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Stay out of New England, NY, NJ, and MD. Cold, high cost of living, and most are nanny states with lots of unreasonable restrictions. PA, OH, WV are more reasonable, and for the most part less costly.
WV and OH aren’t even in the Northeast and you would surprised by how many people hunt and do all know nds of outdoorsy stuff in NY. Not all of NY, NJ, MD(questionably NE, I know) and even New England is high cost of living.
@ckhthankgod Thank you again for the information. I have so many tabs open to look up and read through and it is VERY helpful <3 I couldn't find anyone in person who could help me with analytical numbers like this.
By all means, I understand that every metro/city area isn't the best and crime goes up. However living in and traveling around the south all my life I've just have been around a lot of... groundless objection. Moving north is more for a change of pace rather than thinking it's all lush living and green grass.
Again, I would move out of country if I could afford it.
I figured that we could try our hand northward- we've traveled a bit up there before and I've been reading up on it a lot. The cost of living is a bit more, the taxes are higher, land is more expensive as well as houses (in some cases). We have only one or two friends who live up north and no family, so it's strictly a hope for better change.
The finger lakes area of NY seems really nice and the southern Albany area of NY is very pretty. We're planning a road trip to view cities first hand at some point (Perhaps spring?) and I'm looking forward to it. Parts of Vermont seem really nice and I wanted to visit there, but there also doesn't seem to be much for us there. So as of right now the trip would be taking us through the mountains of Virginia, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, to Rochester NY, Albany NY and then back down the coast towards NC. I'll just have to try and not see the towns through rose tinted glasses (which is why I don't want to travel in the fall- I love everywhere in the fall)
No problem...I will say that Rochester and Albany will have a mix of neighborhoods(good and bad), but there are quite a few nice walkable villages just outside of those cities as well.
You’ll also notice how much small in terms of land size the cities are. So, say if you are use to Greensboro or Durham, the cities for similarly sized metros in the Northeast will be smaller and less spread out. Some of the metros in the Northeast with more people than those 2 NC areas will have cities with a smaller land area.
Many choices to consider in the New England states. I wouldn’t write off Mass. Much of the eastern/coastal end of the state will be too expensive for you except maybe the areas adjacent to Rhode Island. Western Mass has Northampton, Greenfield, and Stockbridge/Lenox/Pittsfield in the Berkshire region, all more affordable and interesting, attractive places. Northampton is pricey for the area but you can buy in a smaller, cheaper town nearby and still have access. Rhode Island is pretty nice including its biggest city, Providence. New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine are full of nice small towns. Attractive, walkable larger towns include Brattleboro and Burlington VT and Portsmouth, Keene and Dover NH. In Maine, Portland is a really great smaller city in a beautiful coastal location. Dozens of other nice towns in ME on the coast and inland.
Upstate New York, especially west and north of the Hudson River valley, may be less expensive than the N.E. states overall— economy a little worse, tax burden a little higher —but well worth looking into too.
If you want to consider anywhere in Maryland, I would try Cumberland. Hagerstown might also be a possibility, though you're scratching the edge of the Washington metropolitan area there. You could also look at Frederick, though you're within the Washington commuter zone there, and prices will be higher.
Across the river in West Virginia might be a good option for you as well; I'm thinking of places like Morgantown, Martinsburg, and Shepherdstown.
So a bit of a different question to tack on to all this information you guys have given me. I see a lot of neat areas and beautiful locations (thanks a bunch!) however... When I ask for areas that are decent with crime rates... how abundant is gun violence up there? It's one of my biggest concerns and one of the main flipping point of whether I want to live up north or aim out of country.
I really do love the melting pot of the united states. I can have authentic food from around the country or have my pick from any cultural festival or convention. But, we're both at the age where we want a safe and calm location to consider a family. City Data gives a lot of good information about crime rates and statistics, but I only recently heard of the "nanny states" through this forum post.. and honestly.. I don't see that as a bad thing (after googling).
We're extremely torn- we're still going to make a road trip and check out a lot of the suggestions from here though.
So a bit of a different question to tack on to all this information you guys have given me. I see a lot of neat areas and beautiful locations (thanks a bunch!) however... When I ask for areas that are decent with crime rates... how abundant is gun violence up there? It's one of my biggest concerns and one of the main flipping point of whether I want to live up north or aim out of country.
I really do love the melting pot of the united states. I can have authentic food from around the country or have my pick from any cultural festival or convention. But, we're both at the age where we want a safe and calm location to consider a family. City Data gives a lot of good information about crime rates and statistics, but I only recently heard of the "nanny states" through this forum post.. and honestly.. I don't see that as a bad thing (after googling).
We're extremely torn- we're still going to make a road trip and check out a lot of the suggestions from here though.
As far as the initial smaller NY cities, it is very very rare in terms of gun violence. You would have some in the bigger NY cities mentioned, but like any city of substantial size in the country, this will depend on where within the city as well.
The thing with many of the smaller cities in the Northeast in that they can still have quite a bit to offer for their size, while still being in relatively close proximity to bigger cities that have more to offer. They can also be in close proximity to outdoor amenities as well.
When I used to have to travel up there I thought New England and upper New York were the prettiest. Especially Vermont and New Hampshire. Of course that was just visits and really I know nothing about them other than it’s pretty there and it is cold.
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