Great thread!
My wife and I have been working on this question for years. I've collated stats for all of the towns we thought we might like, and have frequently flown to these locations for a long weekend. We've had a realtor drive us around to show us the area and the houses, then driven ourselves around.
At this point, we're down to:
- Ft.Collins, CO
- Fairfield Glade, TN
- Asheville, NC
- Greenville, SC
We love Ft.Collins, but probably won't move there because the cost of living is a bit higher than we're looking for, and I really want a house on a wooded lot (i.e. 100% privacy in my back yard) and those are not available in that area.
Fairfield Glade offers a lot. Despite being in the south, it's at altitude - so it doesn't get as hot or humid as the surrounding areas, and the cost of living is very low. It's built on a vacation resort, so it has lots of decent facilities including 5 golf courses and 12 lakes. But it's a bit remote, so my wife is having second thoughts.
We have not yet visited Asheville / Greenville.
But - I'll be monitoring this thread for more good ideas.
If anyone is interested in the huge tables of stats I've built, I'll be happy to forward you the spreadsheet. Most of the data comes from this excellent site:
http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Default.aspx
I currently have stats on:
United States (national average)
Frederick (where we live now)
Albuquerque, NM
Asheville, NC
Bellvue, CO
Bremerton, WA
Charlottesville, VA
Colorado Springs, CO
Cookeville
Corvallis, OR
Crossville, TN
Estes Park, CO
Eugene, OR
Fairfield Glade, TN
Flagstaff, AZ
Fort Collins, CO
Gainesville, FL
Greenville, SC
Lake Tansi
Longmont, CO
Loveland, CO
Nashville-Davidson, TN
North Little Rock, AR
Orem, UT
Portland, OR
Provo, UT
Rochester, MN
San Diego, CA
Santa Fe, NM
Sedona, AZ
Virginia Beach, VA
Windsor, CO