Advice?
I don't recall if I have posted about this here before, but I figure it's worth a shot. I only have a handful of readers that see this as far as I am aware, but if you see this I would appreciate your advice: Is there anywhere else in the country I should consider moving?
Here's what I am looking for:
-Single-level detached homes with manageable yards in the ballpark of $20-60 thousand. 20-40 thousand is ideal if I do not have family help, but reliable heating and air conditioning is mandatory. I am open to mobile homes and manufactured homes as long as there is no HOA or space rental. My last house was 975 square feet not including the garage and I didn't know what to do with all that space, so ideally I'm looking for a house in the 700-1000 ft range, possibly smaller but the layout becomes critical at that point. I'd love to have a 2 bedroom house again.
-Fixer uppers must be primarily cosmetic where I can move in and take my time working on things. While I am interested in learning to do as much as I can myself, my budget for renovations will be quite small and I have some major physical and mental limitations that could get in the way. I want to avoid homes that have been empty or winterized for too long because of the mold risk; when scoping out potential areas to keep my eye on I prefer to assume that most affordable homes in this category are likely to have mold problems from personal experience.
-I want to be within 5 to 10 minutes by car or 30-40 min by public transit of a decent grocery store and somewhere I could go to meet new people. I need to be within 30 minutes of quality medical care and I would prefer to be within 30-40 min of at least one late night spot, like a bar, restaurant, theater, etc. open past 9 pm. I also prefer to have more than just a bar as my option for meeting folks. I strongly prefer to be within 0.5 flat miles of the nearest bus stop, and to have a place where the roads are simple enough and less congested so I might be able to drive again.
-by quality medical care, I mean that I need at least and urgent care place that is easy to get to, multiple options for a primary care doctor, and to be within an hour of several different medical specialists. I currently have an immunologist, dermatologist, gastroenterologist, neurologist (technically I have 3 or 4 of these), opthalmologist, ob/gyn, orthopedist, and an allergist. The ideal place will be near enough to an indoor pool and/or physical therapy. Odds are this means I need to be looking within an hour or so of a major metropolitan area, but I am not sure.
-I want a place that is kink and queer friendly, but I don't mean by Bay Area standards. I mean more that if I have a girlfriend, or a party where folks are dressed funny, or if I don't go to church, I won't get more than some gossip and raised eyebrows or maybe even an aggressive casserole or two.
-Its a big bonus if there are good Asian and Mexican markets within an hour.
-The ideal place would have rural freedom and city accessibility
-Job availability is not a priority...however...I don't want to be totally screwed if I get off of disability or if I want to date someone close to my own age.
-Climate: I'd prefer somewhere colder, since I get overheated so easily, but I have never been in colder weather than -5 F, so I don't know how low I could go without setting my asthma off again. Perhaps -20 as a maximum record low? On the upper end, 75 F with humidity is where I start to overheat. Tornados terrify me. My skin and lungs are happiest with humidity. I want to be able to garden again and have a few chickens. I have no idea if I am prepared to shovel snow regularly or how much to budget to pay someone to do that.
-Culture: I love both coasts and Appalachia. I love New Mexico but I think the weather there would be too hard on me, I am very curious about Montana, I did not like the Deep South (i.e. Mississippi/parts of Alabama), and I did not like the Midwest (i.e. Ohio). Strict conformity is too much of a part of the midwest/south for me, and the dresses/pearls or else fashion in the deep south, let alone the racism, is too stressful for me. However I have heard great things about St Louis, and I enjoyed Chicago and Ann Arbor. Lots of folks have encouraged me to check out Portland and Seattle, but I fear Portland would be too homogenous for me and that both would be too expensive. I have also heard great things about upstate New York but again the culture there is a big question mark, especially relative to how far out I would have to go for affordable housing.
So, thoughts? I know Knoxville has all these things but it can't be the only place in the country, right?
Here's what I am looking for:
-Single-level detached homes with manageable yards in the ballpark of $20-60 thousand. 20-40 thousand is ideal if I do not have family help, but reliable heating and air conditioning is mandatory. I am open to mobile homes and manufactured homes as long as there is no HOA or space rental. My last house was 975 square feet not including the garage and I didn't know what to do with all that space, so ideally I'm looking for a house in the 700-1000 ft range, possibly smaller but the layout becomes critical at that point. I'd love to have a 2 bedroom house again.
-Fixer uppers must be primarily cosmetic where I can move in and take my time working on things. While I am interested in learning to do as much as I can myself, my budget for renovations will be quite small and I have some major physical and mental limitations that could get in the way. I want to avoid homes that have been empty or winterized for too long because of the mold risk; when scoping out potential areas to keep my eye on I prefer to assume that most affordable homes in this category are likely to have mold problems from personal experience.
-I want to be within 5 to 10 minutes by car or 30-40 min by public transit of a decent grocery store and somewhere I could go to meet new people. I need to be within 30 minutes of quality medical care and I would prefer to be within 30-40 min of at least one late night spot, like a bar, restaurant, theater, etc. open past 9 pm. I also prefer to have more than just a bar as my option for meeting folks. I strongly prefer to be within 0.5 flat miles of the nearest bus stop, and to have a place where the roads are simple enough and less congested so I might be able to drive again.
-by quality medical care, I mean that I need at least and urgent care place that is easy to get to, multiple options for a primary care doctor, and to be within an hour of several different medical specialists. I currently have an immunologist, dermatologist, gastroenterologist, neurologist (technically I have 3 or 4 of these), opthalmologist, ob/gyn, orthopedist, and an allergist. The ideal place will be near enough to an indoor pool and/or physical therapy. Odds are this means I need to be looking within an hour or so of a major metropolitan area, but I am not sure.
-I want a place that is kink and queer friendly, but I don't mean by Bay Area standards. I mean more that if I have a girlfriend, or a party where folks are dressed funny, or if I don't go to church, I won't get more than some gossip and raised eyebrows or maybe even an aggressive casserole or two.
-Its a big bonus if there are good Asian and Mexican markets within an hour.
-The ideal place would have rural freedom and city accessibility
-Job availability is not a priority...however...I don't want to be totally screwed if I get off of disability or if I want to date someone close to my own age.
-Climate: I'd prefer somewhere colder, since I get overheated so easily, but I have never been in colder weather than -5 F, so I don't know how low I could go without setting my asthma off again. Perhaps -20 as a maximum record low? On the upper end, 75 F with humidity is where I start to overheat. Tornados terrify me. My skin and lungs are happiest with humidity. I want to be able to garden again and have a few chickens. I have no idea if I am prepared to shovel snow regularly or how much to budget to pay someone to do that.
-Culture: I love both coasts and Appalachia. I love New Mexico but I think the weather there would be too hard on me, I am very curious about Montana, I did not like the Deep South (i.e. Mississippi/parts of Alabama), and I did not like the Midwest (i.e. Ohio). Strict conformity is too much of a part of the midwest/south for me, and the dresses/pearls or else fashion in the deep south, let alone the racism, is too stressful for me. However I have heard great things about St Louis, and I enjoyed Chicago and Ann Arbor. Lots of folks have encouraged me to check out Portland and Seattle, but I fear Portland would be too homogenous for me and that both would be too expensive. I have also heard great things about upstate New York but again the culture there is a big question mark, especially relative to how far out I would have to go for affordable housing.
So, thoughts? I know Knoxville has all these things but it can't be the only place in the country, right?