There is something to be said for having a small cottage/camper along the Louisiana/Mississippi golf coast, eat fresh seafood, and just chill on the beach.......cheap living, no stress.

Don't misunderstand, I love the PNW.......there is no place I'd rather live.......when the weather is nice.

Now I'm searching for a substitute. Winters can be winterlike, but not grey for months on end. I like green trees. Good trout fishing would be a plus.

I would have the option of moving around some.

I'm interested in New Mexico as a general area. I'm an old fart , so medical facilities are a positive.

Speak, my friends.

That is our favorite vacation spot... closest airport and hospital is SLO... the guy serving at the wine tasting place said it is very 'small town' i.e. everyone in town is into everyone's bidness.

Dinning is good but expensive.

However the central coast is (IMHO) the best balance of weather & natural beauty.

Cashmere, Washington.

Looking at houses there next month. Other parts of Washington State as well.

When I first glanced at this thread, I thought it said:

"I've decided that I don't want to live anymore."

I lived on Honolulu (north shore) as a small child. My brother and sister were born there. I've been back to the islands around 75 times in my lifetime. That being said, I certainly don't know everything about living in Honolulu. Jeff, you seem to have pretty thin skin. I think you may be a bit surprised at how you won't fit in living in Honolulu. The locals like to do things their own way, and really don't like outsiders much. I know we have some Pelicans living in Oahu and they can set me straight if I'm wrong here. When I visit Honolulu, its just another big city with traffic and congestion problems. The pace of business is very, very slow and laid back and you really don't get much of a "beachy" feel in the city. If you can live in Waikiki then that changes things completely, especially if you're a block or two from the beach, but that's going to cost you. And, the traffic will be ridiculous. A scooter or motorbike would be the way to get to work in the city. For sure, the weather is great, but to cope, you'd have to ratchet your aggression way, way down.

You can change where you live, but its still going to be "you" no matter where it is.

I don't always agree with Motion but when I do, I REALLY DO!
I have three friends that moved to Hawaii, one in Helo working for a boat parts retailer, another in Helo working construction (had his own roof gutter business), one in Kauaii the drove trucks for construction... as you can see they all had good jobs (gutter guy's wife even had a receptionist job at a Dr. office)
All came home... after ~10 years they still were not accepted by the locals... living on "Hawaiian time" = (very slow moving... if the surf is up construction sites shut down... if you think the DVM is slow stateside, furgitaboutit). My nephew walked into a resturant at 8:45 and wanted to order dinner, "we close at 9:00", "but you are open now?", "we close at 9:00."

I had a friend that was a native... very quiet... I can't describe it but natives have a very unusual vibe... we were pretty close, played guitar and went to church together, then one day he just disappeared... no harsh words one day he was in Long Beach and the next he was gone.

I still would like to give living there a try, but no way in Honolulu or Waikiki!

I pretty much agree with that assessment. I'm from Honolulu, and wouldn't be living half the time in Kailua if it weren't for our kids & grandkids. Sleepy little Kailua is rapidly morphing into the next Waikiki. We are clogged with tourists .. 90% Japanese tourists, dropped off by the busload each and every morning. Great if you're a restaurant owner (esp pancake house) .. maddening if you're a retiree.

Has this been posted yet?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1466897319.jpg

Great choice Paul....Close to shopping and medical services in Wenatchee, but west far enough to still have trees. 2.5 hr to Seattle airport....Enjoy Leavenworth when the crowds are gone.....

Been there, but not recently.
Kinda close to King County......and all the migrants from CA.
It's drier weather than the West side, but colder come winter....burr.
Southern OR looks like a possibility.....East or West of the mountains.

Some perspective from Florida.....

It's TOO humid in the summer months but the other months of the year make up for it - especially winter.

But then again it all depends on your lifestyle. If you have an outdoor occupation (like me) you have no choice but to endure the hostile heat and humidity. If you are retired.....it's a whole different ball game.

That said...since I own the business and can dictate things as needed...I'm looking to slow down in the summer months and just not take any more work than I feel like doing. That means only working half days with a 4 day work week. Seriously - how much would that be a game changer? :)

The beach community I live in is growing and that's not good. Especially if you live on the barrier island we only have 2 bridges connecting us to the mainland. Other than that I'm only a 3 minute walk to go surfing and a 15 minute walk to one of the most consistent surf breaks on the east coast....so who cares about traffic - especially as I enter my retirement era.

I would like to do some traveling with a camper so that's something down the road but I'm dug in where I am and don't really feel the need to move anywhere.

https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...b9&oe=57EF921F

https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...f4&oe=57ED5B28