Where do you want to live?

[Ultralight]

Pipe dreamin' place I would live: Tel Aviv!

Somewhat realistic place I would live? Florida or the Left Coast, probably up in the PNW.

The thing about where I live now -- Columbus, OH -- is that it is just a solid place to live. The economy is good. While the winters are cold they are not nightmares most of the time. Housing is still reasonably affordable compared to other major cities. There is a fair amount of bike lanes and the people are mostly nice folks here, though rather provincial. I have a stable job here, my sister and her family is here. I could go on and on -- nice metro parks!

But ultimately, I don't want to live out my days here.

[Ultralight]

It"s important to me to live in a progressive area.

Amen!

[Ultralight]

The next time I move, I hope it will be into something like cohousing...

This is a cool idea, and in my opinion, when done well, it can be another form of social security.

It is evasive and elusive though. Here in ColumbOhio I was part of, and in some senses a leader, in an group that was trying to put together a co-housing, cooperative living community. We met for a year, watch documentaries, had guests speak about there time on communes, and we checked out big houses in neighborhoods, old hotels, old apartments, etc.

What I came to realize is this:
1. It usually takes some cash! And the more complicated your dream, the more cash you need.
2. Most people come in with some wild-eyed pipe dreams about 10 families buying a city block and turning it into an ecovillage. This, in my experience, goes nowhere.
3. The other issue is that everyone is very finicky about their living space, so finicky that no one wants to live with them and they don't wanna live with no one either. All this despite their desire for communal living.

What I kept advocating for was something realistic and doable on a budget.
We find a big house, rent it, then live together with a mission statement and some reasonable ground rules. And we make a focus of the whole thing saving money and being there for each other for support.

Again: Went nowhere but Nowheresville.

[JaneV2.0]

That is really tempting and cute. Is it calling you to come home?

Not really--though it holds up well, and Beaverton has grown into--I read somewhere--the most diverse city in Oregon, which makes it an attractive place to settle. It's more the people who are calling...

[pinkytoe]

I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...

[Ultralight]

I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...

Some places actually have greener grass.

[JaneV2.0]

I wanted to experience a lifelong dream of living in Colorado which is where we are now but alas alack, things have changed and it is not the same place I once knew when my grandparents and parents lived here. Progressive it is not and that was not really something I really gave a lot of thought to when we were looking. The place we left was innovative and fun and way too expensive so I was looking for affordable - a place we could buy a house for cash and where there was a lot of natural beauty. I love the mountains and the beautiful skies here but I so miss my home state of Texas. The food, the people, the birds, flora and fauna. But here is where I find myself now so am trying to make the best of it. I deal with homesickness a lot as I had no clue how strong ties can be to the geography and culture of the place we have spent so much of our lives. The grass is always greener somewhere else so be careful what you dream about...

Thinking about getting back together with my posse feels really good. And then I think about leaving here, and the lackluster landscape I will be inhabiting, and I'm overtaken by a sinking feeling...

[gimmethesimplelife]

If money were no object, and the legal paperwork were easy to get, I'd say my two choices would be Santiago, Chile, and Montevideo, Uruguay. Without going into a laundry list of complaints against the US - I will spare all by simply stating that these two places offer a lot of what I am looking for - and I like the easy access Santiago has to the mountains. Rob

[Ultralight]

Montevideo, Uruguay.

Dude! Yes! Uruguay is very high on my list of places to visit!

[gimmethesimplelife]

Dude! Yes! Uruguay is very high on my list of places to visit!

Just curious....what works for you about Uruguay? (I'm sure at this point we all know what works for me about Uruguay so I'll skip such) Rob