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Author Topic: Best Place To Live For CL Activity  (Read 8180 times)

Offline mike londke

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Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« on: February 10, 2018, 06:41:06 PM »
I'll be honest, Nashville isn't exactly a hotbed of CL activity. Aside from a few sport fliers, (whom I love hanging out with) there isn't much going on here. My wife and I are having discussions about possibly moving to another part of the country. We have no family here, so that is not an issue. I'm a stay at home dad, so I can do what I do anywhere. My wife is at the top of her game in her career and the firm she works for has offices in major cities all around the US. Both coasts, midwest and the south. We could pretty much go anywhere we were willing to relocate. Nothing set in stone, we are just weighing our options. We may not go anywhere but if we were to do it now would be the time while our kids are still young. Of course there are other factors but I just wondered where the best CL action in the US is. Thx.
AMA 48913  USPA D-19580  NRA Life Member  MI State Record Holder 50 way Freefall Formation Skydive  "Don't let the planet sneak up on you"

Online Paul Taylor

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2018, 06:48:25 PM »
Hey Mike
I would not call it a hot bed but looks like the guys in Florida have some warm weather year round.
We just made the move to the Tampa area. You and Sam come on down and we will make it a hot spot for CL. 🙃
Paul
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Offline James Holford

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2018, 06:49:32 PM »
Not sure where the best is but we have 2 clubs lil over an hour from each other. Several contests within driving distance. (Houston,dallas,el dorado, baton rouge, tulsa) And you can fly year round here.

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Offline fred krueger

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2018, 06:55:12 PM »
Mike,

There are 2 clubs in the Chicagoland area.  Of course, our Winter flying is not great!
The Tree Town Modelaires and the Chicagoland Circle Cutters are both active clubs with quite a few events during the flying season.

Fred

Offline Skip Chernoff

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2018, 07:19:33 PM »
Mike.....the answer is ,of course, Philly. We're flying tomorrow and they're calling for 1-2" of rain...haha.....Skip

Offline Tony Drago

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2018, 07:26:19 PM »
Arizona. 

Offline Tim Wescott

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2018, 07:35:31 PM »
Seattle, Portland, Northern CA - I'm not sure about Southern CA -- hopefully someone will chime in.  Vancouver BC, if you can learn Canadian, eh?

Go where Brett Buck flies and you'll be flying with the best; move to the Seattle or Portland area and you'll be regularly competing with world-class pilots, too.
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Offline Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2018, 07:38:45 PM »
I made a post similar to this some years back and the overwhelming response was Tucson, Arizona.  To be fair, my question was best place to live (relatively inexpensive) and fly. H^^
Glenn Reach
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Offline bill bischoff

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2018, 07:53:20 PM »
What are your preferences as far as CL events? Stunt, racing, combat etc?

Online Paul Taylor

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2018, 08:25:12 PM »
Mike is a combat flyer but we are pulling him away from the dark side.
And Sam - the Force is strong with that Jedi. LOL. 

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Offline RknRusty

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2018, 08:38:49 PM »
I'd love it if Mike and company moved over here, but I'd be lying if I called it a hotbed of C/L activity. We do have Huntersville and Triple Tree within close reach, and my two C/L friendly RC clubs here in Columbia, but that's about it. Just me and a handful of stunt flying buddies to play with. I think the Florida idea sounds like it's worth considering.
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Offline mike londke

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2018, 09:00:32 PM »
What are your preferences as far as CL events? Stunt, racing, combat etc?
Stunt and Combat are our main interests.
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Offline Jim Svitko

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2018, 09:21:33 PM »
Only you can determine what are the pros and cons of a given area and what things matter the most to you.  There are too many things to consider--cost of living, weather, political leanings, etc. for me to give you any advice.

There are some areas where I absolutely refuse to live due to too many negative features yet someone else may not object to those features.  And, if I had to leave Fort Worth, there are areas I would certainly consider.

Offline Jim Mynes

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2018, 05:31:27 AM »
Being in Tennessee you are not subject to income tax. If that is important to you, the list gets a bit shorter.
Florida, Texas, and New Hampshire off the top of my head. Probably other states, too, but when I last researched where to move to, I focused mostly on the east half of the country.
I’m in central Florida, near Orlando. There are pockets of CL activity in FL, but I would have to say the greater Tampa area is the hotspot if you consider both numbers and talent. The east side of the state has a couple of active, enthusiastic groups. I don’t really have any insight as to the Miami area, I suspect there are some good flyers down there.
There are drawbacks to Florida as well. In the Summer you have about three hours in the morning before it gets too hot to enjoy flying. And most every afternoon there are thunderstorms. But the Winter here is awesome!
Unless you’re in the north of the state, Florida is far from everywhere. I moved here from Maine, the northeast corner of the country. Now I’m in the southeast corner, and no closer to anything than I was before.
If I were to move again, being an eastern seaboard kind of guy, I’d be looking for a place between Charlotte and Columbia for a mild climate and access to control line activity. My second choice would probably be NC/VA east of I-95, I’m pretty sure there are active flyers in that area, and you’re in reasonable driving distance to lots of contests.
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Offline Brad LaPointe

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2018, 06:49:01 AM »
Mike ,
Somewhere near Muncie if your looking for access to the largest number of contests. Detroit and Chicago are 4 hour drives . You will get to practice flying in the wind .

Brad

Offline Jim Carter

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2018, 07:09:23 AM »
In many ways, I'd have to agree with Jim Mynes, in that the Orlando area is a promising area for those who are still in the workforce and for those who are not.  I'd say it is an area that offers 250-300 days a year, generally speaking, of flying and other outdoor activities as well as some pretty decent schools for the young ones.  Yes, every area has it's downfalls i.e. traffic, criminals and challenging weather issues but there's always solutions and workarounds.   Our little flying group is located here on the Space Coast and as for me, it's thrilling to be able to sit on my back porch and watch nearly every launch!!  Although it's basically a coastal bedroom community for the larger Orlando, Melbourne and Daytona career opportunities, there's a lot to be said for the "sleepy town" feel we enjoy however we can be in any of the larger markets in about 30 - 50 minutes.  If you're serious about relocating, give me a holler and my wife and I will gladly host and show you and yours around the area.

Offline EddyR

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2018, 07:09:37 AM »
Climate and life style are more important than  cL flying
 
You are already in a good area for that
Ed
Locust NC 40 miles from the Huntersville field

Offline Will Davis

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2018, 08:33:13 AM »
Being in Tennessee you are not subject to income tax. If that is important to you, the list gets a bit shorter.
Florida, Texas, and New Hampshire off the top of my head. Probably other states, too, but when I last researched where to move to, I focused mostly on the east half of the country.
I’m in central Florida, near Orlando. There are pockets of CL activity in FL, but I would have to say the greater Tampa area is the hotspot if you consider both numbers and talent. The east side of the state has a couple of active, enthusiastic groups. I don’t really have any insight as to the Miami area, I suspect there are some good flyers down there.
There are drawbacks to Florida as well. In the Summer you have about three hours in the morning before it gets too hot to enjoy flying. And most every afternoon there are thunderstorms. But the Winter here is awesome!
Unless you’re in the north of the state, Florida is far from everywhere. I moved here from Maine, the northeast corner of the country. Now I’m in the southeast corner, and no closer to anything than I was before.
If I were to move again, being an eastern seaboard kind of guy, I’d be looking for a place between Charlotte and Columbia for a mild climate and access to control line activity. My second choice would probably be NC/VA east of I-95, I’m pretty sure there are active flyers in that area, and you’re in reasonable driving distance to lots of contests.



The souheast area in the central  Carolinas ,,, Charlotte / Raleigh / Columbia  area is a great place to live weather wise , good economy , cost of living is great if you stay rural, especially below the South Carolina  border the taxes are less,

We can fly year round  , no different than Nashville, with a couple months off for January and February if the weather is too cold ,  .

Activity wise, we are like most other control line clubs , most of us live more than one hour from the flying field we use, and make  daily or weekly use of local flying sites with monthly meeting at club fields .

Contest wise,

9 hours to Muncie,
8 hours to Brodak, koi, Paducah , NVCL ,
Atlanta contest 3 hours
Joe Nall ,  Huntersvilke and Columbia , close by

Will Davis
"Carolina Gang"

Offline Howard Rush

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2018, 10:21:24 AM »
The west coast has hotbeds of activity, but places to fly are scarce. Los Angeles has stunt and combat, but only two fields. The SF Bay area has the greatest concentration of stunt fliers and four or so places to fly, but with possibly long commutes. Oregon has stunt and combat people strung along I-5 with flying sites in big towns. Seattle has stunt and combat, but few places to fly. A couple of us gave up and got places in the boondocks with our own flying circles.
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Offline Garf

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #19 on: February 11, 2018, 11:57:25 AM »
You can forget Miami unless you can speak spanish. There are no legal flying sites in Miami-Dade county. The only site nearby is Markham Park in the city of Sunrise, but that circle needs a new circle center. I don't know about points north.

Offline Terrence Durrill

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #20 on: February 11, 2018, 12:07:27 PM »
I'll be honest, Nashville isn't exactly a hotbed of CL activity. Aside from a few sport fliers, (whom I love hanging out with) there isn't much going on here. My wife and I are having discussions about possibly moving to another part of the country. We have no family here, so that is not an issue. I'm a stay at home dad, so I can do what I do anywhere. My wife is at the top of her game in her career and the firm she works for has offices in major cities all around the US. Both coasts, midwest and the south. We could pretty much go anywhere we were willing to relocate. Nothing set in stone, we are just weighing our options. We may not go anywhere but if we were to do it now would be the time while our kids are still young. Of course there are other factors but I just wondered where the best CL action in the US is. Thx.


                           I don't think there are any real hotbeds of C/L activity with ideal flying conditions and adequate flying sites available to all who would like get some flights in every weekend.  I am sure of one thing......my area basically rejects C/L flying activity, parks, schoolyards and the like.  AND ..... THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI IS NOT..... I REPEAT NOT AN IDEAL SPOT FOR CONTROL LINE FLIERS.   I fear we are the last of a dying breed  :X, mostly due to the electronic revolution where every person over 5 years of age but under 97 years of age is holding an IPhone to his/her ear at all times.     HB~>      D>K

Offline peabody

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #21 on: February 11, 2018, 12:12:30 PM »
Although I live in Paradise, I think that northern NJ could qualify as a "HUB".
The Circle Burners are active and are in their 57th year with their flying site.
Only a few miles south, the Middlesex Modelers at active
The Philly Flyers are less than 2 hours
Phil Cartier and the Harrisburg group are fairly nearby
Flushing Meadows in Queens took less than an hour
The guys in District 1 always stage one or two contests....There is a group south as well....

Have fun!

Offline Fredvon4

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #22 on: February 11, 2018, 12:23:10 PM »
Not intending to insult Mike and spouse

But when we were in a position to decide on a future retirement location:

We had a tough time prioritizing and then researching for the must haves..... NOT a prioritized nor inclusive list:

Weather
Crime
Taxes
Politics
access to internet
Access to good hwy for commute
Local codes  (HOA concerns)
Gun friendly...2nd amendment
Good school system
Restaurants
Ethnic Mix....not PC but there are areas that seem great until you realize over run with an Illegal pass through.... we did not consider one of our top pick just on this one problem

From what Mike asked--- it does not immediately sound like FINAL Retirement location...but I would strongly recommend doing the drill even if planning some future retirement elsewhere...

have long list of must have and then negotiate the priority with spouse

Then narrow down to potentials

The ask on these forums trying to include some of the top priorities

We love our current place.... but I think we could have done better

No reliable high speed internet is a 20 year long aggravation that is not going to change any time soon...this is a serious detractor

Not one restaurant i 50 miles can serve up a decent RibEye to save there life...good Ribs n Brisket but we are steak snobs.. we have enough income to eat out often... just no good place to do it... GRRRRRRR

Local Drama, gossip queens, and very stupid city councils and county government is amazing to watch...

I learned from traveling....any place with college kid wait staff is exceptionally better than a rural with High school only wait staff
Live at home HS wait staff is lazy and has no clue... college co-ed funding self through nursing school is on the ball and sincerely wants to EARN your tip...win win........yes this is a petty peeve but too many little aggravations can add up

Another pet peeve... the County has one news paper.... OURs is horrid despite bragging all the time the awards they get

Who, What, When, Where, How... basic Journalism is non existent....EVERY article has me asking (in my head) questions

Again little things can add up
 
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Fred von Gortler IV

Offline Chad Hill

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #23 on: February 11, 2018, 01:34:44 PM »
Phoenix, hands down, if costs are of little concern. My company has a hub there after the merger with US Air, and if I hadn't been so close to retirement with a wife entrenched here, I would have given serious consideration to moving there. Might still do it, who knows. I like the weather, and lots of CL in the area (LA and Tuscon are within driving range, too).

Online Brett Buck

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #24 on: February 11, 2018, 01:59:20 PM »

                           I don't think there are any real hotbeds of C/L activity with ideal flying conditions and adequate flying sites available to all who would like get some flights in every weekend.

      "Ideal" is a variable quantity, but there are several spots that would qualify if you didn't look at the cost or the politics. The Bay Area/Northern California has nearly ideal conditions most of the times, and several dedicated sites, and a large number of participatants. It was in the 70's, sunny, and calm most of the week. It's also generally quite expensive and the politics are slightly to the left of Stalin.  Tucson is another example, although they tell me it gets a little warm in the summer, relatively inexpensive, not a lot of leftist nutcases, and lots of fliers. You can carry a gun in a holster anywhere just like cowboy days.  Houston is another example, moderate cost, OK politics, also getting to somewhere between "extremely uncomfortable" to "preview of a sauna in Hades" during the summer, and the occasional hurricane/flood.

   When you figure in the costs, Tuscon appears to come out on top.

    Brett

Offline EddyR

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #25 on: February 11, 2018, 03:15:27 PM »
Mike
 You and I have met many times at the Huntersville field.
 I am going to say this for people who are reading this and looking to move to a new location.
   There are around 20 STUNT,COMBAT AND CARRIER  flyers around the Charlotte NC. Most are within one hour drive of the Huntertsville field. The field is not in Charlotte but north about 15 miles.  It is very near interstate 77 and 85.  As far a flying goes I have used the field more than anyone else in the last 17 years. I have had several flying partners who have died or left the area. I am 77 now so I am not jumping to go to the field but when Don text me we go. We are there with several others sometimes twice a week.  There have been several days already this month we could have flown if we wanted. There is good coaching at the field if you want it. The local club meets at the field at least eight times a years and put on two large contests. Will Davis is the contact man as he is the contest motivator.
 I have lived in NY .Florida and NC long term. Climate wise it is very nice 10 months a year. Unless you like skying and then 12 months a years. I am less than two hours from the tallest point in the eastern USA if you like mountain type atmosphere.
  Living here varies a lot within 50 miles of Charlotte. South and west are bumper to bumper traffic every morning. Huntersville is the same way. I live 18 miles east from center Charlotte and I am in total country. I am back in deep woods. It is horse country all  around me.
  I must say there are other places I would like to live but CL may be dead there but that is not important any more. I like Flagstaff AZ and some remote places in Utah and many places in Colorado. I use to travel for business so I went to many places all over the US and those are my favorite and I have been back many times.   Cost of living is higher here than Florida but not as bad as many metropolitan areas.

EddyR. 
Locust NC 40 miles from the Huntersville field

Offline Gary Dowler

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #26 on: February 11, 2018, 05:12:35 PM »
Well I don't know where the hotbed of CL activity IS, but I can tell you that Spokane is where it isn't.  Just north of me a ways we have the great one himself, Mr Walker, but I'm hard pressed to know of more than 1-2 others beyond him around here. They might be here, but I haven't run into them that's for sure.

Gary
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Offline Air Ministry .

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #27 on: February 11, 2018, 05:33:19 PM »
1960 !  :(

Offline RknRusty

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #28 on: February 11, 2018, 06:25:32 PM »
Just to add to what Will and Ed have said about our general area; Columbia, SC is in the flatland center of SC. It's 2-3 hours East to the beaches(any type of beach you desire), and West to the mountains. Two hours down I-26 to Charleston and up I-26 to Spartanburg and Greenville. 70 miles up I-77 to Charlotte and a bit more to Huntersville. Three hours and change to Downtown Atlanta via I-20 or North Atlanta via I-26/I-85. 5 hours down I-95 to Jacksonville, FL. In other words we have convenient access to lots of great destinations.

The Columbia area itself has State and National parks and Lake Murray, home of world class fishing and pro bass and striper tournaments, whitewater rapids and several rivers. Also, arguably the best zoo in the country, plus museums, etc. Also a 3A baseball team with a fancy new stadium and rabid SEC college sports fans for the Universities of SC and Clemson.

There are lots of good colleges and universities of all sizes, and the primary schools are mixed with good, excellent, poor, and private.

On the other hand, someone has been shot to death every night on the local Columbia news, but I have never witnessed any of these daily horrors.

Rusty
« Last Edit: February 11, 2018, 06:43:48 PM by RknRusty »
DON'T PANIC!
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while you're doing it!

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Offline Frank Imbriaco

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #29 on: February 11, 2018, 07:14:25 PM »
Love Florida, but as far as 2018 is concerned,  it's been extremely windy each and everyday  here on the East coast .

Offline Shug Emery

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #30 on: February 11, 2018, 07:43:42 PM »
Good luck finding a place Mike and Sam and family.
Seems like some positive choices popping up.
I for one may (maybe, if show folk ever retire) retire in Tuscon. Places to fly (early in the day I hear) and my wife wants some dry heat.
Off to Phoenix tomorrow for a gig. Gonna look at it differently this time.
Shug
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Offline Chris McMillin

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #31 on: February 11, 2018, 07:59:08 PM »
I moved from Pacific Palisades, CA to Tucson, AZ in 2015. For me Tucson is perfect. My children are all grown, our baby is 21 and goes to U of A's Eller Business School, but I couldn't retire in SoCal which prompted the move.
I have so many hobbies I don't fly Stunt that often but I know there are guys there every single morning at Silverbell Park. It has three paved and 4 grass circles but one paved one is unusable. 364 days a year of flyable weather, gets hot in summer so one goes early, cold in the am in winter so one goes a little later.
Reasonable cost of living.
Schools depend on where you move locally.
Home prices are reasonable to astronomical depending where you live locally.
I commute from Tucson to Dallas to go to work and there is very good flight availability for a small city.
I-10 goes by the town but the majority of travel is on 4 lanes.
It takes me 25 minutes to go all the way across town.
We need more young guys with school age kids. Me and Sean Chang are the youngest I think. He is maybe 40 and I just turned 59.
Chris...   

Offline Chris McMillin

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #32 on: February 11, 2018, 08:02:02 PM »
Shug,
We have more performance venues than you might think in Tucson. There are a lot of bars, theaters and just quirky places. Laura and I both noticed better arthritis symptoms and pain med reduction when moving from the humidity.
Chris...

Online Larry Renger

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #33 on: February 11, 2018, 10:34:26 PM »
Fly electric wherever you want with a stooge, and live just about anywhere.

We have 3 regular active flying sites around the LA area, and about 30 active pilots and 2 clubs. If you can stand the politics, high cost of living and traffic, it is worth considering. (What the heck am I doing here?)

On the other hand, we don’t have hurricanes, tornadoes or snow. (If you want snow, you can drive two hours and rent it for the day in Big Bear).

We almost never get rained out or blown away. Smith Brothers hobbies is really good, Covina hobbies and Pegasus are pretty good. I understand that Evetts shop in Santa Monica is still there and good.

Sadly, T&A, Pico hobbies, Ace models, Alondra hobbies, Majles hobby shop, Hermosa Hobbies, Colonel Bob’s, Larry Wolfe’s shop in Hawian Gardens, Hobby People and Modelcraft, among others are all gone.

I suspect other Angelinos could add to this list. LA was an incredible hotbed of model activity in the 50s. We had Bob Palmer, Bart Klapinski, Ed Southwick, Tom Warden, Duke Fox, John Brodbeck (jr. and sr.), Cox Hobbies, most of the budding RC industry, and Flying allowed on most school grounds.  Sigh!!!
Think S.M.A.L.L. y'all and, it's all good, CL, FF and RC!

DesignMan
 BTW, Dracula Sucks!  A closed mouth gathers no feet!

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #34 on: February 11, 2018, 11:47:02 PM »
OK, Tucson has been mentioned several times.  Chris McMillin gave a good appraisal from his standpoint having just moved there several years ago.  Let me add a few things using Fred's criteria list above, realizing some of this is repeated in several posts:

Weather- essentially, you can fly all year.  Yes, sometimes the wind blows and there is inclement weather, but few places are as desirable.   There may be several days when the temperature gets below freezing.  And as has been mentioned, mid to late summer, the temps can get brutal.  You learn to do things in the mornings and also learn to park in the shade whenever you are out.  (But Tucson is generally 5 degrees less than Phoenix in the summer.)
Crime  - for a small city, I cannot quote any statistics, but crime is not a major problem there.  There are some areas to avoid, as in any city.
Taxes - Arizona and Tucson are certainly not in the higher percentiles.
Politics - After living in LA for 25 years, anything is a relief.  Arizona and Tucson have their problems, but compared to many other places, this is of negligible concern.
access to internet - no problem
Access to good hwy for commute  -  Interstate 10 goes right through the city.
Local codes  (HOA concerns)  Depends on the area.  Many areas have no HOA's
Gun friendly...2nd amendment - as mentioned above, AZ has an open carry policy.
Good school system - might need to do some research here.  University of Arizona is in the city.  With it is an extensive medical/hospital system
Restaurants - Not lacking
Ethnic Mix.... Well obviously, there is a strong Spanish influence throughout the area.

As mentioned, Columbus park has 3 paved circles (though one is virtually useless now) and room for 4 grass circles.  The city maintains the grass areas and is friendly to the CL fliers there.  Several contests are hosted there each year including VSC of course.  Phoenix is a little more than an hour drive.  Between the CL people in Phoenix and Tucson, there is a good amount of CL activity, specifically Stunt.  Combat is represented as is Carrier.  If you are into RC at all, there are several really fine dedicated RC sites in the area.  There is still a hobby shop there that really qualifies as a pretty good hobby shop, though CL is not a major portion of its stock.  The FF people also have a site well away from population, buildings and trees.

One thing not mentioned is the altitude.  Columbus park is about 2,400 feet.  On hot days, the pressure density starts to resemble a lot higher altitude.  However, the altitude does not affect the way models fly too much compared to say LA at sea level.  The stunt pilots there in Tucson handle the altitude very well.  (Certainly not like the 6,000 feet I have here in Colorado.)

Cost of housing and living expenses can be reasonable to whatever level fits your needs.  There are many developments on the edges of the city where you can  really be next to open desert with great mountain vistas, terrific sunrises and sunsets, yet can be just minutes from downtown.  There are many entertainment venues in the city.  The University provides a wide diversity of programs.  Also, you can see some of the best college basketball there if you can get a ticket to the games.   It is a one day drive to LA with its several contests.  A bit longer to get to central Texas.

Keith

Offline Perry Rose

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #35 on: February 12, 2018, 08:28:17 AM »
https://www.facebook.com/fred.marple  I saw New Hampshire mentioned, this is what to expect there. Tired of winter song.
I may be wrong but I doubt it.
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Offline Fredvon4

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #36 on: February 12, 2018, 02:51:45 PM »
The one and only singular thing that keep me and Renie away from Sierra Vista, Green valley and  Tucson...Taxation of OUR dual military retirement pay..... a secondary concern was what killed a very nice property in Herrford  (south of Sierra vista) was the egress of immigrants

Texas just made better economic sense.... but in hind site was a mistake.... our cost of living is great.... but alcohol (southern Baptists rules), gun control ( getting better with open carry) and local political nonsense, along with poor internet and non existent dinning... held hostage by the one and only water co-op.... electricity is cheap as are taxes

Bottom line Mike....there is a whole lot of very important things to research and ask about....
We thought we had a good plan and I think we did...but you never know what you don't know

Take the time to add and add to the list of IMPORTANT things......It is WORTH the effort!

OH I have to edit in..... we are retired military so health care and a Good VA were important

I am probably the only VET that loves my VA!.....
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Offline Bill Adair

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #37 on: February 12, 2018, 05:54:48 PM »

OH I have to edit in..... we are retired military so health care and a Good VA were important

I am probably the only VET that loves my VA!.....

Nope! I'm another vet who loves the VA!  H^^

The Portland to Eugene area has a lot of c/l activity, but most of our club members are a little short on hair, and/or on hair coloring. The wives may be an exception.  ;D

See "Flying Lines" at: http://flyinglines.org/ for more info on NW Oregon flying activity.

Mild winters, and summers are the norm (so far), but we do get a little light rain in winter.  LL~

We have income tax, but no sales tax.

Great restaurants, and lots of activities year round.

Water sports abound, but I haven't found a way to wear arctic gear inside a dry suit (diving gear).   HB~>

A terrible gun hating governor (Brown), financed by the Bloomberg millions, is running again. We hope to dump her and her illogical reasoning.

I may visiting Arizona this summer, to check the warmer arid weather south of here.

Bill
Not a flyer (age related), but still love the hobby!

Offline Howard Rush

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #38 on: February 12, 2018, 05:58:49 PM »
... THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI IS NOT..... I REPEAT NOT AN IDEAL SPOT FOR CONTROL LINE FLIERS.

I think it would be pretty good, particularly if you're interested in F2D competition.  The Minors, world-class F2D fliers, live there and can show you how it's done.  They put on a big contest every year, too.  Rob Hein, with whose dad and uncle I flew over half a century ago, is enthusiastic about combat and has a son about Sam's age.  Both flew in the last team trials.  As for stunt, PAMPA VP Dave Trible lives there and is a very helpful guy.  Just west of town are MBS and Jim Lee, who have all the supplies you need. 
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Making combat and stunt great again

Offline Howard Rush

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #39 on: February 12, 2018, 06:06:24 PM »
You can forget Miami unless you can speak spanish.

Or if you want to fly with the world stunt champion.  Otherwise, you'll have to try to learn from somebody who's not as good.
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Offline Jared Hays

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #40 on: February 12, 2018, 07:50:40 PM »
The Miners are in KC and so is John Hein and Fast Eddy,  all combat guys, We fly stunt here in Omaha.  Fargo ND has a decent contest every year with a lot of combat.  Des Moines IA has a big contest every year with Stunt and Combat.  Tulsa has a decent contest, and Wichita KS has a contest with stunt and combat as well.

Offline Tim Wescott

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #41 on: February 12, 2018, 10:09:19 PM »
The Portland to Eugene area has a lot of c/l activity, but most of our club members are a little short on hair...

Yes, it can be a bit disorienting when a kid shows up and suddenly has 100 grandfathers.
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The problem with electric is that once you get the smoke generator and sound system installed, the plane is too heavy.

Offline mccoy40

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #42 on: February 13, 2018, 10:43:37 AM »
I would move to Carmichaels PA - good contest held there once a year and one of the best hobby shops in the world

There is the possibility you could get a part time job for a certain somebody in the cl field and trade your salary for kits. etc.

 ;D    y1     <=   
Joseph Meyer
Philadelphia, PA

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #43 on: February 13, 2018, 11:41:36 AM »
I guess I am a for gotten person or Howard forgot the one time I placed first in combat at Swope Park flying  a Big Iron with Johnson combat special on 4 ounce metal tank.   I flew for the entire 5 minutes waiting for them to get air borne.  Then they had the audacity to ask me if we could have a reflight.   KC area was a real hot bed of CL in its day.  I think at one time there were maybe 7 CL clubs and 1 RC club and quite a few FF's.  Yes the summers get warm, sometimes into 3 digit temps and winters can be brutal with sub zero temps.   Schools depend on which area you live in.   Have great medical facilities.  But, yes there are some areas of the city you do not go into especially after dark.   But, I have lived in some of those areas and knew the people so myself I didn't worry.   Since the circle at Swope Park is no more we have tried to get a place to fly.   Dave and I now have a circle within 12 miles of me that is rough for competition planes, but for flying it serves its purpose for me.   Topeka, Wichita, Tulsa, Omaha and St Louis is within a decent driving distance.   But, if my roots weren't set in the Kansas/Missouri area I would have been headed for Tuscon right after I had retired.   But being in this part of our great country it was kind of easy to attend the Nationals when they were still moving around the country.   Guess that is one of the things I miss about them being anchored in Muncie.  As far as traffic it is like most cities, why do they call them expressways or high ways when they become slow moving parking lots in the morning and after noon.   During those times I just drive straight across town on the city streets and see the different areas of this city.   Any way I do hope you and your wife can get settled where you want and enjoy it. D>K
John E. "DOC" Holliday
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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #44 on: February 13, 2018, 12:15:44 PM »
The KC Metro here is said to be one of the better places to live overall.  However not too many CLers anymore and the winter mostly claims flying from Thanksgiving till Memorial Day. .....  I have a four day weekend coming at the end of the month.  Thinking about loading a couple planes and heading south someplace-Tulsa? Dallas?

Dave
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Offline mike londke

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #45 on: February 15, 2018, 09:31:08 AM »
Thanks for all the great replies. Now on to the task of weighing our options and making a decision to stay put or head for new horizons.
AMA 48913  USPA D-19580  NRA Life Member  MI State Record Holder 50 way Freefall Formation Skydive  "Don't let the planet sneak up on you"

Offline Peter Nevai

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #46 on: February 15, 2018, 07:36:27 PM »
Ahhhh. Does not the wife have a say? Also you say you are a live at home dad. I would have recommended Florida but considering what happened here n the safest city in FLorida you may wish to keep the kids out of a state with as lax gun laws as Florida has. Near larger Florida population centers you have far more things to do than just fly CL which the wife would appreciate.

You have many Caribbean Islands a stones throw away, The Florida Keys, etc. If beaches and water activities are your thing then Florida is a natural choice. There are tons of festivals in the winter months, It is popular vacation spot, sometimes to the angst of us who actually live here, but it does have it's perks with Disney, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center, and Universal Studios to boot. No State Income Tax and 6.5% sales tax. It is a mixed political environment if that matters and you are never very far from the wild life.

CL activity is in patches but readily there. We do host the KOI every winter, but Florida seems to be the home for every weird criminal activity on record plus now the third worst school shooting in US history. Since much of Florida is a hodgepodge mix of various ethnic peoples it does get interesting and never truly boring unless you live in a senior citizens community.

And if you cannot get enough of the current nitwit residing in the White house you can always park along Southern Blvd and wave to him as the motorcade drives by or curse his name being stuck in traffic on the turnpike when they close off the entrance and exit ramps when the a fore mentioned motorcade drives by.

The Carolina's are nice except that they get the brunt of more hurricanes than Florida does, at least in recent history. California has mudslides and wild fires. Arizona gets Sandstorms of biblical proportions. The Midwest...... well.... Tornado's seem to love congregating there come spring and fall. The pacific North west tends to be rainy and foggy but that is about the gist of it as far as weather is concerned, So if I were to leave Florida my next choice would be Washington State. Reasonable cost of living, good CL activity and stuff for the significant other to enjoy and plenty of stuff for any kids.
Words Spoken by the first human to set foot on Mars... "Now What?"

Offline Peter Nevai

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #47 on: February 15, 2018, 07:55:10 PM »
Love Florida, but as far as 2018 is concerned,  it's been extremely windy each and everyday  here on the East coast .

It sure was past few days, but get out between 6 and 9 am it is usually quite calm, and the mosquito's have mostly gone into hiding. Besides the wind keeps things interesting I find anything below 20 mph quite flyable. Sure beats four to six month winters where you really really have to be dedicated to go out an fly. I Lived on NY and back then CL was very popular and active, but I can count on one hand the number of times I went out to fly in the months between October and April.
Words Spoken by the first human to set foot on Mars... "Now What?"

Offline Fred Cronenwett

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #48 on: February 15, 2018, 08:01:52 PM »
someone once told me that were jealous of me for two reasons. 1) I have a fantastic flying site available to me    2) that I was part of a CL club that holds contests on a regular basis. Look for a spot where you can find a CL flying site that won't get taken away from the local club and CL club to inspire you to keep building and flying.

https://lafayetteesquadrillecl.wordpress.com/

Fred
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Offline Allan Perret

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Re: Best Place To Live For CL Activity
« Reply #49 on: February 23, 2018, 08:41:49 PM »
Not sure where the best is but we have 2 clubs lil over an hour from each other. Several contests within driving distance. (Houston,dallas,el dorado, baton rouge, tulsa) And you can fly year round here.

Louisiana

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Jamie: you forgot the ones in NewOrleans and Denhim Springs. 
And there is a new one in development in Hammond, La. 
Coincidentally, (or not?) I just bought a house there..
Allan Perret
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