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I tried posting once before but I was very vague and so I thought I'd try again. I'm a young self-employed guy looking to move and need some help. Here is my criteria:
- able to live without a car
- low-ish taxes (pretty important since taxes take such a big chunk out of self-employment income; also, I may be forming an LLC soon)
- able to find a roomie for around $500-$700
- preferably warm weather and little humidity
- lots of outdoor activities (I spend a lot of time biking and hiking)
- preferably not politically one-sided (I dislike both conservatives and liberals)
- i don't really have any desire to live in the south
things I DON'T care about:
- commutes
- family issues (schools, being super safe, etc.)
- jobs
Cities that are on the forefront of my mind: Denver, CO; Portland, OR (or other cities in western OR); Seattle, WA (or other cities in western WA). And the problems with them are: Denver is cold and isn't coastal; Seattle is more expensive and not great for urban biking (lots of hills); Portland is very liberal and highly taxed.
Anyways, thought I'd try to be more specific and here back what you guys suggest. Thanks.
I would say any of the hipster capitals would suit you well. Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, or Austin. Minneapolis is great also if you are okay with a little bit colder weather. Might check into Boston or Brooklyn as well.
Something is going to have to give in your criteria. "Warm weather and little humidity" and/or "not politically one-sided"....especially since many of the obvious options are in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic states.
- able to live without a car
- low-ish taxes (pretty important since taxes take such a big chunk out of self-employment income; also, I may be forming an LLC soon)
- able to find a roomie for around $500-$700
- preferably warm weather and little humidity
- lots of outdoor activities (I spend a lot of time biking and hiking)
- preferably not politically one-sided (I dislike both conservatives and liberals)
- i don't really have any desire to live in the south
Able to live without a car -- means walkability, bikeability, and/or good public transportation. These tend to be attributes of liberal cities.
Low-ish taxes -- this tends to be an attribute of conservative cities.
Roomie for $500-$700 -- this would go along with a lower cost of living, which is less likely in trendy hipster cities (which tend to be liberal).
Warm weather and little humidity -- with those two in combination, you can remove every place within 100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. If it's year-round warm weather you're after, look in the Southwest, or maybe North Texas and Oklahoma. (Though it can get chilly in those places, it's not a months-long cold like in the Northeast or Upper Midwest.)
Lots of outdoor activities -- Intermountain West (e.g. Denver, Salt Lake City).
Not politically one-sided -- well, that's going to be a problem, given some of your other criteria.
No desire to live in the South -- well, not wanting humidity has already knocked that region out of contention!
With all of the above, maybe Las Vegas would suit you.
Something is going to have to give in your criteria. "Warm weather and little humidity" and/or "not politically one-sided"....especially since many of the obvious options are in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic states.
Yes, I know, and I don't expect to find a city that fulfills all of my criteria. I'm just looking for the city that best fits my criteria.
Able to live without a car -- means walkability, bikeability, and/or good public transportation. These tend to be attributes of liberal cities.
Low-ish taxes -- this tends to be an attribute of conservative cities.
Roomie for $500-$700 -- this would go along with a lower cost of living, which is less likely in trendy hipster cities (which tend to be liberal).
Warm weather and little humidity -- with those two in combination, you can remove every place within 100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. If it's year-round warm weather you're after, look in the Southwest, or maybe North Texas and Oklahoma. (Though it can get chilly in those places, it's not a months-long cold like in the Northeast or Upper Midwest.)
Lots of outdoor activities -- Intermountain West (e.g. Denver, Salt Lake City).
Not politically one-sided -- well, that's going to be a problem, given some of your other criteria.
No desire to live in the South -- well, not wanting humidity has already knocked that region out of contention!
With all of the above, maybe Las Vegas would suit you.
Thanks for all of the info. The politics thing is probably the least important issue, as I can just try to ignore it (although, I hear Denver is more balanced than other size-comparable cities, which might be a factor to consider). Probably the only thing holding me back from choosing Denver is the cold, and the only thing holding me back from Portland is the taxes (although I can't seem to get solid info on how much I'd be taxed there).
As far as Las Vegas goes...it's not really my cup of tea (not very good for outdoor activities either).
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