Bonus:
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Note: winters are getting milder. Snow/rain precip over time chart, is a site to see. As to *wear* one choose to live in this Great Lakes Region, that is a personal tactical decision.
But's we got lots and lots of water, no drought, Amish space aliens growing shit for pennies on the dollar here and there, and even with global warming, the Jet Stream loves us. It's been the North American Wet that has been experiencing insanity.
Homestead tip: there is a *lot* of affordable mountain land due to the vast number of watershed protections, including if you wish a warmer clime go south and you get into the mighty Chesapeak Bay watershed. I'm sure you know, if you can abide land use restrictions (I'm lucky, my needs are totally basic lol) you can get a nice ridge for yourself. And those mountains, and those watershed rules, means the likelihood of them getting overdeveloped is much smaller than most "land for sale!" stuff I see.
Don't rule out the mountains. Depends on how one intends to sustain oneself, and how much sustaining. I once was saving to get some land near the ANF in west PA. It's snowed in 5 months out of the year, but I bet it is down to two months now. If at all. Anyway, everyone rides a snowmobile up were I was looking around, so six of one half dozen of the other.