After high school and college, where should I move too? Portland, Madison, Chicago, ect. (apartment, day care)

[WisconsinBrewCrewFan]

So after high school and college, where should I move too? And if this belongs in City vs City please tell me! It seemed to fit this forum better, but if not tell me.

City/State:

-I need trees! Lots and lots of trees. If the particular city doesn't have them, then I want to be able to drive out of the city to see them. I cannot live without trees!
-Bike friendly. And I don't just mean that you just see bikes everywhere, I want actual bike paths. Where you can go literally anywhere in the city by path or at least you can go pretty far by bike. Good hiking trails are a plus too.
-Animal friendly, I don't want to have to do tons of researching just to find a pet friendly apartment.
-People, most folks say hello in passing or at least give a smile. I don't make friends very easily but when I do their for life. So, I would like for people to be pretty friendly as it's harder for me to be the first to engage people. It's not like I'm a total outcast, I'll be friendly to people I don't know. Also, diversity is a plus. There are currently about 5 kids that aren't white at my school . . . I live in a small town, but still it's sad. And I would prefer a community that doesn't judge people based on sexual orientation either. It irks me when people aren't racially tolerant/accepting or judge based on whether a person it gay, straight, trans-gender, ect. It shouldn't matter.
-Public/Alternate Transportation, I would like pretty decent public transportation.
-Public Safety, I would like to be able walk anywhere in my neighborhood day or night without MUCH trouble or fear.
-Things to do, I would like for there to be things to do, like theater, concerts, sports, ect. While I'm not really a person who loves to be out and about all the time when I want to get out there should be something to do.
-Weather, I need my seasons! The more snow the better. I love cold weather, even if that means shoveling ungodly amounts of snow. I still love it.
-Food, I love it when there's local ethnic markets, farmers markets, fresh produce stands, ect. I don't want to see chain stores everywhere.

Ok, so I've already narrowed it down some. Defiantly no deep south states for me or desert states.

So don't suggest states without seasons!

States/or Cities I've narrowed down to or haven't crossed out yet:
Oregon
Madison/Milwaukee Wisconsin, of course! (Not moving out of state would be ideal, I would be close to family, be able to live around the same kind of people I've been used to my whole life, ect. But I still kind of want to experience things out of state)
Chicago, IL
Kentucky/Tennessee. I've been to both places on vacation and loved it. While there are no real seasons I'm still open.
North/South Carolina and Virgina/West Virgina I haven't really looked at these states so I wouldn't completely cross them out yet.
Pennsylvania/New York
Maryland/Delaware
Connecticut/Massachusetts
Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine
Minnesota, Minneapolis or St. Paul.

Additional Info:
I would be going into the animal care business, doggy day care/kennel services. So I defiantly won't be making much money.
The reason I'm looking into a place to live so early on is that because hopefully after college and the move and when I'm financially secure enough (so looking way into the future here) I'd be able to open up my own kennel business. So I want a place that I'd be able to live in relatively long term as I wouldn't want to deal with uprooting a whole business. So, I want to make sure this is the place I want to live.

So I'm researching while I have plenty of time!

Also, it would be great if you guys would be able to provide BOTH pro and cons about the place. And if I had listed just a state list some cities that would meet some of my requirements.

I think that is about it for now. Thanks! Anything is appreciated.

[WisconsinBrewCrewFan]

Also, I'm female. Don't know if it matters but I forgot to mention it.

[HurricaneDC]

Do you want a diverse city or integrated city? Someone pointed out this distinction on the diversity thread on this forum. For example, Washington DC is diverse, but very much segregated in a lot of parts (part of it is socioeconomic).

I hail from the Old Line state so I'll give my two cents on it.

Pros:
-It is diverse. Not necessarily 'integrated,' but it is diverse and I think as generations go on, it will be more integrated.
-It is the wealthiest state in the nation by median income
-Very educated state as well
-Things seem to be run pretty well
-We have a very good public university system, and some private gems as well (hello Johns Hopkins??)
-It's "America in Miniature," you have mountains, small towns, big cities, big metro areas, farm country, beaches etc.
-We do have four distinct seasons
-TONS of history
-Very beautiful IMO, you will get your trees and then some
-Pretty safe for the most part

Cons:
-It can be very expensive to live here. For the things you're looking for, you'll probably want to live in the DC Metro area or Baltimore Metro area. There are cheaper locations in those areas, but cheap tends to accompany less safe in those areas.
-High taxes, but the state seems to use it well
-People aren't all that friendly in my experience, not in the DC area at least
-Weather is eh... yeah there are four seasons, but frankly I'm not a fan of the hot and humid summers or the meaningless winters (I don't see the point in it being 20F if it's not gonna snow)

So there's my take on Maryland. Your mileage may vary.

[WisconsinBrewCrewFan]

As for a diverse city or integrated city, I would like for it to be integrated but I can survive if it's not and more diverse and segregated. Because here there's zero diversity, integrated or segregated.

Are Maryland's bigger cities bike friendly?

Also, if a city has a really good public transportation system then the bike friendliness doesn't matter to me as much and vice verse.

[HurricaneDC]

I'll preface this by saying DC is not a city of Maryland, but for all intents and purposes let's just ignore that (although chances are if you want cheaper housing you'll end up living in Maryland anyway, but still in the Metropolitan Statistical Area that is DC).

DC isn't that bike friendly. They're working on it, but frankly I value my life too much to ride a bike in the city (same applies to motorcycles. there's only so much I can do to be a safe driver, the rest of my fate rests in other drivers' hands).

DC's public transportation is pretty great, when it works well. If you commute every day you might start getting pissed at the delays and such, but the subway still has quite a bit of coverage, it's very clean and comfortable. Buses are good in the city but in the suburbs they're not great. Plenty of people make do with public transportation, but it can give you a headache sometimes. WMATA (the transit agency) has been having a lot of funding problems recently and they're considering a lot of service cutbacks that will mostly affect people further out in the system, AKA in the suburbs.

I don't know about Baltimore's public transportation.

[northstar22]

I would suggest the Twin Cities - Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the general area. Minneapolis was rated the number one biking city in the country, and bike trails are very common here. The economy is very good. The Twin Cities are both diverse and integrated - nowhere nearly as segregated as places like Chicago and Washington, D.C. There are no "all black," "all white," or "all-anything" areas here. Public transportation is good here (bus and train) and it goes well out into the suburbs. We definitely have four seasons, including that cold and snowy one. Lakes, trees, wetlands, and nature preserves are everywhere. People are very friendly, almost in a "small town" way. I moved here from a small town in Michigan and I really like it.

[sayulita]

You can rule out Portland (if you meant the one in Oregon, not Maine). It's got everything you want in spades except for tons of snow. Thank heavens!

[WisconsinBrewCrewFan]

Yeah, I've been thinking of really looking into the Minneapolis and St. Paul area when I saw that article about it being so bike friendly.

sayulita-The place doesn't have to have tons/ or any snow if it excels in my other wants/needs. But it would have to do pretty well in my requirements. And I mean REALLY well.

[HurricaneDC]

I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Twin Cities. Is it true they have that small town feel? (Sorry to slightly hijack your thread)

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by HurricaneDC

I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Twin Cities. Is it true they have that small town feel? (Sorry to slightly hijack your thread)

Yes. I'm from a small town, I hate big cities, but I'm fine in MSP. People here really do have that small-town friendliness and sense of community.