WANTED: New hometown

I have to agree with Buck on San Diego. If weather is not an issue Boston is it's equal.

 

He wants a nice house for 500K. I'm not sure that's gonna happen anywhere near the beach.

 

Did anyone mention Nashville yet?

 

I don't think anyone did . Agree it is a very nice city with good airport and good weather. One of Jones criteria was not wanting to be too close to bible beaters which would rule it out from what little I know.

 

I haven't read through all eight pages of this thread, so I'm not sure if Austin's been mentioned. If it hasn't, well, here ya' go.

FANTASTIC city, decent-sized airport, great schools, great culture and it's more than a college town. The traffic blows since I-35 is really the only way in and out of the place, but the place is worth it.

You're near a good lake (Lake Travis), and there are some sweet houses/neighborhoods in the city.

 

Just a quick note -- I am balls tired -- to say that I'm in Florida "working" as well as fact-finding. Not far from Naples now which I will explore tomorrow at some point -- so far, I'm not super up on Florida. Kind of featureless and the first fourteen stations on the radio dial are holy as heck. But the weather today was beautiful (till the rain came), and there is a lot to do. And I imagine it's fun for the kids who live here.

Tomorrow I'm staying in St. Pete's, which I remember being impressed with back in my baseball days. It got a few mentions here, so I'll look at it pretty closely.

My wife is leaning toward Oxford, at least for a semester, so we can get a feel for it. (She saw a thing on TV the other night about the tamale trail, which got her going.) What I think we'll end up doing is trying to swing a winter house, or at least renting for long stretches. I like Ottawa in the summer, and my family would kill me if we left for good; I just can't deal with the winter anymore.

My short list right now, gut feel, is a lot like Ace's: Oxford, Chattanooga, Baltimore and the eastern shore, and I'll replace Louisville with Charleston, SC. There have been a ton of plugs for Raleigh, that whole area, which I've never really been to, but I'll have to poke around in.

Anyway, just thought I'd update before I pass out. Thanks for all the suggestions and for the flood of PMs. Please don't think I'm rude for not having responded yet. Just haven't been online in a while and I really need some sleep. I'll be sure to repay the kindness soon.

Hey, there's no fucking snow outside. Yippy-skippy.

 

(yippy-skippy??)

 

You don't have to respond to my latest email Jones, but if you do move into one of those houses I sent you, you have to invite me over for a beer ...

 

I will always love Oxford because I spent four great college years there, but it has lost more than a little of its charm in the past decade. All the development around the square has kind of ruined it for me and I think the college runs the town now more than ever.

The Grove is still my favorite place on the planet on Saturdays in the fall, but I know I'd have a hard time living there as an adult.

And Charleston is wonderful. I've been in town since Thursday, though I've mostly been working, and it's one place I never get tired of visiting.

Jones, I have some old friends who have lived in Charleston for many years and I can get their take on living there if you want it.

 

What about Charlottesville, Va.? I've never been there, but knew someone from there and she only ever had good things to say about it.

 

Jones have you looked into Provincetown ?

 

I predict that if Jones goes to see Charleston, he'll like it best. He'll be in seersucker before he knows what hit him.

The old city can keep you pretty busy, but I'd recommend trying to get to the beaches. I'm partial to Folly Beach.

Downtown, I recommend staying at the Vendue Inn.

I think if I lived in Charleston I would weigh 400 pounds.