Nellie's money post made me think of this. Especially after shmaley talked about how nice Arkansas is, and the low cost of homes.

So anyone know of a nice place to live where there are jobs and reasonable prices?

I live in Oceanside in Southern California. The climate is wonderful. However wages are not that high, and housing is way up there. The median price home is $495,000.

Also there is lots of traffic and the freeways are clogged. If you have a place to live, there is cheap entertainment - the ocean, mountains close by, Mexico and wonderful outdoor living.

There are thousands of single men and women because of the Marine Corps Base, and nearby Navy facilities.

come to florida.......

hurricane season is almost over <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

Yikes! I used to think Florida was a great place to live, but not now. I've seen to much on this board to want to move there.

I lived in Seattle for 20 years, and loved it. It is very green and beautiful, but rains 11 months a year. Usually August is good there. That is why I moved to California.

By the way, are there tornadoes in Arkansas?

I live in Michigan's U.P. Lots and lots and lots of trees, and lots of Great Lakes shoreline.

Lots and lots and lots of alcoholics (in fact the highest in the nation per capita).

Lowest days of sunshine in the nation next to some place in N.D. and the highest snowfall. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

Bars are plentiful and infidelity is the norm.

So everyone come to the beautiful U.P. the place that KYjelly refers to as BFE <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

Oh my gosh, I just thought of something a returning tourist once told me "if you can't get laid in the U.P. you can't get laid anywhere" Oh yeah add - lots of sl*ts, ain't this place grand"

<small>[ October 13, 2004, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: weaver ]</small>

Yikes Weaver - That doesn't sound too good.

By the way, Seattle has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Yeah, I think it has to do with the lack of sunshine. Why our we have such a high rate of alcoholism.

BTW, I moved here to help my mom take care of my dad who was an alcoholic and now the judge says I can't leave <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="images/icons/frown.gif" /> But the minute my DD graduates and enters collage, I'm out of here.

Maybe someday all of us MB folks will end up in a retirement town together, somewhere in Arizona or maybe the Caymen Islands, eh?

Beliver,

I lived in San Diego for 10 years, then moved around CA for another 14 years. We came here to Jefferson City, MO in 1999 for a job. When the contract was over, we decided we like it here and remained. The only problem is those jobs the president is talking about hasn't reached us here in mid America.

We have trees, rolling hills, lakes, rivers, reasonable housing prices, nice people, etc.

When I retired from the Army, I wanted to go to the Pacific Northwest; however, my wife didn't want so much rain. She is from CA and I'm from NY, so I guess this is a good comprise.

RAG - I've always heard people call that state Misery. I heard that it is really humid. Have you noticed that?

Um, I concur with Weaver. FWH and I are from the UP as well... However, our family is all there and we would love to be able to afford to live there comfortably. Living here in Wisconsin is lonely.

Believer,

Colorado is a WONDERFUL place to live. The median house price is nearing $200k but there are still many in the $130k to $200k range, AND even I can get a mortgage for that amount!

Wages are reasonable--not sky-high but I have my own townhome and live quite comfortably with my wage and could easily make more if I chose to (I just don't choose to!).

The climate in Colorado is stunning. We have 360 days/year of sunshine, the humidity is low, and the temperatures range from 40's-50's in the winter to 80's-90's in the summer. We usually have two blizzards a year, and they melt within a week. There are very few bugs...and no hurricanes!! There are all four seasons in Colorado--sometimes all in one day--and each season is relatively mild and enjoyable.

The traffic here is not great, but it is improving with some rather major freeway expansion and lightrail. There is NO water here whatsoever--no real lakes or oceans and that's a bummer. There are a few nice creeks and the Colorado River is a pretty decent whitewater rafting river--but other than that, there aren't many rivers either. BUT...the mountains MORE than make up for it!!!!!

The mountains are STUNNING!!! They offer a wonderful spot for just hiking and natural beauty--for skiing and sledding--for photography or painting--for horsebackriding or dogsledding. There really aren't words to describe how beautiful the mountains ae, and to wake up with them every day silently watching over us with the snow-capped peaks and green majesty--it's magical.

Soooo...I vote for Colorado!


CJ

I live in Maryland, right outside of Washington, DC and there is no other place I would rather live. We have all the museums, the National Zoo, great parks, every major sports team (now that we finally got our baseball team, sorry Montreal!), the Kennedy Center, lots of great restaurants, and tons of other things. Housing costs a fortune, but there are plenty of well paying jobs. Having the federal government as a major employer helps to stabilize the economy even in a recession.

How about the high desert in calif. it does not have the beaches or the green trees and hills but it has very pretty mountains and the big plus is it's very low priced in housing compared to Oceanside, my sister lives in Carlsbad it's beautiful there but very pricey, we are going there for the weekend i can't wait.

CJ,

What part of Colorado do you live in? We lived there for several years back in the 70's, and actually were able to get more house for less money when we moved back to Massachusetts. We had trouble getting used to the lack of trees, compared to New England.

I thought summers in the northern Appalachians in Pennsylvania were beautiful - cooler than New England and somewhat less humid. No jobs, though. It was very cold in the winter, but New England isn't exactly warm either.

<small>[ October 13, 2004, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: Nellie1 ]</small>

Minnesota, two seasons - (I know you heard there is 4) Winter and Construction are the two main seasons. We try to find time for Fall, Spring and Summer somewhere during the construction time

Lakes a plenty, of course you have to put up with the unofficial state bird, mosquito.

Kids love the blizzards, especially if it happens on a school day, that means no school. And we can even use it as an excuse to call in to work. Especially those who live on just over the border in WI, and drive to MN for work, for some reason, it seems like they get hit worse than we do and get snowed in for days. (there is a reason why September/October are big months for babies being born.)

Sure, taxes are up there, but CA still has us beat in that area.

SWH - I have a dear friend from Minnesota. He has been very sick. But the thing I love about that part of the country is the family values. He gets letters and calls from his family, including nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, etc.

One thing I don't like about California is that families don't seem to be that important here. We are living in the fast lane.

I am sticking with SFBayArea ... why ?

Weather wise ... is one of the best. Within 2-3 hours I could get to dessert, snow, wet/fog, surfing, hiking ... you named it. We have so many education centers. Yes, median price of home here is reaching $535,000 but for my kindda work the median pay is very close to $80k. Where can I find a job that allow me telecommute 100% but in Bay Area ?.

If it is not b/c my 2 D, I could live anywhere since my work place is anywhere I could find broadband. I stay here but play anywhere <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> .

-rh-

Naperville, IL <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />
It's been voted the best place to raise children in the country for a couple of years now... It's about 45 minutes outside of Chicago and also has a very good library system... It has like no crime and you get all the seasons during the year... I love it here!

Well, of course the price of living is kind of high though... It's not as high as some places in California and less than if you want to live in Chicago itself, but still you can't really find a house here for under $300,000 that is decent.

A second vote for Naperville, IL!! Ivory---we might be neighbors---literally <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" /> I'm in the southwest part, near the newest library. I met another person through MB that lives less than 2 miles from me. Small world, isn't it? It's just a shame that we all have to meet this way.....

Hey I'm on the northwest side... I used to live downtown Naperville... kjb23 is also from Naperville... we're planning on trying to get together sometime when she's back on a visit. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

See now, I'm from Washington....Tacoma and I love it!

I love the fact I can be at a rainforest, ocean, mountain or desert within two hours depending which way I drive.

I love the four seasons....and really, we get less rainfall - total - than New York or Colorado...it's just less more steadily.

We bought our home...four bedrooms, newly remodeled, two baths for under $150K.

I love the NW! Today was 70 degrees in the afternoon but a little chilly in the morning and at night...perfect autumn weather!