Best Zip Code for Perfect Life

Great responses so far....I am starting to pack and will call the real estate agents soon....Eldragon, I understand Monterey is absolutely GORGEOUS, but this might fail my "without spending a zillion bucks on real estate" requirement. Let me guess, $1 MM plus for about 2.5 BRs and a quarter of an acre??!! EXTRA EXTRA credit for any zip codes with authentic architecture and reasonable prices. Otherwise thanks for all the excellent ideas and advice. (And ELdragon let me know if you want to sell the place in Monterey cheap. Maybe you could use a tax write off or something.)

Leafs, email me, let me know when you'll be in Montreal, I can point you in the right direction for high end stuff, living in Montreal my entire 39 years, I know where all the goodies are. I may tag along with you for a little high end excursion, although it usually costs me everytime I do that. Jeff

29902. That's the zip code for Beaufort, South Carolina, located on the very southeast coast. If you like moderate winter temps(with the exception of this year), natural beauty that includes ocean, salt marshes, and pristine rivers and streams, and pre-civil war architecture(Sherman didn't burn it all up), this is it. People are friendly, our traffic jams occur on fridays between 1-3pm when everybody is trying to get away from work for the weekend. If you like to fish, kayak, or play golf, there isn't a better place. There aren't any high-line audio dealers in the area, the closest ones are probably 4-5 hours away, but if you can get on a computer, you'll be able to converse with other Audiogoners just like I do now. The downside, you might have to stop and say hello to a friend, neighbor, or a fellow worker when you're out and about in town. The big cities have many things these little towns may never have, but you can go visit anytime, and when you get your fill, you can head on back to these small places and remember exactly what it was that got you to move there in the first place! No place is perfect, but Beaufort should be on anyone's short list. Happy New Year to you'all..Skip

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514-27516. If God isn't a Tarheel, why is the sky Carolina Blue? Plenty of pre-war architecture (some pre civil-war). Bass fishin' was practically invented in the region. Big undergrad and reseacrh university town atmosphere means hippie and yuppie cyclists abound. Look a few miles oustide of town and you can practically buy your own nature preserve, and enlighten the wildlife with Dark Side of the Moon at your leisure. Sixty percent of UNC's approximately 25,000 students are women, and 75% of them are very attractive women in their early twenties. A few great audio dealers in Research Triangle Park area (home of Cary Audio). Lots of well paved windy country roads (and a Ferrari dealership two hours away in Greensboro). Again, big (liberal) college town atmosphere assures plenty of bookstores, music stores, restaurants, etc. PLUS you get to live in the national capital of college basketball, fantastic golf courses, great live music of all sorts (see big college town info above), a four season climate with none too drastic, an international airport nearby, and a beautiful but increasingly spoiled coastline within 2 1/2 hours drive. The downside is that you get Jesse Helms as a Senator, but no one in Chapel Hill votes for him anyway. He once said of Chapel Hill, "They ought to just put a big fence around it and call it a zoo." I grew up there and came to the city to make my fortune but will return ASAP.

Explain 'a zillion'? All things are tradeoffs. I think my favorite 'low cost' city is Denver, CO. It's getting expensive though. You can find some older houses just south of the city, or some out West.

Colorado Springs is nice too. Very safe. Primarily a military town with strong Christian and liberal influences. Local music and social scene is more limited but Denver is an hour away. Dunlavy, Genesis, and Rowland are made there. Semi-affordable, great old victorians downtown.

Another great city is Portland Oregon, where I live now. It rains too much, but it is beautiful and has skiing, hiking, beach, great old bookstores and a few good music venues. It's a little like a smaller, simpler san francisco. The houses are expensive relative to most local incomes, but cheap if coming from most other cities. There are some beautiful old Victorian houses around Portland. Some in 'revitalizing' neighborhoods if that is your thing.