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I plan on moving out from with my sister in Sterling Heights and getting an apartment in either of these cities, but I don't know which is better for what I'm looking for! I don't have a lot saved up yet, but am willing to wait on the move until I have a decent amount. I'm hoping I could get some comparisons on what each city has to offer:
Moving without employment: Job markets for artists/designers + decent day jobs
Cost of living: Rent, taxes, parking, utilities, groceries etc...
The value of having a vehicle: worth it?
Overall feeling: metropolis or large town?
Which city is more accepting of bicycles?
Are there plentiful Street Art or Art Galleries?
Which city is more walkable?
Active nightlife: Bars, events, and open places late at night?
Religious: Acceptance of non-religious and liberal views?
Tourism: Sights to see, attractions?
Weather: What's it like?
I'm pretty sure that's it, but if you want to add anything or another city that you feel is better for what I'm looking for I would appreciate the input! Thank you very much~
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,138,083 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by uraniscopicSanguine
I plan on moving out from with my sister in Sterling Heights and getting an apartment in either of these cities, but I don't know which is better for what I'm looking for! I don't have a lot saved up yet, but am willing to wait on the move until I have a decent amount. I'm hoping I could get some comparisons on what each city has to offer:
Moving without employment: Job markets for artists/designers + decent day jobs
Cost of living: Rent, taxes, parking, utilities, groceries etc...
The value of having a vehicle: worth it?
Overall feeling: metropolis or large town?
Which city is more accepting of bicycles?
Are there plentiful Street Art or Art Galleries?
Which city is more walkable?
Active nightlife: Bars, events, and open places late at night?
Religious: Acceptance of non-religious and liberal views?
Tourism: Sights to see, attractions?
Weather: What's it like?
I'm pretty sure that's it, but if you want to add anything or another city that you feel is better for what I'm looking for I would appreciate the input! Thank you very much~
Moving without employment: Job markets for artists/designers + decent day jobs -- Austin is kind of cliquish for design jobs. Without a network it is harder to break into the community there than it is in SF or Seattle.
Cost of living: Rent, taxes, parking, utilities, groceries etc... SF is the worst in this regard, followed by Seattle. Austin is best for rent, but other expenses like utilities and car expenses will be higher.
The value of having a vehicle: worth it? SF is completely doable without a car. Seattle is okay without a car. In Austin, a car is necessary to live comfortably.
Overall feeling: metropolis or large town? SF is a world metropolis. Seattle is a large regional metropolis. Austin is a large town atmosphere.
Which city is more accepting of bicycles? SF is militantly pro-bicycle. Seattle and Austin are equally next-tier bicycle cities.
Are there plentiful Street Art or Art Galleries? SF and Seattle lead here. Austin is a distant third.
Which city is more walkable? SF is the only truly walkable city of the bunch. Seattle is better than Austin, which is poor in this regard.
Active nightlife: Bars, events, and open places late at night? Austin wins this one for the 21-30 niche. SF and Seattle skew a bit older, but offer nightlife proportional to their size.
Religious: Acceptance of non-religious and liberal views? All are liberal and live-and-let-live. No issues with any.
Tourism: Sights to see, attractions? SF by far, then Seattle, then Austin far behind.
Weather: What's it like? SF is sunny and pleasant the majority of the year, with microclimates to suit any special preferences. Seattle has an agreeable temperature most of the year, but is frequently cloudy and misty or rainy. Austin is a study of extremes--from ridiculous heat to bouts of freezing temperatures. That's also my rank order.
First thing is, how much do you have saved up and do you or your sister have friends/family in any of these places that can help get you set up a bit or help find good deals/employment?
Austin is great. There's a lot going on at all times, there are a lot of really great and talented people and the living expenses are cheap. The issue I've heard from friends, so this is anecdotal, is that with all those resources available to you, a lot of work that you want to do and are really hyped about doing just doesn't seem to get done and just keeps on getting drawn out a lot longer than you expect. Those who do get themselves motivated enough do have a great time in Austin.
SF is pricey, consider the East Bay instead (parts of Oakland and Berkeley, still not cheap but cheaper).
Have you considered Los Angeles? It's not all suburb and the parts of it that are city/urban is larger than any of the other three you mentioned.
@OyCrumbler
I don't currently have a lot saved up, because of schooling and things to take care of first, but before I move I'm planning on a solid 2-5k? Depending on where I'm moving and how easy it will be to find a job in each area. The only family or friends I have in any of these places currently is Austin, but if I move to Seattle another friend has talked about moving with me if my sister doesn't like the idea at that point. And I haven't considered LA as much, but I think I will look into it, thank you!
@TheBigGeo08
I've looked a bit on the east, and haven't found much more than New York in loo of big art industries, and it seemed more like acting and fashion than what I am more inclined towards. If you have any other cities over there, I would be happy to hear about them!
KC has a large arts district in the downtown area . Very reasonable rents/food /cost of living.Easier on the wallet than the other 3 , cold winters and hot summers.
Moving without employment: Job markets for artists/designers + decent day jobs -- Austin is kind of cliquish for design jobs. Without a network it is harder to break into the community there than it is in SF or Seattle.
Cost of living: Rent, taxes, parking, utilities, groceries etc... SF is the worst in this regard, followed by Seattle. Austin is best for rent, but other expenses like utilities and car expenses will be higher.
The value of having a vehicle: worth it? SF is completely doable without a car. Seattle is okay without a car. In Austin, a car is necessary to live comfortably.
Overall feeling: metropolis or large town? SF is a world metropolis. Seattle is a large regional metropolis. Austin is a large town atmosphere.
Which city is more accepting of bicycles? SF is militantly pro-bicycle. Seattle and Austin are equally next-tier bicycle cities.
Are there plentiful Street Art or Art Galleries? SF and Seattle lead here. Austin is a distant third.
Which city is more walkable? SF is the only truly walkable city of the bunch. Seattle is better than Austin, which is poor in this regard.
Active nightlife: Bars, events, and open places late at night? Austin wins this one for the 21-30 niche. SF and Seattle skew a bit older, but offer nightlife proportional to their size.
Religious: Acceptance of non-religious and liberal views? All are liberal and live-and-let-live. No issues with any.
Tourism: Sights to see, attractions? SF by far, then Seattle, then Austin far behind.
Weather: What's it like? SF is sunny and pleasant the majority of the year, with microclimates to suit any special preferences. Seattle has an agreeable temperature most of the year, but is frequently cloudy and misty or rainy. Austin is a study of extremes--from ridiculous heat to bouts of freezing temperatures. That's also my rank order.
This is pretty close, but I'd make a few corrections.
Seattle is a top tier bicycle city, along with SF (although both are behind Portland). I'd say Seattle is militantly pro-bicycle as well.
In terms of walkability, no doubt SF is easily the best of the three. But Seattle can be a walkable city depending on where you live. If you live in Capitol Hill, Belltown, Queen Anne, Downtown, First Hill or any other inner-neighborhood, living without is a car is pretty easy. Even some of the outer neighborhoods (like U District, Ballard, Greenwood, Alaska Junction) are very walkable within the neighborhood and offer quite a bit - however, the problem is if you live in one of those neighborhoods getting to other parts of the city can be a pain in the butt, as they are more like nodes with significant distances in between. The bus system has great coverage, but Seattle traffic is terrible, so bus travel can be slow. Overall, Seattle is much more walkable than Austin, though. Compared to other 500,000+ cities, I'd say it's on the cusp of top 10. SF, however, is top 2 or 3 - it's on a completely different level. Walking may even be preferrable to driving in many cases there.
Also, I would consider looking at Portland as well.
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