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Austin, Texas might work. Liberal even though it's in Texas. Low cost of living. Not exactly coastal but not too far from the beach. I'd say Austin is a beautiful place inland but everyone has a different type of scenery they like. Yes, it's hot, but not as humid as places further east. I've never been to Austin (although I'd like to), but I've heard Austin is the perfect mix of not too humid and not too dry. Plenty of sun. I wouldn't worry about being shunned because they have a saying: Keep Austin Weird. I don't know about the bike-friendliness or public transit but I imagine it must be decent because Austin is a college town.
I've lived in Austin. It's a great town and sounds just like what they're looking for. The summers are still really hot, but you get used to it. There are plenty of ways to beat the summer heat with beautiful lakes, springs, and rivers in the area. Here's few cool spots in or near Austin
Austin is very bike friendly town especially if you live downtown. Also, the neighborhoods are pretty walkable if you live downtown. Public transportation kind of sucks but it's getting better. They're putting in a rail line going form the northern suburbs to downtown and will be adding several other lines in the coming future including one going to San Antonio.
BTW, although it's true that Austin is a pretty weird town, the "Keep Austin Weird" is a campaign to support small businesses. Really, that's one of the best parts of Austin are all cool local businesses.
And then of course, there's the music scene, film scene, art scene, and all of the fantastic festivals....
Anyway, that's in a nut shell why people love Austin.
Austin has wicked extreme hot summer weather. Hardly "mild" weather, except in the case of winters.
The OP said she doesn't like extreme mugginess. I've never been to Austin but I heard Austin is not too humid and not too dry. Heat alone has nothing to do with mugginess. Keep in mind that the OP also said not much snow...
My first choice would be to send you to Mission Beach (San Diego) or Huntington Beach, Ca, Bot cities are like college towns without colleges. Affordable, with moderate rents if you can get a decent job. Southern California is very accepting of artists with tats. You will notice cutting edge cultural trends fermenting in Southern California and You will love the bike trails. The weather can't be beat and if you need to see snow, the mountains are only two hour away.
Pittsburgh may be a good fit for you guys. It gets a bit humid in the Summer, and cold in the winter but it is fun and affordable. The student/Artist/music scene is pretty vibrant without the pretentious poseur/scenester attitudes that you find in many other artists communities. You can get to an ocean in about 5 hours (or LAke Erie in 1.5 hours), but there are plenty of other lakes and rivers that fill that niche rather nicely.
You would probably hate areas like Saint Louis (I've lived here for a 1.5 years), about 12 hours from the ocean, a cultural scene here that is about 5 years behind what's happening in NY and LA. The summers are brutal and the job situation is not kind to outsiders.
The OP said she doesn't like extreme mugginess. I've never been to Austin but I heard Austin is not too humid and not too dry. Heat alone has nothing to do with mugginess. Keep in mind that the OP also said not much snow...
Climate wise, Austin is hot and has the occasional thunder storm, but it doesn't have the types of extreme climate the OP expressed she didn't like.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Originally Posted by city_data91
The OP said she doesn't like extreme mugginess. I've never been to Austin but I heard Austin is not too humid and not too dry. Heat alone has nothing to do with mugginess. Keep in mind that the OP also said not much snow...
Ah, okay.
Well, I'm a former resident. I thought the humidity was fine. It was the heat and almost constant sun beating down (not many cloudy days) that got to me sometimes.
OP might like the city fine, but probably not the suburbs, especially Williamson County. But considering where they're both from, and some of the other preferences mentioned, I think it could be a little culture shock. It's still Texas... and the capital of Texas at that.
My boyfriend and I are most likely moving back to the states this summer, but have no idea where we want to go. We had been leaning heavily toward Portland, OR but I'm frankly not sure I could stand so much rain
Here's some things we're looking for and/or need to take into consideration. Please share any ideas you have! Thank you kindly!
- I'm in my 20s, he'll be 30 at the time of the move. I'm a loud-mouthed "yankee" (as the southerners call me!) and he's a Maritime Canadian (Nova Scotia).
- We're looking for somewhere moderate or left-leaning. We're tattooed, non-religious, artistic-- somewhere that isn't going to shun us for that. It happens.
- Moderate cost of living (we'd like to be able to buy a house at some point), preferably with the possibility of renting a small house/bungalow for under $1100/month. I like to have a garden.
- Ideally, within a few hours from the coast. Somewhere really great and beautiful inland would be considered too.
- Somewhat mild weather. I can't stand extreme mugginess/humidity, or constant rain. He's really sick of constant snow and 7 months of winter. Heheheh. We don't mind some snow, of course (we're northerners!!). I like sun.
-I'd like somewhere with decent public transport and bike-friendliness, but that of course depends on the size of the city.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!!! Cheers!!!!
You just described Portland perfectly. Rain is an issue however, I would definitely advise you to think about that before moving there - 8+ months of rain is a lot. Jobs is the other issue, the market is not great right now.
As someone else mentioned, Seattle is a lot like Portland and is somewhere you should look into. It would be more expensive, but at least there are jobs there. Public transit there isn't as good as it is in Portland, but it feels larger and more like a big city than Portland does - something you might miss if you left Montreal.
I'm thinking Mid-Atlantic and South college towns that give you the mild weather, bike/pedestrian friendliness, moderate cost of living (how SEA and SAN and even PDX qualify with those criteria I don't understand), moderate and left-leaning and acceptance of tattoos.
Charlottesville, VA
Chapel Hill, NC (better large city job mkt here)
Athens, GA
Asheville, NC (a little further from coast)
(If cold ocean counts and 6 months of drizzle is ok -- Ashland a little better than this)
Eugene, OR
Ashland, OR
Bellingham, WA
Corvallis, OR
All are within 3-4 hrs of the beach, and are in pretty settings in their own right.
Perhaps Baltimore would be a good fit as well or Providence, RI (although starting to get closer to weather back home).
Remember coast does not necessarily equate to rain as San Diego's 10 inches a year illustrates.
You would probably hate areas like Saint Louis (I've lived here for a 1.5 years), about 12 hours from the ocean, a cultural scene here that is about 5 years behind what's happening in NY and LA. The summers are brutal and the job situation is not kind to outsiders.
Keep in mind this guy is 50 years old and lives in a suburb WAY outside of the city limits. Not sure he would be the authority on a cultural scene. South St Louis city actually has a ton of great stuff going on.
Anyway, when I first read your post Seattle and Portland were the first cities I thought of. I could definitely see myself living in either of those cities.
How's the mass transit in St. Louis? Is it fairly easy to live with only the occasional drive here and there?
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