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I currently live in Indy with my partner and am looking to move. Indy is ok, but I need more natural beauty and just something different. I am 28 and my partner is 30.
In general, we are looking to live in a mid-sized city (greater than 75,000) or close to large-sized city. We could definitely live more rural-ish, as long as we are within 15 minutes of a larger city with the amenities we love: quality restaurants, organic/natural grocery stores, and living close to work. But we also love nature and my partner would love to have a large yard, or even an acre or two of land. We just want the best of nature and outdoors without giving up what we love about city life.
More info about what we want:
-Progressive city/state, but not too hippie
-Access to lots of outdoor activities/nature (biking, hiking, nothing extreme)
-We love mountains. Hills are good too. Especially love the mountains out west
-Temperate climate is fine. I dislike heat and humidity more than cold and snow. But I don't want to live anywhere that can snow as late as June and as early as Sept. Thats too short of a season. Having 4 seasons is fine. I don't need L.A. weather.
-I like having a small garden, but also try hard to buy local produce and meat. I really try to adhere to the 100 mile diet as much as possible. So somewhere with a good local/farmer's market scene
-Obviously, close to parks, but also within a 1-2 hours drive of good hiking. Close to hiking in mountains would be a nice bonus.
-Housing cost around $350K or less on average
-Closer to medical facilities, I am a hospital Pharmacist
-Close to an international airport, we love to travel
I think thats about it. Hopefully I don't get any responses to the effect of, 'If you find that place, let me know.' But maybe this place doesn't exist.
Well, I guess I shall chime in with the people who recommend Colorado to you. Personally, I hate the place, but it sounds that it would meet your criteria perfectly. You might check out the area south of Denver - North of Colorado Springs.
I can give you more details on the North Bay of SF if interested...towns like Sebastopol, for instance may be a bit too hippie for you...but there have been other suggestions of Petaluma, Santa Rosa, that are possibly great choices for you. Also Cotati is a tiny town but it is sandwiched between Petaluma and points further north like Santa Rosa. Sonoma County in general could work so you might want to check in there, since the whole area pretty much fits your checklist.
Colorado Springs/Denver area seems like it would be a good fit, even though I wasn't all that impressed by Denver. And reading that Colorado Springs got 36 inches of snow over the weekend is a bit of a put off as well. I planted all of my herbs in veggies this weekend in Indy! I don't want late-April snow. Although I didn't specify mountain areas, so I guess it comes with the territory.
Sonoma County as seems like a decent option, albeit still fairly expensive (at least compared to the midwest, but thats California for you).
Not so sure about the Albany area. I read several places that its a bit dreary. Definitely not what I'm looking for. But I appreciate the range of suggestions.
Anyone know anything about Asheville, NC or surrounding areas? Have read good things about it.
I currently live in Indy with my partner and am looking to move. Indy is ok, but I need more natural beauty and just something different. I am 28 and my partner is 30.
In general, we are looking to live in a mid-sized city (greater than 75,000) or close to large-sized city. We could definitely live more rural-ish, as long as we are within 15 minutes of a larger city with the amenities we love: quality restaurants, organic/natural grocery stores, and living close to work. But we also love nature and my partner would love to have a large yard, or even an acre or two of land. We just want the best of nature and outdoors without giving up what we love about city life.
More info about what we want:
-Progressive city/state, but not too hippie
-Access to lots of outdoor activities/nature (biking, hiking, nothing extreme)
-We love mountains. Hills are good too. Especially love the mountains out west
-Temperate climate is fine. I dislike heat and humidity more than cold and snow. But I don't want to live anywhere that can snow as late as June and as early as Sept. Thats too short of a season. Having 4 seasons is fine. I don't need L.A. weather.
-I like having a small garden, but also try hard to buy local produce and meat. I really try to adhere to the 100 mile diet as much as possible. So somewhere with a good local/farmer's market scene
-Obviously, close to parks, but also within a 1-2 hours drive of good hiking. Close to hiking in mountains would be a nice bonus.
-Housing cost around $350K or less on average
-Closer to medical facilities, I am a hospital Pharmacist
-Close to an international airport, we love to travel
I think thats about it. Hopefully I don't get any responses to the effect of, 'If you find that place, let me know.' But maybe this place doesn't exist.
Id say bellevue, washington is perfect for you.
1) close to a major city (Seattle is right across lake washington)
2) Doesnt get to hot, doesnt get to cold.
3) clean and safe
4) progressive
5) diverse
6) plenty of organic shops
You probably won't find the things your looking for in an American city back east.
Bellevue is right across Lake Washington from Seattle, and its only a 20-30 minute drive to the mountains. Tiger mountain is probably a good 15 minutes in good traffic from downtown. Plus its clean and has its own distinct downtown from Seattle and its fairly progressive. Considering that its a "suburb" of Seattle it has its own distinct skyline with a better downtown core then alot of larger cities.
I can't believe this thread got revived and that I actually saw it today, lol.
I would love to move to the Bay area...but it seems so prohibitively cost expensive. I just don't know if its worth it. Cali in general, a state I love when I visit, is very expensive.
Colorado doesn't meet you requirements. They get too much snow. Santa Fe is a progressive city with beautiful scenery. I know they have trader joes and whole foods. Close to Albuquerque for more major city needs. Maybe not the best growing season with a dry climate but it seems like a better fit based on your criteria.
If it was me it would be Portland Oregon hands down. Just love that place. It meets all the requirments. If I wasn't a Canadian I'd be living there for sure. I'm in Vancouver BC right now and it's very much like Portland. More rifraf though.
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But maybe this place doesn't exist.
