If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Heard from a friend recently who's considering moving. She's been out West for quite a few years now but is getting burnt out on having to worry about getting burnt out. The last few fire seasons have been stressful. So she's contemplating packing up and relocating to a region where residents don't worry quite so much about going up in flames. She's thinking about the southeastern U.S. so asked for my opinion on Atlanta.

What can I say? For about two weeks every spring the city is gorgeous and almost livable; the rest of the year. . .? Well, I think the fact we moved before I'd even officially retired says something about just how fast I wanted to see it in the rear view mirror.

Fortunately, there's more to the South than Atlanta. I had no desire to linger in Georgia, but I'm reasonably sure some parts of the state are actually livable. Ditto the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and maybe even Florida. I'm sure that if she wants to change from western mountains to eastern ones she can find a decent retirement community. Personally, if I were going to move to someplace vaguely southern, I wouldn't go as far into the Deep South as my friend is apparently contemplating. I'd aim for the Blue Ridge and look in places like Hickory, North Carolina, or Blacksburg, Virginia. But that's me. My friend may not be as keen on college towns as I am.

She also asked a question I could not answer: if I could live anywhere, where it would be? We've traveled too much, seen too many interesting places that we'd be happy to go back to, but when you're limited to just one choice? I don't know. I still miss Omaha. Of course, I also wouldn't mind moving back to the Seattle-Everett area. Or Blacksburg. Or maybe Cape Cod. Or the Twin Cities. Too many choices, not enough lifetimes.