Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The answer is definitely Chicago. It's still relatively affordable for it's size and quality. If you can't take that then you will have to get a second tier city.
I guess it depends on your definition of 'rat race'. I'd say Chicago would fit most definitions of that: you have a large group of career-driven people (work long hours/competitive/etc.) and it's a dense city with somewhat of a 'grind' commute, especially if you're coming in from the suburbs. I'm with you on COL, but I don't think that alone makes the case.
San Antonio is a good one - relatively laid back, traffic is not a disaster, you can live in a suburban area with close proximity to downtown, etc. But of course it's much lower down the 'cache' scale, so to speak. But that's the tradeoff.
List includes smaller cities as well, but: New Orleans, Honolulu, Savannah, Charleston, Asheville, Memphis. In that order.
Cost of housing in Memphis is very affordable. Credit scores are in the toilet and homeownership isn't at an acceptable rate. The overall pace of the city is slow. You can sense it when dealing with service workers or just by observing how people walk and carry themselves.
I guess it depends on your definition of 'rat race'. I'd say Chicago would fit most definitions of that: you have a large group of career-driven people (work long hours/competitive/etc.) and it's a dense city with somewhat of a 'grind' commute, especially if you're coming in from the suburbs. I'm with you on COL, but I don't think that alone makes the case.
San Antonio is a good one - relatively laid back, traffic is not a disaster, you can live in a suburban area with close proximity to downtown, etc. But of course it's much lower down the 'cache' scale, so to speak. But that's the tradeoff.
The only problem is that San Antonio isn't big. Also, generally any big city has some competitive spirit. The only way out of that is going small. Since he said he wanted big I think he has few options. Out of all the big cities I guess you could pick the other cheaper ones - Dallas, Houston or Atlanta. However I think Chicago is the nicest of the big cities with a cheap COL. The other thing is that Chicago has a good public transportation system if he cares about that. (Although people who want to avoid the rate race probably don't have qualms about owning a car in the suburbs)
I live near El Paso, and compared to other MSAs I have lived in (St. Louis, NYC and Philadelphia) it's rather chill. I think Albuquerque is as well, but to a somewhat lesser extent than El Paso.
Albuquerque is really laid back if you are a transplant from a big city in the east or west coast. To some locals who have been here for generations the city is huge and a bit of a stressful place because there were only 35,000 people here in 1940, in living memory. To others it is simply operating on New Mexico time. Sort of the land of mañana. Waiting for the right mañana can be stressful if you are a new arrival and have not downshifted.
Endless amount of electric neighborhoods in Saint Louis? Despite having a good time when I traveled there I did not get that vibe at all.
I guess you were preoccupied on that visit. That is one thing I look forward to when going to St. Louis. The Hill, Bevo Mill, Soulard, Benton Park, Central West End is where I tend to go for food, but every neighborhood has something of interest. I rented an Airbnb in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood near Washington University on a recent trip, and we walked to Forest Park and the WU area. I used to live there (Clifton Heights) so that helps. Somebody ought to make a deck of cards of all 79 neighborhoods for visitors.
I guess you were preoccupied on that visit. That is one thing I look forward to when going to St. Louis. The Hill, Bevo Mill, Soulard, Benton Park, Central West End is where I tend to go for food, but every neighborhood has something of interest. I rented an Airbnb in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood near Washington University on a recent trip, and we walked to Forest Park and the WU area. I used to live there (Clifton Heights) so that helps. Somebody ought to make a deck of cards of all 79 neighborhoods for visitors.
I think that is my favorite thing about the city as well. Bevo Mill is one neighborhood I haven't explored yet. I've heard they have a lot of good Bosnian food? Skinker DeBaliviere aka Skinky D was on my list as a place to buy a house. Very diverse neighborhood and well educated population with easy access to the Loop and Forest Park.
A lot of medium to bigger cities lost the typical "rat race" commute for business/jobs due to the pandemic. The pandemic sort of completely overhauled that routine, due to remote and at-home working.
Some cities are coming back slowly, others quickly. But it's not the same as pre-COVID--at all. Ask anyone who commutes into a downtown Tampa, or a downtown St Louis, or a downtown Indianapolis.
Here in NYC, office worker traffic and subway/car commuter traffic is way back up, but still areas are a lot quieter now than they were.
I think we will get back to the hustle and bustle pace in a few more years in many of these cities, but it will take time.
Some cities I would say that fit this criteria in general are Phoenix and San Antonio.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
