Where should an interracial family settle post-pandemic? (low crime, homes)

[585WNY]

My fiancé and I are seeking some information on where in the country we might consider settling down within the next 1-3 years (so post-pandemic... hopefully). We are a late 20s interracial couple (WM/BW) currently residing in Metro Atlanta, but both born and raised in urban Rochester, New York.

Culturally, there are a lot of things we like about Atlanta, however after 9 months here I have to say there is still more to complain about than praise. Truthfully, I knew as soon as I settled here that it was not a city I wanted to remain long term. We have both agreed this is likely not the place where we want to raise a family. We also feel we have outgrown our hometown and recognize the consequences of COVID-19 are going to change the dynamics of the country, thus we have begun looking elsewhere to put down our roots. The ideal place we'd most desire being a growing metro between 2-4 million in population with a bright economic outlook.

As far as more detailed criteria, here is our wish list.

• Location: Close to major city amenities, particularly a large international airport and/or well-connected rail access. Regular cultural festivities, concerts and so forth. Proximity to a major body of water would be a plus. Hiking too. We're open to all parts of the country, but prefer the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Upper South or Great Lakes region.
• Weather: Four seasons would be ideal just as long as there are no unbearably hot Summers or frigid cold Winters.
• Diversity: Naturally wherever we end up absolutely must be an inclusive community that is accepting of a biracial family. We are politically moderate, so anywhere extremely liberal or conservative would probably not be comfortable. Demographically, this area should be mixed and well integrated.
• Neighborhood: I've always been a city person. She is more oriented towards the suburbs. This will be an area of compromise, which is fine since I'm warming up to the idea of having some land in a less dense area. I think the right inner ring suburb or walkable small town could make both of us happy.
• Character: One thing I feel strongly about is living somewhere I can be proud of. The bland cookie cutter nature of many Sunbelt suburbs really turns me off. Gated communities are terrible.
• Food scene: We are definitely what you'd call "foodies" and order take out from great restaurants more than we cook, therefore having access to a diverse array of top notch cuisine from all over the world is a must.
• Affordability: We currently hold remote jobs and have a household income just above $100k. While we anticipate this increasing in the near future, living comfortably on our current budget would be wonderful.
• Low crime rate: Having been the victim of armed robbery and other petty street crime, being victimized is not something I'm interested in dealing with again and unfortunately it seems many cities are now struggling with crime spikes.
• Public schools: We do plan on having children, so although not an immediate concern, access to quality education will be important at some point.

I realize we'll probably have to bend on a few of these as nowhere is perfect. We are obviously in the very preliminary stages of our search, so feel free to throw out any other suggestions, relevant factors or criteria I may not have considered here.

Thank you all in advance!

[jpdivola]

Oak Park Il or Silver Spring MD come to mind. Both areas a relatively diverse streetcar suburbs with character. DC summers may be too and Chicago's winters may be too long

[kyle19125]

The DC area was my first thought however your 100K income would be a tight budget for two, as well as your housing allotment. Baltimore is often skipped over for it's poor reputation in terms of crime/safety, however many of the suburbs are very desirable and in my opinion a great fit given your criteria. Check out North Baltimore-Towson-Lutherville/Timonium which have a liberal bend and a reputation for inclusiveness. The schools are mostly top-notch within a state with one of the best public school systems in the country, plus your housing budget goes much further there. https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...BzKowCx%7BDqbE

[ckhthankgod]

In MI, either Ann Arbor or East Lansing. Both are pretty diverse, have good school districts, are pretty urban, both are close to the Detroit area(more so AA) and are interracial friendly. Ann Arbor has a higher cost of living, but is minutes from Detroit International Airport. Both also have more suburban neighborhoods as well.

Actually, within the Detroit area, Southfield in parts is known for having interracial families. I believe Farmington/Farmington Hills to the west would also work. Farmington is a good and quite diverse school district too. Farmington is a walkable small city surrounded by Farmington Hills.

In the Philadelphia area, I’d say that Abington and Cheltenham are worth looking into.

If you are open to Downstate NY, Nyack would be a good fit. White Plains also comes to mind.

[SonnyDaze]

Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, and Beachwood seem like good options for you within the Cleveland metro.

[EckyX]

New England has relatively low crime, and tends to be accepting and with good schools. I expect you could find what you're looking for in one of the Boston suburbs. From my perspective, the winters there are practically balmy.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by EckyX

New England has relatively low crime, and tends to be accepting and with good schools. I expect you could find what you're looking for in one of the Boston suburbs. From my perspective, the winters there are practically balmy.

Yes, New England (Boston specifically) has top-tier suburbs with great schools, extremely low crime rates, and a growing inclusivity/diversity score (Some top-tier public suburbs are already 40% Asian and over 50% Minority now). However, home prices and the COL is extremely high and really does not justify what you would get with an income of $100k. A conservative home is well over 800k for what an equivalent in the Atlanta area would be. You can get stunning new builds for under 400k in great areas of Atlanta.

I would be septical on the Boston Metro.. I would look at Hartford Metro if anything. They check off most-all of your boxes.

I would also suggest the Philadelphia suburbs. A lot of PHL suburbs are outrageously expensive like Boston's, but there are some that are relatively fairly priced. They check off most boxes too.

[walker1962]

Forget heading back to eastern seaboard unless its Philly in terms of COL. I think one should remember too If you weren't comfortable in Atlanta, given its majority black population, then why would any large northern city that is majority black, be any better? That's not a rhetorical question. How about Denver, CO? Its pricey but has good diversity, tolerable winters, lots of sunshine, and laid back culture (remember weed is 100% legal in Colorado). If not for the heat, I'd recommend any big city in Texas. Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston rank in the top 7 for diversity; in fact, metro Houston is considered per US Census the most diverse MSA in America. Austin is very youthful and its city slogan is "keep Austin weird". San Antonio is heavy on latin culture but easy going. All are more affordable than most big cities with the exception of Austin as its a huge tech hub, the State Capital and the home of UT-Austin.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by walker1962

Forget heading back to eastern seaboard unless its Philly in terms of COL. I think one should remember too If you weren't comfortable in Atlanta, given its majority black population, then why would any large northern city that is majority black, be any better? That's not a rhetorical question. How about Denver, CO? Its pricey but has good diversity, tolerable winters, lots of sunshine, and laid back culture (remember weed is 100% legal in Colorado). If not for the heat, I'd recommend any big city in Texas. Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston rank in the top 7 for diversity; in fact, metro Houston is considered per US Census the most diverse MSA in America. Austin is very youthful and its city slogan is "keep Austin weird". San Antonio is heavy on latin culture but easy going. All are more affordable than most big cities with the exception of Austin as its a huge tech hub, the State Capital and the home of UT-Austin.

I believe it was as much about the built environment of the Atlanta area in terms of walkability and such.

There are areas in the Northeast and Midwest that would fit, including in terms of cost of living.

OP, I’d also consider parts of the Grosse Pointe SD in the Detroit area, particularly portions of the district in Harper Woods and adjacent parts of the Grosse Pointe Woods. That portion of the district is more diverse(GP North demographics: https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/sc...D=262574006230 ) and it is arguably the best SD in the state of Michigan.

[585WNY]

I appreciate all of these thoughtful responses. We will be researching every single suggestion brought up in this thread. I also just wanted to take some time to comment on some of these options individually.

Originally Posted by jpdivola

Oak Park Il or Silver Spring MD come to mind. Both areas a relatively diverse streetcar suburbs with character. DC summers may be too and Chicago's winters may be too long

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The DC area was my first thought however your 100K income would be a tight budget for two, as well as your housing allotment. Baltimore is often skipped over for it's poor reputation in terms of crime/safety, however many of the suburbs are very desirable and in my opinion a great fit given your criteria. Check out North Baltimore-Towson-Lutherville/Timonium which have a liberal bend and a reputation for inclusiveness. The schools are mostly top-notch within a state with one of the best public school systems in the country, plus your housing budget goes much further there. https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...BzKowCx%7BDqbE

The DC Metro was actually my first thought as well. I'm already familiar with the region, having spent significant time in Northern Virginia throughout my younger years. Plus being aware of the demographics of particularly on the Maryland side, it seemed like a great fit, but I think we'll be priced out of the desirable areas for the time being. I will do some digging into the Baltimore suburbs though.

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

In MI, either Ann Arbor or East Lansing. Both are pretty diverse, have good school districts, are pretty urban, both are close to the Detroit area(more so AA) and are interracial friendly. Ann Arbor has a higher cost of living, but is minutes from Detroit International Airport. Both also have more suburban neighborhoods as well.

Actually, within the Detroit area, Southfield in parts is known for having interracial families. I believe Farmington/Farmington Hills to the west would also work. Farmington is a good and quite diverse school district too. Farmington is a walkable small city surrounded by Farmington Hills.

In the Philadelphia area, I’d say that Abington and Cheltenham are worth looking into.

If you are open to Downstate NY, Nyack would be a good fit. White Plains also comes to mind.

Some promising picks here. Neither of us have ever been to the Detroit area, although as a native WNYer, I've always held a certain affinity for Michigan from afar. I could see myself there. Philadelphia may be at the top of our list from recent searching. She’s somewhat concerned about crime rate in Philly. We shall see... Now, I could definitely see the Hudson Valley working as well. Prior to relocating to Atlanta, New York City was our first choice and we almost made the move. It was just affordability that proved to be too big of a hurdle to overcome.

Originally Posted by CincyExpert

Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, and Beachwood seem like good options for you within the Cleveland metro.

We loved what we saw of Cleveland after taking a day trip there last year. I think another one is warranted. I will add these to the list, thanks!

Originally Posted by EckyX

New England has relatively low crime, and tends to be accepting and with good schools. I expect you could find what you're looking for in one of the Boston suburbs. From my perspective, the winters there are practically balmy.

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Yes, New England (Boston specifically) has top-tier suburbs with great schools, extremely low crime rates, and a growing inclusivity/diversity score (Some top-tier public suburbs are already 40% Asian and over 50% Minority now). However, home prices and the COL is extremely high and really does not justify what you would get with an income of $100k. A conservative home is well over 800k for what an equivalent in the Atlanta area would be. You can get stunning new builds for under 400k in great areas of Atlanta.

I would be septical on the Boston Metro.. I would look at Hartford Metro if anything. They check off most-all of your boxes.

I would also suggest the Philadelphia suburbs. A lot of PHL suburbs are outrageously expensive like Boston's, but there are some that are relatively fairly priced. They check off most boxes too.

Perhaps surprisingly, my finance is quite interested in New England, even northern New England because of the low crime rate and beautiful scenery, yet skeptical of Boston due to its racial reputation. My concern is that VT and NH would be too white (even if generally accepting), too secluded and not nearly stimulating enough in terms of amenities. I'm aware that Boston is outrageously expensive. It would be one of my top picks otherwise, although I wonder if some of the smaller towns along the NH/MA border could still work?

Originally Posted by walker1962

Forget heading back to eastern seaboard unless its Philly in terms of COL. I think one should remember too If you weren't comfortable in Atlanta, given its majority black population, then why would any large northern city that is majority black, be any better? That's not a rhetorical question. How about Denver, CO? Its pricey but has good diversity, tolerable winters, lots of sunshine, and laid back culture (remember weed is 100% legal in Colorado). If not for the heat, I'd recommend any big city in Texas. Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston rank in the top 7 for diversity; in fact, metro Houston is considered per US Census the most diverse MSA in America. Austin is very youthful and its city slogan is "keep Austin weird". San Antonio is heavy on latin culture but easy going. All are more affordable than most big cities with the exception of Austin as its a huge tech hub, the State Capital and the home of UT-Austin.

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

I believe it was as much about the built environment of the Atlanta area in terms of walkability and such.

There are areas in the Northeast and Midwest that would fit, including in terms of cost of living.

OP, I’d also consider parts of the Grosse Pointe SD in the Detroit area, particularly portions of the district in Harper Woods and adjacent parts of the Grosse Pointe Woods. That portion of the district is more diverse(GP North demographics: https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/sc...D=262574006230 ) and it is arguably the best SD in the state of Michigan.

Yeah, Atlanta's "blackness" is not at all the issue, in fact it is something I admire about this area - seeing blacks enjoy a greater share of the pie in society is a positive attribute. One that would really only benefit my family. What I dislike is how incredibly sprawling, overwhelmed with traffic congestion, disconnected and soulless most of the metro area seems to be. A majority of the urban neighborhoods of Atlanta are not particularly desirable IMO and the suburbs are largely cookie cutter clones of one another repeated endlessly in all directions. Not a fan. Oh, and did I mention traffic? I will say if any other region of the country were under serious consideration, Texas would be it. I will keep these in mind.

Thanks everyone!