Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm trying to pick a city and I need your help. Here's what I'm looking for:
1.) Nice suburbs. I love old, leafy neighborhoods that are still suburban, safe, and beautiful.
2.) Culture. Access to the theatre and symphony is really important. I need a town with colleges, sports events, and plenty of artsy cultural offerings.
3.) Outdoorsy stuff. As long as there are hiking, cross-country skiing, woodsy places nearby where I can "get away from it all," I'll be happy. I don't care if it has mountains or not--I just need a good offering of outdoor recreation available close to town. Good parks, etc.
4.) Yuppies. I like Land Rovers and Trader Joe's. I don't like Upper East Side or San Francisco-style snobbery, but I do like a "smarter" population. I'm THAT square guy you see at Starbucks with his import SUV. Sorry.
5.) All four seasons. I love fall and I love snow. I don't care about humidity.
6.) Sports. I love football and baseball and want a town that does, too.
7.) Republicans. It doesn't have to be Provo, Utah--but I don't want to feel too out of place with my Romney for President 2012 sign.
8.) Catholics. Every place has these, of course. But I want a town with a strong Catholic community (which, let's be honest, all of these cities do....but still).
Intangibles: I love the midwest! I'm not ruling Denver out, but the other cities have the advantage of being in the midwest. Obviously, a low cost of living rocks and so does a low crime rate.
First question is where do you live right now, and why do you want to move? We can analyze all the "pull" factors of each of these cities, but what are your "push" factors?
1.) Nice suburbs. I love old, leafy neighborhoods that are still suburban, safe, and beautiful.
St. Louis has Webster Groves and Kirkwood which are nice, old suburbs. There are also city neighborhoods like St. Louis Hills which are safe and beautiful.
2.) Culture. Access to the theatre and symphony is really important. I need a town with colleges, sports events, and plenty of artsy cultural offerings.
St. Louis has 3 big colleges (UMSL, WUSTL, SLU), various museums, some art galleries, and of course the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra.
3.) Outdoorsy stuff. As long as there are hiking, cross-country skiing, woodsy places nearby where I can "get away from it all," I'll be happy. I don't care if it has mountains or not--I just need a good offering of outdoor recreation available close to town. Good parks, etc.
St. Louis is full of parks. There are also plenty of nature areas with an hour or so of the metro area. If you plan on making a weekend out of it, Lake of the Ozarks seems to be a popular getaway in the summer time.
4.) Yuppies. I like Land Rovers and Trader Joe's. I don't like Upper East Side or San Francisco-style snobbery, but I do like a "smarter" population. I'm THAT square guy you see at Starbucks with his import SUV. Sorry.
There's a Trader Joes in Richmond Heights (a suburb). Not sure about the Land Rover thing.
5.) All four seasons. I love fall and I love snow. I don't care about humidity.
Sounds like St. Louis to me. Snow in the winter, and hot in the summer.
6.) Sports. I love football and baseball and want a town that does, too.
St. Louis has NFL, NHL, and MLB. I know everyone thinks the Rams will move, but from my understanding there are other teams that would be likely to move first. I think the Rams will be alright. St. Louis is 28 of 32 teams for attendance, but ESPN lists Rams attendance at 94%, which, I would think, is pretty good. The Blues are currently selling out about 99% of Scottrade during home games. ESPN says 90%, but they have the Blues capacity listed at 22,000 or so, which it is for basketball. For hockey, Scottrade holds 19,150. 18,978 is the average attendance this year for the Blues.Hopefully St. Louis will get MLS by 2010 or so.
7.) Republicans. It doesn't have to be Provo, Utah--but I don't want to feel too out of place with my Romney for President 2012 sign.
St. Louis seems to have a pretty good mix. I think the city is generally more liberal and the suburbs tend to be more conservative. Missouri as a whole is pretty conservative outside of St. Louis and Kansas City.
8.) Catholics. Every place has these, of course. But I want a town with a strong Catholic community (which, let's be honest, all of these cities do....but still).
St. Louis seems to have a pretty good Catholic population. And there are some beautiful old churches in the area.
I picked Denver, not only because it's my favorite one out of the cities listed on this poll, but I think it's the best fit for you based on what you're looking for. Denver has plenty of nice suburbs, it has 4 seasons (or more like a long winters mixed with warm spring-like weather). The city (and Boulder) are liberal but there are suburban areas where its safe to post your Romney 2012 sign (or Palin 2012, lol). Most of all, you mentioned skiing and outdoor activities and Denver being right by the Rockies is the best choice for that. For sports, how do you like the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets, and Avalanche?
1.) Nice suburbs. I love old, leafy neighborhoods that are still suburban, safe, and beautiful.
St. Louis has Webster Groves and Kirkwood which are nice, old suburbs. There are also city neighborhoods like St. Louis Hills which are safe and beautiful.
2.) Culture. Access to the theatre and symphony is really important. I need a town with colleges, sports events, and plenty of artsy cultural offerings.
St. Louis has 3 big colleges (UMSL, WUSTL, SLU), various museums, some art galleries, and of course the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra.
3.) Outdoorsy stuff. As long as there are hiking, cross-country skiing, woodsy places nearby where I can "get away from it all," I'll be happy. I don't care if it has mountains or not--I just need a good offering of outdoor recreation available close to town. Good parks, etc.
St. Louis is full of parks. There are also plenty of nature areas with an hour or so of the metro area. If you plan on making a weekend out of it, Lake of the Ozarks seems to be a popular getaway in the summer time.
4.) Yuppies. I like Land Rovers and Trader Joe's. I don't like Upper East Side or San Francisco-style snobbery, but I do like a "smarter" population. I'm THAT square guy you see at Starbucks with his import SUV. Sorry.
There's a Trader Joes in Richmond Heights (a suburb). Not sure about the Land Rover thing.
5.) All four seasons. I love fall and I love snow. I don't care about humidity.
Sounds like St. Louis to me. Snow in the winter, and hot in the summer.
6.) Sports. I love football and baseball and want a town that does, too.
St. Louis has NFL, NHL, and MLB. I know everyone thinks the Rams will move, but from my understanding there are other teams that would be likely to move first. I think the Rams will be alright. St. Louis is 28 of 32 teams for attendance, but ESPN lists Rams attendance at 94%, which, I would think, is pretty good. The Blues are currently selling out about 99% of Scottrade during home games. ESPN says 90%, but they have the Blues capacity listed at 22,000 or so, which it is for basketball. For hockey, Scottrade holds 19,150. 18,978 is the average attendance this year for the Blues.Hopefully St. Louis will get MLS by 2010 or so.
7.) Republicans. It doesn't have to be Provo, Utah--but I don't want to feel too out of place with my Romney for President 2012 sign.
St. Louis seems to have a pretty good mix. I think the city is generally more liberal and the suburbs tend to be more conservative. Missouri as a whole is pretty conservative outside of St. Louis and Kansas City.
8.) Catholics. Every place has these, of course. But I want a town with a strong Catholic community (which, let's be honest, all of these cities do....but still).
St. Louis seems to have a pretty good Catholic population. And there are some beautiful old churches in the area.
IMO, you take any Midwestern state below the Great Lakes, and its tendency will be to be conservative outside of its cities. Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio are all fairly conservative outside of their major cities. Illinois tends to be blue so often because Chicago is big enough to overpower the rest of the state. But yeah....ANY Midwestern city mentioned here will have a high Catholic population and also a fairly decent Jewish population. Denver I would pick simply of the beauty of its geography...it literally is right where the Rockies and Great Plains meet...I love Denver. I would like to live there some day. Beautiful, beautiful city.
First question is where do you live right now, and why do you want to move? We can analyze all the "pull" factors of each of these cities, but what are your "push" factors?
I'm outside of Chicago and I'm moving because I want to be in a different metropolitan area. I like Chicago because it always has so much going on. But it's pretty expensive and I hate being in the periphery of it all.
I picked Denver even though it is a quite liberal in the city. If you want to live in a conservative mecca with nice suburbs i'd recommend the North side of Indianapolis (Hamilton County)
I picked Denver even though it is a quite liberal in the city. If you want to live in a conservative mecca with nice suburbs i'd recommend the North side of Indianapolis (Hamilton County)
Well I don't want a conservative mecca necessarily. Just a place that comes close to meeting all of my criteria. If I have to sacrifice culture and the outdoors to live amongst a bunch of Republicans, then no thanks.
Minneapolis does fit your criteria but boy does it get cold up there. Denver actually has very mild winters with the occasional snowstorm that shuts down the city. My dad lives in Highlands Ranch which is a very conservative-white suburb and most other Denver suburbs are the same way. Denver itself is very liberal and Boulder is nicknamed the "Berkeley of the Rockies" so that gives you an idea of how liberal Boulder is too. There are plenty of Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and Range Rover dealerships in Denver-Boulder too.
The Rockies are a playground for outdoor enthusiasts and it takes about 20 minutes to get into the Rockies from downtown Denver. The Denver metro also has several nice parks, lakes, and reserves to go to for recreation. The region also receives over 300 days of sunshine annually so it is rarely cloudy outside and you will get all 4 seasons. I've been to Denver so many times and I can only remember one time where it was cloudy and that was just a thunderstorm. It's not unusual for winter to see 70 degree temps.
I'd just go with Denver. It's the best one IMO!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
