for those thinking of leaving chicago (Nashville: place to live, move, tuition)

[MSchemist80]

I enjoyed NE GA for the year I lived there. Great cycling in the farm country and the mountains. I'm not so sure about swimming. There are swimming lakes in places. If my job there wasn't a cluster frak I would have stayed but I got laid off and there was no chance of another job in my profession there. A couple of my friends went to the Carolinas and of course Florida.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by chitown202020

I love chicago but one of the biggest reasons I want to leave is the winters. What city in the US would a chicagoan feel most comfortable in with warmer weather and somewhere to swim and bike? I almost want to clearwater florida once and it bothered that they did not have any good food like chicago.

It can be a smaller city just looking for maybe a smaller chicago, less crime, milder winter, place to swim and bike friendly. Is that a unicorn?

There really isn't a "warm weather" city like Chicago. I guess the closest would probably be Miami, but only in some ways. I think for a similar city like Chicago, it would need to be right along a major body of water. There's not that many cities like that, large and small, throughout most of the U.S.

[wase4711]

Nashville is a good choice for a similar vibe to chicago, with some what better climate.

Agree with the people who said Phoenix is not a SW chicago; I've been in phoenix for awhile, and we love so many things about it, but, its really a group of giant suburbs that are patch worked together, so, there is no similar urban vibe here.
Sure its known as "Chicago West", but thats because the area is about 15% ex Chicagoans, not because of any similar vibe

We moved here knowing that, and are fine with it, but if you're looking for a "warmer" chicago with a similar vibe, its not in Arizona..

[Koji7]

I prefer Chicago it doesn’t need any hyping. Weird about the Phoenix area. I just left there you could throw a rock and hit 10 Illinois and Missourians.

[japster28]

This may be out of left field, and not exactly hot all year round, but milder weather. Portland, OR?

[nap1313]

Once again, many posters diverting focus of the thread by turning into a political discussion when it is not being asked for. The OP had nothing about politics as one of the criteria for a new city.

[ReadyForWhatsNext]

This suggestion is a bit out of left field, but how about looking at San Antonio.
As a base it's closer to being equi-distant to west coast, east coast and to return to Chicago.
They have the famed RiverWalk area, decent sports teams, low low low taxes.
Downtown feels urban, otherwise, sub-urban.
Weekends on Padre Island would be nice and overall, much more affordable than Door County ("Come and freeze in the "Land of Cheese")

If I was sentenced to a life in Phoenix, I'd vote for Scottsdale.

[Minnetonkamari]

My husband and I are both from Chicago but have lived mainly in Minneapolis area for 30 years. We have a winter home in Phoenix. Yes, you can find some Chicago foods and apparently, there are many Chicagoans there, but I can't imagine anyone thinks it's "like" Chicago, except that there are quite a few Italian Beef places - ha ha. You might find a little neighborhood or development you really enjoy, like Arcadia or something, but it just feels like a really sprawled out place. And in our opinion, the summers are horrific. So hot you can't walk the dog for fear it will burn its paws. You have to hose down the fake grass to cool it off for them to go out and do their business. We've only spent a few quick visits at our place during summer (which lasts a looooong time) and it was intolerable for this pair of Midwesterners. Even our pool was too warm to cool off in. But late Fall and Winter are lovely. I don't find it nearly as friendly as Chicago in any way.
Just my two cents.

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by Frugal Audiophile

FYI, the high in Phoenix this week will be 116 and the low 92.

yikes!!!!

Wow, that should keep people from moving to Phoenix....

https://ktar.com/story/3176532/phoen...01%2C680%2C992.

[PJSaturn]

Okay, folks. Enough with the political garbage, off-topic chatting, personal attacks and bickering. I've deleted a couple dozen posts from this thread. If it veers off-topic again it will be permanently closed and those hijacking the thread will earn infractions.