Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
After reading this, I now would suggest southern Maine for you, Portland in particular. It meets every one of your criteria, moreso that anywhere Upstate that I can think of. Portland is Maine's biggest city but is really more of a large town. Acreage in Maine can be found west of Portland a bit, but that's also where the mtns begin, and just a few towns west of Portland is very rural. I camped just west of Portland during November, maybe 15 miles away, and had complete solitude on the road and in the woods.
If you like the scenery in TN, you'd love the scenery there, because not only is it green and mountainy like beautiful eastern TN, you also got the rugged coast. The last thing I'll say too, coming from the South and not being used to cold and snow, southern Maine coast could be more sunny and less snowy than other inland Upstate areas.
It also really has many old churches and history, few if any will care about your religion, and is a progressive, gay friendly state. Your question about Southerners being up here, is no, there are not very many Southerners living in the Northeast. Hearing a Southern accent will arouse curiosity in most of the Northeast, but its a generally friendly inquiry if someone asks, and I'd consider it an easy ice breaker rather than an intrusion.
You may find some places Upstate as well, but just be careful Upstate. Its very hit and miss in certain areas, and many of the cities are block by block on what is nice and what is run down. Maine is generally nice almost everywhere. Suburbs are generally really nice though, Upstate. Also, NY is in a deeper fiscal crisis than any other state in the US. I don't know how that will play out, but just something to be aware of. That said, with a good, stable job and average income, you can live quite well in many areas of Upstate.
Ahh, see. I keep going back and forth between Portland and NYS. Portland really appeals to me, but I do worry about the cost of living and high taxes there. Also, our job searching in the Portland area has yielded few to no results.
Oh yeah!!! ...and before I forget! I would like to live near some culture, as well. At least within an hours drive or so. I'm thinking food meccas, primarily. I haven't been able to experience very much cuisine outside of southern cooking and Mexican.
What may help is that many areas of Upstate NY are reasonably close to some major cities in the Northeast and Canada. So, if you lived in a town like Lewiston or Wheatfield in Niagara County, that puts you closer to Toronto and some other, while still living within the Buffalo metro area. That portion of the Buffalo metro gets less snow in average too. With Maine, outside of maybe Portland, Boston may be the best that is reasonably close, in that regard. Bigger cities in Upstate NY are more diverse than Portland and Ithaca being a major college town has many food options as well.
Cities around can be block by block, but you also have some chunks of cities that are fine as well. So, it depends on where you are like most cities of any size. For instance, in Syracuse, an area you may like is Westcott Street due to having some different food offerings and is in a nice area of the city: https://maps.gstatic.com/m/streetvie...754376717,,0,0
Other Upstate cities have similar areas as well.
Another state to look into that has been mentioned is Massachusetts and in particular the Amherst/Northampton area. It is known for being liberal and LGBT friendly, with an overall COL that is closer to the national average in comparison to other parts of MA. Western MA, if I'm not mistaken, tends to be more affordable compared to most of New England.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,549,562 times
Reputation: 6253
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexKnox
Hmmmmm. Maybe I need to better explain why I want to leave the south. Lol! I love the scenery here, so your recommendation about the Appalachian foothills is great! However, I am not religious, at all. So, if the people there are anything like the people here, I would like to steer clear of that.
Are southerners taking over up there????
I would like to be around a more liberal population of people. I don't mind the culture of conservatism (like sports, hunting, fishing, etc...) but I do mind the politics. I would like to be around a population that has more socially liberal people.
I will put it this way, if I could keep the scenery here, and trade the people, I would. Lol!
I didn't list my criteria though, so thanks for being helpful.
I will list my criteria here, and hopefully that will help.
I know that there will always be exceptions to the rule, but if I could I would like to find an area that most closely fits the following:
-LGBT friendly
-Socially liberal
-Can be close to the city, just not IN the city
-Needs to have acreage available for sale
-Mountains
-Rivers, lakes, streams
-Not oppressive regarding religion (you do your thing, I will do mine. You won't give me dirty looks because I am heading to the mountains rather than church on Sunday).
I do love to look at old churches and old graveyards, though. That's the historian in me.
Oh! Which reminds me:
-A lot of history and historical buildings to explore.
Not too much to ask for, right???
As CK said people tend to live and let live there. There's a streak of "to each their own" even in the church crowds.
That is one beautiful aspect of the north I suppose.
Ithaca is definitely liberal, especially being so close to Cornell. I think you'd love that area. It's a small city with plenty to do surrounded by hilly country side and only a couple hours (if I remember properly) by car to the Catskill mountains.
You can definitely find land in the area if it's still as I remember it.
Now, I'm looking at Ithaca, Buffalo, Albany, and Portland. I'm still tossing around the idea of West Mass.
Something to keep in mind is that Italian food up here is as common as Mexican food would be in Texas. You can find a range of ethnic food, as well as styles.
Now, I'm looking at Ithaca, Buffalo, Albany, and Portland. I'm still tossing around the idea of West Mass.
If I had to order these 5 areas based on what you described as being important, from best to worst fit:
Portland
Ithaca
West Mass
Albany
Buffalo
Best chance for work in your field (which is also my field) would be Buffalo and Albany, but Ithaca could be a possibility as you could live 1/2 way between Ithaca and Syracuse (like near Cortland, NY), get acreage, and have access to better work opportunities and access to Ithaca pretty easily.
The pluses to Massachusetts and Maine is that they are doing much fiscally better than NYS. So, long term, that could be something to consider. It makes for a tough decision!
Last edited by VintageSunlight; 07-25-2013 at 12:30 PM..
If I had to order these 5 areas based on what you described as being important, from best to worst fit:
Portland
Ithaca
West Mass
Albany
Buffalo
Best chance for work in your field (which is also my field) would be Buffalo and Albany, but Ithaca could be a possibility as you could live 1/2 way between Ithaca and Syracuse (like near Cortland, NY), get acreage, and have access to better work opportunities and access to Ithaca pretty easily.
Good point and I was thinking about a place like Homer, which could be a happy medium.
I think Hudson, New York would be perfect for this person. You get the small-town/liberal vibe and the closer proximity to jobs and the city. It's close to Albany, the Catskills and relatively close to NYC.
I think Hudson, New York would be perfect for this person. You get the small-town/liberal vibe and the closer proximity to jobs and the city. It's close to Albany, the Catskills and relatively close to NYC.
Could Catskill also be a good option near Albany? What about Ballston Spa?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
