Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Houston, if you can take the heat. Since you specifically mentioned not wanting the heat:
Seattle, Portland, San Fran. These three west coast cities all have significant Asian populations. San Fran has the highest CoL by far, and you would have to share the space with another person or commute when you wanted to be in the city, so really this would be a case of do you like the suburbs around San Fran. Note that San Fran has the least seasonality due to its proximity to the coast and geographic features of the bay creating a stabilizing effect.
There has been some debate over weather Denver should be on there. The feels like in Denver is drastically cooler than in Houston. When it is 90 in Denver, the feels like is 87. When it is 105 in Houston on the same day, the feels like is 115.
So yes, Denver merits being on the list. NC was mentioned, I checked the Winston-Salem area, but it was only about 2% Asian. Raleigh has more Asians than Winston-Salem, but it is still limited. Are you looking to be around Chinese people, or have access to good Chinese foods? Some areas even with relatively few Chinese people will have a few Chinese entrepreneurs that are selling great authentic food.
Pittsburgh may be suitable for the climate you indicated, and I believe you can still get a fairly nice condo on your budget.
Minneapolis also comes in at over 5% asian, and you wouldn't have any problems with the heat. It is far far too cold for me, but you're already living in Michigan and doing fine with the cold, so again, that might work.
I recommend Dallas. Yes, it's hot there in the summer, but not quite as oppressively humid as Houston.
It also has reasonably cold winters some years (like this year, but not every year). We're talking temperatures down into the 20s fairly frequently at night and even into the teens, with daytime highs on those days often staying in the 30s and 40s.
The East Asian population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is also large and rapidly growing, even if it's a bit smaller than Houston's.
While there isn't a officially-defined Chinatown in Dallas, there are large clusters of Chinese/Taiwanese businesses and residents throughout the northern suburbs (Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, Garland, and increasingly further north than that).
There are also several huge clusters of Vietnamese population and businesses, in Arlington, Garland, Haltom City, and Plano.
There's an officially-defined Koreatown in Northwest Dallas, as well as several other large Korean clusters in Irving, Garland, and Plano.
The South Asian (Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi) populations are also very big, with clusters of population and businesses in Plano, Richardson, and Carrollton.
There are many—I mean, many—large Asian supermarkets in the Dallas suburbs. They're all super busy, and a number of national chains (99 Ranch Market and H Mart, for example) have built Dallas locations in the last few years.
Even though I grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I currently live in Pittsburgh. It's like day and night compared to Dallas with regards to the Asian population. Basically, without all the CMU and Pitt grad students here, there would be very few people of Asian descent. It's also not easy to find Asian food here—the largest Asian supermarket is the size of a convenience store and is in a hard-to-park setting, and you won't come across the many authentic restaurants or bubble tea/yogurt places that you have in cities like Dallas. If you want a frame of reference, there are more Asians just in the Dallas suburb of Plano than there are in the entire Pittsburgh metro area.
I love Pittsburgh for other reasons—its entrepreneurial, startup-friendly atmosphere; its increasingly educated and progressive young population; its uniqueness; its natural scenery; its distinct neighborhoods; its lack of pretentiousness; its resilience; its positive energy; and its upward movement.
These houses are incredible! They are easily half-a-million dollar houses in most of Ann Arbor...
Those houses are also have few Chinese living in those areas of town. Asians live on the west and southwest side of Houston Metro. You will find large Asian grocery stores and malls in those areas.
The housing would be closer to $250-400k for the McMansions. For a single person, you can still get a condo for much less than $200k though.
Your preferred weather is only around for 3-4 months of the year. While living in Houston, I remember November and December being around 75-80 degrees for some warm "winters".
If it's too hot in the summer, just try to stay indoors as much as possible. The same applies to the winter.
Who wants to live in a place where you have to stay indoors half the year? I live in a place like that now, and I'm looking forward to moving to CA, where I can enjoy the outdoors year-round.
OP, please take a look at Pittsburgh. I grew up in Ann Arbor and can understand why you think it's a lateral move, but trust me, there's a lot more culture and things to do at your fingertips.
Spend a weekend over there when the weather is a little nicer. Go to some concerts and do the things you normally do. You might be surprised.
There is also an up and coming Asian population and low cost of living in Des Moines (Hmong Americans : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues) where I moved, but not a large airport. Still, there's tons more sun here than in A2 in the winter, but I suspect it will be too small for your needs, but if you find yourself feeling really discouraged, check it out. Lots of former Michigan residents moved out here for the better economy. It's like Michigan was back in the 1970s, when people had jobs . . . the culture is very similar.
OP, please take a look at Pittsburgh. I grew up in Ann Arbor and can understand why you think it's a lateral move, but trust me, there's a lot more culture and things to do at your fingertips.
Spend a weekend over there when the weather is a little nicer. Go to some concerts and do the things you normally do. You might be surprised.
As a Pittsburgh resident, I wholeheartedly agree with all of that, but I just don't know if the OP is going to like it here if he considers a large Chinese/Asian population important to him. I'm a younger Asian American myself, and as someone who doesn't need to be surrounded by other Asians to be happy, I love it here. However, I've known other young Asian Americans throughout the years who tend to mostly hang out with other Asians and engage in the types of activities that young Asian Americans often like (e.g., bubble tea and karaoke)—and Pittsburgh is really not the type of place where someone with those preferences will be able to do that.
On the other hand, we have all the cultural amenities, affordable housing, seasonal weather, and entrepreneurial atmosphere that the OP might otherwise like.
I can see why the first house has an awesome price...hideous interior ...the 2nd one though is sweet. I think the OP should consider Sugar Land, but he won't get a deal like the ones you posted for sure in Sugar Land. Maybe he can take a look at East downtown...with the Dynamo stadium, that area is picking up quick.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
