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Topic: If you could pick where you lived..

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MarilynW
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Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 9:43pm \| IP Logged

...where would you choose (and I am thinking the US here)? Would you choose rural or suburb or city? Would you stay where you are? Do you look for places with lots of homeschoolers or good homeschooling laws. Do you look for a good Catholic area?

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Marilyn
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amyable
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Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 9:55pm \| IP Logged

NoVa so I can be closer to 1/2 the board here.

Dh's brother lives there too, and I've heard the diocese (sp?) is great. Too bad dh doesn't have a job there - and we couldn't afford it even if he did, I think!

Seriously though, I don't have one specific place in mind, but *if* it existed, I would like a semi-rural place (like on the *edge* of a suburb), affordable, with hands off homeschooling laws, where dh could commute under 40 minutes...with good Catholic homeschooling support. And I prefer the North or Northeast, I'm a yankee at heart.

Oh but it can't be too cold, because dh likes the sun/swimming/warmth at least part of the year.

That isn't too much to ask, is it?

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Amy
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JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 10:38pm \| IP Logged

I would live on the outskirts of a small town on about 10-20 well fenced acres that would put us close enough to the fire station for my dh to continue being a volunteer firefighter and for us to participate in things like swim team that is every morning 5 days a week for about 7-8 weeks during the summer. A good parish, not looking for anything specatacular but friendly people who don't get grumpy when kids are kids or expect them to be quieter than the adults around them or that they stay hidden off in some "quiet" room. A faithful priest.

Decent homeschooling laws and a community that isn't out to persecute homeschoolers (no matter how good the hs laws, there are those people who will call CPS with any excuse in the book to make life difficult for them).

Honestly, that's mostly what we have here except that we don't have acreage on the outskirts of town.. we'd just LIKE TO.

Though the flip side is instead of living on acreage here in town.. keep the house on a lot in town and have a few acres up in the forest outside of town.. oh say 30-60 minutes out.. with a little cabin on it, a well, a bathroom.. but a pump to get the water would be fine.. a woodstove to heat the cabin.. yep.. that would about do it.. think of it as camping with solid walls. I think if we had a place to go like that we could do a lot of "camping" in the spring and fall around my dh's job.

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Jodie, wife to Dave
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lapazfarm
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Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 10:56pm \| IP Logged

Alaska!
It's got everything we could possibly want and more!
Spectacular scenery, nature galore, awesome homeschool laws, charming small towns, friendly(and diverse) people ...
Can't wait to get back!
(5 more days, but who's counting?)

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Theresa
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folklaur
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Posted: Jan 06 2010 at 11:43pm \| IP Logged

As for states, i have always wanted to live in Alaska or in Washington.

as for particulars - i would love to live in Sedona, or the Florida Keys, or Coranado Island. None of those are likely to happen.

i am very torn between being in a city (i like cities!) but i also love the forest....

i want to be by the ocean.

the only climate i really, really don't like is high heat and desert. which is likely where i will be staying.

Sarah M
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 1:36am \| IP Logged

cactus mouse wrote:

As for states, i have always wanted to live in Alaska or in Washington.

Come on up!

I'd want lots of nature, close enough to the city (within...say....45 min?) to have access to museums and theatre and factory tours and fun field trips like those. I'd want a faithful diocese that I can trust to do things correctly- because I'm a convert and for the most part, don't know any better when things are "off". I'd want the most hands-off homeschooling laws possible. And I'd want a commute for my husband that is 20 minutes, tops.

We're moving in a couple of months, and though we didn't get to choose the city, I can say that my #1 priority for choosing a home is no commute for DH. Everything else comes secondary to that-- maybe it's because he's been gone for so stinkin' long, but I want my husband home with us as much as possible. If I could pick anywhere USA, I'd make sure we chose a spot where he wouldn't have to commute more than 20 minutes or so.

Of course, I'm with Amy-- I'd move to NoVa in a heartbeat, just to meet all you lovely ladies.

mom2mpr
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 5:26am \| IP Logged

I'd love to go back to Charlottesville, VA. Sigh. I so miss the mountains, mild weather, friendly people, my midwife, family physician, proximity to the ocean, my pretty little house with lot's of trees and privacy in the backyard, close to Richmond, DC, and NoVA

.
Homeschooling was easy and the resources there awesome. Library system was wonderful. The sun shone. Our neighbors homeschooled and had kids the same ages as mine. There were a lot of playgrounds, fun, family things to do--great place to raise kids. You could be in the Arlington Diocese by riding up 29 to Madison, VA.
Yup, since living there for 5 years all dreams for Colorado and the west have been tempered. I would go "home" in a heartbeat.

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MarilynW
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 7:42am \| IP Logged

Thanks everyone!

I love looking at what people say - it helps me really appreciate where I live and stop looking where I think the grass is greener.

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Marilyn
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guitarnan
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 8:06am \| IP Logged

I would like for my dh to be 15 minutes' drive from work. His commute is so stressful.

I've lived five minutes from church (sadly, not here) and it was wonderful. Maybe God can send Dorothy's tornado and move my church to an open field nearby?

I am so not a rural girl. We lived in the most beautiful mountain country for two years and watched so many people face medical issues because the hospital was an hour away...AFTER the EMTs arrived, which usually took another hour. I will never live that far from real medical treatment again if I can help it. Give me suburbs with trees, any day.

I need to live somewhere with a good library system because I check out zillions of books every year.

Snow is not my friend. That - and the summer humidity - are the two things I don't like about where I live. (Besides dh's commute - but we'll have to move to fix taht. Sigh.)

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SylviaB
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 8:54am \| IP Logged

lapazfarm wrote:

Alaska!
It's got everything we could possibly want and more!
Spectacular scenery, nature galore, awesome homeschool laws, charming small towns, friendly(and diverse) people ...

I am with Theresa! We spent four years there and loved, loved, loved it. Moved to be closer to family when I got out of the military. Glad we are close to family but really miss Alaska. Maybe I need to convince everyone to move there! ;)

Marcia
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 9:10am \| IP Logged

I'm pretty happy where we are now. 20 minutes to the downtown of the "big" city (170T) for hubby to drive to and from work.
A large yard with plenty of room for a garden.
True changes of seasons...we get snow, heat and rain.
only a few days that need staying indoors due to weather.
I personally would love a cow and some sheep, but not here in our little village of 1 thousand people. Maybe someday. I like being close to medical attention should we ever need it. And community gets to know you well when you live in a place like this.

Now if we could live overseas for three years. I would be wiling to do village or mega city. I think some diversity in life is good. Now how to get overseas.......I guess I need a miracle.

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Marcia
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Mackfam
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 9:11am \| IP Logged

MarilynW wrote:

I have to say that right now I am very nostalgic for a place like Avonlea...

I like to think I can have an Avonlea spirit about our home wherever we are! To me, Avonlea was about Anne having a home, a place to belong, a shelter for her heart and her imagination.

My preference is rural because, as Anne says, there is so much scope for the imagination, but that is just my preference. I love the mountains, and finding an expanse of nature so close in proximity to our backdoor is such a cheery and dear thing to me. We're fortunate in that we have this. This space, this freedom to be who we are is precious to me.

I'll go wherever my husband leads and find some spot of sunshine to be cheery about, some little natural spot where we can draw the birds in to us, a space where I can shelter and nurture these hearts and imaginations under our care. I can and will stretch to create an Avonlea spirit wherever we are.

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Jen Mackintosh
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jenk
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 9:16am \| IP Logged

I'd go back to VA in a heartbeat! We were in FB for almost a year and loved it- small enough and large enough. Roanoke also appeals to me... and after reading the positives on Charlottesville, I'll have to add that to my list

I like to be close to a city but not right in the middle of one and I'd LOVE a little land right on the outskirts. Good homeschool laws, other homeschoolers to hang with, a good parish and being closer than a 12 hour drive to my family are all factors for me.

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Jen
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Angel
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 9:42am \| IP Logged

Somewhere warmer.

Honestly, though, keeping so many active little boys busy during a long, cold winter is HARD. Especially for a girl who grew up in Tennessee.

Of all the places I have lived... I really liked Portland, OR, in spite of the rain. It was such an interesting city and the geography of the Pacific Northwest is just amazing. I loved the coffee and the BOOKSTORES (Powells!!) and the trees and being an hour from the ocean and an hour from the mountains. But real estate was incredibly expensive. And I don't enjoy living in the suburbs; I need space!!!

I also liked East Tennessee (Knoxville area) -- mountains, good climate, the occasional snow in winter, beautiful. (Also, much lower taxes than NY. Oy.) Now that I have kids, though, I don't know what the Catholic homeschooling community is like in Knoxville.

But... as we are involved in the "if you could move anywhere" discussion right now, it is coming down to a few things for us:

1. Is it closer to family (this may not be an issue for you, but is becoming more than an issue to us)
2. Is it warmer? (Sorry to all you New Yorkers, but this climate really gets me. It snows and the wind blows all winter, then it rains all summer. I never warm up!)

3. How friendly are the people? (Having moved around the country a bit now, I can say that the South and Midwest are much easier to be accepted into than the Northeast.)

4. Can we own acreage and still be close enough to dh's work that a commute is not a bear? Also, can we live somewhere that allows chickens and possibly other animals (other than horses)? (When I say acreage, I mean 2 or 3 acres on up... but preferably 5 acres +)

5. Can we live out but still close enough to civilization that we can participate in activities, get a good doctor without driving an hour, etc.?

6. This should make it clear that we don't really like big cities.

I do sometimes feel envious of the number of people on this board living in NoVa, but I do NOT miss living in DC.

The traffic alone makes me a basket case.

7. What is the homeschooling community like? Is there a Catholic homeschooling group? How active is it?

8. What is the diocese like? Are there good, orthodox parishes? (Almost anywhere in the country is better than where we are now.)

So those are our criteria, basically. Using them, we've decided we would like to move to west Tennessee... not what I would have picked if I would have picked *anywhere*, but... my dh is from there, his family still lives there, my family is only about 5 hrs away, we could live out of the city on acreage, it is definitely warmer (a little too warm in the summer, but whatever

), and it does have (I have heard) a very good Catholic homeschooling group. So... it's probably not what you would pick, but there you have it. After having moved around a lot for the past 20 years... my dh and I have decided that the presence of family (whom we are on reasonably good terms with) trumps many of our other desires.

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Angela
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teachingmyown
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 10:17am \| IP Logged

Charlottesville would be wonderful!

Really, we are very blessed where we are:semi-rural, great parish in a good diocese, easy homeschooling laws. The negatives are the distance from church if you want acreage, long commute for dh, boring area as far as nature is concerned.

My dream place would have:
*a close job for dh (it would have to be defense related which limits us)
*affordable acreage that is close to a church, library
*an enthusiastic, close-knit homeschooling group
*mountains, large open spaces
*mild weather year round! I hate cold and I am getting too old to deal with VA's heat and humidity.

I dream of places like Ave Maria for it's Catholic community and San Diego for it's moderate temperatures. The closest we have found to perfect is State College, PA but dh needed a degree to get the job he was looking at. But the house we had found was the same size and acreage as our home here, but five miles from church and five minutes to where the job was. The church looked great, and there were mountains and college football games for dh. The only negative (besides that he didn't get the job) would be the homeschooling laws. That, and leaving family and friends.

All you ladies dreaming of NoVa, have you driven there lately?!

My parents are still there and it is a struggle to get up there every time. But Fredericksburg isn't too bad yet, come on down!

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DominaCaeli
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 10:46am \| IP Logged

We're actually looking at settling down somewhere soon, and our main considerations are:

:: Traditional Latin Mass parish/community nearby (within 30 minutes drive, which is what we're used to--but even closer would be better!)

:: Short commute for my husband (we are spoiled by his five-minute commute now, but we would only go up to 20 minutes for him, so within the same city--absolutely essential)

:: No snow and decent proximity to our families (meaning we'll probably stay in CA, within a couple hours of where we live now)

ETA:
:: We are suburbanites at heart, so that's the kind of area we would be looking for

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Mary G
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 10:52am \| IP Logged

Quote:

If you could pick where you lived.. where would you live?

Right where I am ... I ain't never moving and we love this area. The commute is not great for dh (esp since we've been spoiled by being within a mile of commute) but this is so great, for the 10months of the year he needs to commute, this is great! And the school is so welcoming to the kids that we can often make a day of it if we need to go up to see him or something at school!

Seriously, I'd forgotten how wonderful Virginia is ... and we're far enough away from NoVa to avoid most traffic but close enough to DC/Richmond/Charlottesville to have lots at our disposal. We're actually in a rural county west of F'burg ... so we have the rolling, farm-heavy areas.

Homeschooling here is good ... we've got Religious Exempt so I don't have to file anything with the state

Did I mention, I'm NEVER moving again? Famous last words huh? And to be honest, I'll live anywhere dh and family are ... and be very happy and content. But I'm not moving

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MaryG
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JennGM
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 11:16am \| IP Logged

I'd stay right here. The only change would be a bigger yard and more privacy, but I'm really happy being in NoVa suburbs, close to family, close to church...

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Jennifer G. Miller
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SusanJ
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 1:18pm \| IP Logged

If we could live anywhere we might stay right where we are but I'd want to look hard at New York City. We tried to move to Brooklyn a couple years ago and it didn't work out. I still really love the neighborhood we were going to--a close friend is still there. But I'd like Manhattan as well though I'm not sure which neighborhood in particular yet. Right now we live in a very urban neighborhood only 20 minutes by train to Manhattan and that might actually be nicer. We LOVE the city (obviously) but do appreciate being able to shoot out to the country or ocean for trips and that is certainly easier from NJ than from right in NYC. But dh promises me that once he writes that theology bestseller

, I can look into the feasibility of living in Manhattan. Probably by then we'll be too settled to care anymore!

ETA: I definitely had in mind, "If money were no object" when I wrote this post!

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knowloveserve
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Posted: Jan 07 2010 at 2:20pm \| IP Logged

If I had to leave the Pacific Northwest, there'd be a hole in my heart forever.

I love being close to both mountains and beaches (and even a rain forest where we live now!).

I love four distinct seasons where the summers aren't TOO hot for too long and the winters aren't TOO cold for too long.

We have an outstanding parish here in the city. We'd like to buy some acreage just outside the city someday in the near future.

Every place has its ups and downs. And I've traveled over much the contiguous states and can say that there are wonderful things about each area... but I think we have it pretty darn great here.

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