If you would like to live and raise a family in the US, where would you live and why?
There are some prerequisite conditions:
At least 50 miles away from any major urban center.
Must be within 20 miles of a river or lake.
Must be within 20 miles of a interstate highway.
Must be within 50 miles of a business jet-capable airport.
This is serious (you might be rewarded).
You're definitely talking about Western New York. Buffalo NY is exactly 50 miles from a dozen small communities, rivers and lakes are within 5 miles or less (Lime Lake, Lake Chautauqua). Interstate 86 (Southern Tier Expressway) serves a string of small communities and minor cities (Jamestown and Olean). Buffalo Airport is jet capable, so is Bradford Regional Airport in Pennsylvania. The recommended communities would be Gowanda, Springville, Great Valley, Ischua, Salamanca, Ashford Hollow, Ellicottville)
there are a number of small towns in southeastern wisconsin set on lakes, within reasonable drive of the lake michigan if you need a bigger lake. highways here are generally better maintained than neighboring states despite there being no toll roads here. you get 1 very close, large, super convenient but relatively low traffic mostly domestic airport and o'hare is a little further away if you need international or daily flights.
its not like its perfect but its home. big city vibes in chicago when you need them, small city vibes in milwaukee when you need them, small, tight communities and friendly folk abound. there are a number of extremely high quality public school districts and a handful of quality private schools to choose from and the state university system does a good job of both providing a decent education at a reasonable price for anyone who wants it as well as a top notch flagship university, also at a great price for locals. local and state governments are generally bipartisan-ly fiscally conservative and there's no big worries on the horizon in terms of debt like in illinois, minnesota and michigan so no tax jumps are expected but taxes are a good bit higher than you might find in iowa. the state is somewhat a tourist destination for chicagoland so there's a good amount recreation to be had though it tends to be fairly spread out. obligatory; great place to be if you like cheese and beer. the worst natural disasters here are floods so be sure you understand the way water will flow in your neighborhood (i.e. don't buy the house at the bottom of the hill). we get tornadoes but rarely and more rarely very powerful, don't have any active faults or anything. forest fires are not an issue here despite a good amount of forest (wtf california). its a very peaceful place to live. being new to the area is pretty common because a lot of people who get sick of dealing with chicago move here. this is a problem for milwaukee, kenosha and racine but outside of those cities, where housing prices are higher, its fine, you won't be the only well-to-do out-of-towners.
not as boring topographically as neighboring states but don't expect to see mountains. if you are driving somewhere, you are going to see corn fields. some areas have ridiculously picturesque rolling hills of corn but other areas are extensions of the great plains and are quite boring. winter is cold and long but summers are extremely comfortable. vacations during the winter are highly recommended and when you retire it becomes living in florida or arizona for the winter. politics here are about as weird as anywhere else right now. there is a very solid mix of beliefs, though, and a lot of independents which is a positive.
*eventually i'm going to have to stop thinking of things to add. arranged in response to your conditions, general pros and general cons.
SE WI* although the southwest area is beautiful but you'd be better off in iowa then because the taxes are way lower there.
my second choice would be somewhere around austin, texas or anywhere in texas. seems to be the place to be this decade.
I once visited an aunt and grandma that lived in Kellogg, Idaho. Cute old town. It feels like the world is in for hard times ahead, and being a few steps removed from the chaos feels like a wise move. As a place to raise a family... well I am of the opinion that raising a good family is mostly a matter of not letting other adults raise the children. Be involved in the kids' lives more than the school teachers, but also give them enough leeway that they can come in the house with scraped knees every once in a while. Speaking from complete ignorance here, though. :-p
At least 50 miles away from any major urban center.
Spokane is about 70 miles to the west, and a whole lotta nuthin' to the east. But the settled area stretches out pretty far, turning into Coeur d'Alene (pop 50k) as it crosses the Idaho border. That's about 45 miles from Kellogg.
Must be within 20 miles of a river or lake.
Looking at some maps, there is some lakes and a river nearby, but I didn't visit those so can't vouch for them. And they are mostly in the direction of Spokane. For other amusements, there is a ski slope called Silver Mountain Resort. If you're thinking more along the lines of "emergency water supply", it looks like there are dozens of creeks and gulches in the region.
Must be within 20 miles of a interstate highway.
I90 runs right through it.
Must be within 50 miles of a business jet-capable airport.
Dunno what accommodation a business jet needs. There is a small airport at the town, but I would be surprised if it is what you're looking for. Coeur d'Alene has a larger airport that really pushes the 50 mile boundary. Jet traffic is not non-existent there, though.
Most of the cities and towns along the I-5 corridor fit into those categories. At least until you hit like Roseburg oregon heading south.
Where I'm at is an urban center, I got 2 major rivers and 3 reseviors, I5 and an airport.
I can second the I5 as a good corridor to look at. Shasta/Redding area is nice. Lake Shasta, Mount Shasta, some redwood forests. Not too far from Humboldt County, which is known for having good... herbs. Also Klamath County, Oregon, if you're looking for something more pastoral.
That right there is where I would like to move to some day. That whole northern Cali, southern Oregon region is just ideal.
Hmm.. These conditions cut out the convenience of a city and destroy the peace/freedom of living in the middle of nowhere.