Looking for A Nice Community to Move To - Must Have Quilters!!!
 

Since the members of the QB are all over the country, I thought I'd toss this out to you for your ideas.
My husband and I lost our home in Long Beach, NY to Superstorm Sandy last year and after lots of consideration about rebuilding, I think we are now leaning towards selling the land and moving on.

We are looking for a nice community east of the Mississippi with a temperate climate and, of course, a lovely group of quilters and access to some fabric stores! We don't need a large house - an extra bedroom for my sewing and one for visitors would be good.

Here's our wish list:


1. NO SNAKES
2. Close to a Catholic Church
3. Close to a decent hospital
4. Close to grocery / drug store
5. High speed internet available
6. NO SNAKES
7. No hurricanes, no tornadoes
8. Not near anything that floods
9. 1 1/2 or two bathrooms
10. 3 Bedrooms
11. Small yard big enough to let dogs out without fear that something will eat them.
12. NO SNAKES
13. Not a "fixer upper" -- too darn old and tired for that at this point in time.
14. Must have a nice porch.
15. NO SNAKES
16. It would be nice to be near a pond or stream but not one with crocs or gators
17. Not too hot. (so forget Florida)
18. Not too cold (goodbye New England)
19. Close to a fabric store - preferably a chain
20. NO SNAKES

Got any ideas?

I would suggest the Wilmington, NC area. It's inland enough to avoid major hurricane action, but close to beaches if you want them. It has four seasons, but winter isn't really a deal. Flowers will be blooming in February every year. It's a historical town with housing of every kind available. On the other hand, it's the south. Snakes are unavoidable.

I would think you will get many great ideas and can have a wonderful time doing some internet research on them all. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Glad to know that you are still looking for a place to live. Consider Tenn, NC, or Northern Al or GA. We would love to have you further South. Keep us informed. Hugs, Charlene

Have you thought of Wales Scotland England and ont forget st Patrick rid Ireland of the snakes.

I would say Colorado, I don't think it we get as cold as
the New England states, but I can guarantee that we are
a far cry from the heat and humidity of Florida.

However I do KNOW that the cost of living is much higher
in the Denver metro area than it was in the Catawba County,
North Carolina area (my house PAYMENT was $615 there and
my RENT here is $815).

I live in the 'burbs" of Denver I am pretty much straight south
of down town Denver about 8-10 miles, but it seems much further
away. I am close to 2 Hobby Lobby, 1 Joann's, Colorado Fabrics
(formerly known as Denver Fabrics), 3 quilt shops. They are ALL
withing a 5-7 mile radius from me. Then if I branch out to 10-15
miles from me there are many more stores for fabric, including a
WalMart, another HL & Joann's, plus several more quilts shops.
Lets not forget my FAVORITE quilt shop which sells QS quality fabrics
for $5.00 per yard (on the refurbish side), chain store quality for $1.99
(very limited selection there). All around awesome store to shop at.

I live across the street from a "no-leash" park meaning your dogs
do not need to be on a leash as long as they can be voice commanded.
There is also a little pond/lake in the park.

Of course the condos I live in do not meet your requirements, but the
general area is nice, and there is a few houses nearby that are for sale
that would meet with your needs.

Just a thought.

Are you sure you don't want to move west of the Mississippi? TX does have snakes but most are harmless. :)

I think you need to come west of the Mississippi - it sounds like San Diego is the place for you. Our average temperature is low 70's year round - we have about 2-4 weeks of hot weather, but fans take care of that. We do have snakes but in 40 years I have seen 2 and I was at work. Now if you live on a canyon there is a bigger chance.

We moved here from the Seattle area in 1973 and felt like we moved to Camelot. Not to mention we have the "World Famous San Diego Zoo" so if you feel like walking through a jungle and seeing exotic animals, we have them, too.

We have fabric stores, quilt shops (but if you are looking for fabric, Rosie's, has over 10,000 bolts at a most reasonable prices).

The only placed that flooded in San Diego was when they built a commercial area in the San Diego River bed - not sure why they were surprised when it flooded, but it has since been corrected.

I am quite fond of Ohio. Very few tornadoes, no hurricanes, we do have snow in the north area, but mild (?). Lots of quilt shops and a major fabric stores and craft shops. I live about 40 minutes from several very large communities of Amish. Fabric and quilts everywhere. We have both "city" living and "country" living. Sometimes only miles from each other. I live less that than 3 miles form 4 major highways yet, I can go 4 miles east or south of me and find farms. Snakes? Well I have not personally seen any, except for garden snakes, and those in the zoo. Good luck in your search. Wherever you go, as long as you are with the one you love, you will be home.

Good luck avoiding snakes in the United States. I think I heard England doesn't have them.

Hmm ... perhaps you can prioritize the list. I get the part about no snakes being pretty high - but it's very difficult to avoid them entirely. For example ... do you mean no poisonous snakes or none at all?? Illinois (which I live in and cannot recommend, but not for any reason on your list) can get a few varieties especially if you live in the country, but there is only 1 poisonous snake and he is a water snake. I get an occasional garden snake in the yard (1 every 3-4 years and I'm in the country) but I'm not bothered by them (I pick them up and move them out of harms way of the lawn mower, ditto for toads).

Hurricanes ... no problem ... stay a few hundred miles inland.
Tornado's ... a bit more difficult. While northern IL, IN, OH, PA & MI do not see a lot of them, they can happen. Just not to the degree as OK, TX, MS, TN, KY etc.

Close to hospital, drug store, quilt shops, quilt guilds and all the other trappings of a larger society ... narrow yourself to within 15 miles of any city larger than 100K should do it. Also, taking up domicile in a city rather than the country will certainly help curtail the snake issue, and many homes can be found with fenced yards to let dogs run. Larger cities with good city planning that includes storm sewers and waste water system certainly helps with the flooding issues.

You might want to avoid the regions (70 miles) to the south and east of any of the great lakes to avoid "lake effect" ... rain and snow, and higher chances of tornadic activity.

You also mentioned not too hot ... not too cold ... next to impossible to find. IL, IN, MI, PA, OH ... snow, and cold - we get lots of both. Once you start moving south of the snow belt you will find a much higher likelihood of snakes - including the poisonous variety. In fact even Southern IL, IN, KY has a likelihood of seeing an Eastern Diamondback.

If you didn't limit yourself to East of the Miss ... the western seaboard might qualify - from Seattle down to San Francisco.

And a few others hit it on the head when they mentioned Ireland, Wales and England. Climate wise ... maritime so it's rarely too hot or too cold, doesn't snow often (or much), can grow palm trees if you like (USDA zone 7), but you'll have a good deal more rain. And Hurricanes hardly happen (but my husband does remember one that demolished his greenhouse just NE of London back in the 80's).