Where to Live Once You Achieve Financial Independence?

[Mike Akerly]

Hello Bigger Pockets!  I'm new to these forums and hoped to ask my first question - for those that have already reached their goals of financial independence, or are are getting close and making plans, I'm curious to hear where you have chosen to live and locate your primary residence or where you're eyeing to do so?  I have spent the last 20 years living in Los Angeles and NYC, but am interested in exploring a much more diverse list of potential cities for "early retirement" (i.e. a place to live when I no longer require traditional employment).  I'm fascinated by the potential to live anywhere without the need to be located in the largest job markets as I have been bound to thus far in my life.  I have a number of years before I will reach my own passive income goals that will allow for this type of freedom, but this search is one of the motivating factors pushing me to achieve those goals.   

A few considerations:

• Cost - I anticipate having relatively significant resources and want to live in highly desirable locations, but at the same time, I want to cut costs significantly from my lifestyle in the LA market.  To me this means having a primary residence in the under $1mil range (but doesn't necessarily have to be under $500k).
• I will still have school aged children and need access to great schools, ideally public to avoid the cost of private
• I would still value the ability to access metropolitan environments, though I don't need to live in the urban core.  Our family loves great restaurants, entertainment, etc. and would find it difficult to lose access to that.
• No state income tax states get major bonus points
• We love the outdoors.  Not that we're avid enthusiasts, but we enjoy skiing, scuba diving, etc.  I also greatly appreciate scenic beauty.  I live in a SoCal beach town now, but love the mountains, lakes, etc. as well.
• Relatively convenient access to a major airport would be valuable to me

I hope this topic isn't too far removed from the real estate discussions most commonly posted to the forums, but I thought many in the Bigger Pockets community would have done a similar analysis in their personal lives and might point me in some interesting directions.  All of the "best places to live" lists and articles online aren't the perfect fit because they often heavily weigh the local employment market, a factor that will be of little relevance to me when I eventually make this jump.