Zedoo

The Cascades would have suited my personality twenty years ago. If I had moved there twenty years ago, then I would probably stay there. Now, it's in transition to becoming a different nation. I have thought about moving across the water to southern Ontario. Same weather, Canadian healthcare, bike lanes, public transportation, etc.

gerv 

Ok... I'm probably wrong about this.

I just checked the list of state hospitals and there are quite a few in smaller towns. For example, one town of 1,100 has a county hospital. I don't think you'll find a Walmart but maybe others do.

I-Like-To-Bike

Yikes! Could this be a first?

Someone/Anyone admits to being wrong on this list (or BF, or even the entire Internet)?

Next up, flying pigs at sunset.

Roody

This stings a little. I've admitted I was wrong--to you personally--several times over the years.

But I also appreciate gerv's admission of error. He is obviously a man of integrity and good character.

Of course, I could be wrong...

goldfinch

I've been retired for some years and am from Minnesota. Our home base is there. We sold our place in the city and have a place out far away from anywhere. The closest grocery store is 25 miles away. But family is within a few miles.

Home is really a motorhome. Which can be anywhere.

I have explored much of the US. But Minnesota was always home base. Now that we can buy health insurance in any state, where we could not before, we thought about changing our home base. We rejected it. Minnesota is home for a number of reasons, primarily cultural. The United States really is several different countries. Some I like to visit but I would not want to call home. I never thought I would reject a state for P & R reasons but when push came to shove I did. If we didn't travel most all the time I would live in Mpls/St. Paul.

I spend a fair amount of time in the UP. Marquette is great for biking, especially if you mountain bike. The city itself has paths all over so you rarely need to take the streets. Out of town there are some good roads and decent hills for road biking. Houghton I don't think is as great, though you can bike the Keweenaw pennisula there are not a lot of road choices. But again, it is good for mountain biking, especially the top of the Keweenaw.

I-Like-To-Bike

Tis true you have done that, not often enuff, but nonetheless you have done so. My apologies to Roody. Sorry Gerv, you are not the first.

Roody

Ok, I feel better now.

Roody

I love Houghton and the way it sits on the hill across from Hancock, with the cool old drawbridge between them. I had family from the keweenaw, so I feel at home there. I love Marquette, but it has a dark feel. I think it's the memory of the timber barons who lived there. If you grew up in the environmental movement like I did, you think of them as being the worst kind of human beings, and their mansions in Marquette seem to be haunted by their evil spirits.

Walter S

I choose not to care so much what people think. I'm more that way as I age. I'm certainly not going to a different part of the globe so people will be more comfortable with my lifestyle/dress/equipment and other things that don't directly impact anybody else in the least.

Pedaleur

Sure. But none of them care if you wear one or not. I guess that's another difference between Europe and the US...

gerv 

Walter I agree with you and I've lived through periods of considerable workplace abuse over clothing and the likely mental state of a winter cyclist.
However the social isolation is often a little hard to take. Especially when others don't see things that seem obvious to me.

For my part, the last few years has seen carfree cycling in a more positive light. At least in my city. There are more and more people who cycle to work... even if only a few days of the year. The health and environmental benefits are now more obvious. There are more and more social situations that involve cycling too.

Roody

This LCF forum has helped me to feel less isolated.

Chuchi

I've been thinking a lot about moving in a few years. Someplace where real estate is dirt cheap, and not exactly off the grid, but kinda country or woodsy. But not too far from civilization. Where I can have some critters and live dirt cheap, basically. I can imagine living next to the Appalachian trail. I have never been there, but it sounds so cool. I imagine myself buying a little patch of land and building one of those tiny houses. Or maybe I could find a run down house really cheap and fix it up. I prefer the warm weather. I grew up in the Midwest and I don't want to go back there. Although I have been in Colorado Springs and I imagined living there, it was very nice. I love California, but the cost of living is too high. My other criteria is that I would like to be near an artsy community and be able to take cheap art classes. I'd like someplace small townish in terms of low crime, but not small minded. I don't know where I should go, but I am ready to leave the big city.

Roody

It sounds like you would enjoy a college town in the southeast. Check out Athens, GA and Berea, KY. Berea College has good classes for the community, I believe. I'm sure there are also many others.

Chuchi

Thanks for the suggestions, Roody.

fietsbob

just moved for 5th time within the city limits.. now own my own hovel .. my 1st , at 65 ..
View of the Columbia River out 3 sides , N,E,W.

I moved here from storage mode entered into, after a long Bike Tour, just after my 50th B'day.

From a college town with it's annual rent surge with every incoming student set of victims.

Fargo Wolf

If I could move anywhere, I would go back to North Vancouver, BC. The apartment I had there was within walking/riding distance to the grocery store, LBS and public library. If I went further afield, there were plenty of side streets that were quiet. Even some of the main streets were pretty quiet. The sea bus (passenger ferry across Burrard Inlet) took bikes, so I could extend my rides into the City of Vancouver and beyond if I used skytrain as well. With bicycle improvements that have occurred and continue to occur, North Van is still my top choice.

Roody

I did a car trip to Vancouver a few years ago. It seemed like a compact and vibrant city for carfree living. We took a car ferry to Victoria, and a few days later to Washington state. What a great way to travel!

Machka 

Have you looked at Jerome, AZ?

Machka 

We're talking about another move ... but not for a while yet, so we've got time to weigh up our options.

-- we'd like to be closer to Rowan's work, which is well out in the country
-- but we want to remain relatively close to where I work, which is right in the middle of the city
-- I'd like to live in the country or in a small town
-- but I do like the convenience and opportunities of living in the city ... such as shopping, entertainment, the local aquatic centre, etc.
-- we'd like to be on the water or very near to it
-- there's got to be good cycling routes nearby

So, we're looking for something that might fit the bill.

Chuchi

I don't know anything about Jerome. I googled it and it looks interesting. I will have to save up so I can take a trip and check out all these places.

Machka 

It is an interesting place ... perched on a hill like that. But it is an artistic town. And Sedona, with the beautiful red rock scenery, isn't too far away.

I have no idea what it would be like to live in that area, but might be worth considering.

Chuchi

I've heard Sedona is very beautiful and it's like some kind of a spiritual vortex or something.

Ekdog

I'm not going anywhere but, if I were, Hamburg sounds nice, especially if they go through with this:

[h=1]Auto-ban: German city wants car-free CBD[/h]

Robert C

I have lived in Northern California / Southern Oregon area most of my working life (usually in technical trades; like fixing copy machines). I basically got axed in a round of government cutback and returned to college and finished my MBA. It has done me no good at all and I still was unable to find work.

I ended up going to China and working as a teacher and now a principle. I really want to return to the US. In the mean time my wife has moved to Salt Lake City and is now asking me to return (long family story, not going into it).

I did go there once and found no jobs (correction, part time security guard and part time dishwasher jobs). It looks about the same now.

So, I am interested in places where a mechanically proficient middle-aged man, who has been out of the loop for a while, with an MBA has a chance of finding a job. It also needs to be a place with a good VA medical facility.