If you could live anywhere you wanted for the next 40 years (the last half
of your life, for example), where would it be?
Assume you could be self-sufficient - not wealthy, but able to provide for yourself through a small business you own.
You'd take into consideration climate change - including the long term availability of a clean water supply, and the ability to grow much of your food. Look at this site - interesting water projections to 2050: http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/watersustainability/index.asp
Where would you live? City, small town, countryside? Cold climate, warm climate where there's a longer growing season and life is more comfortable? New Mexico? Arkansas? Virginia? Oregon? Would you even live in this country?
Assume your kids, if you have any, are grown and you don't need to worry about access to schools. Actually, assume you don't have any familial issues like aging parents that require your presence. This is your fantasy life.
But, I'm interested in real life suggestions and opinions, too. If I can manage to make my small business actually become profitable, I could be located anywhere. This part of Virginia where I live is supposed to have very good water into 2050, but honestly, it doesn't make my heart sing. It's beautiful, but it doesn't feel like home, even though I've lived here for almost 10 years.
So, there's another issue - is the area where you most want to be practical? Pragmatism over love of place?
I don't include politics in the mix because I've lived in beautiful but very red areas and have managed to find good people. My downfall is I like to be able to visit museums and see world-class art, but I could probably put that aside if I was able to make trips to bigger cities a few times a year to get my art fix. If there was a small museum with Rothkos or Frankenthalers or Rembrandts in the middle of nowhere, I'd be good with that, too.
Where's your dream place? 
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Where good fruits and vegetables grow year round, where water and sun are plentiful, and where the temperatures aren't extreme.
are more options for road trips. 
I've been to Hawaii and while it is just incredibly gorgeous, I think I might go bonkers and feel very isolated after a while. But that's just me - I love road trips.
Hawaii is expensive, but you can live like a king in central america.
Happy spring!
It rarely rains here, and I love a good thunder shower or a cleansing/cooling afternoon downpour.
But you can't have everything......
or can you?
45 miles west of Palm Springs, Ca). If I can't be near a beach, then the desert is a very very very close second. The colors and climate are so beautiful; I do worry about water quality, though. I might not be able to be nice about green grass lawns and sprinkler systems, though (always drove me crazy in the desert in CA....)
Glad you are happy with your choice!
Manhattan. LOVED IT.
Would definitely live there again if I had enough $$$ to buy a place.
But then again, I'd only do it if I had access to a big balcony or had a rooftop all my own because I love gardening -- so my lifestyle interests are now incompatible with NYC unless I become very, very rich.
Essentially off the grid, husband able to work via internet, great weather, relatively easy access to the city.
I miss a couple of things, though. Gardening, bath tubs. And something is always on the fritz. But, overall, I can't imagine anything better.
OTOH, I don't think we can do this forever, so I anticipate moving to land at some point, but maintaining a very similar lifestyle if we do.
We plan to hug the Florida panhandle and the east coast from Florida to DC in order to explore it. Ideally, we would like to be on the water and maintain our boat or something smaller. All of our kids live far from us now, and once they start having kids, I know that I am going to want to be closer.
But DH is not ready to seriously look at this option, so we shall see.
Now, about your road trip..........
Places like Topanga Canyon are progressive and in a beautiful area.
1. Southwest British Columbia. There are some towns that can only be reached by either a boat of their ferry system. I am a native of the Pacific Northwest, so the cool, rainy and temperate climate would not be something I would have to adapt to. I would love to live where there are no roads.
2. Along my favorite river in Washington State...I won't say where...because I don't want a lot of other people to move there. 
3. The coast of either Washington or Oregon.
4. In a floating home in a moorage, on any river system in the Pacific Northwest.
I like cool weather, lush green forests, and our temperate northwest climate.
I hate living in cities. Have done it most of my life due to financial necessity, not from choice.
I spent about 5 years living on the coast of Washington, and would happily move back there, if I could afford it. 
I also lived in a floating home for @ 5 years. I loved it, and have never stopped missing living on the water. Sigh...if only I could win the lottery. I could be very happy just gardening, making craft items by hand, hiking and camping. That would be bliss. 
fulfilled. Oh, and playing with my cats, adopting a dog or two, and doing what I could for charities.
I grew up in the heat-and-light-intensive SoCal (well, San Juan Capistrano and then out near Palm Springs until I went to college in San Diego...)
So I think the NW might drive me nuts, though I love the idea of Portland and Bend, Oregon ... is Bend light and sunny?
The work my husband and I do could be done from anywhere - he wants to be in Finland, and I could see doing that (if for no other reason than access to lifelong health care) but ONLY if we could spend winter months somewhere warm. I would lose my mind otherwise.
Were I going to that area, I would choose Iceland over Finland. Better scenery. Better politics. More interesting in general.
But still cold and dark in the winter.
Maybe Iceland in the summer and Spain in the winter. That seems to be what a lot of Northern Europeans are doing.
and Moscow is a lot of fun...but living there would be chaotic. I'd prefer Helsinki/Finland just because you can take the train easily to Russia and the ferry to get to 'mainland' Europe easily.
But Iceland is definitely more progressive.
Yes. Spain or Portugal or France or Italy or -- if it were stable and secure - Morocco in the winter.
Bend is in the high desert. It gets cold there, in the winter, and snow is a strong possibility.
Portland is often gray and overcast. I don't mind...I was born here. I like the coolness, and the moist air. It doesn't rain all of the time, contrary to popular misconception, but it is often cloudy.
Both Portland and Bend can get warm in the summer time...temp.s of 100 degrees are not unheard of. Bend probably has more warm days, and more sunshine than Portland. The funny thing about Portland, is that our summer doesn't really start until after the 4th of July. June used to be a nice month of transition from spring to summer, but with global climate change, now we seem to go from 50 degrees and overcast to 90 degrees and cloudless, overnight! Ack. I miss being able to adjust more gradually. 
Finland sounds interesting...but isn't it pretty far north? The farther north latitude a place is, the shorter the daylight hours are in the winter.
It must be really nice to be able to work from anywhere...gives you more choices on where to live. I would so LOVE to move out of the city.
