[ironman]

I'll have to research that area. I went to school in Charlottesville VA and like the Blue Ridge mountains. Right now I live 20 miles from DC in Northern VA on a nice private road with a wooded 1 acre lot. I read thru this thread real fast today and I can't recall much said about Montana. Did you consider any place in Montana?

[hattend]

I did kind of consider Montana for a short time. Living in interior Alaska right now and I don't really want to have harsh winters anymore. I know some people in the Helena area and they love it. Plus the land is still relatively cheap (at least that land that hasn't been sealed up by Ted Turner ;-)

If I wanted the long cold winters like I have now, I would consider that area. The mountainous region out in the western portion looks breathtaking in travel magazines I have looked at. However, I prefer the high desert for now (could always change)

[Cool Guy]

Montana, Nothern parts of Idaho are places you should consider. I would recommend North Eastern and North Western parts of California, but the Liberals in LA and SF set the agenda, as other posters have mentioned above.

[AppyPappy]

Places to avoid:

Florida - three seasons: Tourist, Hurricane and Mosquito
Anywhere between the Rockies and the Appalachians unless you like tornados and floods.
East of the Appalachians unless you like crime and humidity.
North of Pennsylvania unless you like snow and cold.
West of the Rockies unless you like high taxes and freeloaders.

Don't leave much really. Check out Asheville and Boone NC, Roanoke and Hot Springs/Harrisonburg/Staunton Va and most of West Virginia.