I’m pondering a move, and I’m interested in what things people like and what factors y’all consider important.
I grew up just outside of Boston, really enjoyed that. It’s a very small city relative to NYC or sf or the like. It never felt like I was running out of stuff to do there though. Good mix of young people cause of the colleges and rich old people and basically everything in between.
I personally don’t mind owning a car and living in the suburbs though, which isn’t I think the trend. At least not based on what I’ve seen on lemmy.
I like having a big shed and garage to work on cars and other stuff but still being able toget the city life when I’m meeting up with people or going in for dinner with my wife.
Probably New York because of Zohran
Great point
San Francisco
I love SF, but I hope OP inherited generational wealth.
Detroit, east side of the river. (Yes, that’s canada)
I don’t live in Chicago, but I work there a lot and have for many years. I love Chicago. People are friendly, it is an active city, it is an interesting blend of old and new. I haven’t run across the douchenozzle vibes that I endured when I worked in NYC and gross ass new jersey. Most people from Chicago have a lovely sense of self. They’re cool if you are. It isn’t perfect and winter is.pretty rough, but there is a lot to like.
I have only been one time, but I really liked Denver. Same friendly vibe as Chicago, mountains are stunning, city is fun, walkable, feels like a very active population.
I would only intentionally live somewhere with good mass transit. I don’t want to own a car. I don’t want to feel like owning a car is playing on hard mode.
That’s a big factor in why I’m in New York City. There’s good transit that runs 24/7.
There’s also places to go. Things to do. Saw like five bands play this summer. If a band is going on tour they’ll almost certainly play here. There’s beaches. There’s parks. You can take the train and hike up a mountain.
Some stuff is expensive but there’s deals. My favorite bar has $5 beers. My favorite grocer has $1 fruit. My friend lives in a house with a bunch of fellow queer weirdos and pays like $1k rent for their room.
I’m not really involved but there’s a lot of queer content here, too. My friend really found their people and filled a void they didn’t realize they had when they lived in suburban Midwest.
New York fucking city. There’s no goddamn place like it.
I’ve lived here most of my life, and I would never live anywhere else.
New York is life New York is love
I visited NYC for a week for the first time in June and loved every second of it. So much to do and see so I was never bored. Insanely walkable and filled to the brim with public transit. There were times I got on the trains just to ride them cause I don’t have them where I live. If I ever move out of my garbage state, that’s pretty high on my wishlist of places to live if I can find a job that pays better than my current job ($25/hr for 45-50+ hours a week) and a 1 bedroom apartment that I could afford (best ones around me are $1k/month).
Depends on what you like.
I’ve ended up in Hampton Roads, VA. Specifically on the Peninsula side, in Newport News.
I like the seasons - it’s hot in summer but not as hot as other places I’ve lived. We get snow basically every year, although not for long. The trees lose their leaves for longer than I like, but we actually have some spring and fall, not just summer and winter. Trees are nice. Being close to water is nice.
We don’t have the international food that NYC has, but how could we? But we do have a pretty good selection here.
Traffic isn’t bad even during rush hour compared to other places I’ve lived, although the bridge-tunnels back up, and there are a few pain points mainly southside, but none that are really bad.
It’s not as blue as I’d like, but it is solidly blue in the cities. We’re considered the southernmost tip of the Northeast Megalopolis. We do have Amtrak here.
I’d also take a gander at Richmond as it’s got a lot going for it as well.
Mountains are not too far to the west - they are accessible.
Thank you, that was a great breakdown. How’s the humidity?
Not as bad as Florida, but definitely worse than semi-dry like DFW and no comparison to very dry like Arizona. :)
I’ve found that shade often makes a strong difference, except when it’s near the peak of our heat. We do get up to 100° but it’s pretty uncommon. Upper 90s is about where we generally top out, with low-to-mid-90s typical for the hottest part of summer.
We are on the Atlantic (and lower part of the Chesapeake Bay), so we do get humidity from being on the coast. But our heat season makes it more bearable than Florida because we’re not at that peak heat for quite as long.
June-July-August is definitely hot, but in Texas, that’s like May-September easily. Here, if anything, this past winter I just got so done with the damn cold, but it was a bit unusually cold with a bunch of days below freezing lows. Usually winter gets cold but it’s bearable.
Of course, it’s all subjective and what you’re used to and what you can get used to. heh
I love the Seattle area but I’m biased because I grew up there. Decent public transit including a light rail, great weather, nice-ish people, great culture. Wish I could go back.
(there is a LOT of crime and homelessness though…)
In reality the crime rate in Seattle is still far lower than it was in the 90’s (just like everywhere else in the USA)
It’s great if you’re cool with junkies yelling at you all the time. But then again, all the NIMBYs made sure to keep them corralled to the areas where only the poor people live. You know- the areas with the $2-3,000/month apartments.
But the weather is delightful!
You seem nice. Anyway, I lived in south King County and visited Seattle so rent/mortgage was actually not too bad.
I forgot that junkies are a protected class around here. But that’s only the case until they are in your back yard moaning all night. Then they’re an issue.
My junkie eldest brother spent many a night sleeping on my couch, I know how it goes.
My two junkie best friends of over 30+ years offed themselves via the needle.
I have zero sympathy for them. This is a chosen path. No ignorance to claim, no fault but their own. I know people have some weird soft-spot for them, but I can tell you from witnessing it myself- they won’t ever even try to help themselves as long they are coddled by everyone.
Have you ever tried not to have a mental illness? It’s kind of the same deal. Addiction is an illness, not a failure of willpower. Resentment is understandable I guess, it truly is fatiguing to try and help someone who isn’t ready. But I really don’t think “it’s a chosen path”.
Junkies don’t become junkies for shits and giggles.
No, they do it because they’re fucking stupid.
Ok? Why are you acting like I’m sympathizing with them? Just because my brother is one doesn’t mean I don’t hate them.
Oh I’m not. I’m just expanding on my reasoning.
San Diego/La Jolla if cost is no issue. Perfect weather 24/7/365, beautiful beaches, no slow drivers, a proper walkable downtown area with an actual nightlife, legal weed; what more could one need?
If I could afford it, I would move there and never leave.
Edit: If money is an issue, then I’d pick somewhere in the woods near Boulder/Denver.
VilniUS, because it’s not inside Usa.
Minneapolis has to be up there.
Ex Midwesterner, but if I was forced to go back it would be Chicago or Minneapolis. MSP has done so much to let you get around via transit, I could consider it. I’ve kept up on all the new BRTs, the light rail extensions, its looking very nice. You should be proud of your city for sure.
Oh, I never said I lived in Minneapolis. I just had heard lots of good things about it from people who have lived there.
I don’t think the city I live in (in the Midwest) is one I’d recommend. It’s certainly not the worst city in the U.S., but it’s definitely not among the best. Call it 40th percentile-ish just based on my completely unscientific gut feeling.
I used https://www.movemap.io/explore/us after moving cross country, and after narrowing all of the criteria I cared about I ended up with only two counties left, one of which I had moved to! All of the confirmation bias in the world in that anecdote, but I stand by it being a good tool.
Currently planning a cross-country move as well and I just put in the criteria I’d like and sure enough the places I’m planning to move to match up too! That’s a neat tool
Thanks!
Are we considering cost of living? If not, probably the cities in close vicinity to San Francisco for the weather, and the areas in and around New York for the public transportation. Being not quite in the thick of it gives you more room to breathe but they are easily reachable. DC is pretty good too if you can actually live inside it.
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I’m definitely considering COL.
Toronto
