If you could live anywhere in America, where would you live?
Pretty simple question. I know questions like this come up sometimes, but it's been on my mind. I live in Korea and will probably move back sometime next year. I plan to go to the Rolf Institute (rolf.org), so I will be self-employed and can basically live anywhere as long as I'm somewhat near a population center to get enough clients. It can still be fairly distant though. I've been looking at various places for housing costs and climate data. I'm not posting this for advice really, we all have different preferences (although I may discover an interesting tip or fact or 2), but more as just a discussion for whoever wants to chime in. I probably won't even be moving to wherever I end up for another 2 years. Actually I was planning on moving back after this year, but the pandemic will likely drag on into next year and things could get really bad economically.
My short list is basically Grand Rapids (everything can have metro area in parentheses), Detroit, Flint (where I'm from), Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Colorado (in or near the mountains), Boise. I don't want to be anywhere too hot, or where I live in a shoebox for 2000 bucks a month (I'll need an extra room for a client, unless I rent a little office space), and mountains are a huge plus. I hike a small mountain near me about once a week, and do bigger hikes fairly regularly. If there was a place in Michigan with mountains I'd be there in a heartbeat. Advantages of Michigan are it's close to my parents, and the climate is perfect for me. The lakes are great and all, and I enjoy them while I'm there, but I'm not a huge water/beach guy. I also don't mind cloudy, gloomy days. Actually I love a cool breezy day with low, fluffy ominous-looking clouds, especially hiking. Also it'd just be nice to contribute to Michigan by living there instead of talking about how I love Michigan while not moving there. That goes doubly so for Flint. Plenty of obvious disadvantages, but also I could buy a freaking house for cheap with plenty of space. I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years for grad school. Feels like Michigan but with mountains nearby and still not-too-difficult driving distance to visit home. Obviously around the Rockies would be great. The Rolf Institute is in Boulder and rolfers are often liberal, hippy types so there's kind of a saturation of rolfers in the Boulder/Denver area. Burlington, VT and northern New Mexico are also interesting choices. NM is a lot cooler than I thought because of the elevation. Marquette is intriguing, but there aren't many people and I'm not sure about the hiking. Looks like some nice mountains interspersed with lakes and near Lake Superior but it's apparently entirely owned by a private club, which seems insane to me. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/can-you-get-huron-mountain-club-no-here-are-13-things-we-learned-about-it
August 8th, 2020 at 12:02 PM ^
This was 100% out experience when we went there. Plenty there with NAU, bars restaurants and attractions as well as grocery stores and stuff. Not TOO busy with student traffic. Leans more toward the hipster side of things, but much prefer the people to the valley out in Phoenix. Phoenix is a cool city but living in the Phoenix area was nothing great for us.
We have traversed North America quite extensively via road trips-love driving and encountering the locals more up close and personal. Somehow we have not gotten to the far Northeast and the Maritime Provinces. We love Michigan-especially from Frankfort to Harbor Springs. However, my/our choice would be Vancouver Island-a most delightful, gorgeous and fascinating place.
My family and I have now lived in Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and California. The thing I have learned from all of the moving is how irreplaceable being close to family is. Thats why Ann Arbor or Grand Rapids would be at the top of my list.
With a winter house in the Bahamas because I've also lost any love for Michigan winters.
Since my passion is my Harley, I want to live in Maine. Curves, hills and Ocean riding. Moved here 35 years ago because I fell in love with New England. New Hampshire is 35 minutes ride to the White Mountains. Every time I drive somewhere I still feel like Im on vacation. Nothing like crankin and bankin past Mountain, lakes and rivers.
Don’t rule out Vermont or the Berkshires in western Mass. both are pretty stellar.
Right where I am at in beautiful Muskegon, MI. I am on my boat for 5 months and then I get to enjoy the best fall and spring weather on the planet. I also enjoy the peaceful snowy winter months. Great bonfires. Great indoor fires. Beautiful beaches and dunes. Nothing better.
I moved from Atlanta to Vermont several years ago. Don’t expect midwestern or southern hospitality but during a pandemic there isn’t a better place to be.
If you’re considering Burlington, look at the taxes and cost of living, because you will definitely pay.
Consider western NH, like the Dartmouth area. High cost of living but at least you get no state income tax and VT is right across the Connecticut River. And you have Boston within 2 hrs, Montreal 3 hours, and NYC 4 hours.
Speaking as a Midwesterner by birth and breeding, I honestly like New Englanders better than Midwesterners or ("Bless your heart!") Southerners. Odd, I know.
Hey, whatever floats your boat my man!
Personally, the lack of hospitality is what drives me nuts living here.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:04 PM ^
We’re “both” the same (I’m both!). Very similar mindset for midwesterners and New Englanders. Depends on where you are but both cultures are very welcoming. I’m surprised you say “lack of hospitality” I spent many years in Maine, a few in Vermont and lots of time in NH, never once did I think the hospitality was poor.
I haven't spent that much time in the northeast. I think it's not a hospitality issue so much as just mannerisms I guess. I feel like people from the northeast are more sarcastic and direct and that can come off as rude.
I have lived or spent a lot of time in every region of the country. Putting aside location based business opportunities or kid related issues, I choose Door County Wisconsin
If money were no object, Coronado in the winter and Nantucket in the summer.
Alas, Moscow, Idaho is more realistic for me.
...or Moscow, Michigan.
I’d say probably Utah. Beautiful
Surf City...I hear there is 2 girls for every boy.??
Since you listed Burlington and no on else has said anything about it:
Burlington is pretty cool. I like it a lot better than Boulder as far as university mountain towns go, one major reason being Lake Champlain. Burlington is far more isolated than Boulder though. It's within striking distance of Montreal - and if you want a longer drive, you can get to NYC and Boston. But Vermont is one of the least populated states (I think 2nd to Wyoming), so don't expect a lot of people outside of Burlington.
The geography is super. Downtown runs right up onto the lake. The mountains are a short drive. Quebec is a cool foreign province to have nearby too.
The political climate is just what you would expect from the home of Bernie Sanders.
The economy is actually ok. Not great, but the city isn't as bad as many, and small town, rural VT is in significantly better shape than small town, rural NY. Not a ton of people to draw clients from, but probably enough - and people are used to driving a long way to get to Burlington, so you may pull from a larger radius than you would think.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
Burlington is AWESOME! Cool downtown, lots of nice local shops, it’s a mini Ann Arbor. The scenic views of Lake Champlain, cobblestone roads, late night atmosphere, all great memories.
Honestly I like it better than Ann Arbor. The university is nowhere near as good, of course. But the lake and the mountains and the climate and other factors more than make up for it, in my opinion, both as an adult and as a parent.
Yeah a lake and mountains all right there. Looks great. I realized I hadn't looked at it on the rolfer map page and there are 4 in Burlington alone, which is a lot for a tiny town. Only 50k. I wouldn't be surprised if some rolfers do their work in Northern states in summer and farther south in winter. Traverse city also has 3 rolfers listed in the area. 0 in GR, 0 in Pittsburgh.
Ann Arbor, MI.
Glenwood Springs area of Colorado. I currently live in Colorado Springs, which is certainly beautiful, but there are many things I dislike about the city and El Paso County in general. America's mountain, though!
I'd love to split my time between NY and SF for a few years. I'm a city person, and those are two of my favorites.
August 8th, 2020 at 12:40 AM ^
Two Covid hot spots both of which are shadows of their former selves. All the expense, none of the former upside. No thanks
Um very few big cities have done as well with covid as SF.
August 8th, 2020 at 10:44 PM ^
He is right that they are shadows of their former selves though. Granted I don't have that much experience with SF, but my last trip there was a very Eww time. NYC, which I do know very well - I'm pretty much planning on never going there again. I used to love that place and lived there for a decade. But now it's rats, broken subways, rats, even worse schools, rats, UWS homeless hotels, rats, rising crime, and rats. Although I will say that real estate prices have become, well, not what is usually called affordable, but at least less super duper high.
Ann Arbor, will never move away again. Lived in 8 different states, childhood to college to chasing money and jobs, after 3 years at the last stop I realized there was nothing better than Ann Arbor. First chance I got to move back I did, won’t regret it for the rest of my life! Now if only I could walk to every sporting event again...
I love California weather, but it’s a little unrealistic. When I retire, I’ll probably do Traverse City or around there in the warm months and somewhere south in the cold months, probably Florida with the blue hairs. Key West is always fun, but I probably wouldn’t want to live there for months at a time. Need to do some more travelling and find a place.
August 8th, 2020 at 12:43 AM ^
California taxes are tough, but there’s no better weather in the world. I tell myself I’m moving to a lower tax environment every year, and then nope. You could always live in a bit of an off market like Ventura or Long Beach near the ocean
anywhere that is not Ohio
I'd go to Christchurch, New Zealand.
And yes, I know it's not here.
Seattle fits your bill, except for housing costs. Plenty of less expensive options on either side of the Cascades. West side if you prefer temperate, east if you like colder winters and hotter summers.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. East face of Teton Mountains are absolutely stunning....and when Yellowstone blows its top I'll have a front row seat and not have to endure the environmental catastrophe to follow.
West Somerville, MA.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:05 PM ^
Why does that ROLF stuff sound like a scam? Like clinics selling dead stem cells. Do you guys recruit patients through free dinners?
Probably because you don't seem to know the first thing about it?
August 7th, 2020 at 10:06 PM ^
Where I currently live or Upstate NY, Colorado,,Virginia, Or New England.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:19 PM ^
Well, if money were no object for me, if I didn't have attachments in my native southeast Michigan that keep me rooted here, I would probably be somewhere in the Chicago or Los Angeles area. I actually rather enjoy both cities. I am too deep into the career thing where I am to change it up now though.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:22 PM ^
Hilton Head December through August
Ann Arbor September through November
August 7th, 2020 at 10:49 PM ^
I would choose Nags Head, NC.
My wife would choose Rehoboth Beach, DE.
Would both consider Boston (family and friends in the area, MIL/FIL may consider moving there for the summers).
Both born and raised in Michigan, but moved to the East Coast over a decade ago.
Expand it worldwide, I would choose Madrid, wife would say Thailand or Singapore.
August 7th, 2020 at 10:51 PM ^
We also live close to Grand Rapids but closer to Zeeland in the most western part of Hudsonville. Honestly, I wouldn’t live any place else. It’s where our family resides - both sides. We go to Holland State Park all the time. Lake Michigan beaches are the absolute best and we’ve been all over Florida and the Caribbean. There’s no place like home here in West MI. And we’re only a less than 2 hour drive from A2! Go Blue!
August 7th, 2020 at 10:54 PM ^
I live in KS but will move to TX when I retire in 5 to 9 years. The reason being, is that I would like to work part time half the year and I can just make a lot more money working part time in TX, then in KS. My wife hates cold weather, and even though I don't think KS winters are that bad, since I grew up in southern MI in the 70s, I'll move to bring her warmer winters.
August 7th, 2020 at 11:01 PM ^
Thornbury/Meaford Canada on the Georgian Bay near the Blue mountains.
I spent my summers there growing up and I miss it more and more every day.
August 7th, 2020 at 11:13 PM ^
I know I'm gonna miss the USA
I guess I'll miss it every single day
But no one loves me here anyway
I know my plane is due
The one that's going to Katmandu
Up to the mountain's where I'm going to
If I ever get out of here
That's what I'm gonna do
K-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu
I'd go back to Kathmandu :) Really would like to do the Annapurna Circuit.
August 7th, 2020 at 11:24 PM ^
-Burlington, VT - the lake is perfection there. Such an underrated city. Like a way smaller version of Portland or Seattle. Premium fall experience.
Manhattan Beach, CA - even though it’s right in Los Angeles and just down the beach from LAX, it’s like it’s own little piece of what you think CA is like from the movies. And it has “Good Stuff” which is the best small breakfast restaurant chain ever.
-San Diego, CA - expensive, not as high-paying as LA, but it’s got everything you’d want. Ocean, hiking, desert, Mexico etc.
-Denver, CO - Very nice city if you like seasons and/or mountains. Snow can be pretty crazy, so you need to love snow or you’ll be miserable.
-Portland, OR - Warmer and sunnier than Seattle, but very similar. Really weird hipster vibe that can be overwhelming at times - coming from someone who lived in the hipster section of Austin. Hiking, ocean and more all within a quick drive.
Popular places I’d avoid:
-Austin, TX - worst traffic I’ve ever experienced. Ann Arbor has a more advanced highway system than Austin-proper. City is a terrible marriage of sprawl and NIMBY policies rolled into one.
-Anything in Florida. Awful weather for what seems like half of any day.
-Phoenix, AZ - sprawl like Dallas. Even small dust storms can give you a nasty flu-like sickness. Heat isn’t too bad compared to Texas. Too many damn old people.
August 8th, 2020 at 12:59 AM ^
Manhattan beach, pay a premium to live near an airport and oil storage/production and have an hour commute to anywhere. It’s really one of those communities talked up by the people that live there and have to like it. Bad restaurants, worse people, and surrounded by strip malls. The water is freezing and the beaches are bordered by parking lots almost up to the water line.
Portland is wet and rioty and filled with weird people who want to be weird because weird is cool even if they’re not really weird.
August 8th, 2020 at 11:11 AM ^
My bad - met Hermosa Beach. Oops
August 7th, 2020 at 11:40 PM ^
Paradise Valley. Montana
August 7th, 2020 at 11:44 PM ^
OP--- thanks for that interesting link about the Huron Mountain Club. Although the author had extreme difficulties in obtaining current info about the club, I now finally know something about the club other than that Henry Ford was a member.
I was more than a little surprised that nobody made mention of the info in that link until my post just now.
Funny thing is, I've always been fascinated by the idea of living in the northern UP. Enough so that, with retirement on my horizon, I still think I'd love to try UP life for a few years if the right location and opportunity arises.