Best city for early 20s outdoor type sick of NYC? (rent, living in)

[tangential]

Hi,

I'm an early 20s outdoor type from the south (NC) but have been living in NYC for a while. The winters kind of lock you inside. I really like how motivated people are here and am trying to find somewhere that would have lots of smart, ambitious people but with more outdoors, lower rent and less cold.

Ideally this place has all of:

- Smart young people
- Safety approximating Manhattan (may have to compromise here?)
- Mild weather all year long
- Good places to work (coworking, cafes, etc)
- Easy to have a car
- < $1500/mo rent gets you laundry and dishwasher and actual kitchen

What do you think?

Thanks

[branh0913]

Seattle.

[grapico]

Isn't the more time spent being ambitious take away from the time spent outdoors? Iphones typically don't work in Glacier National Park...

I guess I would say Seattle though...

[Jews for Jesus]

Seattle

[glass_of_merlot]

Yep Seattle, if you don't mind the rain, but it is not that bad.

[Zedd Spectrum]

What do you do for a living?

[tangential]

I do mind the rain - Seattle sounds awesome but that is a big concern. I do software and can work from anywhere.

[Katarina Witt]

Denver/Boulder. Milder winter than you might think.

[paradoxical]

I'd recommend Oregon over Seattle unless you want to experience the classic Seattle freeze.

[tangential]

Where in Oregon? Portland clouds are a bummer - what's another city that fits these requirements there? Maybe I should head over to the Oregon forum and do some research.