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Nice lake in "never freeze" climate close to bigger city?


wakeboarder3780

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Hey crew. The wife and I have been lightly discussing moving from the great white north "some day". We've got time to research and freedom to move (no kids or anything really tying us down).

The things I'm interested in are:

Lake where water doesnt look "poo brown" and at least has some clarity to it.

Lake is "big" and generally good for wakeboarding.

Lake front property isn't going to cost in the millions but I think we could afford 600k ish homes.

Lake never freezes year round

Lake is in a state that does NOT require a third (so sick of the nanny state bs).

Things wifey is interested in:

Within an hour drive to a "big" city. I'm assuming big could be anything that has over 100k population.

City has "good restaraunts" and "lots of shopping"

Nice to have:

Low humidity

Notice any differences in wants and desires there? LOL. Does anyone know any lakes like this? So far we've been looking and it seems harder than I originally thought to find places like this.

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Heaven, I want to move there too.

The gray Northwest Seattle, Portland areas are not bad. You will need a third, but the lakes I'm at or go to have never really seen an law enforcement. I ski at Long Lake and Lake Mason, more in the sticks, but smaller lakes and have houses around them. Another popular ones are Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Lake Tapps Lake Stevens, Bonney Lake, for the Seattle Area.

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oh, oh, I know a place, but I am never going to tell any of you :loser:

j/k, let me know when you find a clear lake that never freezes near a big city with lakefront property under 600k.

maybe florida?

there are some great clear lakes in Arkansas, but lakefront property is a challenge.

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What about North Carolina? Another place is Table Rock ... think it's hard to have a dock on there ... you could PM Edwin.

we are 2 hours north of tablerock and our cove will freeze enough for ice skating. The main channel doesn't though.

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Las Vegas?

Waterfront property is not a real possibility, but it is warm, no skeeters, and a big lake nearby.

I think there are lots of places in Texas that might fit the bill, but I think the skeeters kill you there.

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I've been looking with my old man for a winter spot with similar criteria. Neither of us care if its near a big city but he wants to be near a good golf course.

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Canyon Lake Texas. Clear water,hardly any vegetation in the lake. Big lake, can get white caps in strong wind but lots of coves to hide from the wind and wakeboard or surf. Lake front property can be found for 300k, but 500k would get you something decent. The only ice found in this lake was spilled from my drink. I have been in the water every month of the year (in my younger days with a wetsuit). A third is needed when the water is patrolled but if there are no boaters there are no water police. We live on the south side of the lake (more populated) and its 45 miles to San Antonio.

Cons: This lake will never freeze and no white Christmas, it might get to 80 on Christmas day. The water temp can get pretty warm in the summer. In August its like swimming in a warm bath. Property values are increasing every year but this is still a rural area. In my neighborhood there are million dollar homes that are used on weekends as well as shacks people live in that look like they are going to fall down. I was going to describe the people but lets just call it bubbaville.

The economy is doing well here but the jobs generally pay less here than most areas of the country. We like it here but sometimes want to try something different. Also no state income tax but you will pay one of the highest property taxes in the nation.

I pay about $7k in property tax for a $650k house, how is it where you are?

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I read your post while mostly drunk. I ride year round at Lake Anna in Bumpass Va. Yes, I said Bumpass. You can search coast to coast and never ever (Taylor Swift) find a better lake or crew. Stop looking. You have found nirvana.

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Seattle was okay in that we could ride year round, but the gray skies.... I'd never move back.

Parker is fun to visit, but not many jobs in the area. And summers on the water are insane.

Canyon in TX or Cali is great skiing & plenty of jobs.

We've spent about 8 yrs in an area where the lakes freeze in the winter. The break away from the water is nice & I typically get back into it with some new found enthusiasm. Storing the boat is a drag. But the new to us winter sports have been fun.

.....sent to you telepathically.

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Humidity, poo-brown water and skeeters :thumbup:

I lived near Asheville for many years and with the mountains we didn't have skeeters or horse flies. We had more gnats and chiggers than here in Michigan. Further west you go in the state the more likely you'll see ice, nothing like what we see in WI and MI. When I first saw this post I thought of AZ or NV.

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i just moved from pgh pa to lake wylie south carolina. its really charlotte. we are about 15 min from downtown charlotte. charlotte is a big banking area. large amount of shopping, everything is fairly new and up and coming. there are no taxes, i mean none. its sooo cheap to live hear. We are looking at lake front on lake wylie. there are lakes all over that are 25 miles plus long. mt island, lake wylie. lake norman, lake murry lake watery and many more. when is say cheap, i mean dirt cheap. a 500k home lake front with dock in the best school districts are about 2k a year for taxes. They dont have wage tax in sc. only 300 bucks max on boats, cars, motorcycles etc. the only thing is an avalarum tax (may not have that name correct) on private property like your car.

you can get a non waterfront home that has 6 bedrooms 5 baths etc etc for pennies. They build everything big and its growing everywhere. The cool thing is it is almost an all season boat area. 3 hours from the beach, 3 hours from the smokey mountains (so you can rock climb, mt bike, mx tracks everywhere, off road areas for jeeping) then the wife can shop at some of the best malls and outlets there are. plus you have uber job options. we moved here 3 months ago and totally love it. people are from all over, not just here. everyone is really nice and we have had help adjusting to the area by everyone we have met. check out the area, its really an amazing place to live

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asheville nc is aprox 2 hours from us. its in the mountains, lake lure is there, amazing views. thats a bit far from the city, but you would be amazed at how many options you have in the carolina's. My boat is still in pgh but we are going to pick it up first week in march. most people keep there boats in all year long. the water never gets cold enough to worry. today, wife and i are going house shopping. new homes. lake front, 3000 plus sq ft. with over an acre in private community, golf corse, community center, etc etc 541k taxes are 1600 a year and the hoa fee to live in the communtiy is a whopping 400 a year. lol even gas is down today, 2.78 a gallon.

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I'm in NC.

I ride at Lake Gaston, it's on the border of NC and Virginia and is about an hour (to 1.5) north of Raleigh, NC and an hour (to 1.5) south of Richmond VA.

The lake is really quite beautiful, the water isn't crystal blue and it isn't poo brown. Definitely is a sweet spot and during the week can be dead calm as long as wind isn't acting up. A majority of people that own homes are wealthy families with their primary homes in the big cities and they come to the lake for the weekends. You could carve it up all afternoon long during the weekdays after work and literally have just a few other boats around.

Definitely worth looking in to. The lake doesn't freeze but you will need to winterize the boat if you keep it on a lift

Edited by Blindside_137
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Stay away from the N. MS / Memphis area then. Most of our lakes are poo brown. There are some smaller lakes that are nice but they can be packed with idiots and lake lice.

How about Greers Ferry, AR? Been there once and fell in love with the whole area.

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Norris lake, TN

I second this. It meets all of your criteria. It is far enough south that it never freezes but far enough north that there aren't any gators. There is some occasional cold weather so you would still have to winterize the boat.

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