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Old 03-21-2011, 11:14 AM
 
104 posts, read 240,882 times
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I am looking to relocate sometime around the beginning of 2012. Currently, I live in Michigan, and would like to get out of the state. I'm finishing a two year regiment in community college right now. Following this, I would like to live a year in my new location, or however long the chosen location takes to be recognized as an in-state resident for tuition purposes.

I really do not like the idea of owning a car for financial reasons; as much as I do like to drive, it is simply too expensive if you can otherwise rely on walking and public transit. Unfortunately, a lot of places that offer the best public transit also seem to be the most expensive. I prefer rail systems, but if it's too difficult to find a lower cost-of-living area that also offers some kind of rail-transit, I guess buses would have to do. Beggars cannot be choosers.

Clearly, my major is an issue of concern in this, so suffice to say that it's something related to the medical field. It is not in my interest to live in a dormitory.

As for locations, I'd rather stay away from the Sun Belt on the whole. I'm not too keen on bright, sunny, hot days all day for most of the year. In the past, I've considered Washington D.C. as the Metro is excellent, although you're obviously going to pay a premium to live anywhere near it. Overall, the cost of living seems to be quite high, and Maryland outside D.C. seems somewhat run-down. It's also worthy of note that I am not of African descent, so I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable attending a HBU.

I was also thinking of New Jersey, however, cost of living seems no less than the Washington area.

Other candidates have included Chicago and Seattle.

I'm willing to provide more detailed information per your request. I have about 10,000 USD starting money. It should also be noted that when the time comes, I'm intending on bringing along a friend so that I am not stuck in a new place knowing literally no one which would also allow the splitting of our rent payments.

Thank you for taking the time to read.
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Old 03-21-2011, 12:06 PM
 
2,247 posts, read 7,010,130 times
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I think you'll find that there is a direct correlation between availability of public transit and cost of living.

Generally, the more expensive a city is, the better its transit options. Conversely, cheaper cities offer very little in the way of public transit. Just something to keep in mind.
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Old 03-21-2011, 12:23 PM
 
161 posts, read 638,383 times
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Consider Pittsburgh

It is one of the most affordable larger cities in the US. They have a light rail system and an extensive bus system, plus the inclines. The light rail only goes from Downtown to the South Hills side of the city, but works well if you live in those areas.

Also, Pittsburgh is big on all things in the medical field. They have some very highly regarded hospitals and health care facilities, as well as several universities to support almost any field.
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Old 03-21-2011, 12:35 PM
eek
 
Location: Queens, NY
3,574 posts, read 7,706,109 times
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iirc, chicago has a cheap COL. that should be at the top of your list. in a previous thread a few months/about a year ago (?) there was a debate about ny vs chi and somebody from chicago brought up the fact that you can live in downtown chicago for like 600-1000 a month and they posted pics of their condo or whatever.
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Old 03-21-2011, 12:42 PM
 
161 posts, read 638,383 times
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Another option could be St Louis. They have an affordable cost of living and light rail transit on both sides of the Mississippi River.
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Old 03-21-2011, 12:43 PM
 
104 posts, read 240,882 times
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I read an article online somewhere a month or two ago on this where the author blamed high housing prices in New York on strict regulations regarding new construction and regulation of properties declared to be 'historic.'

Thank you to everyone who has replied thus far, by the way. Chicago also has the L, which I know is old, but I'm just curious how reliable train service out of it is if anyone would care to chime in on that.
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:49 PM
 
11,289 posts, read 26,103,765 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSwartz View Post
I read an article online somewhere a month or two ago on this where the author blamed high housing prices in New York on strict regulations regarding new construction and regulation of properties declared to be 'historic.'

Thank you to everyone who has replied thus far, by the way. Chicago also has the L, which I know is old, but I'm just curious how reliable train service out of it is if anyone would care to chime in on that.
It's old and certainly not as smooth as newer systems, but they did a complete rehab of the Green Line in the 1990's, the Orange Line is new from the 1990's, the Brown Line was completely rehabbed and they did major work on slow zones on the Blue and Red lines during 2008 and 2009. So while it's not ultra-modern - it's not falling off the tracks or broken. I take it every day, and it serves around 700,000 rides during Monday-Friday. I'd say at least 90% of the time it runs very smoothly. They've gotten good lately that if something ties up service during rush hour, they'll push trains through on express service when they get everything back online to catch the schedule up and get people who have been waiting the longest where they need to go as quickly as possible.

It runs along 8 routes that fan out in 9 different spokes from the downtown area. The Blue Line and Red Line are the most used and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The other lines run from around 4:00am until 1:30am/2:30am. Frequency is roughly 3-6 minutes at rush hour depending on the route, 5-10 minutes during off peak hours, and around 10-15 minutes once you get really early in the morning, after midnight, late at night on weekends, etc. Rarely do you ever have to wait more than 10 minutes for a train when you walk up to the station. During rush hours they seem to just come one after another.

One of the nicest things of recent years has been the bus and train trackers. They put GSP systems on every train/bus, and you can get mobile apps on your phone that will tell you exactly how long until the next trains and buses arrive at any bus stop or train station in the city. It's very nice when you're at home/work/out doing things and want to know roughly how much time you have until a bus comes.
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Old 03-21-2011, 02:04 PM
 
92,405 posts, read 122,695,779 times
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Buffalo has a subway line/bus service, is affordable and has a bunch of state and private colleges. You might like the Elmwood Village area or other neighborhoods near Buffalo State College.

There are other possibilities in Upstate NY, but Buffalo might be the best overall choice.
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Old 03-21-2011, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, OH
3,844 posts, read 9,256,152 times
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Cleveland:



and the new BRT Healthline:

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Old 03-21-2011, 03:34 PM
eek
 
Location: Queens, NY
3,574 posts, read 7,706,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSwartz View Post
I read an article online somewhere a month or two ago on this where the author blamed high housing prices in New York on strict regulations regarding new construction and regulation of properties declared to be 'historic.'
all i know is that its bull regardless of the real reason behind it.
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