AdamDZ

I know this topic, in various incarnations, has been discussed over and over but I have a question from slightly different angle. Also, out of all the forums this seems to be the most appropriate. I've been asking around but most people don't understand our needs. Everybody wants to live close to shopping malls, movie theaters, stadiums, have a house, two cars and 50" TV, etc. Also, we have no kids, so we're not concerned with schools. Solitude and peace and quiet are more important to us than anything else.

My wife and I are willing to make sacrifices in terms of work and income and our standard of living. We can live car-free or not. We don't need to be close to any cultural centers, bars, theaters, etc. As I mentioned in few other threads, we've been working on simplifying our lives. Our needs are pretty basic by now. But obviously bike-friendly and proximity to nice outdoors (touring, camping, hiking) would be a plus.

So here is the question:

Where in the USA would I have to move to (not a particular city, but a general area), to avoid long, harsh Winters and extremely humid Summers and get more sunny days? And not to live in a crowded large city. Basically, I'd like to move somewhere where temperatures in Winter don't drop below freezing for more than a few weeks and where there is little snow and the humidity in Summer isn't >80% most of the time.

If I was to chose, however, I'd chose hot and humid Summers over harsh, frigid, snowy Winters.

I'm tired of the NYC crowds, can't stand the mass transit so I have been commuting by bike for years, but Winters are becoming a problem. I tried to commute through the Winter in NYC for the second year, but my tolerance for cold weather is lower every year, it seems. I opted not to ride several times last month when temperatures dropped from 40s to 20s overnight. I just couldn't handle it.

I also suffer from depression and every Winter is a battle to remain sane. Then we get a couple of months of gloom and rain until some time in May. I need to move somewhere where there is more sunlight. In NYC the period between November and April is usually very, very lousy. That's like half a year of sucky weather with very few pleasant days scattered throughout.

Florida is out of question: too humid, too flat and boring and job market seems to suck.

I've been thinking about Arizona, parts of New Mexico. Since I've lived in NYC for 20 years, since I came to USA, such a move would be major undertaking from psychological and logistical perspectives. I was thinking about moving to Louisville, KY for some time, as an intermediate location before going further.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

California Crow

Interesting question. Off the bat, I don't think Louisville would work well for you. I lived there for about two years, and liked it a lot. I'd still be there were it not for a forced job relocation. You'd have more snow/cold weather than you want during the winter, and then you'd see a summer that's fairly humid, although nothing remotely like Florida.

I was strongly tempted to suggest the Monterey Bay area for you, as it's my personal favorite out of all the many locations I've lived in over the years. You'd have a fair amount of morning fog to deal with, but the overall climate is mild, and the biking is great. I'd be there now, if the sheer cost of living there didn't price me out of the market.

Garilia

California. If you don't mind being away from the big cities, you can find somewhere affordable.

AdamDZ

I was considering Louisville as an intermediate location just to test our abilities to re-adjust. It's closer to NYC in case we need to run back screaming, the weather is a bit milder and I have a friend there who can help with getting familiar with the place.

I've been working full time for the same institution for most of the time I've lived in NYC. I've grown sedentary, inflexible. I don't want to work 9:5, Mon-Fri anymore either. I want to see if I can function on variable income, working part time, doing freelance and changing jobs frequently if needed. It'll be a major paradigm shift for me.

AdamDZ

I was under the impression that CA is mostly expensive, regardless of the location.

California Crow

In that case, go for it! I had a very pleasant surprise in store when I moved to N. Kentucky, first just across the river from Cincinnati, and later down the road a bit to Louisville. I found the people there amazingly friendly and welcoming, and it struck me as having the kind of atmosphere in general that you seem to be looking for.

I didn't find biking in Louisville itself all that enjoyable, but once out of town a few miles, there's some wonderful gently rolling back roads to eat up the miles. Bluegrass country is a treat.

Arcanum

Hawai'i. Only half-joking. The island of Kauai in particular is pretty rural; barely a small city's worth of people scattered across the whole island. Outdoor activities on Kauai are phenomenal. Weather is almost universally mild and pleasant: Lowest average high is 75 degrees F; Highest average high is 85. Average humidity year-round is about 50%. Year-round growing season, if you're into gardening. The food is excellent. Public transit in the form of bus service is supposed to be fairly good, especially for such a rural area.

Down sides: Expensive; Perhaps less expensive than some of the other islands due to the rural nature, but still expensive. Remote; you have to take a plane or a boat to get off the island, and there is no proper city on the island. The largest town is about 5000 people. Bicycle infrastructure, from what I've read, is so-so but improving; The roads tend to be short on extra space and a bit fast, but the state and locality are building trails that run in more-or-less the same areas. Did I mention expensive?

California Crow

All things are relative, of course, and California in general is certainly a more expensive place to live than, say, my old midwest 'rust belt' hometown. That said, with the housing market correction/crash over the past few years, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. Unless you've got plenty of cash, some areas, e.g. San Francisco, are still really expensive.

mburgess86

Colorado Springs its very dry only a hand full of snow days a year and only snows about 1'' or 2'' at a time it stays around 40 in the winter and about 75 in the summer, 300 days of sun per year. Youre at the foot of the rocky mountains and its spectacular.

tsl

How about the Front Range cities of Colorado?

On another forum in a commuting thread, All winter long CO people are always lording over the rest of us that when it snows, it lasts a day then it's 50 or 60 again. I've been there in the summer and its dry like the southwest, but cooler and more tolerable. Coming from an East Coast muggy summer, the 90°F days were actually quite refreshing--that "dry heat" and all.

You're in IT, right? Lots of IT in the area too.

Dang! mburgess86 beat me while I composing mine.

lunchbox1972

Southern Arizona.. Not humid in the summer, but it's easily tops 100 degrees on a regular basis.. Ride early, I'm usually out by 5am.. Want to be done before 9am and it starts getting over 100..

Winter is great, we did have one day this year that went down to 17 and a wind chill of 1, but that is way out of the norm.

I woke up to snow last Sunday, it was gone by 10am, and it was 80 degrees on Tuesday. You can not beat the winters, but the summers take some getting used too. I know "It's a dry heat.", like an oven.. Phoenix is about 10 degrees hotter on any given day.

The riding is spectacular!

Doohickie

Yep.

Fort Worth still has some severe weather in the winter, and is hotter than hell in the summer, but not as humid as, say, Houston. Bike commuting year-round is do-able, minus a few severe weather days when the city just kind of doesn't bother anyway.

Doohickie

In that case, definitely Fort Worth, maybe Dallas. Dallas has more of a big city feel. Fort Worth is growing fast but there is still affordable housing near the city core which would be essential for a bike commuter. I know people that live in and near downtown Fort Worth and work in Dallas. Fort Worth doesn't have much of a rail system, but there is a commuter link to Dallas. Fort Worth itself has a lot of easy rides to large portions of the city if you live near downtown, and the neighborhoods are "permeable" in that you can go long distances without having to ride on the busy arterials- just cut through the neighborhoods. Also, the Trinity River has trails that lead out in various directions which are used by commuters. Here's a sampling of riding in and around dowtown Fort Worth. There is also a very welcoming bike community here in Ft Worth- easy to make friends.

Not sure what kind of work you do, but the local economy is doing okay.

AdamDZ

Yup, expensive and I want to go on long tours eventually so living on the mainland is preferred.

I've never looked. I'll need to browse CA Craigslist and ask around. I know some people who came here from CA.

That definitely looks interesting. I have also been looking in that direction, by Colorado has such varying climate it seems. Although there is a guy working with us who came from Denver and he says it'd be perfect for me. The Winters are apparently brief and mild. Summers are dry, biking is great, plenty of tech companies to find a job.

Yeah, that's what I learned from my coworker.

AdamDZ

Texas... scares me Too many stories about cyclists being abused seem to come from Texas. Although I heard good things about Fort Worth too.

Garilia

I love the Front Range cities, Boulder, Estes Park, Ft, Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs/Manitou, but if it's affordable for you I'd still go for California. I've heard good things about Sacramento. I love San Francisco area (north or south of it) I would try to avoid HelLA, If I wanted south of LA, I'd go closer to San Diego. Texas hill country might not be too bad, my personal preference would be to be near Austin as it has a great live music scene. I've had family move to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area from Florida and they love it, but they did get some snow this year.

Smallwheels

I've been reading a blog from a guy that lives in a van RV. He's been reporting about the weather in the cities in which he stops. It seems that there are many small towns just twenty to fifty miles east of Los Angeles that have the same great weather but have beautiful surroundings without the millions of people.

Look at the temperatures in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. If you live in the mountainous regions you will be very cold in the winter. Find a city at a lower elevation and it won't be so cold in the winter. Summers will still be hot.

Just this year I've decided to return to Los Angeles by next Halloween. I've had enough of the Montana winters. Unless I find a great girlfriend or somebody gives me a $100K job I'm leaving at the end of September. I'm trying to decide just how I want to live. Do I buy a van and convert it to an RV as my home or do I build a Tumbleweed house and try to find a place to put it. The intermediate plan will probably be to get an apartment in the Hollywood area and see how it goes. That would be the cheapest way to do it in the short term.

I totally understand being tired of winter cycling. This morning was fourteen degrees with a light snow. If I owned a car I'd be much less frustrated with my situation. The winters would be tolerable because I'd be so much more comfortable in a car. I'd still walk to the post office in the winters but I'd drive to the grocery store several miles away. Now that fuel prices are again on their way up I still don't want to own a car. I think I'd like to remain car free if I can, just in a much warmer climate. My miniature dachshund probably feels the same way. Tiny short haired dogs don't do well in the cold.

Platy

Hmm, people who do the RV thing would have the option of following good weather as the seasons change. Is it possible to live in an RV and be somewhat nomadic if you still need employment income?

Smallwheels

The guy in the blog is a musician. Most of his income comes from arranging music. He gets files via e-mail, works on them, then returns them via e-mail.

Some jobs are portable. I'm trying to create a portable business by doing marketing for other businesses. The nature of it doesn't require being in one location as long as the internet exists. I have yet to earn a penny because I'm still in the start up phase. I'm optimistic that I'll have some clients and enough regular income by September to make my move.

Some RV residents work for national park services doing seasonal work. Others work at resorts during different seasons. They stay for a few months to earn money and travel the remainder of the time.

Doohickie

I'm from New York originally (west end of the state) and I do okay down here. There are frustrations, but also some very cool things. Fort Worth is a rapidly up-and-coming bicycle town. It's a city of 750k, but like I said, you can still get a reasonable place within a mile or two of downtown. We want to move from the suburban fringe into the near southside; lots of historic older homes in decent shape for $130-200k.

No mountains here, but there are a few significant ridges that run across town providing some 15% grades here and there, and maybe one or two that are steeper than that.

Fizzaly

I'll second the colorado springs Idea, I've never lived there but I have a friend that does and he loves it.

AdamDZ

Unfortunately, my skills (IT support/tech/networking) require physical location, they're not portable. I can also design and build/maintain websites around various CMS but there is way too much competition there, I'll never make it, I make less than $100 a month from fixing sites for other people and from advertising/donations on my own few sites. I tried stock photography but that failed due to lack of free time mainly (chicken and egg problem). So unless a miracle happens and some of my sites start generating income I will need at least a part-time job. Two of my sites (links in the sig) show some promise but it may take years before they generate any significant income. Plus, again: I'd need some free time to write more articles and my current job and way of living really burns out my creativity.

A lot of my issues revolve around lack of significant free time due to a 9-5 job and mental fatigue/burnout related to the job. I have no time and no energy to develop my client network, to find new freelancing jobs. I used to do gigs where I'd make $1,000 over one weekend. I have turned down many freelancing offers due to lack of time. That's why I would really like to find a part-time job so I can go in different directions and try different things. It doesn't even have to be IT. I'd love to work with photography or bikes. So like I said, it's a paradigm shift of significant proportions for me. I'm working hard on lowering my "wants" and "needs" and decluttering my life, so I can survive on lower income, and I made some progress since last Summer.

Some of you might remember me posting in other threads here and in Touring that I'm not happy with the way my life turned out. That I want more time for myself, even if that means less money. I'm through with the American Dream, I just want the basics and more time, less work.

So I've been brainstorming the strategy. I think I need to find an area I want to move to first, hence this thread. Then go visit for a few weeks. Then, assuming I can save up enough money to survive for 6 months or so, just move there, take some time off to rest and revitalize, get to know the area meantime, and then find some work. I'm confident that I can find work once I settle down.

Going the other way around: finding a job first and THEN moving seems safer (I'd secure a job) but it'd be more hectic: I'd have to fly in for interviews, then move quickly. I might end up somewhere I don't like and get stuck with another 9-5 job. I like the idea of moving first, relaxing a bit and then scouting the area for a job while I'm already there. And I like the idea of taking some time off between jobs.

Smallwheels

Try truck driving. Some people love it and others hate it. You would get to travel all over the country and locate a place you would like to live. Depending on the company you work for you could get a regular route or just drive in town. Over the road drivers stay out twenty-one days and return for four. Since there is such a high turnover rate for drivers there are always job openings for drivers with clean records.

It isn't a regular 9 to 5 type of job. Every day you're in a different place. This is something I've considered. I have a class B license that allows me to drive a straight truck with air brakes. My part time job now is bus driver for a school system. They trained me and let me loose. It seems that there is also a high turnover rate with school bus drivers. So if you wanted a part time job doing that it would be easy to find one. I earn enough to pay for my necessities and no more. It does give me the middle of the day off each day.

AdamDZ

Yeah, that's why it's hard to find a place if you don't know the area. One state like New Mexico or Colorado can have very varying climate depending on the elevation.

We do have a car, but we wouldn't drive to work. Driving to work in Manhattan is for the insane. It's the epitome of frustration, it's usually the slowest mode of transportation too due to the traffic and parking can be $400 a month. So driving in Winter isn't an option for me. The only option is mass transit and I hate it due to the crowds.

Yeah, I see people walking dachshunds often. These guys definitely are not build for snowy Winters.

Long distance trucking looks fun at first, but many people say it's tiring. Driving a truck in the city is not something for me. Plus, it'd take me some time to learn. I drove a small truck only twice when moving and it was a nightmare It'd be good to use my existing skills somehow.

AdamDZ

So far Colorado Springs and Denver look the best. My coworker who moved from Denver still has some contacts there, so he might be able to help with the job and he's willing to answer my countless questions.