where to move? best place in the us.

[Jaydenrainey]

im trying to move somewhere different, this last year has been an amazing amount of bad for me and i need some adventure/new experiences. ive been researching places all over the u.s to find a place to live for a couple years. tempe arizona, portland oregon, los angeles. it keeps changing and i cant decide. so out of curiosity if you could live anywhere in the u.s where would you and why? ive only been to socal, illinois and arizona so im rather uninformed about the rest of the country.
thanks for any input in advance i know you guys cant decide for me where to live but i thought it would be fun to get some different perspectives on this ))))

 

[FrecklesXxX]

I've been wrestling over this very same thing for over a year, which is why I traveled so much in that time. Can't say where I'd rather live, since I'm about to move there lol! One couldn't answer your question without asking you: What are the things you LIKED about the places you have lived?

Obviously there are important concerns such as: which climate do you prefer, cost of living in each city (city-data.com has some useful info), how far are you willing to travel to move all your stuff, how far away do you want to be from your friends/family, culture and vibe of the city, proximity to nuclear power plants and factory farms which poison the water supply (I noticed you're into healthy living), etc. This site shows where factory farms are by county: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:a ... ;year:2007

I noticed you also don't eat meat. There's a lot of cities which are waay more veggie friendly than others. Having lived in several places (like Mexico, and the southern U.S.), for me this was definitely a great place to start. After all, you gotta eat! Here's one list I found useful.. http://veganbits.com/best-places-to-liv ... e-a-vegan/


This is all I can think of at the moment.. good luck!

 

[Jaydenrainey]

haha i find it cool that first on that list is portland. ive had an attraction to portland for quite some time now.
as far as climate goes im not picky. as long as it isnt super snowy all year round im good. i like heat and rain. i am looking for a place that is very vegan friendly, pretty and has culture.

 

[Jupiter551]

Hawaii!

 

[schlmoe]

Hawaii!

Yeah, Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island are all pretty awesome. Cost of living and employment are a concern. In the same vein, Key West is bad-ass...but not many jobs.

I went to Portland for a temp job that lasted 15 months. I liked the Portland area a lot. Very family-friendly, very eco-green, etc. Cost of living a tad high, but manageable. Other parts of Oregon might be worth a look. No sales tax in Oregon, either.

Lived in DC area for almost 2 years, and during that time, I traveled quite a bit up the Eastern Seaboard for work. No offense, but I can't recommend DC, NYC, NJ, Boston, etc. Not for me. Chicago is hit and miss for me. Cleveland and Detroit were mostly misses for me.

Currently, I live in a small, rural town in the Upper Mid-West. I'm sure that you could find a similar "small town" experience in most states. There are a lot of positives that I like. Crime is mostly non-existent. It is extremely cheap to live here (I paid my house off in 3 1/2 years, my yearly prop. taxes are $750). There are definite negatives. The residents are mostly friendly, but wary of outsiders. Even if they don't know your name, they'll know what you do and possibly make snap judgements. The "rural telegraph" runs 24x7. For years, I was treated like an alien, I was the weird guy who "did things with computers", or the weird guy "who worked on the internet" (yes, I have been stopped in the stores and asked that). A few years ago, my doctor's new nurse thought my insurance card was fake because she never heard of my company (IBM). Just recently, I feel some sort of acceptance. I'm beginning to be known as the "flower guy" or the "BBQ guy", which is a step up from the "weird guy"...lol! All and all, I can recommend living in a small town as long as you know the drawbacks.

Like you, I expect to relocate in the near future. If I have my choice (job dependent), it will be in the Texas Hill Country, around Austin (grew up near there). Otherwise, the sweet-spot for climate/cost of living, I would choose somewhere between Kentucky/Tennessee eastward to North/South Carolina. Where ever I end up, it will most likely be in a small town.

Good luck!

 

[Jupiter551]

I spent a few months in Kentucky years ago and LOVED it. Great people, great music scene, Louisville is big enough to have everything you want and small enough not to be so impersonal.

 

[EveCates]

haha i find it cool that first on that list is portland. ive had an attraction to portland for quite some time now.
as far as climate goes im not picky. as long as it isnt super snowy all year round im good. i like heat and rain. i am looking for a place that is very vegan friendly, pretty and has culture.

Pretty, vegan friendly and culture sums up Portland! Lot's to do, big city feel but also small and quaint enough that you don't have terrible traffic, crime, etc. Vegan food on every corner (anything you can think of, I'm vegan as well). You can enjoy crepes, corn dogs, donuts, sushi, pizza, southern, bar food, ANYTHING you want, vegan here. Living expenses are reasonable. Rarely snows (didn't at all last winter) beautiful in the summer, rainy in the winter. Send me a message if you have any questions about the area!

 

[sxycherrypie]

I like it here in montana. I live in the eastern part on the border of north dakota and it is great here.Barely any crime,some drugs here and there and some drunk people getting into brawls now and then,sometimes maybe speeding or theft from a store but it is rare.And people here are very nice and we take care of each other very well.Plus this place is beautiful it makes up for the lack of night life.The only night life we have here is 2 bars The O and the twilite if your more social the twilite is your best option.But it is still a nice safer place to live and cheaper too got a good house by a school and a hospital for 60k!

 

[LaylaLux]

i relocated from ohio to florida two years ago and LOVE IT! I live south on the gulf side and rent an amazing house in a good neighborhood pretty cheap! I met a well known real estate company who was amazing with my self employment income!

theres a lot of job opportunities mostly bigger cities tampa/sarasota area depending on what your looking for

My ONLY complaint about living here is license plates ( the first time u buy them) are $400 per car! You dont pay state or city tax here so things at the DMV are quite pricy!

 

[Tyrsca]

I have to say I lived in the Dallas area for a long time and decided it was time to go and was considering a lot of places but got a job offer in Austin. Decided to take it while i decided where I would end up. Fell in absolute love with this town. Completely laid back, between the music and the food there is absolutely nothing you can't find here. Plus no state income tax and definitely vegan and 420 friendly.

 

[Cassidy Nicole]

It really depends how much you are willing to spend as certain places are way more expensive than others. I live in Florida and love it.

 

[Jaydenrainey]

well, looks like ill be movin to arizona. while arizona is not my dream place to live i found a beautiful little apartment that has several pools, hot tub , gym etc for really cheap and its really close to a lot of veggie restaurants, coffee shops and shopping. besides that arizonas housing market is so very bad that they are the only ones who have approved my rental application. at least its only a short road trip away from vegas and l.a
i wanted portland so bad but every apartment i tried for denied me and at 100 dollars a pop to apply for just about any place it was getting quite expensive to be told no.