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I think Austin would be a terrific choice for many of the same reasons others have outlined. It's a very unique city with it's own identity and character, a very large population of young people, fairly low cost of living, plentiful jobs, and warm and sunny weather for a large portion of the year (although summers are uncomfortably hot and humid).
Chicago
Philadelphia
Portland
Seattle
As far as cities with character I chose these. Yes I did put Seattle on the list. Yes its real estate is expensive but no where near SF, LA, NY, Boston or San Diego.
Portland & Seattle the cloudiest but tempertures are quite moderate in winter and summer.
Chicago and Philly are surprisingly reasonable to live in with all the big city amenities.
Seattle is where I live and I love it. Dense, walkable, clean, pretty safe and very scenic with plenty to see and do. Quite liberal too.
Portland is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. Quite a surprise. Found the people quite friendly. Its downtown is quite nice and very walkable. Great neighborhoods with easy access to public transportation.
http://www.teridanielsbooks.com/States/Oregon/Portland,%20Oregon,%20downtown,%20trolley.jpg (broken link)
I've lived in Austin and I'd like to live there again. It's seems to have many more local shops than chain places and the people seem pretty liberal, socially. They have a saying. It's, "Keep Austin Weird". That about sums it up.
The pictures above me are making me want to move to Portland, though. Wow, hills and green stuff...and houses on the hills. I would love to move out of Texas, but it's so cheap here!
Those pics of Portland are beautiful. I am just going to have to visit some time during the winter months and see what it is all about.
Seattle has always intrigued me as well, and I have never thought of living in Philly, so I will ahve to give that a look.
I have heard good things about Austin, but have mostly heard that it is a college town. Although maybe it is growing up a little more now.
As for Denver, doesn't it get a lot of snow and have a fairly long winter? I like some winter, but if I am going to move somewhere with a longer winter than Indy, I am moving to Toronto.
As far as Portland, if its mountain views and cool damp weather, and a vibrant downtown, Portland has that to offer as well as an extensive public transit system. You mentioned gay friendly type communities, I have never really understood that about here, its not very visible like the homelessness and drug useage. It does have a large gay woman population, both here and in the state as a whole, but none of this is as visible as other large cities, I would say. Portland is not all that inexpensive anylonger, is well on its way to trying to catch up with seattle, although that is much higher cost. I think you are basically in a a lower cost region, I have been hearing alot about Pittsburgh, you might look into that. Atlanta is just too much of a mess traffic wise, and Austin also I hear good things about, you definitely might want to research Austin. Good Luck.
I was a bit disappointed with my visit to Portland recently. Downtown at night is dead! I love Washington park, I love the location of the nearby ocean and mountains, but the city itself was a bit of a letdown from my perspective. Plus, the far-left politics I've been reading about frequently are a big turn off for me on a few fronts. Seattle too is much the same. I love the location and what the region around Seattle has to offer. The city itself I like by day. But by night, downtown has really seen a big decay. In fact, I'd go so far to say that it isn't safe in alot of places. Pioneer Square? Why does the Seattle tourism board actually still try to promote this drug haven?
Just by looking at the title of this thread (before I even opened it), Pittsburgh and Providence were the first places that came to mind for "Big Cities with Character and Affordability." I see many other people had the same thought. Also, look into Philadelphia. It's one of my favorite cities and it's still MUCH more affordable than most Northeast Corridor cities.
See people keep saying Portland is nice, I would definitely like there...if it were sunny more than 3 months of the year. That is what I am a bit scared of. I don't require UV light therapy in the winter or have a vitamin D deficiency, but I still like the sun. Although, I have heard that most of the cloudiness is in the winter, and winter in the midwest is pretty gloomy too. So is it really that bad?
I feel like Portland has a lot going for it, but the weather scares me a bit. (Although weather isn't my main consideration, my partner wants somewhere with better weather than Indiana.)
The weather here in Portland does truely affect some people (natives and transplants.) That is why the country's leading seasonal depression disorder research is done at OHSU. BUT it really is not that bad.
I moved here from NC years ago and LOVE Portland! The rain doesn't bother me. The mud gets to me (I now have a 7 year old and 4 year old) thus I'm always doing laundry. But life pre-kids the mud or rain never bothered me.
Portland does truly have it's own character. If you like a mix of urban savy and friendly outdoor activities this is the city for you.
If you are looking for something slightly smaller with a few more sunny days (snowy but sunny) try Bend, Oregon.
BTW, Portland is still the most affordable Metropolitian City on the West Coast.
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