I am planning to try Gila National Forest as well.
Well, it looks like we're "on the same page" regarding this choice!
I have heard good things about Tulsa and Oklahoma City , which may seem surprising , but maybe the specific toxin for our specific illness isn't a major problem there even if general toxins from fracking etc are.
I think you're very probably right about that,
@debored13. I lived in Oklahoma City for thirteen years, and even though I didn't really like that area or the monstrous sprawl of the whole "metroplex" of OKC and all the "sub-cities" clustered around it, I never suffered any major allergies (even living in an old musty house for a year) like I do here in NW Arkansas. One difference that seems significant is the ground in OKC doesn't stay covered with damp, decaying leaves, there is little rotting wood, and mushrooms/fungi of all types don't flourish throughout the year like here in the Ozarks.
Tulsa is a nicer, more compact town - certainly not "the most beautiful city in America" as the chamber of commerce absurdly used as their slogan. But it's not a vastly sprawling Los Angeles type city in the plains like OKC. But Tulsa still has every advantage you could ask for in a major city, plus more cultural venues, great museums, the biggest, most fantastic public aquarium I've ever seen, a wonderful zoo, etc., etc.
We passed thru Oklahoma and didn't spend a lot of time outside so I can't speak to my specific feelings /experiences but to find good air I've considered relocating to Tulsa as it is an affordable city with a good rep.
I think you've got an accurate assessment of Tulsa. Affordable and offering every kind of service, friendly people, and a complex of excellent health facilities.
How close are you to Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia?
That's more that 950 miles east of where I live! Tulsa is just 114 miles away from me by high speed turnpike (toll road, but not expensive).
With new Mexico in particular it's a huge state with lots of promising places probably out of the map. In fact I know for a fact that several people that have very good experiences in their small towns in northern new Mexico that don't list them on the map bc they don't want too much traffic there! Like towns in Taos county and Rio Arriba county, Dixon, Ranchos de Taos, Arroyo seco, Trampas , etc.
I agree with you. I took a long driving vacation in NM from Carlsbad in the furthest south to the area north of Santa Fe, zigzagging my route from one side of the Rockies (that are kind of like the "backbone" of the state) to the other to visit interesting several sites and towns - this state has such incredibly different environments, from flat barren deserts to cool conifer forested mountains (this was not a desperate mold avoidance trip; it was before I ever moved to the Ozarks, where I've been severely afflicted with these horrible allergies I have now). But in all my travel from one end to the other of NM, I don't remember having even a slight allergic reaction anywhere I went. HOWEVER, I was in Albuquerque for only a few hours and can't speak for it myself, but I've heard a lot of people complain of coming down with bad allergies in that city. So that's off my list. It's also the second most expensive city after Santa Fe in NM. Real estate is way too costly for me. Seems lots of retirees, many from lots of European countries, have retired there, as in Santa Fe and Taos Ski Valley, which literally looks like Switzerland, when Taos itself is a barren desert. Like I said, New Mexico has a dizzying mix of environments!
Is this the year that mold kills me! Already lost hearing in one ear while trying to treat nasal misery. [See my profile and my other postings if interested in knowing how this happened. Wouldn't wish this even on somebody I hated!]