ericcox

I was the first to push Austin, and I will hit it again. It is landlocked, but relatively easy to get from Texas to many other places. It's nice being in the middle of the country -- NY is about a 3 hour flight from Dallas; San Diego not much further.

Though I live in Fort Worth, I will second what Waterrockets said. Austin is... different. It is very nice, and if the politics of the place is important, Travis County (Austin) is almost the only place in TX that has voted Dem in most recent elections. And I wouldn't worry about Spanish translator competition. My experience is that most Texans are like most Americans as far as language acquisition goes -- we expect others to learn English. My former students with true Spanish language skills are all doing well.

To the guy who didn't like the food in Austin, I'm not sure where he's been eating. I have travelled to Austin quite a bit -- have a sister-in-law at UT & have done a good bit of research at UT -- and have always loved the food. And it is hard to beat Amy's ice cream.

My biggest problem moving back to Texas after grad school has not been the absence of a true winter, it has been the absence of any true hills around Fort Worth. Thankfully, Austin is on the edge of Texas Hill Country, though one could hardly call them mountains.

StalkerZERO

Look, I don't mean to get on anybodys bad side here but......ok looks like its going to happen. But umm........what about "THE BIG ONE" that is overdue for the west coast? Ya know....the one where the entire fault line gives up the ghost and half the state of california falls into the ocean and all that earth changing stuff? Wouldn't that rule out Seattle (cause of tsunamis) and certainly San Diego (falling into ocean)?
Just a thought for the long term.

Hocam

Philadelphia's pretty good for biking. Some drivers are jerks but there's a lot of bike lanes and wider streets. Some really nice riding if you want to do 40-80 mile rides but that first and last 5 miles are usually a pain in the ass to get away from all the stop lights, depending on where you live. There's a pretty good bike scene here too, I see more fixies every day and the cops couldn't care less how you bike.

Also has some pretty good schools, UPenn, Villa Nova, Drexel, U Arts, Temple, and a few smaller ones I'm forgetting.

Beautiful riding out by Villa Nova too, some of the nicest architecture and lots of parks.

mrt10x

Actually the San Andreas Fault, "the big one" is a fault line of two plates moving in opposite directions North to South. Not appart and therefore precipitating the "big drop off."

aikigreg

I just looked up San Diego's cost of living. the 45K I make in Fort Worth would have to be upgraded to 69K to keep the same standard of living - EEEEK!

flatlander_48

It's all relative. I've been to all three and I like all three for different reasons. Seattle and Portland are a bit hard on my arthritis, however. Anyway, sometime last year (I think) Bicycling had a rating of various cities around the US regarding their bike culture and infrastructure. Worth the search...

slim_77

Chicago...

UIC has an amazing Urban Planning and Policy program (I am working on masters) and improving bike infrastructure. It also has a strong bike community.

Best small big city in America.

See these links:

1. Chicago's Bike 2015 Plan
2. Chicago Bicycle Federation

PM me if you have questions.

jschatz

Boulder, Colorado. Best cycling community on earth. 300 days of sunshine, mountains nearby, open farm roads, toleramnt motorists, world class riders everywhere, great bike shops, etc. I wonder why I ever left?

TechJunkie

+1

neckface1

Yeah, I think the fact that I don't live in a middle-class neighborhood has a lot to do with it. I live in the East Village, where you have the 2 million dollar condos right next to the projects (I live on ave. D). It's pretty absurd, and I think it's creating some serious class and race conflicts around here.

It is only a matter of my personal opinion, but I do find Brooklyn to be filthy and overpriced, unless you can score a place in Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights, which both cost almost the same as Manhattan. I lived in Williamsburg and constantly commute to Sunset Park and Clinton Hill for rehearsals, both are loaded with garbage, annhilated roads, construction nightmares, traffic, etc. The fact that a two bedroom in southside Williamsburg goes for half a million is laughable. But hey...

Biking I've never had any problems with the locals. However, walking around my neighborhood at any time past sundown, I am consistently paranoid of violence. In the last year I got beaten up explicity for race, had my car vandalized, been threatened regularly... It's starting to wear on me. Equally annoying are the NYU kids that run around drunk and scream at the top of their lungs at 4AM when bars open.

Honestly I would love to live anywhere that is primarily middle-class, as you mentioned. A decently educated surrounding with people who can tolerate each other without so much economic disparity is the key to a healthy neighborhood, and I think most of NYC is lacking in that area.

Of course, biking down Mott street on a Sunny weekend is one of the most wonderful things in the world.
D

uspspro

+1

Especially on the Peninsula or in the South Bay between Burlingame and San Jose.

I live in San Mateo and I love it here.

I have lived in: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tucson, AZ, around Tampa Bay, FL, and around Buffalo, NY.

I came back to the Bay Area, and will stay as long as I can

redfooj

Spent my years in the NW. Spent my years in Austin ( love that place), but next place of resident is COLO... no scenery is more inspiring than the rockies...

8Lives

Another for the bay area. I have lived in La Jolla (San Diego), Boulder, San Francisco, NYC (TriBeCa), Westport and Geneva CH.

Coming from Manhattan you won't be getting sticker shock anywhere. San Diego has gotten pretty built up, but it is good if you want that "beach" vibe. It isn't long on urban sophistication.

San Francisco and the Bay Area in general are just that good. And if you really want bike friendly try Berkeley. Urban, great dining, and you can ride 50-70 miles with only a few stoplights. This weekend I did 50 miles from my house, with only 17 seconds stopped. Not bad for living in the middle of 8 million people.

cbaronzzi

I have been considering relocating to colorado springs or boulder for a year or so. I know Boulder gets lots of sunshine and has some great terrain but what are the temps like year round in Boulder. If you didn't ride when the Temp got below about 40 degrees, how much could you really ride (what months)?

grahny

I'll put a plug in for philly as others have.... Cycling in all forms is fairly big here, especially in the manayunk/art museum/center city areas. The majority of drivers tolerate us just fine . Plenty of areas to ride and I see tons of people commuting (unfortunately for me the building I work in won't allow bikes upstairs - booo!). I see every type of cyclist out there on a daily basis... wherever in or around philly your are too, there's someone on a bike.

The music scene is pretty good here, from local music to mainstream. A few excellent jazz & blues clubs, plus tons of places to gig.... TONS. I'm a musician too (not in a band though) and frequently hit spots all over the area to see local bands.

You can get a decent apartment in the city for a reasonable price - nowhere near compared to NY prices - probably 1/2 that. My last apartment was 900 sq ft bi-level for $1,100... right downtown in center city (3yrs ago though, so I'm sure everything is tad more now). Housing market is decent too with prices in all ranges.

However, I will say that personally, I'd love to move to SoCal... that's just more my style even though I've been an east coaster my whole life.

splytz1

I didn't mean to seem harsh in my earlier post, I just felt as though you were insulting the city I know and love, not to mention bike around in. Sorry you've had what seems to be a lousy experience here. May you find happier trails, so to speak, elsewhere.

Your stereotyping of neighborhoods that you've "commuted to" as "loaded with garbage," though, is just wrong. We here in Clinton Hill are nice and civilized. We put our trash in garbage cans and set them out on the sidewalks for collection. My friends in Sunset Park would also be offended by your undue characterization of their lovely neighborhood full of trees and pre-war brick row houses.

You're right, though: South Williamsburg is for the most part an ugly, overpriced dump.


Good luck.

mrt10x

Except for the Sierra Nevada’s

cbaronzzi

I don't care what anyone says, this is a description of heaven for me:

https://www.normankoren.com/Boulder.html

unbelievably

Vancouver,Canada.

makeinu

..

brianallan

Tucson, Arizona.

ericcox

+15,000 I have an old friend whose husband is based in San Diego. They pay about the same in rent as my monthly mortage for a house that's about half the size of ours in Ft. Worth. But San Diego is beautiful...

goldbam

I live in Seattle, and would definitely recommend it. There are bazillions of commuters here including me who find it great. Seattle also just launched a 10 year $20 billion dollar program to improve the biking in downtown seattle. I've been to portland before...ridden with crime and seems like a really dirty and old city. Seattle's much cooler.

mutantdunk

Buddy, if you come to Seattle in August you will fall in love with it. But, like any rushed romance there is more to it and that comes in November. Rain and overcast. A few years ago we set a record by having measurable precip 90 out of 120 days in the winter. The city can seduce and then break you.

You can, however, ride 12 months out of the year if you have fenders and a light and you want to look dorky like the rest of us.

CerveloNW

I'm pretty sure it's not $20 billion. That would fund a pretty amazing bike system though.