Living in California VS Texas VS Colorado? (best, cost, better)
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Which is the most fun for young adults (ages18-25). And there has to be cities with good public transportation. And good paying jobs (that pay over $70,000 a year). And a good city to start a business would be great. I'm not sure I'd enjoy living in a big city downtown, at least not for a long period of time. I definitely want to live in an urban area, a city, not small town/rural. But I do like quietness at night, where you can go to sleep without hearing noise outside. Noise like police sirens, talking, car alarms, gunshots, people yelling, etc. That'd be so ANNOYING! If I could live in an area where it's quiet at night but in a city (like the suburbs) but lived close to the city, close enough to walk (for me 2 miles or less) or there's public transportation that goes to the suburbs and to the city downtown. If I could live in a calmer area but be able to go to the city downtown everyday that'd be perfect. I like walking and 2 miles should take less than an area. Walking lets me think. I think best in the shower, and I think good while walking.
I wouldn't live in any of them, but then again I'm an East Coast guy all the way. I voted for Texas but I think I should have gone with Colorado. Can I re-vote?
It might sound weird since I'm 19, but I think I'd actually like to live in a quiet area, like suburbs. BUT, it has to be in walking distance to the city (downtown) so at the most 2 miles, or there can (and should) be public transportation. I don't mind walking 2 miles since that takes less than an hour, but the weather could be bad or I might be in a hurry. If I live in a suburban area that could be fine as long as I can go to a city environment area everyday, that's where all the good jobs are, and all the fun, and all the social stuff.
California attracts lots of young people from both Colorado and Texas because of the breadth and depth of educational, professional, cultural and outdoor recreational opportunities as well as the gorgeous weather, unique scenery and generally youth-oriented culture in most of the major cities.
Colorado and Texas, OTOH, tend to attract lots of individuals and families from California who are looking for more affordable housing and/or are lower on the socioeconomic ladder. Also, a few universities in Colorado, most notably UC-Boulder, draw lots of students from California. However, that's pretty much the extent of it.
Most native Californians are particularly adverse to moving to Texas for a host of reasons I'll refrain from listing. The ones that do aren't usually from California to begin with--many East Coasters and Midwesterners who were previously living in California move to Texas when they have families to be closer to their families of origin in addition to enjoying lower housing costs.
OK, can you live there without the need to ever drive?
If you don't want to drive ever, I'm not sure how much you'd like Colorado or Texas, the public transit is not good there and the cities tend to feel fairly suburban and sprawling. Frankly, if you want good public transit, the only place west of the Mississippi that has decent public transit is San Francisco, and even that is a step below transit systems like Boston, Chicago, DC, New York. LA has a pretty good bus-based system as well, but it's probably still easier to have a car there.
The only cities in the U.S. that I would say it feels like you don't ever need a car in are Boston, New York, Chicago, DC, and San Francisco. Philadelphia is kind of borderline, you could probably live there without a car, but it might be annoying sometimes.
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