The only real downside to living here IMO is the variable weather (even within the same day), regardless of season. But I'm biased of course.

Isn't Boulder supposed to have 300 sunny days a year? Always thought that sounded pretty cool.

I wouldn't expect anyone who has grown up in CA to leave, but I don't know why anyone would consider living there unless its for a great job opportunity. The living expenses and taxes are ridiculous and it's only going to get worse

I don't know, it's sort of "hit top" with that, don't you think? Silicon Valley, in particular, is petering out.

I would consider living there, it's really nice. Every time I visit my sister in San Francisco, I think, "I want to move here", it's that nice.

Isn't Boulder supposed to have 300 sunny days a year? Always thought that sounded pretty cool.

I haven't heard that statistic, but it usually is sunny from mid-winter to late-fall. It's just that invariably, there are a lot of days that start sunny and in the afternoon/evening, there's snow (winter), rain (spring), thunderstorms or hail (summer), or clouds (fall).

I don't know, it's sort of "hit top" with that, don't you think? Silicon Valley, in particular, is petering out.

I would consider living there, it's really nice. Every time I visit my sister in San Francisco, I think, "I want to move here", it's that nice.

I think that's partly why it will get worse. Smaller economy in the state + growing millions of illegals = moar taxes for everyone

Boulder has artificially inflated housing prices because they won't allow new development. It's also overwhelmed with smug.

Anchorage is one of the last places on earth I'd recommend anyone live. It's like seattle but the winters are colder and the people are dirtier.

You might want to visit fayetteville, ar before you decide you want to live there. It's basically just wal-mart.

Or Juneau, AK.

Looked like a pretty nice community in my very short port visit. Pretty town, small and the capital. Anchorage just didn't feel right when I was there, but again, short visit.

Juneau is definitely washington's nicest city.

Can someone explain to me what $XX/$1000 means?

I personally do not like big cities. I like rural areas but don't want to be so far out that there are no job available for the wife or should anything ever happen with mine. My short list right now is Fayetteville AR and Athens GA. Both have a low cost of living and active communities are they are both college towns. College towns typically make for stable local economies and good food ... Austin TX is also on the list for the reason mentioned by others.

I'd add outside of New Glarus, WI. Beautiful rolling hills, near enough to Madison for college town stuff and some city perks, near enough Chicago for actual city perks, lots of local organic farms, excellent beer, and cost of living is low.

Can someone explain to me what $XX/$1000 means?

Property tax rate. Top/1st # is the tax and the bottom/2nd # is the property value. $20/$1000 on a $200000 home is $4000 in property taxes each year.

You want to move somewhere with a great opera company, wonderful symphony, and

a thriving live jazz scene. And the best radio station in the world, and ravinia not

to shabby either.

But dental floss tychoon definitely works too...

I pay $26/$1000 on house + land. That's on the low end, definitely.

Yes, but if that's at $100/sf (even roughly) it's a bargain. My house is assessed right around $200/sf.

You want to move somewhere with a great opera company, wonderful symphony, and

a thriving live jazz scene.

Add beautiful women to the list and you're talking about my city. Not is the US though, and the language barrier might be problematic.

Out of the big US cities I've visited, San Diego was probably the most beautiful. I'm more of a northern kind of guy though, so I couldn't stand the heat all year long.

In Palmdale CA where I live I pay

$13.6/$1000 for property taxes, living in a gated community (no not in a prison) in a 2800sqft home.

It all depends where you live.

Ventura County CA is a nice, or up the coast as well

Up the coast is definitely nicer. I've never seen a nicer place to live that Santa Barbara. It's a backwater, which is a plus to me. But more importantly, it's a really nice backwater with lots of culture, a University of California campus and a nice city college, and the weather and geography is really nice. If you want more culture or excitement, we are only 1.5 - 2 hours away from LA. We are north and west of LA, so we very rarely see smog. It's been over a year and maybe longer. I'm a wine and motorcycle guy. There are great vineyards and great motorcycle roads no more than 30 minutes from my house. There's lots of upside here.

There are two downsides. The first is that it is growing (like every place else) and the quality of life is definitely slowing declining. It's still real nice though. The large downside is the cost of living here. Housing prices are just below San Francisco levels. Gas, food, etc. prices are among the highest in the state.

I wouldn't expect anyone who has grown up in CA to leave, but I don't know why anyone would consider living there unless its for a great job opportunity. The living expenses and taxes are ridiculous and it's only going to get worse

That's going to happen everywhere. I've lived in and out of California all my life. I'll probably live out of it again someday, but maybe not.

In Palmdale CA where I live I pay

$13.6/$1000 for property taxes, living in a gated community (no not in a prison) in a 2800sqft home.

It all depends where you live.

Once you get away from the coast in California, prices start going down until they are down right cheap. Of course, a lot of those places are cheap for a reason. Property taxes are relatively low (per $1000) here because of Prop 13 many years ago. Of course, if your house is assessed many $1000's, you still pay a lot of property tax. The people that have stayed in their houses for years pay very little property tax.

I would have to say either Southern Cali or the Big Island Hawaii. I have lived and visited just about everywhere in the country. I like Southern Cali because there is just some much going on there. Between the different cities, beaches, and mountains there is an endless list of activities to do.

As for Hawaii I just really like it. Laid back with lots of water activities. But depending on what part of the island you live on it can make Seattle look like the desert.

I would have to say either Southern Cali or the Big Island Hawaii. I have lived and visited just about everywhere in the country. I like Southern Cali because there is just some much going on there. Between the different cities, beaches, and mountains there is an endless list of activities to do.

As for Hawaii I just really like it. Laid back with lots of water activities. But depending on what part of the island you live on it can make Seattle look like the desert.

You are also constrained to a small area and habitats. As a motorcyclist, that would bother me. I get to see everything from coast to desert to riparian to alpine, etc. on a day ride. As much as I love visiting the tropics, living there full time is not an option for me. I lived on Guam when I was 13-14 , so I have experience at this.

You are also constrained to a small area and habitats. As a motorcyclist, that would bother me. I get to see everything from coast to desert to riparian to alpine, etc. on a day ride. As much as I love visiting the tropics, living there full time is not an option for me. I lived on Guam when I was 13-14 , so I have experience at this.

That is the one thing that I like about the Big Island. It has all of the above.

Last I saw (2003) or so the COLI for my area of NJ was 170 something. So nearly double the average

Last I saw (2003) or so the COLI for my area of NJ was 170 something. So nearly double the average

Santa Barbara COLI for 2008 was 142.1 according to this source. So maybe SB will look like a bargain to you. If so, you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer small city in which to live. Of course, if you insist on having winter, you'd have to settle for being able to drive to it. Maybe you could work with Frank Cooter to develop a new line of amplifiers?

More info / sources

Cost of Living Index for Selected U.S. Cities - Infoplease.com

Statistical Resources on the Web/Cost of Living

Great, now do you have one for straight, available, attractive women? ...oh, who am I kidding, I only need one.

I can vouch for Athens, GA. Lived there for a while and it is a very fun town. Also close enough to Atlanta for the big city stuff. I like living in the south and we will likely move back to Aiken, SC in a few+ years. Aiken is a big retirement city now but it was originally a horse town for the "horse people" to winter in. They still have a series of three races (Flat track, steeplechase and sulky) in the spring and they have an active fox-hunting and polo club.

San Francisco CA and Alexandria VA (where I currently live). Both are on the insanely expensive side of things. I think my house was well over $450/sqft.

To get an idea of Santa Barbara prices, the house next to ours if for sale. It's really a 2BR with a den.