Small towns you'd settle down - Western US

[Blanch]

I went to look at a house for sale in a Nevada ghost town. The town still has about fifty people. I do ghost town and abandoned property photography as a hobby. I saw this house just listed for sale at $30k. It was currently occupied and everything worked. It had room for my trailer to be parked. Anyhow, I was excited, a house I could afford as a home base for my boondocking. Well who knew anyone besides me would want to buy a house in a ghost town, it was on the market four days when I went to view it, and it had sold the day before.

I'm going to keep looking, less than a hundred people, most of the homes abandoned, garbage strewn about on some lots, and I am interested. Hopefully within an hour or so of a real town with groceries and doctors and hospitals.


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[user 15722]

I'm plotting points on my map of places in the West I might consider settling down for a few years.

These are some places I'm thinking about:

• Arcata, CA - I studied at Humboldt State
• Ashland, OR
• Oakhurst, CA

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks always,
Mike (FindingHome)

Mike, California is a wonderful place.
That being said, they have priced me out.

The WX is Great, yet unless you are wealthy, I would advise you simply scratch it off the list.
Of course you can visit !
It will cost you.

Best
wheels

 

[user 15722]

The general rule is that pleasing places cost more because they're where people would prefer to live. And when people want to live there, jobs happen. The inexpensive places are inexpensive because their flaws keep people and jobs away.

Bingo !

wheels

 

[highdesertranger]

Blanch shhhh. you are letting out a big secret. there are several Nevada ghost towns that are ghost towns no longer. 30k seems way expensive to me, must have been a real nice place. the problem with most of these towns(well I don't see it as a problem) is they are totally off grid. I mean totally, no electricity, no gas, no land lines, and no cell service. also most are more then an hour from a city off any size again I don't see a problem, in fact some are several hours away. highdesertranger

 

[user 15722]

 a Barnes & Noble bookstore.  

What is a book ?

Is that one of those static collections of info by an opinionated person who collected his thoughts 5 years ago, then looked for someone to print it on tree pulp so it could be delivered by truck to large cities so wealthy people could set a copy on their bedstand or coffee table ?

Whew!
Wasn't that a bunch of $#@!  lol

The cutting edge is here on the web.  Honestly.
I got a literal Ton of books and I do like them a lot.
The internet is superior.  Well, until we get smacked with an EMP !  

Best, wheels

 

[Blanch]

Blanch shhhh. you are letting out a big secret. there are several Nevada ghost towns that are ghost towns no longer. 30k seems way expensive to me, must have been a real nice place. the problem with most of these towns(well I don't see it as a problem) is they are totally off grid. I mean totally, no electricity, no gas, no land lines, and no cell service. also most are more then an hour from a city off any size again I don't see a problem, in fact some are several hours away. highdesertranger

It seemed like a starting price point for a negotiation. I was wrong. This was in Mina Nevada with electricity and septic and water and Verizon signal and a hospital an hour away at Hawthorne. I thought it was perfect. But it wasn't meant to be.

I'd love to just find a piece of land to purchase in Darwin or even Keeler, but I couldn't find anything in either place.
We all have different ideas of paradise.




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[highdesertranger]

I love Mina but it's right on US-95. repaired a blown rear end there once. highdesertranger

 

[skyl4rk]

If I didn't already have a nice home, this would be my summer home next to the world's biggest air conditioner, Lake Superior. Real estate shown for price comparison: http://www.upmls.com/residential.php?view=1103766

 

[jacqueg]

I'm plotting points on my map of places in the West I might consider settling down for a few years. Many of you have traveled extensively in this region, maybe you've got some ideas.

States: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado. Maybe even Texas... or Canada! I know...not all the West, but you get my gist.

I'm thinking these are the basic qualifications for somewhere I'd consider home, for a bit:

• Not a city. Fewer the street signals the better.
• Nature is part of the town. If the parks and trees are being taken care of, they care.
• Small town feel but educated citizens. A college or two nearby would be great. Love them young people.
• Economically stable. I'd need to find work. I'm a teacher by trade and a salesman by night. ;-)
• Safe. Or at least guns holstered.
• The weather is OK...Rain means green. That's good.
• Not too dry. The desert is too much for me all year long.

These are some places I'm thinking about:

• Arcata, CA - I studied at Humboldt State
• Ashland, OR
• Oakhurst, CA

I haven't been to many places...thus the reason I'm posting this. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks always,
Mike (FindingHome)

If you like Arcata, you'll like Ashland. Another similar-feeling town is La Grande, OR. College town in a (spectacular) mountain setting. Inland, so a real winter. 

I'm a big fan of the Columbia Gorge, Hood River on the Oregon side or White Salmon and Trout Lake on the Washington side. 

Wenatchee WA, very beautiful inland fruit-growing area. There's a good-sized WSU research station.

Bellingham WA is another beautiful town, but because of its short daylight during the winter, not for everyone. However, there is some very good microbrew, so folks make do!

Hmmm, seems like a travel plan here...

 

[snarfersnarf]

I agree with you. .. my son was born in Bedford,  VA. ..at the time it was 2k..
We could walk to the hospital where he was born. ...

Nice town.

Probably bigger now.

A big brewery just opened in Bedford called Beal's. They also just got a tap room on the main little strip. It is still tiny and beautiful but it is about to grow more, I think. The population is over 6k now. Lynchburg, where I live, has grown a lot just in the last year.

 

[USExplorer]

Alpine Texas (4500 ft elevation, 6000 population) is a neat little college town close to where I live (112 miles away, but that's close in west TX). All two lane highways leading up to the town, four way stops in the town center, but it's got a university and quite a bit of tourist traffic. A few chain restaurants, but no Walmart. Sunny climate and mild temps year round, though it can get a little chilly and windy in the winter. Borderline desert; there is a large forested mountain range (Davis Mtns) north of town. Lots of public land (Big Bend National Park, Elephant Mtn WMA, Black Gap WMA, Big Bend Ranch SP) and remote places a few hours drive away, though they are all pay-to-play. This year was a good rain year, so everything is lush and green in the area, and temps were astonishingly low (for TX) from late July through August.