[SoDak]

If you need to get the most out of your money, go to Rapid City, SD. Winters are relatively mild due to the chinook effect (I have friends that golf there in February most years), and the cost of living is low. Taxes are the lowest in the country. You're just 10 minutes from the mountains. Crime is very low. Just a suggestion.

[daviddennis]

I'm not going to say the temperatures are exactly Southern Californian, but they are certainly a lot milder than the image - it looks like your weather is significantly milder than Boston, with highs rarely below freezing.

And there are even some surprisingly Californian contemporary style homes, although you'll have to pay surprisingly Californian prices for one :-(. I was surprised to see the most expensive listing break $1,500,000, which is just about average for Malibu. But that was a rare exception; most listings, of course, are way under a million. (Data kindly supplied by realtor.com)

But for those of you who are less extravagent, it looks like you could do pretty well for $100k, even $50k, which certainly is in no way Californian.

For those of you who don't absolutely loathe cold weather(*) as I do, it seems like a good deal, and maybe even some good chance for real estate appreciation.

D

(*) Temperatures under, say, 65degF. Tragically, even Southern California's rigourous winters often go lower. I should move to Miami.

[Ditter]

LOL So. Dakota is "mild" as compared to what? The So. Pole?

[jackbill]

If you need to get the most out of your money, go to Rapid City, SD. Winters are relatively mild due to the chinook effect (I have friends that golf there in February most years), and the cost of living is low. Taxes are the lowest in the country. You're just 10 minutes from the mountains. Crime is very low. Just a suggestion.

And you get represented by Little Tommy Daschle for free.