I can live anywhere - where are some good places?

Requirements:

3-4m, 1+ acre of land (but nothing huge)
Close to a big city for dining, entertainment, etc.

Don't need to worry about schools, etc.

Some places being considered:

Cherry Hills Village, CO - can get a very nice home, cold in winter
Rancho Santa Fe, CA / San Diego, CA - traffic, very expensive
Santa Barbara, CA - very expensive, not much home at all even in that budget

Throw some ideas out there. Cities in states like Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, etc. are a no-go. Way too cold. Florida too humid.

 

You left out some important considerations. Me, I can do hot but not cold. How big a city? Is the theater or opera important? Socio/cultural aspects are usually important as is cost of living.

Every singe place you mention has a lot going for it and against it.

If California is OK the Central coast is great, like Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo but a long way from a real city. I am in Texas now and the hills outside of Austin appealed to us but not a big enough city to have real theater etc. Need to go to Dallas for that. The weather is too hot for some but nowhere near as cold as Dallas.

Every place is different and it depends on what is important and when you factor in the weather, cultural and socio/political climate that works for you, you can narrow it down pretty quickly. Beautiful places are available from sea to shining sea but those other factors are not.

 

Paso and SLO are probably too far from a big city. TX/AZ near the big cities will be too hot. NorCal Bay Area is probably too much traffic, but SF restaurants are great...

We lived in Austin for a bit, wasn't for us. Some place like RSF or Santa Barbara seems perfect, but even for $3-4mm you barely get a home (RSF you can get a decent one, but Santa Barbara good luck).

We lived in Denver for a bit and really liked it, but the winter puts a damper on things; although they do have a lot of sun. Can get a killer home there.

 

San Juan Capistrano,Ca

Sounds perfect for you...

 

Very nice if you can do SoCal. I can't

It really seems if you have that freedom right in the backyard of LA would be one of my last choices on many levels. But then I find nothing appealing south of Santa Barbara if there is no need to be there.

 

Any LA suburb.
Burlingame, CA. 20 minutes from SF. 5 mins from SFO.
Houston, TX.

 

Burlingame. You mean semi industrial Bay Area with 747's going over the house every few minutes.

Yup Top of my list too.


Smoggy, crowded, gridlocked, over priced and over taxed LA burbs. Another great choice.

 

Fwiw, I live in the RSF area, I disagree that we have bad traffic; unless you count cyclists and horses, lol. SD is not remotely close to as bad as OC/LA/SF Bay for traffic. If you can live anywhere, then traffic doesn't really matter because presumably you're not commuting to a job.

You can absolutely get something in the $3-4m range in RSF; plenty of fantastic properties in that range.

 

Upcountry Maui

https://www.hawaiilife.com/blog/kualono-upcountry-maui-subdivision-nearing-completion/

 

San Diego. I love the food there and the weather is perfect.

 

+1
If it wasn't for the wacky politics and oh yeah the state is bankrupt, SD would be my #1 pick

 

A lot more to think about than food and weather.

 

It's industrial out by the freeway. Two blocks in, it's all leafy and residential. There is a small downtown with most amenities. The entire Bay Area and the city of San Francisco are within easy reach, even during rush hour. The flight path is not over Burlingame, so airplane noise is not an issue.

You paint with a very broad brush. There are beautiful pockets all around LA.

Thinking like yours is a good thing, I guess...it keeps prices lower.

 

Greenville, SC. Great small city w lots of amenities, cheap (relatively), great tax rate. Hour to Asheville to get out of town, hour to Charlotte to get into town (and an airport to get you anywhere - though GSP will get you around regionally too)

 

Sarasota Florida. Simply amazing.

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+1

Not all of Florida is a muggy mess. And, I like to look at it a little differently. If you lived in Colorado, you'd be inside from November to April, unless you like cold, snow and skiing.

If Florida, you're inside from about mid-June to September, when it can be God awful hot, but the rest of the year? It's frigging great if you're near the water, in this case the Gulf of Mexico. Water right now is 85 degrees, beaches are great, people are nice, cost of living is low, income taxes don't exist, and if you're in Sarasota, Tampa is 30 minutes away.

D

 

Ssssuuusssshhhh. It's a secret bro.

 

Marvin, Waxhaw, or Weddington in North Carolina. All are just north of the NC/SC state line and are within about 30 minutes of uptown Charlotte. Lots of expensive houses on plenty of land in each town. Only about two hours to the mountains and three to the coast.

 

Vancouver Island my friend.

 

I would go Scottsdale, AZ in Winter and Vancouver, BC in Summer...

Robb

 

Look at Asheville , Raleigh/Durham ,or Wilmington , North Carolina . From the mountains to the coast .
Edward

 

Sedona, Az.


North to Vegas, South to Phoenix.

Some of the prettiest and most peaceful countryside in the USA.

 

I lived in Santa Barbara area for a long time.

Yes....Santa Barbara is expensive, but I have seen a 1.6 acre 3,600 sq ft home for $3.3 million not too long ago. In good condition (I am serious). Beautiful property and location.

However, maybe ,3600 sq ft is too small for you.
Actually, I have seen a few nice homes in your price range of $3-4 mil with an 1 acre+ . They do exist ..... but they have all been in the max 3-4k sq ft. Maybe too small for you....? In that case, yeah.......you will not find anything. .... so..., yes, you will be mostly finding for much more than $4m....Maybe I have just been lucky when looking..

Though..I would not give up on SB just yet............Good luck....

 

This. You really need two places. I had an associate who had a place outside Tucson and another near Missoula. He also had his own jet. Worked for him.


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I watched a documentary on Hulu, At the Fork, about meat production. The last segment was about Belcampo farms, in Northern California in the shadow of Mt. Shasta
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51fea416e4b0d73b4ccb7b60/57a905b66b8f5b8c65e332da/57a907949de4bb9ac1935c6c/1470695317092/Belcampo+Meat+Camp+-+3.jpg

Perhaps it is too far away from upscale restaurants for you (ironically serving beef produced right there).

But regardless, watching the doc, this area looks like as close to Heaven as you could ever get while alive.