Cities for People Who Hate Cities (chapel, mobile home, universities)
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I would live 100 miles from civilization I could, but health needs require me to stay within an hour or less from an excellent medical system. I'm up for moving ANYWHERE in the US (would be anywhere in the world, but I don't have the funds or income level to emigrate). Please post your suggestions!
My wish list (I realize I won't find a city with EVERYTHING on this list, but this is the goal. I don't mind driving 30-60 minutes in either direction to check off as many things on this list as possible):
Excellent medical facilities.
FARM-FRIENDLY! Chicken and goat-friendly zoning (not a full-on mini farm, just a few small livestock for personal use).
CHEAP! Affordable property costs to afford yard for said chicken and goats.
TRAILS! Plenty of hiking trails.
TREES! Proximity to national or state parks/forests. Or metro parks that allow camping.
SCIENCE! Museums, science centers open to the public.
A decent economy (i.e., not Detroit or other empty rust belt towns/cities).
Not too hot, not too cold (55-80 most days is my fantasy), snowfall not measured in feet.
Moderate or liberal politically. Environmental regs a plus.
Not in a cultish-Christian region where every song on the radio is about Jesus and every social activity is sponsored by a church.
Proximity to public higher education institutions
Manageable traffic. Cities with chronic all day, everyday, congestion are just not do-able with my health condition.
Note: I'm from the midwest, so my idea of "affordable" is 80-90K or less for a quarter acre (or more), and a habitable (doesn't need to be recently updated, new, or "modern") 2-3 bedroom.
I don't care about:
Night life
Authentic ethnic foods
Public transportation
You can look into some of the more rural areas of Chatham Co. NC. It's the county that's west of Raleigh and south of Durham and Chapel Hill. You'll be within 30-60 minutes of Duke Medical Center and UNC Hospitals, on the edge of a community of scientists, educators, technologists and researchers centered around three large universities and Research Triangle Park. You'll have access to science museums in both Raleigh and Durham, university resources and you'll live among moderate to progressive population with a slight hippy vibe (in Chatham itself). You'll be in a moderate to progressive mostly rural but suburbanizing county (toward its far north and east mainly) that votes blue. You'll be living basically in a forest in a moderate climate for most of the year with Summer being, well, Summer.
I think Little Rock would be perfect for you. The city itself is liberal, though outside the city limits it gets red fast. It has a low cost of living with lots of "exurban" living options available. Lots of trails and natural recreation in the area.
You can look into some of the more rural areas of Chatham Co. NC. It's the county that's west of Raleigh and south of Durham and Chapel Hill. You'll be within 30-60 minutes of Duke Medical Center and UNC Hospitals, on the edge of a community of scientists, educators, technologists and researchers centered around three large universities and Research Triangle Park. You'll have access to science museums in both Raleigh and Durham, university resources and you'll live among moderate to progressive population with a slight hippy vibe (in Chatham itself). You'll be in a moderate to progressive mostly rural but suburbanizing county (toward its far north and east mainly) that votes blue. You'll be living basically in a forest in a moderate climate for most of the year with Summer being, well, Summer.
I agree and would add Alamance County(west/southwest of Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro) around places like Snow Camp or Saxapahaw.
A nice semi-rural college town where you might be able to live even without a car (but you'd want a bike at least.)
You probably won't be able to find something within your budget in the city limits though..
Quote:
Originally Posted by sammichsammich
I would live 100 miles from civilization I could, but health needs require me to stay within an hour or less from an excellent medical system. I'm up for moving ANYWHERE in the US (would be anywhere in the world, but I don't have the funds or income level to emigrate). Please post your suggestions!
My wish list (I realize I won't find a city with EVERYTHING on this list, but this is the goal. I don't mind driving 30-60 minutes in either direction to check off as many things on this list as possible):
Excellent medical facilities.
FARM-FRIENDLY! Chicken and goat-friendly zoning (not a full-on mini farm, just a few small livestock for personal use).
CHEAP! Affordable property costs to afford yard for said chicken and goats.
TRAILS! Plenty of hiking trails.
TREES! Proximity to national or state parks/forests. Or metro parks that allow camping.
SCIENCE! Museums, science centers open to the public.
A decent economy (i.e., not Detroit or other empty rust belt towns/cities).
Not too hot, not too cold (55-80 most days is my fantasy), snowfall not measured in feet.
Moderate or liberal politically. Environmental regs a plus.
Not in a cultish-Christian region where every song on the radio is about Jesus and every social activity is sponsored by a church.
Proximity to public higher education institutions
Manageable traffic. Cities with chronic all day, everyday, congestion are just not do-able with my health condition.
Note: I'm from the midwest, so my idea of "affordable" is 80-90K or less for a quarter acre (or more), and a habitable (doesn't need to be recently updated, new, or "modern") 2-3 bedroom.
I don't care about:
Night life
Authentic ethnic foods
Public transportation
A nice semi-rural college town where you might be able to live even without a car (but you'd want a bike at least.)
You probably won't be able to find something within your budget in the city limits though..
Davis looks amazing, but I don't have the funds to afford what houses in CA go for I double checked around Davis, just to be sure). A mobile home would be my only option, per Realtor and Zillow. Thank you for the suggestion, though.
I think Little Rock would be perfect for you. The city itself is liberal, though outside the city limits it gets red fast. It has a low cost of living with lots of "exurban" living options available. Lots of trails and natural recreation in the area.
Interesting! I had never considered Arkansas. Will check that out!
You can look into some of the more rural areas of Chatham Co. NC. It's the county that's west of Raleigh and south of Durham and Chapel Hill. You'll be within 30-60 minutes of Duke Medical Center and UNC Hospitals, on the edge of a community of scientists, educators, technologists and researchers centered around three large universities and Research Triangle Park. You'll have access to science museums in both Raleigh and Durham, university resources and you'll live among moderate to progressive population with a slight hippy vibe (in Chatham itself). You'll be in a moderate to progressive mostly rural but suburbanizing county (toward its far north and east mainly) that votes blue. You'll be living basically in a forest in a moderate climate for most of the year with Summer being, well, Summer.
Thank you for your ideas. I've been looking very seriously at Western, NC (it has the perfect climate for me), but I'm not sure about how religious the area is and lack of access to city amenities. Isn't central and eastern NC really hot in the summer? These humid continental summers don't agree with me.
Thank you for your ideas. I've been looking very seriously at Western, NC (it has the perfect climate for me), but I'm not sure about how religious the area is and lack of access to city amenities. Isn't central and eastern NC really hot in the summer? These humid continental summers don't agree with me.
It's hot and humid pretty much everywhere in the continental US during the summer months. You can go either higher altitude in the Rockies or Pacific NW as well as down along the Pacific coast if you can't deal with a couple of months of higher heat and humidity.
Boulder, CO perhaps. It's close to Denver as well.
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