Anyone considering leaving NYC for a more rural area or small town? Where and Why? (New York: low crime, find a job)

[YBF]

Originally Posted by TheTruth08

I could never do it.

I'm from Queens/Long Island born and raised and I could never live in a rural area. But I am going to the capital region for college and I'm scared Albany won't be a big enough city for me. The farthest I could go would be the Lehigh Valley which isn't RURAL but its pretty close IMO. But I could see myself in Burlington or Pittsburgh if I had to move to one of those choices.

Especially seeing pictures of Pittsburgh in the City vs City thread.

Albany is cool. Its probably the only place upstate NY that I would prob live if I had to. Albany has always reminded me of like Ridgewood or some other parts of Queens or Brooklyn. If you have lived on LI and Queens then you will do just fine and have a blast...that is of course when you are free from your studies..after all you are goign to school not to a 4 year party....right? Plus you are 1.5-2 hours from the city so it would be nothing to get on a bus or drive home for a weekend and go right back to school

[TheTruth08]

Originally Posted by YBF

Albany is cool. Its probably the only place upstate NY that I would prob live if I had to. Albany has always reminded me of like Ridgewood or some other parts of Queens or Brooklyn. If you have lived on LI and Queens then you will do just fine and have a blast...that is of course when you are free from your studies..after all you are goign to school not to a 4 year party....right? Plus you are 1.5-2 hours from the city so it would be nothing to get on a bus or drive home for a weekend and go right back to school

Yeah If I had to move to a city upstate Albany would be it. Yeah I know I'm going to have a blast at Albany. I can't wait. Of course studying comes first.

To the OP. Albany might offer some of the things you may need. But I don't know how the economy is up there.

Why's West Virgina on the list? It seems way of course from all the other poll options.

[Trailrunner79]

I've never been too keen of Albany. I personally don't care much for capitol cities in general, but I think I'd prefer Lake Placid and the surrounding area much more than Albany. However, I don't know too much about Albany and have only driven through it.

I mentioned West Virginia because I've heard some good things about certain areas of the state such as Davis, WV. This is suppose to be a great outdoors town with a good overall economy. However, WV isn't on the top of my list. For more short term, I think that I'd prefer State College, Lake Placid or somewhere in Vermont. BTW, I'm originally from PA and went to school there too. I love upstate NY & Vermont, even the White Mountains. Regardless, I'd like to get out of the city now...

Originally Posted by TheTruth08

Yeah If I had to move to a city upstate Albany would be it. Yeah I know I'm going to have a blast at Albany. I can't wait. Of course studying comes first.

To the OP. Albany might offer some of the things you may need. But I don't know how the economy is up there.

Why's West Virgina on the list? It seems way of course from all the other poll options.

[Irish Eyes]

On your list I would probably pick VT. I wouldn't pick any place in NY State because when I left the city I wanted out completely. My husband and I were going to look at VT and MA. When RE prices dropped we bailed early and moved to NJ. I like our area but we still may go to a colder climate eventually.

[MizFit]

Ahhh - the thought in my mind every single day - to stay or not to stay! I'm from Brooklyn, born & raised, 34 years. I've been saying I'm going to leave NYC since I was 16!!! But various reasons have held me back (debt, family, the boyfriend, etc). I've wanted to move to FL & CA. Also, NC and CO - even though I've never even visited the last two!!! And now the recession has me just sticking it out here since I'm luckily still employed!

I'm probably one of the few that thinks NYC is overrated. But that's probably because I've been here, done that! I hate the dirty subway, annoying crowded streets, and the expense of living here. I would LOVE to live in the suburbs, fresh clean air, away from the rat race. Alas, I'm still here...

But I do love reading these forums because I see I'm not the only one feeling the same way and it helps motivate me - maybe I will leave one day!

[muman]

Originally Posted by MizFit

Ahhh - the thought in my mind every single day - to stay or not to stay! I'm from Brooklyn, born & raised, 34 years. I've been saying I'm going to leave NYC since I was 16!!! But various reasons have held me back (debt, family, the boyfriend, etc). I've wanted to move to FL & CA. Also, NC and CO - even though I've never even visited the last two!!! And now the recession has me just sticking it out here since I'm luckily still employed!

I'm probably one of the few that thinks NYC is overrated. But that's probably because I've been here, done that! I hate the dirty subway, annoying crowded streets, and the expense of living here. I would LOVE to live in the suburbs, fresh clean air, away from the rat race. Alas, I'm still here...

But I do love reading these forums because I see I'm not the only one feeling the same way and it helps motivate me - maybe I will leave one day!

As someone from a small town, who has also lived in the 'burbs, I gotta say I disagree. Maybe it's because I haven't spent as much time in the city as you, but if I see one more generic strip mall next to a Wal-Mart, McDonalds, a TGI Friday and a Burger King, I think I'm gonna barf. All suburbs look the same.

Don't even get me started on small towns. Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest, (maybe the small towns near NYC are better) but it seems like if you're anything but white, super-conservative, and Christian, with possibly a Confederate flag on the back of your pickup truck, you aren't gonna like small towns much either.

[ohiogirl22]

Originally Posted by muman

As someone from a small town, who has also lived in the 'burbs, I gotta say I disagree. Maybe it's because I haven't spent as much time in the city as you, but if I see one more generic strip mall next to a Wal-Mart, McDonalds, a TGI Friday and a Burger King, I think I'm gonna barf. All suburbs look the same.

Don't even get me started on small towns. Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest, (maybe the small towns near NYC are better) but it seems like if you're anything but white, super-conservative, and Christian, with possibly a Confederate flag on the back of your pickup truck, you aren't gonna like small towns much either.

23 years in a suburb and the only thing i miss is having my own pool. the "fresh air" really isnt all that fresh. My neighbors run a day care out of their house and for about 6 hours on end i hear "joyful children". That racket makes me want to jump out a window. Also every day you will hear lawn mowers and leaf blowers at about 7am and incesent dog barking. WAY OVER RATED. Also in my "safe little neighbor hood" my neighbor got killed (not in his house but he was still my neighbor), my down the street neighbor was a child molester, across the street from him went to jail for accounting fraud and later killed himself in jail. It's not what you think it is!

[Trailrunner79]

I agree that suburbs are probably one of the worst areas to live, but some can be good, if they have a walkable community with a mixture of privately owned businesses and not all strip malls. Personally, I love great college towns, resort towns and outdoor towns. All of these places generally produce a great atmosphere where people mingle, enjoy the outdoors, have a nice mixture of restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, etc. Most also have a good local economy. After a couple of years in NYC, I strongly feel it's overrated and a much better place to visit, than to live. I have been to many Midwest cities, and Madison, WI is amazing! Milwaukee, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Champagne, Ill are also great towns or cities, IMO. Of course you'll have the extremist in some of the smaller, less cultured rural towns, but that doesn't make them bad people. Most small town rurla people are actually very nice and hardworking, though there are some who also abuse welfare, etc too.

Originally Posted by ohiogirl22

23 years in a suburb and the only thing i miss is having my own pool. the "fresh air" really isnt all that fresh. My neighbors run a day care out of their house and for about 6 hours on end i hear "joyful children". That racket makes me want to jump out a window. Also every day you will hear lawn mowers and leaf blowers at about 7am and incesent dog barking. WAY OVER RATED. Also in my "safe little neighbor hood" my neighbor got killed (not in his house but he was still my neighbor), my down the street neighbor was a child molester, across the street from him went to jail for accounting fraud and later killed himself in jail. It's not what you think it is!

[Trailrunner79]

MizFit - Just move! Just do it! For real...your mind sounds made up! As for NC and CO, both are great. I really like both of those states, but for different reasons. NC has mountains and beaches, but there economy has taken a huge hit lately and is probably one of the top 5 worst states right now behind NY, CA, Florida and Michigan. However, they are still producing more jobs than most, despite high UE. CO is great, many awesome towns. Denver is overrated, but check out places like Boulder, CO springs, etc. Boulder is more liberal, higher income, while CO Springs is more conservative, moderate income. Both are nice areas though. There's many other towns throughout CO too, so check them out!!!

BTW, I was in CO last year at the Denver airport. My flight was delayed due to a storm and I was getting a beer at this small bar. The bartender, a women who seemed super cool (major 'Boarder) asked me where I'm from. I said currently living in NYC. her, and several other people who were there all talked Mod cut: language in NYC like no other. I have to say, most people in this country, look down on people who live in NYC as elitist snobs, thinking the world revolves around NYC, when there is so much better life out there than NYC!!!
Nobody can understand why people in NYC spend so much on a shoebox, etc. These people have been there to, but they have a very valid point.

Originally Posted by MizFit

Ahhh - the thought in my mind every single day - to stay or not to stay! I'm from Brooklyn, born & raised, 34 years. I've been saying I'm going to leave NYC since I was 16!!! But various reasons have held me back (debt, family, the boyfriend, etc). I've wanted to move to FL & CA. Also, NC and CO - even though I've never even visited the last two!!! And now the recession has me just sticking it out here since I'm luckily still employed!

I'm probably one of the few that thinks NYC is overrated. But that's probably because I've been here, done that! I hate the dirty subway, annoying crowded streets, and the expense of living here. I would LOVE to live in the suburbs, fresh clean air, away from the rat race. Alas, I'm still here...

But I do love reading these forums because I see I'm not the only one feeling the same way and it helps motivate me - maybe I will leave one day!

[DAS]

Originally Posted by Trailrunner79

MizFit - BTW, I was in CO last year at the Denver airport. My flight was delayed due to a storm and I was getting a beer at this small bar. The bartender, a women who seemed super cool (major 'Boarder) asked me where I'm from. I said currently living in NYC. her, and several other people who were there all talked Mod cut: language in NYC like no other. I have to say, most people in this country, look down on people who live in NYC as elitist snobs, thinking the world revolves around NYC, when there is so much better life out there than NYC!!!
Nobody can understand why people in NYC spend so much on a shoebox, etc. These people have been there to, but they have a very valid point.

Yes I notice that there is a definite bias out there against NYer's. Sometimes people just don't try to get to know you as person, if they find out, or figure out that you are a NYer, and then all types of attitudes come at you. Then it takes some talking to get past that, if the person is interested. It is usually easier when the people are younger rather than older, or if they have lived in NY or visited relatives here often, or just well traveled in general. I am the type of person that finds most descent people interesting. I have no problem communicating with anyone from a 5 year old to a 100 year old. Everyone says I can make a friend wherever I go. So for me this is a challenge, getting pass this attitude when I go out of town. This does not apply to the majority of people outside of NYC. But I have had some strange experiences from a few where ever I go.