In honor of my 1000th post, I'm calling on the vast knowledge and expertise of the FFA to help my wife and I choose where to move in 2-3 years. We are currently considering 5 options but are open to others. Note that we are not obligated to abide by the results. 
Backstory: We currently live the suburbs north of Dallas and plan to move in 2019/2020. We will be in our mid-to-late 40s and have no children. We are budgeting as though we do not have to work but it's likely we'll do something part-time or maybe we'll stumble into a new career. We've allocated $700K for housing and expect to have ~$70K/year in income. We do not plan to have a mortgage wherever we end up.
Priorities (not in order of importance)
1) Poker - gotta have it, not optional and it can't be hours away. All the options on our list have poker close by.
2) Golf - there are golf courses everywhere. Some places are less expensive, some places have year-round golf due to the weather.
3) Cost of living - housing, taxes, etc.
4) Nature/walkability - these are sort of related. We initially started looking at Lake Tahoe because of the mountains/forests/lake but we realize that not everywhere has that kind of nature. We don't want to live in the suburbs. We'd love to live in a walkable neighborhood with shops, restaurants, activities nearby and while that's unlikely to be in a wooded/mountain area, having that sort of nature close by is important to us. The beach counts, too.
5) Employment - although we're planning so that we don't have to work, it's likely that we'll want part-time employment. If not, then volunteer opportunities for each of us.
6) Weather - sure, we'd love mild weather year-round but we also know there's a price for that.
7) Activities/Entertainment - music, sports, etc. What are we going to do with our time?
Areas under consideration (in alphabetical order)
1) Cincinnati, OH - I grew up in Ohio and my aunt/uncle + 2 cousins live in Cincinnati. My dad is only 3 hours away as well. There's a casino in Cincinnati plus more than a few golf courses. Cost of living is reasonable - we could find a great place downtown for well under our top-end budget. The Ohio River is nearby and there seems to be a lot of outdoor stuff to do in the area. It's also not too far from St. Louis where my wife has family.
2) San Diego, CA - this one was added to the list because of the weather. It seems like it's 80 degrees year-round there. Huge downside is the cost because $700K doesn't go far out there. Taxes also suck. There's a poker room in Oceanside (north of SD). We'd give up some living space with a condo near the beach but there's only two of us so how much room do we really need? Tons of outdoor stuff and only a couple hours from LA.
3) St. Louis, MO - my wife's parents + a couple of siblings live in St. Louis. It's similar to Cincinnati for a lot of things - housing, cost of living, weather - but the Mississippi is definitely not as attractive as the Ohio River. Upside to St. Louis is that due to a separate tax on the residents, the zoo and other science/art-type activities are free.
4) Stateline, NV (Lake Tahoe) - originally our first choice but we've decided to rethink and see if there's anywhere else of interest. It's beautiful there and outdoor activities year-round between skiiing/hiking/lake. We'd go with the NV side due to no state income tax and the property taxes are also quite low. It's really expensive, though - $700K seems to be where we'd end up for something we want. My wife is slightly nervous about the potential for large snowfall and driving around in it. There's poker and golf although not too many courses in the area and a couple are fairly expensive. Non-outdoor activities are somewhat limited with no sports teams (Reno has minor league baseball).
5) Tampa/St. Pete, FL - recent addition to the list. Housing is reasonable, lots of golf courses, beaches. I haven't been to FL in a long time but I remember it's humid with lots of bugs. But there's the beach! No state income tax here either - but gators.
TLDR: My wife and I are planning to move from Dallas in 2-3 years. Where should we go?
Backstory: We currently live the suburbs north of Dallas and plan to move in 2019/2020. We will be in our mid-to-late 40s and have no children. We are budgeting as though we do not have to work but it's likely we'll do something part-time or maybe we'll stumble into a new career. We've allocated $700K for housing and expect to have ~$70K/year in income. We do not plan to have a mortgage wherever we end up.
Priorities (not in order of importance)
1) Poker - gotta have it, not optional and it can't be hours away. All the options on our list have poker close by.
2) Golf - there are golf courses everywhere. Some places are less expensive, some places have year-round golf due to the weather.
3) Cost of living - housing, taxes, etc.
4) Nature/walkability - these are sort of related. We initially started looking at Lake Tahoe because of the mountains/forests/lake but we realize that not everywhere has that kind of nature. We don't want to live in the suburbs. We'd love to live in a walkable neighborhood with shops, restaurants, activities nearby and while that's unlikely to be in a wooded/mountain area, having that sort of nature close by is important to us. The beach counts, too.
5) Employment - although we're planning so that we don't have to work, it's likely that we'll want part-time employment. If not, then volunteer opportunities for each of us.
6) Weather - sure, we'd love mild weather year-round but we also know there's a price for that.
7) Activities/Entertainment - music, sports, etc. What are we going to do with our time?
Areas under consideration (in alphabetical order)
1) Cincinnati, OH - I grew up in Ohio and my aunt/uncle + 2 cousins live in Cincinnati. My dad is only 3 hours away as well. There's a casino in Cincinnati plus more than a few golf courses. Cost of living is reasonable - we could find a great place downtown for well under our top-end budget. The Ohio River is nearby and there seems to be a lot of outdoor stuff to do in the area. It's also not too far from St. Louis where my wife has family.
2) San Diego, CA - this one was added to the list because of the weather. It seems like it's 80 degrees year-round there. Huge downside is the cost because $700K doesn't go far out there. Taxes also suck. There's a poker room in Oceanside (north of SD). We'd give up some living space with a condo near the beach but there's only two of us so how much room do we really need? Tons of outdoor stuff and only a couple hours from LA.
3) St. Louis, MO - my wife's parents + a couple of siblings live in St. Louis. It's similar to Cincinnati for a lot of things - housing, cost of living, weather - but the Mississippi is definitely not as attractive as the Ohio River. Upside to St. Louis is that due to a separate tax on the residents, the zoo and other science/art-type activities are free.
4) Stateline, NV (Lake Tahoe) - originally our first choice but we've decided to rethink and see if there's anywhere else of interest. It's beautiful there and outdoor activities year-round between skiiing/hiking/lake. We'd go with the NV side due to no state income tax and the property taxes are also quite low. It's really expensive, though - $700K seems to be where we'd end up for something we want. My wife is slightly nervous about the potential for large snowfall and driving around in it. There's poker and golf although not too many courses in the area and a couple are fairly expensive. Non-outdoor activities are somewhat limited with no sports teams (Reno has minor league baseball).
5) Tampa/St. Pete, FL - recent addition to the list. Housing is reasonable, lots of golf courses, beaches. I haven't been to FL in a long time but I remember it's humid with lots of bugs. But there's the beach! No state income tax here either - but gators.
TLDR: My wife and I are planning to move from Dallas in 2-3 years. Where should we go?
maybe it will be sunny next winter 
