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I've written in this forum previously regarding input for a possible relocation, but last time I was kind of all over the place. I now have a stronger grasp of four places to which I may relocate and was wanting general feedback.
Background: 28-year-old female in Jacksonville, Florida. Graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 and went to work in Chicago (health administration industry) but moved back home to help with some family issues. Back in Florida and still working in same field, about to graduate with my master's in public administration.
Would like to use graduation as an opportunity to relocate somewhere that is:
1.) A "healthy" city that has a great overall quality of life (healthy residents and people who do things outside, as opposed to a lifestyle of sitting in morning commute traffic and eating fast food all the time)
2.) Somewhere with a progressive bent -- a "blue" place
3.) Somewhere with parks and open spaces, an appreciation for the arts, beautiful landscapes. A pretty place.
4.) Doesn't have to be a huge city, but definitely want to avoid a place with a suburbia feel (see below).
5.) Somewhere where there are other single professional types in their late 20's to early 40's (not just families, retirees, or party people with no real responsibilities). I just ended a six-year relationship and would like to get into dating and socializing with other young professional types. Coming from Jacksonville, which is full of families, it is very important to me to be somewhere where the social prospects are a bit better.
6.) Climate doesn't matter as long as there is an active outdoors component -- even if there is snow, people will still be active, as opposed to holing up in a tavern and drinking the winter away.
7.) Somewhere not ridiculously expensive. I have a good job, but I am in early in my career and am trying to strike that balance between living somewhere awesome but not wanting to slum it.
8.) Somewhere where there are awesome hospitals/academic medical centers.
The cities I have in mind are:
1.) San Fransisco -- seems to meet the above criteria except for No. 7. I have also heard that people are "different" there but am not sure what that means.
2.) Austin, Texas -- also seems to meet the above criteria. Have visited Austin for work and enjoyed it quite a bit. In terms of relocation, though, I wonder if it is more of a transient college town-type place that doesn't really have much in the way of young professional types (No. 5).
3.) Minneapolis -- also seems to meet above criteria, though I wonder if people are still healthy and active even during the long winters, and if people are socialable or if it is more like a close-knit suburbia type feel.
4.) Boston -- seems to meet all of the above criteria, but I have heard anecdotally that life there is "hard" and I'm not sure why.
I plan to visit two of these cities in the spring before deciding which one is better for relocation.
Do you have any tips that can help me narrow the list down to two candidates? I am interested in any kind of feedback. Living somewhere with a nice quality of life is important to me. Sitting in lots of traffic doesn't appeal to me, so that is why I leaned against cities like DC and Atlanta.
I'm also open to suggestions, if there is another place that seems like it may be a good fit that I may have overlooked.
I've written in this forum previously regarding input for a possible relocation, but last time I was kind of all over the place. I now have a stronger grasp of four places to which I may relocate and was wanting general feedback.
Background: 28-year-old female in Jacksonville, Florida. Graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 and went to work in Chicago (health administration industry) but moved back home to help with some family issues. Back in Florida and still working in same field, about to graduate with my master's in public administration.
Would like to use graduation as an opportunity to relocate somewhere that is:
1.) A "healthy" city that has a great overall quality of life (healthy residents and people who do things outside, as opposed to a lifestyle of sitting in morning commute traffic and eating fast food all the time)
2.) Somewhere with a progressive bent -- a "blue" place
3.) Somewhere with parks and open spaces, an appreciation for the arts, beautiful landscapes. A pretty place.
4.) Doesn't have to be a huge city, but definitely want to avoid a place with a suburbia feel (see below).
5.) Somewhere where there are other single professional types in their late 20's to early 40's (not just families, retirees, or party people with no real responsibilities). I just ended a six-year relationship and would like to get into dating and socializing with other young professional types. Coming from Jacksonville, which is full of families, it is very important to me to be somewhere where the social prospects are a bit better.
6.) Climate doesn't matter as long as there is an active outdoors component -- even if there is snow, people will still be active, as opposed to holing up in a tavern and drinking the winter away.
7.) Somewhere not ridiculously expensive. I have a good job, but I am in early in my career and am trying to strike that balance between living somewhere awesome but not wanting to slum it.
8.) Somewhere where there are awesome hospitals/academic medical centers.
The cities I have in mind are:
1.) San Fransisco -- seems to meet the above criteria except for No. 7. I have also heard that people are "different" there but am not sure what that means.
2.) Austin, Texas -- also seems to meet the above criteria. Have visited Austin for work and enjoyed it quite a bit. In terms of relocation, though, I wonder if it is more of a transient college town-type place that doesn't really have much in the way of young professional types (No. 5).
3.) Minneapolis -- also seems to meet above criteria, though I wonder if people are still healthy and active even during the long winters, and if people are socialable or if it is more like a close-knit suburbia type feel.
4.) Boston -- seems to meet all of the above criteria, but I have heard anecdotally that life there is "hard" and I'm not sure why.
I plan to visit two of these cities in the spring before deciding which one is better for relocation.
Do you have any tips that can help me narrow the list down to two candidates? I am interested in any kind of feedback. Living somewhere with a nice quality of life is important to me. Sitting in lots of traffic doesn't appeal to me, so that is why I leaned against cities like DC and Atlanta.
I'm also open to suggestions, if there is another place that seems like it may be a good fit that I may have overlooked.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
DC has better public transit than any of the cities on your list and would easily be the best city for somebody with an MPA. It's also cheaper than both SF and Boston and would be a straight shot down i-95 to your family in Jacksonville.
Austin would be the least "blue" place overall except maybe a few neighborhoods. It's also the most suburban and feel.
Seems like you would do well in any of these cities.
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