Tired of the DC thing
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Anonymous
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So if you moved - did anyone decided to move to a more 'laid-back' city which still had the urban aspects of DC?
I've been considering San Francisco, CA and Charleston, SC - but they both have drawbacks, mainly in the fact that the downtown historic districts that everyone is drawn to also happens to be as expensive or even more so than DC is. Charleston is in line with DC prices if a little lower and San Francisco is markedly higher. So is there a city or a small town that meets that criteria (assuming I can live anywhere)? Where would you live that has a vibrant downtown walkable district, high-end retail, organic grocery options, and friendly people? |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Moved to LA and it is way more laid back with wayyyyyyy more amenities. The fact that anyone would even be excited about walking to a Starbucks strikes me as comical- now it's my turn to sound like a snob, but when I moved in to my house the girl who leased it to me was very apologetic that there was only a Starbucks and one other coffee shop/bakery within walking distance. It's not even comparable, the kind of amazing restaurants, cultural opportunities, and shops that LA has in comparison to DC.
I'm still thinking of moving somewhere smaller. The delusion that people have who say DC is some kind of end all-be all suggests to me that they aren't particularly well travelled. On the list of amazing American cities, DC wouldn't even make my top 10. I don't think it's the worst place a person could live... but it's certainly nothing to write home about. |
Anonymous
PP here - several questions for you. A) I've been to L.A. and if there's one place with worse traffic than DC - that would be it. How did you handle that? Where you able to rely on walking and public transportation for all your needs? B) What would be the Top 5 mid-sized cities you could list? I'm more of a small city-under-a-million population kind of girl. Which is why places like New York don't work for me. C) Where were you thinking of moving to? D) How did you find the COL of living in CA comparable to the DMV area? Housing prices? Groceries? Transportation costs? |
Anonymous
A) I feel like it's just something you accept. Believe it or not, if you can stay in LA proper, avoiding the highways or major thoroughfares, I actually think LA traffic is better than DC. For example, i work downtown and live in Beverlywood. Takes me about 20 minutes, a bit longer during rush hour but nothing crazy. The other night, a picture of the LA freeways, with people trying to leave for Thanksgiving, made international news, as it was a virtual standstill for miles and miles and miles. It took me the same amount of time it always does when I left at 6, and I made it home in 25 minutes, light traffic. Again, the freeways are awful, and anytime you have to go significantly far it's a much bigger pain then I encountered trying to leave the city in DC. But traffic within LA I find to be lighter, actually. B) Hmmm. Mid-sized cities. It depends on the vibe you are looking for. Do you want something warm? Social? Outdoorsy? A hipster city? Or more clean cut? There is such diversity in American cities and that's what makes them so amazing, IMO. For example, I quite like Portland, but it is certainly hipstery in the extreme, so you have to not be annoyed seeing a bunch of people with tattoos walking around everywhere. If you give me a criteria of what you like, i'd be happy to help. It's kind of amazing what cities you end up liking or not liking, based on personal preferences. C) I want to move somewhere more rural, because my job has a work-from-home option, and I am a bit sick of traffic and city noise and the constant stress of urban life. I've never lived long term in a rural area, though I've spent months in them, so it's something I think about often, but haven't acted on. Probably somewhere like Asheville NC, though D) Housing costs are cheaper in LA and often fresh produce is, since California is the "nation's bread basket". Other than that, most things are more expensive. Eating out is usually much more expensive, though you do get the price driven down on certain products. For example, i could never find a reasonably priced cold-pressed-juice spot in DC- we have them in abundance in LA, so you can really get good steals on that and other "health/wellness" things, which are big here. Gas is more expensive in LA. I would say, overall, I spend much more in Los Angeles than I did in DC, but I also feel like the food scene is much more exciting and high quality, so it doesn't bother me as much. Hope that helps. Please let me know what your priorities are in a city and I can try to give you some suggestions. |
Anonymous
No one said this is exciting. Posters were making fun of DC fans and claimed the people who like DC think walking to Starbucks is cool. |
Anonymous
Then i agree that it is funny and people in DC would think that. |
Anonymous
You're amazing - really grateful for the thorough answers. What I'm looking for in a city: non-car dependent, social, four seasons (but not crazy like a minnesota winter or anything), friendly, and a good mix of racial/ethnic diversity. I don't mind hipsters at all and I love a good coffee. I'd like a city with some history and more 'traditional' architecture, a congenial atmosphere - farmers markets etc, with an awesome downtown or historic district, and not in the Southwest. The idea of Newport, Rhode Island really draws me but at the same time it looks so small that I wonder if its a 'families who've lived here for generations type deal' and everyone else is outsiders, you know? Basically I think I'll end up on a coast somewhere, I just have to *find* the magic place. I did a mini-road trip to Asheville, SC and to Charlotte, NC - but the former was much too small for me. I saw most of downtown in a day and then you need to get on the freeway to go anywhere else. As for Charlotte, its also really car dependent. Charleston really made me fall in love - it had everything on the wish list except for the four seasons. |
Anonymous
The problem is that you have a good setup now but what if you want to change jobs? You can easily get yourself in a bad situation in LA with the traffic. Clearly a lot of people sit in traffic and it's not like they prefer to spend their time that way. Not dealing with traffic in LA is like having a rent controlled apartment in NY - count your blessings and hope nothing changes. |
Anonymous
You're looking for utopia or maybe SF, which as you know is extremely expensive. |
Anonymous
Ann Arbor, MI Madison, WI Denver or Boulder, CO |
Anonymous
Yes, definitely. Sounds like you are looking for a lot of the same things I am looking for (with some difference) and it's truly amazing how going to a city can change your whole idea of it. Places you thought you'd love you end up hating and places you had never thought of you end up loving! I wonder if I had an intuition that you would like Portland, and that's why i threw it out there, because it really seems to fit all your criteria so perfectly, funnily enough.  For a city in the west it's shockingly walkable- they have this incredible trolley system so you can really go anywhere and be totally carless. A lot of the neighborhoods are also incredibly photogenic and cute so walking through them is a treat. People are pretty friendly (especially when you compare it to other cities in the PNW). It kind of leans white in terms of racial diversity but there also seems to be a lot of mixing and openness- it's not a city that seems racially divided. It gets all four seasons and fall is particularly amazing and vivid there- but it does stay pretty temperate. The coffee is AMAZING there and the architecture is surprisingly historical and beautiful- though much of it is from the early 1900s versus the older buildings you will find in DC. Definitely a lot of farmers markets and those kinds of events, and the COL is much lower than here.
I feel like cities in Tennessee might really fit your criteria also. Nashville or Knoxville. I have spent some time in the Roanoke area of Virginia, which I think would be too small for what you've described. Have yet to spend time in the cities of Tennessee, but it's where I plan to visit next, to get a sense of them. Another city I would throw out there is Reno NV. Walkability is less overall, but they get all 4 seasons, a low COL, and a really cool vibe. Definitely a hipster population, with cool places to eat and closeness to the beauty of Lake Tahoe. People are really friendly and it just has a cool vibe. San Francisco is wonderful, if you can afford it. It is sooooooo shockingly expensive though- for me, I couldn't justify paying what people pay to live there. I have a friend who rents a loft for $4000 a month, and there is a homeless encampment outside her front door. That's a problem all over the west, both in Los Angeles and Portland, though IMO it's markedly worse in both Seattle and San Francisco, where the situation seems almost completely out of control. But on the rest of your criteria, San Francisco definitely fits the bill- beautiful seasons (but fairly mild temps), can be totally carless, hipsters, great farmers markets, and so historic. Seattle might also work, although i find the people to be insufferably rude. You also kind of need a car there, as the public transit system is downright God-awful. You could ostensibly live without a car if you never left the city, but you would need one if you want to go anywhere you can't walk to. Or you could take the bus, but they are always crazy crowded and have to drive down the HOV lane of the highway since there is no rail system 
I hope that helps. I definitely recommend taking a road trip if you can, and spending a couple days in each place to get a read for the vibe. Sometime some place will have all the features you want, but there will be one thing that's a dealbreaker, as was the case for me in Seattle with the people there. It's good to go someplace for a while and feel it out- wake up and walk to get coffee, imagine how you would spend your day. We should keep each other updated on where we end up cause it will probably be similar places, haha |
Anonymous
| ^I forgot to mention Dallas. Dallas has all the features you described, though you will need a car, though you can certainly live in a part of the city where you would very rarely have to use it. It does get 4 seasons, although obviously less vivid fall/winter than on the east coast, and a very hot summer. Other than that I think it definitely aligns with what you described, particularly certain areas like Deep Ellum, Uptown, or downtown |
Anonymous
We're like twins! I swear I've been considering Seattle or Portland (mainly because I fell in love with the cityscapes on NBC's Grimm). I happen to really enjoy rainy weather so the Washington cities have been of interest to me for awhile. I just haven't visited an area that far Northwest before and my family happens to be on the East Coast - so the idea is a bit scary. I think I will need to spend a few weeks out there and see if it gives me an even better vibe than Charleston, SC. Then there's the question of if I want to move to a city that's basically as expensive as DC or just stay where I am. I was considering smaller cities which I also knew I'd be comfortable semi-retired in - though I'm not even mid-thirties. It's just a weird dynamic of planning ahead and looking for a vibrant culture. |
Anonymous
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^I'm in the exact same boat, looking for a rainy city too! So funny. I really liked the area around Seattle, but the people are not very friendly there either. That's why I'm considering the areas in Tennessee, same area as you. I've never been to Asheville and haven't explored the east coast as much, even though I was raised in DC. But I definitely intend to. My dream would be to be in a place deep in a forest, but close to where I could drive to get a morning latte. Not gonna, happen, I know... but I can dream, right?
We are like the same age too (I'm late 20s) and I am thinking of a place long term, to maybe raise kids or where I could live long term. It is strange- you still want a place with other young people so you can socialize but then you're trying to plan far into the future... |