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Old 02-28-2023, 11:16 AM
 
26,846 posts, read 43,324,756 times
Reputation: 31467

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Quote:
Originally Posted by citychik View Post
What city/town/state/region of the US would you consider if you wanted to live in a place that has:
  • Four seasons (or close to it);
  • Low crime;
  • Low or low-ish cost of living;
  • Decent to good economy;
  • Excellent medical and dental care;
  • Good resources for seniors;
  • Low or reasonable taxes (sales/income/property);
  • Strong infrastructure (roads, highways, internet, power, etc.);
  • Good public transportation systems;
  • Affordable housing options that are safe, pleasant, and in good shape;
  • No tornados, flooding, earthquakes;
  • No major problems with mosquitos, chiggers, spiders, biting flies, etc.;
  • Few or no poisonous snakes;
  • Low or reasonable humidity;
  • Diversity in religion, race, and ethnicities;
  • Little to no extreme conservatism;
  • Flourishing arts programs/communities; and
  • Support for creative/entrepreneurial endeavors.
I know that no place would have all of the above, but where would you say has a good number of them?

.
Cleveland nails pretty much all of them. Low cost of living, decent economy, excellent medical care (check out the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western University Hospitals), lower taxes, surprisingly great public transit including a heavy rail system and a well-utilized bus rapid transit line, desirable affordable housing, near zero natural disaster probabilities, not overtly buggie or snake-ridden, above average diversity, solidly middle ground liberal and a very significant creative arts community. Check out areas like Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Ohio City, Edgewater, Lakewood (my favorite), Berea and Chagrin Falls.
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Old 02-28-2023, 12:59 PM
 
92,058 posts, read 122,237,106 times
Reputation: 18141
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
I’d say select parts of the Interior Northeast as well due to affordability, services, low risk of natural disasters, most decent sized cities have a degree of cultural diversity, walkability, relatively safe areas, some degree of public transportation, there are some job openings to be had, 4 seasons, generally live and let live and tend to have relatively solid art scenes.
Just to add to this...OP, I noticed that you mentioned in another thread that you like snow. So, I'd say to look into areas near the Great Lakes in Upstate NY and NW PA(and in the Midwest), which get their share of snow and fit the vast majority of your criteria.

Buffalo comes to mind for its underrated art scene, affordability, multiple hospitals(inc. Roswell Park), walkability in multiple neighborhoods and select villages(Kenmore, East Aurora, Orchard Park, to a lesser degree Williamsville, etc.) and more.

Other areas like Erie PA, Rochester, Syracuse and Ithaca are some other worth looking into for similar reasons. For instance, this is a new building in Downtown Syracuse with relatively affordable rent and within walking distance to Everson Museum of Art and along the Connective Corridor Bus that connects Downtown with University Hill(has 3 hospitals and 2 colleges/universities): https://www.apartmentfinder.com/New-...tments-d52dg6j
https://www.corbettcorner.com/
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0480...7i16384!8i8192
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Corb...43.0446061!3e2

Rochester's SE Quadrant has neighborhoods such as Park Avenue, South Wedge, Monroe Village, Upper Monroe and East Avenue, among others and adjacent Brighton also for close proximity and has walkability around Twelve Corners and along Monroe Avenue into the city.

Last edited by ckhthankgod; 02-28-2023 at 02:06 PM..
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Old 03-01-2023, 07:07 AM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,630,424 times
Reputation: 6459
Denver
Fort Collins
Missoula
Bozeman
Flagstaff
SLC
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Old 03-01-2023, 09:21 AM
 
Location: Midcoast Maine
762 posts, read 1,741,770 times
Reputation: 1000
Some of the suggestions people have made are surprising. For example, I never would have thought anywhere in Utah would have most of the features on the list. Very interesting!

Regarding snow - sure, I like it and always feel a sort of excitement when there is snowfall, but I don't ski, have a snowmobile, nor necessarily want to drive in it. In Maine, some winters have heavy snow and some have very light snow. This year, it's been pretty heavy, at least in my view. So, I don't mind living in a place that has snow, but would prefer that it not have frequent or heavy snowstorms most of the winter. I think Buffalo would be worse than where I am in Maine when it comes to snow.

Last edited by citychik; 03-01-2023 at 09:46 AM..
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Old 03-01-2023, 10:21 AM
 
92,058 posts, read 122,237,106 times
Reputation: 18141
Quote:
Originally Posted by citychik View Post
Some of the suggestions people have made are surprising. For example, I never would have thought anywhere in Utah would have most of the features on the list. Very interesting!

Regarding snow - sure, I like it and always feel a sort of excitement when there is snowfall, but I don't ski, have a snowmobile, nor necessarily want to drive in it. In Maine, some winters have heavy snow and some have very light snow. This year, it's been pretty heavy, at least in my view. So, I don't mind living in a place that has snow, but would prefer that it not have frequent or heavy snowstorms most of the winter. I think Buffalo would be worse than where I am in Maine when it comes to snow.
It depends on where you are in the area. The area of the metro called the South Towns, south of the city, gets more snow on average due to being in the path of winds off of Lake Erie that drop lake effect snow on those communities. That means that the further north you are in the area, the less snow on average. Just so people don't think I'm making this up, here are maps that illustrate this: https://nyskiblog.com/directory/weat...-snowfall-map/

https://www.weather.gov/buf/wintersummary1415

https://www.weather.gov/buf/winter

So, that offers some context in regards to snowfall. let alone the fact that said areas also have the equipment/infrastructure to remove snow in a timely manner.

As for Utah, yes, certain parts of the Salt Lake City area such as West Valley City, South Salt Lake and even north of the city in places like Ogden, Layton and Clearfield due in part to/around Hill Air Force base, are more diverse than people may realize.
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Old 03-01-2023, 06:45 PM
 
Location: 36N 84W
185 posts, read 278,521 times
Reputation: 553
Just look across the border from you - Canada, if their government isn't liberal enough for you.
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Old 03-01-2023, 08:36 PM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,724,941 times
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Someplace in Europe
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Old 03-01-2023, 11:20 PM
 
5,749 posts, read 3,524,785 times
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One critical question that is so often ignored in simplistivc questions like this:

ARE THEY ALL WEIGHTED EQUALLY?
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Old 03-02-2023, 06:13 AM
 
Location: Hawaii.
4,859 posts, read 428,648 times
Reputation: 1131
Quote:
Originally Posted by citychik View Post
What city/town/state/region of the US would you consider if you wanted to live in a place that has:
  • Four seasons (or close to it);
  • Low crime;
  • Low or low-ish cost of living;
  • Decent to good economy;
  • Excellent medical and dental care;
  • Good resources for seniors;
  • Low or reasonable taxes (sales/income/property);
  • Strong infrastructure (roads, highways, internet, power, etc.);
  • Good public transportation systems;
  • Affordable housing options that are safe, pleasant, and in good shape;
  • No tornados, flooding, earthquakes;
  • No major problems with mosquitos, chiggers, spiders, biting flies, etc.;
  • Few or no poisonous snakes;
  • Low or reasonable humidity;
  • Diversity in religion, race, and ethnicities;
  • Little to no extreme conservatism;
  • Flourishing arts programs/communities; and
  • Support for creative/entrepreneurial endeavors.
I know that no place would have all of the above, but where would you say has a good number of them?

.
I've lived everywhere, and have seen 49 of 50 States. (North Dakota.)
I grouped these attributes: 4 seasons. Low crime. Low cost of living. Low taxes. Affordable housing. No tornados, earthquakes, floods. No bugs. Good Arts programs.

I came up with a few:
Bangor, ME.
Chestertown, MD. (Eastern Shore of MD.)
Ashville, NC
Albany, OR
Mendocino, CA

As soon as you go urban, you'll have crime. But in smaller towns, there won't be much in the way of public transportation. And I fudged about 4 seasons on this list. Ashville is bigger than the others, but there's surely more to do there, too. Chestertown is the home of Washington College. Where there's a college, you'll have music and art events. Bangor is big enough to feel urban--- almost. Albany is between Salem, the capital, and Corvallis, where Oregon State Univ. is. Mendocino has an annual music fest. Mendocino is utterly, totally quaint.

I live in the city now, but it's just for the tropical climate: Honolulu. Public transport is NOT great. The schedule of busses is such that a bus will pass by any given bus stop only about once per hour. Of course, there are switching stops and other stops where 2 or 3 bus routes come through. There is theater. Opera. My church provides absolutely splendid choir music. There is the beach. Scenery. Hawaiian poi? No thanks, I'll pass. But the mix of cultures here is stimulating, too.

The Southeast has the best roads, but then there are are all those drawbacks, too. Crime, traffic. Unless you go inland and away from the things that are fun. Except FISHING. I miss my freshwater fishing!
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Old 03-03-2023, 01:43 AM
 
Location: Midcoast Maine
762 posts, read 1,741,770 times
Reputation: 1000
Quote:
Originally Posted by arr430 View Post
One critical question that is so often ignored in simplistivc questions like this:

ARE THEY ALL WEIGHTED EQUALLY?
Yes, pretty much. Some a little bit more or less, but not by much - which is why I did not list them in order of preference. I wanted to, but couldn't really figure out how because they're all at about the same level of importance.
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