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This is going to severely limit your options to densely populated cities and places that are small enough to walk or bike everywhere. Other cities might offer bus service, but buses can be infrequent, routes meandering, and transfers iffy. I took the bus to work for 14 years in Denver. I much prefer my 20-mile commute by car here.
If driving isn't a deal breaker, Indy's traffic isn't bad at all and drivers are pretty courteous.
The problem with these college towns and smaller cities (or even a big one like Columbus) is that they generally have less-than-robust public transit. OP states that she wishes to drive less rather than more. Could she live a mostly car-free life in these places? Don’t know all these places, but I doubt it.
If OP thinks DC is too expensive — and depending on where she is in the metro it might not be—she might also consider Philly. It has a wealth of academic institutions, robust mass transit, and a substantially lower COL than Washington.
philly is definitely a contender, as is pittsburgh. with dc, philly, and pittsburgh, i worry about housing options—of course, i'll rent for a while, but i'd like to buy a small house within 10 years of moving. townhomes seem to be more common in all of these metros, so i'd possibly end up making a compromise in that department. that said, it might be worth it to live in a deeply historical city.
This is going to severely limit your options to densely populated cities and places that are small enough to walk or bike everywhere. Other cities might offer bus service, but buses can be infrequent, routes meandering, and transfers iffy. I took the bus to work for 14 years in Denver. I much prefer my 20-mile commute by car here.
If driving isn't a deal breaker, Indy's traffic isn't bad at all and drivers are pretty courteous.
i know. that's why i'm more relaxed about my other standards, as robust public transit is a big ask. unfortunately, driving is a deal-breaker, at least until i get more comfortable behind the wheel (at 22, i still can't drive—absurd, i know). but i would prefer walkable or densely populated anyway.
I'd stick with college towns or college rich areas where academia is valued along with history and cultural amenities you're more likely interested in. The tipping point I think will be friendlier people (the big NE metros aren't especially known for that) and cost of living. Amherst MA has three colleges in town (UMass, Amherst College and Hampshire College) and loads of historical sites. Albany NY could be another option being the NY state capital along with SUNY-Albany, Siena College and Rensselaer Polytechnic University (RPI) located there.
i like albany and other upstate ny cities. i visited ithaca (more of a town, i guess) about 10 years ago and thought it was really nice. i also have family in the springfield, ma area and both of my parents attended umass amherst. i've always resented that they moved us to the charlotte, nc suburbs before i could walk!
thanks for the input. western ma and upstate ny definitely have a lot of options for me.
I'd think public transit would be adequate in 1/2 to 2/3rds of the cities l listed, if one had realistic expectations. (Some streets but not everywhere, no late night, modest weekend service. Supplement with friends, taxi, bike, walking.) But check them or other places out. Don't assume great or terrible.
i like albany and other upstate ny cities. i visited ithaca (more of a town, i guess) about 10 years ago and thought it was really nice. i also have family in the springfield, ma area and both of my parents attended umass amherst. i've always resented that they moved us to the charlotte, nc suburbs before i could walk!
thanks for the input. western ma and upstate ny definitely have a lot of options for me.
Albany has supposedly has solid public transportation(CDTA). Springfield wouldn’t be that far away and you also would have train access to get to NYC as well.
Besides the institutions kyle19125 mentioned, you also have The College of St. Rose, The Sage Colleges, Union College, Albany Law College, Albany Medical College, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and a couple of community colleges in the area, among some others. https://www.nycolleges.org/region/capital-district
Ithaca’s TCAT is relatively extensive and there are 3 colleges in the area. So, it is worth a look.
Syracuse has quite a few colleges. Just on University Hill, there’s Syracuse University, SUNY-Environmental Science Forestry, SUNY Upstate Medical and Pomeroy College of Nursing at Crouse Hospital. There is also Onondaga Community College, Le Moyne College and St. Joseph’s College of Nursing also within or just outside of city limits. All of them are on a bus line via CENTRO as well. So, that may be another place to consider.
I work in your field so I know quite a lot about this. I'm in DC right now, but I've moved around. Library/archive/records jobs can be extremely competitive, especially in DC. There are so many people in this city with those skills. The best paying jobs, and the most secure, are with the federal government, and those are the most difficult to get. Many applications on USAjobs specify the job opening will close by a certain date or when 200 applications are received. Guess what always came first?
This is not to discourage you, but I would recommend you don't move to DC without a job first, unless someone else is paying your rent. You might get lucky, but most of the entry jobs in the field do not pay much. I think DC would be a terrific city for you to eventually be transferred to or work your way up to.
To start your career, you'd probably be smart to start in a low cost city.
As for not wanting to drive, here's your conundrum starting out. Libraries, whether local public ones or universities, are usually always next to transit in any city. But, chances are your first job in a library will be either part-time or low pay. This is especially true during the pandemic when library jobs are in low demand. You'd probably have a better chance finding a full time job with decent pay in the archives/records management field. But those jobs are often not near transit. Archives and records depositaries, because of the space they require, are usually in the suburbs or even rural.
Fo example, the National Archives branch for Riverside, CA (which is what it's called) is actually located in Perris. Boston's is in Waltham. Even in DC, don't expect to have a job at the famous National Archives building on Pennsylvania Ave. Archival jobs there are in low numbers and high demand. The vast majority of their records and staff are located in College Park, MD, which is an absolute pain to get to by transit. In DC, the Library of Congress and Smithsonian both have massive records management facilities outside the city (like in Fort Meade and Suitland). The Federal Records Centers (FRCs), as you're probably aware of, are the middle stop for records in between going from a federal agency to the National Archives. There are good jobs available in these (spread across the nation), but I can't think of a single one located in a city or any place next to transit. DC's FRC is in Suitland. The one for Kansas City is in a cave in Lenexa, KS. Buses don't go to the cave.
So, in other words, if you want a job next to transit, go with a library. If you want a job in archives/records, plan on having a car.
For archival/records jobs, I suggest you concentrate on cities that are state capitals, have a large number of paper-creating industries (insurance especially), or have a lot of federal government bureaucratic jobs. DC is an obvious one. Also, Denver has the second largest concentration of federal employees outside DC. Cities like Hartford and Columbus are both state capitals, cheap, and have a lot of paper pushers. Just remember the archives facilities themselves will probably be far from transit.
Baltimore is a good choice since it's close to DC but also has quite a large number of public, private, and university libraries. It has a lot of state and federal agencies, too. Places like College Park are commutable from Baltimore, so it can be a good stepping stone for eventually getting into DC.
Look on USAjobs for positions with the National Archives (NARA) or at Federal Records Centers (which are also under NARA). For private industry, a lot of companies go with Iron Mountain, which has a ton of records facilities across the country. Some private companies also have their own company archives and library (those are highly coveted jobs). Look at local and state governments, too.
For libraries, don't forget about local public libraries. Those are usually easier to get that university ones, and are good entry level positions. Universities tend to hire graduate students to fill their entry level support jobs.
Also, Denver has the second largest concentration of federal employees outside DC.
Quoted from an excellent post.
As a Denver native, though, I can tell you that Denver is not inexpensive, not friendly, not rich in history, and does not have much interesting architecture. Buses and trains into downtown are packed; suburban routes are (as mentioned) infrequent and meandering. It's a day's drive to the next major metro (Albuquerque or Kansas City). And contrary to popular opinion, there is no abundance of single men there.
I met someone in the library science field there who worked at a big law firm downtown. She was in her 20s, I think, and noted her difficulty in making friends there and that it would be difficult for her to find another job.
I work in your field so I know quite a lot about this.
wow! i wasn't expecting excellent career advice when i posted to this forum. i really appreciate your advice.
i saw a potential move to dc as a later-career shift if i wasn't happy working somewhere less grand, so it's not too much of a downer for me that dc is likely to be impossible when i'm looking for my first post-graduation job.
i do have experience working at a private library, my alma mater's library, and my local public library, and i hope that gives me a small boost as i enter the professional world. archives are the most unfamiliar and attractive field to me, but i'm very open to other types of institutions.
baltimore is definitely on my list.
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that's why i'm more relaxed about my other standards, as robust public transit is a big ask. unfortunately, driving is a deal-breaker, at least until i get more comfortable behind the wheel (at 22, i still can't drive—absurd, i know). but i would prefer walkable or densely populated anyway. 
