks in all capacities who truly make things run - but the affluent will try to land-grab folks who simply cannot afford to rebuild on their land where their homes were wiped away here. People who already were struggling to afford the super-high rent in substandard housing in terms of maintenance will just leave, since there's no equity and no reason to stay. Our venues were destroyed to a large degree - and who knows what the gig scene will look like in the months and years to come. We don't even have running water yet for the majority of the area, and it's likely a month away from restoration at least.

The true worry on the ground right now is how many people will leave who made up the fabric of our arts and music scene, who simply cannot afford to stay anymore, and how re-development will be even less focused on arts and such than they were before. Asheville will bounce back, but not quickly, and it's anyone's guess how much of its prior 'character' will be retained. People who aren't here truly don't understand the level of devastation we've seen on a human and infrastructure level. The realities of what decades of over-tourism/over-promotion and under-investment in infrastructure with that money does (or doesn't do) are finally, tragically, becoming clear to everyone. Asheville as advertised is a lot different than Asheville as it really is - or will be - to those who only see the sparkling ads on TV and in magazines.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

L.A. county is quite a great area of land
It is definitely possible to just move back from the coast & retire.

A Marine Corps friend of mine settled in Palm Springs.
Anywhere around the Joshua Tree park would be great, in my experience.

Where the streets have no name?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Where the streets have no name?

Now it’s stuck in my head. Fortunately I like it.

 

[Holdsg]

Don't come to Mesquite, we have enough old people already (hey there Smeet, nice to see you making a move, make it a good one).

then there is the flesh melting part.

but I'm enjoying it in my pre-retirement!

this is my backyard and view

 

[MrLenny1]

Golden Colorado right next to Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Short drive to Rockies via I-70 and Denver CO.

 

[FilterFunk]

Santa Cruz/Capitola/Aptos?

I was going to recommend NorCal coastal areas; you beat me to it!

 

[smeet]

Congratulations on your retirement. What did you retire from? It might help us decide your new home. I retired officially last January. A few years ago, my wife and I did two trips to Asheville. We would have moved there if we were in the market.

I'm casting a vote for the Philadelphia / South Jersey area. The Philly music scene is legendary (OK, not Nashville, but there's history here). Great healthcare (UPenn, Cooper Health, look them up), the weather is great (few hurricanes or tornadoes) with four actual seasons but none are too extreme. The taxes in New Jersey are a little on the high side. PA taxes are lower. There are great suburbs around the city in both states with good public transportation into the city, if that's your thing. Winter skiing is two hours north, summer beaches are an hour east. And we have the original cheese steaks and hoagies. Look up Medford New Jersey as a starting point. Small town, walkable, wildlife, forest, nice people. I'll be happy to answer any questions and show you around if you ever come for a visit.

Here's what was in my backyard one day...
View attachment 7048757

Wow, nice critters in the back yard!

I retired from a few decades of working as a Software Engineer/Technical Artist, implementing animation tools for artists in animated films and games.

Thanks, I'll check out Philadelphia / South Jersey.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

My daughter used to live in Kennesaw Ga. Close to Marietta. Atlanta Braves field. Lots of trees, great hospital, my grand daughter was born there. Guitar center in Kennesaw.

 

[Killing Floor]

 

[Captain Chaos]

Definitely not Orlando, FL. Too hot year round and everything seems so far away. Plus hurricanes.

 

[lowdownbp5]

Boise is one of those areas that is experiencing a bit of a population explosion. Affordable housing is hard to find. I have a friend who had a job lined up in Boise and had to turn it down because he couldn't find housing. My stepson lives there and put his house up for sale. He says it's getting too crowded for him. I lived there for a few years back in the 90s. In the winter time they can get an inversion layer where it is cold and smoggy in the valley and gorgeous in the mountains. I didn't much care for Boise myself but you don't have to drive far to get into some beautiful country. Just my two cents

 

[Markmann]

I have family that live all over the US and I've always felt deprived living in Michigan... Until a few years ago. I know that weather is changing and seems to be getting worse in states that are known for good weather. For example my fam in AZ say it's getting hotter, FLA say hurricanes are more frequent, CA is drier and have more fires. Here in MI I love spring, summer and fall but not winter. That said our winters seem to be getting milder, I never even shoveled snow last year. Did I mention that we have a great music scene here?

 

[GIBrat51]

Vegas to Indiana, that's quite a change. What was the thinking on that one?

Financial, mostly. Indiana doesn't tax Social Security or military retirement - which is basically my total income, now that I'm retired. Plus, I live in St. Joseph County, just outside Mishawaka and South Bend. If you're a disabled Veteran, living in the county (which I am)? I don't pay any property tax, either...
I've lived all over the US - and in several countries, too - so, the weather here is nothing I haven't dealt with before. Winters are actually not that bad. Because of Lake Michigan, the great majority of "bad" weather - all year 'round - gets diverted to the north or the south of me. We do get what's known locally as "Lake Effect" snow in the winter; but it's very localized; always very fluffy, and very, very easy to shovel. It's a small price to pay, to avoid the blizzards that track to the North or the South. The one tornado (a little one) that we had this year? The lake sent that storm to the North of me, into Michigan... So, why here, exactly?
I have friends that moved here several years before I did; they bugged me and bugged me to come here. After visiting them several times, I decided that it would be a good idea - so I did. I sold the house in Las Vegas for almost 4 times what I paid for my current house (which I paid cash for; so - no mortgage); most of the Vegas house money's still in the bank. I have a well and a septic tank, so my only utility bills are electricity and gas (a lot cheaper than Vegas, too); cable/ISP service; and trash pickup. Vehicle insurance/registration is also Waayy cheaper than Nevada. Except for groceries; incidentals; and whatever musical doo-dad I decide to buy? I pretty much live on just my Social Security. I bank about 75% of my military retirement/VA disability... All in all? I'm living very comfortably...
So... overall? About the only thing I really don't like about this place, is that I can't ride my Harley every day of the year, like I could in Vegas. But, lying in bed with a book at night - and hearing nothing but an occasional dog, barking way off in the distance; and lovesick frogs - instead of constant police/ambulance sirens; gunfire - serious, gang shootout gunfire; squealing tires; and drunken illegals, fighting over God-know what, every frickin' night? I can live with not being able to ride every day of the year...

 

[smeet]

Apper

Boise is one of those areas that is experiencing a bit of a population explosion. Affordable housing is hard to find. I have a friend who had a job lined up in Boise and had to turn it down because he couldn't find housing. My stepson lives there and put his house up for sale. He says it's getting too crowded for him. I lived there for a few years back in the 90s. In the winter time they can get an inversion layer where it is cold and smoggy in the valley and gorgeous in the mountains. I didn't much care for Boise myself but you don't have to drive far to get into some beautiful country. Just my two cents

Idaho apparently had a whole bunch of billionaires investing in property there over the last year or two. So now everything there is priced ridiculously high.

We are still considering everything, but we invested so much time, money, and mental energy figuring out that Asheville was the perfect place for us. Now we have to start over I guess. Philly/Jersey looks possible. Oregon sounds nice but the rain and fires. The South in general is beautiful but the heat and humidity. The midwest is possible but I grew up in Chicago and I am a hunka hunka burning hate for the weather (crappy hot summer, crappy cold winter, 2 nice weeks in fall and spring) and the flat featureless endless cornfields.

Why is this so hard? Aren't there any nice places that are affordable and I won't be maimed or killed by hurricane/earthquake/flood/fire/neighbors/toxic waste? It seems like you used to be able to just find a town and live there and it was nice. Maybe I'm just old and it was always this way.

 

[smeet]

I have family that live all over the US and I've always felt deprived living in Michigan... Until a few years ago. I know that weather is changing and seems to be getting worse in states that are known for good weather. For example my fam in AZ say it's getting hotter, FLA say hurricanes are more frequent, CA is drier and have more fires. Here in MI I love spring, summer and fall but not winter. That said our winters seem to be getting milder, I never even shoveled snow last year. Did I mention that we have a great music scene here?

I grew up in Illinois and went camping with the boy scouts in Wisconsin and Michigan. In the dead of winter. One time we slept under canoes on the coldest day of the century. That was fun I guess.

Maybe winters are "better" now.

Please tell me about the music scene. What genres of music? Is it easy to get into bands, to get paid gigs, to attract an audience? Los Angeles has none of those things. Well, you can get into a Craigslist "band", and if you play Clapton and Van Morrison you might get some dive bar gigs.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Knoxville and Chattanooga can have some brutal summers and will be more humid and hot that Asheville, so there is that to consider. Lots of people like Chattanooga. I grew up there and have never liked the place. Good place to go and visit and do outdoors stuff, but I wouldn't want to live there. It is just really hard to know if you will like a place until you get there. Sometimes it can be more than just the climate or what there is to do. Places can have a culture or just people that are a certain way or have certain personalities. Hard to put your finger on it.

I live in the suburbs of Birmingham, AL. Birmingham proper is not the best place in the world. Old iron and steel town, usually top 5-10 in the nation in murders. It is like living next door to the devil in the summer time. But, the suburban areas here are really great and I just jive with the people here, even the bammers. I've felt more like I am home than where I grew up or any other place I have lived. And this is not written as a recommendation for the Birmingham area as this is just about what I have found. Now Huntsville, up north of here is growing like crazy and people seem to love it.

Good luck with finding a new spot and hope it works out.

Having grown up in Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga summers were a breeze lol. But I agree - it’s hard to know if a place will work for you until you have a chance to spend some real time there. I went to college in Knoxville, and both Asheville and Chattanooga were regular “getaway” destinations. I personally found them all to be different but also similar enough. Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, and even Raleigh have their own vibes by comparison.

 

[MJ5150]

You can still go to Asheville, and help rebuild for the first little bit you are there. Based on some articles I read online, there is real concern that the art/music scene will take a hit as some folks move away for good. What a neat opportunity to step in to fill a void and help return a community to what it once was.
You are on to something though, nice and affordable places to live in the USA are becoming more and more rare. The wife and I haven't done the extensive research you and your wife have, but we explored some places to move that we could afford. It's not easy to find anymore.
Take Boise. Some have already talked about how it is now. I remember when it was that quiet, affordable and nice place to live. Nowadays with the internet, when someone finds a Boise, message boards and forums blow up with all the details, then folks head that way and ruin it. Even the town we recently moved from was like that at one point, nice and affordable. Now it is neither.

-Mike

 

[LowendG]

Can't beat NorCal--Sonoma County and Marin (with Sonoma Cty being a bit more affordable). Always tons of live music from cover bands to original, and SF is right down the road. Great weather. If you're an outdoors person it's incredible. Way more chill than LA (I would know, I recently relocated from south to north).

 

[SkylineFiver]

Central Coast California.

 

[Deleted member 394512]

North Carolina is beautiful. I did Fort Bragg in 87'.

As someone who was born and raised in Los Angeles, I would suggest visiting the places you are considering a few times during different times of the year. Mainly if are considering a significant change from LA. Also, please don't make the place you find like the place you left. Many of the affordable areas of the country are getting gentrified and that hurts the local economy in terrible ways.