No offense intended here, you have your beliefs, but your beliefs are probably too liberal for Tennessee. I've lived in the rockies (Denver area) and now live in Tennessee, Tennessee is a red state. Beautiful country, no state income tax, high sales tax. Cost of living is very low, housing is remarkably inexpensive. The mountains and state parks and number of rivers for white river rafting and in general quality of life for an outdoorsperson is remarkable. Denver in comparison is much more liberal from my experience living there, particularly the Boulder area. In the upper elevations there are some little pockets of total solitude. We have several friends with cabins in Mountain Home, AR. On the lake, not quite the solitude you're looking for though, it's a very popular spot for retirees right now and people with summer cabins, that quite honestly are beginning to resemble McMansions. It's also a very conservative place.

And I live in North Georgia and I can tell you that people still drive around here in their big SUV's with their "W the president" and "BUSH '04" stickers plastered all over.
This place is hard to beat if you can overlook a lot of the redneck stuff. Your political beliefs are kinda all over the place but it also sounds like you are going throught what I went through about 5 years ago... wanting to find utopia so I can start fresh there and live there forever. Dude there really is no such place I'm afraid.
take it from me, I practically toured the entire east coast looking for somewhere better only to move someplace else, then hate it, then move back here and appreciate it all that much more. And now I don't think there really are that many areas with as much to offer as the N. Ga/atlanta burbs.
Have you looked into the pacific NW? I've never been but it is very cut off from the rest of the country if you ask me. So so so very far away.

If you have any questions about N. GA though, feel free to email me.

Agree with querky in that paradise does not exist. We have lived in the N. Atlanta burbs for 10 years and always believed that there were much better places to be found. Northern California, Colorado, Virginia, Florida, even Texas and Maine. But we are halfway through the process of accepting that there is no perfect place. N. Cali has incredibly high cost of living, overcrowding, and its own set of political problems, to name a few drawbacks. A list can be made for just about every place. Even the one place in the world which I think is wonderful, the country of Monaco, is out because it's beyond too expensive and those horribly snooty ultrarich people live there. (what was that saying - I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have someone like me as a member?).

So we are hanging on in GA, after nearly accomplishing a voluntary move to Florida about 2.5 years ago - yes, just before the boom. The cost of living is among the lowest for places that are accessible (I suppose the Badlands are probably cheaper). Weather is fairly good if you can stand the 'skeeters. Natural beauty is still abundant although the developers seem to be on a mission to wipe it out. Between the rednecks and the supermom-type yuppies there isn't that much culture to choose from but that's changing as the minority population grows in strength and influence (hmm, you may not like that). There is a county here named 'Cherokee' that is trying to pass legislation to restrict various types of foreign influence - from Mexicans in schools to non-English signage, etc. Talk about irony (Cherokee, get it?).

Oh well. Good luck. No perfect place. Keep those guns in check. Diagree about the polite society thing. A polite society is one that has been educated from the start to value public good and sees the benefits of community peace.

I don't know much about any of those places, except a little about MO since I live there. Carrying a concealed weapon comes up every couple years. So far it hasn't been banned, but this last election, KC and STL areas actually outvoted the rest of the state on a couple issues and candidates, so the gun laws could possibly change in the comming years. Hunting won't be affected, so you could still carry a rifle. And pigs not in a confined area are legal to shoot anytime!

I think all of those places you mentioned in Arkansas are too conservative for some of your views. Those are all small towns with small town opinions. I think you'd fit in better closer to Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale. That is a more diverse area because of the college and companies like Wal-Mart that bring outsiders into the area. It's built up a lot in the last several years, I think there are probably still areas where you can enjoy the nature experience and still be close to the shopping.

Another good area to look would be communities on I-40 near some of the bigger towns like Russellville, Clarksville, and Alma (which is outside of Fort Smith). Those places are closer to the shopping, have more diversity than some towns and are nestled up to the mountains. You should be able to find your own succluded piece of nature without a huge drive.

Good luck!

I am looking for something that reminds me of the "The Shire" from the Lord of the Rings, for lack of a better description.

I know that this doesn't meet most of your requirements, but when I was in Bend, Oregon a week ago I noticed an ad for The Shire, which is a planned community.

Although it's probably too far from your daughter to be a serious consideration, I would nominate the area of Blue River, Oregon for you. About 30 miles east of Eugene/Springfield, it's streams, woods, waterfalls, log cabins and could be shire-like, I believe. Eugene is a liberal, laid-back community with weekly festivals (Saturday Market is a blast!) and a diverse population of about 200,000 in the immediate area. So in the Blue River neighborhood, you're a half-hour from the city and all the fun you could want, but at home you're as secluded as you want to be. I think it would be a great fit for you.

Apologies for taking this slightly off topic, but this was so apropos, in today's news:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/18/debutante.murder/index.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Was armed but never polite

I think you will not find what you are looking for within an easy drive to DFW. Mountain Home AR comes closest. Branson, MO is a horrible little tourist town... its like Vegas, except all the entertainers weren't good enough to have a show in Vegas. Yes, I mean that as an insult.
Poteau OK is in a really economically depressed area, although it has been improving lately.

If you figure on just flying to DFW, I'd maybe consider alaska. It has a lot of people that really have that independent ethic.

Thank you for the Shire link and for mentioning Blue River. I'll look into it.

I am curious about something. For the most part, I am a conservative. My ideals are mostly Jeffersonian, so I don't understand why everybody keeps equating me with a "liberal". I said "socially liberal". All that means is, do whatever you want, just leave ME alone and I'll leave you alone. From and economic and religious standpoint, I'm about as conservative as you can get.

Anyway, thanks for the input, keep it coming.

Well, for my post -- I mentioned Eugene being liberal from the standpoint of no one's likely to want to get into your business, whatever that business is, as long as you're cool with whatever *they're* doing. Very casual, live-and-let-live attitude.

It's been my experience that when the locals tout home as being a conservative place to live, that means they're not likely to be very tolerant of differing attitudes. In those situations, if you're a good fit with the mindset of those locals, it's great; if not, you're going to be unhappy.

I am curious about something. For the most part, I am a conservative...All that means is, do whatever you want, just leave ME alone and I'll leave you alone. From and economic and religious standpoint, I'm about as conservative as you can get.

In my experience, people outside of the Northeast find it very confusing when they encounter conservatives who aren't compelled to stick their nose in everyone else's business. Your brand of conservatism is not uncommon in rural New England (you're right to be looking at VT and NH), a variation on the whole "good fences make good neighbors" thing.

I agree with the OP. Anyone who calls both Bush and Clinton "Satan's minions" isn't a liberal by anyone's definition.

Montana?

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/

Visist the site above and do a lot of reading and asking questions.
A wide variety of folks with the common desire for a simpler life......
Sue

Thanks for the link. I'm on a homesteading forum now. :)

I don't really see what importance your political and religious beliefs have to do with the location unless you want to be surrounded with like-minded folks. It doesn't sound like that is your aim.

You can move anywhere if you want to be a hermit. People will leave you alone. Instead think more about the quality of life stuff and affordability and being able to make a living..... for most that marks the remote places and Oregon off the list of possibilities. Unfortunately it makes Texas seem like a more sensible place to start anew.

Why does "quality of life stuff and affordability and being able to make a living" mark Oregon off the list???

Those are precisely the reasons we just moved to Oregon!

Minet -- you moved from California didn't you? To a Californian, Oregon is more affordable and may to some have a better quality of life. Moving from other parts of the country, such as Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama etc I wouldn't say the same is true.

Affordability is relative. It would help if we had a sense of how much OP can afford to spend on a piece of property in a beautiful location. Land in most of the particularly scenic non-desert areas in Oregon is not that cheap, plus she would probably find a lot of areas too "liberal" in the traditional political meaning of the word. I think anywhere near Eugene would drive her up the wall. Bend is hugely expensive plus is a high desert area. The coast is obviously very pricey for the most part these days.

That said, I think areas around St. Helens, Scappoose, Canby, or Sandy might work for her. Ideologically they seem like places where she would fit in well. Just generalizing, but they seem like places where people love their guns and yurts with equal fervor--particularly the latter two towns.

Flagstaff AZ sounds like your kind of place, liberal college town. Up in the mountains, cold but usually not that much snow. Perfect weather in the summer. Beautiful mountain views But lots of outdoor activities, gun toters. Culture as NAU is there. Housing probably costs more than ARK, GA, TN. There's always eastern AZ too, Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside. May be to far from TX though.

ok...ablex...I am NOT liberal...sheesh, and I am not thrilled about being near a college town.

I do want a community of like minded people, thats why I mentioned those preferences in my post. I just want a nice "retreat" when I go home, away from everyone. I am divorced, so I don't have time to homeschool, so I am going to be forced to interact with the local community regardless of whether I want to or not.

What does OP mean?....I keep seeing that. Original Post?

I am not a female.

I KNOW I won't find "paradise"...I'm just trying to find a place that meets MOST of my qualifications and is a "good fit". I mentioned this in the 1st couple of sentences in the post.

I wonder if some of you even bothered to read my entire post before chiming in. For those of you that did, thank you for your input. Good or bad, I'm glad you guys are contributing though. :)

I don't like the desert.....so Arizona is not an option here. I know there are a few mountainous areas, but its still a desert climate.

Oregon has a lot of positives and thats why I MAY consider it if the good outweighs the bad. However, its VERY far away from my daughter, your gas and income tax is high, I don't know about prop. tax yet, land seems a little pricey (for what I'm looking for) and plane rides don't thrill me a bunch. But it is very beautiful there.

Right now TN, AR, and AL are my best choices I think, overall. Low taxes, rural, pretty, mostly conservative and close to TX.

OP usually means Original Poster. The person who started the thread. Often used to get the thread back to the original subject matter, when it wanders off track.

I know you said you didn't want to consider Texas because of the scrubby brush, DFW and proximity to your ex, but have you thought about San Marcos and other areas around Austin? I lived in Austin for 12 years and thought it pretty much perfect, except for the summer humidity. It's much bigger now but the outlying areas are still great. And there are trees and rivers and hills - quite nice. I also lived in East Texas (Tyler) and West Texas (Abilene) for awhile but didn't like either enough to recommend them.

As you have said, there's no perfect place. You'll have to make some compromises, it's just deciding what to compromise on that was the sticky point for me when moving recently.

Well, I travelled most of East/Central Texas this summer, and I didn't like any of it. To "scrubby" and brown for me. Certain areas can be pretty, but for the most part I didn't like it. Austin area is WAY too crowded/congested. I liked Fredericksburg ok I suppose, but its still nowhere near as pretty as anything I've seen back east. Also, Texas has a few drawbacks concerning licensing for my work, which I'd rather avoid if I can help it. I am wondering if East Texas has anything worth considering. I've only been to Nacogdoches and Tyler though. They were just "ok" as well.

Arkansas is a better fit than TX in my opinion, at least from the little I've seen.

ok...I've picked NE Tennessee, thanks everyone for your input.

"I don't like the desert.....so Arizona is not an option here. I know there are a few mountainous areas, but its still a desert climate".

Well when you mention legalizing a drug and using it if you could most people think liberal. And I guess you've never been to AZ if you think the above statement is true. Just trying to be helpful, sheesh!

"Why does "quality of life stuff and affordability and being able to make a living" mark Oregon off the list???

Those are precisely the reasons we just moved to Oregon! "

Actually it's more to do with being able to make a livingfor OR although affordability is part of it.

For a while here in the SE, there was a movement almost where everyone you talk to said they wanted to move to Oregon. As if doing so will make all their problems go away. It sounds like a great place. I've never been.... numerous attempts to get an airfare of less than $1500 were unsuccessful. It doesn't get a lot of bad press.

What I have heard from some people that did move there was that there were not many opportunities and much of the population was down & out. Most of the state w/ exception of portland is conservative republican and the weather is not too good by GA/FL standards. You should never move someplace just for the weather though! One of the people came back and was carrying on about radical environmentalists.

Anyway sounds like OP has made up his mind. LOL.
Go look at the place, spend some time there, do some research and see if you still feel the same.

By the way, a great resource for someone looking to relocate, especially if you're concerned about the political makeup of the population is city-data.com
They now have forums there too where people can ask freely about stuff such as "Is it true there's a lot of rednecks in Georgia?"

And they used to (may still have) a link to see the political campaign contributions which is a dandy way to see the what the political makeup is.

In America, nowadays, 'conservative' means 'my way is the right way and everybody better bloody well agree. If you dont like it get the hell out of my country.' Whereas, 'liberal' means 'quit trying to legislate everyone's private lives and live and let live. Some day you might be the persecuted minority.'

So, people here might be forgiven for calling you a liberal when you say 'do what you want but leave me alone.'

I think you're going to have to choose between being able to fire your gun in your backyard and being within 30 minutes of shopping and decent restaurants. I don't know of many places like that.

housenewbie, I don't think I agree with this statement:

"In America, nowadays, 'conservative' means 'my way is the right way and everybody better bloody well agree. If you dont like it get the hell out of my country.' Whereas, 'liberal' means 'quit trying to legislate everyone's private lives and live and let live. Some day you might be the persecuted minority.'"

but this isn't a political forum and I don't want to get banned for discussing it here. I will say I think such generalities are too broad and don't accurately describe either political philosophy.

Good luck in NE Tennessee! I would visit there a few times before committing to a move. We came to Oregon every summer for 9 years before making the move.

Since the OP has two or three times taken pains to describe himself as "conservative," I think it is rude to ignore his wishes about how he wants to be identified and instead call him a "liberal." What's so hard to figure out about that?

In cased you missed the map that was shown on TV for days following the 2004 election, most states are shaded red and only a few are shaded in blue. The blue states are shoved off into a corner and they are very expensive places to live and not overloaded with opportunities.

So if you are like me, you have to find a place where you can enjoy the what the area has to offer and not let the political views of the majority get to you.

The OP's viewpoints seem somewhat libertarian and then somewhat republican but who cares? Nobody. You can move to just about anywhere and nobody will shove their political views down your throat. Not even here do they do that. If I wanted to I could meet up with anoy political party that interested me but since I am not into politics I will go back to just enjoying the scenery and low cost of living, being close to good shopping and relatively OK driving distance to the big urban core where I can walk around for a few minutes or have a nice meal, feel like I stepped into the twilight zone then hop in the truck come back home where you can have a big property with horses and fire guns and play cowboys & indians and do whatever it is you please til the cows come home. The Knoxville area does come across as an area where this would be possible too so I'd say look at Knoxville.

Haven't read all of the posts but check out Roane County when you are in Tn. 2 hrs from Nashville (and generally cheaper flights) and 30-40 min. from Knoxville.

I live here and believe me, guns go off on a regular basis! I know that isn't first on your list but there is lots of land around and many places to just do your own thing.

I know you've already picked a place, but have you looked at the Dinosaur Valley area? About and hour or more southwest of Forth Worth and hilly like the hill-country, but not as rugged.

Would allow you to be much closer to your daughter and when she is in school she can't just come and visit for long stretches.