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Hey there! I've lived in San Francisco all my life, and while I love it to death, I'm ready for a fresh start in a new place! Please suggest a few places you think fit the criteria. THANKS
I don't want to be in a major metropolitan city, like NY, Chicago, Houston, LA...i want a medium sized city or town that is within 1-2 hours of a major metro area.
What i would like in a place:
-GREENERY (parks, meadows, tree lined streets, fresh air) it would be a bonus to have a forest in or nearby! The more trees and parks the better!
-PREFERABLY with fall foliage! (never had that in SF)
-Weather- blue skies in the summer but not desert heat (like phoenix) and preferably little or no humidity. I'm alright with snow...i think! (i'm sure i can adjust, bcz heat bothers me more than cold). Not a huge fan of rain though! (although i realize it might be required in a green city) Snow>Rain
-Safety- the safer the better! preferably a city/town without specific dangerous neighborhoods....just an all around safe city where i dont have to avoid any neighborhood (such as the tenderloin in sf, chicago slums, philly slums, harlem)
-People- I'm not incredibly concerned with diversity, but i am half Brazilian and i dont want to live in a redneck area where i will be asked if i speak "brazilian" or talk to me like im retarded. i'm american, i speak, write, and read english. (When I was in Montana, people spoke to me like I'm retarded! Ironically, I was the one cringing at their grammar errors) and preferably a place where the people have knowledge of the world around them.
-Religion- noooo super religious bible thumping town please! i'm totally ok with having churches everywhere and all that, but i dont want to be bugged every time someone realizes im not christian and i have no interest in hearing their "jesus will save you" stuff. it would be nice though if the city/town/neighborhood had a nice Jewish population and community!
but yea....that's it (:
OH and i would LOVE if the city is on the coast (doesn't necessarily have to be an ocean, but a decent beach is really nice to have! that's one of the things i love about SF, even though i dont go to the beach every day it is very nice to have because sometimes i do just want to go there and it's always a beauty!
i wast thinking something like Corvalis, Or?? or someplace similar? or how about Burlington, Vt?
There are smaller/midsized cities in northeast and midwest which are close to the great lakes but in reasonable driving distances (2-4) to big US and probably Canadian cities.
Burlington VT, Upstate NY cities like Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Ann arbor MI would be some cities to consider...
Not on the coast but what about Carmel,Westfield or Noblesville Indiana? We have a very reasonable cost of living,fall foliage,all different religions,lots of greenery and several state parks. I myself am a transplant of NY. I have found the people to be very friendly.
Bellingham, WA. Better than Corvallis because of its proximity to water. Weather is about the same although Bellingahm gets less rain. (BHam gets 34 inches a year, Corvallis 42). But Bellingham is 45 minutes from Vancouver, BC and a little over an hour from Seattle.
Last edited by Bill Loney; 03-29-2012 at 05:06 PM..
I would recommend looking into Indianapolis.
3 hour drive from Chicago and the beautiful Lake Michigan.
Cost of living is half that of SF. Nations Most affordable housing market and 8th fastest growing city/metro. Fastest growing city in the midwest. Within a days drive to 75% of the US population for easy vacation/travel plus we have a brand new International Airport.
Also a very clean/green city. Indy looks like it was built into a forest
Plus just an hour south is the great Hoosier National forest which is fun to do anything outdoors from camping to hunting to swimming and canoeing.
Indy also is a 1.5 hour drive to Cincy and 2 hours to Louisville and 3 hours to St Louis Which makes it easy to enjoy what those cities offer too.
Very strong job market here too.
Have any questions feel free to ask me or the Indianapolis forum.
There are smaller/midsized cities in northeast and midwest which are close to the great lakes but in reasonable driving distances (2-4) to big US and probably Canadian cities.
Burlington VT, Upstate NY cities like Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Ann arbor MI would be some cities to consider...
I'd also add Ithaca in terms of Upstate NY places to consider.
I think a lot of places in northern New England (ME, NH, and VT) would suit your needs perfectly: three of the safest states in the country, the most heavily forested states in the country, famous for their spectacular fall foliage, highly educated populations, the lowest church attendance rates in the country, snowy winters (not rainy), easy access to the ocean and the large metropolitan areas of Boston and Montreal.
I'd probably start by recommending Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME.
Burlington is also a great choice, except it's 3 hours from the ocean and lacks the sea breeze that helps mitigate the summer humidity (which is likely the mildest you'll encounter in the eastern US). It's also a bit cloudier than places right along the coast, like Portsmouth and Portland. But otherwise, a fantastic little city.
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