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I am about to finish grad school and want to move with my wife to somewhere new. There are a lot of things we know we aren't looking for, but not necessarily what we ARE looking for. Here is a small list:
-We have lived in the south (GA) and are very tired of the Bible belt. We are not at all liberal, but not very conservative either. We are not fans of super liberal democrats or ultra conservative republicans.
-We both have master degrees in international affairs. We are interested in government work, non-profits, NGOs, becoming professors, etc.
-We enjoy diversity. When I say diversity I mean in culture, food, activities, etc. We like having options and not being in a relatively uni-cultural society. For more help placing our interests, we think Miami is too Latino (I am central American so please no racist comments), Atlanta is too urban, and Boston is too Caucasian. Still, we are not opposed to Boston since we have only spent a small amount of time there.
-We love the outdoors, but also love being near the city and the pace and options that come with the city. We love the NFL and soccer (football). We like baseball alright too, but not college sports.
-We want to move to a big city, but NYC is way too expensive.
-We would like to have four seasons, but definitely love the summer much more. Like I said, we love the outdoors (hiking, kayaking, swimming, camping, etc).
-We can't do NYC or California because they are way too expensive. We would like Pittsburgh and do like the costs, but it is a little too slow-paced. The southeast and Texas are too conservative. The extreme NW is too cold and far away from everything. We enjoy the pace and proximity of the NE, but haven't been anywhere other than NYC, Pittsburgh, or Boston. We have considered Colorado, but don't want extended winters or the isolated feeling of being so far away from the coast and other major cities (besides Denver).
I realize that this there are a lot of factors here and that our options are probably pretty limited. Basically, anywhere NOT in the southeast, NYC, California, Northwest, Midwest, or North (Washington to Michigan).
If anywhere has any tips we would greatly appreciate it. If you need any more specifics please just ask. Thank you so much!
Huh? What about Rochester NY, which is a pretty diverse city and has some areas just outside of the city that have some diversity as well. There are plentyof colleges and you are close to the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario and other locales good for the outdoors. Whnile you can get your share of snow, it gets taken care of in a timely manner. Cost of living in a general sense is below average and you would be close to many other cities and things to do. You could take in an NFL game in Buffalo, which is only about an hour away, if that and Toronto is only about 3 hours away, just get an enhanced driver's license. There's also the Rochester Rhinos Soccer team as well.
Rochester has the highest Black percentage of the major NY State cities, including NYC. It has the highest Latino percentage outside of the NYC area in terms of the major cities in the state. It is also in close proximity to Native American reservations and some areas of the metro like Brighton and Henrietta have decent sized Asian populations. Brighton has some of the best public schools in the country and has a diverse student population as well.
Albany and maybe any of the other major Upstate NY cities/areas could work too.
Huh? What about Rochester NY, which is a pretty diverse city and has some areas just outside of the city that have some diversity as well. There are plentyof colleges and you are close to the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario and other locales good for the outdoors. Whnile you can get your share of snow, it gets taken care of in a timely manner. Cost of living in a general sense is below average and you would be close to many other cities and things to do. You could take in an NFL game in Buffalo, which is only about an hour away, if that and Toronto is only about 3 hours away, just get an enhanced driver's license. There's also the Rochester Rhinos Soccer team as well.
Rochester has the highest Black percentage of the major NY State cities, including NYC. It has the highest Latino percentage outside of the NYC area in terms of the major cities in the state. It is also in close proximity to Native American reservations and some areas of the metro like Brighton and Henrietta have decent sized Asian populations. Brighton has some of the best public schools in the country and has a diverse student population as well.
Albany and maybe any of the other major Upstate NY cities/areas could work too.
Keep in mind that the Rochester metro has just over 1 million people and is in the middle of about 4 million people or so in Western and Central NY. That's not counting those close by in Canada.
I can't think of one area that fits your description. You eliminated most of what I'd have suggested. Denver, midwest cities etc. If Pittsburgh is too slow paced, I don't know what to say. Phoenix?
I can't think of one area that fits your description. You eliminated most of what I'd have suggested. Denver, midwest cities etc. If Pittsburgh is too slow paced, I don't know what to say. Phoenix?
Since the OP didn't say the SW, I wonder if Phoenix is more of what they are looking for. I would say San Diego, but that is in CA and cities like Albuquerque and El Paso aren't big metros.
Are you referring to Alaska there? Temperatures rarely go below freezing in Seattle. You'd have the NFL, soccer, baseball and all the outdoor activities you want, and a diverse, interesting city.
-We have lived in the south (GA) and are very tired of the Bible belt. We are not at all liberal, but not very conservative either. We are not fans of super liberal democrats or ultra conservative republicans.
-We both have master degrees in international affairs. We are interested in government work, non-profits, NGOs, becoming professors, etc.
-We enjoy diversity. When I say diversity I mean in culture, food, activities, etc. We like having options and not being in a relatively uni-cultural society. For more help placing our interests, we think Miami is too Latino (I am central American so please no racist comments), Atlanta is too urban, and Boston is too Caucasian. Still, we are not opposed to Boston since we have only spent a small amount of time there.
-We love the outdoors, but also love being near the city and the pace and options that come with the city. We love the NFL and soccer (football). We like baseball alright too, but not college sports.
-We want to move to a big city, but NYC is way too expensive.
-We would like to have four seasons, but definitely love the summer much more. Like I said, we love the outdoors (hiking, kayaking, swimming, camping, etc).
-We can't do NYC or California because they are way too expensive. We would like Pittsburgh and do like the costs, but it is a little too slow-paced. The southeast and Texas are too conservative. The extreme NW is too cold and far away from everything. We enjoy the pace and proximity of the NE, but haven't been anywhere other than NYC, Pittsburgh, or Boston. We have considered Colorado, but don't want extended winters or the isolated feeling of being so far away from the coast and other major cities (besides Denver).
I realize that this there are a lot of factors here and that our options are probably pretty limited. Basically, anywhere NOT in the southeast, NYC, California, Northwest, Midwest, or North (Washington to Michigan).
If anywhere has any tips we would greatly appreciate it. If you need any more specifics please just ask. Thank you so much!
The obvious choice given your career field and other criteria would be the Washington DC area, more specifically Northern Virginia. The area has the lowest unemployment rate (around 5%) of any of the major metro areas. I'd look at Alexandria's Old Town or Del Ray neighborhoods as well as Arlington's Crystal City or Pentagon City neighborhoods. Both cities are easy commutes to DC and the surrounding area and also feature the diversity and other criteria you seek.
You need to reassess your criteria. If Atlanta is too urban and Boston is too caucasian, that means you would be willing to live in Boston since it isn't urban?
Boston is way way way more urban than Atlanta. And Boston is about 50% white, which means 50% is not.
Most big NE and Midwest cities are very urban, more than Atlanta.
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