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Raleigh is pretty close. I used to live in Charlotte and thought about moving to Raleigh but the only downside to me was lack of of more urban environment.
No city is perfect, of course. But what city (or metro) comes closest to being the best all around place to live for a wide variety of people. Which place meets more of these criteria than any other?
1. Great weather
2. Good economic climate
3. Good public/private schools
4. Good recreational opportunities
5. Decent diversity
6. Decent scenery
7. Friendly people
8. Great sports
9. Good infrastructure
10. Decent cultural offerings
11. Good/great institutions of higher learning
12. Educated populous
13. Good value for housing
14. Good/decent public transportation (including airports)
15. Low to moderate crime (city or metro)
16. Good shopping
17. Good food
Yeah it is a nice city but the housing is still pretty crazy. Plus, any city near the border is concerning, in relation to crime. True it may become very safe with an armed border but still, a bummer for San Diego to be so close to that craziness. Beyond that I think its a great place.
El Paso and San Diego are two of the safest large cities in America. A lot of people seem to have this misconception that living by the border automatically increases crime, which is not true.
The median home price (all homes including condos) in Feb was $285K for San Diego County. It's not the cheapest but not as ridiculous as it was over the past few years. But the desirable areas are still very expensive which is why I didn't rate SD has having a good value even though its better than it has been in the past 5-7 years imo.
That is why I said "armed border", and not crime in the city. It is more a perception. On my last business trip I met a marketing rep from SD and she was pretty nervous about the situation, but that is her opinion. With so much law enforcement down there, it better be safe
Raleigh and Dallas don't exactly have very good schools though.
Really? Do you have a lot of experience with schools in the Dallas metro area? The public high school I attended is consistently ranked in the top 20 in America (Newsweek). In that same study, 2 of the top 5 high schools were in Dallas.
The suburbs also have excellent school systems (Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake, Plano, etc.).
1. Great weather-Superb.
2. Good economic climate-A Juggernaut.
3. Good public/private schools-Excellent.
4. Good recreational opportunities-Is there anywhere better?
5. Decent diversity-Honey, we wrote the book.
6. Decent scenery-Miss Photogenic if ever there was one.
7. Friendly people-Salt of the Earth, We have lots of weirdos too.
8. Great sports-Yup.
9. Good infrastructure-Yup.
10. Decent cultural offerings-World Class
11. Good/great institutions of higher learning-Ours are heralded the world over.
12. Educated populous-turn over a rock, find a PhD.
13. Good value for housing-YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
14. Good/decent public transportation (including airports)-Excellent.
15. Low to moderate crime (city or metro)-Most areas are safe.
16. Good shopping-Among the very best.
17. Good food-Probably the best food.
The Bay Area probably ranks 1st, 2nd or 3rd in most of these categories.
I love the Bay Area but it has plenty of problems that you seem to be overlooking. The Bay Area ranks well in most of those categories, but like most CA metros suffer from bad schools, bad roads, and overpriced homes as well crime. And I'm only picking on you just b/c the Bay Area is the only other place I know well enough to comment on.
13. Good value for housing-YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
Having recently moved away from the Bay Area after having lived there for many years, I agree that it is a very nice place to live, but the housing situation there is completely horrid. Anyone who would pay $700k for what you can get for that amount there (even in this buyer's market) is completely off their rocker! I don't care how much $$$ they make, it's just plain foolish economics.
And, whoever thinks Raleigh NC is closest to perfection... AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!...
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