I was enjoying the topic “If you could afford to live anywhere, where would you live?” before it got derailed, and closed so with apologies to “raccoon city” I am taking the liberty of starting a new thread on the same theme.
I’m quite pleased with where we live at present, northern New Mexico, USA. We love the mountains, the altitude lessens the summer heat and we definitely have 4 seasons, though winter does not bring us much snow. Thankful for that. Although if money was no object and I could have more than one residence, I would also choose to have a home on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia for summer use.
All opinions expressed by users of this website may or may not be accurate, and as such BudgetLightForum.com does not officially endorse them. BudgetLightForum.com does not encourage risky behavior, and will not be responsible for physical, emotional, financial or other damages resulting from the use or misuse of any information or misinformation expressed herein. All users are encouraged to use good judgement before making any physical, financial or other decisions based on the information or misinformation expressed on BudgetLightForum.com.
If I could afford to live anywhere, I would keep my house here in Santa Barbara for sure. I ride my bike to work daily, ride it to surf, ride in the foothills and mountains, the Sierras are not too far, nice hiking and backpacking not too far away.
We don’t get 4 seasons, but I never have lived somewhere that does, so I can’t say that I miss it.
honestly speaking, I’d chose to live in my current home but with the money I’d make it in a way where I could improve my surroundings. I like my home.
Maybe improve the economy
Add a few convenient stores and shopping malls around my area.
Few access to public transports within 10mins walk
Balanced supply of nature and water flow.
And a huge sum of insurance if my area got caught in natural disaster
Like I said on the other thread Puerto Rico (born there) then it’s just a hop skip and a jump to the rest of the Caribbean for lots of great snorkeling.
But I’ll probably try New Mexico and just visit more.
… amazing responses so far! People are content where they are presently New Mexico sounds great, so does Santa Barbara, as does living on board a yacht. I suppose if one is content with themselves they could enjoy living anywhere. My .02
Northern NM is nice, starts to get green closer to the border of Colorado.
Been to Albuquerque, NM a few times and traveled round the 4 corners once. Really is a nice area.
And I know Abq. is 5000ft elevation
6660 feet. NM has quite a few mountains actually. There are northern mountains as well as in the western and south central areas. IIRC, the mean elevation of the state is about 5700 feet with the lowest about 2800 feet or so and the highest being Wheeler Peak at 13161. Lots of sunshine, great for solar electric. Our area is forested with pines, firs, and aspens with a predominance of Ponderosa pines.
There are venomous snakes but you learn to watch for them. Most of the venomous ones are rattlers and warn you. You learn to be careful around woodpiles, haystacks, etc. Keep your ears open and don’t reach into holes without poking a stick first. Keep your eyes open and scanning the trail ahead when hiking.
Glad you do a re-run of the thread raccoon city started. It gives me a chance to de-rude myself a bit of a word I used in the quote above. I mentioned “or religions that don’t appeal to me,” That came out the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong. Every body is entitled to live his/her life in the cultural environment he/she wants. As long as I am to a large extend entitled to the same privileges. Example: I don’t drink, but if you like, I poor you one. In an environment where nobody tries to whip me for that.
BTW I think some of the West-Indie islands would fit my profile just fine.
Southern California, SD or LA. I spent a few years in LA before and like it a lot (except for traffic and the ongoing price hikes for pretty much everything).
Because my industry is mostly elsewhere I had to leave after my studies; I could technically afford to live in California, but I don’t think there are too many job opportunities in my field. Maybe one day I’ll be more entrepreneurial or change industries and could return.
I grew up and lived in colder climates most of my life, but I just can’t deal with the entire scenario any longer.
Anywhere with good rail transport, so I could travel around on trains without much worry. Sweden is one such place, maybe Germany (family comes from there) or Russia.
I am not a big fan of cold weather. Makes me grumpy. I looked into moving to Arizona. Never really spent any time there but I like how the state is run. I couldn’t live in any oppressive states. I like the middle of nowhere. The less people around the better. Not because I dislike people in any way, I just prefer people not being in my business or peoples windows 6 feet from mine. Subdivisions are not my friends. Big cities even less. I don’t like a homeowners association telling me what I can and cannot do in with my home. Decent enough public schools are still important as I still have 2 in school.
So I guess warm with nobody to bother me would be ideal. So I reckon a pretty rural area is my thing. My wife loves subdivisions and being closer to everything. That is fine, I still visit her on the weekends.
Mom lives in Tijeras…since 1971, it was rough and tumble back then, not many people living where she lived then, it’s quite different now. Been there quite a few times thru the years, for weeks at a time visiting, site seeing, touring, hunting……beautiful country, nice to visit.