Best City Atmosphere (oceanfront, neighborhoods, living)

[tms1989]

What would be a good city for me if I wanted a place with,
-A vibrant, unique downtown
-An active nightlife
-A riverwalk or Lake/Oceanfront park
-Affordable housing
-Unique neighborhoods
-Plenty of outdoor activies close by
-Walkability
It can be any size but I would prefer a larger (250,000+) city.

I know it's a very detailed request, but it you think you have the answer. . .

[Steve-o]

Chicago sounds about perfect, minus the outdoor activities. Sure there are plenty of city parks and many suburban Forest Preserves, but dont expect to find any skiing w/o a 2-3 hour drive to NW IL or WI. There are some ski jumps and all, but no major downhill runs in the surrounding area. You can kayak on the many rivers, swim in the many lakes, hunt and fish, etc, but no mountain climbing, things like that. But your preferances for a city sound like you'd love Chicago. Its kind of expensive in many areas, but not nearly as bad as the coasts.

[radraja]

Chicago is right kind of city, but maybe not the best choice. I lived there for 11 years, and it was nice...but it gets old fast. It has a downtown with vibrant nightlife, and there is the lake. BUT - there's also some of the worst traffic in the country, and aside from the loop (the financial district downtown), the rest of the metro is very spread out and transportation-reliant. I lived within 15 miles of downtown and the daily commute was over an hour. Plus, it's a kind of expensive place to live and heavily taxed. And often too freezing cold to enjoy the outdoors. Nice place to visit, but living there drove me crazy.

I'm personally going to recommend Denver. It's a smaller city...less crowded and hectic and with less traffic. Yet there's still an amazing downtown with lots to do. Great outdoor recreation. Not too expensive. Some cool historical areas. Overall moderate weather. Nice river banks.

Louisville, KY could also be a good option. It's a really eclectic, vibrant city (kind of like a mini San Francisco). But very affordable, and right on a river. Check out pictures: http://www.city-data.com/forum/louis...to-sticky.html , and some of censusdata's posts for more info.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by radraja

Chicago is right kind of city, but maybe not the best choice. I lived there for 11 years, and it was nice...but it gets old fast. It has a downtown with vibrant nightlife, and there is the lake. BUT - there's also some of the worst traffic in the country, and aside from the loop (the financial district downtown), the rest of the metro is very spread out and transportation-reliant. I lived within 15 miles of downtown and the daily commute was over an hour. Plus, it's a kind of expensive place to live and heavily taxed. And often too freezing cold to enjoy the outdoors. Nice place to visit, but living there drove me crazy.

I'm personally going to recommend Denver. It's a smaller city...less crowded and hectic and with less traffic. Yet there's still an amazing downtown with lots to do. Great outdoor recreation. Not too expensive. Some cool historical areas. Overall moderate weather. Nice river banks.

Louisville, KY could also be a good option. Check out some of censusdata's posts for more info.

Denver's downtown is semi-decent, but if you got bored in Chicago, how are you coping with Denver? And Denver also doesnt have a lake/ocean front like the OP was requesting. And while Chicago's burbs are vast and most require a car, there are many towns that have trains to Chicago as well as their own PT. Chicago's burbs are served quite well by PT IMO, in fact some of the best Ive seen

[Chicago60614]

^ That's why our public transit gives around 2 million rides per day in the Chicago area.

I would NEVER own a car in Chicago, it's so much less stressful to just walk places, sit on the train/bus and sleep, listen to music, read, etc.

[radraja]

I never said I got bored in Chicago...just that living there drove me crazy! It was a bit too crowded and congested for my tastes.

And everyone is always so depressed over the weather that it seems like no one is ever happy to be there. Which was kind of sad.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by radraja

I never said I got bored in Chicago...just that living there drove me crazy! It was a bit too crowded and congested for my tastes.

Gotcha. My bad.

[censusdata]

Did someone say Louavul?

Louisville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Did someone say Louavul?

Louisville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So here's the thing about Louisville. I really like it. It's a beautiful town. Thing is, every time I've been there, it's seemed kind of quiet. Sort of deserted-feeling. Was I just in the wrong area? Is there a part of Lousiville that's cooking?

[Ben Around]

Madison fits the bill (at the small end)