1

"most but not all " Traverse City Michigan meets a lot of the requirements. You can definately get homes for less than $300,000. Good fishing, sking, volleyball, kayaking, biking and other outdoor activities. Great hospital and airport to get you anywhere. Maybe on the job, but I am sure the pay will be less. There is a saying here: "View of the Bay and half the pay." http://www.traversecity.com/

2

Maybe Ventura California?

Still expensive but much cheaper housing than a few years ago. One of the safer cities/counties in the US. You don't want to be too close to the ocean because of price and the frequent overcast IMO.
Don't know about accounting jobs but there are several hundred thousand people within commuting range.
Good hospitals and about two hours drive/shuttle to LAX. There's a train to Bob Hope airport in Burbank.
45 minutes to Magic Mountain roller coasters
Plenty of outdoor stuff; sailing, kayaking, surfing (cold), deep sea fishing, lake fishing, biking, Channel Islands National Park, Los Padres National Forest for hiking, hot springs, close to Santa Barbara and some wineries.

3

Thanks for the suggestion Louis. But as for Michigan, it will probably be too cold for me . I imagine it to have the same temperatures as Boston if not maybe even colder.

Thanks ElGuapo, I have never really thought much about CA because all I seem to hear is how expensive it is. However, I would be open to it. When you say it is expensive, what price range are we talking (just because expensive is very subjective)?

To others viewing this thread please keep the suggestions coming, I am trying to use this thread as a starting point to my research. I am hoping to have about 10 places to really start to research and compare over the next year. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Mike

Edited by: Kilroymw13

4

The temperatures are about the same due to the winds from the west going over Lake Micihgan. Due to this Traverse City is frequently the warmest place in the state in the winter. The other side the Lake is really cold.

Traverse City: http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMI0829
Boston: http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMA0046

5

There are plenty of houses close to or below $300k which were over $500k a few years back but of course you wont get nearly as much house for the money as you would in many other places. You can google real estate.

6

Wilmington, North Carolina.

7

Little known affordable beach town in Southern California: Imperial Beach

It's in San Diego County, on the coast south of the city of San Diego. It is actually the southwestern-most city in the United States. It's southern border touches Mexico. It has a navy base.

There is a nice pier and decent little downtown area. As far as outdoor activities, you have the beach right there, with decent surfing, there is kayaking etc... opportunities galore in San Diego, vollyball on the beach etc... Also, in that area of the state, you have mountains and deserts, all within a couple of hours. There is a nice state park and reserve on the coast just south of town, with hiking trails etc.... They even have a beach front farmer's market.

For a variety of reasons, I think it is about the cheapest beach city in Southern California. I have seen beach-front condos there for around $300,000, and you could probably get a single family house more inland for that same price.

It is connected by a light rail train to downtown San Diego.

I have to imagine that there are abundant accounting jobs in San Diego, with a population over one million people.

Obviously, being in coastal Southern California, the weather is hard to beat (60's in winter, 70's in the summer; not much rain, plenty of sunshine, low humidity).

I'm not sure this link will work, but is a search of houses in Imperial Beach listed between $250k and $350k and there are 21 results, including a 2 bed, 2 bath condo accross the street from the beach for $329k (on market for two years, could be bargained down I am sure) and a 2 bed, 2 bath single family house 3 blocks from the beach for $329k. There are a number of single family houses under $300k, all walking distance to the beach.

I should note, however, that Imperial Beach is pretty rough around the edges, especially compared with other beach towns in the San Deigo area. It's not know for crime, but I think there is more of a low-income element, and you get a lot of navy guys too.

Edited by: bowneline

8

Thanks Louis, however, I am really looking for a warm place, as it is in Boston and Long Island, NY, the winters are too long. I do appreciate you input, and will keep that in mind for a possible vacation spot (summer only).

Thanks ElGuapo, I will have to further look into the real estate cost there.

Thanks travellingtrixie, isn't Wilmington, NC more of a city than a town? Do you recommend any towns in that area in particular? Or does the city have nice beaches?

Thanks bowneline, that was an excellent write up and very convincing.

9

I can understand that. They say we have two months of winter, two months of summer and eight months of bad sleding.

10

Wilmington, NC and Ventura, CA are exactly the same size at about 107,000 residents.

Imperial Beach, which seems to be a bedroom community, is 34,000.

You may need to define "town" in your requirements.

Also, something to very seriously consider and understand: Your list is bordering on unrealistic. Not that these places don't exist, but you need to think about job opportunities going forward, not just immediately. "Jobs", plural, are available in larger places. A job might be immediately available in a smaller town, but that may be the only job, and then what? Something happens and you can't find another job.

So, define the size in numbers not adjectives, look at potential growth as well as what you want 5, 10, 15 years down the road, then make a list.

Trust me. I'm 15 years older than you and going through this again. No place is perfect, but you know what you can live with and without and go from there.

11

Well when I say town I mean a suburb of a city. ie Weymouth, MA is a suburb of Boston. I would prefer to be close to a city, but not actually in it. I know it is necessary to be near a city for jobs, however, since I don't know the areas surrounding particular cities I was looking for help in that department (most likely from people who live in that area). For example I know a lot more than most people about the south shore of MA, since I have lived here for 24 years. I could advice someone like myself of towns that fit the description of what I am looking for (minus of course that it is too cold here for me).

12

Ah, suburb. Much different animal now. That makes more sense.

Well, unless you're interested in the suburbs of Chicago or DC, I'm of little use.

But for a good start of metropolitan areas, in addition to Wilmington, NC, check out Jacksonville, FL. I think you'll find some nice communities in the outskirts of Jacksonville that fit your description.

13

Sounds good thanks for the help travellingtrixie.