Between Fla and NC, I'd go with NC. I'm a New England native living in Fla for 4 yrs now and still not used to the heat, I'm miserable from May till late Oct/early Nov when it finally cools off a bit (makes running pretty tough too). Plus in NC you still have seasons. I miss seasons And property there is pretty cheap right now. If I could convince my BF I'd consider moving there, or back to NE.
Good luck

North Carolina! I'm fron the Durham/Chapel Hill area, so let me know if you've got questions. Someone who really loves city life wouldn't love central NC, but Durham and Chapel Hill have great health care and job opportunities, good bars and restaurants, and tons of rolling farmland surrounding for long weekend runs. The Carrboro/Chapel Hill area is very runner/biker friendly, although the coast and mountains are beautiful. Winters can get pretty chilly and summers brutal, but a lot of the time it's a happy medium with, yes, beautiful falls and springs. A lot of the area is right on the cusp between farmland/suburbia and a lot of development is happening, which means right now it offers a nice balance.

Yes Mobile, Daphne or Foley all good choices. Brothers live in Daphne

Andyb~We lived in the Tampa Bay area twice; once for 4 years, once for 3. First time was the Clearwater side. Loved it!! But we rented then and had no kids. Do you have kids? The Pinellas county area doesn't excite us for schools. Maybe north of Clearwater. But keep in mind that homeowners insurance is HIGH!! In Hillsborough County (Tampa, Lutz, Brandon) it's also hit and miss with schools. Insurance is high again but the farther from water the better. Check for flood zones and AVOID THEM!! We loved Tampa. We lived in a north Tampa area called New Tampa. Traffic sucked but great central location to major highways, university, hospital, downtown, family and just over an hour to Disney World! We still own a townhouse there. You could always rent that come July!

Arizona was nice. We lived in the West Valley of Phoenix. Beautiful. I know it has grown quite a bit since we left. We liked being 2 hours from Tucson , Flagstaff, Prescott and Sedona. The people were friendly but the traffic sucked, especially for a west sider trying to go east for work. We lived and worked west side. From our friends still there, you can find a great deal on homes (same in FL). I recommend Surprise and Avondale. We liked Litchfield Park as well. Fun little winter festival there. Don't know about the schools there. No kids at the time.

NC has "bargain" property prices now. My dad and stepmom are headed there within a year. Charleston, SC is a wonderful place from what I hear. We have friends there as well. Haven't heard a bad thing yet.

As far as teh hurricane comment goes-every place you go has it's own natural hazard. CA has fires and droughts, landslides and earthquakes. FL and the entire Gulf and Atlantic coast has the hurricane issue. Northern states have the blizzard factor. I'd hate to be without power for days in freezing temps. The mid-west and plains have tornadoes. You just have to pick what you're more willing ot put up with if the time comes. When we lived on Guam I hated the quakes for lack of predictability but typhoons didn't bother me. So FL is fine to me. CA would drive me insane.

Good luck with your decision. We love moving too. For us, it's a job hazard but the change of scenery so frequently is great!


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Kris
I run like a girl!

I've lived in San Antonio for 14 years. I currently live in Charlotte, NC. and have for the past 5.

I love either place. I prefer Charlotte.

The weather is generaly pretty reasonable. Although I too love the hill country of TX, it doesn't compare to the west NC mountains. 3 hours to the beach, mainly because of the roads. In TX it woud take 2 hours because of the pretty good highway system.

This area is a runner's paradise. You can race through streams in the mountains one weekend or catch a 5k each weekend in the local area. You can run flat areas east of town or hilly ones more west. Trails are abundant if that is what you like.

Winters here are definately more severe than those farther south, although no where near as bad as the DFW area. We have hard freezes in the mornings, but typically gets into the mid 40s to 50s during the afternoon -- perfect for long distance or speed training.

Summers can sometimes reach 100. More typically the afternoon temps are 85 to 95 degrees. If you catch early morning or dusk runs, the temps are bearable without the sun beating on you.

Only if we had bluebonnets in the spring...

I live in Tucson AZ, and we do not have 4 seasons - its very different up north in Flag and Sedona. There is definitely snow in Flagstaff - there are ski resorts there. The year round climate is very mild. Down here in Tucson (and in Phoenix also) we have 2 seasons - Super Fvcking Hot, and Pleasant.
As far as a dry heat goes, we have a very wet monsoon season during the hottest month-month and a half of the year - and even when it isn't humid anything over 110 degrees (very common) really is unbearably hot - i don't care how dry it is. So, it is beautiful in AZ, but very different then anything you are used to. The northern towns are nice, but small. Phoenix and Tucson are fair sized cities, but not for the faint of heart. Come check it out in November (our best weather) and August (our worst) see what you think.

Las Curces, New Mexico...