LizzieMaine
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Rhoticity is ovarated.
Not quite New England but my bro lives in Quebec City and we would spend Christmas with him and family when the boys were young.. It was ALWAYS minus some big number, with his street a canyon created by snow drift walls . When the boys wanted to play outside it was a 45 minute ordeal to dress them well enough so they didn't die. On the plane ride back to Vancouver I always asked my wife..."How the hell do people do it and more importantly WHY?"You could always come to northern New England. You'll be surrounded by impressive snowy peaks, as you attempt to traverse the sidewalks after the plow trucks have some through. You may think the winters intimidating, but there are many mechanisms and compensations for it. Believe me, there is nothing quite so warming as the smug feeling you get when hearing people from other parts of the country speak of 25 degrees F as "cold," or as though a foot-and-a-half of snow were something worth remarking on. We are, of course, known for our many outdoor activities, and even in the deep freeze of February you can rent a small, mobile shack and go out to the nearest frozen lake for a spot of ice drinking. Fishing. Ice fishing, that's what I said the first time.
And lest you think we are just a winter wonderland, let me dissuade you. In the summer, the climate here can reach near-tropical levels of humidity. Perhaps, as a Californian, you fear you may miss something like a good drought. We have them! And they are all the more remarkable to contemplate when you recall the 63 straight days of gray sogginess you endured in March and April.
Peace and quiet you will find in abundance. We were way ahead of the COVID curve in curtailing the hustle and bustle of public life. You will find yourself untroubled by the din and clamor of any kind of public transportation worthy of the name, or the sharp, unpleasant aural poke of people pronouncing the letter 'r' distinctly.
Our lack of diversity may lead you to believe that the residents here are, shall we say, less than cosmopolitan in their outlook. In truth, they can be quite worldly. People who have barely ever seen an ethnic minority can have a roster of opinions about them.
And don't forget the arts! You will never find yourself wanting for pictures of lighthouses and fishing boats. I myself haven't wanted to look at another one since I was about twelve.
There are many places here, within a comfortable distance of the frightfully expensive coastal towns, that are ideal for settling down into and waiting for death.
But Abysmal Point ain't bad.
But Chicago is home, problems and all. Cannnot recommended it for relocale though.
Not quite New England but my bro lives in Quebec City and we would spend Christmas with him and family when the boys were young.. It was ALWAYS minus some big number, with his street a canyon created by snow drift walls . When the boys wanted to play outside it was a 45 minute ordeal to dress them well enough so they didn't die. On the plane ride back to Vancouver I always asked my wife..."How the hell do people do it and more importantly WHY?"
I once mentioned to my brother I should visit in summer...his reply was it was worse. He suggested we had a window of about two weeks end of June.....before humidity and before the black fly/mosquito hatch.......other than that June window winter was the better bet.The Northern New England mindset accepts that more bad things will happen in your life than good things -- how else could we have lived with the Red Sox for so long -- so foul, cold weather tends to just be taken in stride with a "colddanuf fah ya?" comment, if anything. As Nobert notes, the hot, humid, insect-ridden, monoxide-choked summers tend to be a lot harder to bear. The one good thing that can be said about 2020 is that there was, in general, far less of that than usual.
All that said, I specifically DON'T encourage people to move to the Maine coast -- the current mass migration of people from Covid states is already worsening the very real and very serious problem of gentrification along the southern-Maine half of Route 1. Up the County is fine, but be warned that "amenities" will be few and far between, -- unless you like watching potato diggers in action, or want to know what it's like to be licked by a moose.
When that wind blows you cannot dress enough to combat the coldYeah, it's colder up there. When I was a baby/toddler my family lived in Montreal, and since then I've been to Carnivale in Quebec a couple of times. in addition to the latitude, you get those bracing blasts of hypothermia coming in off the St. Lawrence.
In seriousness, one place to consider might be the Pittsburgh area. One of those rust-belt towns that's been reinventing itself with reasonable success, it has the huge U.P.M.C. medical complex, plenty of nice little outlying areas and towns in the metro area (not Monroeville), and local history out the wazoo. I don't know how taxes are, but living expenses on the whole are a probably lower than SoCal.
I once mentioned to my brother I should visit in summer...his reply was it was worse. He suggested we had a window of about two weeks end of June.....before humidity and before the black fly/mosquito hatch.......other than that June window winter was the better bet.
Montana is beautiful, but the only time was there was in a February and air temps were -39F. Boise is much more temperate with fine mountain scenery.My wife and I have spent the past 6 years touring the western states...eschewing big cities in favour of the small town America we love so much. Two years ago I would have advised to look at smaller towns in range of Portland or Seattle but now with the homeless/political scene they approach unliveability and would no longer be on my list. Salem a bit further down the I5 might qualify or a bit further Eugene with the Uni gives it more of a cosmopolitan feel than it s size might warrant. Central Oregon is wonderful. Bend with much in its favour although there are a lot of Californians there! Coeur d'Alene is wonderful while Spokane still seems to be a working man's town and may seem too back water after LA but it does have Gonzaga U. We really like Boise and its suburbs are amongst the fastest growing regions in the US. Boise State adds a dose of culture to the small town mix. Meridian, Eagle, are two upscale suburbs of Boise. Only know West Texas and the oil patch and not a place I would choose except to work the patch. We love Montana but that likely does not qualify as even their 'big' cities are small...I think the largest, Billings is only 100,000 and Helena the capital at 60,000 or so? But it truly is big sky country with Bozeman the cultural exception now housing many Cali and CO refuges making it the one town that is not so much Montanan any longer......dog spas, designer fashion stores, high end recreational equip stores, wine boutiques give it a more Sun Valley feel than anything else. Working Montanans in the rest of the state tend to scrunch their faces at the mention of Bozeman.
We love McMinnville.Lifelong and 4th generation Chicagoan who retired to the Portland Oregon area over a year ago. My wife is an Army brat who grew up in a lot of different places, and we vetted different options for retirement over the decades. She was against retiring in Illinois: I could have been happy retiring to Champaign- Urbana or some other university town, I suppose. But she loves, "the West."
I really love the ocean, mountains, and forests of the Pacific Northwest. We're not far from either Vancouver BC or Seattle, and if we want to do the Bay Area it's a good day's drive. There's a funky weirdness to Portland itself that we love: it has its own unique history and culture, and a decent public transit system. Don't believe all you've read about riots and such last summer: that was pretty much confined to a specific area. Went down there the day after the "worst" of the troubles last summer and I've seen far more boarded up windows on Michigan Boulevard after a wind storm.
No sales tax, but we have a rather hefty state income tax. Washington state, on the other hand, has no state income tax but a sales tax. Some get the idea of living in Vancouver WA and shopping in Portland: trying to cross the Columbia River during rush hour killed that idea for us. That said, some find the housing costs more reasonable in Washington state. Personally, we like the Portland and suburbs experience more to our liking than the Vancouver WA options.
I do miss the variety of fast and other foods I left behind in Chicago, but there are trade offs. Portland is the craft beer capital of America, and there are a few local ice cream brands that are superb. I can't have my Chicago hot dogs or Italian beef, and the pizza of Chicago is sorely missed. We do however get to enjoy a treat deprived of Chicagoans for decades: wonderfully greasy tacos at Jack in the Box. And there's a respectable wine region with good small vineyards in the area. In fact, No. California, Oregon, and Washington state all boast some excellent labels.
Portland Oregon isn't for everyone, but we happen to love it. I'd suggest visiting the area on a vacation for a week or so and get to know it. The winters seem cold and rainy: essentially a prolonged Chicago November on steroids. But we don't have to shovel rain.. so that's that. The Chicago winters were never a problem for me, but my wife had to have an ankle replaced a few years ago so that settled the ice and snow issue.
Personally, I could not have handled retiring to the South. I hate prolonged heat and humidity, and could not have dealt with living in an area where locals think that it's "just being friendly" to ask a total stranger where they attend church. And retiring to an area where there are lots of old retirees? No thanks: crying babies over crabby codgers ANY day of the week. We're in an area with a lot of young techie types and their families. Some very interesting and cosmopolitan neighbors.
Considering it all, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place than here (Nashville)...
It's a matter of relativity, things are worse for us who have lived here long-term...
Uncontrolled growth without limits in a cell: Cancer
Uncontrolled growth without limits in a city: Nashville
Wait. You mean it's NOT a good idea to move to Maine to continue my novelist career AND solve local crimes a la Jessica Fletcher?!?The Northern New England mindset accepts that more bad things will happen in your life than good things -- how else could we have lived with the Red Sox for so long -- so foul, cold weather tends to just be taken in stride with a "colddanuf fah ya?" comment, if anything. As Nobert notes, the hot, humid, insect-ridden, monoxide-choked summers tend to be a lot harder to bear. The one good thing that can be said about 2020 is that there was, in general, far less of that than usual.
All that said, I specifically DON'T encourage people to move to the Maine coast -- the current mass migration of people from Covid states is already worsening the very real and very serious problem of gentrification along the southern-Maine half of Route 1. Up the County is fine, but be warned that "amenities" will be few and far between, -- unless you like watching potato diggers in action, or want to know what it's like to be licked by a moose.
That bookstore wouldn’t happen to be in Sultan, would it?
Nashville
In seriousness, one place to consider might be the Pittsburgh area. One of those rust-belt towns that's been reinventing itself with reasonable success, it has the huge U.P.M.C. medical complex, plenty of nice little outlying areas and towns in the metro area (not Monroeville), and local history out the wazoo. I don't know how taxes are, but living expenses on the whole are a probably lower than SoCal.
Not sure if OP is looking to avoid winter entirely, or what they would consider to be an onerous tax burden, but I've always enjoyed the "Driftless" area of southwest Wisconsin. The only portion of the Midwest not plowed flat by glaciers, it's a rather unique landscape filled with interesting small towns & a strong food culture centered on local farms.
Ten years or more ago I would have suggested Nashville.
Uncontrolled growth without limits in a cell: Cancer
Uncontrolled growth without limits in a city: Nashville