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.
Since you are looking at more eastern areas due to family location I'd add Williamsburg, VA. I copied and pasted my post below from someone's thread about being happy where you live.
I've moved around the country a bit with the military. The most enjoyable city I lived in was Williamsburg, VA. It's quite touristy, with Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens/Water Country USA, among many other historic and commercial sites in the area, but as a resident you can avoid most of those places during the peak times in the summer. There are lots of non-touristy things to do in the neighboring towns and in Williamsburg proper. The areas east and south of the University are quiet, but have shopping, a movie theater, restaurants, parks, and the very excellent library. Hardly a tourist would venture there. Then from late Sept to late May for the most part they are all gone, and the tourist locations aren't busy and available for the locals. Plus, plenty of water sports on the rivers and Chesapeake Bay year round. Norfolk, Richmond, and D.C. are close by for bigger city events. It's a pretty sweet area.
The weather is mid-east coast mild. Plenty of rain at times, but very little snow or ice storms. Just a couple a year usually. Humidity year round, but it didn't seem as oppressive vs. Oklahoma City where we also lived. I'd say it's due to the amount of water nearby that moderates the summer temps a bit. Williamsburg itself is fairly blue, but the smaller towns around are much redder. The population is pretty diverse all the way down the peninsula. Also, many military bases of all branches of the services in the area, which is good or bad depending on how you feel.
Thank you for the suggestion! We hadn't considered Williamsburg. How do you feel it compares to Virginia Beach or to Charlottesville?
What a wealth of information in this post! Thank you for the level of detail. You mention that the south doesn't prioritize health, exercise, or outdoor activities. Where do you think does?
Would you be willing to expand on the far-left ideologies you felt were stifling in communities you considered? We have some of that in the Northeast, but I anticipate it's not as intense as places like California.
But the prioritization of health begins with you.
I can't imagine that somewhere like Charlottesville, with a public Ivy, affluent population, etc., doesn't have a health conscious community that you could get involved in.
Richmond has the James River for kayaking, a good amount of city parks, and it's relatively close to both the mountains and the ocean for weekend getaways. It's also reasonably close to DC if you need big city things.
Colorado frequently gets a lot of the healthiest state metrics, but many of the people moving there are already outdoorsy, health conscious types, who move there for the outdoor opportunities.
You can find communities like this basically in any mid-sized metro or larger.
Williamsburg suggested on page 3 of this thread and briefly mentioned on page 2 of your NC forum thread. Good for ejime pitching it further and successfully.
I can't imagine that somewhere like Charlottesville, with a public Ivy, affluent population, etc., doesn't have a health conscious community that you could get involved in.
Richmond has the James River for kayaking, a good amount of city parks, and it's relatively close to both the mountains and the ocean for weekend getaways. It's also reasonably close to DC if you need big city things.
Colorado frequently gets a lot of the healthiest state metrics, but many of the people moving there are already outdoorsy, health conscious types, who move there for the outdoor opportunities.
You can find communities like this basically in any mid-sized metro or larger.
This is a great reminder -- thank you! We don't have Colorado on our list because of the cold, but maybe it's worth the winter, so we will have to visit and see. Maybe later on in life.
In terms of health conscious, I think I will have to adjust my perspective a bit. I am used to the NYC version of health conscious, which has a more frenetic energy. With that said, any mid-sized metro or larger is going to have a variety of people, and I'm sure we would find our fit. Great reminder to look at the size of the city as an important metric. Thanks!
This is a great reminder -- thank you! We don't have Colorado on our list because of the cold, but maybe it's worth the winter, so we will have to visit and see. Maybe later on in life.
We lived in Colorado for 20+ years. Based on your description I believe myself and my wife have pretty similar "wants" from a place to live, although we don't mind having a winter. Living in Fort Collins, and after that a western suburb of Denver, I never encountered any issues with neighbors ranting about politics or religion. There are lots of interesting things to do, many of them being outdoors oriented.
We moved out of the state in 2013 (for my work), so when we lived there it was admittedly a different era politically speaking for the country. We still have friends and family in Colorado however, and I haven't heard anyone complain about that changing much since we moved. There is a homeless population in Denver, but of course this isn't an issue unique to Denver. From what I can tell, the main issues are related to overcrowding. Staying away from the Denver metro area would help on this front.
Thank you for the suggestion! We hadn't considered Williamsburg. How do you feel it compares to Virginia Beach or to Charlottesville?
Most of Williamsburg feels much more rural than Virginia Beach to me, as long as you are away from the tourist attractions in both cities. In VB you run into Norfolk pretty quickly. You have to go a few miles before you run into Newport News outside of Williamsburg. Going north out of Williamsburg, there are only small towns till you get to Richmond.
For a Charlottesville comparison... I've only been there a few times. It is much more of a college town with UV playing a much bigger influence on the city than William and Mary. The area surrounding Charlottesville is very nice and very rural in a good way to me. Certainly big water and beaches are further away. I like both Charlottesville and Williamsburg.
So late to this thread, but you might want to look at the Heights neighborhood in Houston. The area is loaded with millennial families. The neighborhood has many hiking and biking trails and had some great restaurants. The climate is great from October to May. Summers can be a bit brutal. While Galveston is not the best beach, it is only an hour away. Houston is a major airline hub and has direct flight to many cities.
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.
