What other towns should I be thinking of moving to?

A friend who lives in Seattle has been posting the most beautiful pictures of her hikes in the Cascade Mountains. It makes me want to move there.

I'm in your shoes to an extent. Sooo weary of dealing with wildfire risks and actual wildfires, as well as The Big One earthquake risk.  Part of me detests the idea of leaving our chosen family/tribe of friends and colleagues here.  Part of me wants to run to an area where these particular risks are not an issue.  No tornado or hurricane prone areas either.

Friends of our recently moved back to their home town of Buffalo, partly because looking at the effects of climate change they feel it's one of the safest areas.  My home province of ON, Canada is similar.  And mighty appealing right now.  If DH only ever planned to retire, as it will take a LOT to get him to leave his very fulfilling career here....

Good luck. I understand your angst.

West coast only?  Or are you open to the East, specifically New England?

outside everett wa. (snohomish, monroe, etc).. new little airport at paine field.. whidbey island, good health care, not far to recreation.. port townsend. (a bit far from airport)..
or for a real different experience.. my brother's child lives in port roberts wa.. near vancover bc airport or bellingham wa.. commuting distance to bellingham..and they have zero covid. a lovely community.

Must haves:
- scenic outdoor recreation — access to national parks is a big plus
- lots of hiking trails and water near by
- a cute or interesting town (big or small)
- fairly liberal and open minded people
- no hot and humid summers

Nice to haves:
- cold winters but not brutally so
- large healthcare employer in the area
- semi tourist destination since if I might want to use as Vrbo
- reasonably good airport within an hour distance

On my list right now:
- Portland, OR
- Bend, OR
- Cannon Beach,OR I considered but I think it is too cold year round and quiet
- Bozeman, MT which is shockingly expensive and probably too cold for me but I’m super intrigued by Montana
- Jackson seems great but likely too expensive


Portland definitely fits your musts and nots list, The hiking here is amazing and diverse, you are about a hour away from the coast or mountains depending on which way you go. We also have the gorge area that has incredible water sport availability and stunning waterfall hiking. Seattle is the only other area on the upper west coast that would fit your criteria, but the city proper is very expensive and traffic is just insane and seems to get worse every time I visit.
Bend gets pretty damn hot in the summer and gets a fair amount of snow in the winter. I also don’t think it has a what anyone would consider a decent airport anywhere near it.
Cannon beach is lovely, but it would not have any large medical employer nor an airport. It would also not be very pleasant in the winter.

Fort Collins, CO?

Leavenworth, Washington comes to mind. I’m not sure about the people there, but checks a lot of your boxes.

Cape Cod meets most of your criteria.

no hot and humid summers should narrow it down quite a bit for you.

The number one selling zip code in the US right now is 80911.

It meets most of your want list.

Must haves:
- scenic outdoor recreation — access to national parks is a big plus
- lots of hiking trails and water near by
- a cute or interesting town (big or small) It's got some cute towns next to it.
- fairly liberal and open minded people
- no hot and humid summers

Nice to haves:
- cold winters but not brutally so
- large healthcare employer in the area
- semi tourist destination since if I might want to use as Vrbo
- reasonably good airport within an hour distance (90 minutes)

I came to post this too. OP’s criteria is cold winter but not brutally so. Obviously everyone will have a different opinion on what’s too cold, but I think Leavenworth is seldom what most would consider brutal, and it’s so beautiful in the winter.

Honestly, anything on the Kitsap Peninsula would be relatively affordable and close to both nature and the Seattle airport.

As much as I love the northeast, I worry the winters are too cold for your criteria (since you said Cannon Beach was too cold).

It’s not liberal, but Salt Lake City could be a decent contender for proximity to the outdoors and affordability. There’s the whole conservative Mormon contingent, but also a huge population of outdoorsy people that I know are more liberal.

I want to play! I’m ready to move, too, but I don’t want to be on the West Coast

I lived in Colorado Springs and it was an incredible place to live. Definitely on the conservative side, but you cannot beat it for fabulous outdoor activities. I believe it has 250 days of sunshine a year and the nights are fresh and there’s very low humidity. No mosquitoes! I highly recommend. I think it fulfills nearly all your requirements.