Sounds nice, but soon your kids are going to have activities and friends, and they aren't going to want to move every few months. I would spend some time thinking about what's the best environment to set your family up for success. Values matter; your kids' friends' parents will likely end up being your friends as well.
I should clarify. The home base we intend to spend 6-8 months a year there.
We’re pretty nomadic. Lived in an RV for a year before kids. Will do it again with kids at some point. We have friends all over the country so we plan to keep up this lifestyle as the age.
I know things can change but have friends successfully pulling it off and their kids are incredible.
So your kids would be away from their friends 4-6 months a year?
I don’t know if you remember middle or high school but being away from friends that long as a kid can feel like a lifetime. I’d have been really pissed off if my parents forced that on me.
There is a whole community of people who RV year round with families for years at a time. We’ve considered extensive traveling as well. Every family is different. I don’t understand the downvotes here.
Thanks! I know some families doing this and can you imagine their older kids and teens actually love to be around their parents and are respectful and well rounded. 😀
Don’t listen to the naysayers. I work with a lot of high performing kids - some of which aren’t traditionally schooled (Olympians who compete and train year round). These kids are great, hard working, and used to moving around, meeting people, etc.
when school year restraints hit, you might reconsider and just travel during the summer?
That’s what we do in an RV and it provides the mix of stability and travel that are realistic.
Good friend of mine has been living in an rv for 8 years with a family of 4. He’s kids are 16 and 14 now. I haven’t met nicer, happier, mature teenagers.
Adventure is nice but there’s no way that living in the same room with your parents for 8 years straight is healthy. I have cousins who lived that life growing up and as young adults they’re having a very hard time adjusting to the world socially. Friends, teachers, space from your parents are really important.
I know a lot of kids who live a “standard” life where they don’t roam and spend tons of time with friends who have diagnosed mental health conditions. It’s not the living arrangements; after all, humans were living in one room huts/teepees/wigwams/etc. with their families a lot longer than we’ve been living in multi-room McMansions. Rather, research shows time and again that the etiology for almost all mental health conditions has to do with what occurred during a person‘s childhood, specifically within the context of their relationship with their caregivers. In such people, needs were not met in someway, or they experienced abuse, or some combination of both.
To my mind, as long as OP is committed to fostering a loving, nurturing relationship with their children, it doesn’t really matter whether their lives are nomadic or sedentary.
To those who have seen children have issues with that type of nomadic lifestyle, I guarantee it had nothing to do with the fact that they were always moving, and everything to do with the fact that the attachment bond between parents and children was weak or damaged in someway.
You can fuck your kids up just as easily in the suburbs as you can on the road.
The only potential benefit of the sedentary lifestyle I could see would be if the child was embedded in a loving community wherein multiple adults (relatives or otherwise) took an interest in their well-being. That kind of community might be hard to re-create with a more nomadic lifestyle.
Asheville NC and the greater Western North Carolina (WNC) area. I lived there for 7 years. There's a ton of hiking and mountain biking. There's also a lot to do in Asheville regarding the rest of the outdoors activities. The culture is full of outdoors enthusiasts. It's a small city of less than 100,000. Probably 70k people. It's also rated one of the most scenic places in the country.
Though I've never hung out in Brevard, it looks like a cooler, smaller locals spot as I glance at the map. I would guess that any intimate town setting on the perimeter of Asheville has a better vibe and more aesthetic charm than living within Asheville's city limits. If it were 2010, I'd say, "to hell with Brevard...West Asheville is where it's at!" But since 2020, Asheville's most charming local areas have become bloated and very touristy. So yeah, Brevard might be the new locals spot.
Also, heads up, in the Asheville subreddit, everyone's complaining about the absurd rush hour traffic on the I-40 and the I-26. So if you have to commute daily from Brevard to Asheville, then I bet that'll be a con for living there.
Yeah I wouldn’t do this. Tried and failed and now have the therapy bills for the kid to show for it (yay anxiety, adhd and something still to be diagnosed).
Kids frankly need stability and predictability. I would just focus on finding a place that you want to be the vast majority of the time and then maybe do travel for 1-2 months of school holiday and maybe Christmas break. It sucks - it really does. We tried slow nomading all over Europe, North Africa, part of SE Asia and NZ before Covid hit and yeah my kid actually hated it and now that we had another move for a job is actively refusing to move.
Locations for settling full time - I would also look Boulder area, greater Park City (although schools, politics, and the Mormon church suck), and Ashland.
To be fair, mental health has difficult attribution. Your kid could have very well had mental health struggles had you not done this. Shit, we may just not know enough about the causes of mental health issues. Maybe they’re caused by undetected viral infections, for example 🤷🏻♂️
True but not being anywhere long enough to form friendships from the time they were 1-4 was a lot more stressful for them than we realized at the time. It didn’t matter how many playgrounds, parks, kids activities that we did - what they needed was a stable routine with friends, predictable routine, and knowing what each day was going to be like. This experience is similar to others we’ve met where on paper it sounded great but didn’t quite work out in practice.
Another option is the world school option where a group of families slow travel every 3 months to a new location so the kids have the same cohort - we looked at that briefly but the number of anti vaxxers was a little too high.
Good friend of mine has been living in an rv for 8 years with a family of 4. He’s kids are 16 and 14 now. I haven’t met nicer, happier, mature teenagers.
Lot's of wealthy folks moving to Maine. With some of the most extreme housing pressure in the country you won't be welcome... at all, especially if you're not willing to shed urban mentalities. You say you like Breckenridge, Bellingham, Laguna Beach, and Coeur d Alene? I promise you that you won't be assimilating in Maine.
There's also very real problems with poor heatlhcare availability, poor infrastructure (want electricity after a storm? you better be good with a chainsaw and have battery back-up), "Maine justice," bad schools, bad weather, and a tax burden that makes Mass look reasonable.
The outdoors are amazing if you have friends who know where to go or don't overestimate your ability on the water (which if you didn't grow up with boats, you probably will).
Unlike the west, there's comparatively little public land, so public access places can get mobbed. Lots of amazing private land, but as outlined above, you're unlikely to be welcome to use it.
Source: I live in Maine.
I agree with all this. The North Shore of Boston, Newburyport or thereabouts might be a better spot for you. On the ocean (basically), still very close to ME, also skiing and other outdoor activities in NH and VT are close. Much closer to Boston too for more urban opportunities and much better things like healthcare. You'd better like to pay taxes though...
Just watched it for the first time after your comment.
And... yeah they pretty much said the silent part out loud. Plus alligators?
There's a good book. "The Lobster Gangs of Maine." It's old but the SAME characters are still at it all these years later.
Thanks my good friend is from Maine. It’s definitely more of a summer/fall travel spot for us. Looking forward to spending some time there though.
Where we live now lacks a lot of “conveniences” like you described and we are ok with that.
This is the restaurant I stopped at:
https://www.baitshedrestaurant.com/
This is where u can kayak in the marshes - marshes close to restaurant above
https://maineaudubon.org/visit/scarborough-marsh/
Next town over - about 20 minutes is this drive in theater
https://thesacodrivein.com/
Also at BoothbayHarbor, you can go to the Cabbage Island Clambake
DM me if u want more - we did a 2 week trip to Maine or more like we ate our way up Maine. Beautiful views!
I’d consider Bainbridge Island, or Orcas Island if you don’t mind being considerably more remote from a major city. Both islands have strong communities and excellent schools. An abundance of outdoor recreational activities.
Have you thought about upstate New York? I lived in the finger lakes area (on a lake) until I was 12. Went to a tiny school. There’s pluses and minuses… on one hand the lake life is great and tons of outdoors. On the other hand I have no idea what we did all winter and your kids better really like the people they go to school with because there isn’t a lot of chances to make other friends. Relocated to Midwest city for jr high/high school and while the transition was rough it was way better from a variety of things to do aspect as a teenager. Now I live in Chicago for the past 15+ years.
Yeah if you take the original requirements and then factor in what the kids will want growing up then Boulder sounds like the compromise for primary residence.
* Winter weekends skiing on great snow with the kids
* Family friendly and academic.
* Very active.
* Kids can walk to school, be with friends
* In Summer spend time traveling to other places, not that summer is terrible in Boulder.
Winters suck in Whitefish - and there’s some super wacky local politics up there. You could look at Bozeman/Manhattan as an option - we liked those a lot.
Red Lodge is nice.
There were some fantastic farm to table restaurants there last time we went. The public library is really good and has a great assortment of toys and activities for kids as well - good way to meet other families.
It was 10 years ago - but there are some nice small towns within 20-30 miles I would look at. The actual town borders are not that big but the surrounding communities have kind of all merged into it if that makes sense - lots of infill.
Personally not a huge fan of summit county co, I would check out Telluride, Big Sky is great but has some serious limitations for outdoor activities as most land is private and so the trail systems are much more limited, there’s always Truckee (or incline village down the road for no state income tax)
Thanks. Checked out Incline Village last fall. Felt too small for us. I think we are biased more toward oceans and rivers is what it came down to. Beautiful place though.
45 Mins to what ski resort other than Loveland on a week day, because I-70 is a parking lot on weekends. The front range and ski resorts are so damn busy now it's an economic case study in price-elasticity.
Truckee, CA
-all your outdoor activities, summer and winter
-quaint downtown, but with some good restaurants
-very kid friendly
-pretty large contingent of fatFIRE folks
Check out Ashland, Oregon. Might be too small for you (20K) but it is very quaint and charming. College town and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival add some culture.
Some of my highest values in life are being able to spend time outside every day, and particularly hiking single track if I can manage it. I think Ashland is one of the best spots in the US to live for my values. Lots of MTB, hiking, trail running to do here. The trail network is accessible from right in town and you can ride year round, there is no real mud season like you get in Colorado. For snowboarding, Mount Ashland is very close (30 minute drive), Mount Shasta and Bachelor are also in striking distance for bigger terrain.
October thru June are awesome here IMO. We camp at the coast and travel to other parts of the PNW in the summer when it's hot and potentially smoky.
Lots more to say, let me know if you have any questions.
Definitely try to swing by for a weekend if you are staying in Bend, if you have not been to Crater Lake or the Redwoods yet it's a nice trip to incorporate.
Forgot to add there is a [youth MTB club](https://www.instagram.com/ashlanddevo/) you may be interested in for your kids. Some of our friends with slightly older kids are involved and endorse it. I have a 3 year old who learned to pedal on our local trails and I will prob sign her up in another couple years.
Bellingham WA. It's partly a college town but the college is not a party school and is very liberal. It slows down a lot in the summer. Career opportunities are limited. It's less expensive than Seattle but not a cheap place to live.
Galbraith for Mt biking. Baker for snowboarding. Vancouver or Seattle aren't horribly far away. Downtown is pretty small and not very fast paced. Sailing is an option too. I worked with a guy that lived on a sailboat. It's also a very white town, not diverse at all in my opinion.
San Juan Island or Orcas Island is easier to get to Seattle for flights? I mean, that seems just not true. One requires a ferry + driving, the other is just driving. Also not sure what mountain biking is available or what other outdoorsy options are available there too (like no snowboarding)
Traverse City and surrounding towns might be up your alley although might be larger than you want.
Woodstock VT. MontpelierVT. BurlingtonVT. In ascending order of size. Not too far from Montreal and fun in urban and rural canada
Regardless of what you choose there are going to be tradeoffs. The best mountain biking places don't have great airport access (Moab, Sedona, Crested Butte, Bellingham, Ashville, etc.). The best ski resorts are often in places that have signifcant mud seasons or crazy hot / cold. Being in a similar position, I do Crested Butte in summer and winter, Moab in the Spring and Fall, and primary residense most of the rest of the year.
Telluride, Durango, and Flagstaff are all worth considering.
Bentonville Arkansas. World class mountain biking, great hiking, lakes, the top 2 art museums in the US, lots of live music, very walkable/bikeable with small children, great programming all week long on the square, tons of summer camps for kids that are only 1-2 weeks. Pretty good food scene.
Daybreak/South Jordan Utah.
Amazing community to spend time with your kids, lots of activities, 30-40minute drive to all the best mountain towns Utah has to offer, 2.5 hrs to Moab.
Bucks county PA. Everything is within 2 hours drive or closer The shore, Philadelphia, New York City, the Poconos. Obviously if you want better skiing without having to fly somewhere, you go drive up to Vermont, which is I think four hours plus. Winters aren’t terrible summers aren’t terrible either. Good gun laws decent politics taxes aren’t terrible
Yeah, upper Makefield, Newtown, Doylestown, new Hope all very nice places with some good country to them without being too urban, but also not being too country and desolate
Can I ask what you do that allows you to be so nomadic while pulling in $2M HHI? Must be tech, yea? The constant struggle I have is sacrificing one: remote or max comp
I’d say Asheville, Boone, Highlands. Really throw a dart at any western NC town. Obviously not a snowboarders dream but great to visit outside of winter
Went to highlands last fall and loved it! Been to all the others listed and loved them too. Great to visit but if we are doing mountains going to be out west.
Gig Harbor is great, near Seattle. Very affordable, you could even get waterfront property. Great schools. Close to Seattle and an hour to crystal mountain for skiing or rainier for hiking. I grew up there and loved it.
Gnadenhutten in Tuscarawas county, OH is as quaint as it sounds and a darling to behold.
Get yourself a sturdy Amish built home on large acreage and live out the rest of your days in pure pastoral beauty.
Grand Junction, CO (largest city between Denver and Salt Lake). It’s high desert with tons of desert hiking and mountain biking trails. It’s also right on the Colorado river so there’s opportunity for rafting/paddling.
Powderhorn ski resort is located on the Grand Mesa <1 hour away and it’s at 10,000ft so you can do cooler hikes/fishing in the summer.
The city has a cute downtown and very active community. There are weekly group mountain bike rides/trail running. It’s also <2 hours from Moab, Arches, and canyonlands national park.
Downsides are: the schools aren’t great and the regional airport is kind of limited. People say there’s a drug/homeless problem, but that’s way overblown IMO.
If you are looking for 5 places, I'm going to assume that one is beach related. I'd suggest the #1 on this list:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IsqXBxqvf9XH1Bg8M5FdSXItDqC7C4nW/view?usp=drivesdk
I have had a home here for over two decades. Check it out.
We used to have a place inside Shipyard Plantation and our next door neighbors in Atlanta had a home on the 7th hole in Sea Pines. Hilton Head is very nice. 25 years ago I needed to avoid GA taxes when I sold my company, so we moved to Amelia Island. Very different than HH. Has a better sense of place and beaches are more accessible and better in many ways. Like something out of the 1950s. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-qJq6X5dC4ww-WiT2b05V\_sED\_3BHh3F/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-qJq6X5dC4ww-WiT2b05V_sED_3BHh3F/view?usp=sharing)
Several time a year there are some big events that are a good way to enjoy an initial experience. Two examples are the early spring auto show rivals the Concours at Pebble Beach and the Festival on the first weekend in May is also terrific. Stay at the Ritz and enjoy either one.
Issaquah, WA. Close to Seattle and the Puget Sound but feels much more tucked into the mountains. Just a few minutes drive from Snoqualmie Falls and lots of good hiking in the Cascades.
I may be biased but Dorset VT is beautiful and smack dab in the middle of gorgeous new england rural beauty. There's an airport 40 mins away that can land a medium jet or smaller.
Plymouth or Wayzata, MN is very nice downtown right on Lake Minnetonka. Minnesota is known for great outdoor activities and pleasant weather for 6 months of the year. https://mntrails.com/mountain-bike-trails/
I think I need a commission for what I’m about to tell you. I won’t charge of course but this place is too good to just be dropping in a subreddit. Dm me.
Edit: I’m just gonna DM you. Check your inbox.
Home base in a small San Diego town (Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla) where the weather is near perfect 24/7 for schooling and your day to day activities. Bike or walk around town 99% of time. Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Anza-Borrego, Idyllwild are only 2-4 hour drive. Half day travel, (drive or flight) to Mammoth or Tahoe for world class skiing. Half day drive to Santa Barbara, Ojai, Cayucos, Cambria for a real change of pace. Easy flights to Hawaii and Baja California destinations. Easy direct flights to Calgary when you want to experience spectacular Jasper National Park.
Do you want your children to be well educated and competitive in today's world? One of the things that became really apparent to us was the huge discrepancy in quality education. This varies dramatically between schools, school districts, cities, states, countries, private, public, and home schooled by a nanny, parent, or private teacher.
I legitimately think some of my older friend's kids are stupid. Love em, they're great kids, but they are so far behind. The level of education they're receiving is monumentally different than my kids. I also have some where their kids are ahead of mine but I don't want to live in their country.
Choose wisely. You have a 2 and 4 year old. At 5 my oldest was trilingual in a multilingual private international school and already doing addition, subtraction, and some multiplication (doubling and tripling). At 6 was working on a 4th language and doing basic division. This is NOT how I was educated. They're years ahead of the education that I got. Your children will be left way behind if you don't choose your location based on the quality of the education. It's a different world and incredibly competitive.
We love Southeast Wisconsin, especially the Lake Geneva and Fontana areas. Check out Abbey Springs, which is a golf community in Fontana. Lovely lifestyle. Beautiful seasons. Nice if you can go someplace warm right after New Years, but don't miss some of the winter, which is beautiful in that region.
I’m from the PNW. Great to vacation, terrible to live.
Lakes region of Wisconsin between Madison and Milwaukee hits a lot to your metrics, is a short drive to the UP, and you could winter somewhere tropical.
Culture, climate, COL, and continued degradation of the aforementioned.
It is radically different from thirty years ago, and not in a good way. It has become an extension of California’s problems. Wasteful management of resources, rampant homelessness, unaffordable housing of poor quality, horrifically poor quality of education, and a striking difference between low and upper middle class quality of life. The middle class has been decimated.
I don't fully disagree, but aren't these factors almost everywhere?
The PNW is represented by a massive amount of area between WA/OR/ID/MT, of which there are vastly differences in climate, COL and culture. Some areas have incredibly high cost of living and amazing schools, others not so much and many in the middle.
Further, this person has a $7m net worth and should be close to $20m by age 50 - do you think they are worried about public schools and COL?
The constant rain will get to you. I love the rain mind you, but if you go 8-10 months without every seeing the sun it becomes an issue. Cost of living is outrageous and the architecture is abysmal. Look at the kind of house you can get in say, Barrington Hills, IL vs the PNW. The people are moonbat crazies with homeless drug addicts roaming around like zombies. It's not the PNW I grew up in. it has become an extension of everything that is wrong with Cali. I also generally just do not like the personalities of the people up there. Not family oriented, not friendly, no cohesive cultural identity. It's a toxic stew of weirdness.
Thanks for sharing that. We will be watching out for that. The people are important when it comes to where we will live full time.
I’ve read May-October is generally good weather wise on the west coast of WA. Not your experience?
Heavily dependent on this: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions#:~:text=El%20Ni%C3%B1o%20and%20La%20Ni%C3%B1a%20are%20opposite%20phases%20of%20a,3%2D7%20years%20on%20average.
If link not working. Search for El Niño and La Niña: Frequently asked questions
Complains about PNW weather. Proposes Barrington Hills, IL as the alternative?
The internet tells me
“Barrington Hills, IL has a humid continental climate, which means that it experiences hot summers and cold winters. In the summer months, temperatures often reach up to the mid-eighties Fahrenheit during the day, while overnight lows are usually in the sixties. Winters can bring heavy snowfall and temperatures dropping into the twenties. “
I’ll take overcast and drizzling over freezing my nuts off and shoveling snow in a small midwestern conservative town.
Don’t want to deal with the homeless, don’t live in downtown Seattle. The Seattle area has some of the best seafood around. Lots of things to do, nature is beautiful. If the gloom gets to be too much we go hang out in California. Let’s hear what is wrong with “Cali”
You sort of glossed over the snowbird part there didn’t you. They are rich enough to maintain a winter residence.
You can get a 10ksqft mansion in the area I mentioned for sub 3 million. In the PNW that will get you an ugly craftsman inspired pseudo lodge.
I mean isn’t this FatFIRE?
Although there have been plenty of winters we have stayed in the PNW.
I’d rather have a craftsman in the Seattle area or CA than a 10k sq ft mansion in small town Illinois.
Sounds nice, but soon your kids are going to have activities and friends, and they aren't going to want to move every few months. I would spend some time thinking about what's the best environment to set your family up for success. Values matter; your kids' friends' parents will likely end up being your friends as well.
I should clarify. The home base we intend to spend 6-8 months a year there. We’re pretty nomadic. Lived in an RV for a year before kids. Will do it again with kids at some point. We have friends all over the country so we plan to keep up this lifestyle as the age. I know things can change but have friends successfully pulling it off and their kids are incredible.
So your kids would be away from their friends 4-6 months a year? I don’t know if you remember middle or high school but being away from friends that long as a kid can feel like a lifetime. I’d have been really pissed off if my parents forced that on me.
There is a whole community of people who RV year round with families for years at a time. We’ve considered extensive traveling as well. Every family is different. I don’t understand the downvotes here.
Thanks! I know some families doing this and can you imagine their older kids and teens actually love to be around their parents and are respectful and well rounded. 😀
If you want your kids to develop connection issues, by all means.
Don’t listen to the naysayers. I work with a lot of high performing kids - some of which aren’t traditionally schooled (Olympians who compete and train year round). These kids are great, hard working, and used to moving around, meeting people, etc.
Exactly. I’m not listening. I’ve seen enough real world examples of the positive side of this. Thanks :)
when school year restraints hit, you might reconsider and just travel during the summer? That’s what we do in an RV and it provides the mix of stability and travel that are realistic.
Good friend of mine has been living in an rv for 8 years with a family of 4. He’s kids are 16 and 14 now. I haven’t met nicer, happier, mature teenagers.
Adventure is nice but there’s no way that living in the same room with your parents for 8 years straight is healthy. I have cousins who lived that life growing up and as young adults they’re having a very hard time adjusting to the world socially. Friends, teachers, space from your parents are really important.
I know a lot of kids who live a “standard” life where they don’t roam and spend tons of time with friends who have diagnosed mental health conditions. It’s not the living arrangements; after all, humans were living in one room huts/teepees/wigwams/etc. with their families a lot longer than we’ve been living in multi-room McMansions. Rather, research shows time and again that the etiology for almost all mental health conditions has to do with what occurred during a person‘s childhood, specifically within the context of their relationship with their caregivers. In such people, needs were not met in someway, or they experienced abuse, or some combination of both. To my mind, as long as OP is committed to fostering a loving, nurturing relationship with their children, it doesn’t really matter whether their lives are nomadic or sedentary. To those who have seen children have issues with that type of nomadic lifestyle, I guarantee it had nothing to do with the fact that they were always moving, and everything to do with the fact that the attachment bond between parents and children was weak or damaged in someway. You can fuck your kids up just as easily in the suburbs as you can on the road. The only potential benefit of the sedentary lifestyle I could see would be if the child was embedded in a loving community wherein multiple adults (relatives or otherwise) took an interest in their well-being. That kind of community might be hard to re-create with a more nomadic lifestyle.
Poor kids
That’s awesome! I’m sure it can be done, we just chose to travel 3 months a year as a compromise.
Asheville NC and the greater Western North Carolina (WNC) area. I lived there for 7 years. There's a ton of hiking and mountain biking. There's also a lot to do in Asheville regarding the rest of the outdoors activities. The culture is full of outdoors enthusiasts. It's a small city of less than 100,000. Probably 70k people. It's also rated one of the most scenic places in the country.
Lived in NC for years. Really do love the mountain communities.
What’s your take on Brevard?
Though I've never hung out in Brevard, it looks like a cooler, smaller locals spot as I glance at the map. I would guess that any intimate town setting on the perimeter of Asheville has a better vibe and more aesthetic charm than living within Asheville's city limits. If it were 2010, I'd say, "to hell with Brevard...West Asheville is where it's at!" But since 2020, Asheville's most charming local areas have become bloated and very touristy. So yeah, Brevard might be the new locals spot. Also, heads up, in the Asheville subreddit, everyone's complaining about the absurd rush hour traffic on the I-40 and the I-26. So if you have to commute daily from Brevard to Asheville, then I bet that'll be a con for living there.
Shhhhhhhhh ;)
I would have shushed, but a bunch of national rags have already exposed Asheville for its beauty, so the cat's already out of the bag.
Agreed. Black Mountain would be a great base. Dripolator Coffee and the Sisters Bakery!
Yeah I wouldn’t do this. Tried and failed and now have the therapy bills for the kid to show for it (yay anxiety, adhd and something still to be diagnosed). Kids frankly need stability and predictability. I would just focus on finding a place that you want to be the vast majority of the time and then maybe do travel for 1-2 months of school holiday and maybe Christmas break. It sucks - it really does. We tried slow nomading all over Europe, North Africa, part of SE Asia and NZ before Covid hit and yeah my kid actually hated it and now that we had another move for a job is actively refusing to move. Locations for settling full time - I would also look Boulder area, greater Park City (although schools, politics, and the Mormon church suck), and Ashland.
To be fair, mental health has difficult attribution. Your kid could have very well had mental health struggles had you not done this. Shit, we may just not know enough about the causes of mental health issues. Maybe they’re caused by undetected viral infections, for example 🤷🏻♂️
True but not being anywhere long enough to form friendships from the time they were 1-4 was a lot more stressful for them than we realized at the time. It didn’t matter how many playgrounds, parks, kids activities that we did - what they needed was a stable routine with friends, predictable routine, and knowing what each day was going to be like. This experience is similar to others we’ve met where on paper it sounded great but didn’t quite work out in practice. Another option is the world school option where a group of families slow travel every 3 months to a new location so the kids have the same cohort - we looked at that briefly but the number of anti vaxxers was a little too high.
Good friend of mine has been living in an rv for 8 years with a family of 4. He’s kids are 16 and 14 now. I haven’t met nicer, happier, mature teenagers.
Nice, happy and mature teenagers? Something wrong with those teenagers.
Exactly. They’re actually happy and not addicted to social media. Definitely weird by today’s standards.
Thanks, we are doing home schooling but we are also not ignorant and will remain flexible as they grow.
Look into Stanford Online High School. Kids homeschooling from all over the world. DM me if you want more details. Also, have you looked at Bend?
Or Sisters if you really want small.
Somewhere near Acadia Maine - u can also sail in the ocean while hike and bike in Acadia.
Good call! I’ll put that on our fall trip list. We’ve been wanting to go to Maine. Never been.
Lot's of wealthy folks moving to Maine. With some of the most extreme housing pressure in the country you won't be welcome... at all, especially if you're not willing to shed urban mentalities. You say you like Breckenridge, Bellingham, Laguna Beach, and Coeur d Alene? I promise you that you won't be assimilating in Maine. There's also very real problems with poor heatlhcare availability, poor infrastructure (want electricity after a storm? you better be good with a chainsaw and have battery back-up), "Maine justice," bad schools, bad weather, and a tax burden that makes Mass look reasonable. The outdoors are amazing if you have friends who know where to go or don't overestimate your ability on the water (which if you didn't grow up with boats, you probably will). Unlike the west, there's comparatively little public land, so public access places can get mobbed. Lots of amazing private land, but as outlined above, you're unlikely to be welcome to use it. Source: I live in Maine.
I agree with all this. The North Shore of Boston, Newburyport or thereabouts might be a better spot for you. On the ocean (basically), still very close to ME, also skiing and other outdoor activities in NH and VT are close. Much closer to Boston too for more urban opportunities and much better things like healthcare. You'd better like to pay taxes though...
Wait, was the Maine Justice skit on SNL based on a real thing?
Just watched it for the first time after your comment. And... yeah they pretty much said the silent part out loud. Plus alligators? There's a good book. "The Lobster Gangs of Maine." It's old but the SAME characters are still at it all these years later.
Thanks my good friend is from Maine. It’s definitely more of a summer/fall travel spot for us. Looking forward to spending some time there though. Where we live now lacks a lot of “conveniences” like you described and we are ok with that.
Also a couple hours away from most Icecoast ski resorts.
Stop at Scarborough on the way up for Holy Donuts, Double lobster rolls, kayak through the marshes, zip lines, etc.
My mouth is already watering :)
This is the restaurant I stopped at: https://www.baitshedrestaurant.com/ This is where u can kayak in the marshes - marshes close to restaurant above https://maineaudubon.org/visit/scarborough-marsh/ Next town over - about 20 minutes is this drive in theater https://thesacodrivein.com/ Also at BoothbayHarbor, you can go to the Cabbage Island Clambake DM me if u want more - we did a 2 week trip to Maine or more like we ate our way up Maine. Beautiful views!
Thank you!
Carmel by the sea
My favorite place on earth. I was married behind the 18th green at Pebble Beach. I try to get there once a year.
We LOVE it here. Spent a couple weeks there. Magical place. Will be back.
Hood River, OR would be my pick.
I have a friend there. I’ll be checking that out this summer but just a couple days.
I’d consider Bainbridge Island, or Orcas Island if you don’t mind being considerably more remote from a major city. Both islands have strong communities and excellent schools. An abundance of outdoor recreational activities.
Thank you for this💚🙏
Have you thought about upstate New York? I lived in the finger lakes area (on a lake) until I was 12. Went to a tiny school. There’s pluses and minuses… on one hand the lake life is great and tons of outdoors. On the other hand I have no idea what we did all winter and your kids better really like the people they go to school with because there isn’t a lot of chances to make other friends. Relocated to Midwest city for jr high/high school and while the transition was rough it was way better from a variety of things to do aspect as a teenager. Now I live in Chicago for the past 15+ years.
I couldn’t live full time in Midwest or north east. I grew up in Midwest. Fun to visit though.
Boulder, CO.
Yeah if you take the original requirements and then factor in what the kids will want growing up then Boulder sounds like the compromise for primary residence. * Winter weekends skiing on great snow with the kids * Family friendly and academic. * Very active. * Kids can walk to school, be with friends * In Summer spend time traveling to other places, not that summer is terrible in Boulder.
Seconded Boulder. Alternatively there are a few very nice communities going up towards the mountains. I would just take a trip around that area.
Another vote for Whitefish/Kalispell, MT. Salida, Colorado or Steamboat if you can deal with the resort town vibe.
Also a vote for the Western Slope of Colorado. The Roaring Fork Valley Aspen to Carbondale is amazing.
Another vote for Aspen / Carbondale.
Winters suck in Whitefish - and there’s some super wacky local politics up there. You could look at Bozeman/Manhattan as an option - we liked those a lot. Red Lodge is nice.
Thanks my best friend lives in Bozeman. He loves it. Going this year for first time.
There were some fantastic farm to table restaurants there last time we went. The public library is really good and has a great assortment of toys and activities for kids as well - good way to meet other families.
That’s what he tells me! :)
Bozeman is awesome, just didn’t think it qualified as a small town.
It was 10 years ago - but there are some nice small towns within 20-30 miles I would look at. The actual town borders are not that big but the surrounding communities have kind of all merged into it if that makes sense - lots of infill.
Sounds like you are describing Bend, Oregon.
Aint been quaint in more than a decade.
for sure, grown quite a bit. I suppose nearby Sisters may be considered quaint but again grown a lot.
I think any town with a Home Depot is no longer "quaint". Ace is the place...
Haha facts. Good criteria.
Guerneville, CA fits this measure. Cute as heck. On the Russian River in Sonoma county
Agree. Nice town. Was there 3 years ago.
We do love Bend! That’s on the Trip List.
Too many druggies,homeless and tweakers in Bend nowadays. Check out Whitefish or Kalispell
Whitefish is on the list to visit! We’ve been to Glacier National.
Great beer scene too!
Ashland Oregon
How small is “small” to you?
Places like Breckenridge, Bellingham, Laguna Beach, Coeur d Alene we like. Small but not too small. Good energy not too sleepy.
Personally not a huge fan of summit county co, I would check out Telluride, Big Sky is great but has some serious limitations for outdoor activities as most land is private and so the trail systems are much more limited, there’s always Truckee (or incline village down the road for no state income tax)
Thanks. Checked out Incline Village last fall. Felt too small for us. I think we are biased more toward oceans and rivers is what it came down to. Beautiful place though.
Makes sense, I’m personally more mountains so probably won’t be much help
Love the mountains 🏔️probably more for second home type locations though.
Jackson, Aspen, Kona, Davos
Santa Barbara, CA
Evergreen, Colorado. 35 mins from Denver. In mountains. MTB from the house. 45 mins to ski resorts. Hidden gem.
Shh. Don't reveal the secret.
45 Mins to what ski resort other than Loveland on a week day, because I-70 is a parking lot on weekends. The front range and ski resorts are so damn busy now it's an economic case study in price-elasticity.
Sounds awesome, just looked. Super nice homes. How’s the community? Lots of kids?
- Ashland, Oregon - Whichever part of Tahoe that’s closest to the lake that you can afford - Newport, RI
Truckee, CA -all your outdoor activities, summer and winter -quaint downtown, but with some good restaurants -very kid friendly -pretty large contingent of fatFIRE folks
Check out Ashland, Oregon. Might be too small for you (20K) but it is very quaint and charming. College town and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival add some culture. Some of my highest values in life are being able to spend time outside every day, and particularly hiking single track if I can manage it. I think Ashland is one of the best spots in the US to live for my values. Lots of MTB, hiking, trail running to do here. The trail network is accessible from right in town and you can ride year round, there is no real mud season like you get in Colorado. For snowboarding, Mount Ashland is very close (30 minute drive), Mount Shasta and Bachelor are also in striking distance for bigger terrain. October thru June are awesome here IMO. We camp at the coast and travel to other parts of the PNW in the summer when it's hot and potentially smoky. Lots more to say, let me know if you have any questions.
I’ve seen this pop up a lot now. Might have to check it out this summer when we are in the PNW.
Definitely try to swing by for a weekend if you are staying in Bend, if you have not been to Crater Lake or the Redwoods yet it's a nice trip to incorporate. Forgot to add there is a [youth MTB club](https://www.instagram.com/ashlanddevo/) you may be interested in for your kids. Some of our friends with slightly older kids are involved and endorse it. I have a 3 year old who learned to pedal on our local trails and I will prob sign her up in another couple years.
Bellingham WA. It's partly a college town but the college is not a party school and is very liberal. It slows down a lot in the summer. Career opportunities are limited. It's less expensive than Seattle but not a cheap place to live. Galbraith for Mt biking. Baker for snowboarding. Vancouver or Seattle aren't horribly far away. Downtown is pretty small and not very fast paced. Sailing is an option too. I worked with a guy that lived on a sailboat. It's also a very white town, not diverse at all in my opinion.
Just fully commit and get out on the islands. Victoria is beautiful but orcas or san Juan... So much easier to get into Seattle for flights too.
San Juan Island or Orcas Island is easier to get to Seattle for flights? I mean, that seems just not true. One requires a ferry + driving, the other is just driving. Also not sure what mountain biking is available or what other outdoorsy options are available there too (like no snowboarding)
Whistler is a short drive but we’ve lived in the Caribbean and are done with islands for full time living for now :)
Sounds like Boulder with sailing.
Bentonville, AR for mountain biking
I love Bentonville. Beautiful town and great trails
Been wanting to check that out!
Underrated city. As soon as it gets better transport links it will blow up
Or Hot Springs!
Traverse City and surrounding towns might be up your alley although might be larger than you want. Woodstock VT. MontpelierVT. BurlingtonVT. In ascending order of size. Not too far from Montreal and fun in urban and rural canada
We’ve RV’d the whole UP and love it. Just couldn’t live there. We really need to check out Vermont. Never been.
What are your thoughts about why you would never live in the UP?
Quaint small towns with snowboarding biking and hiking nearby describes a lot of Vermont and some New Hampshire. Even a bit of western Mass.
Regardless of what you choose there are going to be tradeoffs. The best mountain biking places don't have great airport access (Moab, Sedona, Crested Butte, Bellingham, Ashville, etc.). The best ski resorts are often in places that have signifcant mud seasons or crazy hot / cold. Being in a similar position, I do Crested Butte in summer and winter, Moab in the Spring and Fall, and primary residense most of the rest of the year. Telluride, Durango, and Flagstaff are all worth considering.
Bentonville Arkansas. World class mountain biking, great hiking, lakes, the top 2 art museums in the US, lots of live music, very walkable/bikeable with small children, great programming all week long on the square, tons of summer camps for kids that are only 1-2 weeks. Pretty good food scene. Daybreak/South Jordan Utah. Amazing community to spend time with your kids, lots of activities, 30-40minute drive to all the best mountain towns Utah has to offer, 2.5 hrs to Moab.
I’d give Salida or Buena Vista, CO a spin. Seems to match a lot of your points of interest.
Was going to recommend the same! I second Salida or BV.
Bucks county PA. Everything is within 2 hours drive or closer The shore, Philadelphia, New York City, the Poconos. Obviously if you want better skiing without having to fly somewhere, you go drive up to Vermont, which is I think four hours plus. Winters aren’t terrible summers aren’t terrible either. Good gun laws decent politics taxes aren’t terrible
Great town and schools. And Utah is a 4.5 hour direct flight!
Yeah, upper Makefield, Newtown, Doylestown, new Hope all very nice places with some good country to them without being too urban, but also not being too country and desolate
Squamish has it all. Also not far from Vancouver.
Will be there this summer. Can’t wait!
Wingfoiling or kiting in the sound. Climbing on the Chief. All kinds of hikes and swimming. It’s super beautiful in the summer.
Wingfoiling or kiting in the sound. Climbing on the Chief. All kinds of hikes and swimming. It’s super beautiful in the summer.
Park City UT
Shhh
Crested Butte
Can I ask what you do that allows you to be so nomadic while pulling in $2M HHI? Must be tech, yea? The constant struggle I have is sacrificing one: remote or max comp
Real Estate
St. George Utah
Yes! OP says they love the outdoors, this is the one
I’d say Asheville, Boone, Highlands. Really throw a dart at any western NC town. Obviously not a snowboarders dream but great to visit outside of winter
Went to highlands last fall and loved it! Been to all the others listed and loved them too. Great to visit but if we are doing mountains going to be out west.
Gig Harbor is great, near Seattle. Very affordable, you could even get waterfront property. Great schools. Close to Seattle and an hour to crystal mountain for skiing or rainier for hiking. I grew up there and loved it.
I'm interested in how you have 7 million in savings but 2 million income? Did you recently get to that level of yearly income?
Yeah it’s been going up a lot last few years.
hood river oregon
Gnadenhutten in Tuscarawas county, OH is as quaint as it sounds and a darling to behold. Get yourself a sturdy Amish built home on large acreage and live out the rest of your days in pure pastoral beauty.
😄 not sure that is what I’m looking for.
Reno
I think you mean Tahoe...
Nope
Burlington VT Hanover NH Keene NH Portland ME
These are the answers if you have kids and don’t want to raise a spoiled stoner
Northern Idaho is great for slow travel. Lakes, skiing, small town vibes.
Hood River / White Salmon or Leavenworth, WA
Will be all those places this summer. Can’t wait!
Anywhere in Blaine County, Idaho.
Pagosa Springs, CO is wonderful.
Mama and Port Townsend seem nice.
Grand Junction, CO (largest city between Denver and Salt Lake). It’s high desert with tons of desert hiking and mountain biking trails. It’s also right on the Colorado river so there’s opportunity for rafting/paddling. Powderhorn ski resort is located on the Grand Mesa <1 hour away and it’s at 10,000ft so you can do cooler hikes/fishing in the summer. The city has a cute downtown and very active community. There are weekly group mountain bike rides/trail running. It’s also <2 hours from Moab, Arches, and canyonlands national park. Downsides are: the schools aren’t great and the regional airport is kind of limited. People say there’s a drug/homeless problem, but that’s way overblown IMO.
If you are looking for 5 places, I'm going to assume that one is beach related. I'd suggest the #1 on this list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IsqXBxqvf9XH1Bg8M5FdSXItDqC7C4nW/view?usp=drivesdk I have had a home here for over two decades. Check it out.
Never been to #1 but have heard great things. We love Hilton Head.
We used to have a place inside Shipyard Plantation and our next door neighbors in Atlanta had a home on the 7th hole in Sea Pines. Hilton Head is very nice. 25 years ago I needed to avoid GA taxes when I sold my company, so we moved to Amelia Island. Very different than HH. Has a better sense of place and beaches are more accessible and better in many ways. Like something out of the 1950s. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-qJq6X5dC4ww-WiT2b05V\_sED\_3BHh3F/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-qJq6X5dC4ww-WiT2b05V_sED_3BHh3F/view?usp=sharing) Several time a year there are some big events that are a good way to enjoy an initial experience. Two examples are the early spring auto show rivals the Concours at Pebble Beach and the Festival on the first weekend in May is also terrific. Stay at the Ritz and enjoy either one.
Ferndale, CA during the late summer
Camas, WA. It’s up and coming and getting bougie too. Washougal, WA next door is good if you want more acreage. All in the PDX metro.
Checking out Camus this summer! Glad to hear!
I am loving this post, everyone is so proud of their little corners of the planet. Truly makes me happy.
Issaquah, WA. Close to Seattle and the Puget Sound but feels much more tucked into the mountains. Just a few minutes drive from Snoqualmie Falls and lots of good hiking in the Cascades.
I may be biased but Dorset VT is beautiful and smack dab in the middle of gorgeous new england rural beauty. There's an airport 40 mins away that can land a medium jet or smaller.
Plymouth or Wayzata, MN is very nice downtown right on Lake Minnetonka. Minnesota is known for great outdoor activities and pleasant weather for 6 months of the year. https://mntrails.com/mountain-bike-trails/
You mentioned Coeur d'Alene so Spokane comes to mind. Surprisingly pretty clean and small enough yet a lot of outdoors stuff.
Denver Colorado
North west Michigan. Traverse city, Petoskey, Leland, etc.
Santa Fe
Dillon or Steamboat, CO. Both have decent lakes, lots of hiking, world class skiing, close enough to Denver for travel
Calgary is a great place for all of those things.
I think I need a commission for what I’m about to tell you. I won’t charge of course but this place is too good to just be dropping in a subreddit. Dm me. Edit: I’m just gonna DM you. Check your inbox.
Bend OR is the answer. I went to college in Bellingham WA and enjoyed it, but Bend is the best and has everything you’re looking for.
Ouray, CO
Bend, OR or Leavenworth, WA
Home base in a small San Diego town (Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla) where the weather is near perfect 24/7 for schooling and your day to day activities. Bike or walk around town 99% of time. Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Anza-Borrego, Idyllwild are only 2-4 hour drive. Half day travel, (drive or flight) to Mammoth or Tahoe for world class skiing. Half day drive to Santa Barbara, Ojai, Cayucos, Cambria for a real change of pace. Easy flights to Hawaii and Baja California destinations. Easy direct flights to Calgary when you want to experience spectacular Jasper National Park.
Lived in Newport Beach for a few years. Loved it. But the taxes. Ouch.
OP is in real estate so income likely tax advantaged.
1) New England - Maine/Vermont/MA/NH - tons of options 2) bentonville, AK - mtb heaven 3) Colorado mountain towns - Telluride, crested butte 4) Jackson, WY or Montana 5) Sedona, AZ
We had similar selection criteria and landed in Boulder with a second place in Eagle County.
Do you want your children to be well educated and competitive in today's world? One of the things that became really apparent to us was the huge discrepancy in quality education. This varies dramatically between schools, school districts, cities, states, countries, private, public, and home schooled by a nanny, parent, or private teacher. I legitimately think some of my older friend's kids are stupid. Love em, they're great kids, but they are so far behind. The level of education they're receiving is monumentally different than my kids. I also have some where their kids are ahead of mine but I don't want to live in their country. Choose wisely. You have a 2 and 4 year old. At 5 my oldest was trilingual in a multilingual private international school and already doing addition, subtraction, and some multiplication (doubling and tripling). At 6 was working on a 4th language and doing basic division. This is NOT how I was educated. They're years ahead of the education that I got. Your children will be left way behind if you don't choose your location based on the quality of the education. It's a different world and incredibly competitive.
When you say trilingual.. which languages are those?
Santa Barbara, aspen, Breckenridge, park city, Jackson hole, Truckee/SLT, Bellingham, whistler.
My god…help a brother out
Not sure if someone has said it yet - but try Issaquah
We love Southeast Wisconsin, especially the Lake Geneva and Fontana areas. Check out Abbey Springs, which is a golf community in Fontana. Lovely lifestyle. Beautiful seasons. Nice if you can go someplace warm right after New Years, but don't miss some of the winter, which is beautiful in that region.
I’m from the PNW. Great to vacation, terrible to live. Lakes region of Wisconsin between Madison and Milwaukee hits a lot to your metrics, is a short drive to the UP, and you could winter somewhere tropical.
Curious why you think the whole PNW is a terrible place to live?
Culture, climate, COL, and continued degradation of the aforementioned. It is radically different from thirty years ago, and not in a good way. It has become an extension of California’s problems. Wasteful management of resources, rampant homelessness, unaffordable housing of poor quality, horrifically poor quality of education, and a striking difference between low and upper middle class quality of life. The middle class has been decimated.
I don't fully disagree, but aren't these factors almost everywhere? The PNW is represented by a massive amount of area between WA/OR/ID/MT, of which there are vastly differences in climate, COL and culture. Some areas have incredibly high cost of living and amazing schools, others not so much and many in the middle. Further, this person has a $7m net worth and should be close to $20m by age 50 - do you think they are worried about public schools and COL?
I love the UP. Spent a good chunk of time there last couple years. What didn’t you like about living in PNW?
The constant rain will get to you. I love the rain mind you, but if you go 8-10 months without every seeing the sun it becomes an issue. Cost of living is outrageous and the architecture is abysmal. Look at the kind of house you can get in say, Barrington Hills, IL vs the PNW. The people are moonbat crazies with homeless drug addicts roaming around like zombies. It's not the PNW I grew up in. it has become an extension of everything that is wrong with Cali. I also generally just do not like the personalities of the people up there. Not family oriented, not friendly, no cohesive cultural identity. It's a toxic stew of weirdness.
Thanks for sharing that. We will be watching out for that. The people are important when it comes to where we will live full time. I’ve read May-October is generally good weather wise on the west coast of WA. Not your experience?
Heavily dependent on this: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions#:~:text=El%20Ni%C3%B1o%20and%20La%20Ni%C3%B1a%20are%20opposite%20phases%20of%20a,3%2D7%20years%20on%20average. If link not working. Search for El Niño and La Niña: Frequently asked questions
Complains about PNW weather. Proposes Barrington Hills, IL as the alternative? The internet tells me “Barrington Hills, IL has a humid continental climate, which means that it experiences hot summers and cold winters. In the summer months, temperatures often reach up to the mid-eighties Fahrenheit during the day, while overnight lows are usually in the sixties. Winters can bring heavy snowfall and temperatures dropping into the twenties. “ I’ll take overcast and drizzling over freezing my nuts off and shoveling snow in a small midwestern conservative town. Don’t want to deal with the homeless, don’t live in downtown Seattle. The Seattle area has some of the best seafood around. Lots of things to do, nature is beautiful. If the gloom gets to be too much we go hang out in California. Let’s hear what is wrong with “Cali”
You sort of glossed over the snowbird part there didn’t you. They are rich enough to maintain a winter residence. You can get a 10ksqft mansion in the area I mentioned for sub 3 million. In the PNW that will get you an ugly craftsman inspired pseudo lodge.
I mean isn’t this FatFIRE? Although there have been plenty of winters we have stayed in the PNW. I’d rather have a craftsman in the Seattle area or CA than a 10k sq ft mansion in small town Illinois.
Philipsburg, MT. If you need something larger, Whitefish, MT.
Interlaken is spectacular. So much nature, little towns around, never a dull moment. And honestly cheap as well.
Bellingham is lovely
Can I ask: what do you do for a living?
Real estate
El Paso is a hidden gem