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I know a thousand threads have been started on the topic, but the ones I've seen haven't been helpful for me so far. I'm a 30-year-old, single mom of a two-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy. We're an Af-Am family looking for diversity (not just to be around people of my own ethnic background). I work from home in graphic design and social media, so I'm completely open as to wear I can go, but I do also have an accounting degree (so somewhere that it would be useful if needed might be good).
Mostly, I'd like to be in a city that is diverse with lots of cultural and fun activities for kids and a great school system. I'd like to live somewhere where driving is optional and the weather is mild. A good social scene would be nice, but not above the aforementioned qualities. I think I'd rather live in a fairly large city, like a population of ~500K or up, but not in a city with less than ~250k. Affordable rent is necessary also, maybe around $1000? And an area with diverse, non-traditional, non-denominational churches would be nice as well.
I'm from a small town in eastern NC, so I'm looking for something that is completely different than that. I'm potentially eying Portland, OR; Virginia Beach, VA; Brooklyn, NY, but I'm not completely sold on either of them. Very open to possibilities that have most of what I need.
A good place to start would be a prioritized list of perhaps a dozen 'must haves' and maybe another dozen 'would likes.' Then, you can began to assign values to those for potential locations, based on research, advice etc. ... and start to 'narrow down the possibilities.'
Remember the 'Alice in Wonderland' exchange between Alice and the caterpillar. "Which way do I go, which way do I go?" cried Alice. "Where are you going?" asked the caterpillar. "I don't really know" responded Alice. "Then, it really doesn't matter which direction you go" concluded the caterpillar.
Although NYC is nice, I don't think you'll have a ton of luck finding what you want in NYC for those prices. Chicago probably offers the next best if you want an NYC environment for a much cheaper price with a lot of public transit with all the diversity and what not. Philadelphia probably next after that IMO. Portland's not a bad place and very progressive, although not incredibly diverse. Same goes for Seattle (Seattle more diverse than Portland). The Pacific Northwest is pretty progressive, but so is Chicago and I believe Philadelphia is too. Some other areas that come to mind are Austin, TX and Minneapolis. Best places for public transit/diverse places of the places you could afford IMO is Chicago followed by Philadelphia, but I'm pretty sure there are other cities you can afford where you can get by without a car.
Another area you may be interested in is the Columbus OH area, which is growing, while having a strong black middle class and diverse areas throughout the metro area.
With everything you said, I'd recommend Dallas, TX. The only hang-up is I'm not a strong believer in the Dallas school system. So you may consider one of the bordering cities like Plano, Arlington or Euless. Euless is where I'm living currently and it's great as far as diversity goes. Dallas is 30 minutes one way and Fort Worth is thirty minutes the other way. It's also an excellent place to raise your family. Hope you find a good home, wherever you go!
Why not atlanta or charlotte where rents are cheap and population is still relatively growing? I wouldn't move to a northern city, people are fleeing places like Philadelphia and Baltimore and NYC is crazy expensive.
I've been watching HGTV and have been shocked at how much house (and nice ones, too) you can get for your money in Atlanta and the outskirts of Atlanta. It is definitely affordable to live there. I've only visited there and have no children so I can't speak to your needs.
Thanks for your suggestions so far. Ohio and Texas are also on the radar. I think like jghorton mentioned, I should make a list and get things narrowed down. Anyone have any thoughts on Indianapolis???
It's a nice city in parts but won't offer the neighborhood diversity you're after and it certainly isn't the most appealing public transit city, especially when factoring in where you would have to live in order to find the good schools.
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