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I've got some weird and specific criteria I'm looking for, and maybe this doesn't exist, but hoping all of this makes someone think of a certain area or place. Thanks for any suggestions!
Job-wise, I can work remotely, so not too worried about that. I'm single, so it would be great to have the chance to meet someone else.
My hope is to live in a place that is surrounded by trees (like, specifically the house/apartment/neighborhood I'm in - it definitely doesn't have to be the entire town/city) where it's very easy to go out for hikes and runs in forests (5-10 minutes), but at the same time be close enough to a population center (20 minutes or less) where I can participate in and go to things like improv comedy, sketch comedy, standup, musicals, ultimate frisbee, running clubs, community theater, music/poetry open mics (emphasis on the improv). So maybe a smaller city or a larger town that isn't surrounded by suburbs/urban sprawl, but only surrounded by smaller towns or is just on its own
I don't think that the size of the city/town matters to me so much as the general density of the neighborhood I live in. So I think I'd be equally happy living in a less-populated area that is near a smaller city, or living right in a town. I think my preference would be to maybe live on the outskirts of a smaller city, like outside a city that has 100,000 people or less.
I'm looking for a place that doesn't have temperatures in the 90's through a large chunk of the summer or temperatures in the single digits or teens for an extended time in the winter. I did grow up in Maine, so I'm not afraid of cold temps, but I'm definitely not dealing with -40 (or even -20), like they get sometimes in the midwest, or the extended days in the 90's that they also get in the summers in the midwest.
Nature-wise, I'm also not looking to be on the side of a mountain or wedged into a narrow valley. Asheville was cool, but it felt really claustrophobic to me.
I lived outside of LA for a year, and hated how dry it was, that the natural vegetation was mostly scrubby bushes instead of trees, that it barely rained, and the crush of the massive population there just overwhelmed me. I lived in Jamaica Plains in Boston, which felt way too dense and busy and city-like to me (despite being well outside the city proper), and I spent all of my time in the Arboretum, which is a very big park, but usually full of people, and I felt like I didn't have enough access to nature.
Some places that I really liked the vibe of:
Moab (younger population, funky, everyone's going on nature adventures and living out of their vans) - Ultimately too dry and hot, and I'm guessing most people disappear in the winter
Arcata (Loved that it was right on the ocean but also close to redwoods and massive forests, seemed to be a lot of younger people, funky, we ran into people looking for shrooms in the forest, which was cool ) - I don't think they have much going on in terms of improv/sketch, just a little too small - but maybe I'm wrong!
Carrboro (Loved the funkyness of it, people seemed really friendly)
Atitlan in Guatemala - Super funky, very rural on this pristine lake surrounded by mountains - Young ex-pat community doing yoga and meditation and rock climbing
(Would love to learn about other young ex-pat communities in rural areas, but maybe this isn't the forum for that - would love suggestions on where to find more places like that!)
I haven't been to Bend, but that sounds like my vibe, although probably Bend from 20 years ago before it became insanely expensive.
I don't want to live (and probably couldn't afford to live) somewhere where it's just rich people who've fled the city. I'll be making like 40K-50K a year, but I'm incredibly frugal, and very willing to live with roommates. I definitely lean left, but I don't need to be in an echo chamber.
So I guess I'm looking for a place that's not a desert or a dry climate, but that also isn't arctic in the winter, that is big enough to have those creative things to do and watch, but small enough to still have easy access to large forests and other nature stuff and the city itself isn't massive and sprawling. I'd say probably not the Southwest, but then there are those places like Flagstaff that have a totally different climate, so maybe?
I'm also definitely open to things that meet most of the criteria but not all of it...I know there's a lot of details.
I lived in Portland, Maine (70,000 people, with a metro area population of 500,000), and that felt about right, but hoping to explore new places!
Places with really small metro areas would be what I'm looking for I think. Like Boston proper has 500,000 people, but the metro area is almost 5 million.
Some places I've thought of in the past - Eugene (Although even that I'm worried might be too big), Ann Arbour (too cold?)
Thank you for reading! I know it's a lot, and thanks for any suggestions! Happy to answer any follow-up questions. It's definitely a balancing act to have those city activities but still have the nature stuff.
Open to other countries/territories! Although I know that can get tricky visa-wise, depending on the place.
I've lived out of my car before, so I'm thinking I'll try to make a small list and then in the spring I'll go and check out a few places.
Also, If there's another forum where I could ask this kind of question, please let me know! Maybe on reddit?
I've been to Eugene, Oregon before and thought it was a cool mid sized city. Some places in western Washington would fit the bill though it is on the rather expensive side here but you should be fine on your income if you are just renting. What about Burlington,VT?
You might want to check out Sandpoint, Idaho. It's a lumber/tourist town on one of the largest natural lakes in the west and one of the deepest in the nation. This is a beautiful wooded area and near the furthest inland temperate rain forest on earth.
The Inland Temperate Rainforest (ITR) covers 40 million acres, and stretches 700 miles in a broad arc from central Idaho to Prince George, British Columbia, encompassing a globally unique, rich and diverse landscape. There are no other inland temperate zones on earth that harbour so many species, including mountain caribou, more closely associated with coastal forests.
It is a small town and funky, hippy, and progressive. There are a few comedy clubs and a music and arts scene.
Sandpoint is close to larger Coeur d'Alene and not far from Spokane.
Fort Collins or Loveland CO might work, especially if you live on the western edges of the towns. That gets you a bit closer to the mountains and trails, but Ft Collins does have a pretty good running/walking path network throughout the town. For more residential, and less city, look at Wellington, CO just minutes north of Ft Collins. Plenty of clubs and events, of many types in the area.
Bend, OR would work, but like you said, you missed its most affordable and quirky years. Still...LOTS of outdoors things to do, plus good summer concerts and other shows. You could still find a place in Sunriver or La Pine, and have an easy drive into Bend for events, shopping, etc.
Still in Oregon, Corvallis might work for you too. You'd have two mountain ranges to explore (Coast and Cascade), plus the beach an hour away.
If you want a few more pine/fir trees in your daily view, then Lebanon, OR is a small town (~18K population) about 20 miles away from Corvallis. It's at the western edge of the Cascade Mountains. You'd also be about 20 miles from Albany, OR, 40 miles from Salem, OR, (the capital), 45 minutes to Eugene, OR, and still within 1 1/2 hours from Portland, OR. Quite a bit of rain, not much snow, fabulous summer and fall weather.
Awesome, thank you all for the suggestions so far! I'd definitely never heard of Sandpoint, looks very cool. I've heard Burlington is a cool town, too, although I somehow haven't spent any time there. And I'll definitely have to look into those Colorado spots, as well as the Oregon ones. Thanks for those! I was in Corvallis a few years ago and it seemed nice, but I was only there for a day, so didn't get much of a feel for it.
We have all sorts of water bodies here, but we are a DRY climate, so might not be suitable for you....
California has a bunch of artsy towns along the coast that are amazing such as: Cambria, Mendicino, Carmel....Truckee up in the mountains.....
Grants Pass, Oregon? I haven't been up there in awhile, but remember tree-filled parks with hippies in tie-dye slouching around last time I drove through
So I guess I'm looking for a place that's not a desert or a dry climate, but that also isn't arctic in the winter, that is big enough to have those creative things to do and watch, but small enough to still have easy access to large forests and other nature stuff and the city itself isn't massive and sprawling. I'd say probably not the Southwest, but then there are those places like Flagstaff that have a totally different climate, so maybe?
I'm sorry I can't help you with specific recommendations. But just in terms of the climate and topography you're looking for, I'd consider North Carolina and Tennessee. Basically somewhere along the I-40 corridor, except not in the vicinity of the Great Smoky Mountains (because you don't want mountains). Not too hot, not too cold, not too dry, plenty of forests. You had mentioned Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I wouldn't rule it out; it checks a lot of your boxes, despite their chilly winters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Syringaloid
You might want to check out Sandpoint, Idaho. It's a lumber/tourist town on one of the largest natural lakes in the west and one of the deepest in the nation. This is a beautiful wooded area and near the furthest inland temperate rain forest on earth.
I have a friend who lived in Sandpoint for 10 years and just moved away from there. It's very pretty, but it's also getting very expensive. He bought his place for $80,000 and sold it for $400,000. And while it doesn't get the Arctic-like cold, it does have chilly winters that hang on way longer than one would think they should. Basically, from November through April is chilly to cold, with a good deal of snow and freezing rain. Spokane itself might work for you, though it's on the large-ish size for what you're looking for. I'm not sure how much (if at all) their weather varies from Sandpoint's.
Bellingham, WA? City's just under 100K, the metropolitan area about 230K. General Pacific Northwest climate which brings with it a lot of trees and is in between Seattle and Vancouver so that's easy for you to visit if you ever feel like it (even by train!).
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) - I don't think they have much going on in terms of improv/sketch, just a little too small - but maybe I'm wrong!
