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State Marijuana Laws in 2018 Map
States with legal recreational marijuana:
-CA: out for you
-WA: Seattle doesn't have decent COL. Idk enough about the rest of the state.
-OR: Portland is more affordable than Seattle and has good public transit. But it's already out for you. Eugene may be a good option since college towns usually have good downtowns and public transit.
-NV: No cities urban enough
-CO: Denver is quite expensive now and doesn't have that great public transit. Boulder maybe, but could be smaller than what you're looking for. Also expensive.
-MI: Grand Rapids is affordable with a real downtown. Not sure about public transit. Ann Arbor would probably have the better public transit with the university right there.
-VT: No cities are probably big enough for you.
-ME: Portland is the only city big enough. It's walkable, but idk how good the public transit is.
-MA: Boston is very expensive. I'm not sure of the cities outside Boston and their affordability/public transit options.
States with medical marijuana:
-AZ, NM, MT, ND, OK, AR : Nothing urban enough
-MO: Kansas City and St. Louis are urban and have some okay public transit. Very affordable. But sounds like you want more liberal/diverse places and MO seems to be swinging hard right ATM.
-MN: Minneapolis if you can handle the cold would be a great option.
-IL: Chicago might be bigger than you're looking since you say you don't want NYC-big again. But if you want to consider it, you would like it. You can find places like Astoria and it's very affordable compared to NYC. Also, though, winter can be rough.
-OH: Cincinnati is probably too conservative from what it seems like you want. Columbus probably isn't urban enough. Cleveland might be a good option.
-WV: Probably not liberal enough.
-LA: New Orleans is walkable and cultural, though idk if it's the best place to move if you plan on having children soon. Great for being a young couple. I'd raise kids in any major city, though, since I hate suburbs and I truly believe any child can succeed if parented well and given proper resources by the family.
-FL: Miami is really the only city with an urban footprint and somewhat decent public transit.
-MD: I think you'd really enjoy Baltimore with the narrow streets like the Village and Astoria. And it's obviously very walkable. There are some other cities in MD that I can't comment too much on, but you may like Frederick or Annapolis. Maybe someone else knows more about them.
-PA: Philly is also a great option, since you can buy a place in a neighborhood very similar to the Village or Astoria. I lived in South Philly, now live in JC, and have a friend in Astoria I visit regularly. They don't look the same, but they have similar vibes (South Philly and Astoria). Pittsburgh is a little smaller if Philly is too big. But Philly has the far better public transit.
-NJ: Parts of South Jersey along PATCO with easy access to Philly are still quite affordable. Collingswood and Haddonfield. North Jersey is probably too expensive for what you want.
If you're sticking with legal recreational marijuana, I think your best choices would be Portland, ME; some smaller cities outside of Boston; or maybe some of the Michigan cities mentioned.
If you're cool with legal medical marijuana, your closest match to Astoria/the Village will be in Philly, Baltimore or Chicago. Or if they're too big, somewhere near them. Philly has some smaller urban cities outside of it in PA and some small South Jersey towns also.
If you want everything you want, and are willing to pay for it,
Chicago is a good selection once they figure out the weed situation in IL. Probably something just north of the river, or in one of the popular city neighborhoods.
Seattle has what you seek in spades, but the public transit is a big question mark.
Denver doesn't really have what you're looking for; anything here would be comparatively sleepy, and our public transit is really suburb focused.
I'm curious as to why you don't think you could buy a house in Portland, and I'm also curious as to why California isn't an option.
Given your requirements, probably a Massachusetts city that saw its boom years in the late 19th/early 20th century and is fairly distant from downtown Boston/Cambridge could work.
You can also wait a bit to see if Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, etc. also pass legalization laws in short order which seems likely.
Given your requirements, probably a Massachusetts city that saw its boom years in the late 19th/early 20th century and is fairly distant from downtown Boston/Cambridge could work.
You can also wait a bit to see if Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, etc. also pass legalization laws in short order which seems likely.
How close are IL NY CT MN? I know NJ is very close, just disputes between Murphy and the legislature over the tax rate for it. As for NJ, though, North Jersey is not going to be affordable in the urban areas. South Jersey gets you towns along PATCO though so it's like you're basically just outside Philly, just with better schools and a more suburban vibe. But everything you could want in Philly is 20 minutes away.
How close are IL NY CT MN? I know NJ is very close, just disputes between Murphy and the legislature over the tax rate for it. As for NJ, though, North Jersey is not going to be affordable in the urban areas. South Jersey gets you towns along PATCO though so it's like you're basically just outside Philly, just with better schools and a more suburban vibe. But everything you could want in Philly is 20 minutes away.
All the governors in those states have said they're going to work towards legalization, so it seems pretty likely this year is when the legislation gets passed for these.
Northern New Jersey outside of the parts closer to NYC can have a decent cost-of-living, but your trade-off is that they're generally less urban or the cities are a bit rough and tumble. I don't know the state well enough to say there isn't a single place that hits all the criteria, so maybe there's a part of it that's doable especially as the OP works from home. That being said, Illinois, upstate NY, and Minnesota, if they do legalize, will likely have more options in a good price range. South Jersey can be a good pick, definitely. It's too bad the Atlantic City rail line isn't better.
If you want everything you want, and are willing to pay for it,
Chicago is a good selection once they figure out the weed situation in IL. Probably something just north of the river, or in one of the popular city neighborhoods.
Seattle has what you seek in spades, but the public transit is a big question mark.
Denver doesn't really have what you're looking for; anything here would be comparatively sleepy, and our public transit is really suburb focused.
I'm curious as to why you don't think you could buy a house in Portland, and I'm also curious as to why California isn't an option.
My wife are very very specific on the types of homes we want to live in. We prefer early 1900's houses, but those are hard to find under $300k in Portland. Any house under $250k in Portland is trash. Its crazy because here in Utah we live in a bigger city, 2 miles from HUGE mountains, house from 1912 & it was only $170k ( remodeled aswell)
I dont mind a higher cost of living as long as it provides more culture (ie NYC). Chicago seems too big, and frankly too damn cold.
California isnt really my thing. Ive been to several spots, but just doesnt do it for me. Another thing is that their gun rights are all over the place. I should of mentioned this in the first post, but a gun friendly state is also very important.
All the governors in those states have said they're going to work towards legalization, so it seems pretty likely this year is when the legislation gets passed for these.
Northern New Jersey outside of the parts closer to NYC can have a decent cost-of-living, but your trade-off is that they're generally less urban or the cities are a bit rough and tumble. I don't know the state well enough to say there isn't a single place that hits all the criteria, so maybe there's a part of it that's doable especially as the OP works from home. That being said, Illinois, upstate NY, and Minnesota, if they do legalize, will likely have more options in a good price range. South Jersey can be a good pick, definitely. It's too bad the Atlantic City rail line isn't better.
So ive explored lots of NJ, PA, & upstate NY. I was big into abandoned buildings back when i lived in NYC so i traveled to surrounding states alot. Jersey is cool, but just not looking to go back into that area.
Though I do enjoy these areas, they are too slow paced and too far out there for what we are looking for. I LOVE Philly, i lived there for three weeks and enjoyed my time. But long story, have some bad memories there so Philly is out.
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Don't go to Asheville, OP.
