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Check out cities like Raleigh, Atlanta,Charlotte and Nashville. I think that they meet most of the qualities that you are seeking. Given that you are still fairly young and single, it is probably important for you to be around people your own age. The Midwestern cities that you listed are wonderful cities but it has always been my understanding that places like St. Louis, KC, Pittsburgh tend to be more family oriented.Best of luck to you in your search.
Both employment and the Central Time Zone are HIGHLY overrated. I suggest becoming a hobo in the shadows of the Fort Pitt Tunnel. That way, you can starve to death while admiring the Pittsburgh skyline.
I was in North Carolina recently. You won't die there, at least not physically. It's mentally challenging. Raleigh-Durham is not at all appealing, and Charlotte is basically a financial center with a bunch of sprawl. meh.
Have you considered Ann Arbor, Austin, Madison, etc the usual suspects?
djphrenzy: Raleigh(Pop. 370,000) is a fast growing hip and trendy city.
Between all the recent college grads(High-Tech jobs) moving here and all
the nearby major Universities such as NC State, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, it is
loaded with young people. It is also a clean and green city with lots of trees,
parks and greenways. The job market is about as strong as anywhere with a
lot of High-Tech and Pharmaceutical jobs along with a lot of government
(State Capital) and Healthcare related jobs.
The metro population is a little misleading because the Triangle area was
split in to 2 metros recently. Raleigh-Cary(1,000,000) and Durham-Chapel Hill
(500,000) use to be one Metro. Not sure why they divided them, the Triangle
area (Raleigh-Durham-Cary-Chapel Hill) has all grown together in a nice way.
The cost of living is probably about average but it is getting more expensive
with all the explosive growth. Taxes are lower than a lot of areas but not
sure how it would compare to Dayton. As for public transportation, Raleigh
has high speed rails in the works but for now it's your standard froms of public
transportation. Hope that helps, personally.....I would highly recommend the
Raleigh area.
I'll take the risk of presumptiousness and say you are most comfortable in the Midwest. If you are moving because you need a more urban area as to meet people, Saint Louis, Kansas City and Pittsburg are all great areas, and you won't have to feel like a complete newcomer in St. L or KCMO. St. L, for instance has most things that Raleigh will. CWE, Delmar and Downtown are fun and vibrant. You have Wash. U. and SLU. Light rail linking Dwtn, UM-St.L, CWE, Wash., Airport, et. cetera. You are familiar with the area, it is a great city, it has every concrete thing you are looking for. A young, single guy making a big move is stressful enough without the stress of an entire new city or region. My advice. Good luck on whatever you decide.
Both employment and the Central Time Zone are HIGHLY overrated. I suggest becoming a hobo in the shadows of the Fort Pitt Tunnel. That way, you can starve to death while admiring the Pittsburgh skyline.
One thing I'm realizing, while all of you are offering valid and helpful opinions, they are still personal opinions based on personal tastes.
I really wish it was financially feasible for me to spend a week in all the cities I'm considering. It will be relatively easy for me to visit St. Louis because I can stay with family for free (and I'm quite certain my grandmother will insist on feeding me often).
Visiting Raleigh may be a bit more difficult, I'm not exactly poor, but spending $1500 on a trip down there for a week (flying skybus into Greensboro, car rental, hotel, etc.) will take a decent size chunk out of my wallet.
I am also considering Charlotte as its a bit larger. Care to chime in on that caorlinadreamin?
I guess I'm not entirely bound by any sort of time frame. The idea to move is a result of the fact that I am currently between jobs with a decent amount of savings. I'm not really bound to anything. Perhaps I should give myself a few months and get a temporary job to allow for planning and whatnot.
Charlotte(610,000) would be a very solid choice. The Charlotte metro is actually (1.5 million) the same size as the Triangle. The green, clean, with lots
of parks and greenways would also apply to Charlotte. Unlike Raleigh, Charlotte is a financial center being home to several large banks. It's either
second or third in total banks assets along with New York and San Fran.
It's downtown is bigger than Raleigh's but it dosen't really offer more clubs
or restaurants. Both cities of course have International Airports, so if you
fly alot that's not an issue. Raleigh is very hard to beat in the high-tech
sector which I figured would be more favorably for your job situation. If your
not sure about NC please don't invest too much money in checking it out.
I LOVE North Carolina and so do a lot of folks, especially lately...but not
knowing you,it is impossible for me to know how you would like it.
The only downsides I can think of with Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill or Charlotte is that, overall, their architecture is just HIDEOUS! I wouldn't be caught dead in a neutral-toned vinyl-clad McMansion with a front-facing garage on a cul-de-sac near fast-food places, Wal-Marts, drive-thru pharmacies, and gas stations, and that's much of what I see of both of these metropolitan areas from Google Earth.
With that being said, the large concentration of high-tech employers in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill has created a rather large pool of the "hip twenty-something" clique. I hear there's a lot of younger single professionals in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, along with a lot of artists and other "bohemian" types, so you might just find yourself a soul mate there.
Charlotte is growing very rapidly and may soon rival Atlanta for being the primary white-collar city in the Southeast. One thing to remember about both Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and Charlotte is that both MSAs are northern areas, at least culturally. Both have seen such an influx of Northeasterners (especially from NY and NJ) that they have lost most of their Southern roots and now resemble some parts of the BosWash Corridor. Neither MSA feels very much like what one would think of as the "South," and each are becoming increasingly-diverse with each passing year.
If you can stomach the fact that neither MSA is very "historic," then they'll both be pretty good candidates for you. North Carolina's state forum is by far the busiest on this site, so that obviously tells you something. I think very highly of most of the state, but it's a shame that the residents there don't view urban sprawl as being a threat.
djphrenzy: One major bonus for both Raleigh and Charlotte, there both loaded
with nice looking young ladies, enough said.
Also, ScrantonWilkesBarre was accurate with most his info. Raleigh is growing
faster than Charlotte and it seemed he was suggesting the opposite. I also
question how much you can truely tell about somewhere by google. Have
you ever visited Raleigh or Charlotte SWB? I think you'd be surprised that
neither cities are anywhere near as bland as you may think. Both cities have
plenty of older inner city neighborhoods with just as much character as anywhere. Also both Raleigh and Charlotte are beefing up there downtowns
big-time. Throw in that both have major pro sports now along with big time
college sports in the Triangle and it all makes for a very exciting time to be
in NC. BTW;SWB...You are very knowledgeable about cities and have a nice
way of expressing yourself. I always enjoy reading your post even if I don't
always agree 100% with you. Thanks for your input and sorry for being negative about your area. I've read about a lot of good things currently
happening in NE PA and look forward to seeing the changes in the near
future for myself.
Correction...you'd have to get on I-74E from Bloomington to Indianapolis, then take I-465 south to get on I-70 to go to Dayton
Well, I got the first digit right, anyway.
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