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I can't think of very many small cities which anchor metros of under 500,000 in the South or Midwest which are what I would call walkable - in the sense that not having a car isn't a gigantic PITA. Those that are tend to be college towns, and college towns aren't cheap.
Just out of curiosity, I decided to look at the Wiki list of Metropolitan areas. I filtered out everything which was over 500,000 people, in the West or Northeast, or with a shrinking population (since those would be liable to be bad job markets).
Then the remainder I looked up on Walkscore. I filtered out every city which had a Walkscore of under 50. Also took out a few expensive college towns. Here's what I had left.
LaCrosse, WI
Morgantown, WV
Winchester, VA
IMHO you should expand your search to include portions of Pennsylvania and Upstate NY. The weather is no worse (often better) than the Midwest, and the walkability is far better. Lancaster PA, for example, has a Walkscore of 80. This is more walkable than any large cities in the country except NYC and San Francisco. And you can get apartments near Downtown for under $600 a month if you're not incredibly picky.
Explain to me how the weather is "better" in PA and upstate NY. The only thing I can think of is that it normally doesn't get quite as cold, but that's about it. Aside from coastal PNW, the most overcast region of this country is NE OH, NW PA and Upstate NY -- so I'm not sure the OP would like that transition if "sunshine tax" means something to him/her.
What may help Lansing is that it actually has a pretty good bus system, which is NOT in the Walk Score data. So, that could have had an effect on the city's overall score. East Lansing is definitely very walkable as well.
You can get a really nice one bedroom apartment in most Southern and Midwestern cities for about 600-900 a month but you usually still need a car, public transportation isn't great in medium sized cities in the Midwest and South... but the overall cost of living is cheaper.
Public transit is pretty awful in virtually everywhere in the US, unfortunately! The only place with good transit is New York City and only about ten other cities (I would include Portland where I live now) have barely passable transit. Like you CAN get around in SOME areas, but it's a major pain in the ass and often involves half hour waits exposed to the elements, standing up on full buses and multiple transfers.
Explain to me how the weather is "better" in PA and upstate NY. The only thing I can think of is that it normally doesn't get quite as cold, but that's about it. Aside from coastal PNW, the most overcast region of this country is NE OH, NW PA and Upstate NY -- so I'm not sure the OP would like that transition if "sunshine tax" means something to him/her.
I said the weather was no worse, and sometimes better. Overall the further east you go the less extreme the variation betwee the seasons are. Summers are cooler, and winters are milder, than somewhere in the same latitude further west (until you get over the rockies of course).
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
Public transit is pretty awful in virtually everywhere in the US, unfortunately! The only place with good transit is New York City and only about ten other cities (I would include Portland where I live now) have barely passable transit. Like you CAN get around in SOME areas, but it's a major pain in the ass and often involves half hour waits exposed to the elements, standing up on full buses and multiple transfers.
This might be true, but if you live in a small walkable city it doesn't matter as much if public transit isn't the best, because you can do things like the bulk of your weekly shopping within the neighborhood. Transit costs money, and unless you can afford to buy monthly passes or something, it really is better to utilize it mainly for work commuting if possible, even in an urban neighborhood.
This might be true, but if you live in a small walkable city it doesn't matter as much if public transit isn't the best, because you can do things like the bulk of your weekly shopping within the neighborhood. Transit costs money, and unless you can afford to buy monthly passes or something, it really is better to utilize it mainly for work commuting if possible, even in an urban neighborhood.
This seems to be a bigger issue in some places then others. Unlimited monthly bus passes are $40 in Grand Rapids and $35 in Lansing, which isn't bad if that's your entire transportation budget.
Explain to me how the weather is "better" in PA and upstate NY. The only thing I can think of is that it normally doesn't get quite as cold, but that's about it. Aside from coastal PNW, the most overcast region of this country is NE OH, NW PA and Upstate NY -- so I'm not sure the OP would like that transition if "sunshine tax" means something to him/her.
I question the weather aspect myself. Then again, its a pick your poison proposition.
Omaha's winters are much shorter than upstate NY with 15th the annual snowfall (26 inches), but the summers are warmer and longer.
Omaha's metro is 800,000 people. Yes, the UE rate there is usually among the lowest in the country. Big Ag economy-people have to eat.
900,000 now. And will one day be merged with the Lincoln MSA. That'd be 1,220,000 MSA (1,300,000 CSA) and is growing well above the national rate. Just not Texas, piedmont or rockies fast. Last year the two cities posted a growth of 14,000 people.
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