Looking to move... help narrow down? Duluth/Eau Claire/Asheville/Bend/Ithaca/etc. (Winona: how much)

[charliechicken]

Hi everyone- my partner and I are looking to move this upcoming fall. We're in our 20s and are looking for a change of pace and new adventure. We currently live in Iowa City, IA and adore its community-centered values, decent music scene, walkabillity, sense of local business, dog-friendliness, and safety. The population is around 70-100,000 depending on when students are gone.
We're looking to move to a similar city in size and qualities. We don't want to live in any super metropolitan areas or anywhere with a much harsher climate. Access to outdoor activities is also important to us.
Based on random internet research, we have it "narrowed" down to nine cities. Does anyone have any information/opinions/preference on any of them?
Please feel free to also recommend other cities you feel might fit the bill.
Thank you in advance!

The cities we're looking into are...
Duluth MN
Asheville NC
Bend OR
Ithaca NY
Eugene/Corvallis OR
Eau Claire WI
Athens GA
Burlington VT

[Glenfield]

I think you need to be more specific about what you are looking for. A change of pace and access to outdoor activities is pretty vague.

[David A Stone]

Originally Posted by charliechicken

Hi everyone- my partner and I are looking to move this upcoming fall. We're in our 20s and are looking for a change of pace and new adventure. We currently live in Iowa City, IA and adore its community-centered values, decent music scene, walkabillity, sense of local business, dog-friendliness, and safety. The population is around 70-100,000 depending on when students are gone.
We're looking to move to a similar city in size and qualities. We don't want to live in any super metropolitan areas or anywhere with a much harsher climate. Access to outdoor activities is also important to us.
Based on random internet research, we have it "narrowed" down to nine cities. Does anyone have any information/opinions/preference on any of them?
Please feel free to also recommend other cities you feel might fit the bill.
Thank you in advance!

The cities we're looking into are...
Duluth MN
Asheville NC
Bend OR
Ithaca NY
Eugene/Corvallis OR
Eau Claire WI
Athens GA
Burlington VT

It seems several cities on your list are quite liberal and " artsy/trendy"
( Ashville NC, Bend OR, Burlington VT )
Surprised you didn't have Santa Fe NM on your list as well.


I think Duluth is wonderful but certainly not like those three/ four.

[601halfdozen0theother]

Originally Posted by charliechicken

Duluth MN - There's still a very working class vibe to Duluth. UMD is important to the economy but doesn't dominate as in some of the other places. HUGE outdoor region to explore and enjoy. Do you like to ski? Very cold in the winter. Hilly.
Asheville NC Lots of retired people here. I think a couple in their 20s might wish there were more residents in their age group.
Bend OR Arty, getting expensive, lots of retirees here too, and a very varied outdoor area. You can easily go to the beach or out to the High Desert. If you're in Iowa you may want to go to Oregon just for the variety.
Ithaca NY Completely dominated by Cornell and Ithaca college. I think if you aren't actually going to school you may feel not a part of things.
Eugene/Corvallis OR I love Eugene. Go HERE!
Eau Claire WI Back in 2004 I was deciding whether to move to Eau Claire or Northern MN. Eau Claire was nice, but seemed very limited in terms of things to do.
Athens GA I've never been but do have a friend who lives there and loves it. You may want to ask in the Georgia forum whether or not Athens is COMPLETELY dominated by the University. College towns are nice but if you're not a student you can feel not a part of things.
Burlington VT This is the one I know nothing about.

Just based on my own life experiences, I think young people should be exposed to very different regions and lifestyles that those to which they are accustomed. For that reason alone, I think that since you are currently living in Iowa City you should go out to Oregon and explore the new. Or maybe Vermont.

Or what about going to the desert to a place like Silver City, NM or Alpine, TX? Or to someplace fun and random like Galveston, TX?

Duluth is nice, though.

[gweilo845]

Duluth is closer to Cedar Rapids than Iowa City - like the poster above said, it's more of a working class city. It would be a lot colder/snowier than Iowa City as well.

[1stpontiac]

I lived in Iowa City for several years (and loved it) and while there are some similarities with Duluth as far as size of the metro, outdoor-oriented, and safety, I'd agree with the other posters that it differs in ways that seem important to you. Duluth winters will be noticeably worse than Iowa City and the overall vibe of the city will be more blue-collar.

Your favorite aspects of Iowa City pretty much define a college town, so if you want a change in scenery while maintaining that same environment, I'd look for college towns elsewhere in the country. Ann Arbor, MI (U of Mich) and Blacksburgh VA (Virginia Tech) are two that I spent a few days in and both 'felt' a lot like Iowa City.

[David A Stone]

check out Berea KY.


completely different than most places..........small college there......."artsy"....scenic.


I have been there a couple times and I think the word " unique" best describes it.


I really like Duluth, but wonder if Winona MN wouldn't be worth checking out.

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by David A Stone

check out Berea KY.


completely different than most places..........small college there......."artsy"....scenic.


I have been there a couple times and I think the word " unique" best describes it.


I really like Duluth, but wonder if Winona MN wouldn't be worth checking out.

Agree with Winona as one to consider for the OP, David. That would make it reasonably convenient for the OP to visit friends in Iowa City and vica versa! The two cities are about 200 miles apart.

It is a scenic college town (Winona State & St. Mary's) on the Mississippi River. Plenty of outdoors activity and at least a couple music festivals.

[MadeUnderground]

Well, I can only speak of the two cities I have actually lived in. The rest I don't know.

So, I currently live in Duluth, MN. I moved here almost two years ago now. One of the reasons I fell in love with Duluth, MN instantly was because of how much it reminded me of Asheville, NC - a place I completely fell in love with in my teens when I lived there.

Other than me standing in certain locations in Duluth and it reminding me of some Asheville scenery, that's about where the comparison ends.

I lived in Asheville NC for two years as a teenager and I remember the vibrant crazy teens to early thirties folks that lived there. I hung out a lot downtown and participated in the drum circle they had nearly every weekend.
There were a lot of things I wasn't able to do, since I was only there from 13 to almost 16 years old, but I did as much as I could.
There is a lot of culture there. A lot of visual art, a lot of music, lots of different weird quirky places and people. Everyone was super friendly. Super, super friendly. Very animal friendly.
Extremely easy and many options for organic food, farm raised, lots of farmer's markets. Lots of poetry readings. Education is EXTREMELY strong. They had a great active home schooling group, which was so bizarre to me because I had been home schooled in Illinois and our group.. well. Let's just say everyone was home schooled there for the same reason (which is totally okay, but it just brings a different crowd).
The public school system is really good, but there is also a lot of private school and as well as private boarding school options.

If you are into mountaineering activities it's excellent. Fly fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, camping/hiking, trail running, white water rafting. You can do these things in Duluth as well, its some of these are not the same - there are some nice fly fishing spots here, and mountain biking and hiking are pretty good as well. But it's just not the same for me. But that is personal preference. I feel there are more options in Asheville and the surrounding area, but I could be wrong.

I'm definitely a big fan of the mountains. I love Asheville's mild weather. Duluth is too cold for me. I can't take 5-6 months of Winter. I don't really care for any Winter activities either, but if you're into it there's plenty of dog sledding, skiing and snowboarding.

As for Duluth, Duluth is probably my second favorite city/town in the Midwest. My first being Saint Louis, MO. I like it here. It's gorgeous, and there are a lot of mountaineering activity opportunities here. That being said, it's hard to meet new people here. I don't really know why. I struggled the first year or so I came here with loneliness and isolation. I have read on the board here that others have struggled with this as well and I've also talked to others who have moved here that experienced the same thing. It really sucks if you move here single.
It's hard to find clubs to do things in outside of if you're in college or you attend a church. I tried using meetme but most of the groups that I saw were not active. Best socializing I had for the longest while was playing D&D at Dungeon's End every Tuesday lol.

Other than that most people I know, I met during my time in college or at work. They do have a really dog friendly community here though. They have three dog parks here and I met my fiance at one of them.

But anyway I am actually planning on moving back out to NC area someday. Probably in about 7-10 years, once my fiance and I finish school and apply for jobs. Anywhere in the Eastern side of TN, West side of NC or SC is good for us.

Good luck with your search and I hope my post was somewhat helpful.