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My boyfriend and I are looking at places to move either on the East Coast or the mid west. We want a nice, friendly small town where you know your neighbors. We would like a little bit of land but its not necessary, especially on the east coast. We also would like to find a place with good schools, low crime rates, and beautiful old houses. We have 2 dogs, so a dog friendly town would be awesome also. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear from you!
Chagrin Falls or Hudson Ohio, about 40 minutes outside of Cleveland are two that I know of that are very cute, New-England style small towns with lots of families, great schools, and low crime, though they can be somewhat stepford-wivesy and are not very racially diverse.
Upstate NY has many towns that are affordable, watch for taxes that are high relative to land value, but these are much more affordable than most of the country even factoring those in. Warsaw, NY is pretty cheap but close enough to Buffalo or Rochester (or Batavia) for shopping.
Upstate NY has many towns that are affordable, watch for taxes that are high relative to land value, but these are much more affordable than most of the country even factoring those in. Warsaw, NY is pretty cheap but close enough to Buffalo or Rochester (or Batavia) for shopping.
Very true and what the OP is looking for is pretty prevalent throughout that part of the state and really much of the Northeast. In the Syracuse area, villages like Baldwinsville, Liverpool, North Syracuse, Chittenango, Canastota, Phoenix, Hamilton, Weedsport, Minoa and Homer are more affordable, among others. You have places like Skaneateles, Cazenovia, Fayetteville, Manlius and perhaps Marcellus are more upscale in terms of reputation, but you might find some affordable homes even in those communities.
Also, I'm wondering what the OP considers to be a small town, as that can vary depending upon the person.
Very true and what the OP is looking for is pretty prevalent throughout that part of the state and really much of the Northeast. In the Syracuse area, villages like Baldwinsville, Liverpool, North Syracuse, Chittenango, Canastota, Phoenix, Hamilton, Weedsport, Minoa and Homer are more affordable, among others. You have places like Skaneateles, Cazenovia, Fayetteville, Manlius and perhaps Marcellus are more upscale in terms of reputation, but you might find some affordable homes even in those communities.
Also, I'm wondering what the OP considers to be a small town, as that can vary depending upon the person.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Verseau
What's your budget? That might help narrow the selection down...
Thanks everyone for the help. I will definitely look at some of those places. We would like to find a place with no more than 10,000 and thats really high. I would like to keep it around 3,000 or less but if we find a place we love we wouldn't disregard it because of population size. I think we just want that small town feel of every one knowing each other. Our budget isn't really an issue at this point, we are pretty set.
There are probably a lot of towns like this, but here are three that come to mind:
Stockbridge, MA. The basis for many of Norman Rockwell's paintings, and still retains a lot of that character.
Plymouth, NH. Clean little New Englandy village in central New Hampshire, home to Plymouth State University, lakes and hills all around.
For the two above, one question would be whether you care about being anywhere near a big city. Stockbridge is close enough to NYC for a day trip, and Plymouth is a couple of hours or so from Boston, but neither town is in the local vicinity of any major city.
Granville, OH. Home of a well regarded small private college, Denison University. Professors and a lot of affluent retired folks make up a good portion of the population. Little downtown area with an old inn type of hotel. Rolling farmland outside of town, with some hills scattered around the area, including one hill right in town. Close enough to Columbus for the city to be accessible, but just distant enough to be its own town and not a suburb.
My boyfriend and I are looking at places to move either on the East Coast or the mid west. We want a nice, friendly small town where you know your neighbors. We would like a little bit of land but its not necessary, especially on the east coast. We also would like to find a place with good schools, low crime rates, and beautiful old houses. We have 2 dogs, so a dog friendly town would be awesome also. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear from you!
Check out the beautiful small, historic town of Lewisburg, West Virginia. It has excellent public schools, very low crime, friendly neighbors and a lot of beautiful architecture. The town was nominated for Budget Travel's America's Coolest Small Towns 2011 contest and is currently leading in votes. The neighboring town of Ronceverte is undergoing a good bit of historic preservation/renovation efforts and is worth a look as well. Here is the blurb about Lewisburg...
Lewisburg, W.Va. (Pop. 3,497)
This Allegheny Mountains town is heralded for two major food events: In April, the mayor dresses up like Willy Wonka for the Lewisburg Chocolate Festival, which celebrates all things cocoa with a week of chocolate-themed tastings and dinners. October brings the Taste of Our Towns (or TOOT, as the locals call it), when restaurants dish out their best-known items at food stands scattered downtown and live bands play on three open-air stages. Annual favorites like the General Lewis Inn's pecan pie disappear fast. The town is also home to one of only four Carnegie Halls (carnegiehallwv.com) in the world, which draws big-name musicians and theater productions to the remote area. And just this past September, rock-violin band the Dueling Fiddlers shot a music video at local wine bar Red Key 3.
There are a lot of on the west side of Michigan that would fit your list very well. South Haven, Holland, Grand Haven, Saugatuck, Pentwater, Ludington, Manistee, Arcadia, Frankfort, Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay, Charlevoix, Petoskey, etc....
Generally good schools. The people are truly the gem once you get to know them. At first it can seem a bit cool, but the vast majority are very warm and friendly, just not very outgoing. Family and friends are more important than bank accounts, car and houses for the majority of the State. A lot of the smaller towns have beautiful older homes throughout.
Plus you get a good mix of the seasons without any of them seeming too long. Beautiful Spring temps and scenery with flowers blooming, trees budding out and filling with leaves. Summer brings sugar sand beaches, crystal clear fresh water lakes, and tons of hiking & biking trails. Beautiful colors during the Fall, with cool mornings changing to warm days, then fading to cool nights. Snowshoeing, skiing (downhill and cross country), snowmobiling, ice fishing, and other winter activities during the winter. Plus some of the best sunsets anywhere. Go to the east side and you get great sunrises.
There are a lot of on the west side of Michigan that would fit your list very well. South Haven, Holland, Grand Haven, Saugatuck, Pentwater, Ludington, Manistee, Arcadia, Frankfort, Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay, Charlevoix, Petoskey, etc....
Generally good schools. The people are truly the gem once you get to know them. At first it can seem a bit cool, but the vast majority are very warm and friendly, just not very outgoing. Family and friends are more important than bank accounts, car and houses for the majority of the State. A lot of the smaller towns have beautiful older homes throughout.
Plus you get a good mix of the seasons without any of them seeming too long. Beautiful Spring temps and scenery with flowers blooming, trees budding out and filling with leaves. Summer brings sugar sand beaches, crystal clear fresh water lakes, and tons of hiking & biking trails. Beautiful colors during the Fall, with cool mornings changing to warm days, then fading to cool nights. Snowshoeing, skiing (downhill and cross country), snowmobiling, ice fishing, and other winter activities during the winter. Plus some of the best sunsets anywhere. Go to the east side and you get great sunrises.
^^^^ Agreed, I think Saugatuck is a pretty amazing place!
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