Where is the Best and Safest Place to Live?

I was over on the other thread reading about the forecasted path of Ernesto and that got me thinking about where I could move to avoid natural disasters and be comfortable year round.

Here's my current thought:
New England/Northern East Coast: Too cold for my tastes
Southern East Coast: Hurricanes
Texas and Southwest: Too hot, Africanized Honey Bees, did I mention too hot?
Pacific Coast: Earthquakes
Northern Border/Great Lakes: Too cold in the winter
Northern Midwest: tornados

I've actually settled on Northern Arkasas as a good place to settle down. Perhaps the NW part of Oklahoma. From what I can tell, there are fewer tornadoes than other parts of the midwest, there's not many earthquakes, natural environment, and temperate climate neither too hot or cold.

What do you all think? Try to take out all the personal prejudice that you might have for where you live now or where you grew up. For example, I live in Chicago but said that it's too cold here, which I believe and would love to get away from.

What a perfect post for me right now!

I am a CA native, and love the state, or should I say "loved". It has become so crowded and expensive- insurance rates for everything are over bearing...

Sept. 29th is the last day at my job, and I have sold my house, so I am in the process of trying to find a "perfect place" to live. Obviously the simple phrase doesn't seem obtainable, but there has to be a place with a decent climate (where it doesn't get over 100 degree's in the summer or too humid- or snow in the winter), the median home price is reasonable, and that isn't at a high risk for natural disasters!

I fell in love when I went to Chicago- but I couldn't deal with the winter there- I love the energy in LA- but is so expensive and crowded... Hawaii is beautiful but I would get tired of a small island to roam...I am not a desert fan...
Also, I have to keep in mind my sexuality... one of the reasons I am leaving the city I live in now is that it is very conservative, and there is very little hope of finding a partner, so that leaves out a lot of cute, quaint towns! Until I find him and we settle down hehe

For now, So Cal is my goal... Maybe one of these fine Prius folk can point me somewhere else!

Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee/ Southwest Virginia. Low crime rate, good schools etc. Cost of living is reasonable. We actually have 4 seasons. Summers can get a bit hot. Winters are relatively mild with a good snow every few years. Tri-Cities is made up of Kingsport, TN; Johnson City,TN and Bristol, VA/TN. Nearby cities that are very desirable are Boone,NC (Rangerdavid land); Asheville, NC, Abingdon,VA. Knoxville, TN is also close by (about 90 mi)

If you prefer the big city, this area is not for you. If you like clean, safe, small to medium size friendly places to live you might want to check out the area.

i'll say that hurricane wise, the nc triangle is very nice. we're far enough inland that there aren't any major problems with hurricane winds, just lots and lots of rain when they come. it's waay too hot here in the summer though. and i wouldn't recommend durham because the crime rate is pretty high.

if you can tolerate heat, chapel hill seems like a nice place to live.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Priapus @ Aug 28 2006, 12:23 PM) [snapback]310604[/snapback]</div>

Try Yucca Mountain. They've run a bunch of tests to make sure it's safe enough to bury nuclear waste there. No hurricanes, not as cold as Chicago, tornado risk very low, same with earthquake risk, flooding etc. And even if it is the perfect place for nuclear waste you know our government will take decades to do something about it, so you'll be safe from nuclear waste and nuclear accidents also. No riots when peak oil hits. Oh, that might be because there's almost nobody living there. A city person may run the risk of death by boredom. :lol:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Aug 28 2006, 02:08 PM) [snapback]310626[/snapback]</div>

I agree Chapel Hill (The Village) is nice. Very liberal for a small southern town. When the NC Zoo was being built, Jesse Helms suggestion was to put a fence around Chapel Hill and make it the NC Zoo.

Contrary to populare culture (Newsweek, Time and other media) the best place to live is not a specific city. The best place to live has sustainable resources - soil, air, water, food and community. Healthy communities consist of people who contribute the long-term community well-being, who depend on clean air and water, robust schools and good transportation.

You are not likely to find the "best" places advertised or bragged about - those who live there want to sustain their quality of life.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Priapus @ Aug 28 2006, 12:23 PM) [snapback]310604[/snapback]</div>

So the end of your question should be "...in the USA?"? But why confine yourself to one country? I saw a news item today in a British newspaper which says that numerous British people are unhappy here and want to live in another country. Over 600,000 people with British passports live in the USA, 500,000 in Australia, 200,000 in France, and so on. The curious thing is that a great many people are doing everything they can to become resident in Britain, legally or illegally. Over 600,000 Polish people settled here last year, and still they come.
So the question is why do so many people want to live somewhere else? I suspect that in many cases it's because of boredom and inadequacy within themselves. They think that a change of climate, house, country, or whatever will be the answer to their discontent but most will be just as discontented with a year or two of moving, if not more so.

I have thought about leaving the states... I went to Australia last year for 3 weeks and enjoyed my visit, but to get even a work visa seems to be next to impossible! I wouldn't even mind moving to Canada, but the same scenario. Plus I would be so far away from family.

I have lived in the Midwest for 50 years and have never seen a tornado. Seems pretty safe here. :blink:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Priapus @ Aug 28 2006, 10:23 AM) [snapback]310604[/snapback]</div>

Northern Arkansas? :huh:
Apparently you have not heard of the New Madrid Fault and its potential for extremely destructive earthquakes which can cause damage over many East Coast and Midwest states. Whereas the West Coast is mostly rock, which allows destructive seismic waves to pass and dissipate elsewhere, the East Coast is mostly mush, which allows the seismic waves to cause destruction over a larger area.



It won't take a catastrophic earthquake to do catastrophic damage
by Gary Patterson, USGS
June 18, 2006
http://www.greatdreams.com/madrid.htm


http://folkworm.ceri.memphis.edu/recenteqs/

More info on the New Madrid Fault
http://quake.ualr.edu/public/nmfz.htm

[Earthquakes . . . my “pet love.†Next good sized earthquake in California, I'm going to go camping there for the aftershocks. I don't wish death and destruction upon anyone . . . but earthquakes are F.U.N.!!!
If I lived in the Midwest, I'd be chasing tornadoes too!] :blink: :lol:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Aug 28 2006, 03:03 PM) [snapback]310658[/snapback]</div>

While I'm sure there's a fair number of people who are moving out of personal discontent, there's also going to be quite a few who are doing it for purely economic reasons. New Jersey has been experiencing an exodus of older residents in recent years as a result of expensive real estate & high property taxes.

I happen to live in what I consider an idyllic town. I live 3 blocks from the beach, the town has less than 1000 residents during the Summer, violent crime is practically non-existant, and there's a real community atmosphere. However, my wife & I have been renting here since 1998 because we can't afford to buy. Back then we were very close, but now we can't sniff even the cheapest houses.

There may come a day when we have no choice but to leave our town because we can no longer afford to even rent. If it weren't for the exorbitant home prices, I'd say Allenhurst, NJ is the best & safest place to live.

the night of my bridal shower, back in wisconsin, there was a storm that spawned 13 tornadoes within 5 miles of where we were.

i recall many nights hanging out in the basement as a kid, and many times i grabbed the cats and headed for the lowest interior room in the house while i was in college.

so i guess it depends where in the midwest you are!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(skruse @ Aug 28 2006, 02:25 PM) [snapback]310639[/snapback]</div>

Well said, Skruse, especially the first part.

As for the second part, well...you'd hate Canada. The beer's too strong, there's hardly anyone there, and the scenery hurts your eyes.

I love the Central Ca coastal cities, but then I choose not to live there because prices are outrageous!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(withersea @ Aug 28 2006, 01:54 PM) [snapback]310618[/snapback]</div>

I'm originally from SW Virginia, and I have to agree. No tornadoes (or one every 50 years or so), two earthquakes on recent record (both very low on the Richter), and no hurricanes. You also have mild summers (lots of breezes in the mountains) and fair-to-middlin' winters.

However, two years ago, there were some flash flooding incidents, but again, rare. Nothing life-changing.

No crime...

I'm talking about the Galax/Fries/Hillsville/Pulaski area, btw.

If you want something a little bigger, Asheville NC's a great place.

I have to say this topic is fresh on my mind as well. I just moved from the Mid-Atlantic to Phoenix. Along with the fact that we have relatives in Arizona, we chose to move here because:
1. no earthquakes
2. no tornadoes
3. no hurricanes
4. no winter weather
5. lots of outdoor recreational activity year-round
6. flooding is limited to known flood-zones

It is very hot here all summer, but if you go to slightly higher elevations, there is relief. Many people around here have a cabin in the mountains to escape the heat and congestion of the city.

Overall, IMHO this was the best place for me to move and maintain my employment at the same time.

Well, I've only visited there a couple of times, and the cost of living can be high, but I'd pick any of the HI islands. Kauai would be my #1 pick. Rural, low speed limits, lots of beaches and outdoors stuff, no a/c required, etc.

Shipping costs for a Prius?

As a student pilot in the Air Force, we flew a little 4- ship formation from Lubbock, TX out to Riverside, CA, my first visit to the West Coast. When it came time to choose a permanent base, that is what I put in for and got. I came from Syracuse, NY and knew that wasn't the place. As an airline pilot I could have lived anywhere. I chose to stay out here ever since.

You posted your objections only in terms of weather or natural disasters. As the fox told The Little Prince, "Rien n'est parfait." Nothing is perfect. But one should be able to find a spot in Southern California that is close. There is no better weather in the country than here. Earthquakes, if they flat out don't kill you, a statistical non-likelyhood, ARE interesting. I've been through dozens over the years with no damage to tell about.

Get away from the big cities and the crowds go down as well as housing prices. I wouldn't live in LA but am moving the day after tomorrow to Carlsbad, a great little town down the coast. As usual, you get what you pay for. San Diego is not too far away if I get the urge for a big city. In an hour or two, you can be in the mountains or on the beach.

Politics enters into it also. I couldn't bear to live in a staunch red state. Kentucky once had a law stating that pi = 3! (They thought it would be easier to work with.) I don't want "intelligent design" to be the majority opinion anywhere nearby where I live. How could one stand to live in an area with leaders who think like that? Give me the earthquakes any day!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Aug 28 2006, 07:01 PM) [snapback]310785[/snapback]</div>

Sum buddy wants tolled me pie are squared. Idjut. Ever buddy nose pie are round.