Any ideas for an ideal town to live in (South-west) area?

Definitely somewhere near Austin, Texas – a beautiful city, that’s a real forward-thinking haven in the state… lovely countryside around, lovely people in it…

What field are you in? Wouldn’t the availability of jobs be important?

You might look at New Mexico. It has suburbs of some interesting cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

I’ll tell you what. I was born and raised in central Massachusetts. I didn’t move away until I was in my mid-twenties, and then I (mostly) stayed “out there” for another twenty-five years. I was never happier than when I moved back to New England (Connecticut) in 2002; I don’t expect to ever leave, unless it’s to go to the Canadian Maritime provinces. Maybe even Iceland.

I missed the weather when I was away from it. The worst year of all was – Southern California.

Are you looking for a neat place to live or a place to live and also work? If it’s just to live, I’d go for Sedona, Arizona.

Otherwise, I’d try Austin too. Austin is a civilized island in the wasteland of Texas.

There are so many to choose from. Can you be more specific as to your interests and needs? When you say “southwest” are you liking “south” or “west” more? I love Colorado, and they have many little, picturesque towns like Delta, Craig, Palisade, Glenwood Springs and Fruita. I have always preferred Colorado cowboys to Texas cowboys. If you want hot, arid and dry, there is Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. If you don’t mind a higher cost of living, there are many small towns in California, as long as you stay away from the L.A. area.

Personally, I would avoid the southwest and head to Fairbanks, Alaska. But then, I prefer cold weather to hot.

I am in the nursing field. Receiving BSN in a few years

I am more for the South. Or even West but somewhere warm for sure. Texas came to my mind instantly because my cousin just came back from a trip there last week. My interests are just making sure I can find a nursing job (RN) with my degree. I’m sure that won’t be too hard considering it is a field with many different opportunities. I just keep picturing a nice smaller sized town like a suburb. I just need a change of scenery for a few years and was hoping to find a place like that.

Fort Collins Colorado is a really nice medium-sized city. It’s on the edge of the plains, right where the Rockies begin. So you can make day trips (or long trips) into the mountains. And Denver, too, if you have any desire to just visit a bigger city.

Another kind of town in Colorado would be Salida. Very small, in the mountains, along the Arkansas River. White-water rafting in the the warm months, nearby cheap skiing (oops, maybe not warm enough?) in the winter.

Anyway, those are two places I really like.

Good thinking on the nursing degree, btw! Great choice for a field that’s in demand everywhere.

Trinidad Colorado. I agree with @jaytkay about nursing too, you will have a job anywhere.

Well, Houston has the largest medical center in the world. Maybe The Woodlands? It is a medium sized, fairly high-wealth area north of Houston.

Henderson l, Nevada has affordable real estate and the weather is in the 70’s right now.

What line of work are you in?
Where could you find a job?
Buying or Renting? What is your budget?
Married?
Kids? Ages?
Demographic preferences?

OK, I read some of your responses. You are a nurse.

Huntsville Alabama. Lots of engineers there. (Engineers and Nurses make good couples.) Very affordable. Outstanding schools. No traffic. Relaxed people. (Boeing just secured a multi-billion dollar contact for the GMD missile system and Huntsville should benefit big time.)

In that case, Colorado and even Utah are probably too cold for you. New Mexico, Arizona or Nevada would be places to research. If you just want warm weather and don’t want to cook to death, you might want to look at the southeast – Alabama or Florida.

What kind of inteersts do you have? Reason I ask is because Tucson and Phoenix are not that far apart, but couldn’t be more different. Both are excellent places to live, good cost of living, good job availability- but are night and day as far as culture goes. Phoenix is more family-oriented, has more interest in sports, has a better nightlife, has more activities to do for all ages. Tucson is more artsy, outdoorsish, friendly—

I’d look at the culture of the town too. Some places are more willing to accept northerners (Atlanta) and are more open about communicating. Some places are closed-communities and aren’t used to adjusting to outsiders.

Thanks for the information, @linguaphile . I have also been looking for a warm place, but just to spend the winters. Tucson sounds like a place I might want to research.

@Skaggfacemutt Tucson’s an amazing town to live in, if you don’t have kids. It’s not that kids can’t grow up there- it’s just not systematically set up to be child-friendly (parks are few and far between, afterschool programs are weak or crazy expensive, etc)

Theater never gets boring there, there are many art festivals and the biggest gem festival in the southwest. My favorite thing about Tucsonians is that they turn their nose up at Phoenixians because Phoenixians try to make their city look like a tropical wonderland in the middle of a desert (palm trees, fake river through town, greenery and grass that they have to water constantly)—while Tucsonians celebrate being a desert city and is way more gorgeous than Phoenix, imo :D Last thing… both Tucson and Phoenix are used to having people move there, so they’re definitely not clannish but are warm and welcoming.

Interesting! My kids are grown – I am looking for a warm place to winter after I retire that isn’t too far away. Thanks for the information. Tucson sounds like a definite possibility.