Town with good balance of nature and civilization? (neighborhood, school)

[dgmulf]

I'm moving because I hate living with my parents, and I hate my job, and I need a fresh start. What I do enjoy is my current neighborhood in the suburbs of LA, and I want to find something similar elsewhere.

Where I live, it's fairly quiet, and there's not too much pedestrian or vehicular traffic. If I walk down my street, I get to see my neighbors' horse pens, and chicken coops. A good stretch of the road hasn't been paved in probably decades, so it's basically dirt and weeds. There are horse trails winding along the street, and you'll occasionally see someone riding. You get the vibe.

If I want, I can take a five minute walk to a wilderness reserve, with dirt trails and a creek. I love being able to take a little time each day to cleanse my soul in this beautiful environment, without making it an all-day hiking affair.

I went to school in the heart of Boston for a couple semesters, and this was definitely unpleasant for me -- way too much concrete, way too many people. My sister thinks that I should move to San Francisco, where she lives, for reasons like plentiful job opportunities, but I'm afraid I will end up feeling like I did in Boston, stuck in a mess of concrete and thronging crowds.

So, I'm wondering if anybody here has any suggestions for towns that might be more up my alley?

Regards,
Danny

[JoeTarheel]

You could probably find what you're looking for on the edges of any medium to large city.

[dgmulf]

Thanks. I think I need to just go and visit some places in person, just to get a feel for them.