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I know this has been posted a million times over and I've never actually posted my own thread, just browsed others for ideas. I'm looking for ideas for relocation. Here are some things we are looking for and some things we do not want. I should mention that we live in Hawaii and love it, apart from the educational aspect and cost of living. We are forced to move due to my husband's work, so staying is not an option, although many of the things we like about here are, no doubt, available elsewhere.
Okay, things we like:
friendly people
tolerance for children and not getting the stink eye if they make noise in a restaurant
intelligent conversation
open minded people (i don't mean people who are obsessive, just people who can talk about issues openly and without getting black and white and militant about things. rationality and good sense being key)
reasonable cost of living
not too much rain, cloud, or snow
reasonably safe
good PUBLIC schools (this is our problem in hawaii, either terrible public schools or insanely expensive private ones- nothing in between)
attractive town or scenery (not necessary, but a bonus)
cultural activities for kids
someplace where the new chain restaurant and how the local team is doing are not the topic of conversation (this was the attitude in the midwest town where i grew up and i found it depressing beyond belief)
a place where people are more worldly and have some idea of perspectives that are not just american (and where more than 5% own passports)
basically, just a laid back tolerant place with thinking people that my kids could grow up enriched in.
i know all of those things are impossible in one place, but i would really like suggestions for ones are similar in some ways. many thanks in advance!!
I don't know your budget, but I'd suggest Colonia, NJ for you. I'm only going by what i know first hand.... Colonia is a very safe town in Middlesex County about 30 miles from NYC.
Good schools, and it's also fairly diverse which might be another bonus for you.
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East end of Long Island? More affordable out there, and seems to have everything you want. Or maybe the Hudson valley region of upstate NY (like 1-2 hours from the city), but they get a lot more snow than Long Island.
I know this has been posted a million times over and I've never actually posted my own thread, just browsed others for ideas. I'm looking for ideas for relocation. Here are some things we are looking for and some things we do not want. I should mention that we live in Hawaii and love it, apart from the educational aspect and cost of living. We are forced to move due to my husband's work, so staying is not an option, although many of the things we like about here are, no doubt, available elsewhere.
Okay, things we like:
friendly people
tolerance for children and not getting the stink eye if they make noise in a restaurant
intelligent conversation
open minded people (i don't mean people who are obsessive, just people who can talk about issues openly and without getting black and white and militant about things. rationality and good sense being key)
reasonable cost of living
not too much rain, cloud, or snow
reasonably safe
good PUBLIC schools (this is our problem in hawaii, either terrible public schools or insanely expensive private ones- nothing in between)
attractive town or scenery (not necessary, but a bonus)
cultural activities for kids
someplace where the new chain restaurant and how the local team is doing are not the topic of conversation (this was the attitude in the midwest town where i grew up and i found it depressing beyond belief)
a place where people are more worldly and have some idea of perspectives that are not just american (and where more than 5% own passports)
basically, just a laid back tolerant place with thinking people that my kids could grow up enriched in.
i know all of those things are impossible in one place, but i would really like suggestions for ones are similar in some ways. many thanks in advance!!
thanks for the replies so far. i have to admit, when i say not cold or cloudy, i am pretty set on that. i lived in seattle type weather and nearly lost it after only a year, all the pluses were erased by the miserable weather! i don't mind some snow but need sun in the winter (eg, colorado would be okay, but not new england.) pretty much must be south of pennsylvania in the east and no more north than colorado in the west.
The best place I can think of within your parameters would be Grand Junction, Colorado. Winters are generally sunny and mild, with a couple of world-class blizzards that shut things down for a few days. Or maybe Lawrence, Kansas, which would be less than an hour's drive from Kansas City, but still a small college town feel.
tolerance for children and not getting the stink eye if they make noise in a restaurant
Hmmm... if by kids making LOTS OF loud noise consistently in a restaurant, I don't know of any place - except cities that have chuck-e-cheese restaurants.
Aside from that one, you didn't really mention large, medium, or small cities or job situations.
However, you may wish to look at Asheville, North Carolina. A smaller city in the North Caroline mountains. Very progressive arts community there with a good number of individually owned restaurants. Tourism. Four distinct seasons - draws tons of people up there in Autumn to see the leaves change. Overall family oriented, but not strict southern stuffy like a lot of other cities that size, again, due to the arts community there. You would only be about 4 hours from coastal areas, less than 2 hours from Charlotte, and around 4 hours or less from Atlanta for bigger city stuff. Read up on it.
Another choice may be Chattanooga, Tennessee. Not as "pretty" as Asheville, but they are a medium sized city with a very popular tourist area along the river downtown that has an Aquarium, restaurant/museum area, and children's museum. Family oriented. A bit more conservative than Asheville, though. Nice riverfront area again. Two hours from Atlanta, 2 hours from Nashville, etc.
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