Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
me and my husband are a young, African-American couple currently residing in Cleveland, I'm in my mid twenties and he's in his late twenties. I just got my BA in Communications but I'm looking for work with a non profit/social services/education, eventually want to head back for my masters in education/counseling. my husband is finishing up his degree in Business management. We're looking to move by the end of the year and we want to find someplace outside of Ohio to settle down and raise a family.
Please help with suggestions on cities we should look at to relocate:
1. We're urban city kids! We love the hustle and bustle of the city but don't mind a suburb if it's JUST outside of the city and has an urban feel to it. City needs to have a population of at least 100,000!
2. Diversity is a MUST!
3. Good schools are a must! If schools are crappy we might as well stay in Ohio! Universities in the area with education and business programs are a plus!
4. Safety is important too, as we're looking to start a family within 2-5 years or so.
5. Job market must be good for education/non-profits and business management...hubby won't move without a job!
6. We do have specific geographical preferences due to wanting to be not far from family: Virginia, Connecticut, New York City, and South Carolina
I've been researching Arlington/Alexandria and like what I hear/read so far! But other than that I'm at a loss...HELP!
If you don't mind Upstate NY, where every major metro has plenty of colleges, look into Brighton in the Rochester area. rochester is the major city in NY State with the highest percentage of Black folks and Brighton is a nationally ranked public school district right next to the city of Rochester. You wouldn't be far from the University of Rochester or the Rochester Institute of Technology. You would also be close to the trendy Park Avenue area, along with some other nice urban neighborhoods and it is a short drive to Downtown Rochester. There are some walkable areas of Brighton that would fit what you are looking for.
If you look at other similar areas in other Upstate NY metros, in the Syracuse area, the Orvilton area of DeWitt would fit, as would the village of Liverpool. Both Jamesville-DeWitt and Liverpool schools are relatively diverse for area suburban SD's and both are good(especially J-D). That area of DeWitt is close to Syracuse University and some nice urban neighborhoods as well.
In the Buffalo area, perhaps the Snyder neighborhood/community in the town of Amherst would fit. It is close to the University of Buffalo and Amherst Central schools are pretty good and diverse as well. Again, you would be near some nice urban neighborhoods and the nearby Sweet Home SD also in Amherst would be good too.
In the Albany area, you have the village of Colonie near SUNY-Albany, that would be good as it is walkable and the Colonie Central schools are good and have some diversity as well.
There are some other communities you might like in the area as well like Ithaca and Troy in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area, among some others. Here's some information you might like as well: http://www.essentialnyjobs.com/
Well, if you're from the Midwest and don't mind the winters, look into Chicago. There's a ton of neighborhoods you could choose from, and as an educated person, finding a job should be a little easier for you. If you're looking for a different region, you could try Atlanta, Houston, or Dallas, but be warned, they're almost polar opposites of urban living.
apparently hubby says no to Upstate New York and the midwest, I love to VISIT Chicago but to live? the job market in Chicago isn't the greatest right now...
we're also for now, not considering Texas, as it is too far from our families who live in Georgia, New York, Ohio and Illinois, or else Austin would be our best bet!
Atlanta, for now, is not some place my husband wants to live either, the urban sprawl is rather ridiculous down there.
Things to do...well I love going to orchestra performances, sporting events on the college and professional levels. We like the normal going to the movies thing, going to the local pub/bar, etc.
We're a huge fan of walkable neighborhoods, and having everything within walking distance (grocery stores, nice parks, etc).
Cost of living...as long as we both can secure decent jobs (I have my BA, he's going back for his but has management experience), we're willing to pay for convenience and the perks of urban living...but no more than around $1200-1400/month for a 1 bedroom apartment.
I guess DC/NYC sounds more ideal for what we're looking for...
apparently hubby says no to Upstate New York and the midwest, I love to VISIT Chicago but to live? the job market in Chicago isn't the greatest right now...
we're also for now, not considering Texas, as it is too far from our families who live in Georgia, New York, Ohio and Illinois, or else Austin would be our best bet!
Atlanta, for now, is not some place my husband wants to live either, the urban sprawl is rather ridiculous down there.
Things to do...well I love going to orchestra performances, sporting events on the college and professional levels. We like the normal going to the movies thing, going to the local pub/bar, etc.
We're a huge fan of walkable neighborhoods, and having everything within walking distance (grocery stores, nice parks, etc).
Cost of living...as long as we both can secure decent jobs (I have my BA, he's going back for his but has management experience), we're willing to pay for convenience and the perks of urban living...but no more than around $1200-1400/month for a 1 bedroom apartment.
I guess DC/NYC sounds more ideal for what we're looking for...
Just wondering, why isn't he interested in Upstate NY? I ask that because the cost of living is average, if not below average, we have the neighborhoods, the music and sporting events(especially Syracuse and Buffalo) and the unemployment rate in all of the metros is below average. For instance, if you went with syracuse, you would probably like the Westcott neighborhood on the city's Eastside near Syracuse University and much of the city's Black middle and upper middle class live in nearby neighborhoods like Salt Springs and Meadowbrook. A lot of college professors and staff live in that area of the city and into the Eastern suburbs like DeWitt. You would probably like Buffalo's elmwood Village and North Buffalo neighborhoods, Rochester's Park ave., South Wedge and Swillburg neighborhoods, Albany's Lark Street/Center square neighborhood and Ithaca is a college town that is smaller, but very diverse and has a great arts scene.
With that said, if you look in Downstate NY, you might want to check out Nyack, Peekskill, Dobbs Ferry, New Rochelle, White Plains, and maybe even Tarrytown, among others. All of those places are close to NYC and have easy access to CT. You would be close to I-95 too.
Honestly, it sounds like you should just stay in Cleveland. Not sure about your schools comment either, because the schools in Ohio are generally fine unless it's inner city (which is bad everywhere). All the other places you mentioned are going to be tougher places to raise a family in my mind because of cost of living or not being central to your families.
Honestly, it sounds like you should just stay in Cleveland. Not sure about your schools comment either, because the schools in Ohio are generally fine unless it's inner city (which is bad everywhere). All the other places you mentioned are going to be tougher places to raise a family in my mind because of cost of living or not being central to your families.
I was thinking about the cost of living thing too. With the Downstate NY communities I named, they have pretty much everything the OP wants, but the cost of living is going to be above average.
Another city/area I thought about that might work due to it's proximity to DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia is the Harrisburg area, which is actually the city with the highest percentage of Black people out of the major city centers in PA(about 55%). There are some nice, diverse suburban areas in the Central Dauphin, Susquehanna Township(for the most part) and Middletown School Districts. Perhaps the Philadelphia area itself as well.
This is something similar in Ithaca: Greater Ithaca Activities Center - IthacaÂ* (http://www.ci.ithaca.ny.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B40F60521-3F11-4AE4-9B0E-97AC1D61C2B6%7D - broken link)
thanks for the suggestions...I'll keep them all in mind-well except for the staying in Cleveland part...we want to try somewhere new since I've been here all my life and schools are horrible. we'd have to send our kids to private school if we wanted to remain in the inner city and the suburbs are not that diverse. we're not fans of Cleveland at all (or the midwest) and would prefer to relocate...hence the post on these forums. thanks
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
