Here is Bu

 

BU is beautiful, but a little out of our price range. Also, the sun is on the wrong side of the ocean. I do like the idea of coastal living, as I love to sail. The problem is almost any area with good sailing is also too populated for my tastes. I am willing to forsake sailing for the joys of an open road, with some curves and hills and other fun stuff.

 

As I was implying with this ^^ suggestion, almost any smaller town with a respectable 4 year liberal arts college would 'fill the bill'. If you can deal with the longish winters and short summers, Maine also provides opportunities for summer sailing in Penobscot Bay et al....

Another option would be towns on some of the larger freshwater LAKES. Actually, Ithaca NY is another town that often rates in those 'Best Places to....' articles. It's a small town with 2 colleges; newer town library; great restaurants and an 'art' cinema; all the culture of an Ivy League Univ; sailing on Lake Cayuga; Watkins Glen track about 45 min to the west ; and RE is not that expensive. The close-to-campus residential area of Cayuga Hts (where paS2K and +1 lived for first year of wedded bliss) has actually gotten relatively cheaper b/c some mis-guided faculty now choose the much larger new construction 5-10 miles to the north.
Sample RE Listing @ 375k

 

What would be better than L.I.? Just about anywhere. Get a dart out.

A library. The last time I was in one they did not have what I wanted - a Consumer Report magazine. Being too cheap to subscribe I thought I could get a heads up on a purchase but our local library said they no longer subscribe either! So who needs those places.

Maine. Lobster. Has anyone ever heard of Red Lobster restaurants. They cook. You eat. You don't need to move to Maine.

A town with a college. Jerry, suggested a small college. OK, that narrows it down to 10 to 20 thousands cities.... sorry I lost count.







I just thought I'd be Jerry once, since he was giving straight answer on the thread.

 

And you could do your sailing on Lake Champlain.

 

Check out where I live....a tropical paradise surrounded by swamp. Town has 25k people in it but we have one the most used libraries in the US. Our Philharmonic Hall is second to none, and draws from all over the world. World class boating fishing and sailing and most of the people here are from somewhere else so it's a great melting pot.

If you want peace and quiet, we're right on the edge of 10000 islands, part of everglades national park...that's the least used and let largest of all the parks in the lower 48. Lots of empty tropical beaches.

Nice place to declare residency too when it comes to state income tax, estate tax etc.


fltsfshr

PS if you need a dose on NYC you're only a short cheap jet blue ride away.

 

This thread is interesting to me, because of the insight on perspectives it's providing.

So far, we've got Naples, Malibu, hitting the road, and...New England. Maybe that's because the starting point for this is Long Island; or maybe it's just the bias of the respondants. But the last time I looked at a map, there was a significant amount of land area in North America outside New England. (Ha! Take that, all you elitist northeastern snobs! )

I moved here from New Mexico for a job. If I were going to choose a relocation destination without that constraint, I'd look at geography and climate, first, and infrastructure and culture (not just "high" culture, but the whole society) second.

For example, sailing (big water access as part of the geography) implies the coasts, although if cold weather isn't an issue the Great Lakes are also worth a look. And, really, sunsets can be just as wonderful as sunrises, and the Puget Sound area (the west side and islands) is definitely not as populated as the east coast. As Flts says, Naples is still fairly undiscovered -- although there's a reason for this, the salt-marsh mosquitos. The area around Florida's "armpit" is definitely still undiscovered, if the culture part of the equation isn't as important as low population density.

I guess my point is that this is a wonderful opportunity to think about far horizons instead of just about what's comfortable at the provincial scale. HPH

 

DrC- I could come up with a dozen spots around the country....b/c our personal horizon and travels are pretty wide. We want to end up out west somewhere

OTOH, my comments (Maine, VT) were intended to try to respond to Boomer's original query, which seemed to be most interested in locations that are still in the NE

 

Have you considered the south. I am from L.I. originally. Now live in Alabama. Must say we are pleased with the area. Did not know what to expect when we first got here. Housing is dirt cheap compared to Long Island. The people are great. Birmingham area meets all the cultural needs. I do not miss the snow and there some traffic but nothing like you are experiencing every day. Plenty of open areas with the roads you need for an S.

 

How friendly have you found the 'natives'.....or do you live in a gated community of northern transplants?

I have heard both good and bad stories about 'acceptance' in a totally different part of the country.