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I'm a New Orleans type of guy from head to toe. My wife and I love it here no doubt, except for one issue that has nothing to do with the city itself. My wife has HORRIBLE eczema and the humidity here simply destroys her skin! Out of everything we're dealing with in a rebuilding city, this is something that will not change in the foreseeable future...thus its a deal-breaker.
With that said, we're city shopping again...
What other cities do you feel are good suits for a young family who love a smaller, urban city rich with culture, history, ethnic diversity, good food, music etc....with a drier climate.
We've considered Chicago in the past, but I wonder if Chi-Town would be overwhelming as we really prefer a smaller to mid-sized city. We've considered Atlanta due to affordability and family there, but it seems far more suburban and is definitely more sprawled than we'd prefer. If we go to Atlanta it'd be because we settled for Atlanta. We've also considered Sacramento for several reasons, but I wonder if Sacto's proximity to other destinations compensate for its overall bland feeling. Currently Philadelphia is on my radar and it seems like it may be a good fit, but I've never been there.
Ok, so I need to know your thoughts. What city is a good fit for us?? Which ones have we not considered that we very well should?? What are your thoughts on the ones we already have on our list?? Please respond from an unbiased, experienced perspective. Thanks!
Ciao
Last edited by Chilly Gentilly; 02-07-2014 at 11:50 AM..
You really should check out Fort Worth. Fort Worth is funky, artsy, and historic all at once, with lots of very diverse neighborhoods, as well as numerous small towns (complete with town squares, historic courthouses, etc) within a close distance. Also, Fort Worth (and the towns to the west and southwest of it) is much more arid than even Dallas.
Lots of great things to do and terrific food to eat in the area as well.
I LOVE New Orleans and I also love Fort Worth.
You may also like San Antonio - have you been there?
Atlanta is very humid, by the way. I like the city a lot but it's definitely hot and muggy.
A smaller city with a really funky vibe is Asheville, NC but I'm not sure what the humidity factor is. Another really interesting city with a very funky, eclectic feel (and super low humidity) is Colorado Springs - oh and don't forget to consider Denver as well.
I really like Baltimore but it may be too humid for your wife as well.
Keep us posted, and if I think of more, I'll post more.
You really should check out Fort Worth. Fort Worth is funky, artsy, and historic all at once, with lots of very diverse neighborhoods, as well as numerous small towns (complete with town squares, historic courthouses, etc) within a close distance. Also, Fort Worth (and the towns to the west and southwest of it) is much more arid than even Dallas.
Lots of great things to do and terrific food to eat in the area as well.
I LOVE New Orleans and I also love Fort Worth.
You may also like San Antonio - have you been there?
Atlanta is very humid, by the way. I like the city a lot but it's definitely hot and muggy.
A smaller city with a really funky vibe is Asheville, NC but I'm not sure what the humidity factor is. Another really interesting city with a very funky, eclectic feel (and super low humidity) is Colorado Springs - oh and don't forget to consider Denver as well.
I really like Baltimore but it may be too humid for your wife as well.
Keep us posted, and if I think of more, I'll post more.
Hey Kathryn! Thanks for the post. Having grown up in East Texas, I've been to just about every corner of the state. We spent a majority of our time in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. Those seem all too familiar. I've been to San Antonio a time or 2 and really enjoyed the city, but its a bit too...rustic-Mexico for my personal preference.
While Atlanta does have some humidity, its a great deal less humid than New Orleans...which is doable for my wife's eczema. For instance, when we lived in North Louisiana, just 5 hours from New Orleans, her skin was much less irritated and more manageable than it is here.
Denver could very well be an option. I've not been there, but I hear that its a tad bit on the boring side. How true is this? New Orleans is probably as small as we'd like to go so Asheville probably wouldn't work. We don't want a megalopolis per say, but we don't want a small town either. Picky, right?
I'll check out Baltimore as I'm not familiar with that area's humidity. My sister-in-law currently attends school at Gallaudat in DC so we'll pay her visit soon.
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Originally Posted by Chilly Gentilly
Denver could very well be an option. I've not been there, but I hear that its a tad bit on the boring side. How true is this?
Depends on what you like. For someone that has the expectations of having the eclectic and soulful vibrancy of New Orleans it may disappoint. For someone that could get into what Denver and Colorado has to offer such as mountain recreation, beer micro breweries (and now pot) juxtaposed with a fitness and sports athletic outdoorsy culture, four seasons and plenty of sunny days Denver can be fun.
Denver has a decent and walkable downtown core and enough urban/suburban amentias to satisfy the basics and its a good central airport to fly anywhere in the country. Just remember if you are going to live in Denver, you had really better like Denver and Colorado, as the next major metro (Kansas City or Phoenix) is pretty much an entire days worth of driving away.
Depends on what you like. For someone that has the expectations of having the eclectic and soulful vibrancy of New Orleans it may disappoint. For someone that could get into what Denver and Colorado has to offer such as mountain recreation, beer micro breweries (and now pot) juxtaposed with a fitness and sports athletic outdoorsy culture, four seasons and plenty of sunny days Denver can be fun.
Denver has a decent and walkable downtown core and enough urban/suburban amentias to satisfy the basics and its a good central airport to fly anywhere in the country. Just remember if you are going to live in Denver, you had really better like Denver and Colorado, as the next major metro (Kansas City or Phoenix) is pretty much an entire days worth of driving away.
I can't rep you again, but really good post. This is my main inhibition when considering Denver. Not only is it landlocked, but its also very isolated. Sounds like its quite a different culture as well. I've never lived in as mountainous an area so the hill-centric culture would be far from what we're used to. Not that that's a bad thing though.
I'm finding it difficult to beat Philly as a number 2 at the moment. It has the history, the urban charm, great eats, its proximity to NY and the coast, its a dry climate...what am I missing? I know Philly has it's crime, but statistically its safer than New Orleans. Plus crime stats never bother me as I'm not involved in illegal activity and I have common sense.
FYI, for those who mention the cold as a problem for eczema...it is not. The cold that we're experiencing in New Orleans right now has actually given my wife the first reprieve from it since us moving here.
I think you'd have to eliminate all the Southeast if you want to avoid long stretches with high humidity. Every major city between DC and Houston in the Sunbelt will have that. Philly, DC, Washington, and Baltimore will not be neary as bad, as long, but summers in those cities cities can get really humid at their worst--especially in DC. Still it's not humid for as long as summer in Nola.
Chicago can get hot and humid in the summer, but generally only for a few weeks at most. The other cool thing is that moreso than many U.S. cities, people don't live in the city Chicago. They live in NEIGHBORHODODS in Chicago. And some do have an intersting, bohemian, even eccentric feel to them, though nothing will ever feel like New Orleans, in Chicago or anywhere else. But you can be in the city and defintely feel as if you are in small community wehre you know everyone, say hi to the eneighbors and local shopkeepers, etc.
Also, have you considered the Pacific Northwest? Anything between San Jose and Vancouver might fit the bill weather-wise, though of course many of the cities here -- San Fran, Portland, Eugene, San Jose, Seattle, -- and the smaller interesting towns around them (Berkely, Bellingham, etc) would be more expensive for housing than Nola.
And if you have kids or plan to, the public schools in Philly and Chicago are really subpar for the most part, so keep that in mind.
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