Where to relocate to a warm area with mountains?

March 14, 2009 2:01 AM

Finding a warm place with mountains to relocate to.

I've lived my whole life in Southwest Montana. My plan to is to move to a warmer area that still has the mountains that I grew up with.

I'm hoping to live in an area that rarely goes below 20 degrees during the day in the winter, has less snowfall than Montana, and if possible, also has mountains in view.

To be even more specific, a place that does not get extremely hot in the summer (ex: breaking 100 degrees frequently).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you've lived in the place you write about, or have friends who lived the area, that's extra helpful.

Thank you.

posted by mtphoto to travel & transportation (34 comments total)

In the world, or in America?
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:05 AM on March 14

In the United States.
posted by mtphoto at 2:07 AM on March 14

Okay, just clarifying.

This might not help you much but, much like you, the camellia sinensis (the plant from which one gets tea leaves, for making tea) tends to enjoy warm, mountainous areas. What are the big tea-growing areas in the US? That might be a start.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:13 AM on March 14

I meant to say tea-growing regions, also.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:14 AM on March 14

It would be helpful if we knew if you planned to work and if so, what industry; and if you have other requirements for living besides mountains and warmths.
posted by parmanparman at 2:58 AM on March 14

Vancouver would be ideal. If you prefer the US then Seattle is also a great option. Also certain parts of California.
posted by Hediot at 4:13 AM on March 14

Santa fe, New Mexico; Boulder, Colorado and Oakhurst, California all are pretty far to the south of you and have mountainous features near by.
posted by Rubbstone at 4:25 AM on March 14

I'm not sure if "the mountains I grew up with" would include the Appalachians or not (many folks from the Rockies would say they're not mountains), but somewhere like Asheville or Boone, NC seems pretty obvious to me.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:23 AM on March 14

Northern Laos if you don't mind the distance or the communism. Very warm, with nice craggly mountains.

For the U.S., I'd pick Flagstaff, AZ. It's fairly high up in elevation so it doesn't get Phoenix-hot.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:25 AM on March 14

There are "mountains" in northern Georgia, and that may be the most southern, warmest place you'll find. But visit first - as hydropsyche points out, they're reputed to be smaller than those you know.
posted by amtho at 5:41 AM on March 14

Tucson, AZ.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 AM on March 14

Funny....my late wife's sister and her 4th husband live in Hamilton and she's from Asheville (as am I). I should connect you?! Fits your criteria, but you'll get crowd shock from all the people rushing to live there. Sad, but if your criteria ALSO includes viewing mountaintops that haven't all been bulldozed for 'the view' (which is now other bulldozed mountaintops), your SOL.

Neat place to live. Good biodiversity, nice people, culturally rich, bad air, pleasant climate.
posted by FauxScot at 6:06 AM on March 14

The Sandia foothills of Albuquerque might suit you.
posted by markcmyers at 6:26 AM on March 14

Hawaii
posted by glider at 6:40 AM on March 14

I was also going to suggest Asheville, NC (if the mountains are big enough for ya). Not Boone--it gets much colder there in the winters.

If you're looking for someplace rural, then the mountains southwest of Asheville might be nice, around Bryson City, and the southern end of the Great Smokies. Not much in the way of jobs, but it's lovely.
posted by bluedaisy at 6:41 AM on March 14

Southern Oregon? It can get pretty warm in the summer but I don't think they get many days that are over ninety-whatever. And it's very very pretty.
posted by Neofelis at 7:28 AM on March 14

To be even more specific, a place that does not get extremely hot in the summer (ex: breaking 100 degrees frequently).

That rules Tucson out. Either Seattle or Portland fits your bill; Seattle's bigger, more hustle-and-bustle-y, while Portland's more laid back and has better brewpubs if that's important to you.
posted by pdb at 8:22 AM on March 14

Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver B.C. sound like they'd be perfect for you.

They get kind of overcast and rainy in the winter, but it's not usually below freezing in the day.
Summers are wonderful and warm, but it's very rare that they break 100 f.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:11 AM on March 14

Tennessee.
posted by hal_c_on at 9:14 AM on March 14

Asheville and the southwest mountains of NC rarely get that hot in the summer--though there's some humidity. Another bonus is that the heat rarely stays, and it does get cooler at night. It snows every winter but rarely lasts more than a day or so.
posted by bluedaisy at 9:20 AM on March 14

Depending on how rural you want to get, Bishop, Placerville (or some other old mining town) or Mammoth Lakes in California would probably do it. They all get snow, but probably less than Montana.
posted by LionIndex at 10:18 AM on March 14

Hawaii.
posted by watercarrier at 11:03 AM on March 14

This might not help you much but, much like you, the camellia sinensis (the plant from which one gets tea leaves, for making tea) tends to enjoy warm, mountainous areas. What are the big tea-growing areas in the US? That might be a start.

You're kidding, right? There is no commercial tea grown in the US, unless it's some crazy, super pricy, postage stamp operation. Though I have one in my backyard in Oakland, it's a plant that prefers tropical to sub-tropical mountainous regions, and can't live in xeric conditions. We don't really have that here. It's also not commercially viable in the US because it is too labor intensive for Americans to be willing to pick it for any price that would be reasonable.

OP, I agree with the poster suggesting Oregon. Ashland is pretty awesome, IMO.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:59 AM on March 14

I'm with Hedoit....Vancouver/Seattle!
posted by Weaslegirl at 12:10 PM on March 14

Actually Tea is grown in Hawaii A strain of the Camellia sinensis is cultivated among others.
posted by watercarrier at 12:49 PM on March 14

oneirodynia, There is in fact commercial tea grown in the US (that is not expensive). I know because I live not far from it. The Charleston Tea Plantation produces tea for Bigelow Teas.

To offer a suggestion on relocation I must also put a bid in for western north Carolina/eastern Tennessee. Asheville, NC in particular since it is a really nice, not too rural city.
posted by deebs at 1:26 PM on March 14

The California coast north of LA is gorgeous. Beautiful mountains, ocean to the west and so very marvelously temperate. The quality of life is also pretty high, but so is the cost of living. It's worth it.
posted by TheGoldenOne at 2:36 PM on March 14

Bigelow's plantation counts as "postage stamp"- it certainly doesn't qualify NC as a tea growing district, and it's definitely not mountainous (and the tea is consequently not very high quality, because it's still not ideal tea growing conditions).
posted by oneirodynia at 2:43 PM on March 14

If you want mountains, I would count out the NC/SC/TN/entire AT area. While the AT is beautiful and I love hiking it, mountains it is not.
posted by jmd82 at 3:30 PM on March 14

Nthing Hawaii. Specifically, the Big Island. Mmmm. Check and see if land is still cheap in the Puna Forest.
posted by nosila at 3:38 PM on March 14

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I probably should have added an important detail to my question: I don't like humidity. Yes, I'm being picky, but I've lived all my life without it, so I'd rather not move to a place with high humidity.
posted by mtphoto at 5:05 PM on March 14

There's a thread on SummitPost with almost the exact same topic as this one, if you'd like to cross-reference that with your answers here.
posted by LionIndex at 8:52 PM on March 14

I lived in Flagstaff for a few years in high school. From my perspective (grew up in south TX) it was a frozen wasteland.

http://www.cityrating.com/cityweather.asp?City=Flagstaff backs me up - 209 days a year below 32F.

Very dry though...
posted by Irontom at 7:58 AM on March 15

The Denver area meets this criteria to a tee...
posted by olddogeyes at 12:21 PM on March 15 [1 favorite]