What do you like best about where you live.

[noonereal]

I was think about where I would move to when I am ready to semi retire and it dawned on me that the area would have to offer the amenities I have where I presently live.

So I was wondering, what is it you like best about where you are now?

For me it is the "local flavor".
Their are several wineries nearby (one little more than a walk away) that offers live music from local artists every weekend. We have a nationally know dairy when kids from all over intern. Great cheeses and breads.
Right at the end of my street is a nationally know sausage makers who only carries the best meats available and who makes all his own sandwich meats in addition to the sausages.
Add to that all the orchards and the fresh produce from what is said to be the richest soil in the US.
Lot's of bed and breakfast places in the area, some of whom have little specialty stores with things like home made chocolate. We have a great performing arts center up the road as well.
Most important I can keep an eye on mom whose back door opens onto my front lawn.

What I don't have, city convenience and all the great specialty foods most Northeast cities offer.

So what makes your little slice of heaven, heaven?

[merrylander]

The countryside here is much like the area of Quebec where I grew up. We are sitting on 4.5 acres so neighbours are distant enough that I don't hear them and they don't here me. Typical of a car oriented country the only place within walking distance is our mailbox.

Do I like it? Yes, after all the work we put into the place I really do not want to sell out and move to a less expensive area, but Congress could convince me otherwise.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by merrylander

The countryside here is much like the area of Quebec where I grew up. We are sitting on 4.5 acres so neighbours are distant enough that I don't hear them and they don't here me. Typical of a car oriented country the only place within walking distance is our mailbox.

Do I like it? Yes, after all the work we put into the place I really do not want to sell out and move to a less expensive area, but Congress could convince me otherwise.

Very nice, Rob! Howard County has some beautiful spots. My cousin Dave lives quite near to you I think.

John

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Very nice, Rob! Howard County has some beautiful spots. My cousin Dave lives quite near to you I think.

John

We are just off RR97 (Georgia Ave) three miles north of Sunshine.

Where I live the only thing protecting Democrats are the game laws, flaming hotbed of Republicans. Florence was a widow when we met, her late husband had convinced everyone he got her to switch parties and become a Republican (She has voted Democrat all her life and was registered as one, still is). Stupid RNC has her on their mailing list and three letters have not changed that, always knew Republicans can't read.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by merrylander

We are just off RR97 (Georgia Ave) three miles north of Sunshine.

Where I live the only thing protecting Democrats are the game laws, flaming hotbed of Republicans.

Yup! All of HoCo was like that until Jim Rouse got ahold of it.

Florence was a widow when we met, her late husband had convinced everyone he got her to switch parties and become a Republican (She has voted Democrat all her life and was registered as one, still is). Stupid RNC has her on their mailing list and three letters have not changed that, always knew Republicans can't read.

That's the way they roll, baby!

John

[HatchetJack]

I live in West Georgia, same house since 1990, same area since the mid sixties
Not really any breathtaking scenery around here but if you hike into the
wilderness, one can find beauty. Added on in 2001 and did much of the work
myself. I went from an 880 sq foot cabin to a 2010 sq foot monster with a
huge two car garage, attic space, dedicated listening room, huge kitchen,
sunroom, large master suite with two walk in closets with his and her baths,
sunroom, large back deck on 5.6 acres. It would be hard to walk away.
The weather, well it's very unpredictable. Some winters like this one are cold
and miserable and others are mild. The summers are always hot and steamy.
It may rain for 6 months and not rain for 2 years, you just never know.
It's 6 miles into town and the nearest store. No fancy eating places unless
you like bbq. Hotlanta is less than an hours drive and one can find about
anything there. I usually harvest 2-3 deer a year and the processor is 5
minutes from the hunting land. If I want fish, I have a small pond in the back
I built a few years ago. I have 6 hens and 2 roosters that free range during
the day. Been getting about 4 brown organic eggs a day. There are no
wineries around but I just started making my own beer. If I want some good
sausage I can make it myself. I raise tomatoes and other vegetables and we
put up gallons of tomatoes and about 30 quarts of pickles and peppers last
summer. A lot of folks around here are somewhat self sufficient and it's hard
to find anyone that claims to be a democrat, maybe there is something to
that? 30 years ago it was the other way around.

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Yup! All of HoCo was like that until Jim Rouse got ahold of it.

I had always though highly of the Rouse Company projects of the 80's.

[Boreas]

Noone, your post could almost have been mine.

I live in "wine country" too. The area is still pretty rural with a lot of open space and even some more or less wild lands still to enjoy. Like your area, we have a lot of the same gourmet foods produced locally and the wineries are great patrons of the arts.

The little town of Healdsburg has a world class (but not world reknowned) jazz festival every year that lasts a couple of weeks. The impetus behind it is several winery families in the area. Other wineries hold concerts throughout the year.

We have Marin County to act as a buffer between us and San Francisco. That protects us from urban sprawl but we're still close enough to get there for the symphony or museums, etc. Best of both worlds.

This is some of the prettiest country on the planet. There are hills and mountains, some bare save for a scattering of black or live oak, some cloaked in coastal redwoods. The ocean is never farther than an hour away.

The weather is pretty fantastic. Never gets really hot and never really cold. From April to October we get no rain at all, just six solid months of perfect days. For the second six months we get enough rain for things to grow.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Noone, your post could almost have been mine.

I live in "wine country" too. The area is still pretty rural with a lot of open space and even some more or less wild lands still to enjoy. Like your area, we have a lot of the same gourmet foods produced locally and the wineries are great patrons of the arts.

The little town of Healdsburg has a world class (but not world reknowned) jazz festival every year that lasts a couple of weeks. The impetus behind it is several winery families in the area. Other wineries hold concerts throughout the year.

We have Marin County to act as a buffer between us and San Francisco. That protects us from urban sprawl but we're still close enough to get there for the symphony or museums, etc. Best of both worlds.

This is some of the prettiest country on the planet. There are hills and mountains, some bare save for a scattering of black or live oak, some cloaked in coastal redwoods. The ocean is never farther than an hour away.

The weather is pretty fantastic. Never gets really hot and never really cold. From April to October we get no rain at all, just six solid months of perfect days. For the second six months we get enough rain for things to grow.

John

I am less than an hour from Bethel Woods (site of the Woodstock concert) and the town of Woodstock (artists community) where Levon Helm plays in his home/auditorium most weeks.

Still, for retirement I might just find me a small city to settle in.
I kinda like Albany very affordable in the city proper and all the conveyances of both the suburbs and city.

[Fast_Eddie]

Believe it or not, the weather is a good point here. I live in Denver, CO- not the "weather destination" of your dreams. But the sun shines here all the time. Much better than the gray mid-west winters I grew up with.

Second, the cost of living. Again, not the lowest in the world, but that's because a lot of people want to live here. But I moved here from Northern California and after that it seems pretty good.

Lots of stuff to do here. The mountains are great.

Healthy lifestyle. I joke that if you don't record enough miles in your running log they kick you out of my neighborhood. Not the worst thing to have around. It motivates you to go do what you need to do when there's a non stop string of runners going by your front yard. Shoot, I have three miles to do today. We have decent food in the stores too. Whole Foods is everywhere, but some more affordable alternatives too. Even the Safeway has to carry decent stuff to be competitive. It's a bit of a health nut haven even more so than Nor-Cal.

Economy has held up very well through this last mess. Not that it got Gov. Ritter anywhere. Oh well.

And here in Denver, it's a pretty liberal place, but not over the top like Berkeley was. I understand Boulder is kind of like Berkeley and a nice place from what I hear, but I like Denver. Reasonable liberals who haven't lost touch with the blue collar roots our party once had. Ken Salazar is a great example of a real, smart, main stream Colorado Democrat.

Like the San Francisco area, you're constantly running into beauty. It's everywhere. You can't leave your house without seeing something amazing. Just the mountains are breathtaking. But there is so much more. The streams and rivers, meadows, parks in the city- they plant huge flower gardens every spring in the big parks. It's pretty amazing.