also, NYSF, i was born and raised in the baltimore area and love it there and baltimore is not on my list either.
i'm at the stage where i don't want winter and traffic. either of those, places a city way down on the list.
tennessee, kentucky, rural virginia, north carolina, small to mid city georgia, southern indiana and some cities in south caroline, texas and arizona are on my list.
i'm fortunate, with my job, that i can live anywhere i want, so high cost of living areas makes no sense to me. i don't get paid any more in NYC than I do in bumfuk montana.
I hear ya, man. Actually my folks, who have lived in NY their whole life, want out also. I could see moving, but where? It's really tradeoffs...do you want to give up good people/food/sports/attitude/activites/beaches to get out of winter, out of traffic, and live a little cheaper? Tough call.... dont you get winter in southern indiana though? trust me though, as great as no winter is (like in florida when i lived there) there is other stuff you sacrifice....ie wacked out people, no culture, no community, bad schools if thats an issue, bad food, etc.....but you're right, you're in a unique situation where you can work anywhere, and you're fortunate.
I think denver,colorado is actually a decent compromise. cold winter yes but nice atmosphere, lots to do, not expensive, etc. everyone loves north carolina now a days, but ive read lots of people moving there who hated it, as they hate northerners 'invading' their space, but i could be wrong. theres no real 'answer' to this question, as every place has pros and cons. if you can live half the year in one spot warm (ie zona,california,carolinas) and the summer in any place you like (indiana,chicago,new york, boston) then that is really the life.. but you need ultimate flexibility to do that, which 90+% of folks dont have
