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Old 10-15-2009, 12:42 AM
 
Location: SE Kansas
29 posts, read 142,143 times
Reputation: 30

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I would LOVE some help in choosing a place to move to. I currently live in a reeeallly small Kansas town, but I need to get out!! What places should I check out? Here is my wish list:

-Affordable!! I mean...as frickin cheap as possible, especially real estate.
-Low crime rate. My ideal is to buy a cheap house (less than $50,000) in the ghetto. But I want to live in a city where the ghetto isn't THAT bad as far as crime goes.
-VERY VERY walkable and bike-friendly with good public transit (preferably a rail system that connects to other cities too!)
-Population around 100,000
-Nice weather (no extremes)
-Lots of trees, parks, hills, and rivers/lakes/waterways are always a plus
-Progressive/liberal atmosphere, but not pretentious. I'm still a chick with redneck, country roots after all....
-Friendly people!

I know that no place is gotta fit the bill perfectly, but I'm hoping to find something close.

I've already considered plenty of places in Oregon, please give me some other (warmer and cheaper) ideas!

Thanks!
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Old 10-15-2009, 02:45 AM
 
Location: 30-40°N 90-100°W
13,809 posts, read 26,468,735 times
Reputation: 6783
Carrboro, North Carolina is quite liberal, apparently has a high percent going to work by bicycle, and its violent crime looks below average. However it might not be as cheap as you want or is too small. Flagstaff, Arizona was listed by as Arizona's most liberal town and has a high percentage going to work by bicycle. Flagstaff doesn't look all that cheap or safe though. Tempe looks cheaper and I think it's considered liberal. Los Alamos, New Mexico seems to have a fair amount going to work by bike, I believe is liberal, and looks fairly cheap. It's a good deal smaller than you want and I don't know its crime rate.

I'm guessing Lawrence, Kansas is out as too cold or small.

How progressive do you want or need? Stastically speaking social-liberals are more likely to be upper-class so that may cause socially liberal places to trend toward expensive. (Being conservative myself I'd be tempted to say this is because you can afford to be socially experimental if you have a good education or wealth to fall-back on. If you're a poor uneducated person getting caught with marijuana or a bad relationship can have more consequences) If your "liberalism" is more about economic and foreign policy issues it might be a bit easier.

Last edited by Yac; 12-15-2020 at 04:08 AM..
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Old 10-15-2009, 02:35 PM
 
Location: SE Kansas
29 posts, read 142,143 times
Reputation: 30
Thank you so much for the suggestions, I will check them all out. By progressive, I guess I really mean more environmentalists and peace activists than average. And lots of options as far as health/local food goes, along with yoga, natural health, etc. I've lived in Lawrence before and liked it a lot, but my husband hates Kansas + cold weather.
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Old 10-15-2009, 03:45 PM
 
92,172 posts, read 122,417,225 times
Reputation: 18172
If weather wasn't an issue, I'd say that Ann Arbor, MI would be perfect. Maybe Gainesville FL......
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Old 10-15-2009, 04:25 PM
 
Location: Alaska & Florida
1,629 posts, read 5,368,764 times
Reputation: 837
Parts of Denver such as Westminster, CO

Boulder, CO would be the most ideal, but it's not cheap

Parts of Portland, OR
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Old 10-15-2009, 05:05 PM
 
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,358,543 times
Reputation: 12187
Maybe Asheville, NC
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Old 10-15-2009, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Somewhere below Mason/Dixon
9,437 posts, read 10,720,728 times
Reputation: 15903
Ann arbor Michigan and Ashville North Carolina are liberal towns, but they are surrounded by socially conservative countryside. If your really that liberal you should probably look toward the Northeastern States. Massachusetts maybe?? Not cheap out there, but you wont find too many truly liberal places in the midwest or south.
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Old 10-16-2009, 01:40 AM
 
Location: OUTTA SIGHT!
3,018 posts, read 3,551,059 times
Reputation: 1899
If there were such a place it would draw thousands instantly and then be instantly expensive as more people poured in who hadn't heard the word yet driving up costs.

Good suggestions so far though.
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Old 10-16-2009, 07:49 AM
 
26,888 posts, read 43,390,908 times
Reputation: 31604
I'd recommend Durham, NC.

There are some great areas in East Durham (aka nice ghettos) that are undergoing gentrification and fixing up. This Old House Magazine named East Durham as a Best Old House neighborhood this year.
East Durham, North Carolina | Best Old House Neighborhoods 2009: The South | Photos | Home & Real Estate | This Old House

Durham is quite green (in all senses), liberal/progressive and bike friendly/walkable. Transit is okay which might be the trade off. Your "liberal redneck country roots" would fit right in. Central NC also enjoys a mild four season climate with about three months of each season. It's also midway between the mountains and the beach, about 2 hours to either. I lived in Durham for 5 years and really would like to move back at some point. The East Durham neighborhood really offers up some great housing opportunity in terms of quality of house and investment.

I also stumbled across this information as well:

Bull City Bungalow: Cleveland-Holloway Neighborhood (http://www.bullcitybungalow.com/2009/04/cleveland-holloway-neighborhood.html - broken link)
The Cleveland-Holloway Neighborhood
Bull City Rising (http://www.bullcityrising.com/ - broken link)

Good luck!

Last edited by kyle19125; 10-16-2009 at 08:06 AM..
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Old 10-16-2009, 07:50 AM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,570,570 times
Reputation: 4543
Quote:
Best affordable, "progressive" cities in US?


Lets hear a few more suggestions.

I want to know which cities I should avoid.
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