I've seen a lot of it. Sofar Moab Utah looks pretty good to me. Pretty central to a lot of good outdoor activities, great flying, not too many people(although seasonally there are probably quite a few tourists, atleast on the weekends). Luckily most of them don't fly.

Gary

+1 for Y4!! Nevada is where it's at. I am retired and can live where I want. I moved to Minden, NV firstly for the soaring, as Minden is a world renowned soaring site. Douglas county has georgeous scenery snuggled up to the eastern flank of the Sierra mountains. At 4700 feet, summers are mild in the high desert, and winters are relativley mild too, though we do get some snow. It's dry, so things don't rust. There's lots to do, from road and mountain bikings, off-road (every paved road in our valley turns into a dirt trail as you head east! Nevada is the *most* mountainous state in the USA!

I have a spring coming out of the mountain in my back yard - - you could bottle and sell the water, so although it's desert, there's plenty of water being near the Sierra. It's very rare that the weather isn't flyable. I can be challenging though, with moutain wave conditions in the winter and honking thermals in the summer.

bumper

shortfielder & bumper....I would like to live where either of you do...Minden or Durango
I have spent a lot of time in both places..summer and winter. I really like the area around Durango but it is getting a bit crowded...love the country to the north. Perfect spot would be Hermosa area, have a friend who lives near Dolores, like that area also.
HC

Durango is a good town. I've been here about 17 years. A little more winter than I really want. Bumper is right about Minden, I have been up ther many times and it is a great spot also.

I guess towns are a little like planes. There ae a lot of good ones, just depends on your mission.

durango is cool, been there a lot. but the best of the best for me, an idaho
native, is good old Mccall idaho, on the west side of the state. killer flying,
fishin, skiing,snowmobiling, flying friends, and etc. it is a lot like jackson
hole wyo. without the snobs...!close proximity to the "frank", which to me
is really the best mtn. canyon flying in the world....

Hell Jomac, I was thinkin' you were going to say Nevada somewhere.

Ditto on McCall for me.... great area in so many ways.

I am looking for a place to retire...part of the reasons I have been flying around Idaho. Watch the webcams for winter conditions. Out here in western NE the damn wind seems to blow all of the time, blasted cold, and over 100degF in the summer...not to mention hail storms and tornados.

sure thing, pete, no nevada for me. have an uncle in nevada, and it seems

o.k. also, but i really don't need to gamble any more than i do each day

in my buis...!, and, i think the women in mccall are quite a bit better

looking...must be the clean water...! am currently in eastern idaho, but

am shopping now in mccall for a place.....

TEXAS. It doesn't meet much of your qualifications but if you've lived here for as long as i have you'll realize that this is the Promised Land. Mountains, coastlines, prairies, canyon-lands, deserts, plains, pine thickets, swamp-land, big cities, small towns, hot summers, mild-cold winters, deer hunting, bass fishing, and the idea that your better than everyone 'cause you live in Texas. With a state the size of France you get it all. (not to mention its the closest to africa as most people will ever get) Its the dead of winter right now and its 70 degrees. Don't Mess with Texas.

Thanks for all the replies thus far, you guys are the best !

Electricsnail and 58Skylane, I live 5 miles east of Rochester N.Y. It's a nice area, on the shore of Lake Ontario (no water supply issues here) and a few minutes from the "Finger Lakes" (New York's Napa valley, wine country). But these winters are getting tougher as the bones age, and taxes are murder in NY as you know.

Baddog, I like your idea of try before you buy, that would be a wise move. Since I work out of my home, I could relocate for a few months to a given area, explore the area by air and by land (not by sea it appears) without making the big committement.And yes,I don't want to fall prey to the "grass is always greener" phenomenom, but I also don't want to live with regrets for never having explored pastures beyond New York State.

Heck, maybe the answer will be to stay "anchored" in NYS and make 6 month forays in the winter to various locales and never committ to another area, but part of me thinks that there may be a better "anchor" point than NYS.

z3skybolt, good point about the difficulty of finding the "ideal" year-round place. But, like you, I'm not certain I could swing two places right now. That's two votes for Tennessee thus far, so thank you !

Joe

Not all "flying days" are created equal... I've lived in the desert for about a quarter century and can share that a clear blue day in july in some of the afore mentioned spots is still no fun... Unless of course you are into soaring...

While I live in AZ, if I didn't work here I probably wouldn't live here. Flagstaff, Payson, Sholow, Heber... Those I could do the rest has too many 100*++ days...

Southern NV is similar to AZ only worse...flying any time after about 9 am is hotter than heck and rougher than a cobb...Northern NV has some very nice places, but it gets plenty cold in the winter. I have a Orovada resident wintering at my ag strip for that very reason...

There is a small airpark in the Sacremento Mountains of New Mexico in a community called Timberon. The community never took off well as the only way into it used to be a 2 hr. dirt road from Cloudcroft. Now there's a paved 4 lane road, but it still remains pretty slow paced there. It is very close to El Paso by air. Just south of Ruidoso. Feild elev. 5959. I have a couple lots on the airstrip that I haven't done anything with yet... someday There is a guy who at last count owned 7 lots there. I understand he just sold 2 and has 2 others listed. These are adjoining lots which is a must as the airstrip lots are too small in my opinion (1/2 acre ea.) Might meet your criteria.

Like others, I haven't found the perfect "one place" The last couple years has found me splitting living between the KS, CO, NE corner in the spring /summers and SW AZ in the fall / winter. Works for me!

Good luck! Rob

Joe, I am originally a New Yorker. My folks moved us from Western N.Y. To Oregon when I was 12 years old. I was born in a little town called Sherman, which is over by Jamestown, and Chautauqua Lake. South of Buffalo.

Near Boise or better yet near Lewiston ID. elevation of only 800 ft. and within spitting distance of a lot of great country.

Lots of good suggestions here. I think anywhere in the great basin is a winner. Boise comes up a few times, to big, to much winter inversion. Now Twin, were I am is only 100 east and up a bit. Small, Sun Valley near, The Ut red rock not far away, one of the best passes over the rockies is very close to the east. Salt lake is 1 hr out, lots of places to fly and stay. Winter is not to bad, preheat and go. Oh did I say the wind never blows? yea right. Anyway I bought a large hanger with cement floor at TWF for 6k.

Have a look. Nice place, easy to get were you want to go.

Joe,

I like North Florida for affordability, great flying weather and cooler climate. I know it sounds strange but the HOT months are Aug and Sept and they are more moderate the Lake City/ Gainesville area due to a nice flow off the Gulf. If you looked at the average temps you will find it alot more moderate then central Georgia or even central TX. I know of a nice grass strip with some land for sale.

HighlanderLynn wrote:Joe,

I like North Florida for affordability, great flying weather and cooler climate. I know it sounds strange but the HOT months are Aug and Sept and they are more moderate the Lake City/ Gainesville area due to a nice flow off the Gulf. If you looked at the average temps you will find it alot more moderate then central Georgia or even central TX. I know of a nice grass strip with some land for sale.

Hey Lynn, is the grass strip off of I-75 near Lake City? There's one along the highway and I always droll when I travel by it (about once a year).

I'll post a pic when I get a chance, but there was a really nice private strip with homes along a small highway down near Valley Center, CA. (can't think of the name now). Big bucks, I bet.

Actually the strip I have a line on is near High Springs which is south of Cannon Creek. Most the fly-in communities are way too rich for my blood so I am looking at land and I found a 5 acre and a 10 acre spot on a grass runway, but I don't have the cash right now. I plan to buy the 5 acre spot and build a hangar with a small apartment in it. Then I may do the same out in Idaho...or just get a nice RV since my wings fold and I can move around in the summer. The 10 acres is going for $125,000 and you own 440' of runway. We could be neighbors.

sounds great, I know that one by lake city, it is nice. I do a lot of work in the panhandle Jacksonville lake, city, live oak, defunicak, crestview, mary ester all nice places, too many bugs, I still like the great basin.

I think that Washington State is the best State to live in. Not too crowded, desert and mountains. Pretty much the best of everything and the ocean is not far away either. It is a great place to live hands down. You should visit here, before you decided to retire anywhere else. Just a thought.