Recommend me a low COL PRETTY place to live?

[hellokitty]

I live someone cheap and pretty. However, the people suck. Conservative, trump loving, Qanon, entitlement and evangelical christians. So, just keep that in mind as you look, that is a big trade-off.

I know someone who moved from SoCal several years ago, she was so excited how cheap land was, and then shared with me how disappointed she was in the people here and would not have done it again, now understanding the consequences of living in a cheaper area. Her business was selling organic eggs. In SoCal, she said she was able to charge something like $6+/dozen, and then when she moved here she found out nobody wanted to pay more than a buck for anything.

So, you will need to also explore the, "culture" of the region you are moving to. I would say that the culture where I live is best described as appalachian white and for those who subscribe to this mentality and culture, they are very happy here. For those of us who are liberal thinkers, bicpoc and have college education... I am often depressed living where we live. But yes, the geographic beauty is nice and that is one of the things I do appreciate about the area. I will admit that after about 5 years here we finally were able to find a very small crowd of like-minded people, but every 2 years when there are elections, I hate this place so much.

[Melaine]

However, the people suck. Conservative, trump loving, Qanon, entitlement and evangelical christians.

This may be the most offensive sentence I have ever seen on these boards. Would you like to rephrase that or are you actually intending to insult a entire religious group?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Hellokitty makes a good point re. religion. Since OP is a Mormon it would be good to think about religious diversity. When we lived in the South, anyone but traditional Christians were given a bit of a side eye (I received it when I asked about Catholic Churches in the area). In an area like Southern CA you can pretty much find all varieties of like minded people. If you are in a small town, you might not be able to find that. Would you be ok not really having a religious community or having people question your religion?


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[NCGrandma]

Hellokitty makes a good point re. religion. Since OP is a Mormon it would be good to think about religious diversity. When we lived in the South, anyone but traditional Christians were given a bit of a side eye (I received it when I asked about Catholic Churches in the area). In an area like Southern CA you can pretty much find all varieties of like minded people. If you are in a small town, you might not be able to find that. Would you be ok not really having a religious community or having people question your religion?


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Years ago, my parents moved from NY state to Pensacola, FL. They were immediately "welcomed" by a parade of visitors asking if they had found a "church home" yet. Although they had previously attended various liberal Protestant churches, this wasn’t on top of their move-in list. When my mother gave some vague reply, the woman at her door said "I’m sure you’re a nice person anyway."


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[hellokitty]

This may be the most offensive sentence I have ever seen on these boards. Would you like to rephrase that or are you actually intending to insult a entire religious group?

I'm sorry you are offended by this. The evangelical christians in my area are all trump supporters. I find that to be really offensive for them to claim themselves to be christian, but to treat others so poorly. I am tired of them using their religion to defend and rationalize their political and social views, the ones here are quite proud of this. If you won't want a religious group as a whole to be judged, then maybe that group needs to improve and doi better as a whole, instead of being offended when people judge them by their hypocritical words and actions. I have lived in this area for 18 years, it has only gotten worse and worse and I am scared for my own kids to even wait for the bus due to people like this.

[Melaine]

If you won't want a religious group as a whole to be judged, then maybe that group needs to improve and doi better as a whole.

This kind of attitude is not tolerated towards any group but Christians and yeah, I’m offended by painting one group with the same brush. It’s a form of religious discrimination. I can’t control others in my chosen faith and you are lumping me in with all the others that you have encountered. I can’t even give any example because anyway I try to draw a comparison would be hugely inappropriate but because the comment was made towards a religious group it’s ok? No. It’s not ok.

[ehmom]

Wow, this thread got intense quickly. We've lived all over the place. Sometimes, out beliefs and views were in the minority, and sometimes we were in the majority. Truthfully, there are people who are exclusive, rude, and stuck up on both sides of the situation. The best way to find happiness in any location is to be willing to listen to your neighbors and get to know them, instead of lumping them all together and making sweeping judgements about people you really dont know at all.

[bisous]

Oh dear. Chiming in here, not to stir up the pot but because this is my thread and I want to make my position clear. I think religious culture is important to consider. That said, I've always been a member of a "minority" religion and unless I move to Utah I probably always will be. I actually like being different in that way. I get that not all places are as tolerant as Southern California (and I do LOVE that about here!) but count me as someone that would be happy to live near Evangelical Christians. Love for Jesus is 100% ok for me! I would hope that I would learn from them and they'd learn to like us too. I feel the same way about a community that would be majority Jewish, Hindu, Muslim or whatever. I find good people everywhere.

One thing interesting that I've observed is that "micro-communities" are a real thing. Meaning, I can move two miles away and have a really different experience because my life now has different neighbors, perhaps different elementary schools, a different congregation, etc. In that way, I've learned that moving for PEOPLE is hard thing. You can never really predict who will be in your innermost circle of people you interact with every day. Or maybe it demonstrates that small changes can have huge impact? That it is less about moving to a different STATE and more about a neighborhood?

[pinkmomagain]

I have lived in this area for 18 years, it has only gotten worse and worse and I am scared for my own kids to even wait for the bus due to people like this.

I am so so sorry (and enraged) that you and your family are in this situation, Hellokitty.

[MSWR0319]

I'm sorry you are offended by this. The evangelical christians in my area are all trump supporters. I find that to be really offensive for them to claim themselves to be christian, but to treat others so poorly. I am tired of them using their religion to defend and rationalize their political and social views, the ones here are quite proud of this. If you won't want a religious group as a whole to be judged, then maybe that group needs to improve and doi better as a whole, instead of being offended when people judge them by their hypocritical words and actions. I have lived in this area for 18 years, it has only gotten worse and worse and I am scared for my own kids to even wait for the bus due to people like this.

I understand exactly where you are coming from. I've had the same experience with the same group in my area. Mostly coming from one specific church. They will preach kindness and the gospel to you all day long, but the minute you disagree with them or are different than them, their hypocrisy comes out. They think they are all better than everyone and you will be judged for whatever they can come up with. Nothing you say about anything will cause them to believe anything else.I've posted about it on here, but a few years back one of them who swears she is so Christian, locked me in a room for two hours and yelled at me for all sorts of crazy lunatic things. What it really boiled down to was the she was jealous that I was a stay at home mom, who was in a good marriage and well known around town as a community volunteer. She was in a marriage that wasn't working at the time and she wanted the glory of volunteering but wouldn't volunteer when asked. I still have some PTSD from that experience. I have a few good friends who are part of that church who are wonderful people, but the majority of them are not. I hope your situation gets better.