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Looking for Bikeable/Walkable/Parks/Downtown/Ambience cities in the US, preferably along the east coast from NY on down to FLA. Do you live in a place where your car is not needed to get EVERYWHERE. Where you could take a walk to get a cup of coffee or have a bite to eat or go to a local bar or a movie, or to do some shopping, etc. Close to a city, but just far enough out of it to be fairly quiet and reasonably safe if you want to take your dog out for a walk in the early evening. Looking to relocate from South Jersey where your car is a definite necessity each time you walk out your front door.
Looking for Bikeable/Walkable/Parks/Downtown/Ambience cities in the US, preferably along the east coast from NY on down to FLA. Do you live in a place where your car is not needed to get EVERYWHERE. Where you could take a walk to get a cup of coffee or have a bite to eat or go to a local bar or a movie, or to do some shopping, etc. Close to a city, but just far enough out of it to be fairly quiet and reasonably safe if you want to take your dog out for a walk in the early evening. Looking to relocate from South Jersey where your car is a definite necessity each time you walk out your front door.
Try Red Bank NJ, Great downtown with shops, movie, Count Bassie Theatre, restaurants and of course Juanitos for some good Mexican eats.
Looking for Bikeable/Walkable/Parks/Downtown/Ambience cities in the US, preferably along the east coast from NY on down to FLA. Do you live in a place where your car is not needed to get EVERYWHERE. Where you could take a walk to get a cup of coffee or have a bite to eat or go to a local bar or a movie, or to do some shopping, etc. Close to a city, but just far enough out of it to be fairly quiet and reasonably safe if you want to take your dog out for a walk in the early evening. Looking to relocate from South Jersey where your car is a definite necessity each time you walk out your front door.
I know that, being from NJ, you're going to sneer at this, but Scranton, PA has an up-and-coming neighborhood known as the "Hill Section" that has a suburban feel and is just a ten-minute walk from downtown with its conveniences (Two Starbucks opening by 2007, a few upscale boutiqes, many pubs and restaurants, a few night clubs, pharmacies, banks, churches, a movie theater,a library, the Scranton Cultural Center, and the Mall @ Steamtown, among others). The University of Scranton is also located on the fringes of the neighborhood, infusing some youthful vibrance into the area (the more stable, middle-class to upper-middle-class, tree-lined, "historic" parts of the Hill Section are located at least several blocks from campus). To see a few photos that I recently snapped of the Hill Section in an area bounded by North Webster Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Taylor Avenue, and Olive Street, check out the following link:
Here, you'll find tree-lined streets, sidewalks, and historic homes, all within a 10-15 minute walk of Downtown and the University of Scranton. As recently as the mid-1990s, this same general neighborhood was home to prostitution, drugs, and murders. Now, reinvestment is occurring all over the Hill Section. In the "Upper Hill" (East or Uphill of Harrison Avenue), we've seen massive reinvestment lately in Nay Aug Park, as well as an old industrial mill that has been converted into loft housing called, quite appropriately, "The Lofts @ The Mill." In the neighborhood I pictured, nearer to the "bottom" of "The Hill", two new townhome projects are underway in the vicinity of Olive Street and the 500-block of North Webster Avenue. Both projects are somewhat conforming to the surrounding "historic" character of the neighborhood, which I appreciate (Most of the time, Scranton just lets investors build what they want, wherever they want, however they want!) Intense police saturations in the mid-to-late 1990s, helped to rid the Hill Section of much of the "scum", and people are now moving back into the neighborhood and are starting to rehab some homes that were formerly crime scenes. The neighborhood is now home to U.S. Senator Bob Casey; if it's good enough for him, then it should be good enough for we middle-class underlings. LOL!
Another beautiful, historic, walkable neighborhood in Scranton is "Green Ridge", home to Chris Doherty, the mayor of Scranton and my political idol for what he's been doing to help improve the city's "rusted out" image (Watch for Scranton as the setting of an upcoming movie; filming is now underway!) On the downside, Green Ridge is too far for a convenient stroll to downtown, which is probably about a mile or so to the south, although some local haunts, such as Cooper's Seafood and the Green Ridge Plaza are within reasonable walking distance. Housing prices in both neighborhoods generally range from $175,000-$400,000, with the higher-end devoted to the stately mansions that have already been restored to the lower-end going to typical middle-class dwellings in the neighborhood (with some lower prices from $50,000-$175,000 going for homes that need a bit of work, with the lower-end being fixer-uppers and the upper-end being just minor cosmetic updating such as wallpapering or refinishing hardwood flooring).
If you're done laughing about someone saying that Scranton of all places has some nice neighborhoods and want to know more, feel free to ask!
Athens, GA. I almost moved there after only 24 hours visiting the place. But if you want to be near the ocean, fergit about it.
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Intense police saturations in the mid-to-late 1990s, helped to rid the Hill Section of much of the "scum", and people are now moving back into the neighborhood and are starting to rehab some homes that were formerly crime scenes. The neighborhood is now home to U.S. Senator Bob Casey; if it's good enough for him, then it should be good enough for we middle-class underlings. LOL! 
On the downside, Green Ridge is too far for a convenient stroll to downtown, which is probably about a mile or so to the south, although some local haunts, such as Cooper's Seafood and the Green Ridge Plaza are within reasonable walking distance. Housing prices in both neighborhoods generally range from $175,000-$400,000, with the higher-end devoted to the stately mansions that have already been restored to the lower-end going to typical middle-class dwellings in the neighborhood (with some lower prices from $50,000-$175,000 going for homes that need a bit of work, with the lower-end being fixer-uppers and the upper-end being just minor cosmetic updating such as wallpapering or refinishing hardwood flooring). 
Nope, no sneers or laughing out of me. We're pretty open-minded so nothings out of the question! I'll check it out. Thanks very much for your post!
