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Featured Replies

After thorough research, I am down to 4 towns that fit what I'm looking for:

1.  Ruidsoso

We spent a month there earlier this summer, and even looked at houses, so this is the one I need the least info on.  Biggest disadvantage: distance to airports/large cities

2.  Los Alamos

Housing prices are kinda high, but I'd love to live in a place where the average resident is not a moron.

3.  Payson, AZ

Looks like it has everything we want, but the big wildfire this summer scared my wife.

4.  Bisbee, AZ

Kind of a longshot.

Any info/experience on these would be appreciated.

Would also consider Ashland, OR but they'd need to have a housing crash for me to afford it.

11 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

After thorough research, I am down to 4 towns that fit what I'm looking for:

1.  Ruidsoso

We spent a month there earlier this summer, and even looked at houses, so this is the one I need the least info on.  Biggest disadvantage: distance to airports/large cities

2.  Los Alamos

Housing prices are kinda high, but I'd love to live in a place where the average resident is not a moron.

3.  Payson, AZ

Looks like it has everything we want, but the big wildfire this summer scared my wife.

4.  Bisbee, AZ

Kind of a longshot.

Any info/experience on these would be appreciated.

Would also consider Ashland, OR but they'd need to have a housing crash for me to afford it.

WTF was your criteria?

Earlier this summer I visited Payson and Prescott. I didn’t really care for Payson but liked Prescott quite a bit.

What’s Los Alamos like? High desert?

  • Author
13 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Earlier this summer I visited Payson and Prescott. I didn’t really care for Payson but liked Prescott quite a bit.

What’s Los Alamos like? High desert?

What didn't you like about Payson?  It is kind of Wal-Marty with chain stores, but there are two very small close-by small towns, Pine and Strawberry, as an alternative.

Have looked at Prescott and it looked pretty good, but larger than we wanted.

I've been through Payson, Pine, and Strawberry, and liked the area. Sedona is gorgeous and is not that far away.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Radical Larry said:

I've been through Payson, Pine, and Strawberry, and liked the area. Sedona is gorgeous and is not that far away.

 

 

Sedona is kind of an overrun fake town that's hilariously overpriced.  But yeah, it's gorgeous.

It’s not that I didn’t like Payson. It was OK, just kind of unremarkable and like you said, Walmart-y. In general I didn’t get a good vive from Arizona. I’ve been to New Mexico and Colorado several times, and I’m seriously considering either moving to one of those two states, or buying a summer house. I wanted to like Arizona, but it was just kind of, don’t know how to explain it, dull.

  • Popular Post

Not to derail the thread, but I’m looking to do the same and wanted peoples input. I’m considering: 

Gary, Indiana

Silver City, NM

Paramus, NJ

Barstow, CA

34 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

WTF was your criteria?

I think he’s going to witness protection....

  • Author
15 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Not to derail the thread, but I’m looking to do the same and wanted peoples input. I’m considering: 

Gary, Indiana

Silver City, NM

Paramus, NJ

Barstow, CA

I looked at Silver City, you dick.

Hobbs.  All the shittiness you desire.  An arid Shreveport.

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

cloudcroft

This is the answer.  That is a great little town and it's a short drive to Alamogordo. 

Truth or Consequences. 

1 hour ago, Hate said:

This is the answer.  That is a great little town and it's a short drive to Alamogordo. 

I too have heard Cloudcroft was nice.

So you don't want to move somewhere cool like SF or Taos?

9 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Not to derail the thread, but I’m looking to do the same and wanted peoples input. I’m considering: 

Gary, Indiana

Silver City, NM

Paramus, NJ

Barstow, CA

Sorry we can't all live in Cypress Creek. My daughter has awful allergy problems.

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Sorry we can't all live in Cypress Creek. My daughter has awful allergy problems.

I’ve been accused of many things on here, but living in the fucking suburbs is not one of them. 

  • Author
3 hours ago, 52-80 said:

cloudcroft

Way too small.  Also, 8700' elevation is a bit much.

Man, I hope when I retire that my options are better than that turd list. Why don’t you add Victoria, TX to the list?

And Hank coming in scalding hot with Gary, Indiana. Lolz.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  • Author
9 minutes ago, ztejas said:

So you don't want to move somewhere cool like SF or Taos?

SF -- housing prices.

My best friend at work has a place in Taos.  Property crime has gotten out of hand there.

15 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

My best friend at work has a place in Taos.  Property crime has gotten out of hand there.

Yeah - I feel like a lot of those are people that don't live there, though. I would think if you were at home most of the time and had a gun for safe measure it wouldn't be that bad. Probably depends on where you live, too.

10 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Not to derail the thread, but I’m looking to do the same and wanted peoples input. I’m considering: 

Gary, Indiana

Silver City, NM

Paramus, NJ

Barstow, CA

Might as well add College Station, TX to that list. I've been to Barstow, CA. If ever I wanted an HQ for a meth empire, Barstow would be my first choice.

 

11 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

 

2.  Los Alamos

Housing prices are kinda high, but I'd love to live in a place where the average resident is not a moron.

 

In the nuclear war to come, in the first initial volleys you would be vaporized and not have to go through rebuilding, so there's that.

  • Author
36 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yeah - I feel like a lot of those are people that don't live there, though. I would think if you were at home most of the time and had a gun for safe measure it wouldn't be that bad. Probably depends on where you live, too.

Staying home and arming myself is not really how I want to enjoy retirement.

19 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Staying home and arming myself is not really how I want to enjoy retirement.

You just described all my old high school friends in the Houston suburbs.

We stayed in Alto once which is right outside Ruidoso, but higher up above the bugs.  We stayed in an adobe house and slept with the windows open.  It was amazing.  I vote there.

  • Author
6 hours ago, kevwun said:

We stayed in Alto once which is right outside Ruidoso, but higher up above the bugs.  We stayed in an adobe house and slept with the windows open.  It was amazing.  I vote there.

That's how all 4 of these towns will be -- that was a big part of the criteria.

I’d pick los alamos out of those. Closer to Santa Fe, which is probably where I’d live if I was independently wealthy.

Ruidoso is decent. Definitely an unpretentious place for a tourist town.

What would be the best Colorado town? Criteria is to be kickass.


A hot and hotter state. OP is a yankee.

Oregon coast for me in 15 years. Yep cloudy for 7 months but the high of 65 each day will make me pay those taxes.

LOL.  We took an anniversary trip to Oregon in the summer of 2017.  It was 115 degrees in the interior of Oregon and well over 100 in Portland.  Biggest surprise in my many decades of travel.  Unusual.  Of course.  But it can happen.  A lot of folks never realize how hot it gets in Denver in the summer.  They only think mountains.

  • Author

A hot and hotter state. OP is a yankee.

Oregon coast for me in 15 years. Yep cloudy for 7 months but the high of 65 each day will make me pay those taxes.
I lived in Seattle for 6 years. Fuck clouds.
1 hour ago, markstanco said:


A hot and hotter state. OP is a yankee.

Oregon coast for me in 15 years. Yep cloudy for 7 months but the high of 65 each day will make me pay those taxes.

None of those places are hot but okay. Unless low 90s with 15% humidity for a couple of months is hot to you. And that's only in Payson.

Why would someone want to live in Las Cruces?

3 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Why would someone want to live in Las Cruces?

Meth?

Wrong state, but if you're willing to go as far north as Los Alamos, I'd just keep going and settle in Durango.  Might be too wintery and touristy for what you're looking for.

Edited by jimmyjazz

On 8/6/2020 at 12:04 AM, Hank Scorpio said:

Not to derail the thread, but I’m looking to do the same and wanted peoples input. I’m considering: 

Gary, Indiana

Silver City, NM

Paramus, NJ

Barstow, CA

I'd like the cut of your  jib but hard to sail in those places.

Barstow is particularly awful.  All of southern inland Cali  is terribad.  I'll never go back to Palm Springs between March and October.

If I would have stayed in AZ, I would have moved to Flagstaff.  College town.  Mountain town.  Historic.  Close to Grand Canyon, Sedona, Powell.  Phoenix in 2 hours.

2 minutes ago, Upgrayedd said:

If I would have stayed in AZ, I would have moved to Flagstaff.  College town.  Mountain town.  Historic.  Close to Grand Canyon, Sedona, Powell.  Phoenix in 2 hours.

Flagstaff used to be my number one retirement destination, but the last couple of times i was there I got a bad vibe from the increasing homeless population.  I may just be getting old.

 

If I could convince my wife I think I’d pick Santa Fe or Taos.  But I think we’ll be in Austin until they bury me.

  • Author
3 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

If I would have stayed in AZ, I would have moved to Flagstaff.  College town.  Mountain town.  Historic.  Close to Grand Canyon, Sedona, Powell.  Phoenix in 2 hours.

Massive amounts of snow and high housing prices.

My mom's family are pretty much all in Payson and Star Valley. I spent every summer and a few winters as a kid out there at my grandparents place. That's where we plan to retire as well. You could definitely do worse than that area. Both of my grandmother's sisters still live there. They're 99 and 94 and are still getting around like mountain goats. There's something to living in that clean air, elevation and terrain that leads to long life. And no pics, you nasty motherfuckers. 

Santa Fe isn’t priced badly. Granted I’m comparing to central Austin. Unless you want an estate, it’s easy enough to find a really nice house for under $700K. With the low property taxes, your budget is gonna be a lot higher than it is in Texas.

I've always thought Flagstaff would be a nice area to live, but I've never spent any time there. Beautiful area and just the right mix of weather.

Flagstaff averages 81 inches of snow a year.

  • Author
Flagstaff averages 81 inches of snow a year.
Over 100 inches last year, 31 inches in one day.

Fuck that.

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