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1. Looking for highs between 90-100 degrees in summer
2. In Winter highs can be between 50-70, not looking for lots of snow.
3. I want something "rural" where I can buy 50-100 acres for a decent price, decent meaning 1000-2000 an acre.
4. I think I need to be at most, 3-4 hours away from a city with a major sports team. :-)
If anyone knows where my paradise is, please post.
Minneapolis has been in the process for the last twenty year to create a 70 degree environment. We have the largest entertainment center in the US with the Mall of American and we are building a huge downtown condo market that will connect everything without leaving 70 degree weather via a long established heated elavated walkway system that spans miles.
First class theater, music night spots, restaurants, shopping, and your good old basic bars all linked together as a network.
During the summer heat, you can retreat into the same system and enjoy the 70's.
Outside temps range from the -20f in the winter to the 100f in the summer. Not for the those that want steady temp zone.
Downtown condo's start around $450k and the top out at a few million.
Land prices in the near west metro [ 15 miles out ] go for about 100,000 per acre. I was lucky to pick up six acres before the prices went to the current costs.
The meduim new home costs are around $550,000, that will include a 1/2+ acre lot. Most of the new homes they are building are above that. If you are looking to buy anything under $300,000, expect to be bidding with at least 12 other buyers at the same time.
Traffic density is high. Because of the inner lakes in the Minneapolis area there are few through streets, which puts the load of traffic on the main interstate system. Typical freeway traffic moves at 20 miles per hour during rush hours. Morning rush hour starts at 6:30am and ends at 9:45am, afternoon rush hour starts at 2:45pm and ends at 6:45pm.
The metro now extends 40 miles out of central downtown, so 2 hour oneway commutes are not unheard of.
Crime has increased in the downtown area over the last 10 years, because of a decrease in police funding and a because for overall lack of focus on safety by local politicians. I used to work downtown, but moved out 7 years ago.
Telling night workers not to look out the window until the gunfire stopped told me it was not the place to run a business.
Kingman Arizona. I have been there several times, but never though of living there. You can buy land cheap on the outskirts.
Funny, I never thought I would be thinking about living in Kingman. However, average high in July is 96 and average high in January is 54. Little snow, very close to Vegas, LA, and Phoenix.
I grew up there and would like to retire there.
Albuquerque NM has similar temps as well. 3000-3500 elevation in the desert is key for good temps.
Don't forget the reason we have all those INDOOR, climate controlled facilities. If the winter wind chill, blizzards and insurmountable snow piles at the curb don't get you, the summer heat, humidity and blood sucking mosquitos (our unofficial state bird) will.
OK, come for a visit, drop a few grand in our hospitality/recreation industry hot spots, then go home again, ok?
:)
Corrales, a suburb of Albuqurque, is located near the Rio Grande, which contains a wildlife preserve where you can see the migratory birds and stuff. Albuquerque is a bit too urban. Corrales is nicer, lots of horses around. But it's still New Mexico which means it snows in the winter and gets it's share of hot days, but it's a dry heat. Santa Fe is less distressing in the Summer. But you'll still get those winters. A lightning storm in the high desert is beautiful, and the lightness of Santa Fe snow the way it falls in slow motion is also beautiful.
Kingman... I've stayed overnight there. Never thought of it as a destination. Not enough to engage me. Seems like a place like any other place you drive through and forget.
Gold Country in California is rural but has a lot of amenities nearby... like lots of wineries and tucked away restaurants in places like Murphys, CA. Murphys, CA [visitmurphys.com] is actually a pretty cute area. A small town with big town amenities. Lots of rural areas around it where you can buy acreage and build if you want to be away from people. Looks beautiful in the Autumn. Hmmm... maybe I'll retire there, myself!
I really love that Gold Country area. People are friendly, decent shopping and food, but it still has that rural feel. Good place for a romantic getaway, too.
1. Looking for highs between 90-100 degrees in summer
2. In Winter highs can be between 50-70, not looking for lots of snow.
3. I want something "rural" where I can buy 50-100 acres for a decent price, decent meaning 1000-2000 an acre.
Definate check.
4. I think I need to be at most, 3-4 hours away from a city with a major sports team. :-)
From southern Oregon to Portland is about 4 hours, from Eugene to Portland about two. Trailblazers . . . but you have to get used to your football team being called the Ducks. :-)
Check out West-central Oregon, like the Willamette Valley around Eugene, but stay off the coast (wet and damp, and if it's not, windy) and actual central Oregon (lots of snow and desert country.)
>>>>South Carolina, Never to hot or cold
You have to be kidding. I have been to SC in the summer...... and it is too hot.
<typo>that should be Mississippi</added>
There are several ideas in my head, and I am excited to check everything out.
On another note, if weather was NOT a factor, I think Wyoming or Montana would be ideal. The land and cost of living in some places are very cheap.
I have a business friend who is packing up and moving to Rapid City, SD. They looked at a 5 year old, 8000+ Sqft house on about 5 acres for about 500k. That house in Las Vegas, or Phoenix would be at least 2-3 million.
The joy of being a internet business owner is being able to live anywhere you can get an internet connection.
Yep, but make sure you can get the Internet connection you want. I live in a rural area in upstate NY, where I moved because of the weather, the woods, and the cheapness. I live two miles out from town, and I love it out here, but there is no cable, no DSL, and the satellite connection for computer use is not useable. So keep in mind you might be on dialup. It doesn't bother me, but it might bother people who like to download movies or play games online. Cell phones can also be a problem in hilly areas.
On another note, if weather was NOT a factor, I think Wyoming or Montana would be ideal.
Be very cautious about this as mining companies and our government were not always, umm, environmentally conscious in some of the operations in more remote areas. Have a friend who has tons of land in MT. She basically owns an entire town, but the water is terminally poisonous from byproducts of mining operations in the 60's.
Besides . . you want to talk about COLD WINTERS . . . whew! :-D
Another vote for San Diego, and especially La Jolla. I don't live there, but every visit has been very pleasant.
3 acres or so on the outskirts of San Diego go for around $1-$1.5 million.
The hardest requirement on your list is the average winter high. Most places in the US (even the southern states) are going to be colder than that in the winter. And most of those southern states are going to be warmer than you want in the summer. Parts of California will have the temperatures you're looking for, but the property will be considerably more expensive.
Have you considered somewhere like Cancun? I know it's not in the US, but the weather sounds a lot like what you want.
However with the land values and housing prices there as in most cities in Cali... could a person really buy land and have a decent amount of it and not have to have a HUGE bank account?
If you want a large size of land around Chicago your best bet is some 2 hours west (from the heart of the city) or going up to Wisconsin. I live some 40+ miles from the Loop(downtown Chicago) and a shoddy old house on a tiny chunk of land will run you 300k+ to start.
