Where should I move: Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Raleigh, Charlotte, or somewhere else? (living, cost)
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I'm a software developer who's been living in Portland the last two years since graduating college, but I've given myself a two-year-ish deadline to move away. It's partly because I'm too close to family for my taste (I grew up about an hour from here), but also because I'm getting a bit tired of Portland. The climate is great, there are a whole bunch of programming jobs, and there's a whole bunch of great, inexpensive food, but it's the current "it" city, and the housing market just can't keep up. To top it off, a lot of the people who find Portland appealing irk me--e.g., people who use terms like "beard culture" unironically or who care about the "organic integrity" of their groceries. Also, I've only ever lived on the west coast, so it'd be nice to experience something else for a change.
Here are my priorities, in a vaguely most-to-least-important order:
Music scene--i.e., do touring artists stop by? I listen mainly to indie and alternative artists, and I enjoy actually being able to see them in concert. A good symphony or jazz scene is a nice plus too--and I know Kansas City has lots of jazz and even saw Radiohead visit on their last US tour (which I can't say about Portland).
The airport. I've started traveling internationally quite a bit in the last couple of years, and at this point I'd have to live somewhere with either direct international service (more like Amsterdam or Tokyo than, say, Cancun) or relatively easy connections to hubs that do have it.
Software jobs. Not the biggest deal since remote work is becoming more prevalent in the field, but even then it's nice to have local options and some kind of actual tech community.
Walkable neighborhoods. I'm in one of the more burb-ish parts of Portland proper, but I'm still within a twelve-minute walk of some great restaurants--and I really appreciate that I don't have to drive EVERYWHERE. I grew up in Salem, which is pretty sprawly for a city of 150k, and I'd prefer not to live in a place with so many strip malls.
Cost of living. It's not the end of the world since software jobs always pay pretty well for the area, but I just can't stomach how expensive rents are in places like the bay and Boston, even if my industry's salaries in those places support it.
So far I've already visited Austin and Nashville, and while I certainly wouldn't hate living in either city, they both seemed less than ideal. Austin has the same kinds of pretentious people as Portland, and it's similarly trendy and expensive. Meanwhile, Nashville had some cool neighborhoods like Five Points, but they generally seem pretty small and far apart--not the end of the world, but it could be better. Between Googling and chatting with friends who have traveled the US more than I have, I've come up four main options to check out in the near future: Kansas City, Raleigh/Durham, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte.
I know that KC and the Raleigh area are probably ahead of Pittsburgh and Charlotte on music; KC is the only city without at least seasonal service to Europe; and all cities have a reasonable tech industry. So how do you guys think these cities match my wants? And are there other cities I should look into, like perhaps SLC?
Last edited by donglebit; 04-05-2016 at 12:42 AM..
Reason: Formatting issues
Given your various criteria, I think you need to consider Atlanta.
Music scene--Atlanta has robust indie, underground soul, and jazz scenes. The city receives both A-List acts as well as less notarized artists.
The airport.--None of the other cities match Atlanta's international flights. Atlanta's airport is the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic.
Software jobs.--Raleigh or Atlanta, especially Raleigh.
Walkable neighborhoods.--The great thing about Atlanta is that there are all types of neighborhoods to fit your lifestyle. Although not seamlessly urban like larger cities, the plethora of urban neighborhoods in Atlanta are walkable and well within reach of the city's comprehensive mass transit system of buses, heavy rail, green ways, bicycle lanes, etc. You do not have to go to Midtown to eat out at a great restaurant or go shopping either. In the metro area, there are numerous small towns/communities with their own walkable neighborhoods and eclectic areas.
Cost of living.--Compared to cities such as Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and even Minneapolis and Denver, Atlanta is a steal. Not even close to the expensive nature of those cities.
Atlanta should be your first choice. Runners up would be Raleigh or Nashville, but given your less than enthusiastic experiences with Nashville you can cross Charlotte of the list as well, as they are very similar in offerings and sprawly strip mall layout. Raleigh offers the better job opportunities and there are other large cities such as Chapel Hill and Durham close by to visit.
Pittsburgh has almost everything you're looking for. The local music scene is robust and growing (and unlike ten years ago when I moved here, there are mid-sized venues which can get national acts. There's a fairly large tech scene here, between the various CMU startups and the new Google satellite office. Cost of living is rising, but still significantly lower than Portland. And we have walkable neighborhoods in spades. Hell, the city has increasingly been called the "Portland of the East" so you might enjoy it here.
The one thing the city doesn't have that you require is a good international airport. There's a few flights to Canada, one to Paris, and a few tourist traps in the Caribbean like Cancun and the Dominican Republic. That's about it.
I don't know much about Kansas City or the research triangle, but Pittsburgh housing costs are actually lower than Charlotte's, and tech is growing like wildfire. Google is expanding its Pittsburgh operations. Facebook and Apple are both opening operations here as well. In addition, there are lot of smaller, lesser-known tech firms.
I don't know much about Kansas City or the research triangle, but Pittsburgh housing costs are actually lower than Charlotte's, and tech is growing like wildfire. Google is expanding its Pittsburgh operations. Facebook and Apple are both opening operations here as well. In addition, there are lot of smaller, lesser-known tech firms.
Yes, Pittsburgh does have a lower cost of living than both Charlotte and Raleigh, however the Research Triangle Park in Raleigh alone trumps any city on his/her list in the tech industry.
Charlotte and Raleigh are both top rated areas with great economies, great weather, and affordable costs of live. More tech job opportunities in Raleigh. Much larger airport with more non-stop/international flights in Charlotte. More recreational assets in Charlotte. Music scene, just not sure. Not sure about walkable neighborhoods in Raleigh, but Charlotte does have them and a really good greenway system. Another poster mentioned that Charlotte is comparable to Nashville in terms of strips malls and such. Not true. I'm familiar with both cities. Though Charlotte has strip malls like about any city does, it's not to the degree that was implied. Pittsburgh and KC are great areas, but for what you've mentioned, Charlotte and Raleigh is what I'd shoot for. If tech jobs are your biggest consideration, Raleigh would be the place. Good luck!
Pittsburgh or Kansas City. Both will be amazing cities in another ten years. There are not many cities that don't look like every other city out there. Gentrification in most cities has turned most of them into the urban version of suburban monotony and blandness with the same residential buildings, same retail, same everything.
KC and Pittsburgh both have urban charm, diverse architecture and historic culture that places like Charlotte and Raleigh (or Portland/Austin) can't touch.
Charlotte and Raleigh are both top rated areas with great economies, great weather, and affordable costs of live. More tech job opportunities in Raleigh. Much larger airport with more non-stop/international flights in Charlotte. More recreational assets in Charlotte. Music scene, just not sure. Not sure about walkable neighborhoods in Raleigh, but Charlotte does have them and a really good greenway system. Another poster mentioned that Charlotte is comparable to Nashville in terms of strips malls and such. Not true. I'm familiar with both cities. Though Charlotte has strip malls like about any city does, it's not to the degree that was implied. Pittsburgh and KC are great areas, but for what you've mentioned, Charlotte and Raleigh is what I'd shoot for. If tech jobs are your biggest consideration, Raleigh would be the place. Good luck!
They are both very comparable. I didn't mean it to come off as negative, but realistically, the poster already mentioned his experience with Nashville, and the two cities have very similar development patterns/layouts. There are a plethora of strip malls, parking lots, and less walkable areas compared to Kansas City, Pittsburgh or Atlanta for that matter. Nashville and Charlotte are great cities, but lack the things the poster requested in his list.
I'd add Minneapolis, as long as you're okay with wild weather. I'm not sure why Shakeesha considers is a high COL city, but Atlanta may be cheaper than it. Atlanta also seems like it makes sense as an option. You really do have a lot of options, I'd think. Maybe you should narrow it down further by adding more criteria?
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