Moving - to WHERE?

Hi guys, this is a very cool forum, how we have many different countries and personalities. This gives us the chance to hit on topics that are specifically multinational.

If you could move with no strings (family, job/money) WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE TO?

I am planning on a move, and could honestly pick alabama, amazon, antarctic. But I'm afraid to make a bad choice VVVV :lol:



So lets, talk about if we would like to move, and where/why etc! Or perhaps why not would naturally come up, but it better not be cuz of fam or job/money

For me, the biggest thing would surely be learning a new language, but 'if that's the toughest thing I ever accomplish'

Beverly.









Hills that is.
Swimmin' pools, movie stars.

Cortez Island, off grid, on the Eastern side of Vancouver Island. Endless supply of lingcod fish protein.

"John in CR" could "show you the ropes" around a new neighbourhood.
And "serpentza" ("The Original China Vlogger")
Name is Winston, a British South African that has been living in China since 2006. (Former motorcycle guy.)

Maybe "too foreign" for ya?

Maybe Holland? Or England? And Germany. All "Ebiker Friendly".
(Denmark? I know a guy originally from Finland.)

Or is somewhere in NA your limit?

(Been moving, so a "stranger in foreign lands" all my life.)

How about...I don't wanna move, I just wanna fix the problems with the place I already live....

Best place found to live so far is any "car free" neighborhood. (In my case on the islands on the south side of the harbour bordering downtown city of Toronto.)

PS: Growing list of "car free neighborhoods:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places

(How property owners can jack up their property values.)

Mallorca.

Warm (but not hot) sunny island in the Mediterranean. Used by many pro-cycling teams as their winter training ground due to good winter weather (15C) and varied landscape.

Very (very) well connected to the rest of Europe as every teeny tiny airport in Europe has flights going to this popular holiday destination. In my opinion this makes
it also the best choice for people doing freelancing from home with the occasional travel to the company you work for.

I have lived all over west USA and seen a lot of the east of the USA.
California, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, the list goes on. All in the last 7 years.

There is nowhere in the USA that i am particularly in love with enough to settle down, i decided. Either i have intense allergies to the point of being a medical threat, it's too expensive to live there, or it's just to crappy for me to tolerate because of the people, weather, or nonexistant bicycle infrastructure.

I thought about expatriation long ago but never found a place where the grass was greener, so to speak. A better country to live in always has insane immigration restrictions that me and my lady could never hope to meet.

That being said, i came up with a solution: live in a RV, work online ( yay, i already do that ), and travel the United States endlessly and never have an address. Stay in the places i love but can't afford when i have saved up. Stay in the places i love but can afford, yet can't handle seasonal allergies there when nothing is pollinating. The word for this is 'boondocking', and if you play your cards right, it can be cheaper than paying rent or a mortgage.

I'm currently working my ass off paying off debt and then saving up loads of money to make this dream a reality. Pinching a penny until it sqeaks in the meantime. In the plans is a fiberglass RV all solared out with a battery bank that would make those who drool over the Tesla powerwall jealous.

Check these links out if you're interested in this way of life:
http://www.technomadia.com/young-full-time-rving-nomads/
https://www.youtube.com/user/nomadicfanatic/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/TalesFromTechnomadia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg37Cbx-kak&index=3&list=PLtvz6ey2YS5Mrxp8x3BkDj9uRTgM1fZJr

So yeah, i'm moving all over. But stuck in Utah for the moment, which isn't too bad, but is boring as all get out.

Technomadia is awesome - they up-sized over the years, but still such a cool lifestyle to me. Nomadism just has a certain ring to it.

I still would want a place to return to, I think. And I would want that place to be within sight, sound, or smell of no other human being for miles. Nothing but raw wilderness. When I was a kid, I would get a chance here and there to walk through the woods alone, in all the seasons. It was my favorite time and my favorite place. Once my thoughts faded away to the background, I could hear and see the world again. I grew up in the country, well off the main roads so it was pretty secluded to begin with. The woods were something else entirely though, another level of serenity. I imagine that's probably why I like Thoreau. An idyllic memory of times and places long since past.

I like people well enough, but I sure don't like living near them. 8)

Plus One re Mallorca. (Got to vacation there once while living in England.)

Used to be I wanted to go to Colorado, preferably Crested Butte for the extreme skiing that's lift served. But now I can't keep my body very warm, and a place like San Diego or Padre Island has appeal, in winter at least. Padre in summer, bleah.

I'm kind of locked into the USA, but If I wanted to do the ex pat thing, I'd look for property in the same area as John in CR for sure.

But in a way, I'm in a darn good spot right now. (unless you need a job) Winters are not as mild as Phoenix or Tucson, but most days it hits 55 or so in January. So I just don't go out till noon, and I'm good. In summer, it's nice out until noon. Hot but not as hot as Phoenix. The town is getting bigger, but you can still get anywhere in a pretty sprawling city limits in 20 min by car, 60 by bike, including rush hour. Big enough town to have two choices for a hospital, and a decent enough cultural scene if you are into art, local theater, etc. No Austin, don't get me wrong. But something to do every weekend if you get into that stuff. Snowbirds are crowding up the place, but it's not full yet like Tucson, Phoenix, or Albuquerque.

If you want solitude, and have some bux, you can affordably get a 5 acre property with a nice house, or even more affordably get 5 acres and a mobile home. Once out of town a mile or two, so much solitude it's dangerous. Open space galore, and if you want to hike and see nobody at all the whole day, just avoid the places you have to pay to hike the trail. It's desert, but forest is a one hour drive away, if it's not on fire at the moment.

My house is a modest 1/3 acre place on the east side of town. A checkerboard of developed areas, but the un built areas are open desert with few fences. 1/4 mile from my driveway, I have 3 miles of dirt single track. But down the road another mile, 8 more miles of nice single track, plus roads that you could go 10 miles on without crossing any asphalt, and 50 miles easy if you are willing to just cross a paved road. 10 miles away, there is about 30 miles of superb single track trails on a mountain, that is built and maintained by the local MTB club.

If you like to ride dirt, and like a fairly mild winter, come on down. House prices are about $150,000 for something decent like my house. Cheap compared to most retirement mecca's. The downside is dust storms in spring, and a few weeks it could maybe snow. no place is perfect.

See - Location: PA
Move North. Buffalo NY
For Sale
2 Family house in North Tonawanda. Needs siding and windows. Mechanicals all work. $55,000
Small one family in City of Tonawanda. New paint on outside. Inside clean and ready to move in. $65,000
I can hold the mortgage if I think you will pay me.

Buffalo NY is the best place on planet earth. Good people. Good food. Bad weather. Go any where and get there in 20 minutes or less. No traffic jams like other places with too many people.

Need a Job? Be a chicken foot ladder tester.
Chicken Foot Ladder / Design Help Needed

I have some old friends that did move up to buffalo for the last 10/15 years. Just this year they moved to eastern KY.

There are things to love and be grateful for in any area/state/country. I've only traveled the once, and camped my way thru WV,KY,IN,MO,KA,CO,NM,TX,TN,VA. I wanted to make it to the pacific northwest and see Wash,Mont,Wyom, ID.

My ideal homespot is decidous forest and temperate climate, I might like a place like Hawaii, but am ok with some snow and heat. So I figure, this latitude and lower, and then there's elevation too. Seems like besides the appalatians, there's the ozarks. On or around that latitude there is often acreage for close to 1k/Ac, and the taxes are nothing compared to the higher populated states. A few acres a few miles from a small town would be great. I also like Maine, michigan, oregon, new mexico, for their awesome traits, but I'm used to temperate forest, so will stick with that probably, or go warmer and more jungley if anything.

I bought a book on Brazillian Portugese and have looked at Brazil, Panama, and Costa Rica. There's also Argentina or Iceland, I see some cool stuff happening there.
Of all of those, CR may be the easiest move I think. If you wanna stay though, you need a decent income source, or enough money to put in their bank.
I'm always interested when I find English people moving to China. China has vast wilderness and the culture is not necessarily bad. I would love to learn more inside info from those that have moved there. Citizenship, politics, and land ownership would be important.
I've looked at Europe too. My main traceable lineage is Austrian. My grandfather's parents both came from there circa 1900. I do like the 'old world' style of villages around France and Austria.
That being said, I have barely had the balls to go travel the states, so it would really take something to end up elsewhere. And this country is still cool, cuz if you don't agree, you can say why, and you don't have to participate any more than you choose.

I have my minivan setup for travelling/camping, and will prob go west again this year to look at raw land. Once purchased, I'll live in a camper offgrid and build an ecohouse (earth sheltered solar passive).

Weather wise, I don't think Central Coastal CA can be beat. By that I mean anything north of Santa Barbara and south of Monterey. Believe it or not, there are still places where it is affordable to live.

A large RV with all wheel drive.
And for the cost of a house you could buy up a few dozen 1/4 acre lots with utility hookups all over north and south America, to use as home bases when you get tired of driving around, or want mail delivered.

nicobie said:

Weather wise, I don't think Central Coastal CA can be beat. By that I mean anything north of Santa Barbara and south of Monterey. Believe it or not, there are still places where it is affordable to live.

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Yes, it's hard to beat for that. I grew up in that area. I bike commuted 365 days a year.

But I looked up and down the coast for a place to settle before i decided to leave California.
The places that i could reasonably afford and have a nice lifestyle were not too friendly to a white person, or they were friendly to a white person, but full of white trash types that i can't tolerate :lol:

Now, you can spend 33-50% more on your housing costs and live in a decent area, but then you're going to live around uppity/stressed/unfriendly/'keeping up with the joneses' type folks that i'm also not a fan of.
California is so strange. The income distribution is so extreme out there. I never realized it until i left for Oregon, and then moved to Colorado as well.

Most people in Utah are on the same level, income wise and attitude wise. There are no areas where you accidentally drive into and have to lock the doors on your cars because people are looking at you like you don't belong and need to leave. People here leave their bikes on the front lawn and their doors unlocked, even in most low income areas. The only thing that makes a person desperate enough to turn to crime is the weather.. :lol:

I wish i could have Utah's low crime, good economy, low taxes, and laid back friendly attitude with California's awesome beaches, weather, forward-thinking culture, and scenery. I think that such a place simply does not exist, unless you happen to have a really high income. My parents tell me that California was that kind of ideal place - at a time before i was born.

Drunkskunk said:

A large RV with all wheel drive.
And for the cost of a house you could buy up a few dozen 1/4 acre lots with utility hookups all over north and south America, to use as home bases when you get tired of driving around, or want mail delivered.

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There are a few companies that give you fake, but legal addresses and scan and email your paper mail to you.
I can technically be a Texan on public record and have no state income tax to pay.
That's the key thing that makes the nomadic lifestyle possible.

Hehe... "white trash types". AFAIK, "trash" comes in all "colors". :wink:

Yes, it certainly does. It has more to do with income distribution than anything else.
When we lived in Portland, Oregon.. it's the white people who live on the east side that you need to worry about :lol:

I remember W5 or Marketplace did a TV episode on how unsafe the Uhaul trucks were.
They also mentioned how they wouldnt fix, or move the bad trucks to a certain province.
I just cant remember what province that was, ON, BC or AB. Something to do with the provincial law.
The county would also do some safety inspections (Edmonton AB would do some in and around the sorrounding area was common - Sherwood Park side - never seen it in Calgary)

As far as taxes go, http://www.shieldcorp.net/pages/index.htm has a lot of interesting things to say.

When I retire I dont want to sit around, I want to go on a road trip. A nice steam-lined van with a body kit on it, the ones that stick out like a foot on either side and maybe some extension on the back. They dont stick out like a typical RV, but have a raised roof, and the sides kick out 8"-12", I just cant think of the name of it offhand. Then I would put air suspension, convert to 4x4, and custom do the interior. Not typical cabintry, just a king size bed or queen, dresser/sink and a bucket for a toilet, and an outdoor shower.

Park in Walmarts all across USA and Canada!

I did all my cross-state moving in two compact sedans with stuff strapped on the trunk and the roof. Furniture just doesn't end up coming along. Our bed folds up and fits in the trunk of a car. When we reach our next destination, it's off to the thrift stores to browse their inventory and strap more crap on top of the car like a European :lol:

Vandweller type people have the life nailed down. Living in a van down by the river in style and comfort to a surprising degree. Composing toilets work great for vans and RVs and eliminate a lot of your water needs. They don't smell.

[youtube]FxZmfqKMa-U[/youtube]

Hehe... I got to "retire" decades ago. When I quit being an "employee" to be self-employed. (Independently broke.) Had to quit my vacation one-two days per week to visit some small businesses to do some "work" (high-speed accounting using computers. "Look Ma! A bookkeeper that doesn't use any books!"). For more than a decade got to live on a small island (had some work there too, in exchange for free rent and high-speed internet access). Many/most "working days" got to picnic on the beach (various beaches) in the summer months while rush hour folks "in" the city "did their thing". Waiting for and taking a small ferry boat to get to/from town sometimes was... a nuisance. (Not really. Best kind of pubic transport I know.)

Anyway. Living in a large city is like Ground Zero, "multi-culturally" speaking. Get to eat foods from all over the world, and do other stuff, without "leaving home".

How could you go wrong with Antarctica? The Terra Nova expedition thought it was to die for. Oxo Foods sponsored the explorers who starved to death, what great advertising, eh? Keep an eye out for Lawrence Oates: They never did find him, he's around there somewhere.

So the cost of living in Los Angeles County is about to soar. LA already raised minimum wage to $20/hour, ("Over time. . . ." alleges that it won't be destructive) the County is threatening to do the same to unincorporated areas. Soon to be known as "Home of the $12 Big Mac." Not sure how high the rent is gonna rise, but it'll be up there. In San Francisco the long time residents are losing their apartments because they can't keep up, in spite of rent control. This includes the elderly. San Francisco is held up by Eric Garcetti as the model of what he wants.

So what Garcetti plainly wants is the entire lower income bracket pushed out of the city, just like in San Francisco. New college graduates with tech degrees are swooping right in to pay the higher rents as the long time residents can't afford to live there anymore. The more the lower classes suffer, the more tax money the city of SF gets to spend. And the more Garcetti wishes it was 'Frisco he was mayor of. I wonder where he'll find the high tech jobs for there to be to be more rich people in LA.

http://www.nber.org/papers/w20724.pdf

As they become unemployable, will Garcetti sick LAPD on these newly homeless? I hear there's been some serious cracking down already, probably to make room for the next round. I wonder just what sort of 'Mad Max' world we'll wind up with in California. I wish I could say it's not my problem; seriously, if people there insist on doing that to themselves they OWE it to people like me to be left out of the down sides. But it's all going to be going on so close to me, there'll be no escape. You don't suppose there's any convincing them to join you on all that cheap available real estate in Antarctica, do you?

So with marijuana legal in Colorado they'll need a LOT of pickers. . . .

amberwolf said:

How about...I don't wanna move, I just wanna fix the problems with the place I already live....

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If you do that they'll really raise the minimum wage on you.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/05/01/the-bizarre-call-for-a-12-an-hour-minimum-wage/

what does the term "raw land" mean?

since you are still young you should concentrate on graduating from college so you have a chance to be a productive citizen and not have to live your life on the streets.

please do not move to portland since we already have tens of thousands of losers living on the street already. for some reason they all know to come here for the free ride.