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I'm looking for advice on where to live in the States. I'm currently living in SE Asia and will return to America in about a year with my British husband. We've been transient for a few years and are looking to (ostensibly) settle somewhere, at least for a few years.
My family live in Iowa, but for me the weather there is out of the question. A place within driving distance of Iowa would be nice, but is not a requirement. I've thought of Asheville, NC, San Francisco, and Charleston, SC, among many others. Access to a larger airport would also be nice, but isn't a necessity.
We would be renting a house.
Criteria would be the following:
pleasant weather, not too cloudy or cold (short winter is okay)
lots of access to nature
walkable and bike-able, at least to a degree (not completely reliant on cars)
lack of strip malls and excessive corporate bull**** i.e. parking lots w. Applebees, Wal-Mart, Steak-n-Shake, etc. (is that possible?)
laid back, liberal town, that's not too obsessed with being "so cool and different"
dog friendly
place where we could have a nice little yard in which to have a vegetable garden
interesting places nearby to visit
happening, fun, funky vibe with open people: art and musical happenings
nice downtown area, once again w. local shops instead of J. Crew, Abercrombie, etc.
good university (though I suppose that's most places)
I'm sure there's more, but those are the main things. And....jobs. We've both been teaching for the last few years, but I would like to go a different direction and teach yoga, make clothes, etc. I would be open to teaching part-time, but from everything I read on here it sounds as if the entire education system in America is in dire straits.
My husband is open to lots of things but has no set career. In the past he's worked as a landscape gardener and as a care worker for disabled people. Are people open to hiring non-Americans? He will have a green card.
We have a dream of opening a little cafe/boutique/yoga studio/art gallery, etc., but I'm not sure how feasible this is. We're both laid back and wish to have a relaxed life with less material goods instead of high stress.
Also, it would be great to hear from people who have returned to America after time abroad (I'll have been gone for seven years). Right now I crave normalcy, but I live in quite an exotic place, so I'm wondering if it's a case of "the grass is greener", and I'll be bored upon returning.
You are more apt to find this stuff in the NE, MW and West, but places like Chapel Hill/Carrboro in NC, Charlottesville VA, Morgantown WV, Boone NC, Harrisonburg VA, Blacksburg VA and maybe Lexington KY, Clemson SC, Knoxville TN and Athens GA.
Northampton/Amherst, MA has everything you want, if you're willing to compromise on the winter. But the winter is worth it for the fall/spring/summer, which are beautiful in the valley.
I'm looking for advice on where to live in the States. I'm currently living in SE Asia and will return to America in about a year with my British husband. We've been transient for a few years and are looking to (ostensibly) settle somewhere, at least for a few years.
My family live in Iowa, but for me the weather there is out of the question. A place within driving distance of Iowa would be nice, but is not a requirement. I've thought of Asheville, NC, San Francisco, and Charleston, SC, among many others. Access to a larger airport would also be nice, but isn't a necessity.
We would be renting a house.
Criteria would be the following:
pleasant weather, not too cloudy or cold (short winter is okay)
lots of access to nature
walkable and bike-able, at least to a degree (not completely reliant on cars)
lack of strip malls and excessive corporate bull**** i.e. parking lots w. Applebees, Wal-Mart, Steak-n-Shake, etc. (is that possible?)
laid back, liberal town, that's not too obsessed with being "so cool and different"
dog friendly
place where we could have a nice little yard in which to have a vegetable garden
interesting places nearby to visit
happening, fun, funky vibe with open people: art and musical happenings
nice downtown area, once again w. local shops instead of J. Crew, Abercrombie, etc.
good university (though I suppose that's most places)
I'm sure there's more, but those are the main things. And....jobs. We've both been teaching for the last few years, but I would like to go a different direction and teach yoga, make clothes, etc. I would be open to teaching part-time, but from everything I read on here it sounds as if the entire education system in America is in dire straits.
My husband is open to lots of things but has no set career. In the past he's worked as a landscape gardener and as a care worker for disabled people. Are people open to hiring non-Americans? He will have a green card.
We have a dream of opening a little cafe/boutique/yoga studio/art gallery, etc., but I'm not sure how feasible this is. We're both laid back and wish to have a relaxed life with less material goods instead of high stress.
Also, it would be great to hear from people who have returned to America after time abroad (I'll have been gone for seven years). Right now I crave normalcy, but I live in quite an exotic place, so I'm wondering if it's a case of "the grass is greener", and I'll be bored upon returning.
Thanks so much in advance.
Asheville, NC might be close to perfect for you. BUT the winters might be close to your cold limit - winters there are warm by Iowa standards, but are much colder than the rest of the South due to the elevation. And the job market there is tight, so have something lined up, or if you plan on starting something yourself, have some very solid plans in place before you get there. Allow me to repeat: the job market is tight. It's a bit like Portland, Oregon - it's hip in great ways, but also in bad ways: there's definitely an undercurrent of freakiness there that is interesting, and mostly cool, but not always.
Asheville's bonuses: city population around 80,000, metro population around 250,000. There's a dynamite creative scene/community there. Much of downtown is vintage art deco architecture, and there are many great old neighborhoods. The tallest mountains in the east are within a roughly 50 miles radius. Major international airports: Charlotte is a 2 hour drive, Raleigh-Durham and Atlanta are a 4 hour drive. For travel in the US, there's a regional airport in Asheville, and larger non-international airports in Knoxville (2 hour drive) and Greenville-Spartanburg (1 hour drive). For a small, esoteric city, Asheville is an easy drive - 4 hours or less - from several much larger cities, so when and if you want a change of scenery, it will be easy. Summer temps will average 5-10 degrees cooler than Charlotte, Atlanta, Knoxville, so during summer it's fairly refreshing. If you're into the outdoors, it's a real wonderland, just a quick trip out of town: 2 national forests, 1 national park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, several state parks, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River, several fairly sizable wilderness areas (one of which - Linville Gorge - is one of the deepest canyons east of the Mississippi).
You are more apt to find this stuff in the NE, MW and West, but places like Chapel Hill/Carrboro in NC, Charlottesville VA, Morgantown WV, Boone NC, Harrisonburg VA, Blacksburg VA and maybe Lexington KY, Clemson SC, Knoxville TN and Athens GA.
Charlottesville VA, would be my choice. It meets all your requirements beautifully except for the airport, although Dullas in Washington, DC is doable. Richmond is even closer but not a major airport.
Thanks for the breakdown of Asheville, though the job situation doesn't sound promising, and I've read enough on here to feel like it's not just a case of pessimism. I'll keep it on the shortlist just in case.
Amherst also sounds amazing, and another friend just told me about Santa Rosa.
In North Carolina, the other candidate to look into would be Chapel Hill.
It scores high with every one of your criteria as well.
It (and adjoining Carrboro) are walkable, compact and dense. They are at the periphery of a metro area of about 1.5 million - Durham, Raleigh, and Cary are close, within 25-30 miles. Chapel Hill and Carrboro maintain an urban growth boundary in Orange County, so the character outside the city limits is rural, though the remainder of the metro area is very spawly. The job market is strong, the overall metro unemployment rate steadily runs a few points lower than the state average, and Orange County (Chapel Hill and Carrboro) have had the lowest unemployment rates in NC (as much as 50% lower than the state average at times) for the last few years.
Comes up short on scenery, especially in comparison with Asheville. The job market is much much stronger - UNC is in Chapel Hill, and is an international draw. Duke is 10 miles away, NC Central (an HBCU) is 15 miles away, NC State is 25 miles away. Research Triangle Park is between Raleigh, Durham and Cary. The overall vibe of the metro is liberal, progressive - more progressive professional in Raleigh and Cary, more hipsterish in Carrboro and Durham, and very heavily academics-and-techies everywhere. There's a very large creative community - in the past, Chapel Hill drew a lot of national press for it's indie rock scene, and it's old-time/roots music scene as well, though there's lots of other arts that are less famous, but just as deeply rooted.
Due to 3 research universities, plus an HBCU, the local demographics are a lot more ethnically diverse, and visibly more international (proportionally speaking) than in most metro areas of 1.5 million in the South.
RDU - Raleigh Durham International has some direct flights to Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, though it's not nearly as busy as Charlotte or Atlanta, airport-wise. It's about 10 miles east of Chapel Hill.
If you've been teaching, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools is among the top public systems on the East Coast. It's my understanding that getting hired is extremely competitive, though your international background might give you a strong edge, given the comparatively large international population in the area.
I don't know what your price range is, but Chapel Hill's main drawback is price. The median home price is twice the state average, and climbing (even in a recession) - the urban growth boundary limits new home construction within the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district, drives up prices, even for rentals (an area with premier universities means college kids with well-off parents places even more upward pressure on prices), so the available stock of homes for sale or for rent is very, very tight.
There's a good greenway and trail network in town, fare-free public transport, and dedicated bike lanes on all in-town thoroughfares. Jordan Lake, about 10 miles south of town is the biggest recreational draw. There are a few state parks near Durham and Raleigh as well. The mountains are about a 3-4 hour drive west, the beaches are 2-3.5 (depending on the beach) to the east.
Charlotte is a 2 hour drive SW, Greensboro is 45 miles west, Richmond is 2.5-3 hours NE, Washington DC is about a 4-5 hour drive.
Hillsborough, 10 miles north of Chapel Hill, and 10 miles west of Durham is another option. It's best known as one of the oldest towns in central NC (it was considered as a possible state capital in the 1700s), and has lots of interesting local businesses, amid a downtown of renovated Victorian and colonial-era homes. A large number of writers live there, it's something of an enclave of "Southern" literati. A little pricey, though actually not as bad a Chapel Hill. Job-wise, you would be commuting to something in Chapel Hill, Durham or RTP, though in town, Hillsborough is also very walkable.
One of the largest organic-and-local food/grocery co-ops in the eastern US (Weaver Street Market) has supermarket-sized stores in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. There are also large farmers markets in the area, a vigorous local farm community, and a big foodie scene; lots of locally grown and organic stuff in the local eateries.
Madison, WI, or out just to the north and west, would offer proximity to Iowa without being in it, offer proximity to Chicago and its airport without being in it, of course there are strip malls and chain stuff but much else besides that. As you can imagine, lack of winter is not a strong suit though.
Madison, WI, or out just to the north and west, would offer proximity to Iowa without being in it, offer proximity to Chicago and its airport without being in it, of course there are strip malls and chain stuff but much else besides that. As you can imagine, lack of winter is not a strong suit though.
Good point, but the weather might be the only factor that doesn't fit. Ithaca NY would fit, but the weather might negate it and the Syracuse or Rochester Int'l airports might not be good enough(are legit though).
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