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Background: Married with 3 kids, 7, 3 and 1 years old. Live in a nice suburb of Austin Texas. Can work remotely. Grew up in Europe, not used to the car centric nature of life.
While we are happy enough, I feel like my kids are missing out on the lifestyle I had. We are doing well financially which is great, but growing up we were never rich, but we were happy. I remember always being on my bike, cycling to the beach, the town/main street, to friends, you name it!
That life doesn't exist for my kids here in Austin.
I also must admit not being able to walk to shops or restaurants is something that is a bit of a downer for me.
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We want to investigate the possibility of moving somewhere where we can have a house but are also able to walk to a small selection of stores or cafes. It doesn't have to be NYC or Boston, in fact I'd prefer a small town I think, or at least a small town near or suburb of a big city. I think you may call them streetcar suburbs.
I cam move anywhere in the US. Budget would be 500k for a house. Preferably 4 beds. Preferably on the east coast or in Central timezone. We have family in Boston, but we know it's not within the realm of possibility there as much as we love it.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Perhaps I'm just being unreasonable with what we have...
Check out the Chicago suburbs of Skokie and Evanston. Both feature distinct downtown commercial districts walkable from home in most cases plus good schools and easy access to Chicago mass transit.
Check out the Chicago suburbs of Skokie and Evanston. Both feature distinct downtown commercial districts walkable from home in most cases plus good schools and easy access to Chicago mass transit.
An affordable option with good density/walkability that comes to mind is Kenmore NY adjacent to Buffalo to the north. You are also close to that city's North Buffalo neighborhood, which also offers walkability, shops, restaurants, etc. on Hertel Avenue and some other nearby streets.
Another smaller NY community that comes to mind is Scotia, which is across the Mohawk River from Downtown Schenectady and in a CSA of about 1.2 million. Plus, it is only about a few hours west of Boston and has pretty quick access to the Adirondack Mountains.
Also, with both of these suggestions, you have other options within a short drive within the area(i.e.-Scotia/Schenectady are minutes from Albany or Saratoga Springs/Kenmore is minutes from Niagara Falls/lakeside beaches on Lakes Erie and Ontario) and in terms of day trips(Toronto for the Kenmore suggestion and Boston/NYC for the Scotia suggestion, among others).
If walkability is the big criteria, I’d check the weather too to find out what portion of the year it’s too cold and / or slowly to wal
I think the bigger concern will be if sidewalks are clear during the winter. Streets aren't so much an issue in areas with snowy winters, but how sidewalks are dealt with is something to consider. With that said, even areas with snowy winters have multiple periods where snow thaws out and snow cover isn't necessarily constant.
I think the bigger concern will be if sidewalks are clear during the winter. Streets aren't so much an issue in areas with snowy winters, but how sidewalks are dealt with is something to consider. With that said, even areas with snowy winters have multiple periods where snow thaws out and snow cover isn't necessarily constant.
I know the Chicago area has always had accountability for local businesses to maintain side walks. Especially Evanston and Oak Park.
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