does my idea of Utopia exist? where to live?
 

say i get to retire at 55, and my wife keeps working for 9 more years after that. i need moderate weather. i dont mind four real seasons, but maybe a four week blizzard would suck. i dont need to fully retire for the same 9 years. maybe teach calculus 1 to high school over achievers?

i would need culture in the form of theater, ballet/opera (ahem! for the wife), great restaurant options. no olive gardens as my only option for my italian fix. panda express? forget it. i love a good grocery store/butcher..so a foodie city would be great. i need hunting options, and fishing is a must. so outdoorsy.

it cannot be prone to major natural disasters. i think that would be detrimental to retired people. housing needs to be affordable. bonus if i could sell a california property for the entire amount. i would love to design a green home, with solar, radiant heating...kumbaya.

some ideas? boise, bozeman? denver? maybe tuscon?

oh, i would love some land, so i dont have to see my neighbors.

Detroit?:p

So what you're looking for is a rural metropolitan area. Or a metropolitan rural area. Hmmmm, I'm thinking.

Missoula MT

Reno foothills is your placeSmileWavy That's where I'm going, 11 plus acres in the Virginia Rangehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

There's a little touristy town call Player Del Carman an hour outside of Cancun. Plenty of sand many Americans and Europeans live there. If you get away from the main drag where the beach front homes are, you can get something for a great price. Plenty of fishing and the jungle is right in your back yard. Right across the hwy. I don't know about the Theather, because I have never looked into tht stuff. That's where I like to go when I am done. May be get a job as a tour guide and compete with the locals.

I really like the Bend, Oregon, area. Great for outdoor activities and Bend is a cool town. Good weather, hunting, fishing, skiing, golf, rock climbing.

Asheville NC is a good east coast option.

Or Knoxville, TN!!

Passed through there when we went to Cancun/Cozumel. I thought we could have spent our whole time there, instead, and I would have been perfectly happy.

Utopia without a beach doesn't exist, IMO.

Portland, OR, or possibly Seattle.

Both do have the potential for disasters though (volcanoes, earthquakes). And they can get depressing. Like "shoot yourself in the face with a shotgun" depressing. But both have awesome culture.

I liked living in Portland for the time I was there. Great city, great culture, great feel, just depressing and absolutely MISERABLE in a recession (no jobs at all up there, very little in the way of local economy).

Wichita :p:p

Does Utopia exist? Uh... no... sorry. :p

Compared to Detroit.......yes.:D

I thought Asheville, NC pretty quick, too. Or Chattanooga, Knoxville, etc. You'd totally hate Denver, nothing to see here. :)

On the upside, pretty much everywhere is cheaper than CA, so you're set there.

(crickets chirping) :)

I don't really like the town, but there must be fifty gazzilion deer in the area and great rivers and streams. Does it have a ballet?

+1. I'm pretty sure I'll go back there eventually. But yeah, there's NO jobs.

It's gotta be an isolated large town, small city, i.e., not part of a metropolis. Ain't no good huntin' otherwise and Vashy might as well stay in the Bay Area.