I have the opportunity to move to any city in the U.S. Where should I go? I’ve always liked smaller cities so I don’t think I’d want to live in a place with much more than 750,000 people. My dream city has:
the usual: clean streets, low crime, low cost of living
lots of culture (museums, parks, libraries)
garden-friendly weather and mild winters
a university
ethnic diversity, nice people, left-of-center politics
nearby camping and hiking
Any suggestions?
http://www.townsandvillages.com/
Every suggestion I have fails one of your critera. I can think of a number of cities/towns that all but one.
Happy Hunting! (And let us know where you are going to move to.)
Thanks for the link. I guess my “qualifications” are ranked in order of importance, so if a city doesn’t have the last two or three items I’d still be willing to consider it.
How do you define a low cost of living? That is probably going to be your major stumbling block. All the other features you mention attract people and, of course, that raises the COL.
I couldn’t move back there, been away for too long, but you might want to check out Knoxville, TN.
You may want to look at the Metro Pulseweb site. The “Annual Manual” link will give you some good information about the city.
By the way, I mentioned Knoxville because it meets all of the qualifications you have.
You may want to look up NothingMan here on the SDMB. He recently moved there. Best of luck to you.
I’ve heard both Lexington, KY, and Santa Barbara, CA, are quite nice . . . I am partial to Philadelphia’s Main Line western suburbs, which is more a collection of towns than a “city.” But it certainly fulfills your criteria—you can even find livable rents (it ain’t ALL “Philadelphia Story” mansions!).
Sounds like Charlottesville, VA would fit the bill nicely.
I second the Charlottesville vote.
I live in Ann Arbor, one of the greatest University towns in the country, but the cost of living is high and the winters abysmal. Madison, WI is supposed to be great too, but the winters, again, scratch it right off your list.
I’ll nominate some southwestern US cities:
Tuscon, Flagstaff, and Mesa, Arizona; and Albequerque, New Mexico
Perhaps also Fresno, California.
In such drier areas, you’d have to water your gardens pretty religiously.
Well, we’ve grown a lot lately, but we’re still in the 3/4 mil area…Hie thee to Austin!
How about Pasadena, CA…
Pros:
Norton Simon Museum
Huntington Gardens
Hiking nearby
beaches nearby
skiing nearby
Cal Tech
Very diverse
Not L.A. but also not not L.A. (for things like the Getty museum)
Wondeful weather…most of the time
Cons:
Can get very hot (although not humid)
Smog in the summer (which obscure te bautiful San Gabriel mountains)
Notorious L.A. traffic if you need to go somewhere outside Pasadena
Rent is high
Given your criteria, Knoxville’s not a bad choice (though once you’re outside the UT orbit, left-of-center politics might be tough to find among the locals).
The first place that came to mind was actually Chattanooga. It’s still got a lot of small-city feel to it, they’ve done a fabulous job of revitalizing the downtown area, there’s more stuff to do than my family and I have been able to get around to after four or five weekend trips there in the last three or four years, and the cost of living is relatively low (last I checked, I could expect to live in Chattanooga for about 82% of what it costs me in Atlanta).
It may be a little light on culture (the Walker Art Center seems to have some creative exhibits, but I can’t speak for the quality of the libraries, etc.), and I don’t know whether UT-Chattanooga qualifies as a “university” in your meaning of the term, but Chattanooga seems to be attracting a young, hip, culturally-oriented population these days, so I think the cultural scene is only going to improve. Plus you’re only 2 hours from Atlanta and 2.5 or so from Nashville – so that not only do you have access to nearly any cultural activity you’re interested in, you can also fly to nearly anyplace in the county and most places around the world on direct flights (since Nashville is an American Airlines hub and Atlanta is a Delta hub). The climate is quite garden-friendly and the winters have been extremely mild the last several years. The population may not be quite as diverse as some larger areas, but there’s a pretty reasonable mix of white, black, and Latino, with Latino being the fastest growing group (the proximity to the carpet- and construction-industry jobs in North Georgia being a big reason). There’s lots of hiking and camping opportunities very close by, and it’s only an hour and a half or so to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The main advantages of Chattanooga over Knoxville are size and access; Chattanooga’s a bit bigger and it’s a lot more accessible to the rest of the world (either by plane or car). Culturally, Knoxville would have a slight edge considering only local resources, but the proximity of Chattanooga to Atlanta and Nashville might balance that out (it’s four hours or more from Knoxville to either one). I’ve spent a fair amount of time in both places and was actually close to moving to Knoxville at one time, and I’d definitely prefer Chattanooga; UT dominates Knoxville so completely that if you’re not connected to it, you feel cut off from most of the people around you.
Another possibility would be my wife’s hometown, Asheville, NC. Very left-leaning younger population (which causes some friction with the old-timers and business interests). Museums and libraries may not be up to the level of other places, but you’ve got LOTS of artists, craftspeople, musicians, and other creative types. Wandering around downtown Asheville these days is like visiting a permanent arts festival. The altitude makes it a bit colder in the winter than Chattanooga or Knoxville, but it’s still quite mild by comparison with northern states, and the compensation is that it’s quite possible to sleep with the windows open most nights of the summer without sweating all night (my mother-in-law refuses to turn on the A/C for anything, so I speak from experience here). UNC-Asheville isn’t a world class university, but the undergraduate program is a pretty good liberal college, and there are a few other small colleges in the surrounding area to add flavor. Needless to say, the outdoor recreation opportunities of western North Carolina are nearly unmatched, particularly for camping, hiking, and rafting/canoeing/kayaking. The downside is that it’s been a hot place to move for a bit longer than Chattanooga, so it’s more expensive to live there; I’ve actually seen some estimates that put the COL there at or above Atlanta’s, though I think that’s too high based on my experience.
Charlottesville, VA, is also an excellent suggestion, and depending on the importance you attach to the quality of the university and the number of museums and libraries could be the clear winner. Where it (and Knoxville) come up short for me is in the degree to which the university dominates the town. Chattanooga and Asheville would continue to be more or less what they are with or without the fairly undistinguished institutions that reside there, while Charlottesville and Knoxville would be utterly different without UVA and UT. Fifteen years ago my attitude might have been exactly reversed, but now that I’m in my late thirties I don’t necessarily want everyone I see in my daily rounds to be either a college student or professor – if I’d wanted that, I’d have finished my Ph.D. in English.
Another small city that impressed me in my one brief visit there was Roanoke, Virginia. Southwestern Virginia has many of the same advantages as eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, and it’s a pretty inexpensive area still. The downside would be cultural; my impression is that there’s not nearly as much going on there as in the other candidates. It should qualify on other counts, however, with the exception of a university (Roanoke and Hollins are good, but not quite the same as UVA or UT). The population is comparable to the other cities mentioned (just under 100,000 in the city itself, about 225K in the MSA).
Madison, WI, as mentioned above, is a very nice city, but probably too cold in winter given your preferences. I used to live in Milwaukee, and if I were to move back to Wisconsin I’d definitely head to the Madison area.
Portland, OR, meets most of your criteria. It may be a touch large, but I definitely recommend checking it out – I live in Seattle now, and we get to visit friends in Portland once every couple of months. It’s a great city; I’d like to end up there for the long haul.
Well, I live in Pasadena, and I like it a lot, especially the “Not LA, but also not not LA” part. It has most of the things the OP listed, although the heat is sometimes miserable. (We’ve been lucky to have a relatively mild summer this year. So far.)
But reading the OP, it sounded to me like incitatus was describing San Diego.
Cleanliness: The area is very clean, and the seabreeze keeps the air quality very good. The downtown area used to be kind of seedy but in the past 10 years they’ve completely turned it around and they can’t build million dollar condos fast enough.
Culture: UC San Diego. La Jolla. Balboa Park (incl. the Zoo and other museums). Sea World. Tijuana.
Climate: Claimed to be the best in the US. Seasonal highs vary from 50s in the winter to 80s in the summer. Rainy winters. In the summer there is little real precipitation, but the marine layer (fog) does dampen things some mornings. Stick to the coastal communities, though… go inland just a few miles and the marine influence disappears, allowing summer temperatures to soar.
Higher Ed.: UCSD is one of the best universities in a state full of excellent schools.
Diversity: Heh. If you’re white, you’re a minority in Southern California. And San Diego borders Mexico. Draw your own conclusions.
Hiking and Camping: If you’re not a beach person San Diego maybe is not the best here, but it’s not barren either. Mount Palomar is a favorite place to visit, it’s not too far away. And the hills east of Oceanside still have a lot of wilderness areas. If you really want to get away, you can drive a few hours north and east to the central and northern Sierras, some of the best outdoor spots in the country, including Mt. Whitney and Yosemite National Park. Stop me before I start sounding like a travel brochure.
Believe me, if I had any excuse whatsoever, I’d be living in San Diego.
I am living in San Diego and second everything that was said. In addition to the Mexican influence there is also a large Asian population.
The major drawback is housing. If you want to live right on the coast, expect to pay in the neighborhood of $800 a month or more for a mediocre apartment. If you want a house, you’ll need to travel far inland to find anything under $300,000.
Other California possibilities:
Santa Monica. Another LA, but not LA area and quite lefty.
Santa Cruz. Absolutely beautiful and a hiker’s paradise.
Santa Barbara was mentioned already, and it is quite nice, but would also be an expensive place to live.
Oh, I forgot to bring up Chapel Hill. Given what I’ve heard about it, it qualifies.
How about Seattle?
No problem there; 2000 Census has us at about 560,000 people.
The streets are more or less clean, and the crime is not a huge problem. Low cost of living is the kicker. Cost of living here is not that low, although it’s not as high as the Bay Area or NYC. (I know that’s not saying much.) I think the benefits outweigh this drawback, personally.
The Seattle Public Library system is fantastic. There are tons of parks. I personally enjoy flying kites atop Gasworks Park in the summertime. The Seattle Art Museum just had a great John Singer Sargent display, and there’s also the Burke Museum of Natural History, which currently has a very cool display about Shackleton and the Endurance. There are several great independent movie houses in town, and every year I look forward to the Seattle International Film Festival. Bumbershoot is also a highlight of the summer for me; it’s a 3-day-long music festival featuring acts ranging from the extremely popular (Tracy Chapman, George Clinton, etc.) to the more obscure (Red Elvises, Jules Shear). Basically, there’s just a lot to do and see here.
Not a problem. The highs in summer reach maybe 80 during a “heat wave”, and it snows perhaps once or twice per winter. The winter is quite rainy, but in my opinion that’s worth it for the lack of snow.
I myself live several blocks away from the University of Washington, a fairly large school that has some good academic programs. There are other schools in the area, but the UW is the biggest.
There’s a significant Asian population in Seattle, which makes it easy to find good dim sum and pho (I’m a big foodie, so these things are important to me!). The people are nice almost to a fault. Seattleites are renowned for such things as waiting at crosswalks until the light turns green even if there is no traffic in any direction and they are standing in the middle of a raging downpour. The few times I’ve broken down on the freeway, I’ve never had to wait more than a minute or two for someone to stop and offer assistance. The people are truly great. And the politics are about as left-of-center as you’ll find.
Seattle is surrounded by mountain ranges, many of which are a day trip away. I hear the hiking is pretty good, although it’s not really up my particular alley. Also several good bike trails in the area.
Anyway, I happen to love the Pacific Northwest in general, and Seattle in particular, so I hope you at least consider it. 
I’d never consider it. No offense to you people in the PNW, but that entire area could plunge into Puget Sound, and I’d laugh my ass off. That’s where my ex-fiancee’s from. And where she ran off to with the other guy.
Having just visited Austin for the first time, i have to agree with caveman and the reasons he cites. I’d move there in a second, and with the contraction of some of the dotcom companies in the area, rents may even cease to be so much of a problem in the near future.