Wingnut, no place is without its environmental "issues." But if I were really going to start from scratch and didn't have to think about jobs, family, close friends, etc., I'd be thinking about the Shenandoah Valley about 60 miles west of where I live in Virginia. None of the big environmental disasters seem to bother them (except maybe the Civil War), the climate is mild, the scenery is beautiful, some good universities in the neighborhood, Washington shopping and culture is not so far away.