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Is there any town out there that still retains that 50's flavor, with mom'n pop stores, main street, diners, taverns and nice houses (no cookie cutter suburbia)? Preferably in the NE, but I am open to other suggestions.
You want to find some very liberal towns that have that. Beware, these towns are more expensive than any others.
Santa Cruz and Berkeley are two in mind in CA. Near where I live where have a small town that has no chains at all and it's at 6,000 pop. Cambria.
Nantucket is all Main Street charm and cobblestone streets. We do not have any chain stores or restaurants here, thankfully. Great, free, accessible beaches and top-notch dining. I live here year round and I do not recommend coming here in the winter. Summer is where it is at - or even through October. This is the only place where I have walked alone and felt wonderfully safe. Starting a small business here is not a good idea, if that is what you were considering. I can give you more info about that if you want.
Waupun, Wisconsin. Over 10,000, No Walmart or other chain store. (I think there is an Ace hardware) One of the supermarkets is a chain, the other is locally owned. The nearest city of comparable size is about 15 miles away, which has a WalMart. No large chain restaurants, but there is a McDonalds and a Subway. Lots of taverns. All stores and restaurants, including the supermarkets, were closed on Sunday until about 25 years ago, and many still are, which might explain why there is no WalMart. Cost of living is about the same as any other town around there. No slums, virtually no minorities until very recently, very little cookie-cutter development.
Two motels. The town has several legitimate tourist attractions, but hardly anybody ever goes there and it's rare to see an outsider in the streets.
Last edited by CowanStern; 05-28-2012 at 06:32 PM..
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