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Madison, Pittsburgh, or Ann Arbor perhaps. What do you consider gloomy though? Some of the areas you've highlighted are the gloomiest areas of the eastern US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JosephM1994
Pittsburgh, Chicago or Grand Rapids. Columbus is over hyped. If you're not living in NYC I wouldn't live in New York State. It must suck to live in Buffalo and pay ridiculous taxes to subsidize us down here in the 5 boros, I'm saying that as a New Yorker.
Not too great of an economy either in most of upstate NY but a lot of snow and nice summers.
Madison, Pittsburgh, or Ann Arbor perhaps. What do you consider gloomy though? Some of the areas you've highlighted are the gloomiest areas of the eastern US.
Not too great of an economy either in most of upstate NY but a lot of snow and nice summers.
It's gorgeous up there and if I was rich I would buy an estate in Delaware or Ulster County, but if I lived in Utica or something I would get mighty irritated having to pay inflated income taxes, sales taxes, consumption taxes, gas taxes etc. to pay for the subway system in Brooklyn or to maintain housing projects in Spanish Harlem while I lived 10 hours away and drove to work.
Which US city or area in the highlighted portion of the map below best meets these criteria? The city doesn't have to be a big or major city, either.
Here's my criteria:
Outdoor activities - Hiking, cycling, swimming, and boating are important.
Beautiful nature - Forested is a must
Four distinct seasons - We love snow, but we also don't want it to be too gloomy and gray in the winter
Low cost of living and taxes
Health/organic food and restaurants - It's important for us to have a good amount of options, at least for organic grocery stores.
Low crime, Safe
Great place to raise a family
Friendly folks
Prosperous populous and economy - Definitely don't want to live in a place that's too blue-collar, rust-belt-ish, or economically depressed.
Clean air, very low pollution
A swimmable, boat-able, clean body of water
Able to get a large amount of land (5 acres minimum) without totally breaking the bank.
Here's the map:
Hey Green Guy, looking through your post again, have you considered Vermont? Southern VT is h highlighted in your map, and no one's suggested it yet but I think it fits most of your criteria quite well, especially the outdoor oriented/forested and beauty criteria.
VT is beautiful.
Also you said NJ is too BosWash but I have to disagree about the very NW regions. Sussex County is technically NY metro but has a totally different feel and look. Mountainous (not compared to upstate NY but yes NJ has mountains and they're usable), forested, green, lakes, hiking, camping, etc. It's sparsely populated around there and cheaper. Four seasons but doesn't get as cold as areas further north like upstate NY and VT. The Appalachian Trail runs through it, the Delaware Water Gap shared with PA is there. More land, cheaper than the urban core of NJ closer to NYC. Contrary to what you may hear about NJ, it is very beautiful all around, but especially up there. Now, NJ is more expensive overall, especially taxes, but you shouldn't write off Sussex County so easily. Maybe just google it real quick or something
Madison, Pittsburgh, or Ann Arbor perhaps. What do you consider gloomy though? Some of the areas you've highlighted are the gloomiest areas of the eastern US.
Not too great of an economy either in most of upstate NY but a lot of snow and nice summers.
It depends on where in Upstate NY. Ithaca, Albany and Rochester would be fine and you still find employment in other areas. It will depend on the type of work the OP would be looking for.
Overall COL is around the national average, give or take and I'm not sure of what consumption taxes that people are referring to. If anything, Downstate puts more into the state budget due to the amount of people and money in that part of the state.
As for areas within that shaded area on the map, maybe an area like Erie PA or SW Michigan could work. Perhaps a small city like St. Joseph, which is on Lake Michigan and has a beach, could be a good fit. It is a reasonable drive to South Bend IN and Chicago isn't that far away. Nearby Benton Harbor, while a pretty rough small city, is home to the HQ's of Whirlpool Corporation. If you want something more small town, a community like Stevensville may work for you. The Riviera of the Midwest - City of St. Joseph, Michigan City of Saint Joseph - Pure Michigan Travel St. Joseph, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It depends on where in Upstate NY. Ithaca, Albany and Rochester would be fine and you still find employment in other areas. It will depend on the type of work the OP would be looking for.
Overall COL is around the national average, give or take and I'm not sure of what consumption taxes that people are referring to. If anything, Downstate puts more into the state budget due to the amount of people and money in that part of the state.
As for areas within that shaded area on the map, maybe an area like Erie PA or SW Michigan could work. Perhaps a small city like St. Joseph, which is on Lake Michigan and has a beach, could be a good fit. It is a reasonable drive to South Bend IN and Chicago isn't that far away. Nearby Benton Harbor, while a pretty rough small city, is home to the HQ's of Whirlpool Corporation. If you want something more small town, a community like Stevensville may work for you. The Riviera of the Midwest - City of St. Joseph, Michigan City of Saint Joseph - Pure Michigan Travel St. Joseph, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Much of that region is the rust belt, plagued with job issues and really run down cities. That part of America has some really nice small towns and rural areas but its cities are often lacking. Looking at your criteria I would go with Madison Wi, Grand Rapids Mi or maybe Pittsburg PA. Grand Rapids may be the frontrunner, its big enough to have the job market and atmosphere your looking for, very close to outdoor activities and has the snow your looking for. Its nothing like the other "rust belt" type cities in that part of the country like Gary, Flint or Detroit. Chicago Illinois is very big and expensive but its worth considering if you like a real "big city" experience. However from Madison or Grand Rapids its not that far to drive to Chicago to get that experience without the high cost of living and trouble that goes with living in a place like that.
I'm thinking you should consider the Rochester/Syracuse region. New York is very scenic and you would be close to Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. New York does have high taxes, but the low cost of living in that part of New York would still mean cheap living when all things are considered.
I agree with this recommendation. Rochester, Syracuse, Albany might have what the OP is looking for.
The taxes are the only real downside, but everything is else is quite nice. Great places to raise a family. Great access to very nice natural surroundings (Finger Lakes (wine and scenery), Adirondacks and Catskills, Great Lakes). Affordable houses that can be had in good cities (with good schools). Rochester has a decent job market (especially if your job is more white collar).
I agree with this recommendation. Rochester, Syracuse, Albany might have what the OP is looking for.
The taxes are the only real downside, but everything is else is quite nice. Great places to raise a family. Great access to very nice natural surroundings (Finger Lakes (wine and scenery), Adirondacks and Catskills, Great Lakes). Affordable houses that can be had in good cities (with good schools). Rochester has a decent job market (especially if your job is more white collar).
A sleeper area given that the OP wants a more rural area close to an area with organic food, low crime, close proximity to water/water based activities and more could be rural areas of Horseheads or Newfield in between Ithaca, Elmira and Corning. Newfield is closer to Ithaca, while Horseheads is a nice town in the Elmira NY metro north of that city, that is about a 15-20 minute drive from Corning.
I mention Corning due to it having Fortune 500 Corning Incorporated and a nice Downtown. Ithaca will have Ivy League Cornell, as well as Ithaca College, another nice Downtown and some small tech companies, along with many organic restaurants and food options. Elmira may some places to go to and some events the OP may like too. There is a community college in Corning and Elmira College in Elmira. There are some other companies in this general area too.
There is plenty of shopping in the Horseheads/Big Flats area and the southern end of Ithaca on Elmira Road, which is pretty close to Newfield.
There is a small portion of Schuyler County in between the two that could work in terms of a property with enough land.
You have a few Finger Lakes nearby to the north too.
Here are some properties with at least 5 acres and 200k and below in Upstate NY in/near some of the areas mentioned in previous posts in the thread: Property Search Results Here is an example in the Rochester area: 2317 Kendall Rd, Kendall, NY 14476
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 03-25-2015 at 08:47 PM..
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