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There's Portland which is more affordable than Seattle, but almost just as liberal. A lot of nature, mountains, and greenery around the city.
I guess if you really want to live in Seattle, try Tacoma, Washington, More affordable than Seattle and it's no more than 35 minutes away from Seattle. Not as liberal either since it's not the core city of the area.
Tacoma is probably one of the most progressive cities in the U.S. it also is much more diverse than Seattle.
It's 35 minutes away at 2:30 am, most other times of day you can expect traffic and close to an hour commute. It is definitely more affordable though depending on what area you're in. You're probably paying half the rent in Tacoma.
Charlotte is your best bet buddy. It is indeed happening. And growing not on the level of Seattle or Austin but it is also far cheaper than either of those two cities. And more middle of the road liberal/conservatively speaking. Seattle and Austin are about as liberal as it gets. Mountains 2 hour drive and beaches a 4ish hour drive, good economy and I can see your profession doing well there .
All of the cities you're interested in have plenty of job opportunities and are booming.
For cost of living....All are getting expensive, but Seattle is by far the most expensive out of the group.
Seattle should be at the top of the nightlife list. It offers a much more diverse nightlife scene than the other three. It has at least 10 neighborhood nodes with good nightlife, Capitol Hill being in the forefront. From upscale lounges/dining to frat star dive bars to live music, Seattle has it all.
Awesome! Thanks so much for all the information. Some say Charlotte is a winner, some put it at the bottom of the list lol. Does anyone have any experience living in any of these cities? So far I can assume Seattle to be the most expensive out of all the them, but also the most diverse. I am def going to do some more research on making Charlotte a higher contender than Austin.
Awesome! Thanks so much for all the information. Some say Charlotte is a winner, some put it at the bottom of the list lol. Does anyone have any experience living in any of these cities? So far I can assume Seattle to be the most expensive out of all the them, but also the most diverse. I am def going to do some more research on making Charlotte a higher contender than Austin.
I have never lived in Charlotte, but I'm very familiar with it. I'll be spending NY's there matter of fact. For what you ask for, it really seems to be the best option imo.
Unless your job is in tech or something and if scenery is uber important to you, then it wouldn't be.
So from what I am reading I am thinking from a blind perspective 1)Nashville 2) Charlotte 3) Seattle. One high advantage to Nashville is no income tax.
Keep in mind no income tax means it's made back up somewhere else. Whats your profession? Charlotte has a better job market, but depending on what youre doing, then yeah Nashville could be your city.
I am an exercise physiologist. Long story short I am a personal trainer that can operate in a clinical (hospital) preventative/rehabilitative setting. My dream and end goal is to open my own group training gym.
JsHubbard, your move list is similar to mine..However, I am still considering moving back to Seattle (20/80 chance, thinking hard and deep), only for the scenery and the booming software market (rated top in the country now), which is my career field. The liberalism in the Northwest really sucks, however, it didn't use to be that way. I, myself, grew up in Oregon and lived over a decade in the Portland area and 5 years in Seattle. There is a lot of things to love in the Northwest as a conservative person, sadly the outsiders who have moved there are changing all the laws to turn it into a proxy Northeast/California state that matches where many of the people came from.
I will say the scenery in the Northwest cannot be beat by any except Western Canada and Alaska. Western Montana and Very Western Wyoming (Tetons/Yellowstone) are rivals, but still cannot beat the scenery. Especially, when you consider the beauty of the Oregon Coast, Puget Sound and Olympic mountain ranges right on the water.
With all that being said, I am late 30 something, pretty conservative, but also have no problem living in a live-and-let-live environment. If the people are liberals but wont chastise you for not being liberal, I can live that environment. This is how Portland and Seattle were in the 80s and 90s, but not anymore.
Seattle just passed a horrible Gun & Ammo tax that makes buying guns or ammo in the city not worthwhile. Also, Seattle raised its minimum wage to $15/hr and now many small businesses are closing as they cannot afford operating costs. Seattle's, ironically, is a big corporate business town with a die-hard socialist/fascist city government that hates that Seattle is the way it is and trying to turn Seattle into the next Detroit. A welfare city-state where everyone is controlled, regulated and all people are equal and the government has utmost power. Hopefully, the big business people will help rid the city of the crazed commies in the city government. Big money does talk and these commies are actually biting the hand that feeds them. Washington had good laws in the past, but the transplants (like the Indian-born, Kshama Sawant) are there to CHANGE THINGS and make it A CITY FOR THE PEOPLE. To quote Kshama quoting her hero, Mao Zedong.
If you live in Tacoma, forget about going to Seattle any other day than a weekend. Tacoma has some things going for itself and contrary to what people say, is not nearly as liberal as Seattle. People in Tacoma, for example, are very gun friendly, like to hunt and way less politically correct than people in neighboring Seattle. In fact, Tacoma has more gun stores than almost any other town in the state and more than the one gun store Seattle has. Tacoma is still pretty gritty and the job market is much more subpar than Seattle. But, in your field it may be possible. Tacoma's nightlife scene can be pretty rough, but if you are a former marine and a bit thick skin, it may not be so bad for you. 6th Ave definitely has some serious dives and can be a bit sketchy still. However, there is a lot of cool and fun places there. People in Tacoma are rough around the edges, but on average, friendlier than people in Seattle. Tacoma of 2016 is not a hellhole like it was back in the 90s. The same can be said about Northeast Portland. Another up and coming former slum that is being gentrified and becoming more desirable.
I am considering moving to Nashville, TN and from what I hear Nashville is really an entity all in itself that is not like other Tennesse cities. It seems each region of TN is distinct in culture and way of life and Nashville is a world of its own. I suppose you can think of Nashville to Tennessee like New Orleans is to Louisiana. They are their own little enclaves.
Nashville is looking good to me from what people have told me, but I am also considering Raleigh. Raleigh I hear is up and coming and that there is more to do for the single professional types, but it still seems to be a bit slow and family oriented. However, it probably is a lot more to do than the small townish/overgrown suburbias we live in Knoxville, TN and Boise, Idaho both probably being of a similar caliber. Another thing you have take in account with a religious metro like Boise or Salt Lake (perhaps even some Deep South cities), is the observant LDS population in Boise makes it all the more insular and the LDS population literally isolates itself from the rest of the non-LDS population. That is a large number of people of the population or who more or less will not interact with you.
I live in Boise, Idaho which, even though the area is overall conservative (city is liberal), the metro area is very dull and boring and caters mostly to families. The suburbs are pretty religious and everything seems to revolve around church, family and your kids. Does that sound vaguely similar to how a large town like Knoxville or Eastern TN would be?
Anyway, places like Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Austin and even Tampa are on my possible move lists.
Don't write off Nashville because its in Tennessee. Comparing Knoxville to Nashville is like comparing Spokane to Seattle. Just because it is nearby and in the same state doesn't mean the town will be anything the same. And Spokane and Seattle are literally night and day different places. Spokane would not be out of place in Montana to be honest.
Last edited by RotseCherut; 12-21-2016 at 01:29 AM..
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