> Ideally, I would like to find two places to live and work: one from which I
> could flee winter, and a second to which I could flee in winter.

Give some consideration to Reno, NV. There's a college in town, right now the housing situation is reported as sales increasing, prices decreasing. Look at a house outside town for your country life-style, maybe a few acres. If you make friends with a real estate agent, you probably can find a nice place to rent till you want to buy.

Weather is not too bad in winter (I lived in North Dakota four years, and I'll tell you winters suck - North Dakota _and_ Minnesota). There is an active arts community that is friendly. Fishing and hunting will fit you right in to the community. It's not too far from Central California. Louise and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it's a 5-hour drive for us on the other side of Tahoe (your flee-to site?).

The Reno Gazette-Journal has a good online presence:
http://www.rgj.com/
Check their sections on weather, neighborhoods, real estate, and whatever else interests you.

"No matter where you go, there you are" as they say. So you can't ever really move away. Good luck where ever you land - you'll make it work for yourself. Or not. Who can predict?