Mid to large size city that meets this description (apartment, rentals)

[Albedo2000]

I want to live in a city that has a lot of good places to go such as museums, theaters, restaurants etc....
A city with at least a fairly educated population, and a lot of libraries. A city with a good public transportation system as I will be living there without a car. A city with a fairly diverse population that has reasonably few problems with racism. I don't want to live in a city with a lot of crime. Don't want to live in a city that gets really hot. Maybe most importantly the city needs to have fairly affordable rentals, I don't want to pay more that 800$ a month for a 1br apartment. Is their a city like this in the US.

[SouthCali4LifeSD]

your requirements are far fetched, but chicago and boston come to mind. they are expensive cities, but by your standards, they fit most on what you are looking for. also, check out seattle. to me, it's the best west coast alternative to san francisco. if i were you, i would focus on new englands large cities, as they are very compact and walkable, like san francisco, and match your requirements modestly well.

[radraja]

Honestly, any of the giant cities are going to be expensive and/or dangerous. Places like NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. are quite expensive. Cheaper major cities, like Philly, are known for having higher crime. Theses places will all have diversity and things to do...but at a cost.

You may be better served by mid-sized cities. Portland could work...it's dense and cultured, but a lot less expensive than Seattle (which was mentioned previously). Or maybe Providence (which is like a cheaper version of Boston). Or perhaps Pittsburgh.

[Ben Around]

Mpls/St Paul fits your criteria quite well.

[Coem]

I would recommend Providence RI, Portland ME, and Burlington VT... however living car free in these places takes a lot patience, although it is possible. You can find 1 bedrooms for $800 in Boston and New York City, but obviously they won't be in the best neighbourhoods. The Staten Island borough of NYC is cheap, but seems worlds away from the rest of the city both in feel and distance.

Chicago might be your best bet as it's probably the cheapest of the nicer major cities.

It's also technically possible to live in Las Vegas without car, but again would take a lot patience. The flipside is that you can rent a whole condo for $800 there.

[illinoisboy]

I think Portland, Oregon meets much of your description. It's a decent sized city with museums, theater, good restaurants, shopping, etc. It has one of the best, if not THE best, public transportation in the country and would probably be very easy to live without a car. Crime is very low there compared to most other cities of it's size. It rarely ever gets very hot there. Most of the times its in the 50s of 60s, sometimes the 80s in the summertime.

I don't know where you're coming from, but Travel and Leisure magazine had said in one of their last year's issues that, to them, Portland seemed to be the most European feeling cities in the country, next to Charleston, SC. Portland's amount of parks and green spaces reminded them of Europe's cities.

[Haver]

Definitely Minneapolis/St. Paul. Your list matches our strengths item for item. You could even buy a house or condo in a reasonably safe neighborhood for $800/month, if you can scrape together a downpayment and are not too picky.

[Raphael07]

I third Minneapolis-St. Paul

[sweetclimber]

Rochester NY, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Philly, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh all fit your criteria better than anywhere else.

[CMDallas]

I thought of Washington DC... but your city is like... non existent...