| Author | |
Angie Mc
Board Moderator
Joined: Jan 31 2005
Location: Arizona
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 11400
|
| Posted: July 31 2006 at 5:02pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
The greater Phoenix area...we love it here. Big city perks without big city stuffiness. Great weather most of the year. Major airport. Professional sports. Great Catholic community to include Bishop Olmsted! Although housing went up this past year...it has settled down and is still reasonable. I really love the people here...modest, down-to-earth, relaxed, for the most part. Family friendly. Tempe has ASU. Gilbert and maybe Chandler were recently voted best places to live. Plus...we'd love to have you!
Now a vote for Boise. Dh and I always say that if we need to move again, it will be to Boise! We got to know the area when we lived in Elko NV. Beautiful.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: July 31 2006 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
All of my dream locations would be in the West - I thought is was a wise comment that one would probably find as many different opinions as people on this list. What is ideal to one isn't necessarily to another. What I always missed when I lived in non-western cities was the dry air; clear, bright sky with vast horizon; and mountains (big mountains). My ideal location would always have to include that. If lush/green and moisture are important to you most locations in the Rocky Mountain west would be a big change. Some who are used to the climate, topography, culture of other areas might have a hard time adjusting.
I'm finding it very funny all the votes for Boise. It's a secret that's getting out. Back in the day, no one outside of Idaho would have aspired to live in a hick city like Boise. But it's actually one I'd put on the dream location list as well. In fact it is my dream location - maybe someday we'll get back there. I was born in Boise and although I moved to a different Idaho city for most of my childhood, still spent lots of time there visiting relatives.
The pluses are: still small in size (under 200,000)relative to most US cities but has most of what you need since it is the biggest city around for hundreds of miles. Close to rural areas and great recreation. Great climate though always has those 100+ stretches in the summer like Meredith mentioned. Summers do tend to be hot and dry, winters are distinctive but not harshly cold or wet. Idaho is generally a pretty conservative state and family oriented. Prices are still reasonable, but climbing. The natives say the traffic is getting horrible and commutes long, but that is relative as people coming from large cities don't seem to find them too bad. Boise doesn't have much transportation infrastructure to handle the fast growth of the recent decade. Meredith mentioned no mass transportation and the freeway system doesn't provide a loop or bypass like most larger cities. The state of the Catholic Church in the diocese though is sad. I would have a hard time living there for that reason - especially after being in Denver with such a dynamic and orthodox Catholic community. While you can find some wonderful priests and parishes, overall, it's a shame what has happened to the Church there - liberal bishops, consolidated parishes, weird restructuring and naming of parish "communities". Though I see their seminary numbers are going up - large growth in Hispanic seminarians, and the current bishop isn't as liberal as the past one, but really no reversal on what has happened.
Other places I would put on an ideal location list are Denver, Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs, CO. Gwen mentioned much of the same features I would for Denver: an absolutely fabulous and extensive library system, great climate (it is a mistaken perception that we have really cold, snowy winters - not the case) - 300+ days of sunshine a year; close to lots of recreation and fabulous scenery; major airport; all major sports teams (one of the few cities to have professional baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and soccer teams); nice museums; fairly easy homeschool laws, it's high-tech and highly educated population. And Denver is a great place to be a Catholic. There are wonderful things happening here. It is all the fruit of the 1993 World Youth Day that was held here. JPII talked about the "New Evangelization" and Denver really has become a seat of the New Evangelization. We are attracting scores of talented lay leaders and lay movements to the area - plus the huge numbers of seminarians relative to the size of the Catholic population.
On the negative side: it is pricey to live here. We were voted the 8th most expensive city in the country (housing wasn't included in that study). Housing may be lower that many east-coast locations but it still seems high to us. I do know a Catholic homeschooling family that moved here from Virginia last year and bought a gorgeous, large house up in the foothills, that I can only dream about - so I know that those who sell homes in California or the East coast can afford a lot here. Traffic and conjestion are pretty bad here at rush hour and it seems a hectic pace of life at times. So for all the positives but less expensive and slower pace I would go with Colorado Springs or Fort Collins.
EDITED TO ADD: forgot that traffic is actually pretty awful in Colorado Springs.
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Cay Gibson
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 16 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5193
|
| Posted: July 31 2006 at 9:46pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
MaryM wrote:
Other places I would put on an ideal location list are Denver, Fort Collins, or Colorado Springs, CO.
|
|
|
Everyone in Louisiana dreams of living in Colorado.  I'm serious. Ask anyone.
__________________
Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
~Rachel~
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 29 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 677
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 10:16am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Cay Gibson wrote:
Is this bed-and-breakfast Dairy Hollow House new, Rachel?
I see it's located on lovely Spring St. 
|
|
|
I dont know if it is new Cay, I think not... but I do know the owner has written several cookbooks and I really like them AND the food 
Her name is Crescent Dragonwagon... she is a children's author as well as a cookbook writer
__________________
~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
lapazfarm
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 21 2005
Location: Alaska
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6082
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 10:29am | IP Logged
|
|
|
~Rachel~ wrote:
Her name is Crescent Dragonwagon... she is a children's author as well as a cookbook writer |
|
|
Ooh, one of her books, "Half a Moon and one Whole Star" is one of our favorites.
__________________
Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Dawnie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 30 2005
Location: Kansas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 841
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 11:37am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I vote for Wichita, Kansas...and that's my totally unbiased opinion, by the way. 
The city and state are very homeschooling-friendly. The only legal requirement is to register with the state as a non-accredited private school. I can even do it online. There are lots of support groups here, even a Catholic one!
Wichita is large enough to have a lot of variety in shopping and restaurants, but you can still drive from one side of town to the other is 30 minutes or less.
There are lots of little communities surrounding Wichita where a family could buy some land and live "in the country."
The housing prices are very reasonable compared to other places around the country. We just bought a 3 bedroom home w/ a 2-car garage and a partial basement for $78,000. It appraised at $92,000, so we got a great deal on it, but $92,000 wouldn't have been a bad price to pay for it, either.
There is a lot to do here--lots of parks, museums, a wonderful zoo, a GREAT public library system, minor league baseball team...
We have a wonderful bishop and a thriving Catholic community.
Dawn
__________________
Mom to Mary Beth (99), Anna (02), Lucia (04), Clara (06), and Adelaide Victoria (2/28/09)
Visit my blog!Water Into Wine:Vino Per Tutto!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 2:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Well, how about N. Alabama - just make sure you come before all the people from BRAC. I think we are going to get a huge influx from DC - and if it is like what happened when we had the same thing happen from St. Louis - the prices will sky rocket. Still property taxes are very low.
You will find small commutes (everything seems to be 30 minutes or less, regardless of distance  ) and very family oriented. We do have all four seasons - but only slight snow in winter and of course, winter is generally the short season. On the negative - humidity is high in the summer - but then take advantage of nearby lakes and A/C. We also seem to be a magnet for tornados during the appropriate change of seasons - most of the time it is simply bad weather with various false alarms or tornados that don't touch down - but every once in a while we get a real doozy. It takes some getting used to during the season.
We still live in an area that is surrounded by country and folks still know neighbors who have lived there for generations. Also people do not get uptight about barefoot children, homeschooling is very common (mostly more common in homeschooling circles). People here tend to be individualists that want the government to just stay out of our business and will be neighborly but not looking for trouble or sue happy. We still have normal playground equipment like high slides and other things - hopefully the northern paranoia won't drift to these parts! ). It is still considered normal for young boys (not talking of toddlers - but 9, 10, on up) to explore the various streams, catch crayfish, climb trees etc. with a buddy and have enough sense to be reasonably safe about it with or without parental presence. Hunting is not a forbidden taboo and guns are not the enemy (those with evil intent or carelessness in use or storage are). There are rifle ranges, hunting preserves (and private farmers that have groups use their land), safety classes and also a military base nearby.
We are not too far from Mother Angelica (1 1/2 hours to 2 hours depending on exactly where you settle).
We have hills (we call them mountains - but wouldn't qualify if you're from the midwest or shannandoah area), rivers, lakes, canoing and even whitewater rafting nearby. We also have some solid cultural events like a professional orchestra and youth orchestra, Oktoberfest - (area settled heavily by German rocket scientists after WWII), opera orchestra and theater, children's theater, professional and semi-professional bands, etc. ,chamber programs, a local university, plenty of defense contract work and NASA. There are children's museums, a yearly Indian festival and plenty of caves for exploring (some developed for tours and some for trained spelunkers only). Generally, we have just about everything other areas have in the way of cultural events - just not on the same scale or as frequent concert schedules - but then the prices are not beyond an occassional treat for the average person and there are some fabulous wealthy members who make things available free of charge for free will offerings and they bring in top notch chamber groups - generally catch them as they travel to and from the bigger cities) We have seen Yitzak Pearlman, YoYoMa and others so we are not isolated in the boonies as some would believe. Yet we are still more like a suburban community with farming all around (even have a few farms left in the city). The beaurocrats and those with more power can tend to be more liberal - but you find most people quite conservative around here.
Our library system is a bit sorry (mostly because the library seems to be dumping the best children's books)and medical care is hit or miss (mostly advise traveling 2 hours for anything unusual - except heart). Catholics are in a minority - but we have a great homeschool co-op forming (and would love the influx of more Catholic homeschoolers). There are some outlying areas where prejudice is alive and well - but the good news is these people don't hide it so you'll know by the confederate battle flags flying. The same people prejudiced against non-whites are also against Catholics, btw and they will tell you to your face so you are not left second guessing.
But our area is a pocket in the midst of this with many buffer counties where people are here from all over the nation and world. It is a great place to raise a family - traffic is bad during rush hour (about 8 AM and 5PM) but nothing like the beltway. Our rush hour looks like DC's off hour traffic. You may get behind a tractor from time to time and the pace is much slower so don't be in a rush at checkouts, etc. Parking is never a problem except when they have a rock band, an orchestra concert and a Naval band all scheduled at the same time in the same downtown area (happens about once or twice a year). You won't find many condos - but plenty of single family homes with nice yards.
We'd love to have forum folks move her - but ssh - please keep our little haven a secret. If the rest of the country thinks we are a backwoods, hillbilly area full of bigots, we're happy to let them stay in their ignorance.
A lot of our priests are Irish or Indian - a few homegrown now. I cannot tell you much about the bishop - we are still waiting to hear (it has been over a year) and rumor has it we should know by October. Right now we do not have access to Tridentine Mass and there are some liberties taken with the Novos Ordo - but the situation is continually improving. We have some great priests and the presence of at least 3 different solid, religious communities of sisters within a few hours drive - one group runs retreats.
I know my dh put off moving here for years because he thought the area might be too prejudiced - kept turning down good job offers. Then he finally just couldn't turn an offer down and moved here - now he is here to stay and cannot imagine living and raising a family in the area where he grew up. (BTW, I'm glad he took that offer or we may not have met  ).
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Christine
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 23 2006
Location: Washington
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1151
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 2:31pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Western Washington would be my unbiased answer. My main gripe, and it is a big one, I wish the Catholic Faith were stronger. We don't get as much rain as people say (I believe it is a tactic to keep people away). Water, greenery, and mountains are plentiful. We have four mild seasons ~ sun in the spring and summer, leaves falling in the autumn, a dusting of snow in the winter. If you want more snow, you can easily drive to the mountains. It is one of the cleanest places in the United States (I have visited almost every state and I can say this honestly). Although housing prices are very high, especially where I lived during my teen years (Bellevue), you can find areas where houses are not quite as pricey. Finally, we belong to a wonderful parish and a great Catholic homeschool group. There are many pro-life individuals (we are working on becoming more vocal). Could some things be better? The answer is yes, but I am an optimist and really believe that I am living where God wants me to be. It is beautiful and hardly a day goes by when I don't thank God for leading me back here after college. Oh, I almost forgot, we also have "the bluest skies, you've ever seen, in Seattle". 
__________________
Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
folklaur
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2816
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Elizabeth wrote:
DH would buck the "American" qualification and say New Zealand. He's really campaigning for New Zealand... |
|
|
My dh too! -- he really wants to move there...I used to think he was kidding. Now, I am not so sure....
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Cay Gibson
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 16 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5193
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
ALmom wrote:
| Well, how about N. Alabama - |
|
|
Janet,
the girls and I went through Alabama on our trip to Georgia recently.
Lovely state! 
Oma and I even wondered if it was because we had just traveled through hurricane-ravaged Louisiana and lower Mississippi. We decided though---after traveling back through Alabama to Mother Angelica's Monastery and Helen Keller's homplace---that Alabama was just beautiful by its on right!
We stayed in Greenville, Alabama the first night. If we have another hurricane evacuation, I'm going to seriously look at that spot as evacuation potential.
__________________
Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
folklaur
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2816
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 2:50pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Christine wrote:
| Western Washington would be my unbiased answer. My main gripe, and it is a big one, I wish the Catholic Faith were stronger. |
|
|
Hi,
My husband and daughter went to Olympia, WA for his brother's wedding last year, and my 16 yo daughter fell in love with the place. We are currently in Arizona, the only place she has ever lived, and she has always said she never wanted to move - until she visited Olympia. Now, she talks all the time about us moving to WA. E had considered it also, as we are really quite tired of the heat! But I am concerned about the parishes there. Are they very liberal? How are the homeschooling laws?
Smiles,
~Laura Gaddy
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Christine
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 23 2006
Location: Washington
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1151
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 3:30pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
cactus mouse wrote:
My husband and daughter went to Olympia, WA for his brother's wedding last year, and my 16 yo daughter fell in love with the place. We are currently in Arizona, the only place she has ever lived, and she has always said she never wanted to move - until she visited Olympia. Now, she talks all the time about us moving to WA. E had considered it also, as we are really quite tired of the heat! But I am concerned about the parishes there. Are they very liberal? How are the homeschooling laws?
Smiles,
~Laura Gaddy |
|
|
Other parts of Washington are even more beautiful than Olympia. There are some decent parishes, but you do have to look. Our parish is one of the very good ones. The homeschooling laws are pretty lax. They can be viewed at HSLDA. We simply register via mail with our school district. Please let me know if you ever do move up this way.
__________________
Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
teachingmyown
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5128
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 8:31pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks, this is great! My younger brother's girlfriend lived in CO for a few years and she was also singing it's praises.
I have one thought for those of you who mentioned traffic in the locations you suggested. Those of us from the DC area, and from what I hear NY, LA and San Diego, traffic means two hours or more to go 40 miles during a typical rush-hour. It is unbelievable to those who have not experienced it. So when you all mention traffic, my husband asked "do they know what traffic is?"! So, what do you all consider "bad traffic"?
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ladybugs
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3732
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 9:38pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
The growth of the infrastructure of Sacramento has not matched it's housing growth so traffic can be problematic. Additionally, alot of people have bought houses in Sacramento but drive 2 hours to the Bay Area each way for work. Here, you'd probably be stuck in traffic anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.2 hours. So not as bad as LA or DC but growing.
__________________
Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
momwise
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 28 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1914
|
| Posted: Aug 01 2006 at 10:20pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
No Molly,
It isn't quite that bad. Before we moved dh had to go from Denver to Boulder, which is opposite of traffic. It took 50-60 min. for about 26 mi. It would have been worse going the other way or through the center of town. That's why we moved, to be closer to work. Now we're north of Denver and he has to go further north to work, so it's a great commute.
__________________
Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
marihalojen
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 12 2006
Location: Florida
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1883
|
| Posted: Aug 02 2006 at 9:40am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have deep ties to CO, Mom's family has been on the Western slope for over a century, our upright grand piano came out to the homestead on a covered wagon (!) but I think I'd vote for New Mexico now over CO, it seems like CO used to be when I was growing up before all the Californians (and Louisianans, Cay! ) started to move there and land prices skyrocketed. In NM you can still go into the Mountains and not see evidence of another person, the weather is fab, the Missions are awesome, etc...
But my dh seems to be of the same mindset as Elizabeth's and Laura's (international based) which is why I'm reading Sailing the Farm, which is hilarious in a 1970's Back-to-the-Land (Sea) sort of way.
Blue Green Algae for breakfast anyone?
__________________
~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Aug 02 2006 at 3:52pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Traffic here means that you have to stop once or twice - even in rush hour, driving across town, my dh does not have to drive more than 30 min. Traffic rarely comes to any kind of standstill. DC is major stress traffic wise when we visit and I would never drive there. Heck we can go all the way to Nashville in about 2 hours.
Cay, consider visiting next time you come through N. Al. I'd love to meet you. I know this time you were on a schedule for the conference. Hated to miss it but dh has been going back and forth to DC trying to figure out what is going on with his dad's health.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
folklaur
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2816
|
| Posted: Aug 02 2006 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
cactus mouse wrote:
Christine wrote:
| Western Washington would be my unbiased answer. My main gripe, and it is a big one, I wish the Catholic Faith were stronger. |
|
|
Hi,
My husband and daughter went to Olympia, WA for his brother's wedding last year, and my 16 yo daughter fell in love with the place. We are currently in Arizona, the only place she has ever lived, and she has always said she never wanted to move - until she visited Olympia. Now, she talks all the time about us moving to WA. E had considered it also, as we are really quite tired of the heat! But I am concerned about the parishes there. Are they very liberal? How are the homeschooling laws?
Smiles,
~Laura Gaddy |
|
|
EEEK - this was supposed to be a PM. Wow, do I feel stupid.... 
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
momwise
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 28 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1914
|
| Posted: Aug 02 2006 at 8:24pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
marihalojen wrote:
| I think I'd vote for New Mexico now over CO, |
|
|
I love New Mexico too!
__________________
Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
Forum Locked) 
4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Dream Location
