Vegas vs Austin vs Portland vs Sacramento ????

[NatureYogi]

Oakland could be great for you! Agreed. Pretty easy commute to San Francisco. Oakland and adjacent Berkeley and close enough SF is lots for you to explore and enjoy. If you travel in any major city at night please be safe and preferably not alone. Being surrounded by all that urban stuff and in gorgeous Northern California with all its nature (hike, swim, camp, bike, surf...) and roadtrip possibilities (Marin County, Alameda, Sonoma County, Yosemite, Tahoe, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, hot springs, many music festivals, parties, etc, etc.) and meeting lots of new friends (meetup.com, Lake Merritt, classes, coworkers, housemates, music shows, neighbors, dating, etc, etc) may feed your urge for activity so much you feel less desire to wander out late at night. SF housing costs are very tough! Oakland is easier. Crucial to not live in too unsafe a neighborhood anywhere but especially in places like Oakland, SF, NYC and especially when your budget is limited! So careful on that and ask locals and check crime stats.

South Austin is so great! North Austin not as fun as South. Heat is mainly why I left but I still think of it often. Plenty of vibrant nightlife plus great swimming (Barton Springs near Zilker Park!!! So memorable! etc.) and hiking and so affordable compared to other places. A good entry-level job there that sometimes pays really well during say SXSW is person who bicycles people around bar areas with their bike cart at night, forget what you call that. Friendly, musical city great for singles. All the people living there seem fine enough with the heat and makes swimming and AC feel even more divine so it is just a matter of what you personally prefer in weather...same goes for drizzly Portland or anywhere.

Weather is a personal choice and something you sometimes need to try out to decide and can get used to; for example pretty frequent fog is way less annoying than I would've expected. Heat in inland California is said to be more comfy than Austin heat even when same temperature.

All the cities you mentioned are cool places you could have fun in. Think through income situation to avoid stress; trust me on that one as someone who saw very scarce times and got in unsafe situations from not thinking that foundational security piece through better. There are cool, creative ways to save money on housing for awhile though and with good enough public transportation can get away with no car though cars make life so much richer. Bicycling is really fun; wear a helmet!!

[NatureYogi]

Also Oakland flats have many wealthy, beautiful neighborhoods nearby which gives steady clientele for certain jobs that pay more than just say retail or server and don't need like a Master's degree...gardener, nanny, housecleaner, massage therapist, or (what I do and it's a goldmine) dog walker.

[Merrily Gather]

Originally Posted by lvoc

YOu have not spent much time in Tokyo between 1AM and 5AM. When the available attraction is a big fish market you know you are reaching too far.

Are you sure you're thinking of Tokyo nightlife?

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by Merry Lee Gather

Are you sure you're thinking of Tokyo nightlife?

Subway shuts down at midnight. All legal entertainment stops about then. Even the Pachinko parlors.

There is after hour stuff but it can be treacherous. Got caught in a raid at one once. Ended up with the US quartet sitting with up hiding their stuff under the table.

Nothing wrong with the fish market. Great sushi breakfast at first light. It is weird though. You get 3 feet of fog above the floor and the sellers wandering through with their tuna saws and axes. Right out of Kafka.

[centralaustinite]

Take another look at Philly! And Oakland. Those both seem to fit what you are looking for better than any of your original choices.

If walkable is a criteria, then Austin is out, you can't really live there without a car, plus I think you'd melt in the heat and the competition for entry level jobs in Austin can be fierce and the COL is rising fast.

[floridanightskies]

Originally Posted by NatureYogi

Oakland could be great for you! Agreed. Pretty easy commute to San Francisco. Oakland and adjacent Berkeley and close enough SF is lots for you to explore and enjoy. If you travel in any major city at night please be safe and preferably not alone. Being surrounded by all that urban stuff and in gorgeous Northern California with all its nature (hike, swim, camp, bike, surf...) and roadtrip possibilities (Marin County, Alameda, Sonoma County, Yosemite, Tahoe, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, hot springs, many music festivals, parties, etc, etc.) and meeting lots of new friends (meetup.com, Lake Merritt, classes, coworkers, housemates, music shows, neighbors, dating, etc, etc) may feed your urge for activity so much you feel less desire to wander out late at night. SF housing costs are very tough! Oakland is easier. Crucial to not live in too unsafe a neighborhood anywhere but especially in places like Oakland, SF, NYC and especially when your budget is limited! So careful on that and ask locals and check crime stats.

Thank you for all of your tips and advice! All of those road trip possibilities sound amazing. And thanks to everyone else also, this has helped narrow down things considerably and been a huge help.

[TheFlats]

Keep in mind that Oakland rents have exploded in the past couple of years. It is not a very affordable city anymore. Still, it is probably the best value proposition in the Bay as far as being connected to all the action. Sacramento is a different beast but much more affordable (for now) and still with equal access to all the great Northern California day/weekend trips.

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by TheFlats

Keep in mind that Oakland rents have exploded in the past couple of years. It is not a very affordable city anymore.

Well, all three of my suggestions aren't very affordable, but are still cheaper than living in LA, SF, or NYC and near enough to the action that they might work. But to be completely honest if Miami, New Orleans, and (probably) Vegas didn't fit the nightlife requirements I doubt anyplace in the US exists that's even remotely affordable, while being multidimensional enough to satisfy the OP's needs.

Oakland & Long Beach's COL are over 50% more than the current location.

Jersey City's around 40% more.

But that's still better than the next closest in COL in LA at about 60% more followed by SF at 90% more.

Really the only COL suggestion that checks off many of the wants (and hasn't already been ruled out) is Philly.

Although as cold weather is a deal breaker Philly and Jersey City are probably out.

If Miami's nightlife didn't cut it I'd think Sacramento wouldn't have a chance period. I could be wrong, but when people choose Sacramento it isn't because it's exciting, but for a better quality of life.

Sure it might work if you don't mind the commute on weekends, but making daily trips to be in that 24/7 lifestyle isn't likely.

[redg415]

portland is like sf and sac mixed together. i am not gonna even bother about vegas because all i am in that city is a tourist and would never move there. Sacramento IMO seems like the place you want to be, affordable and close to other nice areas, I live in the SF bay area but love it up there.

[PixelatedTherapy]

Originally Posted by floridanightskies

Hello.

I've read a lot of other threads and done my research, but still can't make up my mind and was hoping for some input from the well-traveled out there. I can't decide where to live. Thanks in advance if you decide to read this long-winded post!!

I moved to a small-ish Florida city called Port Charlotte (population around 50K) a few years ago and bought a house. I love that property values were so cheap here that I was able to buy a nice house as I wouldn't have been able to buy any house in most markets.

However, this area is best for people who love beaches, walking by the harbor, golfing, boating, and fishing- and only those things as there is not much else going on. I love the beach and the harbor views and would love to find those things in a city... but life has felt stale for a while because I am only 28 and this area is more of a retiree heaven. I am a nighttime person. Also, it is a great area for starting a business, but not so great for being employed by a business (career opportunities are scarce and low-paying).

A little about me- I love hiking and nature and need to be near it (not intense mountain climbs, but for gorgeous scenery and spotting unusual wildlife)... love a varied and delicious food scene.... get bored easily in small cities and would like an endless array of entertainment options and classes, art galleries, etc. available 24/7... enjoy bad karaoke in dive bars... would like to find a city with a lot of entry-level career opportunities... and need to be someplace that is cheap/affordable.

My dream city is hard to define. I love NYC above all places I have been in the USA because it is so walkable and alive 24/7- but the cold and high cost of living is a deal-breaker. Austin seems like it has beautiful swimming holes and trails and the unemployment rate is fantastically low- but perhaps too hot in summer and maybe a little boring after a long time? I have a friend in Portland but the hipster scene might be grating after a while, and I think the grey skies and rain would be unpleasant. I like the idea of Sacramento because you can drive to San Francisco or Lake Tahoe within 2 hours, but Sacramento itself doesn't seem like it necessarily has a lot going on. Los Angeles has mountains, beaches, entertainment, and seems almost perfect except for that high cost of living and also, the nature/hiking looks a little dull and lifeless in photos. Las Vegas seems like it meets most of my criteria, especially the 24/7 part, and is near the top of my list... but isn't especially walkable outside of the Strip.

If money and language were not a problem and I could live anywhere in the world, I would choose a place like Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, or someplace else that has beaches and/or vast lakes, mountains, hiking trails, adventure sports, nice weather and is vibrant and energetic and has a million things to eat, see, and do at all hours.

Help!!!!! I want my next move to be my last move for a long while. I know my list is probably unreasonable, but there must be some kind of happy cheap compromise in the USA for my checklist... or should I just say "screw it" and move to a major dream city outside of the USA without a safety net? If so, which city meets my criteria but is still possible for an English-only speaking expat to find a job?

Austin and Portland are basically the same exact city in different climates. Sacramento is what Portland used to be in a way; a lesser known major city that you could afford to live in comfortably and be in driving proximity to internationally known locations (San Francisco, Seattle) which can be enticing to artists. I don't know much about Vegas as I've only been there once. What I can say from that one visit is that the strip is very nice and lively, but the rest of the city seemed sort of depressed, if that makes sense.