Finding an Enjoyable City: Dog friendly/affordable/near cultural centers/welcoming/good metros/public transportation (where to stay)
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About me:
Bilingual (English, Spanish, some French but not fluent)
College Degree
No dependents
Single/Male
Little Work Experience
Introverted
Want to live near museums, sites of interest that I can visit
Would like to own a dog. My family has 3, but they're family dogs so I won't take any of them with me.
Prefer to be near parks/nature, but within a metropolis.
Would like to live near a city in an apartment.
Would like to live without a car.
I think those traits are better listed than try to fit them in a paragraph form.
Anyways, I come here for some advice. I've been trying to plan a big move. I'll be moving out on my own and I'm having a hard time thinking of the perfect city. I don't have any career aspirations yet, so I hope the move will inspire me on what I want to do the rest of my life.
I live in a small city around Orlando-Kissimmee area and I just feel the area (and Florida in general) doesn’t have an identity. By identity, I mean that the area doesn’t have anything that’s uniquely Florida. Everything seems novel. I would like to live somewhere with authentic traditions and identity.
I’ve done research and have considered some cities.
New York and Portland, OR seem to meet some of my wants, but I hear that it’s hard to get by in these cities. For New York, location is expensive, middle class people just get by. For Portland, times are tough for jobs, and it seems hard to integrate into the city.
I’ve considered cities between Washington DC and NYC so that I can be near big cities but without the expensive rent and cost of living. But cities I’ve looked at report hard times, too. I’ve looked at Baltimore, but my friend keeps warning me about the crime.
Pittsburgh is a city that I’ve become interested in. I hear it’s good to the middle class.
Other places of interest I haven’t really looked at: Denver, Atlanta, Seattle.
One question that keeps bothering me: Is it possible to successfully move to a U.S. city without having a job waiting? If so, how?
If it is possible, which city fits my wants? Dog friendly/affordable/near cultural centers/welcoming/good metros/public transportation
I prefer to stay away from southwest/California/Texas. I would like to experience moderate temperatures. Also, I don't mind if the city is big or small. I just prefer a city instead of a town, rural, suburbs area.
You'd probably like Jersey City. It is literally a hop over the river from Manhattan and it has museums, some of the best public transportation systems in the country, and it's extremely diverse.
You'd probably find a lot in the Downtown area, Jersey City Heights, Journal Square, and Newport neighborhoods, but stay away from southern JC, especially Greenville and the area west of Liberty State Park.
Jersey City has some of my favorite parks and you can live in some of the best row home apartments outside of NYC without the price tag.
Here's some pictures of the city since it really doesn't get too much recognition because of NYC being so close.
Here's some of the parks in the city
Lincoln Park
^ the lincoln monument. This and numerous historical fountains and other monuments are found on the park.
Liberty State Park
Here's some pics around the city
Maybe I went OD on the pics.. I got carried away.
but good luck.
BTW, most of Jersey Cities crime is truly concentrated in one area (Greenville section or mostly anything south of Communipaw Ave.) So you know where to stay clear of.
Take a look at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, both cities should meet your requirements with Philadelphia offering much more in the way of museums and historic sites.
As for a medium or smaller city, you might like Syracuse. It has a nice parks system, a good arts scene, Syracuse University and LeMoyne College in the city, it's in a the middle of Upstate NY and is within 6 hours of many great US and Canadian cities, there are some nice museums, is relatively safe in comparison to most cities of a decent size and much more. Oh, and it is affordable and has a stable housing market. Depending on your skills and/or education, you can get some jobs in health care, education and even some high tech based companies, among others. In the winter, the snow can be harsh, but it gets dealt with in a timely manner.
You might like the Tipperary Hill neighborhood in the city of Syracuse's West Side, which has a Dog Park, nice rental homes and apartments, has a nice park in Burnet Park(where the Zoo is located) and is a straight shot down West Genesee Street from Downtown.
Last edited by Bo; 08-03-2009 at 09:17 AM..
Reason: Per TOS, share real estate sites via DM, not in posts.
About me:
Bilingual (English, Spanish, some French but not fluent)
College Degree
No dependents
Single/Male
Little Work Experience
Introverted
Want to live near museums, sites of interest that I can visit
Would like to own a dog. My family has 3, but they're family dogs so I won't take any of them with me.
Prefer to be near parks/nature, but within a metropolis.
Would like to live near a city in an apartment.
Would like to live without a car.
I'd strongly recommend Philadelphia.
Your language skills combined with a degree will help you considerably.
Philadelphia's proper is completely walkable and has a very extensive transit system known as SEPTA. A large percentage of city residents live without a car comfortably. The transit map is an excellent tool to use while looking for an apartment. SEPTA
Car sharing is a new phenomenon, allowing use for a car when you need it. I joined and find it very valuable. find cars – Zipcar
The northwest section of the city has some beautiful park-like areas, lower rents because it's a bit further from downtown and it's a great place to have a dog because of all of the greenspace. Areas to look at are West Mount Airy, East Falls, and Chestnut Hill. Avoid East Mount Airy and Germantown. The areas around the Sedgwick to Chestnut Hill East stations on the SEPTA R7 and the Tulpehocken to Chestnut Hill West stations on the SEPTA R8 should be the focus. Below are some apartments in the area that accept dogs. Sedgwick Gardens Apartments Philadelphia, PA Copley Manor Apartments Philadelphia, PA Chestnut Hill Village Apartments Philadelphia, PA Apartments
If you have any other questions feel free to message me. Philly is a very livable major city.
Last edited by niceguy19125; 08-03-2009 at 06:48 AM..
Minneapolis/St. Paul. It has a diversified economy, entry level jobs at the many big corporate headquarters in the city (Target, Honeywell, General Mills, Medtronic, Best Buy, 3M, etc.) the most theater seats per capita in the US, beautiful parks, many museums, lots of colleges and universities and their cultural programs (open to the public), affordable (compared to the coasts) housing, lots of 20-somethings and their clubs, decent public transportation, lots of low-crime city neighborhoods, and dozens of off-leash dog parks.
If cost of living is important, check out living near University Circle in Cleveland, as it is one of the nation's great cultural centers, home of both the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Orchestra. Mass transit would take you to PlayhouseSquare, one of the nation's best theater districts. Cleveland's cultural amenities are significantly better than those in Pittsburgh, so check out both cities if interested in one or the other.
Perhaps Little Italy, adjacent to University Circle, would meet your needs.
Cleveland's famed "Emerald Necklace" of metroparks is exceptional and Cuyahoga Valley National Park is half an hour from downtown. The CVNP can be easily biked from downtown using mostly the excellent Towpath Trail. Cleveland's rail rapids and buses carry bikes.
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