100weight

Hi all, need some advice on where to live.
I grew up in a smallish city (200K peeps) where the summer temps were mostly 22C-28C. Winter temps never got to freezing (the coldest I recall was around 5C), but mostly it was around 10-12C. We had pretty much 12 hours of sunshine year round. It did rain but never for extended periods and humidity was seldom a problem. The main downside was the wind. We had a lot of wind. We were on the coast so we had beaches and the sea. We also had an esplanade where we could walk or drive and enjoy the sea view. The worst weather I can recall was one summer we had a flood (and a minor one compared to USA standards).

We are currently in Michigan, which is usually pretty darn cold during winter and can be quite warm in summer. I don't have an issue with the heat , but the cold is a problem. I haven't seen any tornadoes but they are known to happen here.

So my question is: where in the US can we find similar conditions to those that I grew up with. It would be nice if there was no wind but a few windy days would be OK. The sea view is also not a must have, but it would be nice if there was something in the area to look at (think Denver and the Rockies)
The wife has mentioned that it would be nice if the locals didn't sound like extras on Justified. Or like Larry the Cable Guy.

Areas we have considered but ruled out include:
Florida (hurricanes, humidity, accent)
Colorado (snow)
Texas (hurricanes, heat, wind)

Suggestions on a postcard please. Or just post a reply here.
Thanks
CWT

Englishmum

Southern California

or Sausalito (other side of the Golden Gate Bridge)

But you may experience earthquakes. And will need a lot of money.....

Michael

Anyplace on the west coast. If you like weather similar to the UK, then anyplace from north of San Francisco along the coast (anyplace west of the coastal mountains) where there will be a reasonable amount of fog and rain but you won't get the year around rains until you get to Oregon. There is the Japanese current that provides that mild weather even up to Juneau Alaska but with low humidity.

Anyplace in California as you move on the other side of the coastal mountains, it is difficult for the fog to get over the hills and cool the valleys during the night. The exception are the cities around the San Francisco bay where the fog rolls under the Golden Gate bridge in the evening during the summer and travels in all directions along the bay cooling most areas to a cool 55 F during the night and creating very mild dry days in the 70-80 F range. For most cities around the bay, the fog burns off very early but for San Francisco, it normally takes until 10 am or much later to burn off producing a much cooler city than the others on the bay.

Gillymonkey

I would also suggest Southern California. We are in San Diego and love it because we get a mix of gloriously sunny days and cooler windy days with only the odd rainy day.

Michael

I agree but if he wants rain and seasons, there is not going to be a lot of that there and San Diego can get a little warm in the summer but never humid.

Bob

Budget?

Apart from the winter weather, things you're looking for could be found on the Cape in the South Shore of MA, which can be similar to Rockland, ME, but with completely opposite ends to the budget spectrum.

100weight

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
It would appear California is the place, however I have my doubts we could afford to live there. Plus those pesky earthquakes can really ruin a persons day!

Any thoughts on Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona? Apart from dust storms is there any bad weather there? Anything major you could have a view of? Do they speak funny?

How about Oklahoma? All I know about it is they had a nut job with a demolition fetish and there's a song, of which I know 1 word.

Michael

Those are all hot and dry unless you get into the mountains of New Mexico or Arizona but there are not any major cities in the mountains. However those places are inexpensive housing and if you don't mind having to put on your shoes every time you go outside otherwise the skin on the bottom of your feet will burn off. If I could take the heat, I wouldn't mind living in any of those states.

Portland Oregon is a nice city but has just a lot of rain. It's not too expensive and the country side is lush green and beautiful year round. Eugene Oregon is a college town that is pretty nice but is quite a bit smaller than Portland and likely less expensive. The country side reminds me of places in Europe. Seattle is also very nice but probably more expensive than Portland.

Personally I wouldn't go to Oklahoma unless I was driving through.

Most of the western states have a fairly low humidity climate from Colorado westward (excluding Texas). If you think the humidity in Michigan is high then don't go east or south of Michigan unless your are trying to get away from mosquitoes but you'll need to find the right place to get away from those critters.

nethead

What about Virginia, or NC coasts?

Extreme

According to my friends everyone west of the Colorado River (probably including New Mexico) has a similar accent. From Alaska down to the Mexican border. I would probably agree.

Maybe Flagstaff, AZ or Farmington, NM could be something to look at.

Chaunticleer

If you want affordable living without bad weather (excepting extreme heat) these are about the only states that will work.

Mountains.

No funnier than you, I'm sure.

It's the tornado capital of the world, and it's mostly flat, so no views. And some of the people speak "funny", which might be upsetting to you and your wife.

N1cky

I love Sausalito but the fog would drive me insane.

How about Santa Barbara?

CAdreaming

Agree. Norcal where I live but earthquake country

CAdreaming

:

Love Sausalito...had our honeymoon there..plus there's a great icecream shop

Sally Redux

Yes I thought of Santa Barbara too, if he is not tied to a location for work and has a good budget.