Considering Moving to Boulder, CO from Australia

[Anti Federalist]

I want to purchase a home with at least a couple of acres but preferably more. My wife will probably want to work for another 20 years or so in the accounting field. Please advise me what areas of NH you would recommend. Thanks!

So you'll want to be near a fairly large population center.

I would recommend north of Concord, either west or east of 93.

You can still buy homes and land down near the seacoast but it's prohibitively expensive and taxes are high.

[Conza88]

I just spent a few weeks there and I can tell you that Boulder is uber expensive.... an the surrounding area isn't cheap. Lots of Californians moving in, and also a great deal of oil/gas is driving the prices up too.

It's nice, but Colorado is trending towards California due to the influx.

I liked spending time there, but I don't think I'd want to live there long term.

Uber expensive? How much would renting be per month? Just going to compare it to where I am now.

Grocery shopping, food etc. is expensive? What in particular? Public transport - is a car definitely necessary?

I would recommend the central coast of California. Anywhere between the end of LA County to around Half Moon Bay.

This is something I'm definitely pretty open to. I guess where I can land work prior to moving is going to dictate most of the next actions.

If I were you, I'd look into San Antonio, Texas. Austin is too expensive.

S.A. definitely does not "suck". Well, maybe the south side does.

Much happening in San Antonio? I was thinking about Austin. Many RPers in San Antonio?

Coming from overseas to live, be very careful about carrying large amounts of cash.

You'll be driving along, or in an airport, you'll be accosted by cops, they will ask for "permission" to search you, your bags or vehicle, of course being a right thinking person you refuse, they detain you until they get a drug dog trained to "trigger" on command, now they have "probable cause" to tear your $#@! apart and keep any cash or valuables they find, without charging you with any crime.

Haha, I'll keep that in mind. Think I'll need my passport on me at all times? :\

[TheTexan]

Haha, I'll keep that in mind. Think I'll need my passport on me at all times? :\

In most places, providing ID on request (unless you're driving) is optional. Providing ID is optional, meaning, you have the option to refuse to show ID and piss off the cop and get charged for something else.

Welcome to America. Enjoy your stay.

[green73]

Wow, I'm pretty sure I was the first person to comment on this thread but it's been deleted.

[FSP-Rebel]

I want to purchase a home with at least a couple of acres but preferably more. My wife will probably want to work for another 20 years or so in the accounting field. Please advise me what areas of NH you would recommend. Thanks!

10 mins outside either Concord or Manchester has exactly what you're looking for w/i a close commute to work for her in said field. I'd definitely look up property tax rates tho as they do vary town by town. You could also look up Rep. Mark Warden who's also a realtor and takes care of liberty minded incomers. He could plug yall into the social pipeline as well.

[Suzu]

Much happening in San Antonio? I was thinking about Austin. Many RPers in San Antonio?

Austin is only about 80 miles from San Antonio. Austin is WAY more expensive. What I love about the area is all the huge artesian springs. A big one just north of S.A. As to social life, just do a quick search. It's awesome.

[Occam's Banana]

Wow, I'm pretty sure I was the first person to comment on this thread but it's been deleted.

Maybe you're thinking of the other thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...from-Australia

[green73]

Maybe you're thinking of the other thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...from-Australia

He started another thread? What a heathen.

[Henry Rogue]

If two threads ever deserved to be merged, here ya go. smh

[Conza88]

He started another thread? What a heathen.

If two threads ever deserved to be merged, here ya go. smh

Cool ya jets. Two specific places, and posted in their respective forums to help elicit local information from those currently living there.

I thought that'd be more helpful; than some massive random - I'm coming to the States, and watch a free for all why everyone's own location is best. Maybe that would have been better? Merge away, I don't mind. I've gotten so real helpful feedback so far.

10 mins outside either Concord or Manchester has exactly what you're looking for w/i a close commute to work for her in said field. I'd definitely look up property tax rates tho as they do vary town by town. You could also look up Rep. Mark Warden who's also a realtor and takes care of liberty minded incomers. He could plug yall into the social pipeline as well.

Epic. Thanks for that.

[Tyreez]

Miami's where it's at. All the stuff you mention is there.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

I've lived in eight states, in what I call the four regions of the country: south, northeast, midwest, and west. That is a terrible simplification, but it does make sense for some things. Housing, for example, is generally cheaper in the south and midwest than it is the west and northeast. Just compare prices on a real estate website like www.realtor.com. Temperatures are obviously going to be warmer the closer you get to the equator. You can check monthly averages of cities on weather sites like www.weather.com.

These are just generalities that follow the pattern in most places. Coastal areas of a large country are generally more liberal than inland areas. Urban is more liberal than rural. Capital cities of each state might offer more in the way of your type of recreation (e.g., more cycling activities and access), but bear in mind that you're closer to government.

I assume that liberty is a big priority for you since you're on this forum. If so, then check out the research called Freedom in the 50 states: http://freedominthe50states.org/. It ranks each state in terms of government intrusion. Colorado ranks high on freedom, while places like California and New York are low. I think the report becomes more irrelevant as America sinks further into economic abyss and order (not law and order, but order only) and slowly strangles the country like a python. I will say however, that your location can make a big difference for your sanity. I lived in New York City, for example, and would never visit there again.

Consider housing to be your biggest and most varied expense from place to place. My house in North Carolina would cost many times more in San Francisco, or even just California. I found other staple items to be somewhat comparable when I lived in various places. Gas in New Jersey, for example, was lower than Indiana, but not by much. I found good deals on produce and other food in New York because it's a hub and the produce market competition. I generally however, found things like food and clothing to be comparable in these places I lived.

[Tyreez]

Miami's where it's at. All the stuff you mention is there.

It's warm, got a nearby national park for the outdoors (Everglades), no state income tax. Lower sales tax than most of the other sun belt states.

[Conza88]

Made of list of geographical factors - got some favorite places to consider given all the feedback. Some critiques would be great. What are the cities that immediately come to mind when you factor in the below?

1. Sunny
2. Cycling/outdoors community
3. Happening place/exciting/things to do
4. Friendly people
5. Generally positive
6. City/suburban
7. Dry
8. Freedom
9. Inexpensive
10. Low crime

For me, most places are probs less expensive than Australia to some extent. I'm wondering about the following cities/States in relation to the above? Any info greatly appreciated:

• Kona, Hawaii
• Austin, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• NYC, New York
• Seattle, Washington

Current shortlist:

• San Francisco, California
• Boulder, Colorado
• Morgan Hill, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Houston is probably the cheapest of those nine cities. Housing in Hawaii, NYC, San Francisco, and Seattle are about off the charts. Arizona and New Mexico probably have the most days of sunshine per year. Most of those are horrible cities for any type of local freedom.

Make your own entertainment. Don't depend on the entertainment to come to you.

[anaconda]

• Kona, Hawaii
• Austin, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• NYC, New York
• Seattle, Washington

Current shortlist:

• San Francisco, California
• Boulder, Colorado
• Morgan Hill, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

Morgan Hill, being disconnected from the Bay, is much warmer (downright hot in the summer) than San Francisco, despite being only about 60 miles south. I think U.S. 101 between Morgan Hill and San Jose gets pretty jammed up at commute hours. I heard San Antonio was a pretty hip place. Seattle would be high on my list, but I love rain and cool weather. Not sure why Morgan Hill is on your radar? Maybe you know somebody there. It's pretty much the result of suburban sprawl encroaching on farmland and supported with strip malls and outlet stores. But it does feel less cluttered and busy than the immediate Bay Area. An off the wall suggestion: give Portland, OR a little consideration, or briefly revisit the idea if you haven't explored it yet, with the caveat that "sunny" and "dry" do not apply year round! Another city that I don't recall seeing mentioned that might fit many of your criteria is San Diego and its surrounding area.

[heavenlyboy34]

Houston is probably the cheapest of those nine cities. Housing in Hawaii, NYC, San Francisco, and Seattle are about off the charts. Arizona and New Mexico probably have the most days of sunshine per year. Most of those are horrible cities for any type of local freedom.

Make your own entertainment. Don't depend on the entertainment to come to you.

This^^
If you choose Arizona, I suggest the middle or north regions of the state. The climate and local folks are generally better there. If you find the occasional snow up north a bother, you can take a few weeks' vacation in Phoenix/metro. Maybe have a drink with HB34 or something.

Oh, and the Grand Canyon park is nifty, too. When you think about it, it's rather interesting to live a few hours from one of the 7 wonders of teh world.

[Conza88]

Houston is probably the cheapest of those nine cities. Housing in Hawaii, NYC, San Francisco, and Seattle are about off the charts. Arizona and New Mexico probably have the most days of sunshine per year. Most of those are horrible cities for any type of local freedom.

Make your own entertainment. Don't depend on the entertainment to come to you.

Good info.

Morgan Hill, being disconnected from the Bay, is much warmer (downright hot in the summer) than San Francisco, despite being only about 60 miles south. I think U.S. 101 between Morgan Hill and San Jose gets pretty jammed up at commute hours. I heard San Antonio was a pretty hip place. Seattle would be high on my list, but I love rain and cool weather. Not sure why Morgan Hill is on your radar? Maybe you know somebody there. It's pretty much the result of suburban sprawl encroaching on farmland and supported with strip malls and outlet stores. But it does feel less cluttered and busy than the immediate Bay Area. An off the wall suggestion: give Portland, OR a little consideration, or briefly revisit the idea if you haven't explored it yet, with the caveat that "sunny" and "dry" do not apply year round! Another city that I don't recall seeing mentioned that might fit many of your criteria is San Diego and its surrounding area.

Morgan Hill, HQ of Trek would be the reason for that. Will definitely check out Portland, OR and San Diego! Thanks for that.

This^^
If you choose Arizona, I suggest the middle or north regions of the state. The climate and local folks are generally better there. If you find the occasional snow up north a bother, you can take a few weeks' vacation in Phoenix/metro. Maybe have a drink with HB34 or something.

Oh, and the Grand Canyon park is nifty, too. When you think about it, it's rather interesting to live a few hours from one of the 7 wonders of teh world.

Ha, will suss that out as well. Narrowing things down atm

[PaulConventionWV]

Is that what it's known as? ;o They crack down on anything in particular?

In particular? Everything. Everything in particular.

Anyway, I personally wouldn't recommend coming here. In fact, I'm hoping more people start moving OUT, myself included.

If you don't mind living in a rural area, it might not be that bad in CO or WY. Heck, even Alaska is nice. I certainly don't have anything against the FSP in NH either. On the whole, however, I couldn't recommend this country to anyone.

[PaulConventionWV]

What's the outdoors / cycling industry like there? Passion of mine.

I imagine the cycling industry is probably one of the best in the country there. I used to be pretty good at running and I know a lot of runners would go there for the beautiful scenery, varied terrain and altitude training. Lots of placers in Colorado are good for sports. In fact, I believe it has been ranked as the healthiest state in the country for so many years.

Thanks. Been and done Europe. Aus is epic and hard to leave, but I need some adventure and do the states in a big way before contemplating settling back down here. Who knows, might not come back!

I like your attitude. I'm doing the same thing with China. I might never come back and I hope I don't have to. I'm making it a goal to live in several countries throughout my lifetime.

[PaulConventionWV]

Made of list of geographical factors - got some favorite places to consider given all the feedback. Some critiques would be great. What are the cities that immediately come to mind when you factor in the below?

1. Sunny
2. Cycling/outdoors community
3. Happening place/exciting/things to do
4. Friendly people
5. Generally positive
6. City/suburban
7. Dry
8. Freedom
9. Inexpensive
10. Low crime

For me, most places are probs less expensive than Australia to some extent. I'm wondering about the following cities/States in relation to the above? Any info greatly appreciated:

• Kona, Hawaii
• Austin, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• NYC, New York
• Seattle, Washington

Current shortlist:

• San Francisco, California
• Boulder, Colorado
• Morgan Hill, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

San Francisco is the most expensive city in the entire country, literally.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Consider Connifer Colorado - it's in the mountains but cheap.

As to Boulder, there is a pizza place at the bottom of "the hill" that stacks the toppings several inches high. It's more like a pizza loaf. Expect to see streakers on the mall one day a year. Ir's a tradition. and their is a bar where you are pretty much guaranteed to wander into the wrong bathroom due to misleading sighnage. It's a fun town. I enjoyed living there.

It's a VERY liberal town, though...

I've only been in Austin briefly, but I really liked that town.

-t

[Maltheus]

I'd look into Fort Collins too. Boulder is too expensive, crowded and the politics are kind of cultish there. Fort Collins has really nice biking trails that lead through downtown, along rivers and usually connects somewhere close to where you might live. I used to love riding to downtown for some food, and then taking a nap on the way home, along the riverbank. It's been rated as on of the top places to live in North America and I can see why.

There are RP meetups throughout Colorado. I'd check out the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) as well, since I know a number of RPers who drifted into that.

[dannno]

I'd look into Fort Collins too. Boulder is too expensive, crowded and the politics are kind of cultish there. Fort Collins has really nice biking trails that lead through downtown, along rivers and usually connects somewhere close to where you might live. I used to love riding to downtown for some food, and then taking a nap on the way home, along the riverbank. It's been rated as on of the top places to live in North America and I can see why.

There are RP meetups throughout Colorado. I'd check out the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) as well, since I know a number of RPers who drifted into that.

So I finally made it out to Colorado for the first time this summer and drove through the mountains, went backpacking out in the back country and also stayed sorta near Boulder (didn't make it to Boulder proper) - it's very nice and very beautiful out there for sure, the mountains are awesome..

There are TONS of ski resorts in the mountains just SW of Boulder and west of Denver - if you go north of there, some good living options all the way up to Fort Collins. Basically, the mountain range starts west of Denver and anywhere along the foothills are up in the mountains is probably pretty nice. I'll PM you a couple towns I was in.

I didn't look too much into the ski resorts, I'm guessing the 70 gets some hefty traffic in peak ski season with lots of tourists and city folk, but I'll bet there are some gems for locals to the north or south that don't require taking the 70, not sure tho. I do know the ski resorts in Colorado tend to encompass very large areas geographically, not sure about the lift lines and all that.

[oyarde]

Made of list of geographical factors - got some favorite places to consider given all the feedback. Some critiques would be great. What are the cities that immediately come to mind when you factor in the below?

1. Sunny
2. Cycling/outdoors community
3. Happening place/exciting/things to do
4. Friendly people
5. Generally positive
6. City/suburban
7. Dry
8. Freedom
9. Inexpensive
10. Low crime

For me, most places are probs less expensive than Australia to some extent. I'm wondering about the following cities/States in relation to the above? Any info greatly appreciated:

• Kona, Hawaii
• Austin, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• NYC, New York
• Seattle, Washington

Current shortlist:

• San Francisco, California
• Boulder, Colorado
• Morgan Hill, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

San Fran , Madison, Austin , Houston , NYC and Seattle .Yeah , more Marxists there than anywhere outside of Chicago , DC ,Cleveland ( stain of ohio),Sacramento , Minneapolis etc

[Suzu]

Made of list of geographical factors - got some favorite places to consider given all the feedback. Some critiques would be great. What are the cities that immediately come to mind when you factor in the below?

1. Sunny
2. Cycling/outdoors community
3. Happening place/exciting/things to do
4. Friendly people
5. Generally positive
6. City/suburban
7. Dry
8. Freedom
9. Inexpensive
10. Low crime

For me, most places are probs less expensive than Australia to some extent. I'm wondering about the following cities/States in relation to the above? Any info greatly appreciated:

• Kona, Hawaii
• Austin, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• NYC, New York
• Seattle, Washington

Current shortlist:

• San Francisco, California
• Boulder, Colorado
• Morgan Hill, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

New York, Houston and Seattle are far from dry and do have high crime. All three cities on your short list are very liberal. Boulder is infested with mountain lions. Madison is wet, wet, wet. If I could live anywhere in the USA and wanted to live in a city and not spend a fortune to live there, I'd choose someplace like Prescott or Cottonwood, Arizona. Santa Fe is very nice but tends toward the expensive side. Flagstaff is similar to Santa Fe and less expensive. Kona will be very expensive, as will Austin. If you go to Arizona, avoid Phoenix. If you want a big dry city, try Tucson (pronounced "TOO-sahn").

ETA: Looking back over your criteria, I do believe Tucson comes closest to meeting them all. Have you considered it?

[Ronin Truth]

Bring money, living in Boulder is expensive.

[TheTexan]

If I could live anywhere in the USA and wanted to live in a city and not spend a fortune to live there, I'd choose someplace like Prescott or Cottonwood, Arizona.

I don't think those qualify as cities. Those are more like villages

Villages, that noone has ever heard of

[heavenlyboy34]

New York, Houston and Seattle are far from dry and do have high crime. All three cities on your short list are very liberal. Boulder is infested with mountain lions. Madison is wet, wet, wet. If I could live anywhere in the USA and wanted to live in a city and not spend a fortune to live there, I'd choose someplace like Prescott or Cottonwood, Arizona. Santa Fe is very nice but tends toward the expensive side. Flagstaff is similar to Santa Fe and less expensive. Kona will be very expensive, as will Austin. If you go to Arizona, avoid Phoenix. If you want a big dry city, try Tucson (pronounced "TOO-sahn").

ETA: Looking back over your criteria, I do believe Tucson comes closest to meeting them all. Have you considered it?

Your assessment of AZ is correct IMO.

[jllundqu]

Move to Arizona. If Phoenix is too hot for you, check out the Prescott area. Warm, mountainous, and lots of bikes/riders. I'd live in Prescott if I could work from there.