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I'm open to surrounding towns or close by cities (within 20-60 min) that may better fit this criteria, doesn't have to be the exact cities listed.
Cost of housing:
renting for less than $1000 in a not completely terrible part of town. Open to roommates/roomshare for $500-700.
Best grocery stores:
(in terms of quality, price, variety of products and produce) My favorite overall store where I'm at is Publix.
Overall food scene
Employment:
Most of my experience is in Call center/soft sales, with some in factory/assembly work.
Medical:
I will need a partial knee replacement at some point in the future, so excellent orthopedic surgeons/clinics would be nice.
Better experience during the winter:
I would define this as good upkeep of the city, things to do, overall look during the winter months. Some places look really run down and sad during the winter.
"Some places look really run down and sad during the winter."
If you get depressed in winter months you should probably avoid the PNW altogether tbh. October - late Spring is pretty much overcast/rainy majority of the time. You will go weeks/months without seeing the sun and that's not an exaggeration. Portsmouth, NH is very nice but it's also a bit on the pricey side and most likely out of your price range for rent. Maybe check out nearby Manchester, NH? It's a bigger city, cheaper, and probably has more of the kind of work you are looking for. No idea about Fort Collins.
"Some places look really run down and sad during the winter."
I didn't mean overcast, I meant like how some places will look like a black/brown slushy wasteland. More related to how the landscape looks than the sky. I am definitely aware of the overcast drizzly-ness of the pnw. I like overcast days, but I think one can only know how they would deal with the lengthy pnw type overcast until they live it.
When I look at indeed.com, Portsmouth has A LOT of call center type jobs. More than any other place I've looked at, which surprised me. I know apts are expensive, so I would definitely have to have a roommate. I will look into Manchester as well, though.
"Some places look really run down and sad during the winter."
I didn't mean overcast, I meant like how some places will look like a black/brown slushy wasteland. More related to how the landscape looks than the sky. I am definitely aware of the overcast drizzly-ness of the pnw. I like overcast days, but I think one can only know how they would deal with the lengthy pnw type overcast until they live it.
When I look at indeed.com, Portsmouth has A LOT of call center type jobs. More than any other place I've looked at, which surprised me. I know apts are expensive, so I would definitely have to have a roommate. I will look into Manchester as well, though.
New England is pretty dead looking and slushy in winter (I grew up there)...grass is brown, trees bare etc.
New England is pretty dead looking and slushy in winter (I grew up there)...grass is brown, trees bare etc.
Yup. And Portsmouth isn't far enough North to be part of the region that keeps its snow cover from December-April. It's pretty during a snow storm, but you'll be dealing with brown snowbanks, slush as snow melts, etc. I don't have any perspective on the other places, and Portsmouth is a lovely town, but it's absolutely classic New England in the sense of the dead/brown/slushy winter.
I was born in Keene, NH and currently live in Fort Collins. It depends on a few factors. The east coast vs. Colorado culture is drastic to me. I've lived in FoCo for 3 years and still cant really figure the people out here. It may be different for you depending where you're from. I think the cost of living is about the same..
A good amount of the call center or customer service jobs are in FoCo. As well as top notch medical treatment.
I think it really comes down to culture and climate. The weather in Colorado is warmer, less snow, but dry, and very high UV rays. Kinda desert as far as terrain. Many sunny days. Northeast has more rain, cloudy days, and much cooler with more snow. But a crisp cleanliness to the air.
I strongly prefer New England culture mostly due to quicker wit, sense of humor, intelligence and social skill overall. But to each their own. Colorado folk are reserved, don't really approach one another, and rather serious and stoic, but very laid back. That's just my experience...
I'd point you to Vancouver for a number of reasons here.
Rent is quite affordable in relation to most of the larger cities in the PNW, and you should not have an issue finding somewhere in your price range.
Vancouver has quite a few grocery store options - it's a pretty decent sized city. You'll have Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer (Kroger) among others.
I can't speak to the overall food scene in Vancouver, but you are a very quick drive to Portland, and I'll have to say I'm constantly impressed with the food scene there. There are almost too many great places to eat (and have a great beer).
I'd say Vancouver would be pretty decent in the call center and/or assembly fields of work - more likely better than Portland. Wages in Washington State are typically higher than most parts of the country and you will enjoy no state income tax. Not to mention, WA doesn't tax essential grocery items (think non-packaged/deli prepared foods). Oregon is literally across the river and has no sales tax.
Medical: Both Vancouver and Portland have excellent health care facilities. OHSU in Portland is one of the premier medical facilities on the West Coast.
I know people mention the gloom in the PNW during the winter, but I've spent months on the east coast during winter for work, and to me that's worse. It's FRIGID, and everything dies. It's brown, dead, and super depressing. We have cloudcover in the PNW, but the landscape remains green. It never gets horribly cold. Snow/ice are rare. To be honest, I don't know if its due to climate change or what, but in my lifetime living here it has changed drastically. It's much drier/sunnier than it used to be. Kind of nice for us but a little disconcerting to be honest.
I was born in Keene, NH and currently live in Fort Collins. It depends on a few factors. The east coast vs. Colorado culture is drastic to me. I've lived in FoCo for 3 years and still cant really figure the people out here. It may be different for you depending where you're from. I think the cost of living is about the same..
A good amount of the call center or customer service jobs are in FoCo. As well as top notch medical treatment.
I think it really comes down to culture and climate. The weather in Colorado is warmer, less snow, but dry, and very high UV rays. Kinda desert as far as terrain. Many sunny days. Northeast has more rain, cloudy days, and much cooler with more snow. But a crisp cleanliness to the air.
I strongly prefer New England culture mostly due to quicker wit, sense of humor, intelligence and social skill overall. But to each their own. Colorado folk are reserved, don't really approach one another, and rather serious and stoic, but very laid back. That's just my experience...
Good luck.
^^This. I've been in CO most my life and spent some significant chucks of time in central and western MA. The culture and physical environment are radically different. Don't underestimate this change.
While CO does loose its green in winter, it is not under snow for the duration. It does have numerous sunny and often has many warm days in the 50-60s that make outdoor activities pleasant year round. At night however, it does get pretty cold and our occasional blizzards will drop feet of snow an incapacitate areas for several days.
Population density is also radically different. In CO the majority of people live along the I-25 corridor from Fort Collins to Denver, Colo Spgs, and Pueblo. You won't find old, quaint, established towns with great features 30 minutes apart outside the major metro areas. Out here, these small towns struggle, and there can be many, many miles between them.
CO is wildly popular at this point in time and our in migration population figures are massive. This is creating a lot of upward pressure on housing prices, rent included. Sub $1000 rents in the metro areas will typically be lower income and higher risk, less desirable areas.
The fact that there are so many people migrating to Colorado, there is this anti-outsider vibe coming from a lot of the "natives". Particularly Californians. Honestly, I think its a way locals bond more than anything, as I haven't encountered many issues. But I still prefer "my people" back on the east coast.
And if you plan to buy a house here its pretty much 300k minimum. You can find some things closer to 200k, but they are pretty small and usually have a HOA tacked on.
I have decided to move to either Portsmouth or Portland, ME. Somewhere in that area. Its around where I grew up. But the culture is the main deciding factor. I don't find the majority of my interactions with people here at all "fulfilling". And if they are, they are almost always from somewhere else.
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