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Pittsburgh seems like an interesting place, though I have never been before. Are there thing to do in Pittsburgh during winter like skiing or biking? I lived in New Hampshire and I find that winter not to be bad if there things to do.
The terrain in Southwest Pennsylvania is definitely suitable for outdoor activities like skiing, biking, hiking, etc. The activities you did in New Hampshire you can also do in the Pittsburgh area.
Is Philly, DC and Bmore as dangerous as the News make it out to be? I want most of the city to be safe and walk-able.
Also, please stop recommending Boston to me.
Overall DC is a really safe city. There are some neighborhoods where you need to be more careful, but you would defintely feel safe walking around most of the city. Honestly DC is probably the best option in the country for a safe, clean, walkable city with extensive mass transit and historical character. Baltimore is more of a mixed bag. There is an even mix of safe nice neighborhoods and neighborhoods where you may not want to visit.
[QUOTEAlso, I would prefer people not to recommend me cities on that list I mad and cities in the north east.][/quote]
Are you considering only cities north of Philadelphia as Northeast? In terms of walkability and mass transit in the US you would really be excluding the best cities for urban exploration if you focused on cities south of Virginia. However if you want to focus on the South then Charleston and Savannah would be a nice option but more limited than cities further North . Charlotte is city in the South that has a light rail system that is growing. It is a very clean and safe mid sized city, but it doesn't have that much character overall. In general southern cities like Charlotte or Atlanta are going to be more spread out than cities further North.
Overall DC is a really safe city. There are some neighborhoods where you need to be more careful, but you would defintely feel safe walking around most of the city. Honestly DC is probably the best option in the country for a safe, clean, walkable city with extensive mass transit and historical character. Baltimore is more of a mixed bag. There is an even mix of safe nice neighborhoods and neighborhoods where you may not want to visit.
Agree! Really like DC. So peaceful, clean, walkable, and spacious. The planned city definitely has its advantages.
I had visited and explored most of Boston many times. I did not live there. I live two hours away; so it was the closed big city to me at the time. I just don't like Boston. There is a few neighborhood that are good, but they are way to expensive. Besides that, most of the Boston metro area I just don't like. It hard to put into words but the city of Boston is just not for me. So please don't recommend Boston on this thread. There is a reason why I made a list of cities not recommend.
As for NYC I have to agree with you, that why I put it on the list of cities not recommend. However, there may be an area of NYC that defy expectation. I have only been to mid town and I know NYC is huge/diverse. (I wouldn't live in Mid town by the way.) Also, the only 2 New Yorker I know, I met in SW Florida and there my friends. So I don't know New Yorkers very well. I was just saying that they "recommended stearing clear of mid town." So, I assumed the rest of NYC is different.
Yeah the things you dont like about Boston are just magnified on a larger scale in NYC. If you dont like Boston because its expensive, not refined and brash.. youll hate NYC. Im also getting a feeling you dont have a care for the yuppy/white washed millenial culture too. You want diverse, fun and nice but not want to pay too much.
Earlier, i was just a little confused. That was our point, basically you said things like “i dont like an orange because the skin isnt edible. So thats why i want a Banana!†So by extrapolading what you didn’t like about Boston would help me get a better answer on what part of NYC to avoid. But to me, and from youve said.. youd hate NY much more than Boston. Thats why i was drilling you lol. So yeah i would cross both off the list.
But cities that would work would be
-Charleston
-Arlington/Alexandria VA
-Pittsburgh
Has Chicago been offered? I forgot.. do you have a weather preference? I know you put it on do not recommend, but it checks off a lot of your boxes. If not, all. Its not that badly priced either.
You’re largest priority is good metro system. So that limits it to a few.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 08-04-2021 at 10:15 PM..
Yeah the things you dont like about Boston are just magnified on a larger scale in NYC. If you dont like Boston because its expensive, not refined and brash.. youll hate NYC. Im also getting a feeling you dont have a care for the yuppy/white washed millenial culture too. You want diverse, fun and nice but not want to pay too much.
Earlier, i was just a little confused. That was our point, basically you said things like “i dont like an orange because the skin isnt edible. So thats why i want a Banana!†So by extrapolading what you didn’t like about Boston would help me get a better answer on what part of NYC to avoid. But to me, and from youve said.. youd hate NY much more than Boston. Thats why i was drilling you lol. So yeah i would cross both off the list.
But cities that would work would be
-Charleston
-Arlington/Alexandria VA
-Pittsburgh
Has Chicago been offered? I forgot.. do you have a weather preference? I know you put it on do not recommend, but it checks off a lot of your boxes. If not, all. Its not that badly priced either.
You’re largest priority is good metro system. So that limits it to a few.
Technically Saint Louis(MO) would work as well, since a la Pittsburgh and Charlotte it has a light rail system. And plenty of city and suburb bus routes, as well.
Savannah(GA) might work too, if you like Charleston. Since Savannah is like a smaller version of Charleston. Mobile(AL) has historic charm a la Savannah and Charleston, as well. And if the OP considered New Orleans, it has a few streetcar routes besides buses.
Is Philly, DC and Bmore as dangerous as the News make it out to be? I want most of the city to be safe and walk-able.
Also, please stop recommending Boston to me.
Something you should know is that the surge in violent crime is not restricted to those three cities — it's pretty much universal.
And there are a number of factors that contributed to the surge. ProPublica ran a masterful story last week on what the surge in Philadelphia can tell us about what's happened elsewhere:
Most of Center City Philadelphia remains "safe and walkable". So do many of the neighborhoods adjacent to it. What you read in this story occurs in the less affluent neighborhoods of North, West and Northeast Philadelphia. But the problem, as I guarantee you will discover in any city you scope out.
Yeah the things you dont like about Boston are just magnified on a larger scale in NYC. If you dont like Boston because its expensive, not refined and brash.. youll hate NYC. Im also getting a feeling you dont have a care for the yuppy/white washed millenial culture too. You want diverse, fun and nice but not want to pay too much.
Earlier, i was just a little confused. That was our point, basically you said things like “i dont like an orange because the skin isnt edible. So thats why i want a Banana!†So by extrapolading what you didn’t like about Boston would help me get a better answer on what part of NYC to avoid. But to me, and from youve said.. youd hate NY much more than Boston. Thats why i was drilling you lol. So yeah i would cross both off the list.
But cities that would work would be
-Charleston
-Arlington/Alexandria VA
-Pittsburgh
Has Chicago been offered? I forgot.. do you have a weather preference? I know you put it on do not recommend, but it checks off a lot of your boxes. If not, all. Its not that badly priced either.
You’re largest priority is good metro system. So that limits it to a few.
I do hate Boston. I just thought that I should be open to the idea that NYC may different and that I may be wrong to put on the that list, since there were people recommending it. I don't know the area as well so I figured there was something I was missing. So, sorry for the confusion. But looking at it more you are probably right about NYC.
The weather doesn't matter too much, as long as there something to do, my allergies don't bother me all the time and the sun shine sometimes. I can usually apricate different weather. I like NH and Montreal for it snow and skiing, the same I like Florida for it heat and sun.
I thought the crime rate in Chicago was very bad. I also heard a lot of people where comparing to NYC which make want to avoid it. I also hear that people complaining that the cost of living was high and that the infrastructure was out of shape. Though I do not know Chicago to well; so, I am open to be convinced other wise.
I will also give you some background on me to avoid further confusion. I lived in South Florida, Nashville Tennessee, and Southern New Hampshire. I spend a lot of time where I live; as well as Boston, Montreal, Atlanta, Tampa, and Outside of DC. I tend get long better with southerners in diverse area that are more outgoing and more polite ( I loved the people in Nashville). But, I have problem with driving everywhere and I am quite frankly tired of the suburbs and the country life. I find the idea of spending so much money on a car and live in the suburbs terrible. Also, when I live up north in southern NH, I was in a white rich suburb. Most people commuted into places like Lowell, MA and Manchester, NH from there and I hated every one there. As a mixed race southerner I felt so out of place and most of the kids from that area ended up in the nicer area of Boston after they graduated.
So, I want to find a walk-able area, that I can get along with the people, with cheap ethnic food, and able to find interesting places to explore . I also want some access to the out doors which suburban sprawl tends to prevent. I found a city like that already which is Montreal and Lisbon. But I am trying to find a place like that in America which I have not found yet in all the places I have I lived.
By the way, I would like thank everyone in this thread who took the time to read and reply. I figured there is other people in the same boat and I hope this can help a few of them.
So, I want to find a walk-able area, that I can get along with the people, with cheap ethnic food, and able to find interesting places to explore . I also want some access to the out doors which suburban sprawl tends to prevent. I found a city like that already which is Montreal and Lisbon. But I am trying to find a place like that in America which I have not found yet in all the places I have I lived.
By the way, I would like thank everyone in this thread who took the time to read and reply. I figured there is other people in the same boat and I hope this can help a few of them.
As you allude to, it is difficult to completely replicate European culture in the US. To some extent, every city in America has some degree of suburbanization/sprawl and auto-centric culture.
Although MarketStEl did provide a great response to your inquiry about crime rates in cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore, and DC, I think it's also worth noting that some inner-suburbs--with some amount of walkability and public transit access--may be a "happy medium" if living in the city center gives you some pause.
Philadelphia would also receive bonus points for its plethora of permanently protected open space, so definitely on the lower end of "sprawly" compared to most major metro areas. You can find landscapes like this within 2 miles of a 1.5 million resident city.
OP you've probably gotten every suggestion in this thread (I skipped over everything after page 1) but I'll just mention the places that I personally rank high, with a focus on mid-sized cities. Of course, these aren't going to be anywhere near the league of Montreal or Lisbon.
Minneapolis & Denver - These both have pretty useful transit systems with lots of interesting areas to explore via rail.
Miami & Atlanta - Ok obviously both are much larger than "midsized". They both offer lots of worthwhile walkable neighborhoods, likely very underrated for most of the general public. The transit, given the size of these metros, does leave a bit to be desired. When thinking of "places to explore via transit" you're really looking at maybe 3 or 4 stations that would be hubs for a walkable area. But both are worth considering since they have a lot to offer at a pretty good COL.
Dallas and Baltimore - I'd also consider these two metros in the same vein though they're a notch or two below Miami and Atlanta. Both have a surprisingly large number of interesting and walkable neighborhoods, as well as surprisingly decent rail infrastructure, but just like Miami/ATL, these don't overlap as much as would be ideal. Baltimore has the added advantage of easy access to DC for a whole lot more exploring, while being much lower COL than DC.
New Orleans - Tons of walkability in many parts. Decent connectivity via rail. However the streetcar is pretty slow and inefficient. But totally worth consideration.
Pittsburgh and Sacramento - I won't say much about these two as my experience is quite limited (have visited each of these for 3 days only and just rode transit one time purely for fun) but they're worth a mention.
I live in a suburb of Charleston, SC and I would not include it on your list (or Savannah). There is no public transit AT ALL and the "core" walkable area is pretty small. So is the city as it's only @ 125K in pop. Yes, the metro is bigger but you would hate it. Talk about sprawl. it's the epitome of strips mall sprawl with no "towns" to speak of. It's also not cheap. At all. We moved from the northeast (coastal MA) and the COL is nearing what we were paying there in many regards.
I didn't see anything about extreme weather. Depending where you look - certainly coastal NC, SC and sometimes GA, you will have the hassle of hurricanes and hurricane evacuations and all that that entails.
SC is very red, so it satisfied your wishes in that regard.
Unfortunately, coming from the north and moving south, the public transit after you move beyond VA tends to be abysmal. I am not sure where you lived in the northeast, but I'm really sorry that you "hated EVERYONE". There are some very nice people that live (or used to live) there.
I totally get what you mean about European cities. I love Europe for a lot of reasons, one of the most is the walkability, outdoor cafes, and great public transit. I agree with whoever said that's going to be difficult to find here. Have you considered Canada, or some of the NW cities - Seattle, Portland, Vancouver Canada (have not been there, but only hear great things about it). They are not red, and not southern, but by all accounts beautiful, walkable in some regard and fairly good public transit.
I second whoever mentioned DC. I love DC. It's not as compact as I imagined, but there's a lot to do there, the public transit is great, and it has lots of "neighborhoods" that are walkable. You might want to take a look at cities by state that are walkable by using Walk Score. Just type in Google "walkable cities in NC" (of which there are few) and it will give you a list of all the cities in the state ordered by walkability and lists the population. Maybe something like Wilmington, NC would work for you, but again, I think it's small like Charleston, crime is fairly high, and I don't know if there is any public transit. And Wilmington often gets slammed by hurricanes.
Best of luck! Let us know where you end up.
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