Cool places to live in the US?

[Davey]

As a recent college grad, I really need to start thinking about where I want to get a job and live in the forseeable future. Right now I'm in Toledo, Ohio, which isn't the greatest place in the world by any means (although I'm sure it's better than Gary, Indiana and the like). This link is hirariously accurate for Toledo and Cleveland (I grew up in a suburb south of Cleveland).

I've been looking at rankings and surveys online. Austin, TX and Portland, OR seem to be popular choices (and have been labelled "laid-back," which is totally up my alley), as do Denver and Boulder, CO. Madison, WI comes up a lot too, and after reading about it it sounds like a good place for me... good size (~300,000 people), well educated population, good job growth, Midwestern climate (which sucks but it's what I'm used to ) It's also apparently very bicycle-friendly, which appeals to me because I'd love to live without a car, but that's usually not possible except in the really big cities, and I don't think I'd like the pace of living somewhere like NY. Everybody from Boston seems to love it, but I think it's a bit too pricey for me.

I know we're a geographically diverse group here, so I was wondering if anybody actually lives/has lived in any of these places and can attest to their awesomeness or lack thereof. The only listed places I've actually visited are Denver and Boulder, but that was when I was, like, 12, and it was only for a few days.

[LoneSage]

I hear Alaska's full of Eskimo babes if you're into the wimmens.


I think I'm just going to either move way deep south (like Alabama ) or way up north (New York) if I ever get out of Virginia.

[IlMrm]

My humble list of pros and cons of San Francisco:

Pro - Diversity(if you are into diversity). Crusine from everywhere. Nice consistent weather. Nice view. Small city(about 7 X 7 miles, 780,000 people). One of the "fittest cities" in America. There are some decent colleges around here.

Con - High cost of living. Lack of parking spaces. There are way too many potholes. There are bike lanes, but it's scary being a bicyclist in San Francisco. Too much drama and issues in this city.

Too many hills(good or bad?)

[Strychnine]

My humble list of pros and cons of San Francisco:

Pro - Diversity(if you are into diversity). Crusine from everywhere. Nice consistent weather. Nice view. Small city(about 7 X 7 miles, 780,000 people). One of the "fittest cities" in America. There are some decent colleges around here.

Con - High cost of living. Lack of parking spaces. There are way too many potholes. There are bike lanes, but it's scary being a bicyclist in San Francisco. Too much drama and issues in this city.

Too many hills(good or bad?)

I myself will be graduating quite soon, and San Fran was my top choice actually. I know nothing about it really - how bad is the cost of living?

[CMoon]

Although the whole Bay Area is expensive, you could easily live some area around SF without living there. And really, any place in the general region is definitely worth looking into--though it depends on what you are looking for.

I've heard people on here defending all kinds of places to live, but I know that I could really only do west coast or east coast. New England suits me really well because there's such a diversity of environments. You can do the big city, but you don't have to. There are nice secluded regions (western MA) that are still only 45 min or so outside of Boston but are cheap, beautiful (mostly out in the woods) and very laid-back as you first said. But right now, that isn't what I want--I enjoy being in Providence; a city as diverse as Boston, but small enough that my midwestern sensibilities aren't overloaded. And of course, the great thing about New England is you can drive across three states in three hours. So who cares if RI hasn't got shit for arcades, boston must have something good. And really, NYC is only 4 hours away...

[Davey]

Yeah, San Francisco was another popular choice for recent grads, but being an IT person, I need to stay the hell away from there.

We have some Chicago people here, if I'm not mistaken. What is it like living there? Despite being a big city, does it maintain that (I'm going to hate myself for actually using this term) Midwestern Charm?

What I'm trying to do is not get stuck in Ohio. So many people have gotten jobs here that were supposed to be temporary, and then 20 years later they find themselves doing the same thing. Both my roommate and I have asked people at our respective workplaces why they decided to settle in Toledo, and the response usually starts something like "Well, this is what happened..." like a prison, everybody has their story of how ended up here I want to avoid that if at all possible.

[The n00b]

Do not move to Austin unless you have some serious income coming in. The price of living there is too high since everyone and their uncle wants to live there. If you really want to be near austin, move to san antonio which might as well be a suburb of austin. When you start getting promoted start moving closer.

[Andi]

It's also apparently very bicycle-friendly, which appeals to me because I'd love to live without a car, but that's usually not possible except in the really big cities, and I don't think I'd like the pace of living somewhere like NY. Everybody from Boston seems to love it, but I think it's a bit too pricey for me.

Check out Chicago! It isn't nearly as huge as New York and isn't nearly as expensive to live in. And the public transportation ROCKS!

[Super Laydock]

My humble list of pros and cons of San Francisco:

Pro - Diversity(if you are into diversity). Crusine from everywhere. Nice consistent weather. Nice view. Small city(about 7 X 7 miles, 780,000 people). One of the "fittest cities" in America. There are some decent colleges around here.

Con - High cost of living. Lack of parking spaces. There are way too many potholes. There are bike lanes, but it's scary being a bicyclist in San Francisco. Too much drama and issues in this city.

Too many hills(good or bad?)

San Francisco really is a place where I'd like to live for some time in the future. Been there for some time allready and just loved the place. Setting is beautiful, not too large and overall very nice atmosphere..,
Not sure of restrictions for foreigners (being Dutch and all...) for living there though, so guess I'll have to check on that.

[jp]

LoneSage,


If you move to Alabama make sure you move to Huntsville, the landscape is beautiful, the weather is perfect, its not all "redneck" like the rest of Alabama, and its just a kickass city in general. Not too much going on, but its not boring.


And I live there. ^_^



Oh, and your MO came in on Friday, the game will be going out on Monday (sorry, I'm working all day today).

[landshark]

It's also apparently very bicycle-friendly, which appeals to me because I'd love to live without a car, but that's usually not possible except in the really big cities, and I don't think I'd like the pace of living somewhere like NY. Everybody from Boston seems to love it, but I think it's a bit too pricey for me.

Check out Chicago! It isn't nearly as huge as New York and isn't nearly as expensive to live in. And the public transportation ROCKS!

But stay away from alot of the suburbs unless you have a pretty good income. The property values are skyrocketing to ridiculous prices.

Townhomes are easily hitting 300's now... freaking townhomes. Your neighbors are attached!

There are some new single family homes going up about 4 blocks away from me that are *starting* in the 600's.

If you go 30-40 miles west of chicago, prices start to drop again. I think single family homes out there are starting anywhere from $250's (wayyy west), to around $350's.

[Strychnine]

It's also apparently very bicycle-friendly, which appeals to me because I'd love to live without a car, but that's usually not possible except in the really big cities, and I don't think I'd like the pace of living somewhere like NY. Everybody from Boston seems to love it, but I think it's a bit too pricey for me.

Check out Chicago! It isn't nearly as huge as New York and isn't nearly as expensive to live in. And the public transportation ROCKS!

Yeah, the transportation does rock for the most part. I wish they wouldn't close the El down early in the winter though. It makes everyone hibernate instead of going out late night. It's cold as balls up here as well. But its a decently interesting city, I do wish there was a better music scene here.

Oh yeah...what happened to the shmupmeet Andi?

[BIG]

Best place to live,stateside?

Los Angeles,no doubt.

Think conveniences,people,conveniences...

BIG-

[Rob]

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[Andi]

Oh yeah...what happened to the shmupmeet Andi?

School happened. Ugh! A lot of people including myself got busy and it went under. Perhaps we should consider giving it another shot?

[magnum opus]

I don't think I'll ever move outside of Alaska. It just seems so far away from all of the nonsense and we've got immediate access to a lot of outdoor activities. I live around Anchorage now, which is nice because you wouldn't even know there's a big city nearby - forested, river and mountains all around. The only drawbacks are A. winter, which I think I have a sick love for aside from B. transport, I'd love to also to bike wherever, but doesn't really work when the bike paths aren't cleared, it's icy and/or very cold (amplified by speeding along). Also note there is no sales tax and yearly permanent fund dividends (typically $1000-2000). If you live in southern AK, the temperatures are not nearly as bad as you might imagine. It's just like northern inland states.

yeah I love alaska, though I don't know that I'd recommend living there with out visiting for a while.

as far as the contiguous states go, I'm a big fan of Portland, extremely pedestrian friendly, decent public transportation, close to a lot of out door rec.Powell's. and the columbia gorge can be beautiful.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Hey

"Only in NYC:"

Passenger refuses to unboard train, claiming "it's too cold outside".

I was in the train behind, that bastard stranded me 10 minutes of my life. What a great place to live.

If you're the culprit then:

"Only in NYC:"

You can get away with shit like that without an ass kicking.

Wwhowhwohohohohoh Viva NY!

[LoneSage]

Hey jp, I've been getting a lot of invites to the University of Alabama, that's why I've been considering moving down there. Though I don't know whether I should fill flattered or insulted Haha, just kidding. Thanks for telling me about the MO, too!

Rob, wow, I didn't know anyone on this board lived in Alaska. Awesome. Is there always snow where you live? I've wanted to move to Alaska since I saw Rocky IV, where I got the idea that I can live by myself in a log cabin and raise a wolf to become my companion...then a few years later I realized I was a dumbass for ever thinking I could live like that for the rest of my life

[Rob]

Is there always snow where you live?

Ha, no. October-April, and sometimes all of the snow will melt between due to temperature spikes. January and February suck, though.

7 months winter, 2 transitional months and 3 months of summer!

[IlMrm]

Strychnine - The cost of housing here is ridiculous for middle class and below. It is one of the hottest issue for a long time. Lack of affordable housing. More and more people are moving out into the suburbs, and are taking BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) to work, since there's hardly any parking. Plus the commute by car is pretty bad during rush hour.

Super Laydock - I am pretty sure there's no restriction, since supposedly San Francisco is the most diverse city in the world.

[Davey]

Is there always snow where you live?

Ha, no. October-April, and sometimes all of the snow will melt between due to temperature spikes. January and February suck, though.

7 months winter, 2 transitional months and 3 months of summer!

What are the high/low temperatures in the winter? Around here we usually have a high in the 20's or low 30's, overnight lows in the 10's (occasionally low negatives). It sucks, but it's bearable. I want to avoid places like Chisholm, MN. My grandpa lived there, he said temperatures there get insanely cold (way into the negatives).

[Rob]

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[Super Mega C]

This thread reminds me of when I was younger. I used to dream of getting out of Tennessee, moving to some major city or somewhere important. Ha, now I'm actually planning to dig deeper into the sticks than I already am. I'm talking dirt roads and trees all around. Where ever you decide to move, don't go there just because you think the people might be nice. If there's one thing I've learned it's that, no matter where you go, people will always be people.

[beatifik]

live in nyc fool.

everyone else does.

[greg]

I live in Phoenix, AZ. When I was flying back to live here after two years living in Himeji, Japan, there was this family flying into the Valley for their first time. As the plane was descending, one of the kids remarked to the father that nearly every backyard has a swimming pool. I guess growing up here and living here most of my life, I never really stopped to think that this is unusual.

As you've all heard, it's warm here. Tomorrow the high temperature will be 67F (15C) and the low will be 47F (8C). A few weekends ago it was warm enough that I saw some people swimming in my apartment complex's heated pool and sunbathing. From around October to mid-June, the weather is pleasant. But from mid-June to mid-September (or mid-October, depending on the year), it's dreadfully hot. Hence the swimming pools. Despite it being a desert, boat-ownership is the highest in America here. So aside from about three months of very hot weather in the summer, it's great. Perfect for the outdoor-type.

A conservative political climate here keeps taxes low and cost of living down too. The house next to my parents' house sold for $140,000. It's about 25 years old, three bedrooms and a pool in a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood. I've seen old, trashy houses going for $400,000 and up in San Diego. Still, I've heard that wages tend to be higher in California.

If I could choose anywhere to live, it would be San Diego. I love that city. But, having no real solid working skills makes it rather tough to transfer jobs. I don't have the money to just pick up my life, move there, and start looking for a job. I guess I'm just not that impulsive.

[Davey]

Where ever you decide to move, don't go there just because you think the people might be nice. If there's one thing I've learned it's that, no matter where you go, people will always be people.

Yeah, I'm sure every city has its fair share of saints and assholes, but as a whole there can be differences. A friend of mine graduated from here and got a job in North Carolina, and she says it's like a whole different world down there.

[GaijinPunch]

I just moved to Honolulu from Tokyo. That's like going from New York to Costa Rica or something. Pretty expensive, yet ghetto at the same time.

[piyo]

If I could choose anywhere to live, it would be San Diego.

Thumbs up. I grew up in San Diego. It's crazy housing prices now, so even I can't return. Also it's not very bike friendly, though. You could bike on the Silver Strand to Coronado Island and enjoy the view of the bay, but it's a tourist route and not very practical. It's a car town, and it's really diverse.

I haven't lived any else in the U.S, nor at the places Davey mentioned, so I don't have much more to add. But whatever you decide, good luck! Things are never permanent, so stay flexible.

---
piyo

[dpful]

Of all similar mid-country small cities, Salt Lake City is my favorite by a long shot.

[gameoverDude]

I think I'd like Newport Beach.

The weather there is nice with NO crystalline white drek, NO freezing temperatures and few days over 90 degrees- and if it does hit the 90s the mild humidity (50-55% range) won't raise the heat index appreciably.

One knock is that there's an appreciable quake risk, but I think several of Ohio's major snowstorms have been as bad as quakes- especially one around here that knocked out power for days in some areas and killed 14 people. Don't get me started on Ohio's May rain and resultant flooding in some areas either. Luckily I'm not near a creek, river, or lake.