Reccomendations for eastern states to move to (rent, house)

[dodgegirl37]

I am looking for a change of pace. I am NOT a big city type of person. I am more of a moderate size, suburbian area, with cuture, theatres, music, and young minded 20-30's ages people.

I was raised in Southern Cali, and I couldn't stand my time on the west coast as a child. Recently I have been living in Colorado for the past 8 years, mostly for college, and now teaching for the past 3 years in a tiny mountain community.

I am looking to move within the next year, and I am planning to visit the east coast area this summer. I will be going to upstate NY, Penn, Maine, possibly Vermont, Mass, and possibly other nearby states.

What reccomendations do you have about where to look into getting more information?

I am and will be a middle school teacher. I want to sail, hike, fly-fish, backpack, and desire to become an active part of the community I live in. I am also looking for a great community church to attend.

[Jeromeville]

It sounds like you like the mountains. You might want to look into the Lake Champlain area of NY or Vermont (Plattsburgh NY, Burlington VT area) Or western Massachusetts.

[lrfox]

I would say look into Burlington Vermont. I responded to your post in the Maine thread, but my number one choice given your criteria would be Burlington. Northampton MA might fit the bill as well.

[nunoco]

I second Northern NY. I'm originally from Colorado, and parts of upstate and VT remind me of Colorado in the 70s, only with the lakes to enjoy. I now live in Plattsburgh, and recommend it, though it depends on what you want. Burlington is a whole lot like Boulder, Plattsburgh is more akin to a Western Slope town like Grand Junction or Montrose or Gunnison (though somewhat less conservative). And Lake Placid is like a mini version of what Aspen used to be, with a lot less attitude.

[lrfox]

True, I should add my support for much of upstate New York in addition to Northampton and Burlington as well. Many cities and towns have what you're looking for there.

[ki0eh]

I was going to suggest Wellsboro, PA, with all the activities you mentioned (yes, sailing too, there are Corps of Engineers lakes in the county) but it might be a little small for you and light on the younger demographic. They make their own theatre HAMILTONGIBSON.ORG

From the folks I know who lived or once did in the Pioneer Valley around Northampton, Mass. that area seems somewhat more unfriendly to the religious minded. Very pretty country with varied outdoor options, pricier than some of the other places I'll mention.

Perhaps the State College, Pa. area (yes, that's the name of the town) - big enough to have box stores, plenty of fly fishing and backpacking country in the surrounding area. Not so good for sailing though. More conservative than other college towns so church will be a bigger part of life in general than some other places.

As for the Ithaca, N.Y. area, although there are spectacular dayhikes and some backpacking, it's probably pretty tough to find teaching jobs with plenty of Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland graduates in the area also looking. If you're right in Ithaca the vibe is a bit anti-religious, but you could consider living in one of the neighboring communities. On nice, breezy days many more sails on the natural, nearly-40-mile-long Cayuga Lake than powerboats. Cortland is big enough to have its own college and casual dining and some cultural options, outsiders can get their name in the paper, and you're allowed to go to church or not to go. You could rent a half house with a big enough lot to park your boat trailer then go to any of the Eastern Finger Lakes within 45 minutes. Ithaca has sprouted a few box stores, more in Syracuse.

Harrisburg or Carlisle, Pa. have suburban style box stores with some traffic, will be closer to big city escapes (roughly two hours to any of Philly, Baltimore, D.C. on weekends), some younger folks due to state and corporate employment centers (not so much colleges), more growth in school enrollment for employment opportunity, some famous fly streams in the immediate area, many hiking trails and some backpacking (the Appalachian Trail passes through), has both smaller/older and large program churches that folks tend to go to, bad for sailing.

[dodgegirl37]

Wow, thank you all for your help! I am truly excited about my road trip to upstate NY now!!! I cannot wait until July....

[Verseau]

I second the recommendations for Burlington, VT and the Northampton, MA area; I would also take a look at Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME.