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I have about 5 months to decide where to move next. I am a 31 year old female, single, college educated and with solid remote income (living somewhere with a job market is not a concern). I am also studying to be an artist and have been taking BFA level classes at my local university. I am interested in moving somewhere with the following:
- Healthy art scene (by this I mean: good number of galleries, museums, funding for the arts, public art/murals, healthy community of artists, good art universities, international or national art stage, etc.)
- A big enough population with a good percentage of single men (I am interested in finding a life partner and living in a tiny place as I am currently, doesn't cut it)
- Walkable or interesting place (I do not do well in suburban America and it weighs heavily on my soul to live somewhere where it's car centric and you're surrounded by big box stores and mattress factories. I seek to find somewhere where I can lead a somewhat car-less existence OR I am living in a place that is beautiful and interesting enough that being in a car-centric place doesn't feel as soul-sucking).
- Affordable enough where buying property is still viable.
Based on the above requirements, my choice of cities has come down to:
Santa Fe, NM - I reside close to SF currently and I like it. However, there is no good art universities (closest would be Albuquerque UNM), the population is small and skews much older (hello retirement community), and I have grown tired of the brown desert landscape, brutal winters, and being land-locked. Additionally, I am far from family and it feels like I am in an isolated island desert lol. Don't get me started on traveling anywhere either and it's expensive to live here.
Savannah, GA - Good university (SCAD), close to family, beaches, warm climate, artsy city. The only cons I can think of is that it is in GEORGIA and that the population may be transient, so it may not be a good place to settle down? However, I did grow up in the south and have visited Savannah growing up almost annually so it does hold a special place in my heart.
Atlanta, GA - This wouldn't be on my list normally but I grew up here and have family, friends, and connections here. It's a contender for that reason alone and because of the large population of available men, but I am not thrilled about living here to be frank due to suburban sprawl. But there is a decent underground art scene or at least it is becoming like a LA with the film scene and etc. This would be the easiest place to move to but the car-centric layout of the place has always made me miserable.
Miami, FL - Good art city but I worry it's too commercial and fake. I love the beach and warmth so that's a big draw for me. However, I worry about it being expensive and not being a good place to settle down (too focused on superficial appearances, too fake, and not a good place for climate change reasons).
Cincinnati, OH - There is a good private art university I could attend and I hear it's walkable and has an urban downtown. Don't know much else.
Pittsburgh, PA - Decently walkable, urban city, beautiful architecture, and it seems that there is a good focus on the arts. Carnegie Mellon is an awesome school. Plus it's close to northeast cities like NYC and Philly. Not sure if I am thrilled about the weather there but if I can lead a mostly car-free existence, be an artist, and find a husband and own property doesn't seem like a bad choice.
Chicago, IL - Having lived in NYC, Chicago has always been a contender for somewhere I could see myself settling down. However, I have little connections there and it is brutally cold. It seems like a good place for me on paper but because it is far from the south (where my family is) and because of the cold, I don't know if it's a place I could really live long-term. Plus big city life where I don't know anyone feels draining at this point in my life.
Any suggestions on where I should consider next? I am open to other suggestions apart from the cities I have listed. Thanks in advance!
Last edited by veniceinfurs; 01-08-2023 at 12:42 PM..
Reason: cut off my text
I'd suggest New Haven, CT. It's a small city with multiple universities and an excellent art scene thanks to Yale. It has suburbs that don't look or feel like the typical suburbs you're used to in Atlanta. Inner suburbs of New Haven are more dense and have town centers. They'd be best described as streetcar suburbs. The city has good public transit including commuter trains that can get you to NYC in 2 hours 24 hours a day. For a city of its size and class, the art scene really can't be beat.
The Midwest needs to be off your list if Santa Fe is too much for winter weather. Santa Fe probably has comparable summer weather to the Midwest despite it's southern latitude due to it's high 7k elevation, but the Midwest with cloudy and overcast winters will have much more snow and that snow will stick around longer rather than the piercing sunrays of a more southernly and high altitude location of Santa Fe. New England and the Mid-Atlantic will also have worse winters than Santa Fe. You either need to stay in approximately the southern 50% of the US land mass if I ballpark it (with some exceptions like mountain peaks and what not) or consider the Pacific Northwest which will just be cloudy dark and rainy instead of sunny and barely snowy due to the desert's lack of precipitation to make snow. Or... just accept that you will have worse winter weather and go to the Midwest or Northeast anyway.
St. Petersburg has caught my interest! Thanks for the suggestion. Does it have a burgeoning art scene? Also New Haven looks interesting as well - if only I can bear the NE winters.. PNW is off the table because it's too far from family and I don't like rainy and cloudy weather.
You can cross out Miami if you intend to settle down to buy a property. Besides Art Basel isn’t what art makes. It’s considered the Coachella of art that most serious art people tried to stay away. I like Miami’s energy and certain parts of Miami are absolutely beautiful but it’s not the city I go to for strictly seeking art and culture.
It’s not on your list but D.C has very active art community/museums. A good friend of mine is a fine art photographer, curator in the gallery and used to teach at Corcoran school of art so through her I knew a bit of glance of the local scene. D.C is expensive, though and dating in D.C is a b*tch. D.C also still has somewhat significant winter.
Having lived in NYC myself and visited Chicago many times (with many friends there as well.) I’m not too sure if you would connect to Chicago similarly. On paper Chicago looks like NYC Jr, but local culture is still quite different. Chicago has very robust art scene, and fairly affordable (to my surprise.) and it’s overall a great city. I didn’t feel like I was in NYC though, I felt I was in Toronto when I was in Chicago. Chicago winter is far more harsh than NYC winter. We were there one time in early Nov, we walked along Lake Michigan, within 5 mins my Southern-California bred daughter started to have running nose and wind burn on her face.-needless to say we Ubered back to the hotel immediately. It’s not called Windy City for nothing.
the unfortunate thing about the typical American life is that you’re more likely to run into chain stores, stripe malls, big box stores and generic housing these days than not. Americans love their shopping centers to look identical so even when they travel, they “feel like home”. Even NYC is losing that uniqueness these days.
St. Petersburg has caught my interest! Thanks for the suggestion. Does it have a burgeoning art scene? Also New Haven looks interesting as well - if only I can bear the NE winters.. PNW is off the table because it's too far from family and I don't like rainy and cloudy weather.
As an art patron and art lover, who lived in FL for one year (not too far from St.Pete. Drove on Sunshine Skyway all the time..) I don’t think St.Pete’s art scene was all that impressive. (The most legit museum is Dali.) St Pete feels young, the pier area and Central Ave area are energetic, but you still need a car to get around outside those areas and FL is a major center for big box stores and generic eatery joints (because of the tourism-centric economy.) so that’s that.
If you like the somewhat “crunchy” “granola” type of culture and scene, you might like St.Pete. But if your idea of art is legacy/fine art, and your ideal dating life doesn’t always involve weed and partying, then you probably won’t enjoy St.Pete.
Thanks for your response. Why do you think Savannah is the best choice? It is looking like a top option and I am more interested in fine art vs. what you described St. Pete to be.
Thanks for your response. Why do you think Savannah is the best choice? It is looking like a top option and I am more interested in fine art vs. what you described St. Pete to be.
I like Savannah because:
1: a historically rich and culturally profound city. For art and for life in general a city like that is good for mental and intellectual stimulation. Visually it is also beautiful.
2: I would imagine the winter not being too harsh.
3: it’s close to your family.
4: less than 2 hrs to another city I like: Charleston SC. For art lovers, you can’t go wrong with these two cities. Aesthetically, visually and creatively.
5: I’m not familiar with the real estate market in Savannah, nor the dating. But I’d imagine it’s a big enough city with popular tourism base (but still sophisticated enough to have many transplants and people from all over.) it can’t be too hard to meet people no?! (In my experiences living in NYC it’s very easy to meet people but it’s maintaining the relationship/friendship that’s hard.-too much outward temptations.)
Good luck!
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