Where is a good city in the US to live?
 

I live in NC, from NY and i cant stand it here. Im not big on the big city life or anything but im just surrounded by idiots here in this state. Me and the wife are gonna move in about a year after shes done with school. She'll be a nurse so she can take that pretty much anywhere and be ok. We've talked a lot about Toronto but we're kinda scared of moving to another country because of all the things we're gonna have to do like get citizenship etc... Whats a nice city you guys would recommend? We're looking for something thats not too big and fast paced, but not country either. Also we want a good area to raise our kids thats not full of crime (thats why we have been thinking hard on Toronto or some other place in canada). Where do some of you live? What do you suggest?

Small town living is where it's at:)
Find any small town that has essential accomodations and not a 7/11 on every corner. Besure the small town at least has a good Internet Provider for access.
Many small towns with a small Historical significance are the best.

Then enjoy cheaper food, cheaper rent ( Unless you do what I did and just buy a place ), find people nicer, and more willing to help out and on top of it all just enjoy a great sunset with nothing to worry about over a bottle of wine.

I burn away my days working and enjoying the quiet and at the end of the day go to the old bar and see the local blues bands. Its the best style of living I have ever had.

Try Portland, Maine.

PS: Before this I lived in San Francisco in the heart of the city and the Bay Area after that Los Angeles CA. All them places are a complete shit waste of time with over priced horrible food, fucked up people, traffic, smog, over priced living expenses.
If you live in a major city I would suggest at least taking a vacation to a small town place check it out and give my words a thought. Don't make a hasty decision but once you realise how fucked up City living is you will never want to go back.

See thats what I feel like coming from Queens. Everything is fucking over priced. a 2br apt is going for $1,400 there and its usually a shitty place...here in NC you can get a nice place for under $700 a month. NY is nothing but a fucking hustle. No one has a real life, its all about living day to day and trying to make it till tomorrow. And yea man, we're gonna vacation to several places so that we dont end up fucking ourselves over and getting stuck in a shitty place. I just cant take it in the south anymore. Im in an interracial marriage (me white, wife black) and shes a foreigner from haiti so these ignorant fucks really give us a hard time. Im trying to find a place thats full of diversity and welcomes alll types of people and at the same time a good place to raise kids. And here in Charlotte, NC you cant find a job anywhere. I need a place where life is normal. This place is still stuck in the 1970's

by the way, quiznos is fucking nasty

how is it there? How is the diversity/job market/cost of living?

I'm in Rochester, NY. Nice happy medium between NYC and Toronto.

Try Afganistan or Iraq very nice and peacfull places to live:winkwink:

nah dude, i can never go back to NY ever. Fuck that place, no offense...:2 cents:

I am in Vegas and I love it, it's not a city you want to be in if you have an addictive personality though.. lol

It's a nice little city.

Cultural diversity...well, Maine is technically the whitest state in the U.S. However, it's the one progressive touchstone in the state. Job market's tough. Cost of living is a lot lower than Queens.

If you've got kids, it's a nice place; and Maine, in general, has good public schools.

man if i move to vegas i'll be in debt like hell. It's bad enough bodog takes all my money lol, i dont need slot machines too

Check out Denver. I'm probably going to end up there eventually.

Its big enough to have some big city amenities, but still relatively small-ish. Awesome weather, and if you like any outdoorsy type stuff its all just right outside the city.

I don't live in the US so I can't offer any reasonable insight on anything, however there are some interesting stats that may assist you with your selection:

Most Dangerous Cities in the US
contains FBI released crime statistics

That's funny, I live in a small town atmosphere, basically right out in the country, and I have been going nuts lately. You have to drive for 45 minutes to get to any sort of decent restaurant / night life. Cops are crazy around here so you have to take taxis if you don't want to lose your license after a few beers, which is about $100 one way in taxi fair. Kinda regretting that I built my house out in the country. Nothing to do but drink beer and shoot stuff.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side though, I would probably miss the country if I moved into the city.

Almost forgot to mention, there are NO SINGLE WOMEN around here.

Des Moines, Iowa
Louisville, Kentucky
Denver, CO
Baltimore, MD
Savanah, GA
Austin, TX

Forget Toronto if you're coming to Canada. It's too big, has too much traffic, is too expensive and gun crime is growing.

Try Ottawa if you don't mind colder winters. It's a beautiful city, not too big, not too small, very wealthy and has plenty of jobs.

lol sounds just like where im at. Cops get wild here over the smallest shit because there is no "real action". They are so fucking petty and they have some kinda "im a bad ass and you listen to me" complex. No decent resaurants here either and fuck yea, if you want to get a taxi anywhere youre gonna pay out the ass. My wife was in a hotel here when she first came down from NY and took a taxi about 2.5 miles down the street to get some film developed since she had no car and that shit literally cost her about $40

we talked about florida last night. Nice weather year round and plenty of diversity. were kinda worried about hurricanes tho, anyone live in florida? Are hurricanes really a big threat all the time or is it just something you might have to worry about time to time?

If you're looking for a small town, come visit North GA - beautiful mountains, lakes, start of the Appalachian Trail, etc.

My little town has grown too fast IMO, but I can still leave my car unlocked in every parking lot, I trust the guys who work on my cars to tell me if something's REALLY wrong, and all around people are just nicer than in the city or the burbs.

But don't expect a lot of hot girls, hot clubs or even decent restaurants unless you like BBQ ;)

Seattle, WA.. it is a big city with a small town mentality, it has everything from a lake, mountains for skiing, vancouver (canada) is 2hrs drive, whistler is 4hrs drive

You don't have to live IN Seattle, you can live in Bellevue or Kirkland and downtown Seattle will be a bridge away.

By the way did i tell you, u need to love rain if you live here.

i have been thinking of Seattle too lately, sounds like a good place and i hear heroin is easy to find and there is plenty of gr8 weed...2 beautiful things!!

I grew up in FL, and honestly, cant fathom why people want to live there:P.

Its completely flat, boring, and ridiculously humid and hot, you cant walk outside just about any time of the year with out breaking a sweat. And I lived in the north, on the beach. Its can be nice in the summertime when girls are just walking around town in bikinis (if you are near the beach), but if youre away from the coast, its all swamp rednecks and old people. They dont call it "Gods waiting room" for nothing..

Jacksonville Beach, and the surrounding beaches are nice enough. You're also in a little inward dip where the hurricanes have a hard time hitting. They either swing up north or just go straight across southern florida, missing jacksonville every time. Lived there for 22 years, and had to evacuate for a hurricane once, and it still didnt hit us.

When were you in JAX? I went to HS there back in the late 70's. It's changed so much and actually become a city :(

You're right about hurricanes. Rarely does the eastern side of North FL get hit head on. The one I remember them talking about in JAX was Camille I think - it was one that ended up staying strong using the river water for strength. If my mother didn't live there, I'd probably still be - I loved JAX - it's great to be able to play on the river and still be just 20 minutes from the beach.

Yea.. the gulf stream swings really close to the coastline where jacksonville is, and every year it looks like a couple of the hurricanes are headed straight for it and are just going to slam into it. But they hit the gulf stream, and follow the warmer water up north, usually just leaving jacksonville with some good waves:thumbsup

I was in Jax from 78 to 2000

I moved to ATL in 78 - we JUST missed each other! :winkwink:

Ahh. Yea you dont really want to play in the river these days though.. its a polluted mess. You take a dive in the river and your likey gonna come out with a few syringes stuck in you, and an old tire around your neck :(

That sucks :( We used to spend every weekend either in the river or at the beach. We had crab traps off our dock and the shrimp would run 2 times a year and we'd go shrimping off the docks too.

We moved there in 73 and they were just finished "cleaning up" the river. I guess they just let it go to shit again. A shame - it's a wonderfully massive river. We lived in San Jose and my bf lived in Ortega - it was actually faster - and more fun - for him to come and get me by boat than having to drive to Buckman, then back down, then back to the Buckman.

My HS was on the river and of course, we had a crew team, lol.

My mother moved to a retirement community an hour from JAX, but with no river - or beach. I don't want to retire somewhere that's not on the water :thumbsup

LOL, i remember back when i was like 7 years old i lived in boca raton, there was some nasty ass beach i went to with my mom but cant remember the name...it was FULL OF TAR baddddd. You step in the water and come out with black shit all over your feet...there was another place that had a lake too with picknick tables and shit but the water smelled like a bag of shit from 100 yards away.

San Francisco, California

I heard Detroit is beautiful shit time of year. no really

there are beautiful small cities to live in most American states and Canadian provinces.

i was just looking at Arkansas the other day and damn it's nice, Ozark mountains, lakes and reasonable house prices.

http://www.london.ca/

Beautiful small city 2 hours from Toronto - college town.

Portland, OR or Seattle WA (any area within 30 miles) !

They both have a small town feel but also have the city trimmings
and the cost of living is much lower then NYC.

The demand for nurses is also huge with large bonuses for them just to sign on for a few years.

Crime is low and there is a good deal of culture so you won't think you're living with a bunch of inbreds.

I suggest you visit both for a few days to check them out. They are only 2 1/2 hours apart so a rental car will let you visit both in 3 days.

If Portland/Seattle are still too big and crimey for you, check out Eugene, OR. :rasta

Go to Hollywood or New Orleans, they places the bomb!

cnn made an article bout it some time ago

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...neymag/99.html

been in a few places theyve named, most are really small though

Im addicted to the west coast. Seattle has a lot of little "small Towns" surrounding it. You can get the small town living with a big city close by.

Austin TX might be a good choice for you. It is very laid back but still very cosmopolitan. Lots of musicians and artists and stuff like that.

That is a nice place. That is where I have to drive to get any sort of excitement that doesn't involve binge drinking and / or shooting things.

Kinda wish I would have built my house closer to there, or on the outskirts at least, so I could avoid the $100 X2 taxi rides.

Mobile AL

You can drive less than an hour and be in the mountains, at a peaceful lake or pond, some of the prettiest coastline on the east coast. You can take 'The Cat' over to Yarmouth,NS. Boston is only a few hours away.

We would move to Portland in a heart beat. The down side is the job market is real tight. You said your wife is a RN?. She can find a job anywhere and get good bucks too.

The downside is its really expensive to live their. Not as bad as NY but the prop taxes are brutal by NC standards. Also, Winter heating can get expensive. You will also replace your car every 5-7 years due to the road salt in the winter.

Like I said, we would move to Portland in a heartbeat. Its peaceful, quiet, pretty and the people are really nice and friendly.

:mad: NC isn't so bad if you know the right people! Well.... where in NC? haha

PHILLY! :thumbsup

Sarasota FL is pretty nice and has less hurricanes. Still gets them but not a huge deal. Or look into Rochester MN, they won best town to live in a while back and nursing would be big there obviously.

There is no such thing as a "good city to live in the US"..

USA is a dangerous country, full of fat and stressful people, conservative dictators and nazis...

Move to a decent country if you want to live well.

USA is a 3rd world country where the death penalty is still LEGAL... what can you expect from such a place like that?

USA sucks. I'm glad they are in recesion, the empire is coming to an end, finally. YES, Houston you have a problem.

I would love to live in West Hollywood or somewhere around LA but not downtown. Maybe Santa Monica. I love the city. I hate small towns.

I think Orange County, CA is already like a small town. I hate it. It's the boonies.

Dude, check the cities that surround Portland, OR. There are a lot of nice areas around there and you can't beat the air quality. I was raised in Vancouver, which is just across the river in Washington. Very nice area.