Seeking Liberal City with Great Education (lawyers, neighborhood, public schools)

[tpk-nyc]

By "good education" it seems that you mean good, public, primary education for your children. Being close to a world-class university isn't all that beneficial unless you're enrolled. The challenge here is that you seem to be looking for an urban, walkable environment that has great public schools. Many people that live in cool urban neighborhoods on the east coast (like Park Slope, Brooklyn) spend an enormous amount of money ($20,000+ per child, per year) sending their children to private schools. You're not looking for a city so much as a neighborhood within a particular school district. Such neighborhoods exist but they take a lot of research to find and are likely to be very expensive (compared to Virgina). You may want to look good school systems first and then weigh them against cost of living and their proximity to a walkable urban environment.

[thedudewiththeplan]

Ummm.... I lived in Peachtree City for 18 years and it was about the most conservative place I've been! Most of the transplants I met there were from other parts of the south. Atlanta itself may be fairly liberal, but Peachtree City is anything but! Usually votes around 95% Republican and is a mix of social conservatives and country club conservatives. I felt VERY out of place as a liberal there. Religion and economic status were very important factors there. Was so glad to move out

[Jen985]

Madison WI! I grew up there and the schools in WI are among the top in the country! Although UW Madison is considered a top "party school" there is tons of family oriented activities downtown around campus and throughout Madison. It really is a great place. Although it's not near an ocean, it really is a great city! And very liberal!

[MassVt]

..Providence and Madison, how about Burlington, VT?

Home of the University of Vermont
Liberal/quasi-socialist local govt, with a moderate GOP governor
On the shores of Lake Champlain
Only 1-2 hrs from Montreal, 4-5 from Boston
Great skiing, lots of snow to enjoy, just buy a warm winter jacket...

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by MassVt

..Providence and Madison, how about Burlington, VT?

Home of the University of Vermont
Liberal/quasi-socialist local govt, with a moderate GOP governor
On the shores of Lake Champlain
Only 1-2 hrs from Montreal, 4-5 from Boston
Great skiing, lots of snow to enjoy, just buy a warm winter jacket...

At one point, the University of Vermont had the highest public tuition in the country with it's out of state tuition rate. I don't know if it still does but I'm sure it's still up there.

[Haver]

Minneapolis or Madison. Granted, not the east coast, but they both fill out the rest of your requirements quite well if you can stand the winters. I don't think you'll find any American city quite as walkable as what you may be used to (with the exception of NYC), but every city will have something and liberal cities tend to be more walkable.

[liloulou]

So, ukusmom.... I feel like I'm looking for the exact same thing as you. Where did you end up? What have you decided?

I like being in Nova, public schools are excellent, but the cost of living is just outrageous.

Let us know

[vter]

I second (or third) Burlington, VT. Another small city that you may like is Portland, ME. It's a couple hours north of Boston, has a small airport, a vibrant downtown area (the Old Port).

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Boulder, CO
Places in Iowa
Boston,MA
NE metros
California areas

[grapico]

Originally Posted by sliver203

A lot of these places people claim liberal really aren't that liberal - they are, but only compared to very, very conservative nearby areas. That said, in conservative areas in the northeast and out west are considered very liberal to people in the heartland or deep south.

this...

Originally Posted by JakeDog

This is something that comes up again and again on these forums, but for many (particularly those that are not religious and/or are jewish, buddist, etc.) a conservative city is a stifling place. Most liberal cities have plenty of conservatives if you are so inclined, but many conservative cities (particularly in the South) are just plain uncomfortable for those with less conservative attitudes.

this as well.

Also D's here are mostly center-right social religious and cultural D's, blue dog D's, or former leftovers from dixiecrats. Just because an area is voting D, doesn't necessarily mean they are liberal/progressive.

The liberal cities so often touted in the Southeast are moderate at best.

Maybe with Asheville...but being so small 70k, you'd probably be better off in a few neighborhoods in Atlanta if that is what you are going for.