looking for better summers...

[Grizz]

I know it said that you were looking to stay in the States, but one of the trade offs for our really long, cold, dark, crummy winters in Canada are summers with comfortable temperatures with daylight beginning at around 5 A.M. with a midnight sunset. Great if you like to golf.

 

[brewer12345]

Quite the perceptive one, aren't you.

You better pray it doesn't rain...

Especially since the TV never comes with us in the trailer.

Actually, we usually plan our trips so that if the weather is horrible we can hop in the tow vehicle (aka minivan) and go do something. Next few trips are not far from home anyway, so in a disaster we simply pack up and head for the homestead.

 

[REWahoo]

Next few trips are not far from home anyway, so in a disaster we simply pack up and head for the homestead.

Cheap sanity insurance.

I can do fine for a weekend with the wild bunch but that's about the limit of my incredible patience. They (the three grandsons) are going with us this weekend on a trip to a nearby lake. Actually, they will be in a TT with mom & dad parked at an adjoining campsite, but the odds are they will want to spend the night in our MH since it has more room.

 

[friar1610]

Thanks for the response REWahoo!

At this stage in our lives, we can afford a variety of different lifestyles - at various budget levels. So we're pretty much open to a variety of different places.

I'm thinking that - if we could locate a similar circumstance to where we live now - that had cooler summers. That might work for us.

Ummmm, maybe a community of around 80,000 or so - that had recreation and fitness opportunities for senior citizens. We enjoy water fitness classes, and exercise regularly. I'm a runner and my wife is a water aerobics teacher.

We enjoy movies and hanging out at book stores and coffee shops - and, we seem to enjoy university and college settings, and all the things that go on there.

Hope that gives a better idea of the type of lifestyle we enjoy. We'll be doing some more thinking about this though - and maybe can get a little more specific.

Haven't read very far into this thread, so don't know to what degree you've added specificity to your list. Based on the above, you might like the Burlington, VT area.

Not quite 80,000 (hell, the whole state is just over 600K). About 35,000 Burlington itself; 60,000 greater Burlington.

On the shores of Lake Champlain. Great boating, fishing, etc. Near to moutains for walking, hiking, etc. Not overly hot summers (although the last couple of days, like everywhere in the Northeast, were wicked, but that's atypical.) We relocated from Maryland because we were sick of the hot, humid summers.

Everyone up here is into outdoor stuff: walking, hiking, jogging, cycling, paddling (kayaks and canoes). (Not sure what there is in the water aerobics area, but there are plenty of fitness centers so there must be some.)

Church St. in Burlington is the main pedestrian mall with restaurants, coffee shops, bars, stores, etc. Lotsa independent bookstores in VT. Lotsa small towns to poke around within a half day drive.

Burlington is the location of University of Vermont (UVM) as well as a couple of smaller colleges. St. Michael's College is in Essex, about 10 minutes away. Among other things, St. Mike's hosts a great summer professional theatre program. Middlebury College is about an hour south in Middlebury (a neat little town.) We've taken advantage of events at all 3 of those schools. (Example: yesterday we went to a lecture at UVM by Michael Pollan, author of "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food".

Cost of living is a tad high here. Sales tax is 6% although some communities add another 1%. Meal tax is 9% and some communities - Burlington included - add another 1%.

Lotsa outdoor festivals, musical performances, etc., generally in bucolic settings.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[AzDreamer]

Alpine Texas has a four-year college and a better climate.

 

[FUEGO]

The nicest place I have been to stateside for summer weather was Milwaukee near the Lake. Some nice amenities that might be appealing.

 

[Urchina]

Places that haven't been mentioned yet:

Eugene, Oregon. Home to University of Oregon and a very active population, with great parks, good shopping and medical facilities, and some summer cultural events (Festival of American Music, a performing arts center with touring Broadway shows, etc) that keep it lively. I grew up in the area and I remember glorious summers (where "summer" is July - September) with little rain and a lot of sunny days.

Corvallis, Oregon. Home to Oregon State, smaller, very "college town" feeling. Similar weather to Eugene, but since it's a smaller town, fewer opportunities that way. Still, one place I'd move in a heartbeat.

Vancouver, B.C. It's a big city, but a great one!

Portland, OR -- again, a big city but wonderful summers and plenty to keep you happy. If you like bookstores you will melt over Powell's city of books, an independent bookstore that covers five floors and one city block in its flagship store alone. I so miss Powell's!

 

[heyyou]

Hilo, Hawaii on the Big island has the same moderate temperatures year 'round. Choose your location and elevation to suit your preferences for rain and temperature since you are on the side of a huge mountain. The summer has the dryer months, November is the wettest. Go to Big Island on Hawaii's craigslist to check for rentals that are reasonably priced if they are not on the oceanfront. Hawaii will be an eye-opener for a life-long Texan. Hilo is not fancy nor expensive because the beaches with sand are small and far apart.

 

[kevin92610]

Coach, you are right... half the refugees in Colorado are from Texas. The other half are refugees from California. It is kind of a standing joke out here to ask people you meet "where are you from" because it is rare that you actually find someone that isn't from somewhere else

 

[simple girl]

Problem is we don't want to have/maintain two residences & don't want to do the RV thing. We're not into living in a cold winter climate either.

Have you ever thought about finding a housesitting gig for the summer somewhere cooler? This is our dream for part of our early retirement (someday!). Seems like such a cool way to see the country, plus you get to love all different kinds of pets along the way.

You'd have to not have any of your own pets, though.

This is a website I often frequent as I daydream about our ER future:
House Sitters & Sitting from Housecarers .

 

[Walt34]

The Shepherdstown Visitors Center - A Source for Shepherdstown, WV Information

Shepherdstown, WV has Shepherd University, the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers nearby, lots of hiking, kayaking, etc. available, but there is snow in the winter.

 

[mexmeme]

I can't recommend Mexico, south of Guadalajara more. The town is Ajijic and the summers are mild with wonderful thunderstorms at night with rain running down the mountain and right into Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico. The people are friendly, the cost of living is about 2/3 of what you spend in a low cost area of the US and lots of housing to rent for 300 on up, with 600-800 being moderate. Being in Texas you can have the best of both worlds. Winter in Texas and summers in Mexico. So many people from Texas do this.

 

[oljim]

Good stuff here - and good advice too! Thanks for the info!

Here's our list so far - from a combination of the above...

Seattle area (Puget Sound, Olympia Penninsula, San Juan)
Colorado (Aspen, Pagosa Springs, Boulder, Durango)
California (Santa Barbara, San Luis, Obispo)
Couer d'Alene, Idaho
Flagstaff, AZ
Kalispell, MT
Jackson Hole, WY
Santa Fe, NM
Lake Tahoe, NV/CA
Asheville, NC
MN Lake Country
Door County WI
Lake Superior area in MI
Canada
Burlington, VT
Alpine, TX
Lake area, Milwaukee
Oregon (Eugene, Corvallis, Portland)
Vancouver, BC
Hilo, Hawaii
Shepherdstown, WV
Ajijic, Mexico

How's that list look to everybody? Any more thoughts? Good stuff,,,huh?

My wife and I have decided to try out several locations over the next several years or so. Our first visit to one of the places will likely be summer 2009. Ummmm,,where to go first?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Lake Tahoe is amazing. If it was like that year round I would live there for sure. Im not a winter person so I just use it during the summer. Its getting expensive to live there but if you got the green its one heck of a place.

 

[friar1610]

Good stuff here - and good advice too! Thanks for the info!
Here's our list so far - from a combination of the above...

...Canada
Burlington, VT...

How's that list look to everybody? Any more thoughts? Good stuff,,,huh?

One thing I forgot to mention in citing the attributes of Burlington, VT: if you're into really big, cosmopolitan international cities from time to time, Burlington is only about 2 hours drive to Montreal, Quebec. Fantastic restaurants, great sightseeing, really neat place. Of course, with the demise of the US$, it ain't cheap (and it was always marginally more expensive than the US even when the dollar was stronger.)

 

[Brat]

You might want to add Redding, California.

People who spent a lot of their life in the southern states need to think about two issues in other locations: winter and rain (or cloud cover). The consideration will be the social culture.

You mentioned several OR, WA cities along the I-5 corridor. Our climate is moderated by the ocean and the Sound, the mountians to the east cause rain to fall as the air currents up-lift. There are lots of micro-climates. East of the mountians is a sunny, high, dry, plateau that is cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I have the same problem. I have been living in S. Florida for the past 30+ years. The summers never bothered me that much as I was always working and in the A/C during the day. Always took my vacation in the winter months or went away. Now that I am semi-retired I have much more time, I want to get outside but the summer months are getting more unconfortable for me.

I try to take a week vacation up north somewhere, however, I still come back to the same heat and humidity.

 

[Sparky]

You might want to check out New Haven, CT area - with Yale, University of New Haven, Southern CT State U., the Shubert Theater, Yale Rep., lots of great restaurants - waterfront condos in the area are surprisingly affordable. CT coast and Long Island Sound are protected from hurricanes by, well, Long Island.

 

[Jake46]

I love Texas too and bleed Burnt Orange. But moved to Fort Collins. Colorado last year. Summer days are in the low 80's (10-20% humidity) and nights in the low 50's.

 

[REWahoo]

Summer days are in the low 80's (10-20% humidity) and nights in the low 50's.

Hey, we're having similar weather. Low 80's - every night.

 

[mews]

Who said "if I owned Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell, and rent out Texas." ?

That's what just ran through my head ...

ta,
mew

 

[REWahoo]

Who said "if I owned Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell, and rent out Texas." ?

Philip Henry Sheridan...the same guy credited with the quote “The only good Indian is a dead Indian”.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

You might want to check out New Haven, CT area - with Yale, University of New Haven, Southern CT State U., the Shubert Theater, Yale Rep., lots of great restaurants - waterfront condos in the area are surprisingly affordable. CT coast and Long Island Sound are protected from hurricanes by, well, Long Island.

I took a look on realtor.com and found the housing to be very reasonable. Any idea why? Is this a university town that has too many students and not much industry beside the university

 

[Sparky]

I took a look on realtor.com and found the housing to be very reasonable. Any idea why? Is this a university town that has too many students and not much industry beside the university

I'm not sure why housing is so affordable. Even waterfront, which I thought was unattainable for regular folks, is relatively affordable.

I could speculate, but I really don't know.

 

[friar1610]

I'm not sure why housing is so affordable. Even waterfront, which I thought was unattainable for regular folks, is relatively affordable.

I could speculate, but I really don't know.

I lived in CT ages ago (near Hartford) and still have friends there. Never was too familiar with the New Haven area. My understanding from CT friends is that both major cities (Hartford and New Haven) as well as Bridgeport are the pits these days. CT has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the country and there are many well off folks in Fairfield County, along the coast and in the NW corner, but my friends report that you don't want to go near the major cities these days: poverty, crime, deteriorating infrastructure, etc. It's ironic because when I left the Hartford area to go to college in Providence, RI in 1963, Hartford was a much nicer city than Providence. But Providence has been through a Renaissance and is now a really neat, chic, upscale city whereas my friends report quite the opposite about Hartford.

Take everything I say (except for the comments about Providence) with a grain of salt because I haven't been to Hartford or New Haven in years and am only going by what my CT friends tell me.