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So I'm looking to get the hell out of California, once and for all. I looked at all the metro areas over 1,000,000 population that were fast growing. I narrowed that list down to 5 that I was interested in - Raleigh, Austin, Richmond, Portland, Denver. What one of those do you think would be the best to live in?
The criteria would be....
-Jobs/Economy
-Cost of Living
-Weather
-Recreation
-Public Transportation
-Scenery
So I'm looking to get the hell out of California, once and for all. I looked at all the metro areas over 1,000,000 population that were fast growing. I narrowed that list down to 5 that I was interested in - Raleigh, Austin, Richmond, Portland, Denver. What one of those do you think would be the best to live in?
The criteria would be....
-Jobs/Economy
-Cost of Living
-Weather
-Recreation
-Public Transportation
-Scenery
Half of these criteria are subjective and a few others need context.
I'm sure you'll get a bunch of homer answers to your poll. You should really investigate each more thoroughly vis-a-vis your personal & professional position and your preferences.
First - do a salary comparison between your current location and your target cities, then do a COL comparison and see if you can expect to get ahead, break even, or fall behind.
After that start looking at your more subjective line items.
What kind of weather do you like? It's not just a matter of hot vs. cold. All of the cities you've chosen, with the exception of Denver, are moderately humid at a minimum. You'll notice the humidity less in Portland because it's not as warm as Austin, Richmond, or Raleigh.
Recreation - what do you like to do? If swimming is important, think twice about Denver, but if you like kayaking, hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing, and camping then Denver moves up.
Public Transpo - Don't use it so you're on your own there. Will say that once the rail line opens from Union Station to DIA you can probably get away with living and working in downtown Denver without having to rely on a car.
Scenery - Trees important to you? If so, Denver is not a "forested" city by any means. There are trees, yes, but there are also wide expanses of prairie that brown up nicely in the summer. The Rockies are clearly visible from many areas in the city, but there's nothing with as much prominence as Mount Hood.
I lived in Dallas, and the climate there is comparable to Austin. Between June 1 and September 1 the daytime highs will almost always be 90 or above and the overnight lows will typically only drop into the 70s. If that's your sweet spot - great, but for me it sucked.
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