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My son and I moved to Utah from Maryland more than 5 years ago and have regretted it all except the fact that I met my husband and have added 2 beautiful step-daughters. I moved here to get a fresh start after getting a divorce but did not realize that you will never truly fit in in Utah. They are not accepting of "outsiders" and people are very fake. The only reason I want to move is because of the people. The state itself is beautiful.
So we can move anywhere in the US from coast to coast. I had been looking at Texas because after living somewhere like Utah I could use some genuine friendly people. However I am not sure I can handle the heat for 6 months a year. I would like a place that is close to the ocean, maybe on the shore or within an hour or two (Atlantic,Pacific, or Gulf) and is not super racist. My son is mixed (african american/white but looks white) and my girls/husband are Mexican. I would prefer a smaller town/city (25,000/250,000) and hopefully it would have at least one hispanic food store. Also somewhere that I can find a job. Also a dog friendly place would be great, we have 3. Any suggestions would be great.
Except for not being near the coast, Colorado seems perfect for you -- maybe somwhere near Pueblo or Colorado Springs, if Denver's too big? A relatively high Hispanic population, friendly people, and overall very good weather (and you get to stay near the mountains).
If I may ask, what are your main pet peeves when it comes to the people in Utah? Are they racist or something? Or is it simply that the social scene revolves heavily around the Mormon Church, which excludes people who aren't Latter Day Saints?
Racist? No. I haven't experienced that here. Exclusive? Definitely. It is an exclusive club here and even those that are not LDS and have lived here their whole lives are part of it. The church just made the whole state strange. I know Mormons who are great so don't think I'm attacking them. Even Mormons from other states think its weird here.
It's hard because we have no family or friends to depend on. When I had to have emergency surgery we had to ask daycare to keep the girls so my husband could go to the hospital with me.
Just to let you know, the major cities in Texas are pretty progressive, just like most US major cities. For the most part, Texas isn't "racist"; you may find some racially insensitive people but they tend to live out in more rural areas. Any city in Texas will have 1+ Hispanic stores, a lot of them have a Hispanic section of town where Spanish-speaking individuals tend to put up shop. Also, it is not as hot as people think. There is a max of 4.5 months of heat in the DFW area, but May and September tend to be alright, so more common is 3 months. Houston and Galveston are close to the coast, so they receive an ocean breeze and are cooler but more humid. I'm not mentioning West Texas or the Panhandle because they'd be too far for your liking. And are you looking for a metro that is between 25k and 250k population, or a suburb with 25k to 250k that is part of a larger metro?
Based on your criteria, you may like cities such as Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi, Victoria, Beaumont, and Galveston. New Braunfels may also work for you as well. Almost any smaller city in Florida works as well, but the difference is that Hispanic food will be more Cuban than Mexican.
Maybe a part of NY like the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area may work, as it is one of the most integrated metros in the country and it is close to mountains, as well as close enough to the ocean. NYC isn't too far away either.
JaySwelly-I wouldn't mind the suburbs of a large city. I was initially looking at Galveston but the hurricane thing scared me off. I know there are huge differences but between Houston, DFW, or San Antonio in your opinion which city is better?
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