[Hokerer]

I recommend Huntsville, AL

Went to Huntsville with a group back in college.  After some of our antics, the Huntsville city cops escorted us to the city line and demanded that we never return.  And the Bama state troopers threw in "for that matter, don't ever return to Alabama".

So I guess Huntsville would not be an option for me

Bwahaha! That's awesome! So how long ago was that? I have seen the inside of the old Hunstville City jail. Not for DUI, so don't jump to conculsions. 

Quite a while ago.  Like Spring of 1981.  Sad thing is, it was a bunch of us Electrical Engineering nerds for an IEEE conference.

[denny]

Whatever you do, don't move to Oregon.....

unless you like beautiful outdoors (both coast and mountains), great people, great beer, great food, and beautiful summers.

[a10t2]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have friends in Portland and Seattle, so I'll be heading up that way at some point. If nothing else, it's an area I've just never seen.

As far as Asheville and Huntsville, I've at least visited both and they seem like great places to live. I spent three summers in Oak Ridge, TN, though, and it's just too damn hot for me. Even the Midwest is too hot for me in the summer.

I think you work in biology?

My degree is actually in nuclear engineering. I'm also looking for brewery openings though. Either way, the odds are good I'd be moving for a job, so I'm trying not to let that influence my decision-making too much.

[majorvices]

Quite a while ago.  Like Spring of 1981.  Sad thing is, it was a bunch of us Electrical Engineering nerds for an IEEE conference.

I'm sure they have forgotten you by now. I was 11 in 1981 and living in Mechanicsburg, PA. I have been here since 1993 and it has changed a lot since then. I have been told it is a vastly different town from the early '80s. Not that there is a real incentive to VISIT Huntsville (except maybe the Space and Rocket Center) but it is a good central location close to a lot of great outdoorsy places.

a10t2 - in about 4 years I would like to be in the position to offer you a job!  You can have one now as long as you work for free. 

[nicneufeld]

Even the Midwest is too hot for me in the summer.

Hmmm...me too.  Too hot and too cold.

That said, I'll own my house here by the time I'm 42 or so.  Had we moved to California we, or rather our descendants, would have the mortgage paid off by the 3rd or 4th generation, in all likelihood.   

I would actually like to retire to Flagstaff.  Pretty area, that.  Or Yorkshire. 

[majorvices]

It gets way too damn hot in the south, too. Way too damn hot. My only real complaint besides red necks. But you find them everywhere.

[BrewArk]

Maui?

[glitterbug]

Having said that- if you can stand a little summer heat I recommend Austin. The winter's are mild and the bulk of the populace are educated, liberal and like to party. Lot's of hot chicks, live music, lakes, rivers and outdoor activities etc... Helluva place- wish I still lived there!

The problem with Austin is that it is surrounded by Texas 

[weithman5]

i used to be a nuke eng.  (ex submarine driver).  left the industry and moved on, but i may have a few connections left if you still like that field. (question sanity)

[euge]

I work around radiation as well.... Go figure. My mrem is still pretty low but I'm getting tired of the daily exposure. Might have to go back to !@#$% school just to advance out of all that scatter.

Yep Austin doesn't seem like it belongs in Texas however there's only a few places that give the entire state a bad rap. And we got that typical Southern heat  enough for me to consider moving every year.

[dhacker]

Whatever you do, don't move to Oregon.....

unless you like beautiful outdoors (both coast and mountains), great people, great beer, great food, and beautiful summers.

I spent a lot of time some years ago doing a job in Pass Gas . . um . . I mean Grant's Pass. The area was okay, but way too many foggy days for me.

[BrewingRover]

I've lived in the Phoenix area as a kid, most of shcool and college in Utah (plus too many more), 2 in Seattle, 5 in Long Beach CA and now 6 in Chicagoland. I can give you good and bad points about all of them, but I'd move back to Seattle in a heartbeat. Mountains and water all around you, fresh fish easily had, a pile of local breweries and the Pacific Coast is a couple of hours away. The summers in the PNW are glorious, as Denny said. The thing to worry about with the winters isn't the rain, but the lack of sun. It doesn't get cold like the Midwest but it's rare you get a day when the sun is out and certainly no clear blue skies in January like we see here (while it's -10)

[MrNate]

If you think you'll never miss East Coast winters, move to the West Coast.

[fatdogale]

Mountains and water all around you, fresh fish easily had, a pile of local breweries and the Pacific Coast is a couple of hours away. The summers in the PNW are glorious, as Denny said. The thing to worry about with the winters isn't the rain, but the lack of sun. It doesn't get cold like the Midwest but it's rare you get a day when the sun is out and certainly no clear blue skies in January like we see here (while it's -10)

+1. 
I've been in the burbs 20 minutes north of Seattle for 25+ years, and to me this is the best place in the world in the summer (late spring to early fall, really - May is typically glorious), but the endless days of wall to wall low clouds in the winter (Oct - March) take their toll on me
Lots of outdoor acitivities year 'round - 2 ski areas within 2 1/2 hours of Seattle, cycling year round (winters typically in the low 40's, but we do get cold snaps, and a little snow once or twice a year - you'll love Seattle's response to an inch of snow as a midwesterner)
Lots of local beer and fresh seafood!
Not much in the way of nuke plants around here, though the Navy has a nuke sub base over on Hood Canal...not exactly metropolitan Seattle, but maybe they're hiring civilian engineers?  Lots of hospitals in the area - your skills transferable to Nuclear Med?
It's a great place to live, as your friends here will probably attest, especially if the gloomy winters won't get you down.

[skyler]

I have lived in the following places:

In California: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Berkeley, Davis (near Sacramento), an Oakland suburb

New York City (Greenwich Village)

Bethlehem, PA

Portland, OR (currently)

London, UK (the old Borough of Clerkenwell)

Siena, Italy

Santander, Spain

Nice, France

I would not hesitate to tell you my favorite was London and my next favorite was NYC. Besides New York City, I'm not crazy about the east coast, really. I like California more than the PNW. Also, the job market in Portland is remarkably bad. Texas has a strong economy, at the moment. I like the bay area slightly more than southern California. I actually really like San Diego, but I've never lived there. And I think Oakland, CA is very underrated - a really great place to live in/around. However, Sacramento is near skiing and all that, but a fraction of the cost of living in the bay area. But I'm not crazy about Sacramento. Santa Barbara is great if you don't mind a slow place, but I like more excitement than that sleepy, beautiful town can offer. If you're a hippy, I recommend Santa Cruz - I have family there, and I enjoy it immensely.