Where in the U.S. can I find my new home? (new construction, best schools)

[LindaSarasota]

Hi,

I was looking for where I could move that within minutes of my house I'd have:

green rolling hills

pockets of public forest

a river or a nice sized lake

no frigid winters, to me mostly 20's is too cold, 30's ok I'll put up with it, 40's just right, warmer is fine also

a highly regarded public university no more then an hour away

housing <200k.

Big or little city, no small towns

Thank you for helping,


Linda

[Racelady88]

Aiken, SC

Rolling green hills everywhere.

We have a 2,200 acre woods that has been donated to the public for hiking and horseback riding, as well as the Aiken State Natural Area which includes the south fork of the Edisto River.

Langley Pond, 4 feet shy of lake status is right here. Lake Thrumond is less than an hour away. The Savannah River is right here.

Aiken Tech and USC Aiken are right here.

New construction 3/2 starts around $110,000.

Augusta, Ga is 20 minutes away if Aiken itself is too small.

http://www.aikenchamber.net

[LindaSarasota]

Hi Evey,

Thank you for the reply. Aiken is something I will read up on as well as South Carolina. I've read before that public schools are at the very bottom and lots of poverty in South Carolina.

Thank you,
Linda

[Racelady88]

Schools are hit or miss, even within the county.

Aiken has some very rich and some poor. Your money will go a lot farther here than it is going in Sarasota. I moved here from North Port last year.

[LindaSarasota]

Hi Evey, I did download and read the visitors guide (pdf) and on Moderator cut: link cut and it just isn't our cup of tea. But we will be glad to vacate FL, and I'm glad you enjoy Aiken!
Hi txgrl, I am a big fan of Moderator cut: link. I am a bigger fan of this forum and the people for giving advice though.
What comes real close to my desire for a Hobbit Town sort of landscape is Lexington KY, but I know there must be other places and somebody out there will help me out for sure.

Thanks,
Linda

[txgrl]

I love this forum too, it's great to have a place where people can tell you the good and the bad of places you're looking into. I'm sure you'll find your perfect place.

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by LindaSarasota

Hi Evey,

Thank you for the reply. Aiken is something I will read up on as well as South Carolina. I've read before that public schools are at the very bottom and lots of poverty in South Carolina.

Thank you,
Linda

Unfortunately, that's a conundrum of sorts considering the desire to escape winter as generally speaking, the best schools in this country lie in colder climates, specifically the Northeast (NY, NY, CT, VT, NH, ME, MA) and the Upper Midwest (MN, IA, WI). Of course, school issues are very localized and there are some good school districts in places like Georgia and Florida and North Carolina even though they routinely rank at the bottom of lists in education and the top in poverty. Some suggestions of places to look into:

- Columbia, Missouri
- Austin, Texas area, specifically the Texas hill country around New Braunfels; not much in way of forests, but it's hilly, cheap, a nice river, has mild summers and within an hour of University of Texas.
- Fort Collins, Colorado and other parts of the Front Range like Loveland and Broomfield.
- Knoxville, Tennessee

[mbmouse]

You might want to look into the Tri-Cities TN as well. It fits your list, including several really good colleges and universities, lots of water ways and lakes, Johnson City and Kingsport have lots offer: restaurants, night life, music venues, museums, history, festivals, etc. You can find a lot of house for about $150, property taxes are cheap. winters are mild, we get only about 12 days a year of snow and it melts quickly. I have my two boys in Washington County schools and I love the schools and so do the boys. Lots to offer even thought he grading scale is a bit tough, but in my opinion, that helps teach kids to strive for more and promotes ambitions. But everyone is different. Hope this helps!

[LindaSarasota]

Thanks mbmouse, by the way I liked your pictures on the TN forum. But the 100k population is just too small for us, that's small town to me, I guess I shoulda specified. But for the size it is nice.

Thanks dullnboring. That New Braunfels was interesting to take a look at, really unique!

I'm still looking though if anyone has more places to share.

Linda

[marysally]

OK, I'll bite. How about the Huntsville/Madison AL area. Combined there are over 200K population and growing steadily because of healthy economy and low cost of living. Lots of smaller mtns in the area and more just to the north in TN. Easy to find a house for less than $200K. Univ of AL Huntsville (UAH) is here. Madison City schools are highly acclamed as are Grissom and Huntsville High in the Huntsville city school system. Tennessee river and Lake Guntersville are just to the south. Jobs are easy to come by (particularly if you have a security clearance).