Vegas vs Austin vs Portland vs Sacramento ???? (living, best, cost)

[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?

[ddrhazy]

I think you'd like Portland.

[Miss Hepburn]

Austin has so much of what you would love.
Short and sweet...

2nd...Portland.

[LV10101]

Las Vegas...hot in Spring/Fall, very hot in Summer, winters are mild. Sun almost everyday.
Austin...humid and hot during summer, more active weather than Las Vegas.
Portland...rain, drizzle, rain repeat.
Sacramento...not sure, never lived there.

I have lived in a suburb of Portland and currently live in Las Vegas.
Portland is a smaller city that has a smaller city feel. They have good public transportation and if you like to bike around town they have a great setup for that. If you like outdoors, hiking, skiing and so on Portland is good during the summer. The ocean beaches are a couple hours away from Portland and not nice beaches like Florida or even California has...Oregon beaches never get real warm swimming water nor the best weather most of the year. If you like rain/drizzle/fog than Portland is the place for you.
Las Vegas...is a larger in population "city" than Portland but has a far less city feel. There is no real nice downtown area in Las Vegas, there is the Strip and downtown, the only nice areas of both are dominated by casinos. There isn't as much outdoor activities to do in Las Vegas compared to Portland. There isn't a lot of non-gaming things to do, many of the things to see are at the casinos. The majority of the non-casino areas of Las Vegas are made up of neighborhoods and strip malls. Las Vegas is made up of mostly transplants so the community feel can be hard to find. Also out of the numerous places I have lived people seem to want your money a lot more than other places and I'm not just talking about the casinos. You are in the middle of the desert and have a 4/5 hour drive to reach a major city. If you like the sun and the desert Las Vegas is perfect for you. Also remember visiting Las Vegas and living in Las Vegas is completely different, that 24/7 lifestyle gets old fast. The lights and the Strip also get old after awhile.

[Scott456]

Originally Posted by LV10101

..... remember visiting Las Vegas and living in Las Vegas is completely different, that 24/7 lifestyle gets old fast. The lights and the Strip also get old after awhile.

Same thing can be said about any city.
All attractions get old after a while.

[Cold Warrior]

Sacramento? Really? Take a look at Davis. It is a uni town with all of the attractions that come with that.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Scott456

Same thing can be said about any city.
All attractions get old after a while.

I disagree.

Addiction gets old after awhile -- so compulsive gambling, smoking, drinking to excess, drug use, partying, and nightclubs get old. That kind of attraction I completely agree gets old. Some things never get old -- the Pacific Coast Highway, for instance. I could look at that every day and never be bored. A good live music scene. That, too.

I have never tired of live music. Considering the city choices, that'd be Austin or Las Vegas. I actually would prefer Austin because I prefer a vibrant local music scene to seeing aging arena rockers.

I never tire of brew pubs, either. Portland wins that battle, hands down. Portland also wins the food battle (although Las Vegas comes close there, too).

If Austin had an ocean with a coral reef, that's where I'd move. Given the choice of cities, I'd chose Portland -- even though I'd miss Austin's live music scene. And airfare from Portland is always rough. It's a very expensive city to fly out of.

My rankings:

Portland > Austin > Sacramento > a Turkish Prison > Hell > Las Vegas


Sacramento looks very out of place on that list. More so than a Turkish prison and Hell.

[Dibbels81]

I've lived in Vegas for about 12 years and it has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor activities. I was exploring and finding petroglyphs in red rock last weekend, this weekend I'll be heading up to Mt. Charleston for a day, and in a few weeks I'll be driving ~5 hours north to Great Basin National Park for the weekend. I'm sure Portland and Sacramento have great outdoorsy options too, but you'll be paying a 9% state income tax for the privilege.

[lvoc]

You are 28. What do you do to make a living?

I would tend to suggest finding the best career opportunity and move where it takes you.

I am old and semi-retired and can live wherever I want and I chose Vegas. The combination of factors is simply overpowering.

If I was still working as an Engineer I would never consider Vegas. Nor Sacramento. Perhaps Portland or Austin but it would have to be a very good job.

[floridanightskies]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Portland > Austin > Sacramento > a Turkish Prison > Hell > Las Vegas

Haha, that cracked me up. Thank you for your input everyone. In response to the career question from another post, I don't really have a career. I will probably just take call center jobs or whatever I can get in order to get by until I find an entry-level career, or maybe just move from one city to another every few years- who knows. I'm more of an aimless wanderer than a pragmatist unfortunately.

Have any of you lived in NYC? I love the idea of being able to walk the streets in the middle of the night and just wander without it being too unsafe or feeling like the one lunatic walking the streets alone at night for no reason. After posting this it got me thinking that it might be worth trading scenery, good weather, inexpensive living, and all the rest for that pleasure. I would seriously love to be able to leave my place at 1 AM and just walk for hours if I don't have to work the next day. I know that's a little odd but I would like to live someplace where I could do that and not look like a lady of the night. Are there any other places where this is possible or is NYC pretty much it? For that matter, is it possible in NYC or would it be dangerous there too? Can someone scrape by in NYC on a call center-type income without assistance or is it too expensive?

Thank you for humoring all of these silly questions...