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Hello everyone. I am currently living at my friend's house in Hattiesburg since my place down in New Orleans probably no longer exists cause of the hurricane and I thought it might be a good time to start over in a new city. Where should I go? Here is my criteria:
Colder summers and lots of snow in the winter (I went to Colorado once in the summer of 2010 and again in the winter of 2011 and loved the weather while I was there)
Cheap housing
Low crime
Fun things to do
Light traffic
Conservative-leaning (I'm not really into politics, I just found conservatives to be a lot more friendly and down-to-earth than liberals)
Somewhere (at least kind of) between my mom's side of the family in Maryland and my dad's side in Kansas
You can try out Mobile, AL. Doesn't quite fit all your criteria, but I mention it because of your affiliation to New Orleans. Mobile and New Orleans are similar culturally because of their shared history, such as Mardi Gras. A big difference is Mobile's topography, The Mobile area (Mobile and Baldwin Counties) has probably the highest coastal elevations along the gulf and east coasts. The vast majority of developed Mobile is well outside the reach of storm surge. For example, the elevation of East Mobile (the coastal side) ranges from 25 to 100 feet and West Mobile averages 100-210 feet. The suburbs of Daphne and Fairhope are cities along the Mobile Bay and have average elevations of 100+ feet. Inland suburbs cities of Loxley, Semmes and Citronelle have elevations of 170, 220, and 310 respectively, so the chances of losing a house to a hurricane is fairly low compared to most coastal cities.
Housing in the Mobile metro is also very cheap (cheaper than New Orleans)
Crime is surprising low, (from my research is among the safest major cities in the South, as well safer than quite a lot of non southern cities, statistically 10x safer than NOLA proper apparently, the Mobile Suburbs are incredibly safe)
Traffic in Mobile County isn't that bad, Baldwin County is suffering from growing pains
Mobile County is conservative leaning, Baldwin County, fairly conservative
Mobile area has a lot of things to do, not to mention events that happen in nearby Biloxi and Pensacola as well as back to NOLA
You can try out Mobile, AL. Doesn't quite fit all your criteria, but I mention it because of your affiliation to New Orleans. Mobile and New Orleans are similar culturally because of their shared history, such as Mardi Gras. A big difference is Mobile's topography, The Mobile area (Mobile and Baldwin Counties) has probably the highest coastal elevations along the gulf and east coasts. The vast majority of developed Mobile is well outside the reach of storm surge. For example, the elevation of East Mobile (the coastal side) ranges from 25 to 100 feet and West Mobile averages 100-210 feet. The suburbs of Daphne and Fairhope are cities along the Mobile Bay and have average elevations of 100+ feet. Inland suburbs cities of Loxley, Semmes and Citronelle have elevations of 170, 220, and 310 respectively, so the chances of losing a house to a hurricane is fairly low compared to most coastal cities.
Housing in the Mobile metro is also very cheap (cheaper than New Orleans)
Crime is surprising low, (from my research is among the safest major cities in the South, as well safer than quite a lot of non southern cities, statistically 10x safer than NOLA proper apparently, the Mobile Suburbs are incredibly safe)
Traffic in Mobile County isn't that bad, Baldwin County is suffering from growing pains
Mobile County is conservative leaning, Baldwin County, fairly conservative
Mobile area has a lot of things to do, not to mention events that happen in nearby Biloxi and Pensacola as well as back to NOLA
I appreciate the input but I'm looking to escape the coast as a whole. My friend and the commenter above me mentioned Arkansas. Do you think Arkansas would be a good fit? The northwest part seems a bit pricey so I might look somewhere near Little Rock or Fort Smith. Heard Fort Smith has a lot of western heritage which is very interesting.
I appreciate the input but I'm looking to escape the coast as a whole. My friend and the commenter above me mentioned Arkansas. Do you think Arkansas would be a good fit? The northwest part seems a bit pricey so I might look somewhere near Little Rock or Fort Smith.
I'm currently in Little Rock, and I haven't been here for very long. You mentioned low crime, we bought a used car here and a week later it was stolen!! So I would not recommend this place. People here are rude and disrespectful, they don't have a clue to wait customer service means. That's just my opinion.
Somewhere in West Virginia might be a good fit. Probably Morgantown would be your best bet. Flagstaff, AZ has cooler summers, I think, and lots of snow in the winter. Not sure about the other criteria. Western Michigan (Grand Rapids area) might fit a lot of what you're looking for as well.
I appreciate the input but I'm looking to escape the coast as a whole. My friend and the commenter above me mentioned Arkansas. Do you think Arkansas would be a good fit? The northwest part seems a bit pricey so I might look somewhere near Little Rock or Fort Smith. Heard Fort Smith has a lot of western heritage which is very interesting.
That’s fair, as for Arkansas, I would personally only settle for Northwest Arkansas, everywhere else in the state seems to be a bit rough
I appreciate the input but I'm looking to escape the coast as a whole. My friend and the commenter above me mentioned Arkansas. Do you think Arkansas would be a good fit? The northwest part seems a bit pricey so I might look somewhere near Little Rock or Fort Smith. Heard Fort Smith has a lot of western heritage which is very interesting.
1. South Bend, IN - Northwest Indiana, close to MI border, into MI
2. Toledo AREA, OH
3. The Virginia Mountain Areas, VA-WV (Harper's Ferry and Morgantown,WV for example)
4. Rural Upstate NY between Buffalo and the Finger Lakes
5. Rural Middle PA
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