Best City for Young Married Couple? (rent, low crime, movies)

[mrspink]

My husband and I are in our early 20s and looking to move out of Ohio. We live in a small town and have never lived in a city and think the experience would be good for us. Here is a bit about us and some "criteria" to assist you with suggestions. Thanks!

1. Jobs for teachers!! And a place where a BA will get you a good job if you don't want to persue your area of concentration.
2. Safety...obviously we are compromising this after living a a small town..but relatively safe.
3. Weather...not a ton of rain or snow...some in the winter would be nice. Heat...nothing that will scorch us to death.
4. Cost of Living....no $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom apt...
5. Activities...I LOVE to shop, we like movies, restaurants, sports, biking, swimming, the ocean, horseback riding...etc
6. Good school systems nearby

[JMT]

Originally Posted by mrspink

My husband and I are in our early 20s and looking to move out of Ohio. We live in a small town and have never lived in a city and think the experience would be good for us. Here is a bit about us and some "criteria" to assist you with suggestions. Thanks!

1. Jobs for teachers!! And a place where a BA will get you a good job if you don't want to persue your area of concentration.
2. Safety...obviously we are compromising this after living a a small town..but relatively safe.
3. Weather...not a ton of rain or snow...some in the winter would be nice. Heat...nothing that will scorch us to death.
4. Cost of Living....no $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom apt...
5. Activities...I LOVE to shop, we like movies, restaurants, sports, biking, swimming, the ocean, horseback riding...etc
6. Good school systems nearby

Hmmmm, let's see, you want a city with good job prospects, low cost of living, near an ocean, warm weather, low crime, and good schools. I'm afraid you might have to give up something otherwise I think it'll be extremely difficult to find what you're looking for.

The closest I can think of (and these are far from perfect) are:

Raleigh NC (may be a bit far from the ocean)
Charleston SC (may be too hot in the summer)
Columbia SC (may be too hot in the summer AND too far from the ocean)
Richmond VA (may be a bit far from the ocean)

What are you willing to compromise in order to find your ideal town?

[mrspink]

I would MUCH rather compromise on little things like weather than say jobs and safety. But I never said CHEAP cost of living...just nothing outrageous. (my example of a 1 bed apt for like $2000 per month). And the things like the ocean and activities we enjoy are things we can always drive to. I didn't necessarily mean they had to be RIGHT there. We would honestly prefer it a LITTLE cooler than hot b/c I tend to overheat very easily. Which is why we list the ocean b/c it cools off the hot cities.
But thank you for your response and I appreciate you taking the time to read it. If you have any other suggestions after reading my response please feel free to respond.

[Seattle_Girl]

Maybe somewhere in New England close to Boston, MA or somewhere close to San Francisco, CA.

[mrspink]

Thank you. We have actually began looking into Boston. I think San Fran would be too expensive.

[nephthys]

Pacific Northwest or New England, those would be my choices.... since I moved out the midwest also. Im not much for tropical beaches, too crowded and flat. I love the Oregon coast, nothing compares.

[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by mrspink

My husband and I are in our early 20s and looking to move out of Ohio. We live in a small town and have never lived in a city and think the experience would be good for us. Here is a bit about us and some "criteria" to assist you with suggestions. Thanks!

1. Jobs for teachers!! And a place where a BA will get you a good job if you don't want to persue your area of concentration.
2. Safety...obviously we are compromising this after living a a small town..but relatively safe.
3. Weather...not a ton of rain or snow...some in the winter would be nice. Heat...nothing that will scorch us to death.
4. Cost of Living....no $2000 rent for a 1 bedroom apt...
5. Activities...I LOVE to shop, we like movies, restaurants, sports, biking, swimming, the ocean, horseback riding...etc
6. Good school systems nearby

Buffalo. Absoluetly Buffalo.

[mrspink]

Thank you all for the responses. We are basically researching many places at this point.

Here is a question...how is travel from the Northeast in winter? I mean, we would like to visit our parents here in Ohio and wouldn't want travel to be too difficult. Do any of you know how the Northeast winters (coastal) compare with that of the Midwest? Obviously we are used to driving in snow/ice/whatever crap we get, so if it is pretty similar then I'm not too concerned.