Pretty much all those listed “walkable” cities are also very expensive.
Yep, somewhat humid at times, but not bad at all.
I visited Venice in January - completely, gloriously walkable. Near an airport. Decent weather. I don’t remember any Asian supermarkets, though. Still, I’d move there in a hot second if I could figure out how to make it work.
But not affordable. At least for most of them, esp NY, SF and Seattle. But yeah, when i was on detail to Seattle, and stayed near the coast, it was super walkable. And super expensive.
I wasn’t really aware of how expensive Portland was. I’ve had a number of friends move there the last 5 years or so, none of them with jobs that pay a lot (a couple of teachers, a city planner, a few non-profit folks), and they seem to love it. But I don’t think that any of them live IN the city.
But yeah - “walkability” and “expensive” are certainly going to go hand in hand for the most part. It suggests an increased density, mixed-use zoning, high infrastructure (transit, pedestrian-friendly solutions), arts/culture opportunities, etc. Chicago really is an outlier it seems - they are still so many pockets of affordability that retain what the high housing market areas have. I think the ideal spot for the OP will likely be a large college town. Really depends on how big of a city they need/want.
It’s possible that in the aftermath of COVID that some of the more expensive cities will become…well, a little less outrageously expensive. I know rents in Boston have been dropping; we’ll see if that continues.
I think Salt Lake City is better than most of Utah for that. It has a lot of immigrants, and I don’t think they are all Mormons. There are weird things like… I was in a hotel bar hanging out with friends, and asked to buy a cup of French Onion Soup. The waitress insisted on looking at my ID. I had gray hair and was in my 50s.
OP said the budget was
That’s not too shabby, and there are pockets in most of those towns you could afford on that budget. But yeah, “walkable” is a desirable trait, and tends to correlate with high housing costs.
Friends of mine relocated from Denver to the SLC area about 15 years ago; they were living in the suburbs (West Jordan). They aren’t Mormon – the husband is an atheist, and the wife is a devout Catholic. They never felt particularly accepted by their neighbors, some of whom wouldn’t even let their kids play with each other, and they always felt like outsiders. After about a decade there, they moved back to Denver (and would have moved earlier if they could have). YMMV, of course.
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OP mentions a desire to avoid racism/xenophobia to the extent desirable. My wife and I are quite liberal atheists. We’ve often discussed that the 2 big city areas that appeal to us the most are the Seattle and Boston areas.
Or, an area where a growing percentage of people are transplants - like Denver.
Denver’s population has grown more than 10% in the 6 years that weed has been legal. Colorado as a whole is also about a 10% growth over that period and we haven’t seen the infrastructure growth to keep up with the population. I’d think twice if I was looking to move to the front range. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a nice place but we’re going through some growing pains right now.
I don’t have any specific advice for the OP if it were me I’d be looking in the Spokane area. They have a good airport and decent economy. They are projected to come out on the warmer/wetter side of climate change so the climate will be improving and they already have a good internet backbone. But I don’t think they meet the walkability criteria and there is definitely some cultural issues.
Yeah - my kid lives in Denver, and I remember at one time he told me “NO ONE” is FROM there. (Yeah, slight exaggeration.)
A lot of booming cities have infrastructure issues. I was underwhelmed w/ Austin last time I spent some time there, but what really astounded me was the lack of roads for the number of vehicles.
That all sounds pretty good! Added to the shortlist!
Santa Clarita, and especially Valencia, is pretty much the definition of suburban sprawl. There is a walkable shopping area (Valencia Town Center) with nearby condos, but other than that it is pure car country.
You don’t need to live in downtown Portland to access it, as it actually has a well-developed light and commuter rail system going out to suburbs. I’m sure it has gotten more expensive as it’s reputation as a “cool, funky” city has grown but I suspect you can still find neighborhoods that are relatively inexpensive.
One of the advantages of a city that is walkable and has good public transit is that if you would nominally be a two car household in, say, Columbus, OH, you can get away with one vehicle (or potentially even none if you don’t regularly have to haul stuff or have a driving commute), which means all of the expenses associated with that offset the higher costs of living. Of course, that puts you at the mercy of the transit system and whatever hours and reliability it has for anything beyond a walk or bike trip, but Portland in particular has a very reliable and accessible rail system.
Yeah, the Mormons can be really insular, especially in Utah where it is a mainstream culture, but Salt Lake City proper is essentially an enclave of non-Mormons in a state otherwise dominated by the LDS Church; the last statistics I saw indicated the population in the city as only 20% Mormon, while if you go south of Provo or north of Ogden the percentage goes up to well above 90%, with places like Brigham City being completely dominated by the church and everything shuts down at 8 pm (as I discovered on one work trip where I was booked into a hotel there).
There is definitely some inculcated prejudice–a friend of a friend was a prof at University of Utah where one of her students told her that she must be becoming closer to God because her (non-white) skin was getting lighter–but in SLC proper you’re going to have plenty of people to commiserate with. And as @puzzlegal noted, the Wastach Mountains are beautiful and very close, with Park City being an hour away by car, and less than two by bus. It does get cold in winter but not the bitter cold of northern cities, and the snowfall is generally pretty mild, although it does add up over the winter.
Also, you can get this shirt.
Stranger
Yes, that shirt was very popular among my friends when we were there for a convention. 
Well don’t keep up in suspense! Was she becoming closer to God?
Salt lake city is slightly on the expensive side but it (barely) fits our criteria, I think
Found this house not too far from downtown for $630k
My pretty unconventional niece decided Portland was a tad to - uh - funky for even her tastes. Just something the OP would need to consider.
And re: Columbus - I previously mentioned Cincy. I think a mid-sized city w/ a good airport, and possibly a college - in a good political/meteorological clime - would be worth looking into. For the cost-of-living savings, one could afford quite a bit of travel.
It is- BUT they put in lots of trails. Yes, you do need a car, however there are lots of small shopping centers, and you could easily get a home within walking distances of coffee, food and groceries.
There is also a commuter train going into downtown.
I lived in southern Utah for a time and mostly loved it. One of my biggest gripes was how arid the state is and yet everybody had green lawns (and lots of golf courses). By the end I was feeling somewhat guilty for living in an area that was putting stress on the southwest water supply. SLC might be a bit different because a lot of the water would just go out and dry up in the dessert.
Although Austin aims to be “cool”, and it has an excellent restaurant scene, it’s hardly walkable. Maybe in certain parts, but that’s true of any city. And ethnic restaurants aren’t really a huge thing, unless you’re talking Mexican / Tex-Mex. There are some, but they’re not part of ethnic enclaves like elsewhere.
And FWIW, the new investment is mostly ruining it from what I can tell.