Where is your 'Mustachian' city?

[Dambledro]

Where do you mustachians live that can get around without a car, have lots to do, and enjoy the area? I'll be looking to move within the next couple of years and have yet to decide where. What makes your city great?

[KMMK]

What country?

[Dicey]

It's not the city that's mustachian, it's me. I can be an awesome mustache anywhere.

[Dambledro]

Preferably in the United States.

[iamlindoro]

It's not the city that's mustachian, it's me. I can be an awesome mustache anywhere.

Word.  We're in the Bay Area in California, and while it's widely derided as a place of excess and wasteful, juvenile spending, we manage be mustachian and use it to our advantage.  We put away more raw dollars than we could anywhere else.

Ultimately, we'll probably kick off our retirement in Barcelona, which ticks most of your boxes.  I know it's not exactly what your'e looking for, just sharing because it's the beginning of our ongoing adventure a few years from now.

[matchewed]

It's not the city that's mustachian, it's me. I can be an awesome mustache anywhere.

Yup.

[Dicey]

It's not the city that's mustachian, it's me. I can be an awesome mustache anywhere.

Word.  We're in the Bay Area in California, and while it's widely derided as a place of excess and wasteful, juvenile spending, we manage be mustachian and use it to our advantage.  We put away more raw dollars than we could anywhere else.

Ultimately, we'll probably kick off our retirement in Barcelona, which ticks most of your boxes.  I know it's not exactly what your'e looking for, just sharing because it's the beginning of our ongoing adventure a few years from now.

Wow, me too! I'm in Walnut Creek. Where are you? You can PM me if you want.

[Zikoris]

Vancouver. It's great. We've got bike lanes and paths everywhere, and the city just approved a dozen new ones to be built over the next two years. Tons of free or low cost outdoor activities, and a mild enough climate to do them for most of the year (or all of the year if you take up a winter sport in addition to hiking,cycling, and water sports). People think it's expensive to live here, but it's not if you're intelligent and don't have an exploding-volcano-of-wastefulness lifestyle.

[Kris]

Philadelphia is a great place to live, I think. And super cheap.

Philly is cheap? Realiy? Cuz I love Philly.

[iamlindoro]

Wow, me too! I'm in Walnut Creek. Where are you? You can PM me if you want.

We're in San Jose.  One of these days I'll make it to one of the Bay Area mustachian meetups :)

[Bateaux]

New Orleans.   Getting more bike friendly every day.   Crime is always a concern though.

[dmbfan4life20]

Baltimore, MD

some parts are cheaper than others. I love where I live, walk everywhere and a ton to do. My COL is higher in my area then others but I don't mind paying the money to live in a nice area with tons around.

[HPstache]

Bellingham, WA ... if you can live with the rain.  Just got a complete city re-work with legitimate bike lanes, signals, signs, etc.

[GodlessCommie]

Baltimore, MD

some parts are cheaper than others. I love where I live, walk everywhere and a ton to do. My COL is higher in my area then others but I don't mind paying the money to live in a nice area with tons around.

What parts of Baltimore do you like?

[oinkette]

I'm doing New York (Brooklyn) pretty cheaply. The secret is: roommates.  I pay $800/mo rent

Otherwise: no car, PLENTY to do, and lots of cheap/free stuff as well. It's surprisingly affordable when you are conscientious. 

[SilveradoBojangles]

East Bay. We (2 adults) live very comfortably on 3K a month (lots of travel, lots of really good food and booze, we could live on 2K if we were trying). I second oinkette's comment about the secret being roommates. We pay 725 for rent+utilities in a shared house with a yard and a garage (hobbies!) in a highly bikeable/walkable area.

[Cranky]

Youngstown, Ohio. The public transit is not that great, and I'm sure not riding a bike in the winter, but you don't need to because housing is cheap.

Seriously, I walk to work and the stores, and you can buy a nice house here for well under $100,000.

[dmbfan4life20]

Baltimore, MD

some parts are cheaper than others. I love where I live, walk everywhere and a ton to do. My COL is higher in my area then others but I don't mind paying the money to live in a nice area with tons around.

What parts of Baltimore do you like?

I really enjoy the southeast and south part of Baltimore which is all along the Harbor (Where I live). Canton, Fells Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill and Brewers Hill come to mind. All of these locations offer everything you need within walking distance (Groceries, gym, shops, restaurants, sports, parks, etc.) Also, living along this stretch of Harbor you have access to the water taxi from March-December and if you buy a year long family pass ($150) you get unlimited year round taxi service to all points along the Harbor. This is a great way to travel and avoid traffic, paying for parking, etc. Most of the taxis run pretty early to pretty late and come every 20 minutes or so. We utilize them to go downtown, Ravens/Orioles games, etc. This part of the city is also full of young professionals and families and has been rehabbed a ton over the past 20 years. You can still find good deals on rents but the area is higher COL compared to other parts of the city.

Depending on what your lifestyle is like, Mt. Vernon is in Downtown area and is considered the Cultural epicenter of the City. Lots of Colleges, theaters, Symphony, museums, etc. Most houses are HUGE and have been converted to 20 apartment units. Hampden is another upcoming area that is pretty Hipster and trendy. Lots of shops, restaurants and music. Lower COL area but it is in the north/northwest part of the city so farther away from downtown and all that comes with it. The farther north you go toward the county, there is more of a suburban vibe as you can get stately old homes with good amount of land. This is also where all the very expensive private schools are located.

Overall, I would say that Baltimore is a great city and has a lot to offer. Like any city, it really depends on your lifestyle and what you want but you can be mustachian in Bmore.

[2Birds1Stone]

NYC

[GodlessCommie]

I really enjoy the southeast and south part of Baltimore which is all along the Harbor (Where I live). Canton, Fells Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill and Brewers Hill come to mind. ...

Thanks for taking time to write it all up! I'm about an hour from Baltimore, and really look forward to learn more about the city. Now, I do apologize for bringing up the stereotype - but does crime have any effect on your life? Do you feel safe in places that you mention? Does safety factor into your decisions (like which route to take, what to wear or carry on you)?

[big_slacker]

Bellevue WA. Although as the bay area folks mentioned it's not cheap from a housing perspective you can live frugal and allow the high tech salaries to build you stash very quickly.

You get for your troubles a city that is easily bikeable, has incredible public schools for the kiddos, proximity to the mountains for recreation, lots of ethnic diversity, super friendly people and it's fairly normal to ride bikes around with trailers, grow veggies or chickens in your backyard, etc.

[dmbfan4life20]

I really enjoy the southeast and south part of Baltimore which is all along the Harbor (Where I live). Canton, Fells Point, Locust Point, Federal Hill and Brewers Hill come to mind. ...

Thanks for taking time to write it all up! I'm about an hour from Baltimore, and really look forward to learn more about the city. Now, I do apologize for bringing up the stereotype - but does crime have any effect on your life? Do you feel safe in places that you mention? Does safety factor into your decisions (like which route to take, what to wear or carry on you)?

I do feel safe in the city. Obviously, living in the city there are more people, more poverty than in outlying counties and certain problems and crimes that come with it but honestly, that kind of stuff happens everywhere. Biggest problem we have in our area is theft from autos because people leave their car doors unlocked (No clue why). Most people who lock their cars at night (like me) have no issues. I think due to the amount of young professionals moving into these areas and buying homes as well as the influx of businesses to the area, you see more responsible people and more police. No matter what time we are out walking, people are always out. I know that probably 70% of my neighbors have alarm systems on their houses as well as security cameras on their property. People organize alley clean ups and stoop nights along with other social events. Very friendly and neighborly vibe in the area. We also have lots of recreational team sports that go on all the time so tons of people are playing soccer, football, kickball, dodge ball until like 11pm and then going out after so the amount of people out walking around makes people feel safe and there are a lot of street lights.

Like any city, bad things can and do happen. Be smart about it and you will be fine. I don't walk around with cash (credit only), I don't walk drunk or walk late at night and if I need to get somewhere that's more than a few blocks walk at night I either get a ride or an Uber. Most of the people we see getting victimized in the area are drunk and out at 3am and become easy targets. No city is without its challenges as it relates to crime but neither is any other county or city in the country. To put it in perspective. I am in Law Enforcement as my profession and I rarely feel the need to walk around with my service weapon.

[Conjou]

Santa Fe

[Shiny]

Philadelphia is a great place to live, I think. And super cheap.

We are just outside Philly.