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In other words, if you're trying to find a reasonable size city in the USA, but trying to get away from excessive crime, smog, cold weather, hot weather, and cost of living, which city do you think is the best compromise to get away from as much of those as possible, while still being in a city with 200,000 or more population and not just a small town?
This assumes jobs are not a factor. Such as if you're retiring or you work from home via the internet or whatever, so it doesn't matter where you live.
By "hot weather" I mean hot enough to make you sweat even when you're relaxing in the shade. By "cold weather" I mean cold enough to give you frostbite. 25F with 2 feet of snow is fine.
One more factor I forgot to mention is bugs. Cities that have too many bugs are less desirable. Taking into account how obnoxious the bugs are. If they sting or bite or spread diseases, they're a lot more obnoxious. If they get in your face a lot, flying inches away from your face, that makes them obnoxious too.
In other words, if you're trying to find a reasonable size city in the USA, but trying to get away from excessive crime, smog, cold weather, hot weather, and cost of living, which city do you think is the best compromise to get away from as much of those as possible, while still being in a city with 200,000 or more population and not just a small town?
This assumes jobs are not a factor. Such as if you're retiring or you work from home via the internet or whatever, so it doesn't matter where you live.
By "hot weather" I mean hot enough to make you sweat even when you're relaxing in the shade. By "cold weather" I mean cold enough to give you frostbite. 25F with 2 feet of snow is fine.
One more factor I forgot to mention is bugs. Cities that have too many bugs are less desirable. Taking into account how obnoxious the bugs are. If they sting or bite or spread diseases, they're a lot more obnoxious. If they get in your face a lot, flying inches away from your face, that makes them obnoxious too.
Probably not what you're looking for but I really enjoy living in Columbus, Ohio. It's a very comfortable city to live, people are welcoming, the economy is diverse, cost of living isn't crazy and there are plenty of nice communities to choose from in the city and surrounding areas. Cbus does get hot though in the summers and our winters are mild/average compared to a lot of the Midwest and Northeast but if you're coming from the sunbelt or west coast it might be "cold".
I'd also look into Sacramento, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Louisville.
Asheville, NC and Johnson City, TN could be somewhere to look into.
I'd look all the way on over to the Knoxville area too, and although there will be plenty of bugs anywhere in east TN I've never found it to be so bad that they interfere with my quality of life (unlike when I lived on the gulf coast!)
I have heard that bugs are less of a problem in some of the western states. No idea how accurate that is.
Alot of retirees and telecommuters like Colorado Springs. Very low housing costs per square foot, the winter is cold but there are many days with warm, downslope winds. Very nice temperate summer weather. Rather orderly for a top 50 city. The air quality is fairly good.
Reno is a very nice place. It is sort of pricey, but Carson City is just done the road and is more affordable. Very orderly, clean with a moderate climate. More mild winters then most of the country and the summer are moderate enough that many don't have air conditioning.
Reno also has ski resorts, water recreation and all the cities in northern California are a few hours away.
Also maybe non-coastal parts of Washington and Oregon might be nice to look into. Spokane, Richland, Eugene, Salem.
City Data for Reno says it has an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 218, which is much worse than the average city.
AQI numbers tell how polluted a city's air is. The higher the number, the more polluted. Louisville, KY, and Billings, MT, get AQI's of 93.1 and 15.4, which are obviously both a lot better than Reno's 218.
Not that air quality is such a big factor to me, but it makes me wonder how Reno gets such a bad number.
City Data for Reno says it has an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 218, which is much worse than the average city.
AQI numbers tell how polluted a city's air is. The higher the number, the more polluted. Louisville, KY, and Billings, MT, get AQI's of 93.1 and 15.4, which are obviously both a lot better than Reno's 218.
Not that air quality is such a big factor to me, but it makes me wonder how Reno gets such a bad number.
Reno backs up against the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My guess is that the wind can cross the mountains and blow the pollution away. It was the dustiest town I've ever been to in my life by far!
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