In my search, I'm looking for a few different things.
1. Access to nature (beaches, forests, mountains, whatever...)
2. Liberal Leaning Local People/Politics
3. Manageable Standard of Living
4. Work.
It would also be great if there were dog friendly neighborhoods/campground, good restaurants, and if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to be able to walk down the street with my wife and feel comfortably accepted as we are. I know that won't happen at all of these places, but I'd prefer to settle somewhere where it will and save the less GLBT friendly areas for shorter visits. A friend of mine tells me that she likes to find smaller towns/cities to move to because there is a better sense of community. I like that idea, so what I've done is compiled a list of cities that I've heard good things about, and now we need to search for a smaller community outside of that city that would be an appropriate match to our needs.
Some of the places that have been on my list of places to see are:
1. Colorado - Telluride, Colorado Springs, Vail
2. California - San Diego, San Francisco, Napa Valley
3. Oregon - Portland
4. Washington - Seattle
5. Texas - Austin
6. Louisiana - New Orleans
7. Florida - Key West
8. Georgia - Savannah
....
I know there are so many amazing places out there. I barely know where to begin sometimes... So I'm trying to get creative.
I've taken to writing down the names of towns/cities I hear about in interviews. Places where people say they grew up, landed, or grew old. I pay a lot of attention to travel blogs to see where other folks are ending up, and what they think about it. I'm paying more attention to conversations where other people talk about their vacations and travels, inquiring more about the places they've seen.
Where have you been? What do you have to say about it?
Help!