What's a cool physical thing you've seen in a city that helps people? Underground pedestrian tunnels? Homeless-friendly benches? Solar panels that double as shelters? Trains with flippable seat backs? Subway pods? Let's praise some clever city planners who deserve it.

Currently in Southern California, looking at our next chapter after the kids are out of the house. My wife and I are looking for a place that has more opportunities for arts, crafts and a bit more bohemian (but not overly woo woo). We like to rock hound, lapidary, wood carving, ceramics, mushroom growing, building things, gardening, etc. We love California and all it entails but are just curious about other places where it’s easier to find classes and community. We really liked the Southern Highland Craft Guild near Asheville but Asheville has its own set of problems and will for some time. We will be in our 50’s so ideally someplace that isn’t only youth oriented. As we age we also want access to good healthcare so no place too rural. We won’t rule out the cold but would prefer more mild or at least, sunny areas. I think Minnesota is too cold for us. We haven’t spent any time in Massachusetts but curious about that. We also like to hike, bike and be outside a lot. No Florida or Texas. We are used to HCOL but wouldn’t want to go anywhere more expensive than SoCal, like Marin county or pricey areas near the Bay (though we love the Bay Area).

Long story short - arts, crunchy, middle age fun.

I'm preparing to withdraw from school by May/June so I've been applying to jobs literally anywhere I can. One of the areas that keeps hiring for positions I'm qualified for is Cheyenne. I just applied for another position and am debating applying for another, but I don't know if I should!

After getting rejected from a job with the State of Wyoming three times in the last year, I still find myself applying to jobs there as desperation is starting to kick in and different positions open up. At first, I thought moving out to Cheyenne would be fun. I enjoyed the thought of it being about a one-hour drive to Denver in case I can't find enough to do. I've only been in Cheyenne for a few hours driving through, so I never really formed an opinion on the area. As I keep applying, I'm sitting and thinking whether Cheyenne is a good place to live? Even affordable--jobs I'm looking at pay $61-69k/year.

I glanced at the Cheyenne subreddit and it seems like a mix who are fine living there and others who despise it. It seems like politics/hate groups are more frequent there compared to where I am.

I am from the greater Philly region and love it here. I'm looking for a change and want to move out and live on my own in a new part of the country. I really have been so excited for this, but I never know where I might end up. I am really preferring jobs in the pacific northwest (with the addition of UT/AZ/NV), but still trying to keep an open mind with southern WY. I want to live in a place that is near some natural areas I can visit (state and federal parks, hiking availability) while also having enough urbanization where I can socialize.

I guess some things I'd like to know more about are:

- How good the city is for someone my age (mid-twenties)

- Whether the salary I listed before is even livable for the region (I checked the livable salary site and it seems like that is, but I'm not sure how accurate it is)

- Favorite things to do, quirks, what is really enjoyed in the area, quality of food

As a couple we are ready to retire and want to be closer to grandkids and out of severe regressive moves by our deep red state. Grandkids are in Alberta, Pacific Northwest, and another set may move to MI to leave Red state. Desire good schools, access to major airport preferred, and no higher than moderate cost of living. Housing budget 450-700 K. Near a university also desired. Could reside in close in suburb or even a small town or couple acre farmette very close to larger metro. If in town, walkability a plus. Retirement friendly property and other taxes desired. Considering near Philly, SE MI, Everette or Mt Vernon WA. Or near Northern VA but not too close in. Advice or other hidden gems?

Friendliest city/neighborhood? Regardless of race color and religion?

For context: I went to Pereira Colombia and was shocked how friendly everyone is, for example super friendly sellers waiters in restaurants, smiling people, ve y happy when you chat them up.. etc

I live in Denver and it gets a lot of shit for a crappy food scene. Denver actually does have places with really good food. The city just has notably expensive restaurants that sell "vibes" more than their food. Social media is to blame for that.

These are just some little things about living in different places that I was thinking about because I moved frequently when I was younger and didn’t really build up a regional identity with stuff like this.

I’m originally from Utah and have now lived in Texas for ~15 years, but I still say “you guys” instead of “y’all” do you pick up your regional slang/accent or do you keep your own?

I love Texas bbq and Mexican food but like if you’re a New Yorker who moves to Chicago do you embrace deep dish pizza or remain loyal to the New York style lol?

Utah doesn’t have an nfl team and my dad grew up in LA as a rams fan so I was kind of a fan of them but he stopped when they moved. Most of my friends were broncos fans so I’m also kind of a broncos fan? Since I’ve been in Texas I’ve been to a few cowboys games, but my family couldn’t care less about sports so it wasn’t really reinforced but I kind of have an attachment to them. My best friend is from Louisiana and grew up a saints fan so I’m also kind of a saints fan?

Yeah you read that right. What are the cities in the USA where, if you move there, you're most likely to see human poop while just taking a stroll?

Has anyone lived in both cities? What are the key +/- of each community? I am single, 33, with primarily outdoor hobbies.

Second post today, but this felt also important.

Get out of downtown

Downtown tends to be very touristy and businessey. The diversity is there but not as much in the sense of there being stores and restaurants from all around the world. Same with parts of Lincoln Park and Lakeview. If you feel like Chicago is regional and not international, that just means you haven't explored enough and popped into places.

Look closely

Chicago tends to be a city where alot of things just blend right in. But the city is made up of immigrants. If you go to the Chicago History Museum they talk all about that.

If you go to Uptown, you'll have an Ethiopian place, next to a thai place, next to a caribbean grocery store. And then down the street you'll have vietnamese markets and restaurants. Go a few streets over you may have Swedish stuff, then Lebanese. Few more streets over? Ecuadorian, korean, kenyan, german etc. Go to the south side you have chinatown, jamaican, etc, of course and all the different cultures associated with that. Areas also might have puerto rican stuff, cuban, armenian, jordanian, polish, ukrainian, japanese, taiwanese, haitian, salvadorian, austrailian, etc. Pretty much any nationality and culture you want to explore, you can do that here. Often times when you're in these neighborhoods, the signs and even billboards will fully switch to that language.

The key is actually going into these places, because on the outside they may not stand out much from every other shop. If you go into these places it often feels like you stepped into a different country for a bit.

My spouse and I are both convinced that our current place (SF Bay Area suburbs) is the greenest grass if we are willing to pay for it. However, in recent years we have both become very burnt out at our jobs and staring down the barrel of decades to retire to afford VVHCOL is not desirable. We also have young children and would like to spend more time with them.

Our opposite weather requirements makes it much harder to find more affordable places to live. I'll list out the non-negotiables first.

• Affordable, we would like sub $1M for 3/4 br SFH (no townhomes/condos) but willing to go up to $1.5M if necessary. No fixers and ideally 1800sqft+. (Believe it or not but in Bay Area, this is incredibly hard to find even for 1.5M).
• Good public schools, we would rather spend on a nicer school district than go private, which also makes affordability difficult
• Things to do for children (ex: theme parks, zoos, museums)
• Not too rainy/snow/cold in the winters (rules out a lot of pacific northwest), not too hot in the summers (rules out Sacramento/Texas/Arizona/Nevada) - this feels in conflict with point 1

Nice to haves

• Near west coast to be near both of our families
• Diverse population
• Near a major city (but doesn't have to be exactly in one)

What things did you see, do, or attend that you wouldn’t have gotten to if you lived somewhere else?

Doesn’t necessarily have to be a COMPLETELY singular experience (e.g. I’m sure New York offers something that’s also accessible in Chicago), but the point is, what did you do that you couldn’t get just anywhere?

Per the title, my fiancé and I are trying to figure out where we want to live. We’re in our early/mid 20s and both currently working as civil engineers. Our jobs are great, but we’re located in a small city in Mississippi and it just can’t give us what we want. We’re wanting a medium-large city, preferably with population less than 1M, that has access to nature (hiking, fishing, etc) and a good social scene for young adults. Walkability is a huge plus, especially since we have a dog, but isn’t mandatory. We’ve mostly been eyeing the western US but have also looked at a couple places on the East Coast. In terms of weather, my fiancé’s one request is not a ton of snow, other than that there isn’t much that bothers us since we get it all in MS. I’m also not the most keen on desert landscape, I like to have some greenery. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

I’m a 37 year old single woman and I moved after Thanksgiving 2024 to the Charleston, SC area (in the suburbs) from Ohio (I was in the city). At first I was in the honeymoon period of exploring the area, enjoying the vast differences, going to the beach, enjoying the weather (even the random snowfall) etc. Work kept me busy but work very quickly went downhill. It was an awful company. I wound up stepping down from the role bc it wasn’t a good match and now I’m making about 25k less than I was in Ohio.

The biggest thing getting to me is the total lack of community. I’ve made a couple of friends, but no bestie that I can really lean on, just chatting type friends. I haven’t connected with anyone at work. The area is very much not a singles-friendly city and the big political difference isn’t my cup of tea. I still primarily talk to my friends in Ohio, who are encouraging me to come back. It’s going to be costly, but I can get my hands on the money to early term the lease and go back plus enough to get the other apartment in Ohio. Then job search, but I have a solid resume and can land something at least equal to what I’m making now. It’ll wreck my savings but… isn’t that what savings are for? Getting yourself out of situations?

At the end of the day, am I just not giving the place a chance? Is it just the job souring everything? Or is it okay for something to just absolutely be not for you?

TL;DR - moved from Ohio to SC, hate it after two months, seeking advice on whether moving back is too rash a decision or not.

Anyone mind giving a breakdown of Salt Lake City/its suburbs? Opportunities for healthcare workers? Food scene? Nightlife? Politics? Skiing access? Friendliness of the people? Dating scene for LGBT guys in particular? Worth moving to from the Midwest?

Hello! I'm a 32 year old closeted trans person living in Texas I don't want to be in the closet anymore, but coming out in this state would be a terrible idea. The weather is also getting worse every year with the heat and storms.

It's for these reasons I want to move out of this state. Preferably a state with better weather and a more accepting atmosphere

Problem! I have know idea how to move out of state. Never done anything like that before. I also didn't know how I'd be able to get employment somewhere else. All I currently have is a highschool diploma.

I'm willing to do school to improve my career opportunities, but I have no idea what or how to pay for school.

Is there any path forward for me?

Moved a lot in the last few years. Lived in Albany NY, Santa Barbara CA, Denver CO, Portland OR, and Sacramento CA (for work).

All of our moves were work-related, and we finally get to choose where we move this year. No kids, at least for the next 3 years. We really loved Santa Barbara but didn't necessarily see it as a forever place. Living within 10 minutes of picking up takeaway Thai food and eating it on the beach was awesome. Lots of hiking trails. We lived in a bit of a dumpy place but I'm sure the experience could be better in a different neighborhood.

Our top requirements:

1. Community - a place where we can build community. Friendly. Queer-positive. A rock climbing gym would be great.

2. Outdoor activity - would love access to hiking trails near our place, or at least coastal walks.

3. Weather - leaning towards California for this reason.

We also considered moving abroad to Portugal, but decided to keep it simple and look in CA for now.

We are both training physicians so once we start actually finish our training we should be able to afford cost of living anywhere (that is a big CON of most places in CA that doesn't necessarily apply to us, very privileged position). Top on our list so far is Santa Cruz, Encinitas, or SLO. I personally prefer smaller towns. Smaller than Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz if possible. Something like them but smaller would be amazing.

Basically as it says. AMA about living here and I'll tell you the honest answer from my POV. And maybe others from here can chime in too.

Writing to get your thoughts and advice.

Family consists of husband in early 40s, wife in late 30s, a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

We are currently living in northern Virginia with two daycare-aged kids and do not have a village here (although we are friendly with two sets of parents through daycare). Is the MSP freeze that bad? I feel like people in DC area aren't super friendly, are busy and it's hard to make friends as an adult, let alone find a village for one's family.

We are slightly left leaning politically, we both enjoy skiing, I like snowshoeing, we enjoy a wide array of restaurants and travel. Our primary focus is our kids. MSP is attractive because it appears to have a lower COL, good schools and direct flights to both sets of grandparents.

What's it like being a transplant in MSP (esp with kids)? Any pros and cons you are willing to share?

I live in the Midwest with my wife, near my parents. I love my parents and spending time as a family is important. My sister lives on the east coast but visits several times a year. Other than that I go running with my mom each week and my wife and I go over for events and hang outs maybe once every 6 weeks.

However, my two close friends just recently moved away, and I hate the weather here. I used to live in the southwest for two years and loved the weather and lifestyle. But I returned home to finish school and my wife wanted to be closer to my family as mine are much more welcoming and close than hers, who live in the Deep South. My parents are in their early 60s and in good health.

Since my friends moved away and once I finish school I’ll have a degree and two years of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel torn. I love my family but the weather here is draining and I miss the sunshine and Southwest lifestyle and access to outdoors.

Both my wife and I are introverted so we don’t tend to make friends easily and mostly keep to ourselves but I know I’d feel lonely if I didn’t make friends or work friends. She has a good career here but also expresses interest in moving as she hates the cold too.

I know this will come down to a personal decision but just looking for any advice.

Edit: neither of us want kids

Anyone have any opinions on Daniel Island area of Charleston? Looks quite nice, very suburban - but a lot of stuff I've read about it, also hypes up it's walkability/bikeability to shops, restaurants, town center, etc, which is important to me. Of course not as walkable as downtown Charleston itself, but wife prefers something more suburban, while I don't want to be 100% car dependent and prefer to walk/bike when I can. Can you really live on Daniel Island and not use a car much of the time for daily living? (I know it's very expensive there also, but we're considering a move from a very high-COL area so not a dealbreaker).

Also what's the vibe there? Are the people friendly or somewhat snooty in a luxury-enclave kind of way? This would be a post-retirement move, we are moderate center-left democrats from a NE blue state. While I don't care all that much about politics, and would never base our entire decision around it, I would prefer not to relocate to a gun-crazy MAGA-ville either.

Seriously.

SoCal makes up less than 1/3rd of the state. The stupidly expensive Bay Area covers even less. Yet so many think those are the only places to live here, or that those prices represent prices in the entire state.

There are many places in California with homes priced less than $400k (we own a 1500 sq ft stick built house on 5 acres valued at $450k). Right now there are condos for sale at less than $250k in Sacramento. We are currently paying less for eggs than most of the country where I'm at, and gas is cheaper out here than in SoCal or the Bay Area too. It is possible for two people to live on $100k/year in California.

Please. When you are talking about LA, San Diego, Orange County or the Bay Area, specify that instead of just saying "California ".

Or I'm gonna start calling upstate New York NYC. /s

We're creating a list of our favorite places in each state!

Consider the criteria that are important for you when looking for a place to live (COL, safety, employment opportunities, healthcare, weather, etc.) This list should reflect current, not past, potential.

Here’s how it works:

1. Comment below with your nomination for your favorite place in the state listed and tell everyone why! Do not comment duplicate places. (If there is a post about OOO and you make a new comment on OOO, the second comment won't be counted toward the overall vote) If you nominate more than one place in one comment, I will only use the top suggestion as the one in the ranking.
2. Upvote the place(s) you like.
3. The single comment with the most upvotes will be crowned the favorite for the current state. If a place is posted multiple times, only the comment with the most upvotes will be counted. This prevents users from influencing the results by upvoting multiple comments for the same place.

Kind request: Let's try not to bash states in this process. If you don't know any good places, just kindly move on. These places are peoples' homes and we don't have to like every place but it is always a good practice to not be an a-hole xD Yes, even on Reddit!

Past winners:

• Alabama - 1st place: Birmingham, 2nd place: Gulf Shores of AL, 3rd: Huntsville
• Alaska - 1st place: Juneau, 2nd place: Fairbanks, 3rd place: Petersburg
• Arizona - 1st place: Flagstaff, 2nd place: Tucson, 3rd place: Sedona
• Arkansas - 1st place: Eureka Springs, 2nd place: Fayetteville, 3rd place: Bentonville
• California - 1st place: Monterey Peninsula, 2nd place: San Francisco & Santa Barbara (tie), 3rd place: San Diego
• Colorado - 1st place: Fort Collins, 2nd place: Golden, 3rd place: Boulder
• Connecticut - 1st place: Litchfield County, 2nd place: East Lyme (Niantic), 3rd place: New Haven
• Delaware - 1st place: Brandywine Valley, 2nd place: Lewes & Cape Henlopen (tie), 3rd place: Newark
• Florida - 1st place: St. Petersburg, 2nd place: Anna Maria Island, 3rd place: Destin
• Georgia - 1st place: Savannah, 2nd place: Decatur, 3rd place: Dahlonega
• Hawaii - 1st place: Honolulu and Kailua (tie), 2nd place: Maui and Waimea (tie)
• Idaho - 1st place: Moscow, 2nd place: Coeur d'Alene, 3rd place: Sandpoint & Teton Valley (tie)
• Illinois - 1st place: Chicago, 2nd place: Champaign Urbana, 3rd place: Galena
• Indiana - 1st place: Bloomington, 2nd place: Carmel, 3rd place: Indianapolis
• Iowa - 1st place: Des Moines, 2nd place: Decorah-Driftless area, 3rd place: Iowa City
• Kansas - 1st place: Lawrence, 2nd place: Kansas City, 3rd place: Wichita
• Kentucky - 1st place: Louisville, 2nd place: Lexington & Frankfort (tie) (not enough votes for have a 3rd place... If more people nominate and vote, I'll update!)
• Louisiana - 1st place: New Orleans, 2nd place: Covington, 3rd place: Lafayette
• Maine - 1st place: Cape Elizabeth, 2nd place: Rockland, 3rd place: Belfast
• Maryland - 1st place: Baltimore, 2nd place: Columbia, 3rd place: Easton, St. Michaels, and Frederick (tie)
• Massachusetts - 1st place: Easthampton, 2nd place: Roslindale, 3rd place: Franklin
• Michigan - 1st place: Ann Arbor, 2nd place: Traverse City, 3rd place: Grand Rapids
• Minnesota - 1st place: Duluth, 2nd place: St. Paul, 3rd place: Minneapolis
• Mississippi - 1st place: Oxford, 2nd place: Ocean Springs, 3rd place: Bay St. Louis and Vicksburg (tie)
• Missouri - 1st place: St. Louis, 2nd place: Hermann, 3rd place: City Museum (our first building on the list lol)
• Montana - (not much activity here, sorry!) 1st place: Missoula, 2nd place: Butte, 3rd place: West Yellowstone & Whitefish (tie)
• Nebraska - 1st place: Omaha, 2nd place: Lincoln, 3rd place: The panhandle (western side)
• Nevada - all only 4 votes each... Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Carson City
• Next up... New Hampshire!

I've been reading posts about the cities I want to move to and I see a lot of commenters who will rave about a certain city but bookend by saying that they ended up moving elsewhere/back to where they came from, but still miss the city.

Is it because of needing a bigger house for kids? Moving back to where friends/family are? For a job? Getting priced out?

I guess my biggest source of anxiety about this is not being able to make enough money to support myself in a particular city, and being forced out after struggling for a few years. Or that I won't be able to find a job to support myself well enough to justify moving there in the first place. (OTOH, I only want a small studio apartment and shouldn't big cities have more job opportunities? I'm pretty young so everything is a bit scary and I don't know what to expect).

Did you feel that you were forced out?

Hello to all. I am curious to know what cities are affordable for single gay men over 35 outside of the west coast. I have spent all of my life(all of my 20s) In Portland, Oregon. I moved away in 2018 for financial reasons and don’t want to go back. Despite what Google may tell you about Portland it is not really that lgbtq friendly or welcoming to single gays. There aren’t a lot of lgbtq bars or spaces left and the ones that are still around aren’t my vibe anymore. The weather sucks half the year and we don’t have any major events anymore due to the lack or city response to crime and homelessness. I know Portland very well and I went to experience life outside of Portland and Oregon.

I’m not interested in Seattle or anywhere else in Oregon because I need to experience life outside of the bubble that Portland tries to keep you in. Also, I’m starting to age out of my 30s in 3 years and don’t enjoy the same things I used and and some of the things I did enjoy in Portland are no longer there anymore(mostly due to COVID).

I want to start over new in a city where no one knows my name(that was not a cheers reference).

I want to experience life in a “real city” that isn’t insular and callus to others: Portland is very insular and some of my exs still live there so i need to get away from the bad memories and people i encountered and had bad experiences with. All the malls are dead and there isn’t much of a multicultural vibe left anymore.

So what is a good comparison to Portland, Oregon that isn’t in the PNW? Again, I’m aging but still want the same or similar vibe as Portland, just not Portland anymore because Portland doesn’t align with my values or political beliefs anymore. I need a new start.

Thanks.

I generally feel that, through my experiences, the North is more segregated and the South is more integrated. Atlanta and New

The title explains most of the ask - if you had an entirely remote job and had no personal connections to worry about and make about $70k a year, where could one live comfortably?

Would like art/culture/access to travel but realize I'm not poor but also not rich.

Edit: Pretty sure my job won't let me leave the US.

Hey all, I have been trying to decide whether to move back to Bellingham or to Bend...the battle of the PNW B's..lol. Work wise, Bend has more options overall that I'm excited about. I didn't have an awesome time with the lack of sun in Bellingham, and would appreciate more of that in Bend. However I'm concerned about wildfires and smoke in Bend after living somewhere that had bad wildfires, but of course nowhere is perfect. These are the places that are close enough to my family, I have some family members I need to be closer to logistically now, and don't really want to be in larger cities. I found it more difficult to make friends in Bellingham vs other places I've lived (I'm 30, F) and have heard people are a bit more outgoing in Bend. I did love being on the bay in Bham and felt like spring/summer/fall was magical, but of course Bend has the river! I'm into being active, holistic nutrition, yoga, that sort of thing and am hoping to meet some new good girlfriends and be able to date and find a long term partner whenever that is supposed to happen. Would appreciate any thoughts, thanks :)

I’ve been looking at potential places and it’s a lot for some reason. Like looking at stuff at the store, crippled by choices or something.

I’m looking for a place this is above average walk ability, Plenty to do entertainment wise, Close to outdoors activities. Not going to cost too much for a house if I decide to stay down the years in a nearby suburb. I’m iffy on weather, I would prefer to go south but it’s not a deal breaker. A strong dating scene would be a plus.

Wherever I move I am taking a pay cut unless a miracle happens. I’m taking steps back to go forward in a future career. But the very first step is getting out of WV.

(Please forgive me if this is very vague and lacking important information. I’m really open to anywhere that may fit my criteria. I’ve been in these hills my whole life and I have to get out of here. I’m just not happy here.)