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Old 12-02-2010, 10:22 AM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
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I've spent nearly ten years in a major U.S. East Coast city (which will remain nameless) and long for nicer people and more wide-open vistas. My wife and I recently had a kid, so our situation has changed, i.e. it was fine living in this super-expensive city when it was just the two of us, and it was marginally fun, but now I'd like to be able to take my kid to the beach whenever we felt like it, and I want the kiddo to be surrounded by more down-to-earth people. And I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a small apartment anymore.

We are an ethnically diverse family, so the new place we move would have to be open to diversity. Also, good schools are key, but as my youngin' won't be in school for another few years, we have time to figure that one out. As my screen name suggests, I love the West Coast - I once lived in California and liked it, though it wasn't right for me at the time. Moving out there again (while a dream come true) might be rough because our families are on the East Coast, and I hate to take the tyke away from family. I know people say that with technology being what it is, you can always hop on a plane and be anywhere in a matter of hours, but to me, the reality is that you end up only seeing family twice a year (at best) which isn't enough.

But seriously, if I have to sit through another pummeling winter or another muggy summer, I think I'll go insane.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation, or are you currently in this situation? What did you do to resolve it, or do you have plans to do so? Is there some great place I'm missing on the East Coast that resembles a West Coast town?

Also, I'm really done with the whole megalopolis thing; I'd prefer to live in a mid-range city in the future. And I realize I'm asking a lot because I'm a long-time viewer of city-data forums, and I know there's no magic answer. I'd just appreciate anyone's wisdom on this. Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-02-2010, 11:07 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,506,724 times
Reputation: 17827
What line of work are you in?
What is your housing budget?
Both working?
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Old 12-02-2010, 11:16 AM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
Reputation: 38
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
What line of work are you in?
What is your housing budget?
Both working?
Good questions, Charles, and I apologize for being vague (I'm a first-time poster). I am in editing/writing currently (and could see myself, if the stars aligned, working for a university in this capacity at some point). I would love to stay close to $1500 for rent (we are not in a position to buy right now). I am the only one working at the moment. Thanks!
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Old 12-02-2010, 12:17 PM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
Reputation: 38
Default This question above is open to anyone, actually

Hi again,

I wanted to make the question I posed above open to anyone, really, not only if you've been in my situation. If you happen to know of a great city/town not a million miles away from the East Coast that reminds you of a West Coast haven (i.e. laid-back, pleasant folks, socially liberal, beautiful coast not overly-far away, warmer weather) please let me know. I'm not expecting any miracle answers, I'm just curious.

Thanks!
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Old 12-12-2010, 05:57 PM
 
Location: the Great Lakes states
801 posts, read 2,557,755 times
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I'm bumping this because I'm curious too. That sounds like a great question and would be a great place to live if you find a town like that.

The only thing I know of that might meet your needs is here on the "third coast" in Chicago, Northwest Indiana, or Western Michigan.

St. Joseph, MI is on a beautiful beach, has great schools (including a hidden gem of a small, tight-knit, highly rated high school), and has some diversity, being adjacent to Benton Harbor. Its two hours from Chicago for those city weekends.

I would love to suggest Northwest Indiana in the towns of Porter, Porter Beach, or Long Beach, but this area isn't extremely diversity friendly. That being said, there isn't racial violence or overt hatred here either. I've taught in these schools and our African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students are treated well and accepted by their teachers and peers. There aren't many, though. But rents here are extremely reasonable, you're an hour from Chicago, and again you would be living within ten minutes of a clean, beautiful, lightly trafficked Lake Michigan beach.

Then there's Evanston and the northern suburbs of Chicago, also on the lakeshore. Definitely more urban and more expensive, but still a great place to live, and very diverse and welcoming.

Are any of these areas "California" laid back and liberal? No, not really... but there is an art community along the Lake Michigan lakeshore and enough culture in Chicago to satisfy your needs. Its possible to find your niche here, but you might not find the things you love all in one town. You have to drive a little bit to get to your favorite places.

Good luck.
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Old 12-13-2010, 08:21 AM
 
4,039 posts, read 4,922,505 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by summer22 View Post
I'm bumping this because I'm curious too. That sounds like a great question and would be a great place to live if you find a town like that.

The only thing I know of that might meet your needs is here on the "third coast" in Chicago, Northwest Indiana, or Western Michigan.

St. Joseph, MI is on a beautiful beach, has great schools (including a hidden gem of a small, tight-knit, highly rated high school), and has some diversity, being adjacent to Benton Harbor. Its two hours from Chicago for those city weekends.

I would love to suggest Northwest Indiana in the towns of Porter, Porter Beach, or Long Beach, but this area isn't extremely diversity friendly. That being said, there isn't racial violence or overt hatred here either. I've taught in these schools and our African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students are treated well and accepted by their teachers and peers. There aren't many, though. But rents here are extremely reasonable, you're an hour from Chicago, and again you would be living within ten minutes of a clean, beautiful, lightly trafficked Lake Michigan beach.

Then there's Evanston and the northern suburbs of Chicago, also on the lakeshore. Definitely more urban and more expensive, but still a great place to live, and very diverse and welcoming.

Are any of these areas "California" laid back and liberal? No, not really... but there is an art community along the Lake Michigan lakeshore and enough culture in Chicago to satisfy your needs. Its possible to find your niche here, but you might not find the things you love all in one town. You have to drive a little bit to get to your favorite places.

Good luck.
I used to live in this area and would never go back. Nice place to visit, but not live. The OP is a writer/editor and I'm not sure the smaller towns would have any jobs for him. Perhaps Chicago or on a smaller scale South Bend as both places have universities that he could get a job. I think the OP might be looking for the ocean and not a lake as well.

Plus, the winters can be brutal. I know he's on the East coast and may already have hard winters, but getting the lake effect from Chicago is not fun unless you are in school and get to have snow days.
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Old 12-13-2010, 08:24 AM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
Reputation: 38
Quote:
Originally Posted by summer22 View Post
I'm bumping this because I'm curious too. That sounds like a great question and would be a great place to live if you find a town like that.

The only thing I know of that might meet your needs is here on the "third coast" in Chicago, Northwest Indiana, or Western Michigan.

St. Joseph, MI is on a beautiful beach, has great schools (including a hidden gem of a small, tight-knit, highly rated high school), and has some diversity, being adjacent to Benton Harbor. Its two hours from Chicago for those city weekends.

I would love to suggest Northwest Indiana in the towns of Porter, Porter Beach, or Long Beach, but this area isn't extremely diversity friendly. That being said, there isn't racial violence or overt hatred here either. I've taught in these schools and our African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students are treated well and accepted by their teachers and peers. There aren't many, though. But rents here are extremely reasonable, you're an hour from Chicago, and again you would be living within ten minutes of a clean, beautiful, lightly trafficked Lake Michigan beach.

Then there's Evanston and the northern suburbs of Chicago, also on the lakeshore. Definitely more urban and more expensive, but still a great place to live, and very diverse and welcoming.

Are any of these areas "California" laid back and liberal? No, not really... but there is an art community along the Lake Michigan lakeshore and enough culture in Chicago to satisfy your needs. Its possible to find your niche here, but you might not find the things you love all in one town. You have to drive a little bit to get to your favorite places.

Good luck.
Thanks, summer22. I appreciate those suggestions. I'm originally from the Midwest, wife's from the South. When visiting family in the MW, my wife tends not to like it too much. I've never been to those places you're describing and neither has she, so I can't speak about them specifically, but I do know that I probably couldn't handle the winters up there. I'm sure they're all beautiful areas though - I've heard that Chicago is awesome. While there are many places in the Midwest that I could see myself living during the warmer months (not to generalize, but IMHO, Midwestern people are second-to-none in being all-around nice folks), I cannot stand heavy snow anymore, so I'd probably have to rule these areas out. Thanks for your time and insights!
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Old 12-13-2010, 08:30 AM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Riley09swb View Post
I used to live in this area and would never go back. Nice place to visit, but not live. The OP is a writer/editor and I'm not sure the smaller towns would have any jobs for him. Perhaps Chicago or on a smaller scale South Bend as both places have universities that he could get a job. I think the OP might be looking for the ocean and not a lake as well.

Plus, the winters can be brutal. I know he's on the East coast and may already have hard winters, but getting the lake effect from Chicago is not fun unless you are in school and get to have snow days.
Thanks, Riley09swb. You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on the upper Midwest - very cool places to visit (I can't believe I've never been to Chicago! Everyone says it's the coolest place), but I think I'd grow very depressed in the winter months. We don't get all of that Arctic weather they get way up in MI, IL, and IN where I live, but we get enough of it to have soured me on heavy winters.

As to your point about being able to find work as a writer/editor in a college town, that's helpful because that wouldn't relegate my search to only huge big cities. If anyone knows of any such college towns (and I don't mean only big universities - there are tons of smaller colleges that probably nurture a liberal community around them), I'd be all ears. Or if you know of a cool community that isn't in a college town, that's OK too. Thanks again!
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Old 12-13-2010, 09:49 AM
 
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You could take a look at the Charlotte area. There is the town of Davidson and they have Davidson college. Very cool little town. There is also UNCC and a couple of other schools around. Winters aren't so bad. The mountains are 2 hours away and the beach is around 3.5 or 4 hours.
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Old 12-13-2010, 10:28 AM
 
119 posts, read 338,679 times
Reputation: 38
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riley09swb View Post
You could take a look at the Charlotte area. There is the town of Davidson and they have Davidson college. Very cool little town. There is also UNCC and a couple of other schools around. Winters aren't so bad. The mountains are 2 hours away and the beach is around 3.5 or 4 hours.
I hear you, Riley09swb, thanks for that. Isn't Charlotte considered a bit on the conservative side overall though? The reason I ask is because I know a family friend who LOVES the Midwest town I'm originally from (I'm not from an overly-conservative town objectively speaking, but it was too conservative for me growing up), and he also LOVES Charlotte. I hear Charlotte is a good place to raise kids, which is a definite plus, but am just concerned about the conservative vibe I'm getting from there (of course, I haven't visited Charlotte in many, many years so it would be unfair of me to make a value judgment of a place I haven't visited lately). My concern lies with my wife and kid, since they're minorities (one of the rarer forms of minorities who reside in the U.S., I might add), so I just don't want my kiddo growing up feeling like a complete outsider.

Can you (or anyone else kind enough to read this thread) please give me a clearer picture of how a very socially libaral family like ours might fit in (or not) in Charlotte?

And also, if anyone has any other suggestions for other cities, again, I'm all ears. Thanks!
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