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Maryland and coastal Virginia seem like good options for you.
Interesting suggestions. Just curious, wouldn't humidity still play a factor? Maybe not as bad as where the OP is now, but I know it does get humid in those places.
Check out Richmond VA. It will still have your summer humidity, but I think you'll be surprised at how many of your points it hits on. Also, Charlottesville VA.
Boise ID? Madison WI, Ann Arbor MI, Milwaukee WI, Upstate NY?
Ann Arbor for sure it's a little on the expensive side, you might want to consider Lansing/East Lansing. Also check into Grand Rapids, it hits all your major points with a growing local arts scene. It hosts the worlds largest art competition in terms of cash prize. It happens every year at this time. ArtPrize
The Twin Cities are arts and culture gems as well more affordable than the Northeast, with one of the more stable economies. Also I think Cleveland would fit the bill pretty nice in this case.
I have heard the Grand Rapids area might fit before... Seems like it may have to go on the list. It seems like a pretty nice city, and checks off most of our boxes. The Twin Cities has always intrigued me, but I wonder about the isolation of the metro (Grand Rapids also, to an extent). It isn't really that close to any other major cities. I think it may be worth looking into though, as it does seem like a very nice area. As far as Cleveland goes, I actually read a story the other day about how much the city is improving. It also seems to be a cheap area to live in. Being close to the lake would also be a huge plus. Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
You know, you might love the fall because the weather is better. I loved the fall, too, when I lived in TN, because the weather was cooler and less humid. I'm from the SF Bay Area, though, so I especially hated the humidity.
So, you want:
beach
lower temperatures in summer
low or no humidity
You like fall and snow and cold weather.
You'd like to live somewhere with lots of arts and festivals.
Safe, community feel.
Well, you can't have all of the above in one place.
I'm wondering, though, if you might really like Ashland, OR. It would have all of the above, and you'd also just be a couple hours from the coast.
Ashland is known for it's arts, and especially the Shakespeare festival. It has a really nice, quaint, Victorian downtown, galleries, a college, and lots of nearby recreation. It's a beautiful town, in a beautiful setting in the mountains, but it also has good access to major freeways, and I think the closest airport would be Medford, OR.
Oh, trust me, I know we can't have it all. We are just hoping to find the place that best fits. I should probably clarify on the beach thing. We don't have to be close to the beach, we just want to be close to water sources. That can be lakes, rivers, or oceans, as long as they are accessible nearby. I would give up the great fall and snow if a city fit better than anywhere that had those things, but we would much prefer to be in a colder area than we have been in the past (TN/AL/NC). From a short search about Ashland, and the surrounding area, it does look promising. Not necessarily the weather we were hoping for, but nature out the yin-yang!
To the people saying VA and MD: I will admit, I had not even looked at the areas until now. Some of them seem like they may fit, but MD seems to be pretty expensive, at least to live in the good school districts. I know a few people in Richmond, and they say that we would probably like it there. We have a place to stay if we go, so we are going to check it out when we get a chance to head up there. My wife is staunchly against Charlottesville though. Her whole family are big Tar Heel fans, so living in the city where UVA is does not rate highly on her list!
We have also looked a bit at upstate NY, but don't really know what cities would fit the best. The same can be said with PA. The Philly area intrigues us, but may be a little large for our taste.
Anyways, I know this is a long post, but just thought I would add what I could! Any other suggestions, or specific area within cities already mentioned would be great!
I have heard the Grand Rapids area might fit before... Seems like it may have to go on the list. It seems like a pretty nice city, and checks off most of our boxes. The Twin Cities has always intrigued me, but I wonder about the isolation of the metro (Grand Rapids also, to an extent). It isn't really that close to any other major cities. I think it may be worth looking into though, as it does seem like a very nice area. As far as Cleveland goes, I actually read a story the other day about how much the city is improving. It also seems to be a cheap area to live in. Being close to the lake would also be a huge plus. Thanks!
Grand Rapids isn't terribly isolated. Detroit 2 hours to the east, Chicago 2.5 hours to the southwest. There are about 2.5million people within a 70 mile radius of it however so it's all relative.
Grand Rapids isn't terribly isolated. Detroit 2 hours to the east, Chicago 2.5 hours to the southwest. There are about 2.5million people within a 70 mile radius of it however so it's all relative.
Yea, it isn't too bad. I was talking about the Twin Cities moreso. I've looked a little at Grand Rapids, and it does look like a pretty cool place.
I have heard the Grand Rapids area might fit before... Seems like it may have to go on the list. It seems like a pretty nice city, and checks off most of our boxes. The Twin Cities has always intrigued me, but I wonder about the isolation of the metro (Grand Rapids also, to an extent). It isn't really that close to any other major cities. I think it may be worth looking into though, as it does seem like a very nice area. As far as Cleveland goes, I actually read a story the other day about how much the city is improving. It also seems to be a cheap area to live in. Being close to the lake would also be a huge plus. Thanks!
Oh, trust me, I know we can't have it all. We are just hoping to find the place that best fits. I should probably clarify on the beach thing. We don't have to be close to the beach, we just want to be close to water sources. That can be lakes, rivers, or oceans, as long as they are accessible nearby. I would give up the great fall and snow if a city fit better than anywhere that had those things, but we would much prefer to be in a colder area than we have been in the past (TN/AL/NC). From a short search about Ashland, and the surrounding area, it does look promising. Not necessarily the weather we were hoping for, but nature out the yin-yang!
To the people saying VA and MD: I will admit, I had not even looked at the areas until now. Some of them seem like they may fit, but MD seems to be pretty expensive, at least to live in the good school districts. I know a few people in Richmond, and they say that we would probably like it there. We have a place to stay if we go, so we are going to check it out when we get a chance to head up there. My wife is staunchly against Charlottesville though. Her whole family are big Tar Heel fans, so living in the city where UVA is does not rate highly on her list!
We have also looked a bit at upstate NY, but don't really know what cities would fit the best. The same can be said with PA. The Philly area intrigues us, but may be a little large for our taste.
Anyways, I know this is a long post, but just thought I would add what I could! Any other suggestions, or specific area within cities already mentioned would be great!
In Upstate NY, I'd say that the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area may be a good fit due to its size, location and the criteria you are looking for.
In Upstate NY, I'd say that the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area may be a good fit due to its size, location and the criteria you are looking for.
What is your population limits?
We don't really have set population limits. We don't want to be in a major city, but we don't want Podunk either. Far flung suburbs of major cities could work I suppose, and a small city close to all amenities could work as well. I would say, if I were pinned down, we would like to live in a city between 15k-100k. We want to be close to amenities, but we don't have to be right beside them.
For reference, we moved to Mobile from Loxley, AL. It is just across the bay from Mobile. Loxley is a very small town, but it has anything we could possibly need within 20 minutes. We are fine with that. This metro is probably about the size we are looking for. We would be willing to go bigger or smaller, but somewhere around a 500k-700k metro would be great. But again, we will consider places outside of this range as well.
It mainly depends on proximity. We can go small if we are within a fairly close range of things to do. Thanks!
We don't really have set population limits. We don't want to be in a major city, but we don't want Podunk either. Far flung suburbs of major cities could work I suppose, and a small city close to all amenities could work as well. I would say, if I were pinned down, we would like to live in a city between 15k-100k. We want to be close to amenities, but we don't have to be right beside them.
For reference, we moved to Mobile from Loxley, AL. It is just across the bay from Mobile. Loxley is a very small town, but it has anything we could possibly need within 20 minutes. We are fine with that. This metro is probably about the size we are looking for. We would be willing to go bigger or smaller, but somewhere around a 500k-700k metro would be great. But again, we will consider places outside of this range as well.
It mainly depends on proximity. We can go small if we are within a fairly close range of things to do. Thanks!
I would look into the Albany area then. You may like a town like Colonie, which is a suburb that is close to the 3 major urban communities in the area, as well as Saratoga Springs and other towns/cities. Plenty of ago shopping, as well as good schools. You may also like parts of Guilderland or Delmar in the town of Betglehem just south of Albany. You have the Adirondacks, Catskills and Berkshires within an hour or so. NYC and Boston are within a few hours too. So, it is in a pretty good location and it is a metro of about 870,000(58th biggest in the country).
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