Relocating young family of four and looking for info on areas (live, best)

[Emrosed]

I will start with a little about us. We have two kids, 4 &2. We currently live in Denver. I grew up in northern NM and went to school in Austin TX. I met my husband in Austin, where he had lived for many years, but has lived all over the U.S.

I recently graduated from grad school in the field of Architecture. We moved to Denver for school and now that I am done we are looking to relocate b/c Denver has never really become a home to us.

We have a general list of requirements (seen below in a basic order of relevance).

-Good schools
-Close (w/ in 3 hrs) to a good Children's Hospital (our son has some health issues).
-Decent job market and development growth (important for both my husband and my work)
-Good music, art culture
-tolerant, diverse in cultures

Some that I would like but are not super important
-all four seasons
-greener communities
-at least a minor league baseball team
-near mountains

We would like something smaller than Denver. Austin is a good size but even a little smaller would be nice.

We are looking at:
Charlotte, NC
Raleigh, Durham Area
Knoxville, TN
Portland, OR
Seattle


We are looking to expand our list of options and places to look. These are just place we know off the top of our heads. We know there are gems of cities out there that we are unaware of. Please send me your suggestions and why you think it would be a good match for us.

[GoneNative]

Just out of curiosity, what is it about Denver that you're anxious to leave?

From your list I can only comment on Seattle and Portland, and both of them would be good choices given what you're looking for. Very artsy, green, outdoorsy, clean. You don't really get four seasons, though, especially compared to Denver. If that's important to you then you're best bet is the middle of the country or the northeast. Beware, however, that Portland's job market is very weak, and it has been for some time now. I don't know about Seattle's economy, though my hunch is that it isn't a whole lot better than Portland's.

Santa Fe or Alba-however-you-spell-it-que might also be worth a look.

[Emrosed]

We have been in Denver for about 5 yrs. I just doesn't feel like home. I think it is just too big for us.

One of the draws was the mountains and in all reality it is just to difficult to get out in to them. I-70 traffic is awful up into the mountains. There are so many places that the green space are more accessible. Having to drive almost 2 hrs to find good fishing is not what I consider accessible.

I do realize weather wise I am not going to find much better than Denver. Although my husband and I don't mind humidity or heat.

I would not consider Santa Fe or ABQ. The crime in ABQ is awful and so is the economy. Santa Fe is a bit to yippie for us. Lots of New Yorkers who have gone western. My Dad lives there (he is not a yippie), therefore I can go and visit and get my dose and then leave.

Good to know about Portland.

Here are some more to add to the list

Charleston, SC
Athens, GA
Norfolk VA
Spokan, WA
Eugene, WA

I have unfortunately only added to my list, not narrowed it down.

[PDX_LAX]

The job market in Portland is indeed bad (architecture especially, since not much is being built there right now) and it won't feel much smaller than Denver (Seattle will feel even larger). The cities in your second post seem like better fits, but I can't comment on them individually.