@Teaching Elder posted:Cabbage,
I am reluctant to share this hidden gem, but go to Birmingham, AL. It has hills but not mountains. The seasons change but the winters are pretty mild. You still may get a snow or two most years, but usually no big issues with closures. The summers are hot and August is humid, but it is really June, July and August with July and August being the worst. Fall is pretty divine.
It's the east so there is plenty of water coming into and through the numerous rivers and streams. There are man-made lakes for hydro-electricity that people absolutely love. Lots of jet -skiing and boating and water skiing. You can canoe or kayak. You can trout fish. You can bass fish. You are an hour or less away from hunting spots for white tail deer, or for turkeys, or for dove or quail. You can shoot your own coon or possum off your garbage can and eat that if you are careful about it.
Birmingham has about everything one could want in a metropolis without the glut of people. Symphony, music theater, 5 star dining, great museums, Sax 5th Ave and about every other shopping you could ask for, a minor league AA team in a swanky park, international airport, outstanding high school sports to watch. You are right in the middle of SEC country and the collegiate sports are second to none. Birmingham is hosting the World Games in 2022. They have the Barber's Motorsports park which hosts a Porsche road race each year as well as numerous other events and also has a large museum full of cars and motorcycles.
One can easily be an hour or less from the metro area and find large tracts of land to spread out on.
You will be about 4-5 hours from the Gulf of Mexico, which has the most beautiful sugar-sand beaches in the world.
To top things off, Alabamians are some of the nicest, most down-to-earth and generous people you will ever meet. Get used to saying, "Hi" to everyone you come across. Churches are on every corner, and the people's faiths are genuine. This is what got Birmingham quickly past the Civil Rights era and has brought great racial peace and harmony in that city.
Caveat 1) You must be aware that weather can get severe at any time of year. If you can purchase a home with a storm shelter or build one yourself, you will feel better during the storms.
Caveat 2) You cannot tell your friends how nice Birmingham is. I hear it all the time. People will say, I didn't know how nice it is here. They tell their friends about it and then they come too. The key to its being so nice is that it is unknown and still a quaint southern city.
Man, this has made me really miss home.
Can second this. BHam has absolutely had a Renaissance over the past decade. Great small city, some of the best food in the country, And beautiful for sure. It’s not a “small town” though.