Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey everyone, its been a while since I last posted. This has been a crazy ride and I have officially gone "pro" a few years ago. Moved shop 3 times and I feel like its time to move one last time. But this time its a different type of move. We're packing up and leaving California. Many reasons why but the timing is right. I need to find a place in a quiet state where I can build a shop and a nice spray booth and set up my final shop. Question is...where??
There's at least 10-15 states that I'd consider but I have not the slightest idea where to start. Of course one of the things I'd like to take in consideration is weather... luthier's weather!
California has a great weather and a price tag to match, humidity is very moderate running 45-55 most of the year and even when it rains it doesn't get that high. The "Santa Ana" winds bring the dry weather that can drop humidity to a drastic 10-15% but its only for a few days at the time. My humidifier keeps up with it real well. I actually believe its easier to humidify rather than dehumidify.

So, for you builders all over these wonderful states what would you recommend? Is there a particular area/state and why?

My wife doesn't want extreme cold. Hawaii is too expensive or I'd be there in a heart beat...

This is not really a guitar building question but I guess its guitar building related! ...

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Figure out what you and your wife like to do that is not work related and find a place that suits those pursuits. You can always moderate the "climate" in the work environment to suit the work, but you should live in a place you like (and let your wife decide where that might be).

Washington state or Oregon--on the border with each other. One has no income tax and one has no sales tax.

what does a luthier like to do that's not work related? Look at pretty trees?

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I will look into those... thanks

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I guess a lot depends on what you think of as 'extreme cold'. I've been in New England all my life, but that's probably too much, at least inland. The Boston area can be OK, although, like all of NE the weather can turn on a dime. I actually prefer where I am now; inland in New Hampshire, since I'm not a big fan of slush and mud.

Some of the higher altitude areas further south might suit, such as Ashville. The altitude mitigates the heat and humidity.

The key to dealing with humidity (and heat/cold, for that matter) is to control infiltration. I learned that one in my last shop, and tightened up this one as much as possible. If I'm not running my wood stove which needs a lot of make-up air, I can control the shop humidity nicely all year 'round. Even in the dead of winter when the one heat pump won't keep up I can run humidifiers and a kettle on the stove with a Peltier effect fan and keep it pretty good.

With climate extremes, I would avoid areas that can burn, flood, or run out of potable water.

You have a lot to choose from and a lot to think about. Is your wife going to find a job? If not then you could find some grand places out in the country. I like it here in the mountains of Virginia. Small town living but a college town too so it's a bit cosmopolitan at the same time. But out in the hollers you could find a beautiful old house, build a shop and no one would care less. We get maybe 10 days a year below 10deg and it snows every year at least 5 times with a big storm every 5 years or so but that's about it. Coastal Virginia is a swamp of heat and humidity. Asheville is a nice mountain town in NC too. Boone NC is nice. I lived in New Mexico for year and that was fantastic. Every day you wake up in New Mexico is sunny blue beautiful sky's. But that's my only experience. Well, I did grow up in Connecticut but it seems that everything is expensive in New England.

I've looked too.

Possibilities that have crossed my mind are
Sedona, Az
Gardneville, Nv.
I was considering Lenoir, Tenn, but due to the recent flooding i should do more research.
Ashvlle N.C.
Swan Valley, Id. thru Jackson Hole Wy.

One of my main drivers is taxes in California. Especially since I am retired.
My accumulated taxes are close to 40% of my income and I believe about to get much worse,

Good luck. Boy have I looked. Hard because I have lived close to the beach for 70 years.

DO NOT COME TO ILLINOIS !!!!!!! THIS STATE IS NUTS !!!!!!!

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If I had a financial nest egg and the ability to qualify for a retirement visa I'd move to the Costa Tropical in southern Spain. You'd get to put Granada on your labels, the weather is comparable to California, free tapas with each drink, friendly people, low cost of living, and a good excuse to practice your Spanish

Many Californians coming to Seattle area. However, we seem to be in a hand basket. Not sure where we're going. Many Seattle peeps moving to Florida and Texas.

Pat

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Pat

If you want stable humidity and to avoid cold winters... avoid Missouri!

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Contact Bob Benedetto (https://benedettoguitars.com/contact-us/) and ask him why he moved to Savannah, Ga.
Or contact Randy Woods at Randywoodmusic.com and ask him the same.

Good town, good weather and R/H, close to the ocean.

Well, I do have a European passport so that wouldn't be an issue. And I lived in Portugal for many years. Great living, safe, phenomenal weather and the money would go farther... but I have kids and a grandkid here. can't go that far. Plus a whole shop to move.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

great possibilities.... Thanks!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Years ago I was going to retire from one job and checked out Washington. I ended up starting a second job, though. In the process, we visited a new subdivision with homes being added on order, on the southern border with Oregon. The home sites had a view of Mt. St, Helens, a huge recreational lake, and endless forest around. The sales agent asked us how much we were willing to spend. When we told her, she said that they did not know how to build a house that cost that much.

Everyone will have a different view of this, but if it were me, I would move somewhere that is reasonably close to the family members that I want to see with some frequency. I would not choose where to live based on the outside RH. In most parts of the USA, you will need to control RH inside your shop. Just spend the money and do it well, whatever the circumstances. Then you get to live where your children and grandchildren can see you more than once or twice a year. YMMV.

If you mean Lenoir City in Tennessee, just consider that the topography in east TN is hilly, and any flooding is localized and very short- lived. Basically. If you don't live on a flood plain, the chances of floods being any more than a minor inconvenience are slim.
Asheville is higher in elevation on average than east TN, but the cost of living is higher.

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John

Ah, but Asheville has panache. And great places to eat, like Tupelo Honey Cafe. Worth the higher cost of living, in the views of many.

So why aren’t you all thinking of coming to Australia?
Apart from the fact that you would need to learn how to measure things in metric I think you would find that it ticks every box. And we have none of that virus that I have heard is a bit of a problem in your country.

A few years ago, I retired to the "High Country" of North Carolina and am still in the process of moving my shop up here. It's a couple of thousand feet higher than Asheville and much more rural. The county I live in has a total population of 17,000. I have bears, foxes and bobcats come visit our place pretty routinely. There's a nest of eagles in the woods below my house, and scads of wild turkeys. The Linville River is at the foot of the mountain I live on, and there's good trout fishing there. Hardly any light pollution. Nearest Interstate is about an hour away. Pretty idyllic from my perspective, and cost just a fraction of what I would have had to pay for the same house in Knoxville where I came from. I'm not anti-social, but I don't like places like Asheville where it gets pretty crowded.

Prices here have been going up, but are still just a fraction of prices in the Asheville area, and it's a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler here year round (which I like...). I live just inside the boundaries of Pisgah National Forest--the forest keeps the humidity fairly high in the summertime, but it's been fairly easy to control so far. I moved here from Tennessee which has no income tax but has super high sales taxes. Here in NC, I pay income tax (but not on Social Security) and lower sales tax. It's been pretty much a wash in terms of taxes.

We used to own a farm in Lenoir City--It was my Father in Law's place. Part of the acreage sat on a flood plain, and it did flood on occasion, but as John mentioned, it dried off quickly. It was just a pasture so no big deal. The house and barns never got wet since they were up hill. If you consider moving anywhere in this part of the country, just check the flood plain maps for the status of any property you are considering. I'm on top of a mountain but have been evacuated by the rescue squad for flooding when some of the hurricanes have come through, but it's because there is a bridge over the Linville River that I have to cross to get here. It's several hundred feet of elevation lower than my house. If it were to wash out, I'd be stuck here. But dry.

But there are quite a few good instrument makers in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina--must be something good about the place!

Dave

John,
Yes that is where I am talking about. Weather seems fairly comparable to California.
Real Estate much more affordable and Tennessee is becoming very tax friendly beginning next year.

A few years ago while in Knoxville, my wife hired a software developer who had lived in the LA area for many years. He took a 50% cut in pay to move to East Tennessee. He sold his two bedroom house in California, bought a hundred acre farm with a nice house on it in Strawberry Plains Tennessee, paid off all of his debts and put the rest of the windfall from the California house into investments.

When he was in town interviewing with my wife, we went to a Sunday brunch at a local restaurant. He picked up a copy of the local Sunday paper. Above the fold was an article about a mobile home burning but no one was hurt. He said that sold him on East Tennessee. Said that in LA, you had to get way into the paper to find something other than murders, rapes, other bad stuff. A place where the Sunday above the fold story was that a place burned but nobody was hurt appealed to him! He didn't regret the cut in pay...

Dave

sounds great! Just let me know how to get residency there...

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com