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Old 05-14-2017, 12:48 AM
 
1 posts, read 5,376 times
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Hi-- Mid-twenties professional here looking to move to a warmer city.

I am beginning to look for new jobs, and thinking this may be my opportunity to move to a new city. Is there a comparable city to Boston that's a bit warmer / people have liked?


Way more details:

I have lived in Boston for 4 years, and absolutely love the city itself (culture, arts, eco-minded, edu, neighborhoods, parks, etc) -- but the winter is too long/cold for me (seasonal depression). I bundle up and get outside/hike the whites and snowboard, but it's still too cold/long a drive for my preference. Wish New England had June-Sept weather all the time! (Though I'm sure many of you would disagree!)

I love the outdoors (biking, hiking, gardening), and would love to do these activities year round (with less than a couple hour drive (i.e., to the whites)). Most of my friends are in Boston, but I do know some people in cities listed below. Family is in CNY/FL -- not interested in living in these places.

I've been thinking of Denver, Austin, Raleigh, Oakland...any gems I'm missing? (Nashville? NOLA? Seattle? ..Not into DC.)
Anything to add/comment on my pros/cons of the below cities?

1. DENVER Pros: sunny, 2 hrs to amazing mtns, young/transplants/chill vibes, affordable rent. Cons: also 2 hr drive to mtns, cold winters, flat/barren land around city.

How do boulder, ft collins, co springs, etc compare -- is it hard to be young/not know ppl in these cities? (never visited these places)

2. AUSTIN Pros: culture/art/music, young/transplants, warm, river, affordable. Cons: too far from mtns/hiking? know the least # people here. (never visited)

How does San Antonio compare? (Family in SA, that's why I would only consider Austin or SA.. Not DFW, Houston.)

3. R/D, NC Pros: warmer, cool scene/arts. Cons: driving between the research triangle. too southern vibes? too small?

How does Charlotte, Asheville, or Charleston, SC compare?

4. OAKLAND / SF BAY Pros: sunny, love all sf bay (culture/arts/young/many transplants/eco), oakland's warmer/sf temperate, greens/parks/hikes nearby. Cons: so expensive to live/rent, even oakland/berkeley. temperate/not hot. awesome mtns still a hike to get to.

How does SLO or San Diego compare?



Thank you, kind strangers!
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:24 AM
 
Location: New England
2,190 posts, read 2,230,657 times
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The first thing that comes to mind is San Francisco, although it's very expensive.
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Old 05-14-2017, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Cleveland and Columbus OH
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How about Louisville KY? smaller than the others but you may like it. Maybe Cincinnati too. It has winter, but not even slightly approaching as bad as boston.
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Old 05-14-2017, 07:08 AM
 
Location: East Coast
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There isn't really another city that is truly like Boston. Unfortunately, some of our great cities come with some cold weather. I agree with tysmith that San Francisco probably comes the closest, although it is even more expensive than Boston, and the weather can be chilly -- there is a Mark Twain quote that goes something like "the coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco." Although it gets less chilly very quickly as you get away from the coast.

All the cities you mention, plus others, are great places, but they're not really like Boston.
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Old 05-14-2017, 09:53 AM
 
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Philadelphia and Boston are the two most similar cities by a mile, but Philadelphia isn't year-round warm. It's winter is much better than Boston's though. I would say they're the colder/warmer versions of eachother.

The only city that has the year-round nice temperatures and density/culture/vibrancy of cities like Boston, Philadelphia, New York is San Francisco.

If your industry is tech, I would say your best bet is San Diego.
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Old 05-14-2017, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,603 posts, read 14,877,226 times
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A couple quick points - Austin is miserably hot from June 'til September/October. You'll be trading crappy winters for equally crappy summers. FWIW the east side of Austin is fairly barren, too.

The only times the mountains are a two hour trek from Denver are Friday afternoon and Saturday Morning. A well-planned trip from Denver to Loveland Ski area or Arapahoe Basin is 45-75 minutes from Downtown Denver depending on your departure time. Good hiking is even closer than that.

Boulder is more liberal and more expensive than Denver. Fort Collins is somewhat isolated, much smaller, more conservative, and the economy is weaker. Colorado Springs is way more conservative than Denver, but it's closer to the mountains. Economy could be a problem there as well.
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Old 05-14-2017, 11:17 AM
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11,395 posts, read 13,409,287 times
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I always thought of San Francisco being the West coast version of Boston, compact and walkable but also a large city. I don't think the OP should consider Denver if they are trying to get away from cold winters entirely.
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Old 05-14-2017, 11:49 AM
 
Location: In the heights
37,123 posts, read 39,337,475 times
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Philadelphia's a really good choice if you're looking for it to be a bit warmer. The city is in many ways similar to Boston in size and amenities and the Poconos are decently close by for skiing. In terms of weather, Philadelphia gets a lot less snow, is a bit warmer in every season, and gets a bit more sunshine over the course of the year. It's also much less expensive for what would be the roughly equivalent housing so you might be able to better swing living in a place with a yard. If you need it to be much warmer (save for summer where it's actually cooler), then the Bay Area makes sense though the costs go up quite a bit.

If you want mountains and warm weather with still a lot of the cultural amenties, LA might be an interesting choice. There are mountains and fair weather year round. It's still pricey, but if you're doing decently well paid white collar work, then it can be a steal compared to SF and Boston. You need to make sure you don't live and work with a commute that's soul deadening.

Those, and DC which you aren't a fan off, are the warmer large cities that have the kind of amenities that Boston does.

Other options that are smaller cities are the two major pacific northwest cities of Seattle and Portland which aren't very cold, but quite overcast in the winter months and beyond. Another sizable city that's pretty affordable and with great skiing within a reasonable drive is Sacramento.

Last edited by OyCrumbler; 05-14-2017 at 12:00 PM..
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Old 05-14-2017, 01:45 PM
 
6,843 posts, read 10,954,514 times
Reputation: 8436
Quote:
Originally Posted by jay-moving View Post
Hi-- Mid-twenties professional here looking to move to a warmer city.

I am beginning to look for new jobs, and thinking this may be my opportunity to move to a new city. Is there a comparable city to Boston that's a bit warmer / people have liked?


Way more details:

I have lived in Boston for 4 years, and absolutely love the city itself (culture, arts, eco-minded, edu, neighborhoods, parks, etc) -- but the winter is too long/cold for me (seasonal depression). I bundle up and get outside/hike the whites and snowboard, but it's still too cold/long a drive for my preference. Wish New England had June-Sept weather all the time! (Though I'm sure many of you would disagree!)

I love the outdoors (biking, hiking, gardening), and would love to do these activities year round (with less than a couple hour drive (i.e., to the whites)). Most of my friends are in Boston, but I do know some people in cities listed below. Family is in CNY/FL -- not interested in living in these places.

I've been thinking of Denver, Austin, Raleigh, Oakland...any gems I'm missing? (Nashville? NOLA? Seattle? ..Not into DC.)
Anything to add/comment on my pros/cons of the below cities?

1. DENVER Pros: sunny, 2 hrs to amazing mtns, young/transplants/chill vibes, affordable rent. Cons: also 2 hr drive to mtns, cold winters, flat/barren land around city.

How do boulder, ft collins, co springs, etc compare -- is it hard to be young/not know ppl in these cities? (never visited these places)

2. AUSTIN Pros: culture/art/music, young/transplants, warm, river, affordable. Cons: too far from mtns/hiking? know the least # people here. (never visited)

How does San Antonio compare? (Family in SA, that's why I would only consider Austin or SA.. Not DFW, Houston.)

3. R/D, NC Pros: warmer, cool scene/arts. Cons: driving between the research triangle. too southern vibes? too small?

How does Charlotte, Asheville, or Charleston, SC compare?

4. OAKLAND / SF BAY Pros: sunny, love all sf bay (culture/arts/young/many transplants/eco), oakland's warmer/sf temperate, greens/parks/hikes nearby. Cons: so expensive to live/rent, even oakland/berkeley. temperate/not hot. awesome mtns still a hike to get to.

How does SLO or San Diego compare?



Thank you, kind strangers!
I think Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia suit you just fine. The only two things that you have to keep in mind with these two is that 1) compared to Boston, they don't have a rapid transit system and really there's no need because 2) these are miniature sized cities (compared to a major city like Boston), so you don't have a vast stretch of land to cover on a day to day basis with these cities.

Both Charleston and Savannah maintain the features that you like most about Boston, which is in the well defined culture, the arts, rivers and coastline, city parks and greenspaces, established neighborhoods, adequate shopping, a well educated and well to do populace, and most of all these cities have a mild winter to pretty comfortable winters compared to anywhere in the Northeastern United States (including when compared to most of the places previous posters have been recommending to you).

You get lots of history, culture, walkability, urbanity, and charm out of Savannah and Charleston. They're also probably well polished cities much in the vein of Boston and they have tremendous settings in the South Atlantic.

If you can adjust to not having a rapid transit system and adjust to a smaller/miniature-sized city then you'll adapt to Charleston or Savannah splendidly.
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Old 05-14-2017, 02:27 PM
 
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Charleston, South Carolina:

01. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2204/2...7cfabd7e_b.jpg

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Savannah, Georgia:

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I like the options of Austin, Denver, and San Diego. All three amongst my favorite cities in the United States for a variety of (shared) reasons. However, these cities are further apart from Boston in terms of build, style, and allure than are Charleston and Savannah, which is why I highly recommend these two smaller South Atlantic cities to you. Plus Charleston and Savannah occupy every single requirement you listed to a T, not one thing you asked for that they lack.

You're looking for a place with year round or consistently warmer winters than that of Boston. I recommend Charleston and Savannah because they barely have a winter compared to what you experience in the Northeast. In contrast, other recommendations in this thread are recommending to you places that are still in the Northeast and still have winters.

You're looking for a place where you can do gardening year round. I recommend Charleston and Savannah because they get a healthy amount of precipitation (you wont have to do as much work watering) and have better year round climate for gardening. In contrast, other recommendations here are recommending to you places that are in nearly identical position to Boston with regard to year round gardening.

You're looking for a place that cherishes art culture, has historic fabric, is walkable, urban, and compact. In addition to having the other things you listed such as interesting neighborhoods, bodies of water like rivers or a coastline, enhanced and charming city parks and/or urban greenspaces, and a well defined culture. I recommend Charleston and Savannah. Some of the other recommendations you've received, in contrast, have been suboptimal for some of these things as those recommended cities may either lack one or more of these attributes. Charleston and Savannah do not lack those attributes.

View through the pictures. If you like what you see with regard to Charleston and Savannah's walkability, urban form, parks, neighborhoods, architecture, and overall setting then take a look into them. The next step would be to look into jobs in the two areas and neighborhoods that meet your requirements. Keep in mind, compared to Greater Boston, both Charleston and Savannah are far more affordable (don't know why anyone even recommended San Francisco Bay Area to you - that's the most expensive metropolis in the United States by a mile, it makes #2 Honolulu look filthy cheap). I don't know if this is important to you but it cant hurt either way; Charleston and Savannah also have very stout food scenes and very good shopping options. Also, while Charleston and Savannah themselves are flat, you can always make the weekend trip to the mountain regions of the Carolinas and Georgia, so even that isn't a big deal at all.

Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 05-14-2017 at 03:01 PM..
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