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Also can't be desert and would prefer being within a couple hours of the coast. Already have that here in Portland, Oregon, but seeing if there is any other place that offers this with cheaper housing and more sun.
North Carolina is on the list, but it is a distance between the coast and skiing. Just seeing if there is any other place that also has these things. Looking into New England also, but the cold sounds extreme up there.
It sounds to me like the Pacific Northwest is really the only region that fits the bill, from San Francisco north through Seattle. If you're looking for a major city, Portland is definitely the best fit.
I immediately thought "Portland", and then noticed your name - PDX... I agree with the above, that the Pacific Northwest is still your best bet. Have you looked into Santa Cruz, or maybe San Luis Obispo? They both have what you want, though housing costs in Santa Cruz will be higher than in Portland... SLO will also be more expensive, just not by quite as much - however, it is kinda far from skiing. But if you want sunshine, you'll have to head this far south! You might also consider the Sacramento and Redding/Red Bluff areas... they will be cheaper than the above, and there's plenty of sailing at the nearby rivers & lakes. Plus it's a fairly short drive to both the ocean & Lake Tahoe ski resorts. I'm sure there are also possibilities in Southern California, but I don't know enough to suggest anything specific.
P.S. If you hadn't thrown in the mild weather part, I'd suggest Lake Tahoe as well... I lived in South L.T. for a few years, and really loved it there. The people are friendly, housing costs are relatively low, and they have all the boating & skiing you could dream of. You'd also see more sunshine than in Portland, but the winters are COLD and snowy!
I have also been considering New England, such as Maine. Beautiful areas, great sailing, skiing, history, but BRUTAL winters!!!! Of course, they get more sunshine than we do here in Portland, but -26 in winter (record low) has got to be tough and not sure if we could handle that.
Location: Lots of sun and palm trees with occasional hurricane :)
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Originally Posted by PDXsailor
Also can't be desert and would prefer being within a couple hours of the coast. Already have that here in Portland, Oregon, but seeing if there is any other place that offers this with cheaper housing and more sun.
Did you want to find that in this country?
Some south american (Chile?) have a combination of all that a stones throw away.
Western Maryland, if you don't mind driving a bit to get to Annapolis (the sailing capital of the USA!!!)
You can get a nice house for under $200k, there's plenty of skiing between MD/WV/PA, the winters aren't as bad as New England, and you're about 2 1/2 hours from the Chesapeake Bay and 4 hours from the Atlantic Ocean beaches.
You can do a little boating on Deep Creek Lake and drive to Annapolis for challenging sails.
I highly recommend it if you don't mind being in a small town, as opposed to a big city like Portland. You'll be about 1 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh and 2 1/2 hours from DC.
I somehow missed the fact that you're apparently already IN Portland so I guess you're looking to get away. I do think that Oregon and Northern California offer the most in terms of geographic/topographic diversity in such a confined space, but you may also want to check out Reno and Boise, both obviously far from the coast, but both are cheap, have access to sailing, nearby skiing. I'm not sure if they qualify as moderate climate however. Their climates are more four-season with cold winters with a decent amount of snow (though not THAT much by my definition but by Portland standards, it may be), with much more sun and less rain than you get in Portland.
Depends on how good of a skier you are (or want to be). You can find skiing in the mid-Atlantic states, from PA to NC, but they're tiny hills with huge crowds. Maryland is good for sailing. What you're looking for sounds like paradise, let me know if you find it!
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You might also consider the Sacramento and Redding/Red Bluff areas... they will be cheaper than the above, and there's plenty of sailing at the nearby rivers & lakes. Plus it's a fairly short drive to both the ocean & Lake Tahoe ski resorts. I'm sure there are also possibilities in Southern California, but I don't know enough to suggest anything specific.
