[Sca-cooks] OT, OOP: Where to live?

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I am purely speculating, i have no real plans to move, but...

...there are times when the expense of living in the San Francisco
Bay Area kinda gets to me. It's one of the most expensive places to
live in the US - San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay are all in
the top 10. Most people i know spend *at least* 1/2 of their income
on housing, even though conventional wisdom says it should 1/3 or
less).

But it is also considered one of the places in the US with the best
"quality of life", which is not dependent on money - i love the
ethnic and cultural mix, the great natural beauty, the lovely
architecture, the lack of weather extremes, the "bohos" who
experiment with all arts and with life itself.

I can't live any farther North, because i HATE HATE HATE cold (and
it's already too cold for me here - average temps. most of the year
in the 60s Fahrenheit - brrr-rrr-rrr :-). And i get SAD when it's
dark for too long. I have no fondness for snow and i figure that i
can drive somewhere to visit if i want to see it... which is highly
unlikely.

I don't mind temperatures of 85 degrees, but when it gets below, say,
75, i get cold. I can deal with moderate humidity. But i dislike air
conditioning, so i don't want to be where it is absolutely necessary
much of the year (like often over 95). I dislike the smog of the Los
Angeles area, otherwise i might have stayed, but my eyes burned all
the time, quite literally 24/7.

I like "culture" - good theater and music, good museums - good fabric
and needlework shops - and good "ethnic" restaurants and food markets
- and good libraries, either public or university, so i can continue
to expand my research. Oh, and i'm politically left of center, so a
very culturally and politically conservative place would probably be
difficult for me to tolerate.

I am not "wedded" to a particular profession... i am educated (BA &
MA) and have some experience in a number of areas of work...

So, i've been wondering... where would people recommend? Any suggestions?

Or should i just stay here, in this nearly perfect place :-)

Anahita

"The truth must be taken wherever it is to be found,
whether it be in the past or among strange peoples."
	-- al-Kindi, Baghdad (801-873)

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