Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Having recently graduated college, I’m toying with the idea of moving. While I’m mostly content with living in my current city for now, part of me wonders if there isn’t someplace out there that might be a better fit. So I come to you looking for suggestions!
I currently live in Reno, and while there are things I like about living here, I feel like maybe I can do better. I’ve lived here my whole life and it might just be time for someplace new. I like the size of the community (biggest little city!), no state income tax, and that it’s large enough to have some neat things going on. But lately Reno has been feeling a little stifling, stale, and boring. Unless you’re into casinos, nightclubs, or outdoorsy sports, it can feel a little dead here.
I visited Ann Arbor several years ago, fell in love and wanted to move there. I loved the size of the town and sense of close-knit community, the university, and the variety of things to do and see. However, I stayed in my home state for college, and since then my political viewpoints and interests have changed enough that I no longer feel like Ann Arbor would be a good fit for many reasons.
I’ve also visited Austin/San Antonio, and while I loved the great music scene and the huge variety of things to do (going to concerts, riding Segways, the riverwalk in San Antonio, finding neat places like Gruene Hall), the whole area felt SO overwhelmingly large and a little too liberal. I just felt like I was sandwiched in between a bunch of huge, sprawly cities, and although it fit a lot of my other criteria, I think Texas truly is just a little too big for me. It felt very lonely and I missed that sense of small-city community that I feel in Reno and Ann Arbor.
Here’s a small list of things I would like:
1) Small to mid-sized city, ideally with a larger city within an hour or two.
2) I’d say I’m sort of middle of the road to slightly conservative politically, so I’d like to rule out overwhelmingly liberal (or overwhelmingly conservative) cities. I think someplace in the middle is what I’m looking for.
3) I’m very involved in rodeo, western horseback riding, country music, etc. I’d really like a place where I can continue with these sorts of activities and fit in relatively easily. Someplace with a ranching type community, perhaps?
4) Live music (especially country/rock/alternative). This is one of the things I really loved about Austin/San Antonio was I could find some sort of show that interested me almost every night.
5) I’d prefer no extreme weather. The humidity and heat of a Texas summer, or the long, cold winters of someplace back east are things I wish to avoid if possible. I don’t mind dry heat, or a little bit of snow, but nothing too extreme.
I feel like if I could just combine the sense of close-knit community in Ann Arbor with the music scene and variety of things to do in Austin, and throw in a country/cowboy-ish vibe, I’d be in heaven. Is there some place where all of these things combine together that I might find happiness in? Where I can have the option of doing cool things like Segway tours or visiting some cool science museum, but not stick out like a sore thumb for driving an old truck and wanting a country bar? Feel free to suggest places that might be close but not quite, as well. Thanks!
2) I’d say I’m sort of middle of the road to slightly conservative politically, so I’d like to rule out overwhelmingly liberal (or overwhelmingly conservative) cities. I think someplace in the middle is what I’m looking for
3) I’m very involved in rodeo, western horseback riding, country music, etc. I’d really like a place where I can continue with these sorts of activities and fit in relatively easily. Someplace with a ranching type community, perhaps?
5) I’d prefer no extreme weather. The humidity and heat of a Texas summer, or the long, cold winters of someplace back east are things I wish to avoid if possible. I don’t mind dry heat, or a little bit of snow, but nothing too extreme.
Not the west coast (too liberal), not Texas (so you specified), not Arizona (too hot) or New Mexico (too hot, too liberal) not Colorado (legal marijuana, pretty liberal), not anywhere in the south (too humid) not most of the midwest (too cold and snowy) not the east coast (too cold, too snowy, too liberal generally, no cowboys), not the upper midwest or upper west (too cold, too snowy)---so I'd say, stay where you are, and travel once in a while.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
