Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am trying to find some cities that are both cheap(er) to live in and fun.
Ideally I would like to live downtown or near a major nightlife district without paying a crazy amount for rent. I live in Denver atm and Lodo is great, but it comes with a CRAZY price tag.
My top selection thus far is Milwaukee.
Some things to consider:
1. College presence
2. Waterfront (preferably big enough to take a boat out)
3. Walkability (I want to own a car, but still be within walking distance to most amenities especially the bars. I don't want to drink and drive or pay ridiculous cab fees.)
4. Density (I want to be meeting plenty of new people.)
5. Weather (Not a must, but a huge bonus.)
6. Population (I would prefer a city with around 300-700k Pop. but will consider anything close to those numbers.)
Not knowing what you pay in Denver--since you want to live near the nightlife (i.e., downtown), you might browse some apartments in central Austin and get a feel for rent prices, because they're pretty high compared to the rest of the city. Just for reference, many of the downtown midrise apartments here start around $1200-1300/mo. for a small 1/1. I know this is "budget" by some standards, but it's expensive to others...just FYI.
Austin is the answer by far if you can make it work.
However...sleeper pick of the century is Pittsburgh. Toss in Pitt/CMU/Duquesne/etc on top of what has to be the most affordable city in the country and there you have it. It's not going to be as trendy as other cities or even as "nice", but there's definately a ton to do and then some. It basically has all of your criteria fit perfectly sans winter weather. There's quite a few large-scale plans in place to promote recreational use of the rivers in addition to springing a new downtown district connecting Pittsburgh to Oakland/Pitt that would play off of the new arena that was just built.
Just target the South Side neighborhood and you're good to go...if you like Milwaukee, Pittsburgh would be a no brainer as well.
Austin seems a little expensive, I would like to keep it under 1000/month. Which can be done rather easily in Milwaukee's East Side.
I have looked at Pittsburgh before, but from what I have heard all the areas in nightlife districts are on a hefty rise in living costs, but that is here-say.
To further explain what I see as budget, I would be looking for a one bedroom at no more than $700, $1200 is expensive for a 2 bedroom if it is claimed to be a cheaper city.
Oh and I forgot, bonus "Xander Points" for pics/vids of nightlife activity.
1. Oakland has 16 colleges and universities, both community and private. Also, the University of California, Berkeley is more than half way within Oakland's city limits.
2. Waterfront (preferably big enough to take a boat out)
2. Oakland has 19 miles of waterfront. Boating is extremely popular in Lake Merritt, Oakland Estuary, San Francisco Bay, or the California Coast.
3. Walkability (I want to own a car, but still be within walking distance to most amenities especially the bars. I don't want to drink and drive or pay ridiculous cab fees.)
3. Downtown Oakland. It has every amenity, including Lake Merritt.
4. Density (I want to be meeting plenty of new people.)
Oakland has a population of 445,000+, a population density of 7,900+ per sq.mi. In Downtown, Jerry Brown's 10k plan, brought/brings 10,000 new residents. Oakland's downtown workforce is 80,000+.
5. Weather (Not a must, but a huge bonus.)
5. Oakland has the best weather in the United States.
6. Population (I would prefer a city with around 300-700k Pop. but will consider anything close to those numbers.)
6. Oakland has a population of 445,000+, and is 8 miles, across the bridge, from San francisco, and 40 miles from San Jose.
If you think this is interesting, I can go MORE into details of this city.
1. Oakland has 16 colleges and universities, both community and private. Also, the University of California, Berkeley is more than half way within Oakland's city limits.
2. Waterfront (preferably big enough to take a boat out)
2. Oakland has 19 miles of waterfront. Boating is extremely popular in Lake Merritt, Oakland Estuary, San Francisco Bay, or the California Coast.
3. Walkability (I want to own a car, but still be within walking distance to most amenities especially the bars. I don't want to drink and drive or pay ridiculous cab fees.)
3. Downtown Oakland. It has every amenity, including Lake Merritt.
4. Density (I want to be meeting plenty of new people.)
Oakland has a population of 445,000+, a population density of 7,900+ per sq.mi. In Downtown, Jerry Brown's 10k plan, brought/brings 10,000 new residents. Oakland's downtown workforce is 80,000+.
5. Weather (Not a must, but a huge bonus.)
5. Oakland has the best weather in the United States.
6. Population (I would prefer a city with around 300-700k Pop. but will consider anything close to those numbers.)
6. Oakland has a population of 445,000+, and is 8 miles, across the bridge, from San francisco, and 40 miles from San Jose.
If you think this is interesting, I can go MORE into details of this city.
Sounds pretty nice, and major kudos on the format of your post. I do have some questions though, how is the cost of living there? I have always thought of anything in the southern half of California to be expensive.
I also often hear a lot about Oakland's crime being a problem, is this true, or just a stereotype?
On the up side, I would get to see my Broncos play twice a year!
Oakland downtown is such a sorry district even with less than 10k housing built there. There are still way too few nightclubs and restaurants, even though they've add 18 in the 2 years. The only area that's so so is the Fox theater vicinity and the medeocre restaurants row a few block away. You might as well hang out by the cathedral and Lake Merrit, not much going in Oaktown. I'd advise you not to live in Oakland. If you do, hang out in the Rockridge neighborhood and McArthur park area.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
