I apologize for inserting this thread amongst a plethora of political threads, but I’m seeking valuable input from the LR brain trust.
My wife is applying for fellowships in the cities below. If anyone has any feedback, good or bad, it would be much appreciated. It’s only a two year program (starting next July), we don’t anticipate being there any longer than that. We will definitely rent.
Maybe - I like the East coast but Baltimore is not my favorite. However, it is a centrally located city.
No - Do you like heat, intense humidity, and red necks?
No - I hate Ohio, although Columbus is way nicer than Cleveland.
Yes - I could definitely live in Dallas - but it would have to be Ft. Worth.
Yes - I love everything about Denver and west of Denver. East of Denver there is nothing until you reach Chicago (ok, a few crappy towns in Nebraska and Iowa). Great outdoors everthing, and amazing weather - best on the list.
Maybe - Houston has even more humidity and heat than Birmingham, but it’s very liveable cost wise.
No - Reminds me of Kansas, another State I dislike. Seriously, Arkansas is nicer.
No - I will never live in freezing weather like MN, and I live in Chicago.
Yes - I like Seattle a lot. Does get rain, but tons of natural beauty. Very expensive.
How much spare/travel time will you have? If minimal, go for a place w good cost of living. Otherwise:
Columbus- grew up here. 4 seasons. Reasonable cost of living. Has grown a lot since I left 12 yrs ago. Not big on cool outdoor places to go, but great hiking (maybe MTB) in SE part of state.
Dallas- hot, concrete nightmare of a place. Lived here for 2 yrs (Arlington), disliked it immensely. There are some good MTB trails, but I understand much of the shoreline trails at various lakes are now several hundred yes from water due to drought.
KC- lived near here for a yr. Downtown/inner city is pretty bad, had bigtime “white flight” decades ago. HOT and humid in summer. Winter can get frigid. Surprisingly robust tri community (Ultramax puts on good, well-run events). Lawrence is nearby- heard good things. Missouri has lots of rugged placed close by.
Minneapolis- stayed in city once for 4 days. Neat downtown. Didn’t have that “lost in a big city” feel though.
Seattle- been out for 1-4 days a couple times. Cool place. Gray and rainy in winter. If you or wife are bummed by lack of sun, stay away. I would love to live here for a year or 2 (outdoor stuff is killer, and close), but my wife is a sun-loving Central American and refuses to go. On a 4 day pass I snowboarded twice, snowshoes mt Rainier, ran in a park consisting of 3 2k peaks then went to downtown Seattle.
Go someplace new and that you may never get to go to again. My vote would be Seattle or Denver (never been, but Colorado Springs is kick ass, so Denver must be as good for outdoor stuff).
I suggest you cross Columbus off your list - unless you’re a big effing a-hole - then you’ll fit right in. My recollection of Columbus is that it’s filled with a bunch of transiant mid-level professionals who are on their way to their next big career move. They’re standing ready to screw you before you can screw them. I had a few opportunities to relocate back to Columbus and passed on every single one of them. I didn’t find it a very friendly place.
It does, however, have an outstanding brewery district on the edge of German Village. Good luck.
Based on your criteria, I would narrow the list to
Denver
Seattle
Baltimore
Denver’s food is probably subpar to the other options but you get the nicer year round climate in addition to great outdoors. Denver and Seattle beat out Baltimore on the outdoor activities. But Baltimore has location going for it. Quick jump to anywhere on the east coast (Miami, Charleston, DC, NYC, Maine).
FWIW, I lump Houston, Columbus, KC and Birmingham in the same ‘yawn’ category. Nice cities just not a whole lot going on there. I barely want to visit those cities, much less live there.
Well, I live in Columbus. I definitely enjoy being here though I’m in a ‘younger’ area-that probs makes a difference. Lots of options for nom worthy foods too. Especially downtown. Don’t really have anything for you on the other places though.
I just moved to Seattle, so I’m biased, but I would say Denver, Seattle, or Baltimore. I agree with some of the other posters- the rest of the cities I lump together as “meh.” My comments are:
Baltimore, MD - Nice general area, near other (better cities), but B’more itself is actually pretty dangerous. I’d live outside the city, and I’m a downtown city person.
Birmingham, AL - This would be a non-starter for me, AL is at the wrong end of virtually every state list of something (education, obesity, religiosity, etc). But that’s me, you may be different
Columbus, OH - Meh. Okay, but a big college town. If OSU wasn’t here, I’m not sure what else would be.
Dallas, TX - I’ve never been, but I just picture a big commuting nightmare. Could be wrong though.
Denver, CO - Best outdoor activities and weather, but I’ve heard Denver itself is kind of boring. Maybe Boulder or just outside the city?
Houston, TX - see Dallas
Kansas City, MO - Middle of nowhere, hot summers, cold winters. Definition of a flyover state. Can’t imagine much of a foodie scene.
Minneapolis, MN - Nice, but small. Very cold in the long winter. I considered this to Seattle, but thought Seattle had a better city feel.
Seattle, WA - Obviously the winter and springs can be rough, but the summer and fall is supposed to nice. Definitely a foodie scene, well-educated, can live in the city, good outdoorsy stuff
FWIW, I’d also narrow the list to Baltimore, Seattle, and Denver.
I was considering a move to Seattle and a good friend of mine from there raved about all the great things in Seattle. Ultimately, the west coast was just too far away for my wife so we didn’t pull the trigger for out there.
I’ve another good friend from Denver (poor sap is currently doing a fellowship in Buffalo, but he’s only there for a year and then he’s off to somewhere else). As Luke Wilson said in Old School, “Ah, Denver…the Sunshine State.” Enough said.
I’m from VA and am very familiar with Baltimore. There’s a lot of parts of Baltimore where I wouldn’t walk down the street at night, and same where I wouldn’t walk down the street in the middle of the day. That being said, there’s also a lot of really nice parts of the city and there’s a lot to do. If you like water and if you like seafood, the appeal of Baltimore is significantly increased.
The others, meh. Some I’ve been to, some I’ve not. None of them are places that I’d consider that interesting. OK, Minneapolis is interesting, but their winter is more than I can handle.
FWIW - I recall reading in a poll a while back that Minneapolis, was listed as the large city in the U.S. with overall the fittest , and most recreational active outdoor culture by far! I’'ve never been, but I have good friends who live there that* rave* about it.
Yes, it get’s a real winter, the difference with the real winter, there, I understand, compared to say Chicago, is that you can actually do something with it if you are into things like, nordic skiing , snow shoeing or other winter sports.
Also, I am told the real estate is reasonably priced and stable - unlike many other places in the U.S. right now!
Of course if you loath winter, then it may not be a fit for you.
Seattle has a similar culture, and I believe might have been second on that list - knock against it is that it is very expensive, and it does rain, a lot. I lived up the road in Vancouver BC, for 10 years - winters are long grey and wet!
Only other city on that list that I am reasonably familiar with is Houston - been a couple of times for work. Not sure how anyone can be an outdoor endurance athlete in Houston. People that do, are my heros. There simply seems to be almost no where to run or ride, and it’s stifling hot and humid for a good potion of the year. However, think of the up-side, if you can find a good place to ride/run, it may be the perfect training ground for Ironman Hawaii!!
Are you looking to live IN a city, or near a city?
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything nice about the City of Baltimore. They have a very tiny section of town called the Inner Harbor that’s nice, but beyond that it doesn’t really have much going for it. The nicest thing about Baltimore is its centralized location: 1hr from DC, 2.5 hours from Richmond, 2 hours from Philly, 3 hours from NYC, 2 hours from the beach, 2.5 hours from an awesome national park (Shenandoah). You can even find some less than mediocre snow skiing in the area.
If you want to live in the suburbs, or even in a somewhat rural area, Baltimore would be a fine place to live.
Wife and I are have same background. We have been to most of those cities and spent some time in a few of them.
Both of us agree. Seattle, then Denver, but not by much (we lived in Boulder for a couple of years, but had much different priorities back then). Most of the others she wouldn’t even consider as options.
We’re currently in the Denver/Boulder area, but have lived in Houston and Birmingham.
Houston is sprawling and hot and humid. I would not choose to live there again, but the cost of living outside the loop is very cheap if you don’t mind the suburbs. We lived near the Woodlands.
Birmingham is Deep South and that can be a culture shock for many. It is a foodie heaven, which also might explain the obesity problem. B’ham is a relatively small city and it is easy to get arond unless you live out Highway 280, which is a traffic nightmare. Triathlon is pretty popular there but cycling is difficult around town due to a lack of shoulders or bike lanes. It is hot and humid in the summer but is nice the rest of the year. We are actually looking to move back there in the next year. If you visit, check out any of Frank Stitt’s restaurants for some of the best food in the US. He is nominated for the James Beard award every year. Full Moon BBQ is another great choice on the cheap.
Denver is a great city and it has weathered the economic downturn rather well. It has awesome restaurants and the outdoors/triathlon scene is amazing. Cost of living is pretty high and it can be difficult to get around in the winter - it really just depends on the year. There is also not much diversity here, if that matters at all for you.
Baltimore: can’t really add too much more. The inner harbor is nice, but walk 2-3 blocks outside it in the wrong direction, and it’s not someplace you want to be during the day… Lots of history around, most of the east coast within driving distance. If she’s/you are heading downtown, the subway/light rail heads all the way in from kinda posh Owings Mills. Some of the burbs between downtown and Fort Meade are nice too, and the MRAC trail heads to downtown (and DC). South of Fort Meade, I’d consider to be DC metro area.
MPLS: closest on your list to Chicago, culturally. If you want to stay in Chicago, but can’t, choose MPLS. Columbus has more similar weather, but I’d never live there
I personally would choose Seattle or Denver in your position. I love the PNW, and after living in central California for 5 years, I’d love grey, wet winters .
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