mockriot - Latest Comments in Where should I live? Help me decide

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

halley — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:20:27 -0000

Josh,

I came across your blog because I wanted to ask you a question, and I was looking for your email - but then I saw this post and wanted to reply. I see that Austin, TX is one of your top choices - and I just recently moved here a year ago. I will give you the pros and cons, but I would def. recommend it. I know that u posted this in July, so I hope my feedback is not too late!

Pros:
1. great city for young people - lots of young professionals and recent grads
2. It's extremely affordable. I live in a great apartment less than a mile from downtown (2 room mates) and my rent is $540/month.
3. Weather is great! Except for a few pretty hot summer months, the rest of the year is excellent! We have a pool at our complex, and being from Chicago - it's such a luxury! It's fall right now, and the low is sixty degrees - high 85. Awesome!
4. Tech community - check. We have AMD and Dell, SxSW is here, and there are lots of start-ups here.
5. University - check. UT is a huge school - my room mate is going to grad school for education there.
6. live music scene rocks!
7. mixed terrain - it is flat downtown, and if you drive just west - you'll find some beautiful hills and semi-mountainous views of the water.

Cons:
1. sprawling city - you definitely need a car here, since things are far apart.
2. Kinda small - our downtown is pretty small. There are plenty of bars, and great restaurants here, but I am from Chicago and I miss the diversity sometimes.
3. the summers can get hot, which can suck for a lot of people, but in my opinion - it beats blizzards!

Hope that gives you some good feedback! please email me if you have a free minute, I wanted to ask you a quick question! Muchos gracias - and best of luck picking a place to live.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Anon_e_mouse — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:36:13 -0000

Asheville's small... great if you're into the New Age scene but not really a good place otherwise. I have family in that area (Mills River) that I am quite fond of but I'd never consider living there.

Crazy as it might seem, I'd vote for New Jersey. Good public transit, close to airports, and down along the North Jersey Coast (where I live) the climate is pretty decent too. And we're getting to be the best in the nation at arresting corrupt public officials!

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

AlexE — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:52:33 -0000

My I suggest an alternative?

Have a couple of years in Oxford. It has a high standard of living, more than the odd educational institution (Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Reading, TVU), a temperate climate, it sits at the end of the Thames Valley (Oracle, Microsoft, ...) and the Science Vale (Harwell, Rutherford ...) . Good public transport but it is not the cheapest place in the world to live.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

ikabon — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:47:00 -0000

just dropping by..nice blog

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Mike3 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:02:43 -0000

Consider Seattle as well. Mild winters, many colleges, close to beaches and mountains. I pretty good music scene, close to Vancouver BC,Pro sports such as the Mariners and Seahawks.
If I didn't live in Portland most of my life I would consider Seattle. Plus their economy seems to be the best in the NW with both Boeing and Microsoft as anchors. Housing can be expensive, but that's relative. You can always find affordable housing if you live outside of the city center.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:27:15 -0000

Only if you have Kate and I over for dinner at the new house. ;) (How's that working out so far, by the way? I know you closed, did you move in yet?)

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Marshall — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:49:44 -0000

Portland!

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:06:08 -0000

I've had people suggest Asheville a couple of times recently. Seems like a pretty neat town, but not sure if it is quite big enough for us (though I could be wrong -- I've never been there).

That said, someone hand over the keys to the Biltmore Estate and I am totally there. ;)

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Jon Knight — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:21:30 -0000

Humidity in Raleigh is outrageous in the summer, but there is always Asheville!

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

keith — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:59:57 -0000

and the new establishment bucking superintendent is evil...michelle rhee...ewww

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:33:32 -0000

I think I could deal with that. I'll have to pick Aaron's brain about what his experience was like in Boulder -- both from a "living there" perspective and from a tech perspective (he went though TechStars so I know he was plugged into the tech scene).

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Laura Beckwith — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:44:34 -0000

Either city in Oregon!!!!!

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

tmarkiewicz — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:09:02 -0000

I think Boulder/Denver gets a reputation for cold, snowy climate, but this is actually the most moderate climate I've lived. We get 300+ days of sun a year and that combined with the higher altitude means the sun melts away the snow fast. Case in point, we got a dump of 8 inches in April and by the end of the next day it was all melted away.

As a climber, I also love the fact that I can go rock climbing all year long but still get up in the mountains where the snow sticks around!

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:29:27 -0000

I really like the idea of being near so much to do -- I know DC is a great foodie city (as is Bethesda), and has great public transport. But yeah, I have also heard that DC was insulated from the housing crash that hit the rest of the country, so prices stayed high. That's a bit worrisome. Thanks for the tips on Twitter follows! I'll check 'em out.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:27:51 -0000

Yeah, I got another Denver rec via Twitter. And the DandyID folks were always pushing Boulder when I worked there (specifically @kallena Aaron Kallenberg).

I'm confused about the climate, though. This year in Rhode Island I think we had about 3-4 snowfalls of over 8 inches, and a handful more of 2-6 inches. I used to live in upstate New York and I definitely can't deal with that level of snow, but if Boulder were comparable to RI, I could handle it.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Josh Catone — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:25:00 -0000

That's good to know. Usually it's easy to find cities in need of teachers -- just look for the ones promoting alternative certification programs (like Teach For America and TNTP-backed programs like NYC's fellowship program). Those are the ones desperate for teachers.

But yeah, we need to move to a place she can find a job.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

vinnie — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:22:25 -0000

Another point: NC is laying off teachers by the boatload and cutting pay of all state employees (including teachers). Moving here in the next year or so might not be a good idea if Kate's in education.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

tmarkiewicz — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:20:41 -0000

I recommend Colorado - specifically Boulder or Denver. I lived for 10+ years in the DC metro area and I didn't like it. Horrible climate - the humidity was ridiculous. I moved to Boulder from Virginia last year and have been extremely happy. Yeah we get some snow, but it melts away fast with all the sun we have here.

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

Regbazile — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:18:17 -0000

DC is a great city and exciting things are afoot here. We have a young, innovative Mayor; an establishment bucking school chancellor [and schools in desparate need of talented young teachers]; and a dept of transportation that has introduced shared bicycles and power stations for electric vehicles. Housing is expensive, but now is the time to buy. Get a sense of the zeitgeist by followoing @dcist_updates @welovedc

Re: Where should I live? Help me decide

vinnie — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:05:26 -0000

I'd do Austin or Eugene. The humidity here in NC can kill in the summer but winters aren't too bad. I think we got 8 inches of snow all season here in Charlotte.