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Hello. I'm looking for advice on possible places to move. There's myself and my partner, our pets, and likely my father. In general I'm looking for places with as many of the below listed qualities as possible.
- A place that's progressive leaning and LGBTQ+ friendly
- Would like to buy a house, under 350k is preferable, or if not then rent under 2.3k/mo
- Wheelchair accessible built environment, like sidewalks, crosswalks, accessible public buildings
- Decent healthcare system with specialists (neurologist, urologist) within traveling distance
- Good internet connection available
- COVID-19 precautions in place, people masking in public and businesses have sufficient ventilation/filtration
- Recreational marijuana legal and home grow allowed
- Walkable/bikeable/public transit - My partner drives but I don't, would like to have access to essentials without a car but not a deal breaker
- Weather/climate - I deal better with heat than cold but some snow is ok, would prefer less natural-disaster prone and not consistently on fire or out of water.
- Some good restaurants or stores with vegetarian/vegan options
I'm not expecting anywhere to hit all these marks (though that'd be awesome), just looking for what might come close. Thanks for any suggestions!
Last edited by anasophus; 06-13-2022 at 11:14 PM..
I didn't see much useful info about accessible cities online. Maybe more info to be found with deeper digging / knowledge of accessibility organizations.
One article mentioned Winston Salem NC and Lubbock TX for transit accessibility and healthcare. But they don't have legal weed (yet).
If that is important, check Virginia and Arizona (if you can take the heat). Williamsburg VA is at top end of your price range (or maybe beyond) but worth checking. Blacksburg VA. Catalina AZ, just north of Tucson. Maybe Phoenix suburbs like Apache Junction or Buckeye.
Springfield or Medford Oregon.
Accessibility may vary by specific part of city. Check sidewalks / transit before you buy or rent. Visit and / or call city officials (accessibility officer if have one or transit or senior center or hospital) for possible advice.
Thank you for the response! Virginia and Oregon are places we've considered but haven't looked too closely, I will definitely check those places out though. We actually live in Phoenix, AZ currently, it's not too bad here except every year there's more heat and less water. It's also very sprawling and car dependent, and coming from rural backgrounds it can be overwhelming sometimes. My partner hates city driving so a smaller city or town might be preferable too.
If you are interested in Condo living, then there are several properties in the Portland, OR area that would fit your needs. Salem, OR, the state capital, is a much smaller city (~170K) about 90 minutes south of Portland, and housing is much more affordable, so single family homes can be found for under $350K. Across the river in Vancouver, WA would be another option near Portland. Good Luck
Illinois is another we've considered, those areas and smaller college towns as well as Chicago suburbs. We've never been there but know people who lived there and liked it, main concerns are accessibility and specialists. It's hard to find information on accessibility, just using google maps to search areas is what I do when traveling and what I am doing some now on the suggested places.
Considering Oregon too! We've been there and have friends who live there too. Just been hard to find housing in our range, and worried about the fires/heat (which we already do so not much difference). Condos aren't strictly out but they're often not wheelchair accessible and I'd like to have a yard. I'll look closer though, and at Vancouver too.
I didn't see much useful info about accessible cities online. Maybe more info to be found with deeper digging / knowledge of accessibility organizations.
One article mentioned Winston Salem NC and Lubbock TX for transit accessibility and healthcare. But they don't have legal weed (yet).
If that is important, check Virginia and Arizona (if you can take the heat). Williamsburg VA is at top end of your price range (or maybe beyond) but worth checking. Blacksburg VA. Catalina AZ, just north of Tucson. Maybe Phoenix suburbs like Apache Junction or Buckeye.
Springfield or Medford Oregon.
Accessibility may vary by specific part of city. Check sidewalks / transit before you buy or rent. Visit and / or call city officials (accessibility officer if have one or transit or senior center or hospital) for possible advice.
Lubbock is definitely not what the OP wants overall. Transit is very limited here. It's possible that the transit that exists is accessible, but it doesn't cover much of the city. Lots of places don't have any sidewalks, let alone accessible sidewalks.
It's also not "progressive," which is one of the main reasons I moved here, given that so-called "progressive" (really closer to fascist) Covid-19 policies pushed me to relocate.
And hopefully we can prevent the stench of pot from becoming ubiquitous in this city.
San Francisco would be choice number one, closely followed by Seattle and then Los Angeles. San Francisco is the one that has good public transportation.
You can't afford those places and for your budget, you aren't getting any place that meets your preferences.
Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 06-21-2022 at 08:56 AM..
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