We are thinking of selling our home in SF and moving somewhere cheaper...need suggestions for

[Warpy]

55. NM is blue in the northern 2/3. The southern third is deep red

and full of Texans. The northern part of the state is the more mountainous part, the greener part, although the whole state is pretty much classified as desert. The climate is temperate and most areas have 4 seasons. Some areas, like Santa Fe and Taos, are beautiful but have been yuppied to death, with sky high housing prices. Santa Fe is one of the more progressive areas and your budget would get you something there, just check out the ads online.

The state is a visual artist's paradise. Just be aware that the local cuisine puts chile in everything, it's the only way to keep it from tasting like airline food at high altitude. It's also a very poor state, meaning some amenities like Aldi's and Ikea, are not here.

The good thing about the northern 2/3 of NM is that it's blue and not just in a few urban enclaves. While there are blue areas in AZ and Texas, they're surrounded by a hell of a lot of red.

Florida, the state of my birth, pretty much sucks. It's tied to boom and bust real estate, beaches are now blocked by endless walls of high rise condos, the climate is like a steam bath, and would you believe flying cockroaches? My parents retired there and I visited there for 35 years and you couldn't give the whole state to me. Plus, it's a hurricane magnet and it's sinking. You like swamps and rabid mosquitoes, move to Florida.

(Yeah, I know a lot of people think it's where good people go when they die but I don't)