Towns/Cities w/ Strong Sense of Community (best city, neighborhood)

[NeptuneDreams]

I am looking to relocate from Seattle in a few years and am having trouble deciding on a place.

The number 1 factor would be the openness of the locals to accept new people into their circles. In Seattle I am surrounded by people, yet I've never felt so alone and isolated in all my life. Definitely feeling the "freeze" here, and the astronomically high cost of living leaves very little in my budget for going out and meeting people.

The second factor would be the climate. I cannot tolerate hot and humid temperatures and have an aversion to intense sunlight. I am not used to cold climates but think I could possibly adapt with some thoughtful advice from the locals.

I know I can't have everything but here are some other desirable qualities of a new town:

• Trees (hills and mountains are highly desirable, but I need trees)
• Cost of living to wage ratio (I work in office admin, which isn't a high paying field)
• Culture (specifically classical music and art) nearby or within about an hour's drive
• Size - preferably a mid-sized town (like my native Wichita, but not in Kansas...too hot and not enough trees), but I will consider small towns and cities
• I can tolerate conservative, but I don't want to live in a place where mosques are considered terrorist training camps by the locals
• The presence of liberals that are not high and mighty (I can tolerate them if there is an alternative)
• Public transportation would be nice, especially if there are harsh winters
• Single men in their 40's and a relatively educated populace
• Diversity - It would be nice to have friends who aren't white as well (I'm white, if that matters)

I would prefer not to be in a military community. Been there, done that...made some great friends...that moved away.

Basically, I want a peaceful corner of the world where the locals will welcome a stranger into their families (I don't have family of my own) and where there is a strong sense of community.

I really appreciate your thoughts and ideas. Thank you!

[portlanderinOC]

Have you thought of giving other towns in the Northwest a try? Maybe Portland?
Being a Portland native, I can certainly tell you that the sense of community is a lot stronger than Seattle.
Seattle may not even be as bad as you're making it out to be, I've found that if you simply follow your goals it will help you meet people with similar goals and interests.

[Count David]

For the life of me, I can't think of anywhere in the western half of the United States that fits this criteria.

IMO, Portland isn't the answer either.

[ckhthankgod]

Perhaps an area that may fit is Lansing/East Lansing MI. It meets the arts requirements(Lansing and Michigan State have their own symphony orchestras) and the Broad and Kresge Art museums are on the MSU campus. It has a capital city and a major college town adjacent to each other and in turn means that there is a high educational attainment. It is an area that in pretty integrated culturally. CATA, the local bus system is actually pretty good. There are 2 legitimate Downtowns in the area that have events. Plenty of trees and the cost of living is just below or at the national average. Not sure about the single men in their 40's aspect though.

[bjimmy24]

Sounds like you should give the midwest a fair shot. I recommend:

- Madison, WI
- Milwaukee, WI
- Minneapolis, MN
- Cleveland, OH
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Louisville, KY


Look up some stuff about each of these. I think you'll find most of what you want in all, but maybe one will emerge as preferable.

I like all of these, but I am from Cleveland so I only feel totally comfortable speaking about Cleveland. It definitely is the best city of these for classical music with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music around. I'd say it's the best city for classical music outside of the east coast. Definitely some of the best public transit in the midwest too (except for Chicago). The city is surrounded by metroparks, so trees are no problem at all. No mountains though. Lots of whites and blacks predominantly, but you'll run into asians and Puerto Ricans too. But this largely depends on where you live. Some areas are very diverse, others are incredibly homogenous. Cleveland isn't overall a super educated place, but again, depends on where you are.

Overall, I think you'd really like an area around University Circle in Cleveland, near the classical music, Case Western, diversity, and a good bit of trees. Seems to hit on most of your criteria. Check out the Little Italy neighborhood. If that area is a little to pricey, look into Coventry in Cleveland Heights or Cedar-Lee also in Cleveland Heights.

But also look into those other cities too. They all have some great attributes.

[Arushan]

I think Minneapolis/St. Paul would be the closest to what you're looking for.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by NeptuneDreams

I am looking to relocate from Seattle in a few years and am having trouble deciding on a place.

The number 1 factor would be the openness of the locals to accept new people into their circles. In Seattle I am surrounded by people, yet I've never felt so alone and isolated in all my life. Definitely feeling the "freeze" here, and the astronomically high cost of living leaves very little in my budget for going out and meeting people.

The second factor would be the climate. I cannot tolerate hot and humid temperatures and have an aversion to intense sunlight. I am not used to cold climates but think I could possibly adapt with some thoughtful advice from the locals.

I know I can't have everything but here are some other desirable qualities of a new town:

• Trees (hills and mountains are highly desirable, but I need trees)
• Cost of living to wage ratio (I work in office admin, which isn't a high paying field)
• Culture (specifically classical music and art) nearby or within about an hour's drive
• Size - preferably a mid-sized town (like my native Wichita, but not in Kansas...too hot and not enough trees), but I will consider small towns and cities
• I can tolerate conservative, but I don't want to live in a place where mosques are considered terrorist training camps by the locals
• The presence of liberals that are not high and mighty (I can tolerate them if there is an alternative)
• Public transportation would be nice, especially if there are harsh winters
• Single men in their 40's and a relatively educated populace
• Diversity - It would be nice to have friends who aren't white as well (I'm white, if that matters)

I would prefer not to be in a military community. Been there, done that...made some great friends...that moved away.

Basically, I want a peaceful corner of the world where the locals will welcome a stranger into their families (I don't have family of my own) and where there is a strong sense of community.

I really appreciate your thoughts and ideas. Thank you!

Definitely a good idea to leave western WA, given the above preferences. It has the trees, in vast numbers, but the political feel is lopsided with a weird "wealth redistribution SMUG attitude" among the ultraliberal holier-than-thou. And it is not racially diverse. Not all the towns are military towns but the Navy really throws its weight around in western WA, and they are getting worse. Much worse. Ironic, in such a liberal region. I guess neither the silent sit-ins nor the screaming protests make as much of a dent as well-researched, well-written letters do. But hey, they take less EFFORT and allow one to play neohippie.

New England's smaller cities and towns--not suburbs--might suit you, if you can adapt to the winters. Maybe the first Portland, in Maine, would feel right. Or Amherst, MA, if you can get a job. Or even one of the small towns at least an hour away from Boston. Too close will mean high COL and traffic. OTOH, you would have excellent cultural amenities near Boston, and an extensive public transit system as well. Liberal there is not as far left as in the Seattle area. People have a rep for being standoffish, but it is not the same as in the PNW. Hard to put a finger on it. I like the Boston version better because they are more likely to be straightforward.

[snoopygirlmi]

I'd say Ann Arbor, MI or one of the smaller suburbs of Metro Detroit.

Sadly, I don't think you can get away from what people think about Mosques and Islam.

We have a lot of mosques in our area and people still think that all middle easterners are terrorists. Which is hilarious given that we have huge numbers of Christian and secular middle easterners.

It's just a fact of life in America these days that this happens, even in the most tolerant of places.

The Liberals here tend to be old-school Liberals, not border-line Socialists (or actual socialists). A lot of Liberal gun owners (for example).

The cost of living is reasonable - not so much in Ann Arbor for housing, but in the areas outside of it are perfectly okay.

[DanielWayne]

There's a lot of places in Tx that meet most of those criteria... except for the heat and humidity. People are friendly. You can certainly find the 'merca crowd here, but most people don't give a rip about your background if you are a good person.

[Pincho-toot]

Madison, WI or somewhere near the Twin Cities. Relatively diverse, lots of trees, liberal but not so much the elitist hipster/yuppie kind.

Or maybe an upper South city like Nashville or Louisville.