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Columbus would be a good fit; even though you don't want "Midwestern", it is one of the more progressive cities in the region (behind Madison & the Twin Cities), still has low COL despite the rapidly growing population and a plethora of established universities within the state (not just OSU). It's a bit more "plain" than the PNW, but socially liberal with good food options, and less of a "shock" than somewhere like Buffalo or Detroit.
Columbus would be a good fit; even though you don't want "Midwestern", it is one of the more progressive cities in the region (behind Madison & the Twin Cities), still has low COL despite the rapidly growing population and a plethora of established universities within the state (not just OSU). It's a bit more "plain" than the PNW, but socially liberal with good food options, and less of a "shock" than somewhere like Buffalo or Detroit.
I wouldn't necessarily suggest Buffalo specifically, but it could/would work and fits much of the criteria.
If anything, in terms of Upstate NY, Ithaca would be the best fit in terms of being very liberal, 3 colleges/universities, good nightlife/restaurants for its size, good schools and largely a safe city/area. There are some jobs in the area or nearby as well.
We've talked on the Seattle Forum. I know that they push the boundaries of your liberal requirements, but my main areas of focus have been Raleigh NC area and Richmond VA. I'm looking for very similar requirements. I've never visited either one, but I would recommend looking into them. I'm hoping to visit both places before the end of the year. Both places have a large influx of transplants, which may lead to a more open minded approach and an easier time fitting in with other people. If you look up best value in state colleges, NC and VA are in the top. I'm also looking forward to what will be most helpful for my children.
I will be watching, though, to see what other people say since I would love to find something similar. Good luck!
Technically, NC's rate of job-seeker discouragement is at 0.5 (the difference between the U03 and U04 number), about middle of the road as far as statistics are concerned.
However, SC has the highest rate of job-seeker discouragement at 1.0. Could NC's numbers be skewed? Possibly. I'm guessing job-seeker discouragement is a lot higher than it looks in NC.
Charlotte NC! We have great weather, a growing city, diversity, great schools, & easy access to mountains and beaches.
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