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We are moving....well, we want to....but where do we go??????
My husband and I have both pretty much lived in the Charlotte, NC area our whole lives. I ventured out a little for college but only left NC/SC for a semester (I went to school in Wayne, NJ, just outside of NYC for a semester).
So our lease is up in August of this year and we want to move AWAY....FAR AWAY!!! We're not exactly running away but just starting a new adventure on our own. So, here's the problem....where do we go?????
I have wanted to live in NYC for years but it hasn't worked out for one reason or another, plus the fact that it is sooo expensive! We are considering living in Brooklyn, another outer burrough, or we talked about somewhere in New York state or even New Jersey. That way we could at least get into the city whenever we wanted, but it's expensive to live there, too. And how much would we go into the city? Would it be worth it? Would that be a lifestyle we would want? Or would it be totally worth it to be so close to the city and still have a backyard??? Is this doable?
We have also talked about Denver, CO quite a bit because we both LOVE mountains and big cities so it's the best of both worlds! Denver has an amazing reputation for being a very "livable" place. So far I haven't read anything about it that I don't like...but that's just it, never been there. I'm not opposed to just up and moving somewhere I have never been but would this be a mistake? Would we like Denver? How do we know if we would or not? What other cities? I thought about Seattle....would we like it there?
Here's some extra info...we have been married for a little over a year and have no kids as of yet. We are social people and love to hang out with friends having a few drinks, playing games, etc. We love outdoor activities like camping, swimming, hiking, etc. Neither of us likes hot weather so we need somewhere above the Mason Dixon that actually gets seasons and SNOW! We like to shop and eat out so we definitely need a strong metro area! Feel free to ask questions beyond that
SO....opinions please?!?!?!? Do you have a favorite city? Have a suggestion? Have a place to avoid? Think we're crazy? Give me some feedback....
Take a look at the Metro Hartford area. Similar to Charlotte in size and "metroness" (Without NEARLY the congestion) 1.5 hours from Boston and NYC for great day trips without the cost and headache of living there, 30ish minutes to the ocean, charming New England towns for burbs, all the shopping you can handle, good corporate presence (Jobs), hilly countryside with 1.5 hours to some "real" mountains, a very "uncongested" feel but one of the highest density areas in the nation, TONS of outdoor things to do, LOTS of diversity in people and food (Indian, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern etc), educated population, great architecture, located on the CT River (Boating etc) 4 balanced seasons, TONS of history living all around you, and Hartford ranks as the 26th best metro area for visual and performing arts in the USA and Canada. etc etc
Take a walk over to the Connecticut forum and do some looking. You might like what you find. It's a bit of a hidden gem.
BTW, I used to live in Charlotte so I've don the A-B between them and prefer here for many reasons.
Edit: I missed the "too expensive" part of your thread regarding the NYC metro. We have some of the most reasonable realestate in the area. You can purchase a very nice home for $180-$300K depending on what you want...oh sure, we have lots of 500K plus homes too, but you dont' HAVE to live there to be comfortable and it's not about this subdivision vs that one regarding your social standing in life...we really don't have subdivisions the way the rest of the country does. (Which in my eyes is a good thing)
Hmm I never really considered Hartford because honestly all I think of is Insurance when I think of Hartford! I'll definitely look into it more! Any other places in Connecticut? I'm not at all opposed to CT but just always had the impression that CT is expensive and a little stuffy. no?
So Denver does have a metro feel to it? The only two things holding me back from Denver are 1) not a big enough city, and 2) I'm not looking to a be a "cowgirl" and don't want the western "cowboy" feel. I know that might be stereotypical but who isn't?!
Have you considered Milwaukee? It sounds like it would be a perfect fit. In addition to being a great city of its own right, you will have access to Chicago.
Milwaukee is a good suggestion...I will look into that. I've been to Minneapolis several times because my best friends just moved away from there and I was not all that impressed with it. I don't like the flatness or the AWFUL traffic!
I made that suggestion before I saw your preference for mountains. As far as awful traffice, face it, you're going to have to deal with that no matter what city you choose.
Hmm I never really considered Hartford because honestly all I think of is Insurance when I think of Hartford! I'll definitely look into it more! Any other places in Connecticut? I'm not at all opposed to CT but just always had the impression that CT is expensive and a little stuffy. no?
Haha...yea, that's one of the misconceptions. We have huge insurance companies here, yes, (keep in mind that also includes a lot of very powerful financial investment arms too.) but we are also one of the leading Aerospace and technology cities in the nation (United Technologies) along with a lot of protein sciences going on. We have corporate presence that would make a lot of cities green - it's good for the area to have it!
Stuffy? Not at all. Perhaps you'll find some of that down in the very money areas, but even then I found the folks in Charlotte were more "plastique" then here trying to be something they are not mortgaged to the teeth in the McMansion and leased Mercedes. You'll bump into a really nice guy with a flannel, jeans driving an old Volvo or something have some good conversation etc and later on find out he's worth 30 mill or something. lol
Do have a look, you might be surprised. Access to the larger cities and all that is within an hour drive is very pleasing. It's not a perfect place - where is, but it's a good city to live in.
I've lived in Orlando and Charlotte and traveled around this country a bit...I'm telling you, it's unique up here.
My conern about places like Denver etc is to me, it's like being stranded on an island. You have Denver and....I felt that way in Charlotte too.
Here, you can be in Boston in 1.5, NYC in 1.5, Philly around 3 DC in about 4.5, the coast of Maine (Drop dead gorgeous) in 2.5, the Northern mountains in 1.5-3 depending on where you go. and everywhere in between are small villages and cities and things to see and do. It's very dense here, but not congested IMO.
Here is a guide of what just in the Hartford region nevermind what I posted above:
IAs far as awful traffice, face it, you're going to have to deal with that no matter what city you choose.
Not here. We don't have bad traffic in the Hartford meto. Yes it gets clogged here and there, but overall it's NO WHERE NEAR what you find in Charlotte or Atlanta etc. Sometimes I laugh when I am in DT Hartford, deal with 5 minutes of traffic and am 15 miles East of the city getting off my exit in 20 minutes compared to my 45 minute 8 mile drive in Charlotte.
You could try some place around St. Louis. In the city there are some safe, residential neighborhoods, as well as some very urban suburbs. And you get 4 seasons. This might sound bad, but you can probably get a house in a decent neighborhood with an adjacent empty lot. You could buy that lot probably for pretty cheap, fence it off, and make a yard for yourself. Like the person selling this house has done: http://cbgundaker.com/search/advance...20377&type=res
I'll admit I don't really know anything about the neighborhood.
No mountains like the Rockies right next to it, but within a couple hours drive there are the Ozarks Mountains. Lots of lakes and hiking and nature around St. Louis. And I have seen some St. Louis City homes online listed with yards. There's plenty to do in St. Louis city, but if you want to make a weekend out of it, Chicago is like 3 hours north of St. Louis. Of course when you eventually have kids you may want to look into suburban or private schools.
Just a thought.
Last edited by STLCardsBlues1989; 01-08-2009 at 03:07 PM..
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