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About Me: I am 27, and my girlfriend is 25. I grew up in Cincinnati, but have lived in Columbus for the past 4 years. She has lived in Columbus her entire life, except for her first 2 years of college in Missouri. I am a musician, and while I have tried the "making it with a band" thing and would be willing to give it another try, it's no longer something I define myself by. We both have a lot of friends and enjoy going out and having drinks, but we only party hard once a week or so. If we were to move now, we would probably spend the first 2-3 years living in an apartment in an urban neighborhood. After that, we would re-evaluate and either buy a house in our chosen city, or return to Columbus. I run my own business from home, so the job market isn't a huge issue for me. However, my girlfriend is a professional working in the environmental field, so finding a place with job opportunities in her sector would be important. We have no desire to have children, so we don't care at all about school districts or a place to raise a family. We currently rent a one-bedroom apartment for well under $800 a month. We are 5 minutes from downtown and our neighborhood is virtually crime-free. I've never lived in a huge city, so living in a high-crime area would be a bit of a turn-off.
Basically, I am hoping that some of the more well-traveled members of the forum can give me an idea of what cities would be a good fit for us. I am going to list some criteria, and if you could list some cities that you think would be great for us (it can be one city or a dozen -- whatever feels right to you) I would greatly appreciate it!
Based on what we both like, the 5 cities we came up with are:
Austin - I absolutely love this city, but it seems to be getting very crowded and the summers are hotter than we would prefer. The music scene is everything I could ask for and I had a blast enjoying the nightlife while I was there.
Boston - Bigger and colder than what prefer, but if there was an east coast city we would consider, this is it. Absolutely love the neighborhoods and the culture, and I think we could get used to the size of the city... but cost of living really scares me.
Denver - We have never been here, but we really want to visit! I love how sunny it is year round, and I like that you still get 4 seasons. The winters are mild enough for us, and the scenery looks beautiful in photos. The marijuana legalization is a plus too (hope that doesn't offend!), but I am concerned about the lack of a music scene that I would enjoy, as well as how far it is from other major cities.
Nashville - Nashville kind of seems like the "safe choice" for us, which is both good and bad. My main concern is that it wouldn't be enough of a departure from our life in Columbus (aside from the milder winters) to justify moving away from our loved ones.
Portland - Along with Denver, this is the other city on the list I have never visited. I love the progressive mindset, culture, and outdoors lifestyle that I hear about Portland. Temperature wise, the weather is perfect... but I'm not sure if we can handle a city that is even cloudier and has more rainfall than Columbus. Maybe the mild winters would make up for it, but I'm not sure.
As for our criteria:
Weather/Outdoors/Scenery - We like 4 seasons, but we are most willing to give up winter if we had to choose. Our perfect climate would be 50/30 with a little snow in the winter, and 80/60 with low humidity in the summer and lots of sun year round. Of course, we realize this doesn't exist here in the United States, but that should at least give you an idea of what we like. Mostly, we want to live somewhere that is a lot sunnier than Columbus and with milder winters. We aren't the most outdoors-y people you'll meet, but we do like to hike, swim, and occasionally spend a day out on a body of water. Gorgeous scenery would be a plus -- we like great city views and love mountain backdrops and bodies of water, but scenery isn't near the top of our must-haves list.
Cost of Living/Job Market - Cost of living is very important to us. We really can't afford to live in a place where gas is almost $5 per gallon and a studio apartment costs $1,500 per month. Realistically, we would like to move somewhere that we can start out in a 1-bedroom in a nice neighborhood close to downtown for under $800 a month. We COULD afford more, but we are more interested in saving up money for our future. Neither of us are into fancy clothes or cars, so a modest lifestyle suits us well. As mentioned before, my girlfriend is in the environmental sector, so a strong job market there would be a definite plus.
Proximity to Other Cities/Home - It's not tops on our list, but close proximity to other major cities would be a plus. Also, if everything else is a wash, proximity to Cincinnati/Columbus would be the tie-breaker.
Size of Metro Area/Neighborhoods - We are most comfortable with a metro area in the 1.5-3 million range. We could do smaller if the music/arts scene, cultural amenities, and amount of unique restaurants and bars were above average for a smaller city. We could also do larger if there were decent urban neighborhoods with affordable rent. We love having a good mix of neighborhoods to hang out in, so having multiple dense, lively areas is a must.
Attitude/Pace of Life - We love the city, but also like to be able to escape it when needed. I love NYC and Chicago (I've spent probably a solid 2 months in Chicago), but at this point in my life, I'm not willing to live that fast-paced of a lifestyle. We are both super friendly and hospitable, and not the least bit snobby. We prefer a place with friendly locals who are outgoing.
Restaurants/Bars - We love eclectic restaurants and bars, and like to go out 2-3 times a week. We enjoy foods from all nationalities (where we live now, we have Mexican, Indian, Italian, Chinese, Thai, French, Greek, and Mediterranean restaurants within a few blocks) and love to try out new places. We want to make sure we live somewhere with at least a comparable amount of choices to Columbus.
Arts/Music Scene - We both enjoy going out for gallery hops, but even more importantly, we want a vibrant music scene. We are both music geeks who love the '60s and early '70s (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Doors, Rolling Stones, etc.) and stay very current with our music tastes as well. Most of the newer stuff we like is "indie" and we have very quirky tastes in music. We like to go out and see local bands at least once or twice a week, and when it comes to music scenes -- the weirder, the better!
If you were able to make it this far (and bless you if you did!), please be kind enough to give me a few suggestions and maybe some pros/cons of the cities you suggest. Thanks so much!
Also, it is worth mentioning that the two main reasons we want to move out of Columbus are:
1. We want to try something different -- we have basically always lived in Ohio, and don't want to regret not trying something new when we get older.
2. Weather. It is cold in the winter here in Columbus, which we could deal with. But it's just so cloudy year round... It really gets depressing, and we feel being in a sunnier climate would help contribute to a better sense of well-being.
If we could pick up Columbus (along with our friends and family, of course) and put it in a location with a better climate, we would never leave. So if you can find a place with at least the cultural amenities of Columbus, but with better weather and enough differences to allow us to experience a different lifestyle... we will be packing our bags tomorrow. :-)
Last edited by robertfoshizzle; 08-02-2013 at 12:51 AM..
Reason: "regret NOT trying"... forgot a word!
I would cross boston off your list, Way too expensive. But let me assess the rest of the List.
Austin: It's in Texas so COL is relatively inexpensive so that's a plus, But the Summers do get really hot and it want provide "amazing" scenery if thats important. It's a solid choice though.
Nashville: Lower COL, again a plus. Great country scene, but definitely not a real change if your coming from Ohio. If your point of moving is to have a new experience it may not fulfill it all.
Denver: Moderate Cost of Living, Great scenery, but Denver winters aren't mild? Very cold and snowy. If Distance from other Major cities is a problem for you then the west isn't a good option. Almost all the cities have a decent gap between then, Thats not a bad thing though. It's just something you gotta get used to coming from Heart of the Midwest.
Portland: The most expensive of all the places but you could get by. Seattle is 3 hours away, Vancouver BC is 6 hours, and San Francisco is 9 hours away so it solves your other major cities proximity question. My only concern would be COL if your trying to live in the thick of things. The weather honestly isn't that bad, especially if your coming from the Mid West. You can get out and explore year around.
Things I would consider? Do you plan on being a strict musician for awhile? How much do you think you can honestly live off per month? Environmental Sector is Strong in Portland and Denver so for those reason I would have them as your top choices.
Keep in mind, DevanXL, we are open to places that aren't on our list -- just figured I would include the list we came up with so you guys knew what we were considering.
And thank you so much for taking the time to reply!
I don't plan on music having anything to do with my income. I do consider it an important part of my life, so the ability to find like-minded people to play music with (even as a hobby) is important. My home business has nothing to do with music, so no worries there. It will work out regardless of our location, but the money is modest -- on a good week, I can make well over a grand. On a bad week... well, it can be next to nothing.
Right now, we live comfortably off of about $4,500 per month gross. I think my girlfriend could find a comparable job with her degree and experience, and I will be making the same as I do now. So it is reasonable to expect we will make about the same in our new city. Both of our cars are paid off, and aside from about $200 each per month each towards student loans, we don't have any unusual expenses outside of rent/utilities/car insurance/etc.
Also, DevanXL, I see you are from Seattle. That's another city we are open to, but not as enthusiastic about because the statistics say it is even cloudier than Portland. However, we would need to visit before we crossed it off the list. Aside from the cloudiness, it hits all of our must-haves.
Keep in mind, DevanXL, we are open to places that aren't on our list -- just figured I would include the list we came up with so you guys knew what we were considering.
And thank you so much for taking the time to reply!
I don't plan on music having anything to do with my income. I do consider it an important part of my life, so the ability to find like-minded people to play music with (even as a hobby) is important. My home business has nothing to do with music, so no worries there. It will work out regardless of our location, but the money is modest -- on a good week, I can make well over a grand. On a bad week... well, it can be next to nothing.
Right now, we live comfortably off of about $4,500 per month gross. I think my girlfriend could find a comparable job with her degree and experience, and I will be making the same as I do now. So it is reasonable to expect we will make about the same in our new city. Both of our cars are paid off, and aside from about $200 each per month each towards student loans, we don't have any unusual expenses outside of rent/utilities/car insurance/etc.
In that case I would Add Seattle to the list. i would add Minneapolis but since you want a change in environment Ill keep it off the list for now. Seattle is alittle more expensive then portland but if your a fan of more urban cities then it will definitely fit the bill!
In that case I would Add Seattle to the list. i would add Minneapolis but since you want a change in environment Ill keep it off the list for now. Seattle is alittle more expensive then portland but if your a fan of more urban cities then it will definitely fit the bill!
Seattle is definitely a consideration... just worried about the cloudiness. Columbus is one of the cloudiest major cities in the US, and it is really bumming us out! I do like the average temperatures in Seattle a lot though. Minneapolis is too cold, but would otherwise be up for consideration.
Seattle is definitely a consideration... just worried about the cloudiness. Columbus is one of the cloudiest major cities in the US, and it is really bumming us out! I do like the average temperatures in Seattle a lot though. Minneapolis is too cold, but would otherwise be up for consideration.
I think Scenary has to do with it alot. Seattle has so much natural beauty around it and so much going on that you easily could forget about how cloudy it is. Helps too that it's not that cold.
It depends on how urban you want it. Boston is kind of easily the most urban of the list but it's also the most expensive. Reading your whole post your not really putting all that much emphasis to it so I would probably cross that out.
Austin and Nashville has the music culture covered, especially country music. But Austin might too hot for you coming from Ohio. And plus you won't get that snow.
After reading everything I would say Nashville feels like it would be the best for you. I am tempted to throw out a suggestion for Pittsburgh as well.
What is the 'environmental sector'. That covers a lot of ground.
There used to be a website where you would answer a ton of questions related to everything from climate to sports to politics and it would recommend 5 or 10 cities to relocate to. One city it kept throwing out for me (I'm now in Portland) is Little Rock. I have no idea why but its always struck me as something to look further in to. So, I'm going to throw that suggestion out there.
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