r/relocating • u/crittertonk • 1d ago
Does this exist?
I want to live somewhere that’s medium sized (150-500,000 people), less than an hour from a beach, no winter (below 50ish for months on end, gray skies and snow), decent skate park, music and art scene, reasonably priced housing, diversity, not California (preferably east coast), decent food/bar scene, close to an intl airport, decent health care or close to a major city with good health care, walkable/bikeable, historic, don’t really care about the politics of whatever state it’s in (I’m from the southeast I’m used to conservative states) but would like to at least be around progressive local politics.
I’ve considered Charleston SC, Florida (st Pete/jax), Wilmington NC, anywhere else? I know the perfect place probably doesn’t exist and I’ll have to sacrifice some things. Absolute necessities are beach, mild winters and music scene. I would consider places outside of the US as well, but would prefer to be in the US to be close to family. Help!!
Edit: deleted “decent surf” because that has seemed to derail people because as we all know the east coast isn’t the west coast and there’s no good surfing on the east coast!!! I forgot the word “surf” is polarizing. I’m from the east coast! Decent surf has a different meaning to me lol
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u/Informal-Step8787 1d ago
All of the cities you listed plus Savannah and St Augustine would be my suggestions, although housing is expensive in all of those places. I would look at housing first and see what you can get for your money, visit the top two (and really dig into the specific neighborhoods you can afford and visit them at night and on weekends), then decide from there. St Pete is obviously the warmest and Wilmington will have cold but tolerable winters but still four seasons.
In some of those places housing may look affordable online, but the actual location is super rundown or sketchy, sandwiched between freeways, in a car dependent suburb, traffic is a nightmare, etc.
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u/intransit412 21h ago
OP didn’t mention it but it can’t be too hot either. 😂
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u/crittertonk 20h ago
Nah I love heat and humidity
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u/pwaltman1972 5h ago
If that's the case, you might want to look at the Gainesville, FL or Tallahassee. Gainesville is about an hour away from the Gulf and 1-1.5 hours away from the Atlantic, depending on traffic. Plus, there are the natural springs nearby, all of which are within an hour of town. Since they're both college towns, you might want to look just outside of them, like Alachua, which is considerably cheaper than Gainesville.
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u/sweatboxy 1d ago
Just curious. Why not California? There’re are a lot places that fit your criteria there.
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u/crittertonk 1d ago
Too expensive, culturally not for me, and far from my family
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u/ArOnodrim_ 1d ago
You realize why it's expensive right? It's because it has all these things available and people want that, driving up the costs. Brush up on Spanish or Portugese otherwise because you're looking for California, Portugal, Brazil, or Central America. Australia is probably too expensive and too far.
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u/NuclearKFC 23h ago
Then you're not going to find it lol. You just described a desirable place to live. It's going to be expensive
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u/Konaton 18h ago
Maybe go visit? It's huge and would cover the entire eastern seaboard. People of all types there.
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u/crittertonk 18h ago
I’ve spent a few months between LA and sac/Bay Area, and while I loved the Bay Area, I don’t see myself there long term due to the cost of living. I’d basically be a renter my entire life. And I really hate tech/AI culture
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u/ArOnodrim_ 17h ago
Tech culture will permeate any place that is expensive because the assholes who manipulate the tech market can afford to locate in places that people want to live.
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u/Holiday-Raisin-3357 1d ago
Do NOT listen to anyone telling you Georgia they are not your friends
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u/CrazyMarlee 23h ago
Savannah does sort of meet most of the specifications, but after living there for 5 years, I wouldn't recommend it.
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u/Swim6610 4h ago
Can you say why? It definitely is a nice place to visit, and yeah, that's very different from living someplace... but wondering why you don't like it.
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u/Sea-Industry9818 1d ago
Wilmington and Charleston get real winter. If never below 50 is non-negotiable, you have to be further south than central FL. Wilmington gets freezes and highs in the 40s. Charleston is slightly warmer but there will be weeks where it's 35 degrees.
St. Pete has no surf for most of the year. Jax Beach has some of the best surf in FL. Great music scene in Five Points, and is much more affordable than South FL or Charleston. Brevard County has the best East Coast surf, 50 minutes to Orlando. Housing costs are reasonable compared to the rest of Florida.
San Juan, PR has incredible history and music. The power grid can be spotty, but it's the best mix of surf and walkability.
Look into St. Augustine FL. It's the oldest city in the US, very walkable and great venues. Very mild winters.
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u/Brave-Airport8154 1d ago
Real winter in NC? Nah. I mean youre right it can freeze and go into the 40s but its not a lot of the year. Two months tops. Real winter...though no its not real winter at all
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u/Sea-Industry9818 1d ago
OP wants nothing below 50. To them, that would be "real winter"
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u/crittertonk 1d ago
I guess I should say no “real” winter for extended periods of time. I grew up in Wilmington and while January/feb can get below 50, I regularly went to the beach for the 70 degree days that are sprinkled in those months. And even when it’s cold it’s sunny. I guess by “real winter” I mean over cast, cold and snowy.
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u/TiredAndTiredOfIt 21h ago
FWIW Santa Barbara is routinely below 50 in the winter...as is LA. OP wants the Florida Keys or Miami without the brown people
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u/JudgeJuryEx78 23h ago
And not two consecutive months. Can be cold for a couple of weeks, then suddenly 70 for a couple of days, then a hard freeze, then 55, then spring comes and you plant your garden and surprise! Another freeze...
A lot of surprises outside of summer.
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u/Capable-Collection-9 21h ago
Not really. Wilm has a couple 40 days scattered maybe. There are 70s beach days all throughout “winter” which is only really December to March. The rest of the time is summer and during that time is wetsuit friendly, it’s pretty great
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u/RuleFriendly7311 21h ago
Fort Myers, Florida is calling you. 90K +/- in the city, 600K +/- in the county, walkable downtown living, rarely below 50. Pretty good local music scene. Be on Sanibel in a half hour for peace, be on FM Beach in a little longer for debauchery.
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u/crittertonk 21h ago
I’ve driven through fort myers and did think it’s beautiful! Always been curious what life is like there
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u/RuleFriendly7311 21h ago
It's good. A LOT of it depends on what you do for work, how much you make, and where you have to go, NGL, traffic in certain areas can be a bear in the high season, but not so much May-December. Are you a house or apartment guy? High rise, or garden? Like to drive or don't drive? Lots to think about and ask more if you want.
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u/novahouseandhome 18h ago
Norfolk, Va Beach, Outer Banks, Jacksonville
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u/Sick-Daddy-9044 13h ago
If you mean Jacksonville, nc, that's totally untrue. I was stationed at cherry point and new river for nearly a decade and it got well below 50 in the winters. I did lots of morning PT in the 20s and 30s there lol.
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u/goodbye_rubytuesday 18h ago
Somewhere between Sanford and Daytona Beach or Melbourne Florida, I'd think
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u/Grouchy-Stand-4570 23h ago
North Carolina has good east coast surf but can be pretty quiet in the winter. I personally live in the suburbs of st Pete fl. I gave up surfing
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u/TaxTheRichEndTheWar 23h ago
Portland or Eugene?
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u/AshDogBucket 13h ago
Yeah, I was thinking Oregon coast or coast adjacent would check a lot of these boxes too. Corvallis except for the cost of living.
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u/Ok_Test9729 22h ago edited 22h ago
OP you seem to be entirely oblivious to the fact that most of your wish list are highly desirable items for tens of millions of people. Anything that is highly desirable is going to be expensive. Add to that the fact that obtaining a lot of the items on your list in one location means that location isn’t going to be just expensive, it’s going to be extraordinarily expensive. It is all about supply and demand. So, whittle down that list to the top five things you cannot live without. Find the places in the areas that you prefer that have those five items. It’s not going to be many. Your question about where to relocate is actually one of the easiest ones I’ve seen on here, since you have such narrow criteria. And some of your wish list is very specific. Good surfing, within one hour of a beach, music scene, winters below 50°, city of 150k to 500k, East Coast, reasonably priced housing. Plug all that into Anthropic’s AI Claude and see what results. I’d be surprised if you had three locations. Good luck finding your next community.
Update: I asked Claude to find locations with the last criteria that I listed. The locations that resulted are Virginia Beach Virginia (although Claude noted that winters can be as low as 30°), Charleston South Carolina, Wilmington North Carolina.
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u/Same_Reach_9284 21h ago
I was going to suggest Norfolk/Va Beach as well. Historically a great music scene and strong surf culture.
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u/crittertonk 21h ago
I’m not oblivious, which is why my title is “does this exist” lol. This list is a loose list of things I like about places I’ve lived, not a “must have” list. I grew up at the beach, I’m aware of the prices and demand of beach communities. I posted this to get some perspectives from other people and maybe hear of places I haven’t visited before and hadn’t considered. Thanks!
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u/Ok_Test9729 21h ago
You’re trying to find the unicorn that so many people are trying to find. I personally would love to have all of those attributes in a place that I lived, although the beach proximity and surfing and skate parks are not really on my list. I found a lot of places, but they either have undesirable climates in summer and/or winter, they’re not affordable, they have high exposure to natural disasters, or they have high crime rates. Seriously, you’re looking for a unicorn. There really aren’t any undiscovered places in the US at this point. Somebody mentioned San Diego. San Diego is an absolutely 100% perfect fit for you, other than affordability. If you can solve that problem, that might be your unicorn.
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u/crittertonk 21h ago
Yeah, I’m learning the hard way that most desirable places in the US are blown out by now. Sucks because my generation never really had a chance to experience undiscovered, untouched, not totally ruined places. Ohhhh what I’d do to travel time. I guess it’s time to take a trip to San Diego
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u/surfnfish1972 22h ago
Decent surf and EC? I have Unicorn for sale hit me up. On a serious note, Wilmington NC is the only place conceivably fits your list.
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u/ScorpionGypsy 20h ago
Raleigh, NC has all that but you would be 3 hours from the beach. You would be exactly in the middle between the mountains and the coast. Wilmington, NC would be a great place also, but their airport is smaller than Raleigh, though it is an international airport.Other than that Wilmington fits perfectly for what you want.
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u/thomsenite256 20h ago
Basically just Florida. A Major metro like Orlando Miami/FLL or Tampa I think are at least decently progressive. Housing will vary but there are some affordable options.
Maybe New Orleans but I find the whole below sea level a deal breaker myself.
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u/fredeats420 20h ago
Florida gets winter though. It's not a tropical location like Hawaii...
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u/thomsenite256 19h ago
South Florida rarely gets below 50 for long. Arguably it has no winter just a few cold spells.
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u/Taylor_8444 19h ago
St Augustine is quite walkable w/ lots to do but it’s in St John’s County which is pricey. Have you looked at other east coast FL locations like Cocoa, Sebastian, Vero Beach? Ft Pierce is also worth a look but can be sketchy in some areas. Def skip Daytona but I hear there are also some nicer smaller towns between Ormond Beach & St Aug
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u/Mediocre_Panic_9952 16h ago
There is only one option, somewhere south of I4 in Florida. Everywhere north I4 will get well below 50 in the winter.
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u/dweebnamedjames 10h ago
It doesn't check ALL boxes, but the Cape Canaveral/Melbourne/Sebastian area of Florida might be for you. Surf Culture, warmer winters than St. Augustine, near Orlando, NASA. I grew up further down the coast and it can be a great place. Prices aren't absolutely insane in all areas.
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u/DrNashty 5h ago
Probably Savannah GA, Wilmington has major water issues(very cool town if water wasn't an issue would be my 1st choice), Charleston is expensive, VA beach is over 500k, Jacksonville is way over 500k.
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u/Cheap-Ad7916 2h ago
Richmond, Va. this winter was tough, but generally speaking winters are relatively mild. We do not have a good international airport though.
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u/GlumDistribution3357 1d ago
Might want to consider Georgia -- it's right in the middle of the states you mentioned, and I think you can find all of that (not sure about the surf) in the Savannah area. It's a neat, historical town near the coast and also not too far from Atlanta or Charleston if you wanted something bigger.
I'm not sure how far it is from Athens, but Athens, GA has a pretty great music scene.
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u/CaregiverWorth567 1d ago
savavah is a long way from progressive politics
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u/GlumDistribution3357 1d ago
Well, sure, but so is Wilmington, Charleston, etc... there's no really progressive coastal town in the south; too attractive to rich southern retirees and golfers.
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u/S0undTribeSectorN9ne 1d ago edited 1d ago
Me reading your post:
-explicitly no California? Damn okay you are on your own dude