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So my husband and I are are stumped - we are looking to relocate from Orlando, FL and we can't seem to figure out where to look.
About us: I'm from Brooklyn, NY and my husband is from England. We met in NY, so we are very used to big city life, though we're not sure if we want to be in a giant city of that scale - I have little desire to return to NYC (too expensive, too busy, etc). Husband would like to be in or near a startup-friendly city due to future business ventures, I would be open to the idea of a medium size city that's walkable and poss has good public transport (I don't have a drivers license, I'm working on it but its not a sure thing yet obviously).
We both work from home, so we could *technically* go anywhere (so overwhelming!). We are in our late 20s-early 30s, and not into the bar scene so nightlife isn't incredibly important. I'm more concerned about being able to walk to a good supermarket/grocery, a greenmarket would be a DREAM. Ideally, Id love to have a house thats a few blocks from a walkable "Main St"-style strip. Husband would love a place close to nature, he loves hiking and mountain biking and would enjoy being able to access this easily. We both love the mountains, but could do coastal areas as well.
Stats: We are looking to spend $100-120k (almost impossibly low, I know, trying to convince my husband that we need to edge towards $200k to get something decent). We want our own house (no condos or co-ops, we hate the idea of an HOA and think it's more trouble than it's worth), but it doesn't need to be big - we currently live in a 2BR/2BA condo @950sq feet and find it to be way too big for us, so a 2BR/1BA or a 1BR/1BA would be fine.
Husband's dream is to move to the west coast, I would be good with west coast, northeast, or new england. Our dream would be the Bay Area near SF, but its far out of our price range, even Portland and Seattle proper are too much.
So far, two areas that have appealed to me greatly are:
- Tacoma, WA
- Minneapolis-St Paul, MN
I've also looked at:
- Vancouver, WA
- Denver, CO and outlying areas
- Austin, TX
- Sacramento, CA
- Hudson River towns north of NYC
- Southern New Hampshire
- Southern Maine
Obviously NH & ME dont fulfill the startup option, we'd move there for a more rural experience (something else we considered as well). Hudson River towns are beautiful but getting more expensive, and the others seem okay but don't leap out at us. I've been poring over the Tacoma posts on city-data, as well as the MSP boards, and we're leaning a bit more towards Tacoma, but it almost seems too good to be true? We found a handful of houses in our price range, not lots, but everything else seems to be great.
Does this all sound half-baked? Money aside, what areas sound like they would be best for us? The budget could swing higher if we found THE PERFECT place, but we can't even seem to find where that is yet! Thanks in advance, any help would be wonderful. And I'm sorry this post has been so long!
It looks really nice, however I'm hesitant about Syracuse due to weather - I'd rather not have to deal with lake effect snow (though I know things are also awful in MN). If we were to do NY, we'd want the Hudson River towns due to their proximity to NYC (family for me, business for husband). But I will check it out, thank you!
It looks really nice, however I'm hesitant about Syracuse due to weather - I'd rather not have to deal with lake effect snow (though I know things are also awful in MN). If we were to do NY, we'd want the Hudson River towns due to their proximity to NYC (family for me, business for husband). But I will check it out, thank you!
Pittsburgh may be another good option. Low COL and economy is improving rapidly
Cleveland -has a national park nearby-Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Cleveland Metro parks. Both are regarded for their beauty and have many amenities and activities they sponsor.
The parks and communities are bike friendly and Cleveland is building more bike lanes
The West Side Market is the oldest (and I believe largest) indoor market in the US.
The city's food scene is on par with much larger cities.
The cost of living is low. There are wide ranges of housing available (urban, suburban, rural) at all price points and for all personalities
Playhouse Square (the theater district) is the largest in the US outside of NYC
The Cleveland Orchestra is, arguably, the only American orchestra to rival the great European ones.
The Cleveland Museum of Art is noted for its quality and it is free.
It has the three major sports teams
The world renowned Cleveland Clinic is there
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Case Western Reserve University, one of the top national research universities is there
It is having a revival, garnering a lot of attention and investment. The Senior Games and The Gay Games have drawn a lot of attention to Cleveland. Now, the biggest spotlight, the Republican Convention in 2016 will be held in CLE.
In Cleveland the snow belt is on the far east side. The West side gets considerably less snow. CLE doesn't get anything on the scale of Buffalo or other notorious area.
Obviously NH & ME dont fulfill the startup option, we'd move there for a more rural experience (something else we considered as well).
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Southern NH in terms of start-up possibilities. New Hampshire in general has been leading the country in terms of economic recovery in terms of unemployment rates and much of that has to do with the fact Southern New Hampshire is often considered within the sphere of Boston's economic engine which rivals DC and SF, and would offer start-up rich territory in my opinion due to it's high livability factor. Portsmouth has seen a good bit of tech start-up activity and is a great area to check out.
It looks really nice, however I'm hesitant about Syracuse due to weather - I'd rather not have to deal with lake effect snow (though I know things are also awful in MN). If we were to do NY, we'd want the Hudson River towns due to their proximity to NYC (family for me, business for husband). But I will check it out, thank you!
Like another poster mentioned about Cleveland in terms of lake effect snow, the snow belt is north of the city in Syracuse and in Oswego County in particular. That is why the Syracuse metro the snowiest bigger metro in the country, as Oswego County gets hit with the lake effect snow. So, the further away from Lake Ontario, the less snow on average.
It is the same for the Buffalo area in regards to the Southtowns and Lake Erie. In that area, the further north in the metro, the less snowfall on average.
Also, Albany gets less snow up here and is only 2 hours or so. Housing prices may be an issue though. I think this why people are suggesting areas in the Interior Northeast or the eastern part of the Midwest, as you are more likely to find homes in your price range and these areas are still within a reasonable distance to NYC.
Like another poster mentioned about Cleveland in terms of lake effect snow, the snow belt is north of the city in Syracuse and in Oswego County in particular. That is why the Syracuse metro the snowiest bigger metro in the country, as Oswego County gets hit with the lake effect snow. So, the further away from Lake Ontario, the less snow on average.
It is the same for the Buffalo area in regards to the Southtowns and Lake Erie. In that area, the further north in the metro, the less snowfall on average.
Also, Albany gets less snow up here and is only 2 hours or so. Housing prices may be an issue though. I think this why people are suggesting areas in the Interior Northeast or the eastern part of the Midwest, as you are more likely to find homes in your price range and these areas are still within a reasonable distance to NYC.
Here are homes in the price range mentioned in some Upstate NY cities: Property Search Results
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