I’m pondering a move, and I’m interested in what things people like and what factors y’all consider important.
I grew up just outside of Boston, really enjoyed that. It’s a very small city relative to NYC or sf or the like. It never felt like I was running out of stuff to do there though. Good mix of young people cause of the colleges and rich old people and basically everything in between.
I personally don’t mind owning a car and living in the suburbs though, which isn’t I think the trend. At least not based on what I’ve seen on lemmy.
I like having a big shed and garage to work on cars and other stuff but still being able toget the city life when I’m meeting up with people or going in for dinner with my wife.
Probably New York because of Zohran
Great point
It’s funny because DC is also about to elect a DSA mayor and literally nobody knows about it or cares.
I care! I didn’t know about it until just now though. That’s great news!
New York fucking city. There’s no goddamn place like it.
I’ve lived here most of my life, and I would never live anywhere else.
New York is life New York is love
I visited NYC for a week for the first time in June and loved every second of it. So much to do and see so I was never bored. Insanely walkable and filled to the brim with public transit. There were times I got on the trains just to ride them cause I don’t have them where I live. If I ever move out of my garbage state, that’s pretty high on my wishlist of places to live if I can find a job that pays better than my current job ($25/hr for 45-50+ hours a week) and a 1 bedroom apartment that I could afford (best ones around me are $1k/month).
The crowds kind of overwhelmed me last time I was there, but there’s certainly a lot to like in terms of resources, culture, etc. No way would I be able to afford it, though.
There is lots of ways to live cheap in the city, especially if you don’t live in Manhattan, which most people in NYC don’t
I get the feeling that when most people talk about sky-high housing costs in NYC, they’re not particularly talking about Manhattan, but what do I know.
It’s true that rent is often more expensive in NYC compared to other cities, but lots of other stuff is a lot cheaper, especially if you know where to look. Plus, you don’t have to own a car and pay for gas and insurance and stuff like that. So that’s a big cost savings right there.
I’m paying well under $1K for a single bedroom in a pretty nice area, in a major Midwestern city. Public transport is literally at my doorstep. What might the equivalent cost be in a non-Manhattan NYC area?
Probably twice that, but you’d also be in New York City. Which means your job would probably pay a lot more. But maybe not.
If that major Midwestern city happens to be, say, Minneapolis or Chicago, I might consider staying put. Minneapolis is a pretty cool city. and so is Chicago, although, personally, I’d take NYC over Chicago.
But the value in living in NYC is the city itself. You’re very rarely at home, because you’re out and about enjoying the city, taking advantage of so much of what it has to offer, most of which is free or cheap. And there are so many people to enjoy it with! Another major benefit about NYC is the sense of community with the people who live there. Contrary to popular belief, New Yorkers are pretty nice people. ( for the most part)
Yeah I’m middle-aged and significantly disabled, so it was always just a theoretical. Not that I’m not jealous of everything NYC has to offer. This direct area could certainly use more interesting stores and a good pizza-by-the slice shop!
Thanks for the replies, and have a good 'un!
You can get studio apartments in the Bronx for cheaper than most cities in the USA. People don’t believe me, but NYC is way cheaper than Seattle or SF in terms of housing & groceries
Kinda controversial opinion, but I found living in NYC to be cheaper than living in most of America, because you don’t need a car… no car payment, no gas, no insurance goes a long way.
I don’t live in Chicago, but I work there a lot and have for many years. I love Chicago. People are friendly, it is an active city, it is an interesting blend of old and new. I haven’t run across the douchenozzle vibes that I endured when I worked in NYC and gross ass new jersey. Most people from Chicago have a lovely sense of self. They’re cool if you are. It isn’t perfect and winter is.pretty rough, but there is a lot to like.
I have only been one time, but I really liked Denver. Same friendly vibe as Chicago, mountains are stunning, city is fun, walkable, feels like a very active population.
I would only intentionally live somewhere with good mass transit. I don’t want to own a car. I don’t want to feel like owning a car is playing on hard mode.
That’s a big factor in why I’m in New York City. There’s good transit that runs 24/7.
There’s also places to go. Things to do. Saw like five bands play this summer. If a band is going on tour they’ll almost certainly play here. There’s beaches. There’s parks. You can take the train and hike up a mountain.
Some stuff is expensive but there’s deals. My favorite bar has $5 beers. My favorite grocer has $1 fruit. My friend lives in a house with a bunch of fellow queer weirdos and pays like $1k rent for their room.
I’m not really involved but there’s a lot of queer content here, too. My friend really found their people and filled a void they didn’t realize they had when they lived in suburban Midwest.
Detroit, east side of the river. (Yes, that’s canada)
I love the Seattle area but I’m biased because I grew up there. Decent public transit including a light rail, great weather, nice-ish people, great culture. Wish I could go back.
(there is a LOT of crime and homelessness though…)
In reality the crime rate in Seattle is still far lower than it was in the 90’s (just like everywhere else in the USA)
It’s great if you’re cool with junkies yelling at you all the time. But then again, all the NIMBYs made sure to keep them corralled to the areas where only the poor people live. You know- the areas with the $2-3,000/month apartments.
But the weather is delightful!
You seem nice. Anyway, I lived in south King County and visited Seattle so rent/mortgage was actually not too bad.
I forgot that junkies are a protected class around here. But that’s only the case until they are in your back yard moaning all night. Then they’re an issue.
My junkie eldest brother spent many a night sleeping on my couch, I know how it goes.
My two junkie best friends of over 30+ years offed themselves via the needle.
I have zero sympathy for them. This is a chosen path. No ignorance to claim, no fault but their own. I know people have some weird soft-spot for them, but I can tell you from witnessing it myself- they won’t ever even try to help themselves as long they are coddled by everyone.
Have you ever tried not to have a mental illness? It’s kind of the same deal. Addiction is an illness, not a failure of willpower. Resentment is understandable I guess, it truly is fatiguing to try and help someone who isn’t ready. But I really don’t think “it’s a chosen path”.
Junkies don’t become junkies for shits and giggles.
No, they do it because they’re fucking stupid.
Ok? Why are you acting like I’m sympathizing with them? Just because my brother is one doesn’t mean I don’t hate them.
Oh I’m not. I’m just expanding on my reasoning.
I live and have lived in the chicago metro my whole life. There are few places I could imagine moving to if I could go anywhere. Obviously im biased. One thing is I need good public transit. I never thought how good ours may or may not be till I went to a job interview in dc. I swear it was middle of the day and the trains ran like every 20 mins. In chicago they only run that unoften at like 2am. then like getting off and going on a buss you paid basically full fare. got a 25 cent discount or something. here you pay your fair and you can transfer twice outside the system (bus to diff bus or bus to train or train to bus. transfers train to train are always free and don’t use a formal transfer). I think maybe only new york might have a system that is adequate enough for me in the us outside of chicago. add to this great bike lane infrastructure and the divy bike program and the extended train network with metra and its central location to amtrack plus two major airports. then like the lakefront, parks, forest preserves often around the rivers. its not bad for nature spaces for such a big city. then like you can find food from anywhere between the city and the suburbs. also four seasons which can be a plus or minus but is a plus for me. when you have nice weather in chicago you effing appreciate the heck out of it.
Lived in and around Chicago most of my life, and this is also my answer.
Having a winter hobby to look forward to takes the edge of the cold weather for me.
You mentioned the lake, but another benefit often overlooked is access to one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the planet.
yeah to go further the water reclamation district and not just water source but like the deep tunnel. There were so many articles suggesting it was a boon dogle as it got expanded and expanded but even though they plan for abundanza by the time they have it. It turns out to be just enough. Its looking pretty genius now with the crazy storms we have nowadays. I was talking to people this year how when growing up most rain was from rainy days rather than always seeming to be a storm. ironically this last summer we actually had closer to the rainy days I remember as a kid. much like last winter that everyone said was so bad just reminded me a typical one before the 90’s.
You are right that Chicago’s system doesn’t get enough love, but you’ve always got a free train to bus transfer on the DC system. I remember when you actually got a little slip of paper from the train station to give to the bus driver. These days trains are 3-10m headways during peak times, at least down town, but that definitely hasn’t always been the case.
I swear it was like a 25 cent discount train to bus. this was just after 2010 I think.
It’s $2.25 today which is the full fare of a metrobus ride. I am like 90% sure the credit has always been full fare but it’s possible at some point it might not have been.
Hey was just looking at transit and apparently dc started doing the sensible free transfer thing after covid in 2021. As I said my experience was way back around 2010. That would make dc a much more acceptable place if the trains run all night and frequently during the day. I will say there was another aspect though. At that time there seemed to be no like middle level living. When I was contemplating working at the place it felt like I had to choose between a place I would get shot or ritz high end stuff. Like maybe I could afford a condo but it would be hard to make ends meat but I would be getting all these perks I don’t necessarily want. Not sure if that has changed.
yeah its possible I was reading the machines wrong. I got off at reagan and was like. wtf. then after waiting 20 mins for a train and waiting another 20 when I transfered to the line going to the univeristy I was again like. wtf.
A 20 minute wait at DCA would make me pretty upset as well. Early 2010s was the “trains keep catching on fire” era, which meant they would single-track for weeks after the incident to make repairs. These days the trains don’t catch on fire nearly as often.
yeah it was funny because I had heard good things about the system and was massively disapointed. I mean I like the cleanliness. I mean I only experienced it once but left a rather sour taste in my mouth. I had actually hoped to take the opportunity to get out to the mall for an hour but had to put a kybosh on that. I don’t travel a lot so missing the opportunity to see a place I go to kinda stunk.
San Diego/La Jolla if cost is no issue. Perfect weather 24/7/365, beautiful beaches, no slow drivers, a proper walkable downtown area with an actual nightlife, legal weed; what more could one need?
If I could afford it, I would move there and never leave.
Edit: If money is an issue, then I’d pick somewhere in the woods near Boulder/Denver.
Toronto
There is no such thing. What’s better for one person will be worse for another. In general, the less developed an area is, the more affordable it is for the working class. However, that comes with the trade off of fewer services, self-reliance by necessity, not much to do, and lower education standards. The US is generally a capitalist hellscape for the lower classes. You have to be very realistic about whether you can afford to live in the nicer cities, and also realistic about the dangers and lower of quality of life if you choose to live in a poor area in an economically stratified city.
This. I was gonna suggest Los Angeles, but I happened to move there at a time that the cost of living was great, I lucked into a nice place in a rent-controlled part of town on the west side, and I had a decent income. But the situation could very easily be much worse now or in different circumstances. I definitely would NOT move to LA without a job, without friends to fall back on.
Likewise, when I lived in Pittsburgh the cost of living was also really good, but idk about now.
LA is probably bad, because of the traffic in the city
Again I lucked out for most the time I was there. But yeah I knew some folks with nightmare commutes.
Controversial opinion but LA traffic is less bad than many cities because the average driver is more skilled.
Like, LA traffic is bad, but you’re much more likely to get in a car crash in Boston, if that makes sense. NYC drivers are much more pointlessly aggressive, LA drivers understand traffic flows better.
LA has not only some of the worst drivers, but also they think they can drive 90mph on the 105 and 405 so I would disagree on the more skilled portion.
Lived about “21 minutes” (16 miles) from DT LA and the drive home from work events were always a wildcard of 20 minutes to 1 hour. It might not sound like a high worst case, but as a result people would only attend an event if it was on their general vicinity.
This ensured people always factored the traffic when deciding if they wanted to hang out (both for work or after hours). Most people kept to their existing friend groups on their city or neighborhood, which meant a very lonely and transient existence for people that moved there for work.
There are some truly great people there that would go the extra mile to include you, but I found the Bay and Sacramento regions to be much more welcoming traffic and all (on the bay). It made me turn from a car enthusiast to someone that hates everything they stand for (well not fully, but you get the idea).
VilniUS, because it’s not inside Usa.
None
Minneapolis has to be up there.
Ex Midwesterner, but if I was forced to go back it would be Chicago or Minneapolis. MSP has done so much to let you get around via transit, I could consider it. I’ve kept up on all the new BRTs, the light rail extensions, its looking very nice. You should be proud of your city for sure.
Oh, I never said I lived in Minneapolis. I just had heard lots of good things about it from people who have lived there.
I don’t think the city I live in (in the Midwest) is one I’d recommend. It’s certainly not the worst city in the U.S., but it’s definitely not among the best. Call it 40th percentile-ish just based on my completely unscientific gut feeling.
Chicago
