Where to next? (CA, OR, WA, or CO) (San Diego, San Francisco: college, living in)

[steinerlombard]

I'm having trouble deciding where to live.

My husband and I moved to San Francisco almost a year ago and we absolutely love it here. We love the character of the city: the architecture and history, walkability, quaint shops and restaurants, dog-friendliness, eco-consciousness, great food scene, and the natural beauty all around.

The trouble is the only place we could afford is a studio in the Tenderloin. After muggings, car break-ins, bedbugs, the never-ending hunt for parking, lack of personal space, etc... inner-city life has proved too much for us. However, we've found it impossible to afford to live in a nice area near work and commuting is not something I am willing to do.

We are looking to move to an area with similar qualities, but with more affordable living. We definitely want to stay in the West since we lived for many years in the rural south and cannot tolerate Southern culture. We want to stay in a large metro area, but not necessarily in the core. Places we are considering include Santa Rosa, CA; Portland, OR; Seattle or Bellevue, WA; and Denver or Boulder, CO. (Although we're open to other options.)

We're in our mid-twenties with no kids, but we have a small dog. We don't do a lot of nightlife, but enjoy having cultural activities available: art walks, street fairs, film festivals, farmer's markets, etc...

I've done quite a bit of research on places all over the country, and have visited most every state, but I cannot seem to find a place that fits.
I would love to hear others experiences living in/considering these areas as well as any suggestions.

Thanks!

[mayorhaggar]

Wherever you can get jobs. Maybe you'd like Oakland? Its nice parts are cleaner, less crowded, cheaper, and have less homeless people than the nice parts of SF. You say you love SF but you sound like a suburbanite. And commuting is a fact of life.

[bmw335xi]

I lived in Seattle before and really enjoyed it. It reminds me a lot of San Francisco. You have a thriving city and easy access to beautiful outdoors. I would easily be able to live there again. The weather isn't as bad as its reputation and the summers are perfect.

[Natural510]

All those places you listed are nice. Seattle would be the most cosmopolitan and similar to SF (though cleaner), but Santa Rosa is nice too, though more countrified and better for driving than walking (outside the main downtown area). Those would be my primary choices.

[CirclingLogan]

Yeah, for the price of a studio in the Tenderloin, you can get a really decent 1 bedroom in Oakland. Look in Temescal/Uptown/Rockridge/Piedmont Ave and you're a short BART trip to downtown SF. Yes, it's a commute, but it's hardly a grueling one.

[Hemlock140]

Seattle is similar in many ways but the biggest difference is the weather, and that may be a big factor for you. Portland is much less cosmopolitan and the weather is not much better than Seattle. Bellevue is much more like Walnut Creek, but with even a little more rain than Seattle. None of these cities are as expensive as SF but are not all that much cheaper. I haven't lived in Denver so can't comment on it, but there are drier alternatives you may like such as San Diego.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Of the choices you've listed I would say Portland.

Seattle has crummy transit (getting better but a long, long way to go).

BoCo has a good college town / alt vibe but is not convenient to central Denver, or you could just do Denver to overcome that. At the end of the day you will not escape the fact of being in a Front Range environment with all its upsides and downsides - a very different place from here, in most respects.

Santa Rosa is, despite its posture and recent wine industry induced improvements, a de facto suburb or exurb of SF, so why bother? You'd be 50 miles from what you really want.

[MikeNigh]

Philadelphia

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

Philadelphia

That's also a good call.

Our own list for our late life cash out relo includes a few East Coast / Mid Atlantic spots including Philly.

[wave9x]

I'm a Bay Area native, and lived in Seattle for a couple of years recently. It is a really great city, reminds me somewhat of San Francisco several years ago before the tech industry took over. However, I couldn't take the weather. There are times when you will go months without seeing the sun. And people seem more serious there, maybe because of the weather?

Have you considered Berkeley or Oakland?