Official Luthiers Forum!

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.

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

If you are retired, look into a place with a hospital, and then make sure it is not on the chopping block. We chose a rural spot with a lot of history on the Eastern Shore of MD and we have a hospital 4 minutes away, a lovely small college to help keep us young, and the river 3 blocks away for a bit of electric boating. Yes we have taxes, but . . .

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.

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