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I'm a student in grad school right now and am trying to decide where to move once I graduate. I'm fairly certain that I can find a job in any major metropolitan area, so it's really quite open for me. I'm unattached, so I'm also good to go anywhere in the country, but I've pretty much eliminated the west coast.
So far I have lived in DC, Boston, and spent a great deal of time in the greater NY/Philly area. I prefer Boston for the history and the fact that the buildings are tall (srsly), but slightly prefer DC's transit system.
Other than that, these are my criteria:
-good transit system, although *very* easy driving would also be a possibility
-prefer low cost of living, including lower rents than Boston/DC and easy real estate market. I am hoping to purchase after I live in my new home for a couple of years. (ETA: This isn't a huge deal - but just prefer lower than DC)
-dense/walkable is major positive
-climate is not a huge deal
-conservative politics preferred
-having green space/hiking nearby would be a huge positive (unlike, e.g. DC and Boston where you have to travel for a couple hours for a real hike)
-low taxes is huge
Not a possibility: NY, Philly, Chicago, West Coast
Right now I'm considering Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio. Any advice?
Have you considered Utah? Salt Lake City might be a bit expensive and liberal for your tastes but maybe some of the smaller towns like Provo or Lehi might do.
ragnarkar, I'm living in Utah currently and looking to move away, lol!
But yes, Utah has a lot of beautiful scenery for hiking and camping. Salt Lake City has terrible, terrible air, though. Many people get sick from it and it doesn't look like they are going to fix it anytime soon. Some of the smaller cities might be more your taste. I have some friends who live in St. George and love it. It gets hot in the summer, but you still have big stores available to you with hikes a few minutes away. dfgdfgsdgf, good luck finding a new city!
How important is good hiking to you? I've lived in Dallas-Fort Worth, and if you're ok with the hiking equivalent of boxed wine then DFW will probably be fine.
Austin's the runaway choice for hiking in the Texas Triangle area, but it's probably more liberal than you're looking for.
Have you considered Utah? Salt Lake City might be a bit expensive and liberal for your tastes but maybe some of the smaller towns like Provo or Lehi might do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitsu
ragnarkar, I'm living in Utah currently and looking to move away, lol!
But yes, Utah has a lot of beautiful scenery for hiking and camping. Salt Lake City has terrible, terrible air, though. Many people get sick from it and it doesn't look like they are going to fix it anytime soon. Some of the smaller cities might be more your taste. I have some friends who live in St. George and love it. It gets hot in the summer, but you still have big stores available to you with hikes a few minutes away. dfgdfgsdgf, good luck finding a new city!
Hmm. I hadn't considered Utah at all but it looks like salaries in my field (law) are unusually low in Salt Lake City. Otherwise it looks perfect! A ton of green
How important is good hiking to you? I've lived in Dallas-Fort Worth, and if you're ok with the hiking equivalent of boxed wine then DFW will probably be fine.
Austin's the runaway choice for hiking in the Texas Triangle area, but it's probably more liberal than you're looking for.
Thank you very much! I'd say I'm a bit of a snob, so good hiking is pretty important. I've lived without it before, but I definitely like to get away. It's probably more important than the politics actually - DC and Boston are hardly conservative cities, and they're okay mostly.
Thank you very much! I'd say I'm a bit of a snob, so good hiking is pretty important. I've lived without it before, but I definitely like to get away. It's probably more important than the politics actually - DC and Boston are hardly conservative cities, and they're okay mostly.
Don't get me wrong, there is good hiking to be had in Texas, but for the most part it's nowhere near the major metros in the eastern 1/3 of the state. You'd be looking at trips to Big Bend, the Guadalupe Mountains, and Palo Duro Canyon. You could also head to Eastern Oklahoma or Western Arkansas, but that's still a few hours from DFW.
Is Denver a possibility? The COL is higher than DFW & San Antonio, but lower than DC & Boston. The tax burden is also higher here than Texas, but lower than DC & Boston. The state has a flat 4.65% income tax rate and property taxes are generally between 0.5% and 1% of assessed value.
Don't get me wrong, there is good hiking to be had in Texas, but for the most part it's nowhere near the major metros in the eastern 1/3 of the state. You'd be looking at trips to Big Bend, the Guadalupe Mountains, and Palo Duro Canyon. You could also head to Eastern Oklahoma or Western Arkansas, but that's still a few hours from DFW.
Is Denver a possibility? The COL is higher than DFW & San Antonio, but lower than DC & Boston. The tax burden is also higher here than Texas, but lower than DC & Boston. The state has a flat 4.65% income tax rate and property taxes are generally between 0.5% and 1% of assessed value.
Yeah, Denver seems like a possibility. Is it very liberal? How's the public transit/driving around there?
Yeah, Denver seems like a possibility. Is it very liberal? How's the public transit/driving around there?
Denver proper is liberal, but very liberal? No. Seattle, Austin, Boston, and San Fran are all more liberal than Denver. Denver's suburbs tend to be more conservative.
The state overall is fairly balanced and tends to be more libertarian. There's definitely a strong rural/urban divide between conservative and liberal. The governor's a moderate democrat, the state assembly is split (Republicans control the senate, and Democrats control the house), US senators are split, and the house delegation is 4 Republicans, 3 Democrats. Here, regardless of your party, your vote really counts.
Public transportation is decent. The light rail network is expanding, and there's heavy rail from Union Station to Denver International Airport. The northern and western burbs are not as well served by light rail as the southern and eastern ones. The areas in and around the downtown core are fairly walkable, and there are places where you can live comfortably without a car.
With that in mind, you will need a car if you choose to live in the suburbs and/or want to go play in the mountains. Traffic can be bad, but will probably seem mild if you're used to Boston and DC.
If Denver's too liberal, Colorado Springs is more conservative and cheaper, but the economy isn't as robust and public transportation is fairly weak.
Charlotte and Atlanta are cheaper than Boston and DC and you have stone mountain, I think is like 15 miles from Atlanta, and Morrow Mountain and Crowders Mountain are 30 and 40 miles from Charlotte.
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