USA: Where should I live?

[quiet man]

Here's a question for USA-based members: what would you recommend in response to the above question? Here are my terms:

1. I abhorr monotony and want to live in a diversified landscape. A little plains, a little mountains, a little watery surfaces, lovely nature, that would be great.

2. I want to live in a smaller city not too far from a larger city. Someplace small and cozy, without too much pollution, family houses rather than buildings ("Hometown, USA"), but it should have a large city within reach.

3. I want a low (or at least acceptable) crime rate.

4. I want a diversified and rich community (in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, etc). And tolerant and open-minded, too.

5. I need all four seasons (at least two months of winter, snow and everything. So, no Texas or Arizona please .

6. And, of course, I want a decent kung fu school (preferrably wing chun).

Do you know of such a place? Or one that comes close?

P.S. Of course, the same question goes for Canada (i.e., America junior ).

[Kristoffer]

So ur moving are you? I have no idea, I wouldn't mind staying in NYC for a while though.

[Oso]

www.asheville.com

no wing chun though...and actually, our air quality is not great...but good compared to like, Atlanta.

Charlotte is <2 hours, Knoxville < 2hours.
Atlanta is <= 3 hours.

Property values just went up a lot in the city but if you're willing to drive 20 minutes to town then you can still find some nice mountain property reasonably priced.

[Oso]

LOL, here's where we have a huge flame war on who lives in the best area.

[Ford Prefect]

New England would be a good choice.

1) Portland, Maine: Mountains near-by. Good opera house and culture in town. Boston is 2+ hours away. Good rivers and lakes near-by. On the ocean... I doubt there is much of an MA scene there though.

2) Small town, Massachusetts: I live in a small town myself with nearly no crime. Boston is a 35 minute drive. My land up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is a 1 hour 45 minute drive. There are ski areas within 30 minutes and great skiing in the white mountains. Great hiking up there as well as kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, etc. (White Mountain National Forrest is an 800,000 acre park) Plenty of parks within a good drive in Vermont and Maine as well. In Boston, there is plenty of kung fu. In Boston and surrounding areas there is plenty of good MA as well. It's obviously near the ocean.

As far as culture, you have great museums, theatre, restaurants, the works. The birthplace of the American Revolution... If you want to drive for 3 hours, you can take a trip to New York City. Not a bad spot.

I'd also imagine that a city like Seattle or Denver may hold some appeal.

[Oso]

all I have to say is...why would anyone want to live with those accents...sound like a bunch of whining babies all the time.
















actaully, i'm not creative enough for a good flame war.


and, I'm gonna figure out where Ford's land is and go homestead on it.

I did some research on the White and Green mountains when I thought I was gonna thru hike the AT back in the early 90's ...beautiful.

[sean_stonehart]

Here's a question for USA-based members: what would you recommend in response to the above question? Here are my terms:

Your terms are unreasonable. Stay where you're at.

1. I abhorr monotony and want to live in a diversified landscape. A little plains, a little mountains, a little watery surfaces, lovely nature, that would be great.

Atlanta --

Foothills of the Appalachian Mountains
1100 Feet above sea level
Piedmont area (rolling hills & forests) just south of the city
Large Lakes in metro area
Beaches less than 6 hours away to warm water bodies (Atlantic & Gulf Mexico)

2. I want to live in a smaller city not too far from a larger city. Someplace small and cozy, without too much pollution, family houses rather than buildings ("Hometown, USA"), but it should have a large city within reach.

Lots of that outside the city

3. I want a low (or at least acceptable) crime rate.

Don't come to the US then.

4. I want a diversified and rich community (in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, etc). And tolerant and open-minded, too.

Plenty of that. Established Asian, Hispanic & Arab communities. Although the tolerant & open-minded piece may be a bit of a stretch. Atlanta's in the middle of the Bible Belt. Tolerance & open-mindedness is a play by ear event.

5. I need all four seasons (at least two months of winter, snow and everything. So, no Texas or Arizona please .

Not much snow here, but it's mostly spring around here with a plenty warm summer.

6. And, of course, I want a decent kung fu school (preferrably wing chun).

Plenty of Wing Chun here with Jason Lau & Francis Fong being the top of the rung.

Do you know of such a place? Or one that comes close?

Nah... not without a beginning that goes "Once upon a time in a land far far away..."

P.S. Of course, the same question goes for Canada (i.e., America junior ).

No comment...

[Oso]

I flew into Atlanta not that long ago.

or tried to as the plane bounced off the smog layer....

[sean_stonehart]

I flew into Atlanta not that long ago.

or tried to as the plane bounced off the smog layer....

Well you know if we didn't have those pesky mountains to our north east, there'd be no smog. If we could just flatten them out & sell them as condo space as the winds would be able to keep blowing it away from us.

Also just understand you can't fly anywhere in the Southeast, including a one way ticket to Hell, without changing planes in Atlanta...

[Oso]

ahem, another vote for Asheville would be our Airport. There are many non-stops for the east coast flying out of here now.


if Sherman had done a better job....

[sean_stonehart]

ahem, another vote for Asheville would be our Airport. There are many non-stops for the east coast flying out of here now.


if Sherman had done a better job....

Eh anybody can beat up women & children...

[Emeraldphoenix]

Take a look at Seattle

[SPJ]

Take a look at Seattle

Seattle is cool but with a lot of rains.

[SPJ]

1. I abhorr monotony and want to live in a diversified landscape. A little plains, a little mountains, a little watery surfaces, lovely nature, that would be great.

me too. close to nature or heaven and earth.

[TenTigers]

I live in Long Island, New Yourk. It's costly, but I am an hour from Chinatown,20 minutes from the bay or the ocean, two hours from the mountains, on the island, there are rolling hills, pastures, windy roads on the North Shore-but very expensive. BUT there are areas in Queens that have great neighborhoods-Flushing, Woodside,Kew Gardens, Brooklyn, you need to shop around-there are up and coming areas that are not expensive..yet. Or, you can go to the other side Staten Island has some really nice areas, as well as New Jersey.
The winters are cold-but there is skiing and snoboarding .
There is deer hunting, and great fishing, whether you like salt water-bass, blues, tuna, mako, mackeral,weakfish, porgies,bonito,-or fresh water-bass, pike, trout, catfish,perch, sunnies, etc
And you cannot beat Chinatown. and NYC is the cultural Capital of the World-museums, shows,beggars,restaurants,hookers,night clubs, everything you want.