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I would also suggest Minneapolis area as a good place to live. It has a progressive overall climate and is LGBT friendly by all reports from friends I've had that have moved out there. There are many outdoorsy activities to do and there are plenty of natural amenities.
Ann Arbor, MI is another place that you might want to consider. Michigan also has tons of natural amenities and the entire state is full of natural swimming areas--not to mention surrounded by the Great Lakes It's one of the most gorgeous states and people are pretty friendly in Michigan; they don't really have that cliquishness about them. There are multiple smaller walkable cities nearby and nearby Detroit Metro area has any and every kind of different culture you could imagine. Outside of my native Upstate NY and here, Michigan was my favorite place to live.
Economically I think DFW is probably the best fit given your careers, but it comes with the caveat that the hiking there is terrible and really not worth bothering with. You can literally cover all of DFW's "best" (I use that word very loosely) trails in a couple days. The terrain is mostly flat and just not very interesting.
DFW has reservoirs, but I was never impressed with the swimming they provide. The water's murky, and you'll be covered in grit and slime when you get out.
What do you think your combined incomes will be in your target locales?
For the record, Colorado elected an openly-gay governor last November. Yeah that was super closed-minded of us.
Where did Washington DC come from? It is obvious the OP was talking about Washington State.
Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon are both gay friendly, but Portland is going through some issues right now and I would not recommend it unless you are extremely "counter-culture". Economy-wise, Seattle is healthier than Portland. Both cities tend to be expensive, and both are liberal. I also like Colorado, except for the extreme variability of the weather...can go from 65 to 25 in one day in the winter. Not for me. And Denver is becoming almost as expensive as Seattle/Portland.
And Denver is becoming almost as expensive as Seattle/Portland.
Denver's catching Portland, but Seattle's still almost 50% more expensive than Denver. Plus, I wasn't impressed with Seattle's housing stock at all. The houses I saw all reminded me of the one I lived in as a kid in Wisconsin. That house is about 50 years old now.
Denver's catching Portland, but Seattle's still almost 50% more expensive than Denver. Plus, I wasn't impressed with Seattle's housing stock at all. The houses I saw all reminded me of the one I lived in as a kid in Wisconsin. That house is about 50 years old now.
Fair enough...I guess I was thinking more metro area, but I think the OP is probably not looking at suburbia.
I am sorry that you had a bad experience. Maybe it is Fort Collins where you are living. I do have some second thoughts about Colorado Springs since it is more conservative by Colorado's standard.
I am looking more into Denver and Boulder.
Ft Collins is dominated by Colo State University and the surrounding farm land. Despite its higher education center, the overall area can be somewhat insular because of all the generations of farm families that tend to view outsiders with suspicion because every fall a new crop of students comes to town.
Colo Spgs can also be a mixed bag. While it is indeed politically conservative, fiscally stingy, it is ausually more socially middle of the road and accepting than many would imagine. Its central and west sides are considerably more central to liberal leaning than the east and north sides of the city. Despite some nationally know evangelicals that are here, we have also had an LGBTQ friendly mayor and several like minded council members. We also have a higher percentage of citizens claiming mixed race than Denver, LA, or even Chicago. The military has brought a fair percentage of German and Korean expats that add to the area. The military turnover in the area means Colo Spgs has had to avoid the more homebody views that are sometimes dominate in Ft Collins.
Jobs however, will be what you want to research. Colo Spgs lives in the shadow of Denver. Always has and always will. That means the lion share of opportunities are up there for a vast majority of career fields. But, this also means you can avoid some of the density andexpense issues of Denver yet still do overnight trips for festivals and events that don't make it to Colo Spgs.
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It's one of the most gorgeous states and people are pretty friendly in Michigan; they don't really have that cliquishness about them. There are multiple smaller walkable cities nearby and nearby Detroit Metro area has any and every kind of different culture you could imagine. Outside of my native Upstate NY and here, Michigan was my favorite place to live.
