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Thread: Looking to settle down...

  1. #1

    Looking to settle down...

    Well,we have been traveling the USA in a RV for over two years now and are looking to settle down. We are looking for smaller towns that have a music scene with venues a la the Birchmere in the DC area, Rams Head in Annapolis, Keswick in PA, etc.
    Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone.

  2. #2
    Member R_burke's Avatar
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    Pricy, but a good music scene is Ventura, CA

  3. #3
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    My guess is that you have to do a little "Big Data" analysis.
    It seems like there are spots where bands play that you might not expect.
    Use Bands In Town or Songkick or pollstar to look for 'hot spots' and then try and match up some other characteristics that make a place somewhere you want to settle.
    Money attracts culture, so do college towns.
    I am in the DC area and love the diverse music scene. But it's expensive.
    It never ceases to amaze me how far people will travel to see shows around here.
    It may be that a couple of hour drive from a music hot spot may be the middle ground, if housing/living price is a consideration.
    Trying to find that spot with good housing, decent medical access, infrastructure, and affordability.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
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    Member Mythos's Avatar
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    If you have the money, you can't beat California,

    If not, there are plenty of cheaper places, where you will have to deal with the weather...

  5. #5
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    The smaller the town, the less likelihood of it supporting the sort of thing you are looking for....
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

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    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

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  6. #6
    Visit the forums at city-data.com. They have forums for every state and subforums for major cities and areas in every state. You can go on there and ask questions of people who live in the places you're interested in, or find threads that have already asked questions. A great resource for people looking to relocate.
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  7. #7
    Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton) might be a good choice. You're 60 miles from Philly, 75 miles from NYC an few hours form DC, and there's a nice music and arts community. They have an annual MusicFest and a decent amount of clubs.
    "The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"

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    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    You might want to take a look at Western Massachusetts, particularly the Amherst/Northampton area. The five colleges bring a lot of music and culture of all types, and there are several good performing arts venues in Northampton (Calvin Theater, Iron Horse Cafe). Cost of living can be reduced by living in outlying towns like Greenfield, Leverett, Sunderland, etc. A really nice area I know well from having grown up there and I still visit frequently. Happy hunting!

    Bill

  9. #9
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    Where I live in Southwest Michigan, between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids we have an amazing number of live venues within 45 minutes of my house, without the hassles of a big city. Of course you would have to put up with our shitty Michigan lake effect snow filled winters which is not fun......

  10. #10
    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    If I could stand the winters, my choice would be Ithaca, NY. My daughter went to college there. You have a vibrate college town with two major schools, Ithaca College and Cornell U., venues for most bands of any sized drawing power, a killer record store (Angry Mom), and many good restaurants. The area is absolutely beautiful with gorges, wineries, farms, and at least one good brewery. The downsize, however, is there isn't much action in any direction for an hour.
    Lou

    Looking forward to my day in court.

  11. #11
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    Round Rock around Austin, I believe is still pretty affordable, and there's always someone playing around there or something going on dealing with the arts and plenty of cheaper things to do. They've dealt with floods lately but I think that's somewhat unusual.

  12. #12
    Thanks to everyone who has replied to this post. We lived in Southern Maryland for 35 years and are actually back again for the winter, renting a place on the Potomac.
    We have thought about seriously about Michigan. How is the summer there? We would more than likely leave during winter and head to Tucson.
    The Lehigh valley also has promise but my wife has had it with humidity.

  13. #13
    Member Camelogue's Avatar
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    How about someplace in Europe?

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    The college towns along the front range of the Rockies would offer a lot of music opportunities but you are going to see a lot of snow.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Camelogue View Post
    How about someplace in Europe?
    We have kicked around the idea of Portugal.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    The college towns along the front range of the Rockies would offer a lot of music opportunities but you are going to see a lot of snow.
    Ft. Collins is also a possibility.
    Thanks all.

  17. #17
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by reztab View Post
    Ft. Collins is also a possibility.
    There's some mighty good breweries in that part of the world as well.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by reztab View Post
    We have kicked around the idea of Portugal.
    Porto is lovely. Winters usually no cooler than 10C and summers no warmer than 25 (it's on the Atlantic side, on one side of a set of mountains that, in the summer, if you cross them (easy by car) the temp can go up as much as 10C. People are lovely, lots of great music (and a particularly great multi-room music venue called Casa da Música), great food..

    ...When Rio & I were considering moving to Europe, it was high on my list. If you are not worried about mild winters, then Germany is more central, and while expensive, Heidelberg is lovely (Berlin is very happening, and cheaper) and has plenty of great music year-round (and if not there, in nearby - 25Km or so - Ludwigshafen or Mannheim).
    John Kelman
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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by reztab View Post
    Thanks to everyone who has replied to this post. We lived in Southern Maryland for 35 years and are actually back again for the winter, renting a place on the Potomac.
    We have thought about seriously about Michigan. How is the summer there? y.
    One thing to keep in mind with Michigan is that it is a huge state. Even though it is only ranked #22 by square mileage, that territory is spread out over the lower and upper peninsulas which can only be accessed via the Mackinac Bridge. The state is also mostly surrounded by water, so the weather can be very different depending on where you are at. The further north you go, the colder the winters and cooler the summers. The closer to the west side of the state you are, the more lake effect snow you will get in the winter. Typically the further north you go, the more rural it becomes, although there are some very nice towns in the North Country. Where we live, in Southwestern Lower Peninsula, the summers are usually pretty decent. We usually have a few really hot days, but low to mid 80’s is the norm. The further north you go, generally the cooler the summers. Fall is usually nice too. From a weather perspective September is the nicest month of the year IMO. Spring…..typically is not so great as winter tends to hang in and then boom all of a sudden it is summer. We live close enough to Lake Michigan that we get a lot of lake effect snow. The west side of the state will typically get double the amount of snow that the east side gets.

  20. #20
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    Ames, Iowa.
    The Prog Corner

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    Member Camelogue's Avatar
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    Portwenn England

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    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Santa Fe New Mexico is pretty much an artists' town. If you're willing to live in a musical black hole, but want bragging winter weather, move here to the Phoenix area. Did I mention the cost of living here is quite reasonable? Especially compared to our neighbors to the west.

    Quote Originally Posted by Camelogue View Post
    Portwenn England
    It'd be kind of a long drive in an RV from the US to England.
    Last edited by progmatist; 11-01-2018 at 05:25 PM.
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    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Gotta come here, to Northampton MA.

    https://www.movoto.com/guide/ma/the-...-for-the-arts/

  24. #24
    Iowa City and Ames, IA would both be good choices. But though it is larger, it has a small-town feel- go to Austin, TX. Huge music scene, lots of music there every week.
    I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.

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