Best city/state for me?? (2013, apartment, rent)

[KellieTK]

I currently live in Ohio. I hate the harsh winters and the high rate of crime.
I'm going to list some random facts about myself and would love some feedback on where a good place to relocate might be. I'm 21, female.
Perfect temperature is 80-85. I enjoy the change of seasons, but I prefer longer summer time and very short winter time.
Love natural waters (lakes, oceans, As long as they are not grossly polluted like Ohio's great lakes :/)
Love nature. lots of beautiful parks and outdoor recreation.
Live music. Venues within driving distance. Preferably no farther then a 1hr drive.
Night owl. Want some 24hr establishments (dance clubs, restaurants, gyms, walmart)
Bisexual. Would need a open minded state/city with gay clubs and tolerance of Polyamory.
Minoring in arts. Would need a artistic environment with opportunities for modeling and selling art. Would enjoy going to see live plays, art museums, festivals, etc. and salsa&belly dance. Dance studios, classes, and/or clubs would be +.
Majoring in Veterinary medicine. Would need vet clinics, zoos, and/or animal sanctuary's near by for work/volunteer purposes.
Suburb. Not a big city like new york. But also not a drastically small town where the closest pharmacy is a hr away! I want the best of both worlds.
Pagan. Again, a open minded environment is need. I would love a area with small groups that participate in the sabbats, handfastings, etc. and little shops that sell stones, books, etc on the subject.
Comic/Anime enthusiast. I like to cosplay and go to anime/comic book conventions, so something of this nature that occurs in the area from time to time would be great
I love trying new restaurants from vast inspirations. Not a bunch of burger joints on every corner!
Low cost of living. Right now I pay $580/month for a 2br dump. For now I cant afford more then $650-$750 range. I'm truly OK with a studio apartment. I have cats so pet friendly is needed.
Safe(r)! I don't want to live anywhere near a place like Cleveland. I don't want that overflow of crime and bad attitude near me. Establishments are filthy and gross and people are rude, threatening, and just plain mean. Maybe a place with southern hospitality? Bottom line would be: Low crime and assault rate.
So that is my list of wants in my perfect utopia. Any and all thoughts/ideas are appreciated. As long as you are not rude of course. Thank you!

[2ForTheSea]

Well, I would say the San Diego area. It has a lot of what you're looking for, but would be so wrong for a few things such as rent. You could maybe find a roommate situation for what you would like to spend.

All in one day you could be at the beach or the desert or mountains or out in rolling hills like around the wine country of Temecula.

Comic Con is July 18-21 2013 so I'd say your comic/anime enthusiasm would be met.

There are tons of great restaurants as well as your run of the mill places.

Cool, funky shops in laid back neighborhoods.

World famous San Diego Zoo as well as Sea World and I'm sure other places I can't think of off the top of my head which would be great for someone studying veterinary science.

I guess really the only downside is that it is definitely not a place with a low cost of living, but I don't think you can get everything you're looking for. There's got to be a trade off somewhere.

[pzrOrange]

Portland, OR!

EDIT: scratch that, I just re-read your weather requirement.

[ja1myn]

California.

[kyle19125]

Carrboro, NC ticks off pretty much every one of your boxes. It's the perfect blend of a small town with urban amenities.
The cost of living is well within your range and it's pretty safe, clean and in a beautiful area. It's one of the most liberal places in the country and has an open-minded, very diverse population. Lived there for 5 years and can say it was a great place to live.

Carrboro, North Carolina Overview
http://www.ci.carrboro.nc.us/ECD/PDFs/CarrboroGuide.pdf
About | Cat's Cradle
The ArtsCenter | always inspiring
The Carrboro Art Scene

[glamatomic]

I would definitely lean toward the Pacific Northwest. It would probably be more expensive in parts- but it definitely has a great liberal attitude and would be a wonderful place to live for a young 20-something (I wish I'd had the opportunity to live there when I was younger and single!).

[thefallensrvnge]

Maybe Tulsa?

It's an arts city, gay friendly, with a zoo, southern hospitality, good cost of living, and a mild winter. However, it is in the heart of Tornado Alley & Oklahoma gets some insane storms. Very beautiful if you're into that kind of thing. I think it might be worth a visit for you. Good luck!

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Broadrippleguy]

you need to bend your requirements or be more tolorant of some of them.
Especially Weather. Weather changes everyone and there is always extremes.
Otherwise you wont find a place that meets EVERY one of your requirements.


Also one major city thats close by to Ohio that comes to mind with what you need.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis has the nations most affordable housing market and lowest cost of living of any major US city. Its the fastest growing region in the midwest and home to a very vibrant and walkable downtown. Indianapolis also has a decent nightlife scene. the nightlife areas are Downtown and Broad Ripple Village.
If you want nature there are several options in Indianapolis. There is eagle creek park and trails with a massive lake to fish and boat on.
Also an hour south there is the Hoosier national forest and Brown County, Indiana. This area is filled with wonderful nature has lakes and caves and rivers cutting through a huge forest.

Indianapolis is also a very safe city and the Suburb of Fishers was ranked as the safest city in America. Rent rates in Indianapolis depend on where your at and how much you get. generally speaking the safer areas will have a slightly higher cost. Always best to do your research and check the Marion County crime map to see if crime is in the area and what kind.

Indy's culture is very kind and generous and open minded. People are down to earth and liberal socially and fiscally conservative. Indy also does have a gay scene although its not as pronounced as the gay scene in California.

Indy also has the benefit of having all the events and venues concentrated downtown so everything is within walking distance. There might be a comic convention in Indianapolis every year. Upcoming Events | ICC & LOS
is a good place to check or you can ask people on the Indianapolis forum.

for your live music needs Indy has one of the top 100 amphitheaters's in the world.
For your art needs there is the Indianapolis Museum of art and there is a local art culture too.
Indy also has top rated schools with veterinary degrees. IUPUI is one of them. Also Butler University might offer degrees in Veterinary medicine too.

If you like new resturants then you should know Downtown Indianapolis has over 200 unique resturants to try out. some new ones include the Indianapolis Colts Grille and Harry and Izzy's.
Taxes also are low in Indianapolis too so you will have a higher disposable income compared to other cities and the Pacific northwest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by thefallensrvnge

Maybe Tulsa?

It's an arts city, gay friendly, with a zoo, southern hospitality, good cost of living, and a mild winter. However, it is in the heart of Tornado Alley & Oklahoma gets some insane storms. Very beautiful if you're into that kind of thing. I think it might be worth a visit for you. Good luck!

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ummmmm, I think this may be the opposite of what she's looking for.
Sounds like shes looking for some California metro area near the coast. Maybe SoCal or a San Francisco suburb.

[Broadrippleguy]

Originally Posted by Austinite101

Ummmmm, I think this may be the opposite of what she's looking for.
Sounds like shes looking for some California metro area near the coast. Maybe SoCal or a San Francisco suburb.

As i pointed out in my earlier thread.
The OP is going to have to compromise.
CA has decent weather but the cost of living is high.
actually any place with good year round weather is going to have a high COL.