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Hi everyone, I'm bored and daydreaming about placed I could see myself living. I want to hear your suggestions. For this post, I am prefer responses that take job/money into account, but responses that don't are ok too. This is me brainstorming where I will go after college. I've been in New England for too long, I am experiencing wanderlust. I am realistically looking for suggestions within the US, but I am certainly open to international locations as well. Here is some info about me to help your decison.
Single - Male - 24
B.S. Accounting/Finance
Socially Liberal/Financially Conservative
I love to snowboard
I like to ride motorcycles
I like craft beer
I like delicious local food
I like a certain green herb
I like lush green summers
I like long snowy winters with big mountains
I love listening to live music
I like visiting museums occasionally
I like access to fun activities for daytrips or weekends
I love beautiful natural scenery
I like art galleries
I like an educated populace
I like exploring
I like cities
I like rural areas
I like tourist towns
I like places with character
I don't like suburbs
I don't like too much heat (regualarly >90F)
I don't like too much traffic (Boston)
I don't like places that are dry and brown in the summer
I don't like cookie cutter tract housing
I don't care about the dating scene (I'm pretty much asexual)
I don't care about schools (no plans for kids any time soon or at all really)
I don't care that much about cost of living (If I can find a job there, I can afford to live there)
I don't care about religion (and would prefer neighbors that won't shove theirs down my throat)
I don't care about keeping up with the jones
I don't care about humidity
I don't care about size
I don't care about diversity
Below I will list places I've been and places I've started looking into and my thoughts on each of them.
Places I've lived:
Bethel, ME - beautiful scenery, lacking cultural ammenities, close to skiing
South Shore, MA - lacking nature, lacking culture, expensive, trying to get out of here
Boulder, CO - great food/beer/culture, clost to beautiful nature, very dry in summer, not super close to skiing
Breckenridge, CO - breathtaking scenery, charming town, great skiing, perfect weather, decent music/beer, expensive, no jobs, crazy weekend/tourist traffic
Places I've spent a lot of time:
Denver, CO - hot, dry, good music/beer/weed, lacking beautiful scenery nearby
Boston, MA - hits all culture points, walkable, nice weather, horrible traffic, far from skiing, decent scenery
Places I've looked into:
WA - great scenery, great culture, good skiing, too much rain, expensive - would love specific suggestions
OR - pretty much same as above but cheaper?
Lake Tahoe, CA - seems to hit all of my points but expensive, probably lacking certain cultural aspects
SLC, UT - great scenery, great skiing, decent food scene, lack of beer, hot and dry in the summer
SF - Expensive, hits all culture and scenery points, lack of close skiing
Aspen, CO - hits every point, lack of jobs, expensive
Vermont - hits most points, lacking some cultural ammenities, severe lack of jobs, trying to get out of the northeast for a change
I know this is a long and rambling post. All signs point to either WA or CO. I have already lived in CO, so I have a pretty good idea of what it's like, but I have never been to WA and I don't wanna move somewhere I've already been unless it really is the best option. The rain concerns me, I don't mind rain, but it might be too much and doesn't lend itself to motorcycling.
Well, while I've never been, it sounds like Denver is ideal for your stated desires. I'm not too sure how it lacks in beautiful scenery. I've heard Denver is a perfect mix of city life and outdoor recreation.
Places I've looked into:
WA - great scenery, great culture, good skiing, too much rain, expensive - would love specific suggestions
OR - pretty much same as above but cheaper?
Lake Tahoe, CA - seems to hit all of my points but expensive, probably lacking certain cultural aspects
SLC, UT - great scenery, great skiing, decent food scene, lack of beer, hot and dry in the summer
SF - Expensive, hits all culture and scenery points, lack of close skiing
Aspen, CO - hits every point, lack of jobs, expensive
Vermont - hits most points, lacking some cultural ammenities, severe lack of jobs, trying to get out of the northeast for a change.
Nah. Nightclubs yes, beer no. In fact, several brewpubs located downtown.
Well, while I've never been, it sounds like Denver is ideal for your stated desires. I'm not too sure how it lacks in beautiful scenery. I've heard Denver is a perfect mix of city life and outdoor recreation.
Maybe a trip to Denver is in order for you, all of the beautiful scenery is located an hour to the west, the city itself is in the plains and is quite boring/ugly. At least compared to Seattle, SF, SLC, etc. I agree with you though that Denver is probably my best option overall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kar54
Nah. Nightclubs yes, beer no. In fact, several brewpubs located downtown.
I know it's not the wasteland that people think it is, but compared to states like CO, CA, WA, OR, the beer scene sucks. There are only a handful or breweries total, only a couple of which are highly regarded, and even those aren't producing world class stuff at the same level the other states I just mentioned.
Well, while I've never been, it sounds like Denver is ideal for your stated desires. I'm not too sure how it lacks in beautiful scenery. I've heard Denver is a perfect mix of city life and outdoor recreation.
But he knows Denver and says it lacks beautiful scenery nearby!! The Front Range an hour away.
Colorado Springs. Evangelical hot spot though.
Boise, ID
Bozeman, Missoula, Helena, Montana?
Spokane Washington.
Yes, my biggest problem with Denver is that it feels like a desert wasteland several hours away from all the places that I would actually want to live. I could see myself loving Aspen, Steamboat, Telluride, or Crested Butte for their rural ski town charm. Summit is where I have the most experience, and it's really awesome too, but a little too busy with tourists, transients, and the college party ski bum scene for my liking. Denver as a city doesn't have the same draw for me that a city like SF, NYC, Boston, Seattle, and many european cities have.
Colorado springs is a definite no go for me.
Boise I will have to research more.
I had pretty much ruled out Montana based on my brother's experience Bozeman, but I hadn't really looked into or even considered other places, how do Missoula and Helenda compare to Bozeman?
When looking into WA, I was mostly focusing in the northwest area for some reason, but I will definitely look into Spokane.
Thanks for all of your suggestions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightlysparrow
Lake Tahoe, live on the Nevada side for taxes. It's under 2 hours to Sacramento for more advanced cultural stuff.
Lake Tahoe seems pretty ideal. The state of California has put me off from researching more, but living on the nevada side would solve a lot of those problems I'm guessing. Will have to look into that more. Thanks for the suggestion.
I think you'd love Portland or Seattle if you could afford it! I don't really like it there, but from your description it sounds like you'd fit in perfectly. It can get dry and brown in the summer in the PNW, though, for as long as 2-3 months and allergies are a big issue there. I don't find those cities to have very interesting art or culture, but they do have it.
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