Thinking of Moving.... (Chicago, Washington, Phoenix: houses, unemployment, neighborhoods)

[girltalk]

Hello!

I've been in the city 10 years and no doubt Chicago is a great city...just time for a change. I am a native Chicagoan, but have also lived in San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta.

San Francisco--lots of fun, opportunity, interesting/wacky people, great topography. I liked the size, I did not like the weather. Cold and damp almost year round. I prefer Chgo's four seasons.

Seattle---great coffee, beer, food and scenery. Unfriendly people. while gorgeous in the summer, it is short lived and the rest of the year is terrible. PNW is the worst weather to me.

Atlanta---did not spend a lot of time here. Liked the weather. Did not like that it is a car dependent city and the racism and conservatism.

I am looking for a change in culture from Chicago. Again, I like Chicago, just need to experience something different. My other reasons are the traffic and while we have been experiencing great weather this year, I get depressed in the long bitterly cold grey winters.
I prefer warm weather (even hot), don't mind the change of seasons but as I stated above cannot tolerate rainy grey weather.
Of course I like the mountains and the ocean...but prefer the mountains much more.
I am a foodie and enjoy vegetarian food, good wine, beer and coffee.
Dog friendly city. I am in my early 40's
I am liberal. I enjoy artsy funky places and people. Enjoy live music and bike riding.
I am the jill of all trades, so I am not focused on an area specifically for industry, but need opportunities.

Places I am considering are: Denver, Asheville and Albuquerque.

Based on the above, where do you think I would like? Open to any and all suggestions.

[jdiddy]

Denver. Mountains, seasons, sunny, some public transportation, beer.

Enjoy.

[Muppet123]

I think Denver is the only "liberal" city of the ones you mentioned.

[chitown85]

Denver is your best choice. It is the only city remotely like Chicago. I did have friends who went to Denver for school. They liked it. Lots of sporting events, concerts, arts, culture. Problem is whatever you can find in Denver you can find 10x more of the same in Chicago. PLus the public transit in Chicago is better and Denver winters are worse (if you can believe it).

Asheville is a nice large town. But that's where it ends. Asheville summers are cooler than Chicago, we have many more 90+ days and Asheville never really reaches triple digits, but it does in Chicago. Asheville has nice mountains and golf, but mostly retirees and the townfolk who have been there for generations. Asheville is pretty conservative too.

Albuquerque is high desert, not low desert like Las Vegas and Phoenix. This means winters are cold and windy and summers are in the mid 80s during the day, but 50s at night. Chicago is warmer in the summer and moderately colder in the winter. Albuquerque is also very conservative, at least among the caucasian population. There is not much to do. Some arts, some culture, but a lot of golf. Albuquerque is very spread out and not walkable. Same with Asheville.

If you are between those three cities, go with Denver or just stay in Chicago.

[Alacran]

Denver.

Anchorage

Seattle

[Drover]

Asheville conservative? Have you ever been to that hippy-dippy town??

[Lookout Kid]

Have you thought about the east coast? Denver is okay. It's sort of like a slightly more lively, more spread out Minneapolis. The downtown is larger than Minneapolis's, but has lots of dead spots. There are many ranch houses in the city proper, and not a lot of dense urban fabric (but there are a few dense areas).

But what about a place like Washington D.C.? If that's too expensive, Philly and Baltimore have some really great neighborhoods in spite of the rough reputation of these cities, and the weather is an improvement over Chicago's. It's not all like The Wire.

[emathias]

Have you considered Boston? Or Miami?

How about international destinations? Sydney? Bristol?

[PigSooie]

From the criteria you listed, I think you ought to try Denver. And if you're willing to forgo a big-city atmosphere, I think you'd also be well-suited for Boulder, or maybe Fort Collins, CO.

[grapico]

Reading your post I was going to recommend Denver. Then I saw you suggested Denver for yourself... I would go with Denver, unemployment is running around 7 and change out there as well.