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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: rxfish on June 20, 2018, 07:39:49 AM

Title: Advice on relocating
Post by: rxfish on June 20, 2018, 07:39:49 AM

low cost of living would be awesome but I'd be willing to pay more for higher quality of life (staying completely open minded to ideas right now)

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds
Title: Re: Advice on relocating
Post by: austin944 on June 20, 2018, 09:06:29 AM
Austin TX has a lot of things you seek, but it is a relatively HCOL area.  You would probably have to live near Central Austin (downtown or UT campus) for a truly bike-friendly commute, and houses in that area are very expensive.  East Austin tends to be less expensive but less bike-friendly in some areas.  The heat in the summer might make it brutal for a commute.  But everything else is available -- Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck as we call it), farmers markets, live music, running trail around the lake and hiking trails in the greenbelt, Zilker park, indoor/outdoor rock climbing, paddling on the lake, loads of sunshine, a lot of people your age.
Title: Re: Advice on relocating
Post by: FINate on June 20, 2018, 09:28:54 AM
Since you don't mind cold you should have no problem finding sunshine and can cast a wide net. Lots of cities in the Mountain West match your criteria, should be able to find a LCOL option.

Something to try: Search Google Maps for Whole Foods or similar in candidate cities - even if you don't shop Whole Foods this is usually an good proxy for areas with sufficient density of people with similar values. E.g. a search for "Whole Foods" in Provo shows the nearest in in SLC, but it also turns up a place in Provo called "Sprouts Farmers Market" and the Bike League (http://bikeleague.org/bfa/awards) gives the city a Silver rating.

The Colorado Front Range Urban Corridor would be a good place to explore. Or North and South of SLC, or Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico, or Boise. And many smaller cities/metros in between.

Does your school/program have a job placement program? I would start there. Watch for openings in lower cost of living areas that check your boxes.
Title: Re: Advice on relocating
Post by: YoungGranny on June 20, 2018, 12:06:01 PM
It's cold but I think many places in Michigan would fit your needs. GR, Ann Arbor or Lansing all are fairly bikable at this point. We have loads of farmers markets and we have plenty of ads for "Pure Michigan" because our outdoor life is awesome. Lots of parks, paths, river walks and more in almost every Michigan city I've been to. It's also amazingly cheap to live here, just gotta deal with snow and cold (primarily from Jan-March).
Title: Re: Advice on relocating
Post by: DrMoney on June 20, 2018, 12:08:30 PM
Bellingham, WA (but perhaps not as sunny as you'd want)
Title: Re: Advice on relocating
Post by: AZDude on June 20, 2018, 12:40:59 PM
Based on the criteria, my first thought was Colorado. I would also say relatively large college towns would probably fit your needs as well.