Hey Dopers! Where should I move?

[The_Second_Stone]

San Francisco Bay Area. Surfing, skiing, climbing, culture, forests, deserts, food and weirdos all within four hours drive. Rather expensive to live in the nice parts.

[Duckster]

@Chefguy

I see another future Portland resident here.

Based upon the OPs criteria and process of elimination, you are correct.

[Mama_Zappa]

@Oedipus

Funny you say that. I live an hour north.

Too hot for me in south. I’m liking the sound of Portland, Seattle, and Austin, but IDK about Portland and Seattle’s weather.

I think Atlanta would be cool and the traffic isn’t THAT bad in my experience. I’d be living ITP (inside the perimeter (285 beltway)), if that makes a difference.

I was going to pop in and suggest Chapel Hill, but it’s going to have pretty similar weather. Is Atlanta that much better, climate-wise? It’s further south but IIRC it’s at a higher elevation.

And there’s Asheville NC as well - also left-leaning. Haven’t spent much time there, but I’ve lived both in Charlotte and Chapel Hill. CH won’t have the same concentration of stuff to do that a big city might, but it’s got a lot of nice little bars with live music, a decent variety of food etc. Sigh… wish I could move back.

[madsircool]

@The_Second_Stone

San Francisco Bay Area. Surfing, skiing, climbing, culture, forests, deserts, food and weirdos all within four hours drive. Rather expensive to live in the nice parts.

You get all this within 90 minutes from Southern California. Why does it have to be left leaning? Do you have trouble interacting with those who think differently from yourself?

[Bullitt]

San Francisco is 60° year round. Smallish city, and once you learn the streets it’s fairly easy to get in / out / through / around. Close to the ocean, forests, great skiing n the Sierra Nevada, and Yosemite Nat’l Park is a few hours’ drive.

[Bridget_Burke]

@Oedipus

Does Austin have those same crappy super-humid summers like the rest of the dirty south?

It’s not as humid as Houston, but gets a few degrees hotter in the summer. Visitors from Cool California were fainting in the heat during a May visit to Austin. If “too hot” is part of your vocabulary, cross Texas off your list.

All our cities are more liberal than the surrounding countryside (or far suburbia)–even the ones not as cute as Austin. And Austin traffic is horrid, because of the city’s rapid growth.

[VinylTurnip]

@madsircool

You get all this within 90 minutes from Southern California. Why does it have to be left leaning? Do you have trouble interacting with those who think differently from yourself?

Interacting with? Not usually a major problem. And if you’ve decided on a state, it doesn’t matter so much where you live when it comes to state politics-- but when it comes to local politics, it can be quite disheartening to live in an area where pretty much every vote on every issue will go the opposite of the way you want it to.

[Glazer]

@Raza

Atlanta won’t work for traffic (I’m a resident), and while pockets of the city might be left-leaning, overwhelmingly the surrounding area is red.

I lived in Austin twice and loved it, and would move there again if I could.

Atlanta is very good for traffic. As long as you know where not to go and when. You can get from anywhere to anywhere on secondary and tertiary streets.

@Oedipus

I can tolerate it. Its just that I’m living in a place where there’s not much entertainment and stuff. If I lived in Atlanta or Austin where music and food and good vibrations flow freely, I’ll put up with it.

Austin was my second choice when I considered this very question back when I got out of the Army. One of my criteria was also lowest chance of natural disasters.

@Spiff

Atlanta, then, and the Clermont Lounge.

What more entertainment do you need?

Two blocks from my home. I can stagger home and cross the street at a light with pedestrian signals.