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Hello all! Life circumstances recently changed drastically- I am a student in school right now in Michigan, but I may be dropping out in the next few months. I know, I know bad idea. I'd be leaving with VERY little debt (if any) no obligations to kids/family, just me myself and I. Don't wanna stay in MI and have no reason to.
Anyways, I plan on eventually going back to school, though it may be for cosmetology not a degree. In the mean time, I'm going to work and save until that is feasible, by feasible, I mean until I am good and stationed somewhere I want to settle.
I'm not looking to be nomadic necessarily, but I want to explore some cities before settling down. That way I can find where it feels like home-ish before going back to school. I wouldn't want to get a state license in cosmetology school and build a clientele only to move and lose all my clients. And I'm sure as heck not staying in Michigan. Real estate is something else I'm considering but that also is better to start on a home base, not while traveling
So I have a few cities in mind of places I'd like to go to settle for long months at a time, until I find the right one-and I am hoping for some advice on where that right one may be! I may be young but I'm practical and doing this the right way is really important to me. I don't wanna go somewhere where the cost of living is so wild, I won't be building a savings which is the goal until I decide to finally go back to school.
-Work wise, serving is my best bet, I have lots of experience in many fields though and I'm not too worried about finding work, food and hospitality isn't too hard (speaking of serving food, I'm a foodie! Cool dining scene would rock)
-WEATHER! Thats my main reason for leaving. I'm not a huge fan of hot hot tropical heat but I'd take it over Michigan. Ya'll can argue Seasonal depressions existence all you want, but I have it for sure and it's simply not healthy for me to stay somewhere with such long winters. I love MI summers, they are the best but the rest of the year sucks. All four seasons would rock but not as harsh as here. Overall though, just more sunshine is what I need.
-Friendly city. Wont even dare consider a place like NY or Boston (college prof described the East coast like this, he's a Jersey Native) . I'm very into friendly neighbor like attitudes, not into cold blunt environments.
-I am bi-sexual, few visible tats, not super liberal but for sure need a more open minded city. Portland seems a little "too weird' for me, but something in-between would be nice.
-NATURE. I need lots of green- the more the better. Water would be nice, not a must, but nice. All kinds. Lakes, rivers, ocean. Lakes are my favorite though.
-Cost of living of course- I know nothing will be dirt cheap but I'm not looking for LA/NY housing prices...Im trying to build a savings not debt.
-Overall, just a place for a young 20 something girl to live and escape. Frankly, I'm leaving my family behind and starting over fresh. A good place for that....
So, I am hoping you all could help me narrow down between these options, or suggest some of your own! Everything I listed has a few reasons, they aren't randomly placed there. I'm currently leaning toward Philly, I had to do a lot of research on it because of a school thing and it really stuck out.
1. Denver, Co
2. Philly, Pa
3. Miami, Fl
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Portland (iffy, but I hear mixed things)
6. San Fran (Pricey, I know, I'm going against my own statements)
Other than Salt Lake City, none of the cities mentioned are considered "affordable" and despite the reputation of cheaper Philly is no longer the bargain many think it still is as the average one bedroom city-wide is around $1500 per month...start adding expenses from there. If you want to find a place to live where you can make decent money, and put some aside without living month to month you should probably look beyond the major cities into the medium-sized where there's plenty of opportunity for growth. The Raleigh-Durham area would be a good option as it's very LGBT-friendly (and friendly in general with a well-educated population), is extremely green with lots of trees and has nearby lakes, has a moderate four season climate, a cost of living much more manageable (average one bedroom around $900 per month) and importantly the average resident is well-paid and has disposable income to eat out frequently and pay for salon services (Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed $100 less per month on average than Philly with a cost of living far less).
If I were broke Denver's one of the last places I'd wanna live. It's not Coastal California expensive here, but it's not dirt cheap either. You're looking at over $1000 a month to rent a small apartment in one of the trendy neighborhoods.
Take a look at Knoxville, TN. 4 mild seasons, low cost of living, very green, water everywhere ( rivers, lakes ).
Knoxville is more open minded than one might think and definitely a place where you could settle in and buy a home one day. I would live close to downtown, not in the suburbs. My daughter lives in south Knoxville, pays around $800 a month for a 2 bedroom house with fenced in yard. Her neighborhood is working class, small homes, but very safe and friendly. She is close to the river for kayaking and downtown which has some interesting bars and restaurants. Definitely worth looking into.
Atlanta comes to mind. Great foodie city. Pretty affordable and progressive. I'd say quite friendly and warm weather. Also some nice nature both urban and outside the city.
Also just last week NPR's Marketplace did a story in Nashville...supposedly a major shortage of quality restaurant workers that it's becoming quite a problem. The employees said they get to choose the best restaurants to work for and will often be offered benefits incl retirement.
How much do you have saved up? What do you think your budget will be? Will you have debts or payments to make? Do you have family or friends in any of these places?
You have a decent list of cities, though I think SF should be completely out of the picture (maybe Sacramento if you wanted California). Other possibilities are Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Richmond (Virginia).
Hello all! Life circumstances recently changed drastically- I am a student in school right now in Michigan, but I may be dropping out in the next few months. I know, I know bad idea. I'd be leaving with VERY little debt (if any) no obligations to kids/family, just me myself and I. Don't wanna stay in MI and have no reason to.
Anyways, I plan on eventually going back to school, though it may be for cosmetology not a degree. In the mean time, I'm going to work and save until that is feasible, by feasible, I mean until I am good and stationed somewhere I want to settle.
I'm not looking to be nomadic necessarily, but I want to explore some cities before settling down. That way I can find where it feels like home-ish before going back to school. I wouldn't want to get a state license in cosmetology school and build a clientele only to move and lose all my clients. And I'm sure as heck not staying in Michigan. Real estate is something else I'm considering but that also is better to start on a home base, not while traveling
So I have a few cities in mind of places I'd like to go to settle for long months at a time, until I find the right one-and I am hoping for some advice on where that right one may be! I may be young but I'm practical and doing this the right way is really important to me. I don't wanna go somewhere where the cost of living is so wild, I won't be building a savings which is the goal until I decide to finally go back to school.
-Work wise, serving is my best bet, I have lots of experience in many fields though and I'm not too worried about finding work, food and hospitality isn't too hard (speaking of serving food, I'm a foodie! Cool dining scene would rock)
-WEATHER! Thats my main reason for leaving. I'm not a huge fan of hot hot tropical heat but I'd take it over Michigan. Ya'll can argue Seasonal depressions existence all you want, but I have it for sure and it's simply not healthy for me to stay somewhere with such long winters. I love MI summers, they are the best but the rest of the year sucks. All four seasons would rock but not as harsh as here. Overall though, just more sunshine is what I need.
-Friendly city. Wont even dare consider a place like NY or Boston (college prof described the East coast like this, he's a Jersey Native) . I'm very into friendly neighbor like attitudes, not into cold blunt environments.
-I am bi-sexual, few visible tats, not super liberal but for sure need a more open minded city. Portland seems a little "too weird' for me, but something in-between would be nice.
-NATURE. I need lots of green- the more the better. Water would be nice, not a must, but nice. All kinds. Lakes, rivers, ocean. Lakes are my favorite though.
-Cost of living of course- I know nothing will be dirt cheap but I'm not looking for LA/NY housing prices...Im trying to build a savings not debt.
-Overall, just a place for a young 20 something girl to live and escape. Frankly, I'm leaving my family behind and starting over fresh. A good place for that....
So, I am hoping you all could help me narrow down between these options, or suggest some of your own! Everything I listed has a few reasons, they aren't randomly placed there. I'm currently leaning toward Philly, I had to do a lot of research on it because of a school thing and it really stuck out.
1. Denver, Co
2. Philly, Pa
3. Miami, Fl
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Portland (iffy, but I hear mixed things)
6. San Fran (Pricey, I know, I'm going against my own statements)
Thanks for reading this far if you have!
Louisville! Seriously come down for a festival, stay in the Highlands, and you will fall in love. Those other cities have too much traffic and very $$$$. Louisville has many of the positive attributes of Denver actually, just smaller and more manageable. Still only 3 hours to nice mountains
Louisville is more laid back with 4 equal seasons.
Come down for Forecastle this summer or Bourbon and Beyond in the fall.
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