OP we're plotting an escape, hopefully around this time next year. We're looking at the Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia areas for a variety of reasons (mostly family reasons). I would love to move South, but DH flat out refuses.

Anonymous wrote:Austin is GREAT. The suburbs are nice, friendly people, good schools. Really a beautiful and interesting place to live- and so much good food! The bonus being that Texas is practically recession proof and jobs are just as plentiful as ever there. And no state income tax!

no state income tax, but they make up for it in real estate taxes. The traffic in Austin if you live in the more affordable areas with "good schools" is miserable - they are pretty far from downtown. There is really no decent option for public transportation. Oh, and great jobs? Trust me, we looked - it wasn't the jobs mecca you're making it out to be. If you're a computer person, you're good - otherwise, the jobs are not as easy to come by.

You also couldn't pay me to live in any of the other Texas cities - it was Austin or bust for us. We had narrowed our options to some of the higher end areas because we refused to live in a cookie cutter TX ranchers waaay out in the burbs - we wanted to be close to downtown, and possibly even in downtown.

And again, while Austin is a more liberal place, it is still TX - and all the insanity that comes with that.

Seattle, Portland (ME or OR), San Francisco if I had boatloads of money.

Anonymous wrote:The Bay area, for sure. Or even Seattle if you can deal with the rain.

Seattle native here. It rains more in the DC area than it does in Seattle. Total myth. It is overcast more there. That said, Seattle is not some uber-affordable mecca, like people seem to think here in DC. Its expensive, jobs are competitive, Amazon, Microsoft, Goggle and Boeing are based there, but those jobs are tough to get.

San Fran
Chicago
San Diego

Dh is from Austin. I love it there however the politicians are crazy and the schools are crappy.

We lived in Durham for awhile - a great town, affordable, friendly, lots to do, and good weather for most of the year (summers are a bit brutal, but not much different than here). Being a sort of outdoorsy type though, I didn't find the North Carolina piedmont particularly interesting - the beach and mountains are both pretty much 4 hours away (well, 2 for the closest beach, but 4 for the Outer Banks). Tons of medical jobs though.

If it was me, my first choice would be somewhere in New England, but mostly because of family. Either something coastal, or western Mass. If family wasn't a consideration, I'd definitely be looking out west.

We're in Baltimore and it has a lot of what you're looking for.

We are democrats and value cultural experiences but what I'm really looking for is a low key area of friendly people where it might be possible to move knowing no one in advance (so not a totally insular community). Our jobs (medicine, nursing) should allow us to find work anywhere. Perhaps a college town?

A college town is a good idea as your money will go much further than in a major metro area.

Ann Arbor, Michigan ..its an artsy/crafty area and college town but Michigan itself is very democratic and blue collar. There is some diversity such as large middle eastern immigrant community and you have the college but you will not see the international diversity that you do in this area.

Raleigh-Durham, NC...college and research area in NC.

Boulder or Colorad Springs..not a lot of diversity but if you like the outdoors these are wonderful cities. Denver is another good option.

Anonymous wrote:Somewhere in Connecticut or Rhode Island. Providence is a great place these days and the proximity to the ocean is like constant prozac.

I love RI, but it is the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country. V. difficult there right now.

I would move back to Asheville in a heartbeat. It is where we met but jobs (or lack thereof) pulled us away. It is everything you could ever want.

Santa Barbara or San Francisco

Love, love, love Portland, Oregon.

Austin is GREAT. The suburbs are nice, friendly people, good schools. Really a beautiful and interesting place to live- and so much good food! The bonus being that Texas is practically recession proof and jobs are just as plentiful as ever there. And no state income tax!

New York City.

North Arlington. Love how we can walk to everything and are close to DC but have a lot of green and low crime.