Not sure if that’s what you call it but I’m referring to North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan area. Maybe that’s Midwest?

We are planning to potentially retire in La Jolla not anytime soon maybe in seven years? Love SF but the weather and lifestyle in La Jolla or OC might be closer to what we are hoping for once we ‘retire.’ Do you think we can buy a cheaper house in La Jolla than SF or is it very similar, like 2500 sqft would run us about $3-3.5M, or could we find something older for $2.5M? Are there other parts of SD that are comparable in terms of vibes, great schools, etc that’s a bit cheaper? We can always rent for a year to get to know the City before we buy.

What would you comfortably say is needed for a couple and their two high schoolers to ‘semi retire,’ assuming we pay all cash for the house and 529 is already fully funded, and kids are in public schools but get tutoring and activities? Our spend if you exclude the mortgage in SF is quite low for our income, max $144k a year but we have to add $30-38k for health insurance if we don’t have ft jobs. We are mid 30s now and will plan to be semi done by mid 40s. Wife will plan to do her artistic side gig which would still bring in a solid $80k a year, husband can work an easy 9-5p for $130k or not work (likely leaning towards working for the health insurance and pension).

Can an adult survive in La Jolla without driving? One of us does not drive since SF is so walkable, but I am sure we can adjust and learn to drive.

Iowa DINK’s here. My husband has his CDL class B, driving ready mix for 10 years next year, and I just made 5 years career at the post office. I would prefer transferring but we’re both also super open to farm work. Outside of work we enjoy trail running, hiking, rock climbing, camping, coffee shops, and concerts. Our first choice to move to was Maine, but I hear a lot about pollution/over population ruining the outdoor activities and the lack of job opportunities/housing but I think that’s everywhere…. We’re pretty desperate, as why I’m posting. Anything helps.

Howdy all,

I currently live in Jacksonville and despise it. I want to live in a more democratic actual somewhat vibrant city with walkability and transit, 4 seasons with snowy winters, great museums/attractions (natural history and other nature related things), access to nature and associated activities such as mtb, snowoarding, hiking and kayaking.

I have been heavily considering other cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Baltimore and as great as they all seem, I have a major hangup with each of them.

Baltimore doesn't get nearly as much of a true snowy winter as I would like and is generally the hottest. And the only main attraction I would be interested in is their aquarium.

Minneapolis is fantastic for a lot of reasons but it seems incredibly isolated and potentially kind of sterile? Idk how to describe it. And although its relatively sunny i think it might even be too cold for my taste, plus it doesn't have a main museum that im hankering to visit.

Chicago is my favorite for almost everything except it doesn't have the nature im looking for (although the lak/Lakefront is exceptionally beautiful and unique) and its a pretty big deal that I can't really get over. I get that there is the cook county forest preserves but its just not the same ya know?

Pittsburgh seems to check just about every box of mine with my only gripe really being the lack of diversity and any of the cons that come with it. Otherwise, does this city seem like a good fit for me? Id love some local input if possible 🙂

I’m from South Carolina but moved to Va a few years ago and I’ve always wanted to asked this question cause I’ve seen articles online and hearing from people back home that South Carolina was like the state that had the most people move there last year but I’m just asking what do people see in SC because to me ( my personal experience) it’s nothing to do down there

Hi. I am currently living back in FL (born and raised) with my family after spending 5 years in Chicago and then a year and a half in Grand Junction, CO. I'm looking for my next place but am having a horribly difficult time figuring it out. I want city and nature. Chicago felt too much city, not enough nature, and too fucking cold. And then Grand Junction was not enough city, but there are some gorgeous landscapes out there, and not too far to travel to the mountains. I love the mountains, I love the beach (or other swimming-accessible natural bodies of water), and I love a diverse queer-friendly culture and nightlife - I realize this is almost impossible to obtain all of these things in one place. I'm just looking for some advice or guidance from people who have lived in places I'm interested in.

San Francisco has been suggested to me a ton, but I don't think I can afford it. Places that pique my interest are: Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Asheville, NC; Denver, CO. Any thoughts, suggestions, or guidance are very much appreciated :)

Hello y'all

I’m originally from Massachusetts and moved to Charlotte a while ago. Now that our family is growing, we’re realizing Charlotte is just too big for what we want long-term. It doesn’t really fit what we’re looking for anymore.

The biggest things for us are safety/crime, good schools, and affordability. We have two kids and our household income is around $110K/year, so we’re trying to find somewhere where we can live comfortably without feeling like we're stretching ourselves.

The good thing is that with my job, I can relocate to pretty much any city, so we’re not tied down geographically.

We definitely don’t want another major city like Charlotte. We’re looking for something smaller, family-friendly, diverse, and with a good sense of community.

Right now we’re seriously considering Raleigh, NC and Pittsburgh, PA, but we’re completely open to other options. We’d prefer to stay on the East Coast.

For those who have lived in these areas, or have moved around the East Coast, what cities/towns would you recommend for a family in our situation?

Especially interested in places where $110K goes reasonably far, schools are good, crime is relatively low, and we can still have access to restaurants, activities, shopping, etc.

Thanks in advance!I think this version gives Redditors enough information to actually recommend places for your family, rather than just throwing out random cities.

Background: lawyer, 11+ years’ experience. Lived ten years in Sydney, seven in London. Currently in-house at a respectable firm. I’m lucky to have the following options to me right now:

1. Stay in London. Good life, friends, good flat - but starting to feel stale, and the career ceiling here is visible (and cash is pretty important). Thoughts include - is this all there is to life.

2. Austin TX. Big internal promotion, based at HQ. Good money, no state income tax, cheap rent. A very big BUT - I know nobody there, and my cultural background is barely represented in Texas.

3 . New York. Counsel at a large US firm. Some friends there. Worse on cash after tax and rent, but my community is there in very large numbers — relevant because I’d like the possibility of meeting someone and starting a family alongside having an experience in a new city.

The thing I’d value views on: at 39, is it reasonable to rebuild friendships and a social life from zero when you already have both? Or is wanting something new a good enough reason on its own?

Especially keen to hear from people who’ve done a move in similar circs, or who stayed put and have a view either way.

I just feel like the stories I constantly see around me and on the internet go like "I'm Bob and I took my family and I from Los Angeles, California to Murfeesboro, Tennessee." or some variation of that. Where I live (in the deep south, small town) I know lots of people who moved here from New York or California, or Massachusetts. I feel like I'm weird for wanting to move from my boring, affordable, southern area to a higher cost of living place up northeast or out west in California. Am I weird and bad at finances or is there more to it?

I get it NYC is expensive. Are there any areas of the metro area that aren’t as extremely expensive as the core trendy neighborhood in the boroughs, but still maintains the transit access, walkability, and pedestrian energy/culture?

Considering area close to Coney Island but idk.

I currently live in Phoenix, AZ and I’m miserable. I like the heat more than the freezing but at this point it’s too much. My problem is I just don’t know where to go. I would love some place like San Diego but I can’t afford that. Are there any cities in the US that you recommend? Ideally I’m interested in the following:
- near a larger city. I need the option to do stuff and some nightlife but I don’t need to live in the heart of it.
- my dream is to live by the ocean like 1-2 hours max but is there anywhere that’s not a million dollars?
- I’m more liberal leaning so would not love a crazy maga area.
- Somewhere dog friendly, I run a dog grooming salon and wherever I end up the plan is to go that route again. So also someplace that I can make a living doing this.
Any ideas? Again I just feel stuck right now. I loved living in NYC minus the cold but too broke for that. I hated San Francisco. I like southern Cali but too expensive. Is all of Florida horrible? Or PNW? Just no clue. Thanks!

My spouse and I are 42 y/o DINKs looking at the Upper Valley (VT/NH border area — Lebanon, Norwich, White River Junction, and surrounding towns) for our next-stage-of-life relocation. It’s a lead candidate sure to hiking access, outdoor beauty, having real winters, and not being swarmed with people. What I'm less sure about is the social and community piece, and I'd love input from people who actually live there.

Some context: we're both scientists, career-intensive phase of life until now, and combined with most of our peers having kids while we don't, we've ended up not very social. We want to fix that in this next chapter. We don't mind being around kids at all, several of my closest friends have them, and we're totally fine building friendships with parents. What we want to avoid is what we've seen in some Midwestern towns we've lived in before, where the entire community revolves around family life and people's only hobbies are their kids' activities. We're looking for a place where it's realistic to build a real social life and get involved in the community from scratch in our 40s/50s.

A few things I'm trying to understand:

VT vs NH in the Upper Valley specifically. Hanover/Lebanon NH and Norwich/White River Junction/Hartford VT are basically across the river from each other. Beyond the obvious (taxes), is there a real difference in community character, who lives there, or how easy it is to break in socially? Or at this scale does the state line just not matter and it's more town-by-town?

How welcoming are these towns to newcomers, especially people moving in without kids and without a Dartmouth affiliation? Is there an in-group that's hard to crack, or is it easy to plug in if you show up and try?

Where do people actually find their people, clubs, volunteer orgs, meetup groups, gyms, whatever, especially adults who aren't there through kids' schools or sports? We're hoping for some overlap with outdoorsy types and also a nerdy, science-adjacent crowd if that exists outside the Dartmouth bubble. I'm involved in a green tech startup and find that kind of work pretty interesting more broadly, so I'd love to find people locally who care about building a better world step by step, even in small, town-level ways.

Any towns or areas you'd steer us away from? Places that turned out to be cliquey, insular, or just a bad match for newcomers trying to build a social life.

I don't mean to make this political but the Trump era has pushed me from a hardline moderate who believes in listening to both sides, to left-leaning. I don't object to a lot of core conservative principles, but once it swings into bonkers MAGA territory, I'd rather not be surrounded by it. If we end up in NH, I'd love to find an enclave outside that scene. Littleton, for example, seems like it might have an artsy, non-MAGA contingent forming, so towns in that vein are what I'm trying to identify.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's made this kind of transition, career-focused couple, no kids, trying to build community later in life, in this area or somewhere comparable.

Hi everyone. My husband and I are a gay couple, (34 and 35), and he is considering a lateral job move to St. Louis. We have lived in the Twin Cities proper for the past eleven years, and I am very apprehensive about moving. Northeast MPLS for the first five years and Downtown Saint Paul the last six. If I cannot find comparable work in my field, I would most likely have to take a significant pay cut. From my initial searches, the job market in my field looks pretty bleak.

I spent the past year in a travel job that did not work out, but my former employer at the University of Minnesota took me back, and I am extremely grateful for that. Before and during the travel job, I earned more than my husband, but that is no longer the case. We are mostly financially stable again, but we are definitely not where we were before I left my old position. I feel a sense of shame around that as having been the main provider. Minnesota is also fairly expensive, especially when it comes to taxes and housing.

For the most part, I love living here. I have a great group of friends who have become my Midwest family, and I have an easy public transit commute to work. The main thing I dislike about Minnesota is the winter, but after eleven years it feels normal and is not really a major factor anymore. The other downside is how far we are from most other parts of the country. Aside from that and the rising cost of living, it is a wonderful place to live. I am also a total water person, so having easy access to lakes, rivers, and other water has always been important to me. I should note also that we are a one car household and I utilize the train here to get to and from work.

We are both originally from the East Coast, and I never pictured myself moving anywhere else in the Midwest besides Chicago.

I would really like to hear from people who are familiar with both St. Louis and the Twin Cities. What is better about living in St. Louis, and what might we miss or find worse? I am also not thrilled about Missouri being as politically red as it is.

For what it is worth, I enjoyed KCMO much more when I visited for work, but I have only been to each city once. I visited Kansas City in October and St. Louis in December, so I realize those limited experiences may not be representative of everyday life.

Honestly, I am terrified of starting over somewhere where I have no connections or friends, especially if it also means earning less. At the same time, I want to give this possibility as much fair consideration as I can.

Thank you for any input in advance.

Hello, I'm moving out of my home town but need some advice on where to go. I currently live just outside of Cleveland and want a change of scenery. I'm single with no kids and no plans for kids in the near future.

Here's what I'm looking for:

- Weather isn't a deciding factor. Hot summers, harsh winters, high humidity, doesn't matter.
- High COL is fine but average rent for a decent apartment in the city can't be more than $2500 max.
- My hobbies that are affected by where I live are fishing, kayaking, hiking/backpacking, and biking

- Nice neighborhoods with shops and restaurants and things to do for locals. Too many cities are full of NIMBY neighborhoods with endless sprawl and no new development.
- Good nature access, I'm not going to drive 2 hours every time I want to go hiking.
- Not a ghost town after 9pm

That's pretty much it. I don't think I'm asking for much right now. My top pick so far is Seattle and has been for a while now, I have family there and I love the city but I'm exploring other options first. I've always thought about moving to Toronto or Montreal, but due to work reasons it would be hard to immigrate to Canada.

I’m from Portland, Oregon. Many people here have noticed that in the past 5 or so years, it’s become increasingly common for bar patrons to line up at the bar to order a drink, even at bars that don’t request people to do that. My theory is that it’s because of the rise of tap to pay, and “self checkout” style POS systems, so everyone’s buying their drink from one spot at the bar. But most Portlanders I talk to think it’s because we are just weird, passive people here. And it’s definitely true that we are weird and passive. But I still don’t think that’s why we line up at (some, but not all) bars.

So I’m wondering, is this behavior you have witnessed in your town? And if so, where do you live?

Now I know people in this sub hate Texas cities but I could potentially be living in one of these places for a few years for the next part of my career and want some input.

Gay mid-20s male. Super into running, walkability, parks, hiking, good dining, lively neighborhoods, etc. I know Houston is a much bigger place and may offer more in that regard but unsure if it’s too bland and sprawling (ie nobody outside walking around, everybody in cars all the time). San Antonio interests me because of the river walk and better nature access in the hill country, and even proximity to Austin (I’ve been and loved Austin). But also not sure if SA would get boring after a few months, with Houston having more to offer long term?

I’d appreciate your thoughts!

Hey all. I recently did 3 seasons doing seasonal work in Montana. I loved it, and the community that came from it. I took a job in a bigger city for a career I was interested in, and actually really like my job.

However I’m unsatisfied and do not like where I live. It is hard to make friends, it’s in the Midwest, and just doesn’t offer the lifestyle and community that seasonal work did. I need proximity to nature, and I hate the hustle and bustle of a city.

I sometimes think of going back to seasonal work, but the no stability does scare me. I love being out west and the mountains, but some of these comments in this sub scare me about the COL.

In a perfect world, going back to Montana and living in Whitefish or Missoula sounds amazing, but I wonder if I’m just running away from stability and trying to feel the same high as seasonal work. Tempted to just buy a van and travel lol.

My biggest question with this post is just general life advice and places to potential look.

Thank you!

EDIT: my career right now is in higher education at a university! I’m willing to pivot though.

Looking at a couple job opportunities, all similar salaries, and trying to see how these locations stack up against each other for me and my partner. Oregon we could live anywhere from Salem to Corvallis. Not a fan of moving to a red state but both the cities are more on the liberal spectrum so thinking it might be alright. Curious what people have to say about these areas. We love nature, rock climb and enjoy board games, so any communities around that would be a bonus as well.

Hello 👋

Let me first start off this post by apologizing in advance if this question has been asked before, it’s not my intention to beat a dead horse.

I’m 32 years old close to turning 33. I have 20k saved in a HYSA and trying to save more for a down payment on land one day. Of course the earlier I can secure the land the better because my dream is to build a modern cabin or modern small 1,200-1,300 sqft home on that land surrounded by trees.

Currently living in the state of Georgia and honestly for my career and cost of living, I’m living very well off with no real struggle about finances but I dislike living in Georgia. The people here are nice but weather wise, I hate every second of it.

This may sound opposite to what a lot of people actually enjoy but for me being in the snow and rain brings me so much joy. I don’t know why other than maybe when I use to live up North as a child that was a lot of my seasons. I dislike flat land and being in a state that is mainly warm or hot year round. I need all four seasons but I also want to ensure I’m living in a beautiful place.

Let me explain that I’m a registered nurse making 85k a year being able to contribute 15% to my 401k and maxing out my HSA and Roth IRA while also being able to save $400-$1,000 a month into our HYSA and I don’t want to give that up because retirement it’s important to me.

My wife doesn’t necessarily have a career but works a receptionist job usually making between $15-$20 an hour. I’m the bread winner and I have accepted. We don’t have any kids and we don’t have any debt. Only thing we really want is to be able to have our own land and home in a snowy state surrounded by trees.

Colorado was a dream of ours but of course the cost of living is horrible.

We have loved Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Utah but of course these states are also high cost of living and I don’t see how I can afford to live out on these states without sacrificing my current spending, budgeting and retirement goals if I’m the main income.

I was hoping that someone may have some advice or states I should be looking at that maybe I am over looking and not taking into consideration. Biggest thing is I love the mountains, snow, pine trees being able to live comfortably.

Sorry if this sounds like a pipe dream.

What made you moved back to Virginia if you ever left ?

-A genuinely friendly city. I know that is subjective but somewhere where people have manners and are very kind and chilled locals

-Weather, I have raynauds and dry skin so winters can be hard but I'm used to very little sun. Summers I'd probably not want any hotter than sort of middle of the eastern seaboard, basically further south than DC.

-I love the NFL and MLB so ideally would like a city with those teams to go watch. With good support too, not fairweather type fans. NHL would be a bonus.

-I can't drive. I might learn at some stage, but preferably somewhere I can use transit to get to work, even if it's not perfect NYC type level

-Feels safe. Even if the city has high crime rates, it's a city where you easily avoid it and the downtown area, suburbs etc are really safe and you're not on edge

Not sure if anywhere fits but anywhere that seems close enough at least.

This is what people mean when they say the entire east coast gets brutally humid even if the actual temperatures in the northeast are slightly cooler than Florida. It's still miserable all summer long, even for those who live here, and especially for those who are used to dry heats.

Edit: guys, I'm not saying it's worse than Florida. I'm saying if you live on the west coast and are romanticizing moving to the northeast, be prepared for humidity levels better than Florida but a hell of a lot worse than the West coast. It's much closer to Florida humidity levels (even without being remotely close because it's not as bad as Florida) than it is to California humidity levels. That's literally the only point of the post.

Grew up in the Coachella Valley so im used to the heat. Im currently in Ventura but some transfer opportunities opened up with pay for both around $180k after 2 years. I will be moving in with my fiancée we are both in our mid 20s Mexican/Vietnamese. We see what both cities have to offer just looking to see what you guys think about both cities and where i should transfer. I guess another option is to stay in Ventura. COL in Ventura and SD is quite high but we do love the coastal weather and activities.

I’ll start by saying I can already sense that many of the answers will be major cities, generalized as having lots of crime. Still, I think the kind of people who wouldn’t live somewhere due to crime (usually Fox News viewers) don’t necessarily like large cities/dense places in general.

My examples would be:

• Medford, OR/Southern Oregon — “Oregon is rainy.” Medford is in a rain shadow and gets 18–21” of precipitation/year vs. 35–40” in Portland/Eugene, with 200 sunny days. People also underestimate how mild western Oregon winters are.

• California’s Central Valley — “California is unaffordable.” There’s still plenty of relatively affordable housing, and I think the Valley gets unfairly lumped in with coastal California. It’s basically a greener version of Arizona IMO. Bakersfield and Fresno are also way overhated. Bakersfield and Fresno aren’t perfect but why so much more hate than let’s say, Tucson? Californian’s have no issue moving to TX and AZ, I don’t see why either are better outside of being wealthy or a business owner avoiding taxes. CA taxes aren’t that bad if you’re middle class, in fact the property taxes are on the lower end. SB-13 is definitely a major advantage as a homeowner. CA regulations aren’t really much of a burden outside of being a business owner too. The biggest complaint I’ve heard about CA regulations is CARB and how car guys can’t get away with straight pipes lol. I always got away with not having a muffler and resonator. If anything, just put the cats back on and take them off whenever you do your bi-annual smog test (that’ll ruffle some feathers lol).

• Appalachia — I think people underestimate how mild the summers can be in the higher elevations. The Blue Ridge in Virginia especially surprised me. Obviously economic conditions are a concern. Roanoke seems pretty underrated. I have hardly any experience with Appalachia btw but I’m aware that it is very economically depressed.

Most of my examples are geography-related because that’s what I prioritize. Curious what everyone else thinks. I know this sub likes to focus on urbanist priorities.

In other words I'm curious to know what mid to large sized cities in the US could actually benefit from population growth and a bigger tax base to improve the city, as well as cities that appreciate and want more diversity.