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Im a mid 20s single guy and am looking to a city in the South. A little bit about me, I was born in Santa Monica and have lived in Orange County, CA since college. I have always wanted to experience living in another state and environment for at least 6 months or so before I get to old and the opportunity passes. My plan is to end up coming back to California after that but I wouldn't be opposed to staying long term if I enjoy it.
I am having trouble picking a city to move to. To put what I like into perspective, I grew up in LA and pretty much hated it. The traffic, sprawling city, run down places, people generally rude, no culture at all, expensive etc. I enjoy Orange county a lot better but still doesn't have much a culture (food, sports, or other) except for maybe a beachy vibe near the coast. Also which I feel is similar, I enjoyed Fort Worth more than Dallas when i visited because it felt less like a "big city" which I have always lived in. Regarding cost, remember I live in Southern California and am paying $1,000 to have my own room but share a bathroom in an apartment so it cant get much worse than out here. The cheapest 1 bedrooms are $1600 minimum here.
The reason for the south is that I love everything about it even though I have only been to Texas. I love country music, college football, sports in general, bbq food, live music, and am a conservative. And the southern accent is so amazing to me. The city doesn't have to be conservative obviously but being in a red state is appealing to me in general. I do like the outdoors and camping and am not crazy about the beach since I grew up with it (except for its amazing weather). Im basically looking for something different then what i grew up with. I like going out to bars/clubs sometimes but I mainly like not as crazy bars and love live music type atmospheres and two stepping bars. I like the South/East Coast area because it would give me the chance to travel to a lot of sports cities on weekends and see some NFL, MLB, and college football stadiums I wouldn't have the chance to see. I have traveled to a lot of cities across the US. Denver, Austin, Philly, Chicago, New York, San Fran, Boston, etc and found that a lot of big cities can sort of blend together in how they feel.
So basically for at least 6 months im looking for something different. My first thought was Nashville obviously because of the country music and live music scene. But after looking at videos and talking to friends, it mainly seems like a Southern version of vegas which seems miserable with traffic, tourists, non stop partying etc. And just in general not that different because of the tourists.
The cities which ive seen listed are basically: Charleston, Greenville, Greensboro, Savannah, Birmingham, Huntsville, Louisville, Winstem/Salem, Charlotte, Kansas City, Lexington, Asheville, Fayetteville, Biloxi, Richmond, and Wilmington. Not sure if I missed any. I wouldnt want Texas because ive been there so many times even though I do love it. And definitely not Atlanta because that seems like exactly what I wouldnt like.
For work I am currently a Front Desk agent at a hotel for a Hilton, so that gives me an opportunity to potentially transfer to one of these cities. Beyond that if I cant transfer, it would be nice if the job market in the city is relatively good (or if im able to drive for uber and lyft and make a decent amount in the mean time). Also of course the city with the hottest girls gets +10 points haha.
Given your interests and profile I would recommend Louisville. It'll give you plenty of social opportunity, a low cost of living, a Southern feel, a politically moderate climate, decent sports scene with U of Louisville athletics plus fairly close proximity to pro sports towns like Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St Louis and Nashville.
I think you could have a great experience in many parts of the South. Knoxville, TN is also worth considering for its college sports scene and outdoors with mountains and lakes nearby, and is a very friendly place in general. It is more affordable than the larger and/or more "trendy" cities in the region such as Nashville, Atlanta or Asheville, but close enough to visit those places easily. Knoxville is large enough to have most major retail chains so many of the amenities you're used to in southern California are still around - it's very much a part of modern America.
Regarding your list, Kansas City has a lot to offer but it is not in the South by any standard definition. I wouldn't recommend Fayetteville, NC as it is mostly a military town with the unfavorable gender ratio that this implies - but Fayetteville, AR is nice and like a smaller Knoxville in some respects.
Lexington, KY would be a good place to look into. Still relatively close to multiple Southern cities such as Louisville, Nashville and Knoxville to visit.
Lexington is also a small city which makes it easy to navigate, minimal traffic, a very clean city and set in a beautiful area of the country with the rolling bluegrass and horse farms. A lot of people are surprised by the Old South feel of Lexington.
Other contenders:
Huntsville, AL
Knoxville, TN
Louisville, KY
Given your interests and profile I would recommend Louisville. It'll give you plenty of social opportunity, a low cost of living, a Southern feel, a politically moderate climate, decent sports scene with U of Louisville athletics plus fairly close proximity to pro sports towns like Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St Louis and Nashville.
Don't forget Louisville City FC USL pro soccer. I'm fairly confident this will go MLS soon.
Surrounding it will be a $150 Million entertainment center with hotels, apartments, and retail to be developed over the next 3-5 years. Louisville also has lots of museums, great parks and outdoor activities with places for canoeing, boating, biking up hills, etc....and TONS of music festivals among many other festivals. This on top of BILLIONS in other construction, so much so that Louisville has it's own crane watch that's very impressive.
look up Zombie Walk, First Friday Gallery Hops, Fat Friday Gallery Hops, Forecastle, Bourbon and Beyond, Louder than Life, Hometown Rising, St Patrick's day parade, Thunder over Louisville, Derby Festival which is 2 weeks long, Humana Festival of New American plays, St James Art Festival, a top TEN nationally rated arena for concerts and one of the top 30 concert venues in the world, bars open til 4 am, an annually rated top food scene, and an overall under the radar vibe. Lots of new apartment complexes begging for guys like you to move into....
I can't think of any metro under 2 million with that many festivals, particularly music festivals, attracting over 50k apiece except New Orleans. Thunder over Louisville alone attracts 750k people and Louisville's bourbon industry makes it a growing tourist industry.
Louisville has very beautiful women and is probably the most up and coming hotel city you listed with nearly THIRTY hotels under construction over the last 12-18 months!
I was in the Virginia-Highland area recently - wow - fantastic area with cool restaurants, bars, hangouts
I would also add downtown Tampa - underrated - access to amazing beaches of SW FL (much different that So Cal)
Atlanta's too big and high-energy for what the OP wants, and Tampa's borderline Southern at best - but Savannah, Augusta, Macon, and Tallahassee could be places to consider.
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