If you live East of the Mississippi, would you tell me about it?

[mickey328]

I've traveled a lot in the west and central part of our country, but I've never been very far east and never to the southeast. I'd love to hear about it. DH and I are considering moving after we retire. We'd love to get a little acreage (2 to 5) where we could have more chickens and a few other critters, a huge garden and maybe space to spread out.

We actually love the weather here in northern Colorado, but so does everyone, it seems...land prices here are outrageous! Oh, you can pick some up for a semi-reasonable price, but water is the issue...we're practically a desert here on the east side of the mountains.

 

[1muttsfan]

What part? Beautiful up here, cold and snowy in the winter, lots of outdoors type stuff.

 

[mickey328]

Thanks fan. I spent most of my life in Canada so I'm kinda not wanting to go back into those kinds of winters. I definitely WANT a winter, just not as harsh or as long, LOL...getting too old for that!

 

[ginasmarans]

I live in SW Tennessee and am pretty happy. This year has been kind of tough, but normally we have a few months of very hot temps(95 to 105) and a few weeks at a time in the dead of Winter of temps in the teens and under. Late Fall, Winter and Spring can be rainy and alergy sufferers can be miserable. We have lots of rural land, large cities within driving distance and a reasonable cost of living. Come visit some time.

 

[mickey328]

Thank you Gina. I'd love to! There's so much of this great country I've not seen yet

 

[lhutch78]

Thanks for you comments on one of my posts last night! Georgia is a wonderful state to be in! I have lived my whole life in south georgia about an hour from the Florida border. Fallback- It is extremely hot and humid here. However the winters are cold enough for us to get out a medium jacket and if we see snow flurries once every 5 years we act like a bunch of nuts. However Christmas Day could be in the 80's Spring & fall are perfect.

I have sister lives in Amarillo Texas who visits Colorado and says it is beautiful. I could not imagine living anywhere else. We are about 3 hours away from wonderful Florida beaches and about a 7 hour drive to the beautiful states of North Carolina & Tennesseeo the Great Smokeys Mountains.

Check out Georgia in your travels.

 

[mickey328]

Thank you! When I hit the lottery (ha, ha!) I'd love to spend a year or two in a big ole RV just travelling the country. Although, from what I understand, you need to buy a ticket even to have a miniscule chance of winning, so that might be a problem, LOL

I've fallen in love with mountains. I spent most of my life in central US and Canada where it's flat, flat flat and I've come to love hills. Our Rockies are impressive but are so (geologically) young that they're almost intimidating. I'd love to see the Smokies and some of the older ones that are more "gentle" if you kwim.

Said heat and humidity is what I worry about. The older I get, the less well I tolerate extremes of temperature Even when I visit the midwest in summer I wilt and swell with the humidity. If I could just find a place that was pretty, affordable had a winter of about 3 months with some snow and temps above freezing, summers where the humidity is maybe 30% and temps topping out around 80 or so...it'd be paradise, LOL...don't want much, do I? LOL

The weather here in our part of Colorado is great, although over the last 25 yrs or so summer temperatures have really climbed...used to be you'd only have maybe 3 or 4 days a summer where it would hit 100. Now it seems we get months of temps of 90+ It's dry...average humidity usually less than 20%, which helps but IMO, once you hit 90 it's just plain HOT whether it's dry or humid. Winters are generally mild with not much snow and what we do get rarely lasts more than a couple days before the sun melts it off. Where I am, we don't get earthquakes and only the very rare tornado, although we do get some really high winds from time to time.

Truth to tell, the only reason we're considering moving is $$...well, that and the increasingly hot summers. Land here is extremely expensive except in places that are very remote and/or don't have any water. When we're able to retire (IF we are in this economy!) remote won't be an issue, but water...well, ya gotta have access to that. Not much of anything grows well here unless you can irrigate it.

I'm sure enjoying hearing about where y'all live...the next best thing to visiting. Hope to hear more

It will just have to do until we can travel some and see for ourselves!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

If you want to stay away from the heat and humidity, I'd say that the eastern seaboard isn't for you. I'm in Virginia and our summers always hit 100 or higher at some point and the humidity here is horrific. I've been from NY to Florida and every state in-between and they all can get hot and humid. Can't tell you about those states from NY to Vermont but I know they have heavy snow in winter.

Have you considered the Pacific Northwest? I'd look between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. My BFF is there and she comments that their weather is milder than ours with less snow and less intense heat. They do get more rain, though, but it doesn't feel as humid there. Have been there several times and it's beautiful country. Plenty of mountains, too!

 

[mickey328]

I was thinking something along those lines, mtnlaurl, thanks! DH has been in your area and said much the same thing, tho he said once you get away from the coast it gets better...especially if you're in the mountains. Our elevation here is about 5000 ft, and I know that when it's real hot here, we can usually head up to about 7000 and it's usually a good 10 degrees cooler. The west slope gets all the rain as a rule, so by the time the clouds get to our side, they're pretty much empty, LOL.

Don't think I could handle some of the PNW with all the clouds and rain, but there are definitely parts that are gorgeous. I visited the Bend, OR area a few years ago and really liked it. They do have a definite winter, but it's not overly long or snowy; they get somewhat more rain than we do and it's very pretty as well.

Perhaps it's some romantic notion in the back of my head that makes me intrigued about the south So even if I couldn't live there, I'm having a GREAT time hearing about it! And you're right about those northern states...been there done that with the long, snowy winters I do like distinct seasons, but a 7 month winter is just more than I want to deal with any more.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I was thinking something along those lines, mtnlaurl, thanks! DH has been in your area and said much the same thing, tho he said once you get away from the coast it gets better...especially if you're in the mountains.

I was raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains and it is true that it's much cooler there. When I would take my kids to visit my parents back home, I'd have to always remember to pack long pants and a sweater for them as the temp does drop at least 10 degrees. The Blue Ridge isn't very high as far as mountains go, guess they're older, but they are beyond beautiful. The winters there are hit or miss. One year we'll get pounded with snow and the next year very little. The humidity is still there - not as bad as Charleston, SC or Washington, DC - but still enough to make your clothes wet 10 minutes after you walk outside.

We once planned on moving to Charleston, SC until we went there at Thanksgiving and attended the lighting of the Charleston Christmas Tree. I was singing Christmas Carol's in shorts and it was about 85 degrees. Had my hair on top my head and the sweat was still running down my neck. It may be one of my favorite places but I then realized I needed a distinct change of seasons and couldn't do that type heat and humidity most of the year.

You might want to look at the climate of Roanoke, VA. It's in the south-western portion of the state surrounded by mountains. Absolutely beautiful area. Have been there a few times and the climate is more moderate than those places closer to the coast.