Relocating to San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, West Palm, or elsewhere (Los Angeles: best city, job market)

[Onliner1]

Single, black male (lawyer, age 30) looking for a city with the following characteristics, listed in order of importance:

1. People move slowly, have time in their lives, and have time for family.
2. People there embrace blacks and are kind and friendly.
3. Excellent shopping - both high end shopping (i.e., good malls) and affordable shopping (i.e., Wallmart)
4. Democratic (not Republican) political values - i.e., and people who preferably prefer Obama over Clinton (an interesting litmus test for relocating purposes)
5. People who are warm to each other, are not overly materialistic (this rules out Atlanta, so please don't suggest it) or high strung or neurotically ambitious (this rules out New York).
6. Warm, sunny weather - preferably year-round or close.
7. The city has its own identity - it's relevant and has a meaningful economy that is connected to the world (so please don't suggest, for example, Nashville, although I am sure it's a wonderful, wonderful city.)
8. It's multicultural - and the multiculturalism has energy (not passivity to it) -- in other words, when you look at city government and the large local corporations, minorities are a definite part of the power structure. Minorities have a voice.
9. The job market is appealing and has an entreprenurial spirit to it.
10. It's a modern city with modern spaces.
11. It's good for allergies (not a pollen ridden city or one with an abundance of air pollution)
12. It has a sensible black culture. Please forgive me if this offends anyone, but Atlanta, for example, is not exactly a great example of sensible black culture - it's hip hop and materialism and so on (which is fine when you're young).

A couple of options I have come up with include San Francisco, Seattle, West Palm (Florida), San Diego, and some of the smaller areas in and around San Francisco such as Palo Alto. (I've also thought of Dubai, Honolulu, and the Cayman Islands.)

Any help would be very gratefully appreciated -

Thanks -

[mhz123]

Originally Posted by Onliner1

Single, black male (lawyer, age 30) looking for a city with the following characteristics, listed in order of importance:

1. People move slowly, have time in their lives, and have time for family.
2. People there embrace blacks and are kind and friendly.
3. Excellent shopping - both high end shopping (i.e., good malls) and affordable shopping (i.e., Wallmart)
4. Democratic (not Republican) political values - i.e., and people who preferably prefer Obama over Clinton (an interesting litmus test for relocating purposes)
5. People who are warm to each other, are not overly materialistic (this rules out Atlanta, so please don't suggest it) or high strung or neurotically ambitious (this rules out New York).
6. Warm, sunny weather - preferably year-round or close.
7. The city has its own identity - it's relevant and has a meaningful economy that is connected to the world (so please don't suggest, for example, Nashville, although I am sure it's a wonderful, wonderful city.)
8. It's multicultural - and the multiculturalism has energy (not passivity to it) -- in other words, when you look at city government and the large local corporations, minorities are a definite part of the power structure. Minorities have a voice.
9. The job market is appealing and has an entreprenurial spirit to it.
10. It's a modern city with modern spaces.
11. It's good for allergies (not a pollen ridden city or one with an abundance of air pollution)
12. It has a sensible black culture. Please forgive me if this offends anyone, but Atlanta, for example, is not exactly a great example of sensible black culture - it's hip hop and materialism and so on (which is fine when you're young).

A couple of options I have come up with include San Francisco, Seattle, West Palm (Florida), San Diego, and some of the smaller areas in and around San Francisco such as Palo Alto. (I've also thought of Dubai, Honolulu, and the Cayman Islands.)

Any help would be very gratefully appreciated -

Thanks -

I think the cities you've come up with all fit the bill in various senses, but none satisfy your requirements 100% of course. For ex: San Diego is going to have nicer weather than SF, but it's economy is going to be slower, which also equates to a more laid back lifestyle.

It really depends on where you think you'll enjoy. As far as culture goes, SF does seem to have the most liberal and open minded scene, but San Diego also has many minorities due to its proximity to Mexico. Seattle is also great in this sense, but the weather can be much more unpleasant in the Winter.

And finally, it might make sense to match the type of law you practice with the environment and big firms that you might be interested in (unless you want to have a private practice).

[triskele]

Wow, a place that fits all your criteria sounds wonderful; if you find it, please let me know where it is!

I can only comment on the Bay Area out of your short list, lived in the Bay Area on and off for the past 10 years. I've also lived in NY and Chicago and Arizona. From my experience, people do not 'move slowly' - unless you consider sitting in traffic to be moving slowly - in San Francisco or Palo Alto. (and by the way.. as for materialism, "shallow Alto" is a not unheard of designation for, er, some parts 'round here, and we ain't talkin' about the water level I find it pretty frenetic here.. but it is a Big City (SF) and a very expensive one, at that. People are frenetic here largely because they have to be; the $ required to make it here dictates that (IMO).

And San Francisco is sure not sunny most of the year; it is usually foggy, especially in summer!

I briefly lived in the San Diego area; I think that might fit your criteria better than SF, on the whole. it's a bit more laid back, there; yes, much better weather. But with 'move slowly' being your number one criteria, I tend to think California cities aren't your best bet...

Good luck!

[EclecticBohemian]

I think that you will find that any city that you choose may disappoint you in some respects. I currently (and permanently) live in SF, but I have lived in NY, Phoenix, LA and Seattle. I think SF fits the bill overall except the sunny weather. Seattle would come second closest but, again, the weather. Having lived in Seattle I would not say that it is vibrant by any means. I lived in Belltown which is "supposedly" a high-energy area but it was only that on Friday and Saturday nights. I would take a few minutes and google the term "Seattle Freeze) if you choose that city. Read it and know that it is a stark reality of Seattle life. Having said that, I will say that if you like beautiful neighborhoods Seattle is full of them you basically cannot go wrong with any neighborhood there.

You might want to add Portland, OR or Vancouver, BC to your list. Vancouver is nothing short of amazing. I think that it is the second best city on the West Coast outside of SF.

FORGET San Diego! I spent considerable time there and I call liken it to Phoenix with a beach and good weather. I would even choose Phoenix over San Diego.

[Onliner1]

Portland crossed my mind - thanks for the recommendation - thanks -

[Onliner1]

This poll is also running in the U.S. General Forum - I apologize for the cross-post (I just joined this site and didn't realize a U.S. General Forum existed until after posting here). Thanks everyone for the comments thus far-

Omaha – except too cold
Seattle – except too rainy
Charlotte, NC
San Francisco – except not sunny
San Diego
Cayman Islands
Phoenix
Portland
Vancouver, BC
Berkeley, California
San Jose
Landra Heights, Los Angeles
Washington, D.C.
Chicago – except too cold

Any additional comments out there would be awesome - and I may have to move this discussion to U.S. General, so if you can post there and its not too much trouble, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this thing - thanks so much.