Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Id have to give it another try. I drove around Chicago on my trip across the US but there were those massive snow storms going on across the US and Chicago was the worst. There were dozens of people who had driven off the road. It was crazy to see that many cars off the road.
I agree with you on that. Chicago area would not be for me. I live in southern Indiana and I used to live in northern Indiana and there is a big difference in snowfall between those two areas. The closer you get to the Great Lakes the more snow you will get.
( Dang!)
I've been thinking about moving to Reno. Seemed like a wonderful place to me.
It's all based off your tastes. It really is a great town. I just liked it back when there was less people. If rent and the population was the same as the early 2000s, Id probably never leave. I also hear that there's going to be a housing crash here soon. Not nearly as many people or businesses moving in as they have been the past 5 years.
It's great for people who love mountains, snow, desert, sagebrush pine trees and gambling. Even with all the new people here, its starting to be great for art and music festivals. I just don't enjoy the outdoors, plus Ive been here my whole life so I dont really care about the scenery anymore. On top of never being interested in gambling.
I agree with you on that. Chicago area would not be for me. I live in southern Indiana and I used to live in northern Indiana and there is a big difference in snowfall between those two areas. The closer you get to the Great Lakes the more snow you will get.
My buddy lives in Columbus Indiana. I was actually driving through the Chicago area on my way to visit him. There was 0 snow at his house. I stayed there for several days and still no snow. His climate is almost exactly the same as Reno. Half the time if it was snowing here, it was snowing there. It may be because we are almost on the exact same latitude, even though our elevation is 4000' different.
Thanks for the heads up. Ill keep it in mind. I drove through the area on my trip around the US. I really liked the greenness of Oregon and Washington. Is there anything special about the middle of Washington or Oregon? I see that most people live on the western side of both states.
The Cascade mountains run North to South through both states and basically divide the states into two halves.
Western WA / western OR are far wetter, greener, and temperate than their eastern counterparts. As you say, the western halves are where majority of the people live, so it is much more developed. There’s just so many more resources, and so more of an economic base.
The eastern halves are mostly arid, some parts with a desert like environment. Winters are colder and summers hotter than western counterparts. Both halves are sparsely populated though eastern OR is much more rural than eastern WA. There are cool outdoor activities and landscapes to explore out east but imo, west is better for living.
Spokane WA might be possibility if not too big or expensive for you. Klamath Falls OR is a lot smaller. Depends of your lower size limit and green. and snow criteria (pretty green, some snow). Most cities in central Washington and Oregon probably are too desert like based on your comments.
DelMarVa. Yes. But beware of the beaches in the summer. Full of tourists. What about a town elsewhere in Delaware, like Seaford or Laurel? Harrington would be closer to Dover, for a shorter commute to Dover.
Or the adjacent Eastern Shore of Maryland. It hardly ever snows especially in SOUTHERN Delaware and the Eastern Shore of MD. A million years ago, though, my best friend/classmate told me how he survived through an icy freeze in Ocean City. Nothing is perfect. You'll definitely need A/C in the summer.
I'm in Hawaii. Tropical, but we hardly ever need A/C with our nearly-constant breeze. An electric fan works just fine, about 98% of the time. You want snow? I know you DON'T... But you'd have to go down to the Big Island's peaks: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
I grew up in the Portland area, and much of my family is still there. I did a military career in many places and ended up near Boise, ID.
Find your job before you move. What do you need to do to make yourself employable in a new city where you have no existing connections. There is lots of different types of "desk work" that require special skills or degrees to be competitive. Spend your current time preparing for your future career. Can you get a desk job in Reno now that would give you some employment experience in your new career?
The PNW is likely your climate fit. If Portland is too big then maybe some of it's suburban cities, like Oregon City, Sherwood, Hillsboro, Canby, etc., or some parts of Vancouver, WA. If you find work in one of these cities then you don't really have to go into Portland proper except for entertainment, some specialty shopping, and the airport. You can get mass transit into Portland from all these cities, so you don't have to drive if you don't want to (even to commute).
There are plenty of other cities west of the Cascades: Seattle area, Tacoma, Olympia, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene and all of their surrounding smaller towns/cities.
The US Government hires lots of people for desk jobs. The VA has clinics and hospitals in every state that hire non-clinical support positions. Portland, Seattle, Walla Walla all have medical centers that employ lots of desk work positions that are not direct patient care. The Dept. of Homeland Security hires lots of TSA agents (at every airport), FEMA support positions (by region nationwide), and boarder security along the Canadian boarder and maybe ocean ports. You can search government jobs at www.usajobs.gov Just pick open to the public as a filter if you don't have any government work history. As an example: This position is potentially available in Reno. https://www.usajobs.gov/job/737609200# If you were to get this position then after about a year you can look for similar work in the PNW as a career government employee which opens more job opportunities and maybe reimbursement of moving expenses.
Good luck.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Dang!)
