MUSTACHIAN CITIES...SUGGESTIONS???

[HopefulMustachian]

My SO and I are planning on buying a house in a couple of years and would like to check out some potential places to move. He is from the US and I am from Canada. I think we will most likely end up somewhere in Canada, but we are open to the US too! Any thoughts on cool places with low taxes/housing costs, bikeable, parks/nature around, etc.??

[Future Lazy]

I am also interested in the answer to this question! Because of that, and my general lack of experience in many cities, I don't have any specific city suggestions... Oops.

However, I did want to suggest using Google Maps and their Bicycling overlay to take a look at bike routes for individual cities.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7853671,-105.1766105,13z/data=!5m1!1e3

They also have a public transportation overlay that's pretty helpful, too!

[rubybeth]

Well, I think we'd need more information to make informed recommendations. Answer these to get us going:

1) What kind of climate are you looking for?
2) Do there need jobs in the area, and if so, what sector do you work in?
3) What kind of cheap or free entertainment do you prefer? "Outdoors" like a couple good city parks, or near a national park, or...?
4) What do you consider low housing costs? In my area, you can get a started home type 3 bedroom, 2 bath house for less than $150k.

[HopefulMustachian]

Thank's for your help Rubybeth!

Here are my anwers:

1) We're not too picky. I would like to avoid areas that have really harsh winters (although we enjoy winter sports too). Perhaps the mild winters in BC, but we are also open to other locations if we find a city with other assets (my parents live in Ontario). 

2) Yes, we would probably want to find jobs to pay down the mortgage and continue to grow our 'stash. My boyfriend works in finance and I work in the environmental/engineering/consulting sector.

3) I think we would like to be in a layed back place with a good amount of nature around. We are tired of the big city life and we are both pretty outdoorsy.

4) We want a small house and are willing to pay around $150,000-$200,000. We would also like a place with low property taxes.

Thank's for your help!

[pminkler]

How about Buffalo?

We're mostly known for snow, but it's not that bad.  Really.  Even when we were on the national news the other week.

Houses are pretty cheap here.  $120K will get you a nice 3 bedroom house in the suburbs.  $98K bought me a duplex in the suburbs.

The basic history of Buffalo is that we took it hard after big industry (steel) left, but now we're up-and-coming in a big way.  Reformed waterfront area w/ bike paths, free concerts all summer, kayaking and other water-related stuff.  Tax breaks for startups have really helped the industry.

Everybody is friendly!

You can bike most anywhere in 20-30 minutes.

Snow is fun.