What's a good city for a single, mid 20's guy in and around the South? (transplants, rent)
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 work for Whole Foods, which has branches in every major US city, as well as many medium sized ones. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, and now live in Tallahassee. I'm at a point where I have no real ties here, and am saving money to be able to transfer to another city.
There are a lot of things I like about the south (friendliness, food, mild winters), but even though I grew up here I don't feel like there are many like minded people around me. For example, I am into meditation, read a lot about Eastern religion/philosophy (though I was raised Southern Baptist), and that's not something that most of my friends would ever have any interest in. I try to eat healthy and work out, which gets a lot of chuckles from people ("Why do you eat salads? You're young, man!"). Politically I'm moderate/apathetic, and I hate how people always try to rope me into "damn Obama" conversations. I'm not a fan of organized religion, though I'm not atheist either, but I would like to live in a place with fewer hardcore conservative Christians. I support gay rights, though I'm not gay. I like live music, and the scene here in Tallahasse is pretty dismal.
I would like to move somewhere with a generally politically moderate, well educated populace, college campus nearby is a plus. A place with seasons other than Summer would be good too. Not really looking for a mega city like NYC, Chicago, etc, but not entirely opposed to it either. I've read/heard good things about Denver and Seattle, but that would make it really hard to see my family in AL. I would prefer to find a place that is in the south or not too far from its borders. Austin, TX seems like a possibility, but I understand there is a ton of people moving there already. States like Virginia and North Carolina are intriguing.
Why not New Orleans? Close to home and there's a huge, relatively new Whole Foods on Magazine St. It's pretty accepting of all views. It has the best night life in the South (w/o a doubt) and the music scene is amazing. There's always something going on, a lot of colleges that bring younger folks in, so it's easy to meet people & women especially. It's also not so big that you'll get lost in the rat race like mega-cities.
It's also an extremely approachable city if you're riding solo. Rent is cheap and it's easy to find a furnished room off Craigslist - which is a good way to meet people if you feel safe doing so. If you aren't too familiar with the city, the India House Hostel is a really good place to stay. Clean, safe, inexpensive, and right off Canal St. so you can take the streetcar and explore the city on foot. There are people from all over the world staying there most times of the year so it's a cool experience - and not something we often see in the South. They play live music, have a pool, and dinner - so you're practically guaranteed to have a large group of people to go out drinking with at night.
That's what I did and I had a really good time. I had never been to New Orleans or even Louisiana, didn't know anyone down there, and I ended up staying for a few years.
What about cities in VA like Richmond and Charlottesville?
That's an option too, I have a friend who went to UVA and still lives in Charlottesville, so it would be cool to know at least one person in a new city. I don't know much about the pros and cons of the area itself though, or Richmond.
Charlottesville is even smaller and more college-centric than Tallahassee. Just something to keep in mind. It's a cool town but I know that I don't want to still be around that environment in my mid-20's.
Since you seem interested in NC and I'm from there, here are some of my thoughts:
The area around the Whole Foods in Durham is really nice. It's right off Duke East Campus. There are some great neighborhoods surrounding it: Old West Durham, Watts-Hillandale, and Trinity Park. It's one of the most historic and dense (by small town Southern standards) parts of the city. There are a number of decent to good bars, restaurants, and shops on 9th St. and Broad St. That's right by Whole Foods. It's one of the very few parts where you wouldn't need your car on an everyday basis... which is a big plus for me. It's on a grid-layout, traffic is low, and it's very bike friendly. You'd be a short bike ride from downtown which has seen an explosion in growth in the last decade - plenty of bars and restaurants to visit. There's also the Farmer's Market & YMCA downtown. Rent isn't bad, especially if you got a place when school was out. Almost everyone you meet in that area will be a transplant.
Durham is smaller, less expensive, and slower paced than Raleigh, and in some parts, still more Southern feeling. Especially if you stay in North Durham or East Durham. You'll need to be driving in those parts, but traffic isn't bad. It's less gentrified so the neighborhoods will be mostly black & there will be slightly more crime. But nowhere in Durham is bad these days. The 20's dating scene in Durham is not great.
Central Raleigh is pretty cool. There are a lot of great bars and restaurants. The nightlife is more varied and exciting than in Durham. Rent is more expensive, traffic is worse, and once you get out of the central parts of the city, it's more of a suburban sprawl. Tons of transplants, especially in/towards Cary. NC State students on the whole are 10x more attractive and friendlier than Duke students. But NCCU students are better in my experience than Shaw University students. You won't find Central students in that Whole Foods part of Durham though.
The Triad area (Winston-Salem & Greensboro... don't live in High Point) has seen a lot of growth and there are cool things going on in the downtown areas. Slower paced, lower rent, more Southern feeling, and more conservative on a whole.
I personally think Charlotte is one of the worst metro's in the country and you couldn't pay me to live there. Too boring, corporate, and vanilla from my experiences. But some people love it so I'm not the one to ask about that
Asheville is another place to consider. Smaller than the others but it's in the mountains, extremely liberal, and has a great arts & food scene. It's beautiful out there. Lots of transplants there as well, some colleges, but it's not completely dominated by the schools like say Boone or Cullowhee.
I personally would opt for Nashville or Richmond ahead of anywhere in NC, but that's just my take.
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.
