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Hello,
I currently live in Austin, TX, but am ready to leave. Except for four years in college, I have lived in Texas my entire life and it is not the place I want to be. I'm trying to make a move by the end of 2014/beginning of 2015 but I'm stuck and would love some insight. I'll try to give as much information as possible, but please let me know if you need more!
Housing: will be renting studio/1br (depending on prices), no pets, small spaces fine. I don't mind living in quirky or unusual housing, but would prefer to not live in a SUPER dangerous area since I am a single female. I love living without a car so would be fine in a city with good public transportation. I currently pay $737 for a 550 sq ft studio about 20 minutes from downtown. I'm not sure how this compares to other places. Min wage in TX is 7.25 so if wages are higher elsewhere I'm sure I could pay more for housing.
Interests: I am very into the arts so a city with a good arts scene is important. Mostly film, theatre, and dance. I love the outdoors and would love if the city had nice green spaces and/or access to hiking outside city limits. I don't party like crazy, but a nice vibrant city would be wicked fun.
Weather: Trying not to be too particular here as nowhere has perfect weather. I HATE summer in Texas. I don't want to go anywhere where the majority of summer days are over 100 deg. I don't mind a warm/hot summer….but just not one that lasts half the year. For this reason, not interested in the SW or SE of the country. I know there are fantastic places to live in the south, but I just have to get out of this heat.
Me: I'm friendly (typical Southern friendliness), don't have a TX accent, a bit shy but really do enjoy meeting people, vegetarian, pretty liberal but not that political, can be kind of a loner, enjoy having a small group of really close friends rather than a larger group of less close friends, love exploring city/nature and discovering new places, polite, work in film, act, dance, paint, not religious.
The cities I've thought the most about are Seattle and Boston so I'd love to hear about those, but I am open to other suggestions if you have them. I am not afraid of adventure or culture shock, I'm actually seeking out something that's going to be different from what I'm used to.
I hope this was ok, but please let me know if you need more. I just feel overwhelmed by all the options and need to narrow my focus so I can start really looking for jobs. I know moving cross-country is hard and will be expensive no matter what, but I'm willing to put in the work.
I'll bite on this. I think this forum is a very good venue for the question.
Seattle is going to be cheaper -- you're definitely going to have the opportunity to live closer to the city center. I just did a quick Craigslist search and couldn't find anything anywhere near Boston even close to what you're paying in Austin. Seattle is more expensive, too, but you'll do better.
Seattle has better access to outside-the-city nature. Boston has better urban green spaces.
Boston is definitely better on public transportation. A car-free lifestyle is more realistic there, though I'm sure there are people who do it in Seattle. I just don't know any of 'em.
I'm going to give Seattle the edge for arts, though I'm not really an authority on their respective scenes. I'm basing it on the abstract notion that Seattle is the city with the artsier sensibility. You won't be bored in Boston, though.
Because you mentioned that you're shy but like meeting people, I will tell you that both cities have a bit of a reputation for being insular. The "Seattle Freeze" is a locally well-known concept -- the deal is that you'll meet people and they'll say: "We should totally hang out! Here's my number!" And then you call them and say, "So you wanted to hang out?" And they'll say, "Oh, uh, it's you -- um, yeah, sorry, I'm busy this weekend, and every weekend." Boston won't lead you on, at least. I think you may find people to be more superficially friendly in Seattle. Bostonians have a reputation for being abrasive, though I always thought that reputation was overblown. Then again, I used to live in New York.
Both cities are liberal, but Seattle is going to be more in your face about it. My completely uneducated opinion is that Seattle is going to be more vegetarian-friendly. But Boston is a big city -- you'll do fine. Better than in Texas, at least.
Boston will have much colder winters. There will be much, much more snow. Seattle winters, while mild, have a tendency to make people want to kill themselves. Seattle is also going to have cooler summers, though Boston summers will certainly seem cool by your standards.
Because Seattle is on your radar, I'm surprised you didn't also mention Portland. It's Seattle's smaller, hipper, artsier, younger, cheaper counterpart. I have personally never been there, so I don't want to start stereotyping. But it may meet your needs. One consideration is that unemployment is higher there. Better public transit than Seattle, though not so good as Boston.
Another idea: Chicago. Genuinely friendly, reasonably affordable, one of the best arts scenes out there. Great green spaces, though not much of anything outside the city. Lake Michigan! A hot summer (though nowhere near Texas hot) that's fairly brief. Excellent public transit -- I know people there who make huge sums of money but choose to live without a car. You know what, I have a feeling you'd love Chicago. Check it out.
I came from Chicago and moved to Austin so with some personal experience I would second you liking Chicago. BUT that is if you can take the winters. I lived there all my life and after only 23 years had enough of the weather, cost of living, lack of jobs, taxes and corrupt gov/cops. So anywhere you go there will be a give and take based on personal preferences. But Chicago will always be "home"... Awesome city...missing the food that's for sure!!
Hello,
I currently live in Austin, TX, but am ready to leave. Except for four years in college, I have lived in Texas my entire life and it is not the place I want to be. I'm trying to make a move by the end of 2014/beginning of 2015 but I'm stuck and would love some insight. I'll try to give as much information as possible, but please let me know if you need more!
Housing: will be renting studio/1br (depending on prices), no pets, small spaces fine. I don't mind living in quirky or unusual housing, but would prefer to not live in a SUPER dangerous area since I am a single female. I love living without a car so would be fine in a city with good public transportation. I currently pay $737 for a 550 sq ft studio about 20 minutes from downtown. I'm not sure how this compares to other places. Min wage in TX is 7.25 so if wages are higher elsewhere I'm sure I could pay more for housing.
Interests: I am very into the arts so a city with a good arts scene is important. Mostly film, theatre, and dance. I love the outdoors and would love if the city had nice green spaces and/or access to hiking outside city limits. I don't party like crazy, but a nice vibrant city would be wicked fun.
Weather: Trying not to be too particular here as nowhere has perfect weather. I HATE summer in Texas. I don't want to go anywhere where the majority of summer days are over 100 deg. I don't mind a warm/hot summer….but just not one that lasts half the year. For this reason, not interested in the SW or SE of the country. I know there are fantastic places to live in the south, but I just have to get out of this heat.
Me: I'm friendly (typical Southern friendliness), don't have a TX accent, a bit shy but really do enjoy meeting people, vegetarian, pretty liberal but not that political, can be kind of a loner, enjoy having a small group of really close friends rather than a larger group of less close friends, love exploring city/nature and discovering new places, polite, work in film, act, dance, paint, not religious.
The cities I've thought the most about are Seattle and Boston so I'd love to hear about those, but I am open to other suggestions if you have them. I am not afraid of adventure or culture shock, I'm actually seeking out something that's going to be different from what I'm used to.
I hope this was ok, but please let me know if you need more. I just feel overwhelmed by all the options and need to narrow my focus so I can start really looking for jobs. I know moving cross-country is hard and will be expensive no matter what, but I'm willing to put in the work.
You won't find anything remotely close to $737 for 550 sq. f.t in either of these cities even outside the immediate core.
Have you considered Denver-or Boulder? The other two cities are quite a bit more expensive, and even though Denver is catching up you can still find a studio in Capitol Hill for under $750. Public transportation isn't perfect, but it's as good as Seattle's and you can certainly get by with just a bike if you're in the middle of town. Anyway, the weather is quite a bit different than Seattle or Boston - a lot of sunshine, warm summers (sometimes hot but nothing like Austin, and it cools off at night), widely variable winters, plenty of good weather and scenery to explore on day hikes and trips. But the major advantage I'd give Denver (and Boulder, though it can be more expensive) over the other two is friendliness. It took no time whatsoever for me to make friends in Colorado. People are generally in a good mood and accepting of newcomers. Speaking of friendly, have you considered Portland? It seems to have a lot of things that you're looking for, too.
Bartonizer--I went to school in Boulder and all my extended family are in Denver and I worked there for a while. It's a great place, but I go there every year for the holidays anyway and I would like to try something new. Plus, all that sun in Boulder drove me nuts! You're spot on though, they are great places to live.
Shakeesha--definitely know I won't find anything for 737 rent-wise. I am fully prepared to be knocked out of my socks by those prices: ) But, wages are lower in TX so I suppose I"m hoping that wherever I move….maybe I'll make more? Doesn't Seattle like a $15 min wage? Crazy!
Antny--thanks for throwing Chicago into the ring! It's something that I have considered. One thing that draws me to the east coast is the proximity of so many other cities and Seattle and Chicago are RELATIVELY isolated in their regions. Though, Seattle has Vancouver which I"ve always wanted to see. Not sure how I would take the winters….I lived in Colorado for a time, but the air is so dry there that even extreme temps don't feel too bad.
Boulevardofdef--wow! Thanks for your thorough response! While I think Boston's reputation for abrasiveness could be off-putting, the "Seattle Freeze" honestly sounds much worse. I hate it when I don't know where I stand with someone! Portland crossed my mind…but for some reason I've just never been that interested in it, but I don't know why. Chicago is a maybe…especially since Antny also mentioned it. I just love Boston's proximity to other places….it feels like an exciting place to live and I am in desperate need of something other than two-step and Tex-Mex.
I think you would enjoy living in either city. It is a good thing you have accepted the fact that your monthly rent will be considerably higher in both cities (Seattle less so than Boston)
All of this may depend on what you plan on doing for a living and what your major was in Uni. I notice you mentioned minimum wage being higher, but while the minimum wage is more generous in both Washington and Massachusetts (There is a bill pending to raise the MW further in Mass) it is still quite the struggle to live reasonably well on minimum wage in either city.
So I guess my question is, are you mentioning the minimum wage because that is what you expect to make or using it as a bottom line to illustrate that wages will be expected to be higher than in Austin?
Seattle and Boston are both wonderful cities to be considering. I guess I'll be the one to take the bite and say don't aim for Portland. During my last visit, I felt rather uninspired by the city. It felt like a smaller, less wealthy, less pretty version of Seattle. It doesn't really have enough going for it to warrant a move, I'd argue.
Now as for Seattle and Boston, I suppose I'll begin with the negatives.
For Seattle, it's the isolation. As you've said, Vancouver BC isn't terribly distant, but Bostan easily feels more connected to a great mega region. For this reason, Boston feels like it's part of a larger, greater world. I have few real complaints about Seattle, but it's isolated existence is a real negative.
For Boston, it's the winter. You grew up in Texas. You should really find out if bone-chilling winters will work for you.
The positives?
As I've said, Boson is part of a much larger world. You'll have more opportunities there.
Seattle is gorgeous visually and relatively safe. The population is generally very intelligent, although you'll find that in either city.
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