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Nobody has mentioned it, but Rochester New York is a great mid to larger city on the great lakes. It has tons of culture including the wonderful philhamonic orchestra and Garth Fagan dance as well as much more. There are endless festivals throughout the year highlighted by lilac festival and jazz festival. It is ethinically diverse and the political climate leans well toward liberal. The schools are about as good as any other city mentioned and the universities are top notch. The cost of living is also very affordable, you get alot of house for your $ there.There are several areas of the inner city to stay away from like northeast and northwest but these are small ghetto areas, the rest of the region is pretty low for crime rare. The only negative to the region is somewhat high taxes and an avg. economy, but there are MANY more positives than negatives. Did I mention the lakeshore? Lake ontario shore in that area is as nice a waterfront as there is in the US, with natural white sandy beaches. Also you mention skiing, well there are a number of great ski/snowboardplaces nearby like Bristol on the finger lakes. The weather is also cold in the winter months, but if Minneapolis is high on your list, Rochester should not be a problem.
I went to Rochester for college! Isn't that funny. I didn't like the cold weather, but it does have its positives. Strange, how I overlooked it. Maybe Minneapolis is a larger version of Rochester?
I've done a lot of bars and parties around the DC area in the last 5-6 years, as well as some sporting events and wine festivals and lots of other stuff. But I've almost given up on women in DC because I'm tired of their pretentious game-playing and elitist uppity-ness. At least the ones that I have met and dated.
Yeah that's a pretty good summary of women in the DC area. I'll even add that while they say they 'just want a nice man who'll love them,' they really are concerned about image, money, and career.
As a DC-area native myself I've been wanting to try another part of the country myself for years and my top list is, in no particular order:
(bigger cities)
Portland: nice vibe, decent pub trans, not too expensive yet, supposedly dreary weather
Albuquerque: great weather, great landscape, no ocean
San Diego: Perfect but expensive
San Fran: hip but extremely expensive
(smaller cities)
Santa Fe: artsy/ecclectic, wonderful landscape, great weather, not so hot job market, expensive, no ocean
Flagstaff: college town, great scenery, not so hot job market, no ocean
I recently had a friend move from Maui to Portland and he loves it. He's very open-minded and liberal and says he and his girlfriend (who is a vegan artist) feel right at home. On the other hand, I just had another friend move from Portland to Oakland and he said the first thing he noticed was how much nicer the weather was in Oakland (and who likes Oakland? Heh). He said Portland can be very gray, similar to Seattle. Personally, I'm not sure I could handle the cloudiness.
I hadn't even considered Louisville, but I'll at least check into it with all the positive views expressed in this thread. The main drawbacks I see to it are that it's not anywhere close to an ocean and that the weather is probably going to be swampier than DC.
For me, it's tough to leave the rock-solid and high-paying job market here in DC, but I figure if I'm going to pick up and move, I might as well do it soon.
For me, it's tough to leave the rock-solid and high-paying job market here in DC, but I figure if I'm going to pick up and move, I might as well do it soon.
I'd like to check out burque, too.
You can at least try to find a job in a town 1-2 hours away from DC. Or if you already have a job downtown, get a 2nd job, preferrably retail or bussing tables, in one of those distant towns (frederick, winchester, etc) provided that you live in the middle between them.
I work at Best Buy in Frederick, and it's been great.
bouldercool: Do prices drop off significantly as you head north of Boulder? Are there nice outlying areas? And what's your opinion of Fort Collins? Actually, anyone is welcome to respond to these questions, I'm curious because Boulder has a LOT of land to the north and east of it and I can't imagine the expense being so high as you get away from the nicer areas of town. It's not like Santa Barbara, where there's no room to grow so prices can only go up.
Last question: Is Boulder cool or are YOU cool in Boulder?
That is kind of a tricky question to answer. I am not currently in the housing market so I am not very sure. Bouder as been a hot spot for so long, and the growth here has been awesome. I don't think that prices fluctuate to much in the northern direction in particular. If the cost is an issue, look to housing that is farther away for the Flatiron mountains. Any property with a view of these bad boys is going to sky-rocket. I live around the university, so rent is in my opinion is much cheaper. Anytime you look at moutain property know that the price will be high. Mountains still cradle the northern area so it won't be much lower. Little shacks that lie in the city limits, right next to the mountains, can sell for close to a MIL!!! It is very hard to find a bad area of town though to give you some direction as to what to stay away from. Sorry I can't be more specific.
I'm am glad you asked about the outer regions. Boulder is an amazing place for almost everyone. I have not met a person to date that hasn't fallen in love with the area the moment they set foot. But I think some people get to hooked on the Boulder idea. Yes it s great, but so are many of the other places around it. Louisville is spectacular!! Housing prices are very similar to that of Boulder, but it isn't as crowded and you get an excellent outdoor feel. Even moreso than Boulder proper, and that is really saying something!
Ft. Collins is like my home away from home. It is so great and I visit the mountains there frequently! It was ranked as the best place to live in country and for good reason. Now, I don't live or work there, but I have nothing negative to say for the area. Perfect for families, and while it is big, like everthing in Colorado, seems far smaller then it is. I would look into it for sure. Housing is cheaper than Boulder, and I know it has more jobs. Also check out Colorado Springs. It is another awesome city! In the same survey it was ranked as the best big city.
Revisiting Minneapolis - one thing that is holding me back from that city is what I've heard about the mosquitos in MN. Are they as bad as people say they are up there? I'm allergic to mozzies... when I get bit by one, nothing happens at first but 24 hours later it swells up like a balloon with a hot reddish rash that taxes nearly all of my self control to NOT scratch it.
Well I hate to be a buzzkill, but if this is really the case then you need to cross Texas cities off your list. Mosquitos, spiders, bees/wasps, scorpions, ants, crickets, ticks, flies etc. are all ABUNDANT in Texas. If bugs aren't your bag, I'd suggest you look somewhere else.
Also, about Houston... you might want to take into consideration the pollution. It has gotten so bad that I refuse to even visit there anymore.
Thanks for the tip about insects, kcarb. I will certainly take that into consideration, but it won't be a major issue in my final decision (like job location).
My concern with the Denver-Boulder area is that I hear it's very religious, and religion is not a huge part of my life. Is that the case?
How about Savannah, GA? regularly cited as a great place for the more politcally liberal, despite its southern locale. beaches in 17 miles from city center, LOW cost of living, large community of artists due to Savannah College of Art and Design, laid back attitude, GORGEOUS architecture, big old trees hung with Spanish moss, AND one of 5 place in the country that allows open alcohol containers in the streets (granted, in a small area), which gives you a little taste of pre-Katrina New Orleans. i hate cold weather, so i am admittedly prejudiced against Minneapolis and Denver, but both are fun towns.
lots of negative posts on here about Savannah, mostly due to people that seem to be afraid of anyone nonwhite (sorry guys, but its true), but i think its charming and so lovely im moving there at the end of the month. feel free to PM me if you want more info. i am in DC too, and know exactly what you mean about wanting to leave. took me a while, but i am very excited about my choice- i think its one of the best-kept secrets in the US.
My concern with the Denver-Boulder area is that I hear it's very religious, and religion is not a huge part of my life. Is that the case?
Responding as a non-native to that region, just someone who has visited the front range a few times and know people who live there, the religious areas are mainly in Denver's eastern and southern suburbs and in Colorado Springs. The latter is a very strange city. I felt freaked out when I was there and I couldn't figure out why. It had the weirdest layout. It's absolutely gorgeous as far as nature and terrain are concerned, but it's just a strange city that I didn't like and I felt very uncomfortable there. As I drove north of the city I saw the sign of the Devil: an official state freeway exit sign that said "Focus On The Family" next exit. Or was it the Eagle Forum? I don't remember which, someone here will know what I'm talking about. It made sense to me. Aha! NORAD is buried under Cheyenne Mountain, there are a lot of other military facilities, and there are huge right-wing Christian organizations there. No wonder it felt creepy.
Ask not what your city can do for you ..but what can you do for your city.
If you do find Shangra-La please post it's location.
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