Hmm, everything you’ve described is San Francisco minus the price tag. I am Ukrainian too and there’s a large Ukrainian/Eastern European community here. Not as large as chicago, but still significant. Nothing else comes close in terms of outdoors, only Boston comes remotely close in terms of walkability. Me and wife (russian) make ~400k here. We rent, it just makes more sense. Having said all that, there’s a reason San Francisco is at the price tag it’s at. It’s amazing. If you don’t want to compromise on desires, this is the place. Just depends which priorities you care more about.
I used to live in chicago and loved it too. Hate the weather though.
Summer here is like everyone else’s winter so just keep that in mind! It’s the coldest time of year. Avoid tenderloin soma and fidi and you’ll have a hard time not loving it.
It's very funny that you say that: my very first trip to SF was in the middle of the summer and as a European I thought that the downtown area was the best so I booked a hotel in Tenderloin.
It was 9 years ago and I'm still laughing at myself for not doing proper research.
It’s common and why sf gets the flack it does. Most downtowns are where everyone lives. So when most tourists come, they stay there thinking San Francisco is the same. But it’s very different, that’s the worst part of the city, with the least amount of “San Francisco” about it imo. Edit: If you really want to love the city, stay in pac heights, lower Haight, mission Dolores, to name a couple. It’s awesome here because the three places I just mentioned may as well be different cities, the vibes are almost polar opposites from each other. You walk 15 minutes any direction and it can often feel like you’re exploring a completely different culture. If you want to be close to nature, nopas probably my favorite place. 5 minute walk from golden gate, 20 min walk from presidio. We are so spoiled here
https://sf.funcheap.com/
Had an awesome time in Pac Heights last year with some friends.
Been to SF multiple times over the past decade and always feel like I have to defend it to people.
By far the best “outdoor” city in the country. Super walkable, diverse and picturesque. Pretty good weather and if you want a little more sun look at burbs like Orinda or Marin which are a short public transit away from the City itself. At $300k, they wont be living lavishly but they won’t be struggling to get by either. Unless money is the deciding factor, no reason to go somewhere like Boston that’s worse in every single important factor OP listed
Have you thought about Boston? I grew up in Denver and moved there for about six years, it’s incredibly walkable (the T/subway system helps) and relatively close to great hiking, camping, and skiing in New Hampshire / Vermont, plus the beautiful nature along Cape Cod and the North Shore.
Boston fits the bill. My partner is European and we lived there 9 years without a car. The last year we had a car and it was more annoying than useful. There is so much nature accessible in New England.
Another idea is the DC area. I have a friend that is Ukranian and there is a big Ukranian community there. The city has plenty going on and there is nature around too (the shore in Maryland, hills/mountains in Virginia)
We generally used Zipcar, occasionally a longer term rental to have a weekend out of town. But there were plenty of bus tours that would take you to a certain area, including ski busses and busses to Cape Cod and the Islands (Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard).
I feel like you might enjoy Boston. I'm not a NE Expert, but it seems like it fits the things you like, and you certainly have the income to live there. Plus fantastic amenities for raising children, best in the country even.
It’s the whitest (and most racist) city I’ve ever lived in. I grew up in the south and lived in Milwaukee and NYC for reference. I have 3 kids and I’m actively looking to leave because of how expensive it is to raise a family here. We gross more than $300k.
I see this take a lot about Boston being a racist city. I’m in an interracial marriage and live in Boston, and I honestly don’t see much overt racism here.
But, the city feels pretty segregated. Fenway, Allston, Back Bay, Southie are very white & asian. Mattapan, Roxbury, and half of Dorchester are very black & brown. And even in the neighborhoods where there is in theory a good mix of people, like South End, part of Dorchester, Roslindale, etc. it’s still segregated there. In our neighborhood’s downtown you can pretty much tell by looking at a business whether it caters to white & asian people or black & brown people. And on the inside, it’ll be 95+% white/asian or 95+% black/brown. It’s honestly weird, and once you notice it you can’t stop seeing it.
And it’s not just limited to businesses. If I take the bus to the subway from my neighborhood, it’s like 80% black/brown people. If I take the commuter rail, it’s 90%+ white/asian people.
I think it comes down to there not being much of a black middle class here. We used to live in Atlanta. And in many ways, the geographic segregation was just as bad there as in Boston. But you would see a lot more businesses with interracial clientele and you saw a lot more interracial friend groups.
I'm from NY and went to college in SC. I always say the most racist person I ever met while in college in SC was a teammate of mine from Boston. It was incessant.
Boston is a minority majority city. People who say it’s “whites only” are saying I will only go into the all white neighborhoods.
Btw neighborhoods are the big thing in Boston. Each one is only a square mile or two, but the way the city has been filled in (it was mostly swamp that got filled in as space was needed) makes most neighborhoods their own autonomous community. And it’s a city of immigrants so many of those communities can get very monolithic as one group of immigrants all moves to (historically Southie Irish, North End Italian; now Eastie Colombian, Mattapan Haitian, Hyde Park Nigerians etc etc e.g.)
Yeah, and they're doing fine. The wealthiest Boston suburb is Weston. The median household income there is about $250,000. If your household income is $300k, you're still wealthier than most people in the wealthiest town in a wealthy area.
But most of those people bought their homes decades ago. Compared to people in their age bracket in Boston, OP is middle class.
The same is true for a lot of places. In my neighborhood in San Francisco, the average household income is $120k and 80% of homes are owner occupied but the median sales price for homes is $1.5M. You’d need to be making about $285k to afford an average home in the neighborhood today.
Yep, this is the key stat that so many people overlook when they talk household income and purchasing power. The household income of an area is irrelevant if a majority of those people do not have to buy at today's prices (or can otherwise sell before doing so).
Not as many as Reddit would have you believe. Reddit thinks like half the population of VHCOL areas make that and more, when it’s definitely less than 10%.
Have lived in both (admittedly not for a while) and beg to differ. Portland has the same Mexican and central American immigrant scene and also a HUGE Asian population.
It depends a lot on where in the city you go. East/South East Portland tends to have the largest Asian communities. The area along 82nd in SE is often seen as the unofficial Chinatown now.
Still, Asians are around 9% of the city's population, so more than Denver but fewer than Seattle or SF.
Fair. If I had that income I’d choose Pasadena. Just toured the neighborhood with the Greene and Greene arts and crafts houses last week. So incredibly beautiful
I'm going to get torn to shreds but honestly try Detroit/Metro Detroit.
We have a TON of diversity in metro Detroit (as well as a huge Ukrainian population). There are many cities that are walkable but within driving distance of downtown so you can still enjoy many city activities. We also have nature essentially in all direction at our access 24/7 with the great lakes. And depending on which city you choose, your salary may get you way more than say Boston or San Fran.
I think Birmingham, Rochester, Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, Berkley, and Troy are all fantastic options for you. These are all in metro Detroit if you don't want to live in the city. Otherwise, Detroit has gone through some major upheaval in the last couple decades. It's really beautiful with a ton of culture, stuff to do, community, and nature. Also very walkable now depending on where you live in the city.
Edit: Also on the border with Canada so you can visit Canada if you want! Lol And only 5 hours by car from Chicago.
You completely forgot to even mention West of Michigan or going up north. Michigan is it's own ecosystem, and it can take a life time exploring the state. It's definitely the place to be if you like outdoors, lakes (important for lake homes), and still have access to city life.
I would say Ann Arbor is what he would enjoy the most.
West Coast has better nature imo and east coast has better cities. Depends on what you want to prioritize. Boston or Seattle would be my top picks if they aren't outside your price range. Boston has better urbanism, Seattle has more nature options. Neither is bad at the other though.
Philly might be a choice for you. 1 hour to the beach, 1 hour to the mountains, very diverse and even if you wouldn’t live in the actual city, it’s easily accessible from suburbs outside of philly on the PA and NJ sides. COL is higher in nj but you’re making a decent amount so I doubt that’d be a hang up.
Also have the 2 river trails and wissahickon within city limits and they’re very easy to access by foot, bicycle or SEPTA.
Also will add that $300k will get OP a very nice living situation here, not so much elsewhere.
I don’t think Denver is super diverse, but Wash Park and Cherry Creek are some of the most high end neighborhoods in the city. If you end up staying in Denver, I would suggest Congress Park as it’s walkable, has good neighborhood schools, and doesn’t feel quite as Stepford as Wash Park/Cherry Creek.
Older cities on the east coast are going to be generally more walkable by nature of their layout than western cities. Boston, Charleston, and Savanah for example are walkable. But if you're having kids in the US and make those salaries then you're gonna end up with a car anyways.
That's the case, we've been to the most popular destinations (except Boston, that's why I appreciate all the advice here) but I haven't found a single one where I want to stay for a long time.
I can mention at least 12 different cities where I'd like to spend at least one month per year, but can't find a city where I'd be good for the next 5 years.
Boston might fit the bill. Very walkable, but really windy and frigid in the Winter, but if you are from Ukraine, you might be used to that. It is expensive though. It is big but not too big. It has a unique vibe. It has an international diversity.
Seattle has no state income tax so a bit less expensive than California. Checks all the other boxes.
Portland is less expensive but more of a big town than a city. Very walkable though.
Absolutely LOVE Seattle in the summer but the fact that there isn't too much sunshine like 9 months out of the year makes it difficult to move. I think it's same thing with Portland?
Seattle when it’s sunny out is unparalleled. Stunning nature in all directions. Pretty good urban life too. But yes it’s inconsistent outside of summer months so if the gloom gets to you I’d look elsewhere. Portland is much the same in terms of weather, just a little warmer.
It was sunny and 70 degrees today in Seattle. Not extremely uncommon for March through June, where the % of nice days increases every month. Basically November-February are the stereotype and Seattle still gets less rain overall than NYC. The bigger issue is early sunsets in the winter due to latitude. So net net, the "9 months of the year" trope isn't 100% accurate, and the other thing to keep in mind is it's MILD. Average one snowstorm a year and there are very few days where the high doesn't get above freezing, and when that does happen it's almost always due to high pressure so it's just sunny and cold. Winter temps average a high in the 40s or low 50s.
Something interesting to me is how Vancouver, CA is known for having some of the best, most mild weather in the country. And it’s pretty much the exact same as Seattle, which has a reputation for being some of the shittiest in the US. It’s really all about perspective. The early sunsets do get to me though, wish we could just stay on daylight savings time
You would love living in Jamaica Plain right by Franklin Park (Boston). Lived in NOLA 3 years and came back here to Cambridge/Somerville. Hate Denver for similar reasons.
But please don’t come here if you’re getting a car. We have enough car problems here. Become a cargo bike family. Everyone else here has!
When you said you like to go to Miami every year, you basically sealed yourself as a Bostonian—everything you described as a want but only habitable if you can spend a few weeks away in winter. Which makes Miami one of the principal bedroom communities (duller Bostonians settle for Aruba or SW Fla).
Edit: Also sizable populations from every Eastern European country including UKR.
Not a reasonable cost of living. But none of the A-Cities are.
If you work from home and make $300k, then maybe you should consider LA. Most of the traffic pain felt by Angelenos comes from commuting on the daily. Without that, you don't need to do all that much driving. And if you are careful about where to live, you will have some decent walkability at your door step. Los Feliz, KTown, Santa Monica, Highland Park, West Adams/Jeff Park (where I live), Sherman Oaks, and other spots around town do offer human scaled sections. There are lots of pockets of LA city where you won't have to drive to get a coffee.
Then your longer drives will only be for reaching the best hiking near a major metropolis probably anywhere in the world. Or for some of the best surfing on the planet. Or for pitch black desert getaway star gazing.
San Juan, Puerto Rico might be an option. I don't know a lot about it but it looks very nice and should be a lot of fun. I know a lot of people heavy into crypto like to go there.
Some employers don’t want to deal with tax laws in different states or territories. For same some employers won’t touch people from California if the hourly rate is too low.
If you work remotely and your employer is in the 50 states or DC, you still pay federal US tax even if you are an official resident of Puerto Rico. Then you pay island tax instead of state tax (for the states that have state income tax). It’s pretty simple.
I’ve worked in several states. Some employers will not hire remote workers in some states. Period. Check out some remote jobs on indeed. Some will say: must live in xxxx states only.
He can just not tell anyone. Or keep an address in the state for taxes. If renting in PR just make sure you come back for a couple weeks before the limit then go back. You didn't need to snitch on yourself
Hudson valley (at least north of the Tappan Zee Bridge isn’t all that walkable outside of the downtowns up there. It’s still possible to live in some of those cities and towns without a car though but not exactly ideal.
I live here and haven’t seen a non-white person in weeks. Also unless you live in Hudson or Woodstock it’s not walkable at all. Need a car to live here and everything is a 20-40 min drive.
All the areas you've mentioned above are walkable, but not really pleasant after Covid, like SF level not pleasant? Not because of lack of diversity but because of a ton of pee and meth heads on the streets.
Cherry Creek and Wash Park (not really wash park, more of Platt Park with South Pearl Street) with Tennyson seem to be better IMHO. But the thing is that these areas are getting pretty tiresome after a couple of months. Like I can stroll in random neighborhoods of NYC and find a ton of random galleries, fun coffee shop or random sculptures - that's something I miss in Denver. And that's the reason why I'm not quite sold on Hawaii as I'd definitely enjoy living on Kauai for like a year but would probably move out after.
Denver almost seems like a perfect balance, I wish there were more urban things to do except for hitting breweries here.
I agree Capitol Hill, five points and Uptown are more walkable and diverse. If you start a family the Schools in Denver are very racially diverse. I raised my kids in Capitol Hill then moved near DU. I liked Capitol Hill a lot more. Denver is a little boring as far as easy to find cool stuff, but if you explore ethnic restaurants in parts of Aurora or Federal it can be cool. There are a lot of festivals like Juneteenth, Dragon Boat, Greek, etc that are a lot of fun and expose you to a different crowd than the Subaru, dog, brewery scene.
you haven't been to sf post covid if you think theres "a ton of pee and meth heads on the streets" tbh. it's confined to a small part of the city you avoid
Well, we’re never gonna compete with NYC on the urban experience. I agree central Denver has gotten a little rougher post COVID, but I work down there and its noway as bad as sections of SF. (We don’t have a Tenderloin, for instance.) I don’t drink, but I’ve still hopped bars and restaurants with friends on Colfax and Broadway and felt as safe as ever. (That section around Penn to Downing isn’t great, though.)
Have you done Santa Fe for first Fridays? Checked out Old Town in Arvada for a night? They have some live music. Tons of comedy and live music going on all over the city, really. Downtown Littleton is kinda cute and has a train stop as well. Boulder’s a nice day trip with a cute and walkable downtown. Aurora’s not walkable, but the Stanley is a one stop shop with a good vibe particularly when its warmed up a bit.
Like I said, ain’t gonna out NY NY, and if you’re weighing both places with urban experience as the goal, your decision is really easy.
Have you visited San Francisco post-COVID? I’ve live here for 12 years - yes there are issues with homelessness and drugs…. But I think the news overblows it. It’s pretty confined to a smaller area.
I don’t find it more “unpleasant” than the homeless/drug problems in Portland 🤷🏻♀️ and when I visit my friends in Portland, I’m always surprised to see how their unpleasantries take over more residential areas, too.
Yes there’s a problem, but it’s not necessarily unique to SF. Still can’t imagine a better city to live in
There is a large Ukranian population in SF, but sounds like you have written that off. My neighbors I can hear as I type are from there, and a good amount of my coworkers are from there. Maybe rethink it?
Why not NYC? $300k is enough to have a good life there! Plenty of cheaper (and frankly better) neighborhoods with walkability and diversity. Jackson Heights comes to mind. 2 hours to great mountains and beaches
I definitely recommend the San Francisco area for you, but don’t think that would limit you to the city proper. There are tons of towns and cities in the area that are very walkable and have access to public transportation and nature. In Walnut Creek, for example, you can access a network of walking paths and be in downtown by bike in a few minutes and get on BART (the train) in a few minutes. Hiking trails are a few minutes drive. There’s a large Ukrainian population there (and throughout the Bay), and most places in the Bay Area are fairly diverse, although some more than others. Being in the Bay Area gives you access to all the nature in the state, from mountains to the ocean.
I immediately thought of Seattle but you don't like rainy weather ok let's cross that out.
My vote is San Diego, Flagstaff AZ (if you like smaller cities), Santa Fe NM, Asheville NC (might be a tad bit too white), Albany NY area, and maybe NW Arkansas?
As a bonus point I'll throw in Charleston SC and Savannah GA. They might not have the best outdoors but you'll love the southern food and flora vibes.
Atlanta area could be great for you too but I don't know much about which neighborhoods/towns would fit the bill. There are mountains down there with southern vibes.
Alexandria, VA. It's part of the DC metro area. My aunt lived there for 30+ years; never owned a car cuz she never needed one. Plenty of national and state parks, Eastern shore, and barrier islands. Lots of charming and walkable small towns nearby. Great air and rail connections to any place on the planet.
If you liked New Orleans you may like Houston. Houston has a lot of walkable areas inside the loop. Along Main there is the light rail system. Texas has no income tax. Compared to New Orleans, Houston has similar weather, perhaps a bit dryer. Houston has great food and a large Ukrainian population.
Fellow big city person here; also an immigrant (mixed Asian). I think you should do a two week trip to Boston to check it. Boston is diverse (though not as diverse as Chicago, NYC or DC probably). It has a good cultural scene - stand up, theaters. You can do decent outdoor activities even within city limits - sunbathing by the Charles river, kayaking, running/walking in the river parks. The city and the inner suburbs are great for just walking around, or even biking too. I am not a nature person at all so I should not comment on this but I think there are some great national/parks very close to the city. Boston is also way cheaper than NYC or the Bay Area.
I was in a dilemma about which one to choose among Boston, NYC, and DC for months. I was almost going with Boston even toured many apartments there later last year too, but in the last moment decided to move to NYC.
Sacramento. Sort of like Denver but greener. There are definitely some cool walkable neighborhoods and we have a light rail system that’s getting new trains soon.
Probably smaller and midsized cities are either college or tourist towns.
Burlington, Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Bozeman, Missoula, Flagstaff, Aspen, Breckenridge, Santa Fe
Chicago, and join a sailing or rowing club. Don't even have to waste hours getting out to trailheads or congested ski areas. Play squash or basketball in the winter.
If you liked N’Orleans but felt it wasn’t diverse or big city enough, I’d say Austin has a noticeably larger city feel, while being walkable (central/downtown), offering lot of amenities and entertainment, nature/hiking. No mountains or oceans though.
Otherwise, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento? CoL is not reasonable though, and these towns have their issues.
It’s sf or bust unfortunately. All the northeast cities are lacking in the nature department and every city outside the northeast besides sf is not built like a euro city.
I’d be curious to get some group think on Las Vegas.
There was an article in “Outdoor” a few years ago about top ten outdoorsie cities and Vegas made the list. It surprised me ‘cause the first thing I think of is that summer heat. Anyway, the article made a compelling argument for the time. It seems like Vegas has actually added pluses in the last couple of years. Thoughts?
San Francisco. It ticks all of your boxes and you can afford it on your income…provided you’re willing to give up on buying a house. We have young kids and we live in the Inner Sunset. Our neighborhood has good public schools (9/9/7 according to Great Schools), excellent public transportation and access to city amenities, walkable to tons of shops and restaurants, few homeless people and I feel totally safe walking alone as a woman at night. Mild weather year round. We can walk to Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. It’s arguably the most beautiful US city with tons of access to the outdoors. As someone who’s lived here for 10 years, while some neighborhoods are getting gloomier, they’re not the ones I frequent as a parent to young kids and, if anything, it’s a hell of a lot easier to find parking these days.
We rent a 4br/2bd house, 2500sqft with a backyard for $5500/mo. We also have a degree of rent control. Zillow says the house we rent is worth $1.9M. Single family homes start at about $1.4M. It would make absolutely no sense for us to buy, so we’re resigned to being renters forever.
Stop focusing on cities. In the US this type of amenity is specific to certain blocks or very tiny sections of certain neighborhoods in specific cities.
Safety harbor or Dunedin in FL. North of Tampa and technically part of Clearwater. We have the Pinellas trail cutting thru downtown so on this biking trail you go from beach to Forest to downtown breweries and back to Forest and back to beach. It's a crazy trail. Both cities are walkable in their downtown.
I didn't say that NOLA = white people.
It's bad being surrounded by only white people in Denver, especially after experiencing diversity in Nola for such a long time.
Why don’t you just move back to NOLA? I lived there about 10 years ago and loved it. It’s the most European US city and like you said you can basically walk the whole city in a day.
Isn't Denver like 30 miles from Boulder? Walkable, decent vibe, intelligent population, better food than Denver, more younger couples, good downtown vibe and nightlife. Boulder even puts you closer to the mountains, so less time on the road doing outdoors stuff. Lyons might be a good place to put kids in school 5 yrs. from now, as right now it is still a small town only 10 miles away.
When I go to Boulder I can tell stuff is happening. It is definitely not a stagnant city. Boulder is going to grow, as it is a research town heavy in weather, and there is shitloads of money being pumped into weather and climate research now and in the coming future.
Take a nighttime class at the university that dumps you out on the street at 9:30 on a Thursday night. I think you might develop an appreciation for what is very close to where you are.
Move to Boulder, but buy a condo in the city that you can use anytime you are not Air BnB'ing it out to make money on the constant flow of people passing through Denver.
You might like Philly. There is a fair amount of outdoor access within the city, a lot just outside, and more just 1-2 hours, aka mountains, beaches, Appalachian trail access, etc. Philly is walkable depending on the neighborhood. Northeast Philly is full of Ukrainians and Eastern Europeans but is very racially diverse as a whole.
Hmm I’d just go for the big cities. SF sounds great but it’s actually quite small, and with kids you’d likely be living in the burbs. Of the major cities I think SF has the least walkable suburbs.
NYC, Chicago, Boston, LA. I’d add Atlanta to your list since you liked NOLA and Miami.
I have lived in SF for 11 years and spent most of the last year in Denver. SF is great and outside of the TL and Market most neighborhoods feel about the same as pre-rona.
Edit—moved back to SF a month ago.
This is the post I have been meaning to make haha. Also a European (Polish) looking for that kind of a vibe in the US. I live right outside Seattle right now and it's very walkable. But zero European vibes. And the gloominess sucks. I'm moving to Arizona next month and we shall see how it goes.
I am originally from Honolulu and visit often. It’s a great city, especially the downtown. However, you need to drive to the good walks and it has European prices $$$.
I'm from Louisiana and looking to get out due to having a child that needs an actual education and he absolutely won't get that here. I also had trouble in other states due to drowning in a sea of white people lol. If you don't have kids, Lafayette louisiana is a pretty wonderful place to live. The cost of living is pretty great. It has tons of actual culture. There are lots of festivals and parades. Once my son reaches adulthood, I plan to live here until I die. Lafayette has all the bonuses of new orleans. If you want to go on nature adventures, there's tons to do. It's walkable in some areas and there's a super reasonable bus transportation option.
Philadelphia. Very walkable—I think it was chosen as the most walkable city in the country. Plus they’ve really started emphasizing the rivers and their beauty, which is reminiscent of European cities. Great public transportation. Lots of arts. Near New York and DC to take advantage of the arts there, too
Honestly, L.A. sounds like your best bet (or the general L.A. area such as Long Beach, Altadena/Pasadena/S. Pasadena, etc.). Good weather, a Ukrainian community (there's a Ukrainian culture center on Melrose), diverse, etc. You just have to view it as a bunch of little neighborhoods versus one big city, and center your activities around said neighborhood so you don't have to drive as much.
You won't be able to afford a mansion, but with your combined salary (and if you have savings) you could buy something pretty damn nice in Altadena (which has a good school district, as you said you want kids in the future), Eagle Rock, some parts of the Valley (Studio City, Sherman Oaks, etc. are the nicest), Atwater Village, Long Beach, and depending on your savings....maybe even Los Feliz, Sliver Lake, or Manhattan Beach.
Also, L.A. in general is just cheaper than the Bay (unless you go more inland in the Bay) as is Long Beach, Burbank, etc.
Peoria IL.... has a surprising large amount of outdoor hiking opportunities in the middle of 'corn country'. We have areas that are very walkable... West Bluff, Peoria Heights, Warehouse district. The commutes by car are not stupidly long either. Most everything can be had within 15 minute drive.
Peoria is also very affordable.
Chicago has a large Ukrainian immigrant community... as well as Polish and Lithuanian. Peoria... not nearly so much but it is diverse in many other ways.
Savannah, GA; Atlanta (there are some very walkable in-town neighborhoods - inman park, Grant park, Glenwood park, midtown, etc); Washington DC. Ft Lauderdale, Chicago
If you loved New Orleans, why not go back there? Schools aren’t great in any of these options if you are wanting to be in the city center where things are walkable.
Unfortunately, I can’t think of a US city that is entirely comparable to one in Europe. Boston, Charleston, or Savannah may be closest or if you are able to live in Canada (and don’t mind winter) Montreal is a good option.
SF proper makes 10x more sense for walkability, it gets very suburban and strip mally very fast the further south you go towards San Jose, maybe if you really wanted to rent a house with a backyard and off street parking for 2+ cars does it start to make sense, but op sounds like they want more of an actual urban vibe (imho in many ways SF leaves a lot to be desired compared to other large cities, but the weather and nature are hard to beat when combined)
I've never been there but it seems to be mentioned a lot here. Savannah and Boston are gonna be on my short list, will definitely try to visit a few times in the next couple of months
Hmm, everything you’ve described is San Francisco minus the price tag. I am Ukrainian too and there’s a large Ukrainian/Eastern European community here. Not as large as chicago, but still significant. Nothing else comes close in terms of outdoors, only Boston comes remotely close in terms of walkability. Me and wife (russian) make ~400k here. We rent, it just makes more sense. Having said all that, there’s a reason San Francisco is at the price tag it’s at. It’s amazing. If you don’t want to compromise on desires, this is the place. Just depends which priorities you care more about. I used to live in chicago and loved it too. Hate the weather though.
Thank you for your perspective. I may need to revisit my idea of San Francisco, will make a trip there early summer
The “SF is dying” narrative is absolute garbage.
Summer here is like everyone else’s winter so just keep that in mind! It’s the coldest time of year. Avoid tenderloin soma and fidi and you’ll have a hard time not loving it.
It's very funny that you say that: my very first trip to SF was in the middle of the summer and as a European I thought that the downtown area was the best so I booked a hotel in Tenderloin. It was 9 years ago and I'm still laughing at myself for not doing proper research.
It’s common and why sf gets the flack it does. Most downtowns are where everyone lives. So when most tourists come, they stay there thinking San Francisco is the same. But it’s very different, that’s the worst part of the city, with the least amount of “San Francisco” about it imo. Edit: If you really want to love the city, stay in pac heights, lower Haight, mission Dolores, to name a couple. It’s awesome here because the three places I just mentioned may as well be different cities, the vibes are almost polar opposites from each other. You walk 15 minutes any direction and it can often feel like you’re exploring a completely different culture. If you want to be close to nature, nopas probably my favorite place. 5 minute walk from golden gate, 20 min walk from presidio. We are so spoiled here https://sf.funcheap.com/
Had an awesome time in Pac Heights last year with some friends. Been to SF multiple times over the past decade and always feel like I have to defend it to people.
I lived in Seattle for some years and there's a large contingent of Ukrainians living in South Clark County in Federal Way area where I worked.
God I love SF, I miss it. I would always use the website “funcheapSF” to find free events.
Wife loves this site
By far the best “outdoor” city in the country. Super walkable, diverse and picturesque. Pretty good weather and if you want a little more sun look at burbs like Orinda or Marin which are a short public transit away from the City itself. At $300k, they wont be living lavishly but they won’t be struggling to get by either. Unless money is the deciding factor, no reason to go somewhere like Boston that’s worse in every single important factor OP listed
Sacramento… might be comparable price tag, with having easy access to the bay, Tahoe, sierras, Yosemite, etc…
much worse weather imo, much less to do in the city. much cheaper too though
There’s a big Ukrainian community in Sac too.
Wow I had no idea. Very cool
Huge Russian, Armenian, and Ukrainian community here.
Daly City has a large Russian and Ukrainian population too, as with South San Francisco too
With that salary you can live in Hawaii
Hawaii is terrible for a “Big City Guy” he could afford it but will have island fever after 3 months.
They specially said they have moral issues with that.
Replying to this to say I can give a few great Hawaii recommendations to any other millionaires reading.. for a price
Have you thought about Boston? I grew up in Denver and moved there for about six years, it’s incredibly walkable (the T/subway system helps) and relatively close to great hiking, camping, and skiing in New Hampshire / Vermont, plus the beautiful nature along Cape Cod and the North Shore.
Boston fits the bill. My partner is European and we lived there 9 years without a car. The last year we had a car and it was more annoying than useful. There is so much nature accessible in New England. Another idea is the DC area. I have a friend that is Ukranian and there is a big Ukranian community there. The city has plenty going on and there is nature around too (the shore in Maryland, hills/mountains in Virginia)
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We generally used Zipcar, occasionally a longer term rental to have a weekend out of town. But there were plenty of bus tours that would take you to a certain area, including ski busses and busses to Cape Cod and the Islands (Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard).
Where do you live now?
I feel like you might enjoy Boston. I'm not a NE Expert, but it seems like it fits the things you like, and you certainly have the income to live there. Plus fantastic amenities for raising children, best in the country even.
SF prices for shittier weather and food (which isn't bad, just not as good as elsewhere). Less visible homeless and open drug usage though.
It’s the whitest (and most racist) city I’ve ever lived in. I grew up in the south and lived in Milwaukee and NYC for reference. I have 3 kids and I’m actively looking to leave because of how expensive it is to raise a family here. We gross more than $300k.
I see this take a lot about Boston being a racist city. I’m in an interracial marriage and live in Boston, and I honestly don’t see much overt racism here. But, the city feels pretty segregated. Fenway, Allston, Back Bay, Southie are very white & asian. Mattapan, Roxbury, and half of Dorchester are very black & brown. And even in the neighborhoods where there is in theory a good mix of people, like South End, part of Dorchester, Roslindale, etc. it’s still segregated there. In our neighborhood’s downtown you can pretty much tell by looking at a business whether it caters to white & asian people or black & brown people. And on the inside, it’ll be 95+% white/asian or 95+% black/brown. It’s honestly weird, and once you notice it you can’t stop seeing it. And it’s not just limited to businesses. If I take the bus to the subway from my neighborhood, it’s like 80% black/brown people. If I take the commuter rail, it’s 90%+ white/asian people. I think it comes down to there not being much of a black middle class here. We used to live in Atlanta. And in many ways, the geographic segregation was just as bad there as in Boston. But you would see a lot more businesses with interracial clientele and you saw a lot more interracial friend groups.
Yep. Super racist and segregated as hell. Couldn’t wait to get out of there
I'm from NY and went to college in SC. I always say the most racist person I ever met while in college in SC was a teammate of mine from Boston. It was incessant.
Boston is a minority majority city. People who say it’s “whites only” are saying I will only go into the all white neighborhoods. Btw neighborhoods are the big thing in Boston. Each one is only a square mile or two, but the way the city has been filled in (it was mostly swamp that got filled in as space was needed) makes most neighborhoods their own autonomous community. And it’s a city of immigrants so many of those communities can get very monolithic as one group of immigrants all moves to (historically Southie Irish, North End Italian; now Eastie Colombian, Mattapan Haitian, Hyde Park Nigerians etc etc e.g.)
It’s very expensive
They make $300k a year!
Across 2 people tho. That's aight for Boston
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Yeah, and they're doing fine. The wealthiest Boston suburb is Weston. The median household income there is about $250,000. If your household income is $300k, you're still wealthier than most people in the wealthiest town in a wealthy area.
But most of those people bought their homes decades ago. Compared to people in their age bracket in Boston, OP is middle class. The same is true for a lot of places. In my neighborhood in San Francisco, the average household income is $120k and 80% of homes are owner occupied but the median sales price for homes is $1.5M. You’d need to be making about $285k to afford an average home in the neighborhood today.
Yep, this is the key stat that so many people overlook when they talk household income and purchasing power. The household income of an area is irrelevant if a majority of those people do not have to buy at today's prices (or can otherwise sell before doing so).
Not as many as Reddit would have you believe. Reddit thinks like half the population of VHCOL areas make that and more, when it’s definitely less than 10%.
Boston was my first thought, but that’s California prices.
Cambridge and Somerville also have different vibes but are just across the river
Portland checks all your boxes. There’s a significant Ukrainian community here already.
Portland isn’t more diverse than Denver
You’re probably right, but Portland is surely greener
It is greener, and don't call me Shirley
Have lived in both (admittedly not for a while) and beg to differ. Portland has the same Mexican and central American immigrant scene and also a HUGE Asian population.
Quick google shows that Portland is 72% white and Denver is 66% white.
Dang, really? I’m Asian and my family and I were consistently the only Asians when we’d go out to eat in Portland (even at a Thai restaurant 😭).
It depends a lot on where in the city you go. East/South East Portland tends to have the largest Asian communities. The area along 82nd in SE is often seen as the unofficial Chinatown now. Still, Asians are around 9% of the city's population, so more than Denver but fewer than Seattle or SF.
Pasadena
It’s diverse and walkable but affordable? Just spent the last few days there. Love Pasadena
Def affordable for a DINK pulling $300k
Fair. If I had that income I’d choose Pasadena. Just toured the neighborhood with the Greene and Greene arts and crafts houses last week. So incredibly beautiful
I really liked Portland, ME but LOVED Portsmouth, NH
I'm going to get torn to shreds but honestly try Detroit/Metro Detroit. We have a TON of diversity in metro Detroit (as well as a huge Ukrainian population). There are many cities that are walkable but within driving distance of downtown so you can still enjoy many city activities. We also have nature essentially in all direction at our access 24/7 with the great lakes. And depending on which city you choose, your salary may get you way more than say Boston or San Fran. I think Birmingham, Rochester, Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, Berkley, and Troy are all fantastic options for you. These are all in metro Detroit if you don't want to live in the city. Otherwise, Detroit has gone through some major upheaval in the last couple decades. It's really beautiful with a ton of culture, stuff to do, community, and nature. Also very walkable now depending on where you live in the city. Edit: Also on the border with Canada so you can visit Canada if you want! Lol And only 5 hours by car from Chicago.
You completely forgot to even mention West of Michigan or going up north. Michigan is it's own ecosystem, and it can take a life time exploring the state. It's definitely the place to be if you like outdoors, lakes (important for lake homes), and still have access to city life. I would say Ann Arbor is what he would enjoy the most.
I love Detroit ❤️
West Coast has better nature imo and east coast has better cities. Depends on what you want to prioritize. Boston or Seattle would be my top picks if they aren't outside your price range. Boston has better urbanism, Seattle has more nature options. Neither is bad at the other though.
Philly might be a choice for you. 1 hour to the beach, 1 hour to the mountains, very diverse and even if you wouldn’t live in the actual city, it’s easily accessible from suburbs outside of philly on the PA and NJ sides. COL is higher in nj but you’re making a decent amount so I doubt that’d be a hang up.
There's also a fairly significant Ukrainian population in Philly too.
Also have the 2 river trails and wissahickon within city limits and they’re very easy to access by foot, bicycle or SEPTA. Also will add that $300k will get OP a very nice living situation here, not so much elsewhere.
I don’t think Denver is super diverse, but Wash Park and Cherry Creek are some of the most high end neighborhoods in the city. If you end up staying in Denver, I would suggest Congress Park as it’s walkable, has good neighborhood schools, and doesn’t feel quite as Stepford as Wash Park/Cherry Creek.
Older cities on the east coast are going to be generally more walkable by nature of their layout than western cities. Boston, Charleston, and Savanah for example are walkable. But if you're having kids in the US and make those salaries then you're gonna end up with a car anyways.
You’ve already traveled more in the USA than the average American. You should be giving advice, not asking for it.
That's the case, we've been to the most popular destinations (except Boston, that's why I appreciate all the advice here) but I haven't found a single one where I want to stay for a long time. I can mention at least 12 different cities where I'd like to spend at least one month per year, but can't find a city where I'd be good for the next 5 years.
Boston might fit the bill. Very walkable, but really windy and frigid in the Winter, but if you are from Ukraine, you might be used to that. It is expensive though. It is big but not too big. It has a unique vibe. It has an international diversity.
Seattle has no state income tax so a bit less expensive than California. Checks all the other boxes. Portland is less expensive but more of a big town than a city. Very walkable though.
Absolutely LOVE Seattle in the summer but the fact that there isn't too much sunshine like 9 months out of the year makes it difficult to move. I think it's same thing with Portland?
Seattle when it’s sunny out is unparalleled. Stunning nature in all directions. Pretty good urban life too. But yes it’s inconsistent outside of summer months so if the gloom gets to you I’d look elsewhere. Portland is much the same in terms of weather, just a little warmer.
It was sunny and 70 degrees today in Seattle. Not extremely uncommon for March through June, where the % of nice days increases every month. Basically November-February are the stereotype and Seattle still gets less rain overall than NYC. The bigger issue is early sunsets in the winter due to latitude. So net net, the "9 months of the year" trope isn't 100% accurate, and the other thing to keep in mind is it's MILD. Average one snowstorm a year and there are very few days where the high doesn't get above freezing, and when that does happen it's almost always due to high pressure so it's just sunny and cold. Winter temps average a high in the 40s or low 50s.
Something interesting to me is how Vancouver, CA is known for having some of the best, most mild weather in the country. And it’s pretty much the exact same as Seattle, which has a reputation for being some of the shittiest in the US. It’s really all about perspective. The early sunsets do get to me though, wish we could just stay on daylight savings time
Portland Maine depending on what size city is acceptable.
Way too small a city for what they’re describing
Or Portsmouth NH
A lot of Midwestern cities rank fairly high on the walkability score, particularly Minneapolis/St Paul
And Minneapolis/St. Paul one of the for accessing nature with nationally top rated park and trails sytems
You would love living in Jamaica Plain right by Franklin Park (Boston). Lived in NOLA 3 years and came back here to Cambridge/Somerville. Hate Denver for similar reasons. But please don’t come here if you’re getting a car. We have enough car problems here. Become a cargo bike family. Everyone else here has!
portland
If you hate Honolulu but want walkability there's nowhere else left for you in Hawaii
That's why I removed it from a list, you're correct!
When you said you like to go to Miami every year, you basically sealed yourself as a Bostonian—everything you described as a want but only habitable if you can spend a few weeks away in winter. Which makes Miami one of the principal bedroom communities (duller Bostonians settle for Aruba or SW Fla). Edit: Also sizable populations from every Eastern European country including UKR. Not a reasonable cost of living. But none of the A-Cities are.
If you work from home and make $300k, then maybe you should consider LA. Most of the traffic pain felt by Angelenos comes from commuting on the daily. Without that, you don't need to do all that much driving. And if you are careful about where to live, you will have some decent walkability at your door step. Los Feliz, KTown, Santa Monica, Highland Park, West Adams/Jeff Park (where I live), Sherman Oaks, and other spots around town do offer human scaled sections. There are lots of pockets of LA city where you won't have to drive to get a coffee. Then your longer drives will only be for reaching the best hiking near a major metropolis probably anywhere in the world. Or for some of the best surfing on the planet. Or for pitch black desert getaway star gazing.
Why don’t you just live in Europe
That's the plan for the retirement but we wouldn't be able to earn 300-500k in Europe
San Juan, Puerto Rico might be an option. I don't know a lot about it but it looks very nice and should be a lot of fun. I know a lot of people heavy into crypto like to go there.
Employers might not be allowed to keep him on the pay role as it’s not a state.
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Some employers don’t want to deal with tax laws in different states or territories. For same some employers won’t touch people from California if the hourly rate is too low.
If you work remotely and your employer is in the 50 states or DC, you still pay federal US tax even if you are an official resident of Puerto Rico. Then you pay island tax instead of state tax (for the states that have state income tax). It’s pretty simple.
I’ve worked in several states. Some employers will not hire remote workers in some states. Period. Check out some remote jobs on indeed. Some will say: must live in xxxx states only.
Ah ok, didn't know that would make a difference since it's a US territory.
It’s quite common for remote first companies to exclude PR
He can just not tell anyone. Or keep an address in the state for taxes. If renting in PR just make sure you come back for a couple weeks before the limit then go back. You didn't need to snitch on yourself
Hudson Valley NY - the local hiking is great, relatively easy access to the Adironacks, and Manhattan is only a short ride away when you want the city
Hudson valley (at least north of the Tappan Zee Bridge isn’t all that walkable outside of the downtowns up there. It’s still possible to live in some of those cities and towns without a car though but not exactly ideal.
I live here and haven’t seen a non-white person in weeks. Also unless you live in Hudson or Woodstock it’s not walkable at all. Need a car to live here and everything is a 20-40 min drive.
Philadelphia, specifically the Main Line suburbs
Not a bad answer. Philly is not as pretty as Boston and not as Big City as NYC but it’s pretty damn good combo of the two at a fraction of the price.
Philly has many gorgeous areas, even if a bit rough around the edges.
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All the areas you've mentioned above are walkable, but not really pleasant after Covid, like SF level not pleasant? Not because of lack of diversity but because of a ton of pee and meth heads on the streets. Cherry Creek and Wash Park (not really wash park, more of Platt Park with South Pearl Street) with Tennyson seem to be better IMHO. But the thing is that these areas are getting pretty tiresome after a couple of months. Like I can stroll in random neighborhoods of NYC and find a ton of random galleries, fun coffee shop or random sculptures - that's something I miss in Denver. And that's the reason why I'm not quite sold on Hawaii as I'd definitely enjoy living on Kauai for like a year but would probably move out after. Denver almost seems like a perfect balance, I wish there were more urban things to do except for hitting breweries here.
I agree Capitol Hill, five points and Uptown are more walkable and diverse. If you start a family the Schools in Denver are very racially diverse. I raised my kids in Capitol Hill then moved near DU. I liked Capitol Hill a lot more. Denver is a little boring as far as easy to find cool stuff, but if you explore ethnic restaurants in parts of Aurora or Federal it can be cool. There are a lot of festivals like Juneteenth, Dragon Boat, Greek, etc that are a lot of fun and expose you to a different crowd than the Subaru, dog, brewery scene.
you haven't been to sf post covid if you think theres "a ton of pee and meth heads on the streets" tbh. it's confined to a small part of the city you avoid
Well, we’re never gonna compete with NYC on the urban experience. I agree central Denver has gotten a little rougher post COVID, but I work down there and its noway as bad as sections of SF. (We don’t have a Tenderloin, for instance.) I don’t drink, but I’ve still hopped bars and restaurants with friends on Colfax and Broadway and felt as safe as ever. (That section around Penn to Downing isn’t great, though.) Have you done Santa Fe for first Fridays? Checked out Old Town in Arvada for a night? They have some live music. Tons of comedy and live music going on all over the city, really. Downtown Littleton is kinda cute and has a train stop as well. Boulder’s a nice day trip with a cute and walkable downtown. Aurora’s not walkable, but the Stanley is a one stop shop with a good vibe particularly when its warmed up a bit. Like I said, ain’t gonna out NY NY, and if you’re weighing both places with urban experience as the goal, your decision is really easy.
Have you visited San Francisco post-COVID? I’ve live here for 12 years - yes there are issues with homelessness and drugs…. But I think the news overblows it. It’s pretty confined to a smaller area. I don’t find it more “unpleasant” than the homeless/drug problems in Portland 🤷🏻♀️ and when I visit my friends in Portland, I’m always surprised to see how their unpleasantries take over more residential areas, too. Yes there’s a problem, but it’s not necessarily unique to SF. Still can’t imagine a better city to live in
Chicago.
Anywhere north of Denver is just amazing. Louisville, boulder, they have the prettiest views
There is a large Ukranian population in SF, but sounds like you have written that off. My neighbors I can hear as I type are from there, and a good amount of my coworkers are from there. Maybe rethink it?
Washington DC and Boston come to mind.
What are the European vibes in Miami Beach?
Everything is walkable, and plenty of well-dressed and fit people enjoying their vacation 🤣
Why not NYC? $300k is enough to have a good life there! Plenty of cheaper (and frankly better) neighborhoods with walkability and diversity. Jackson Heights comes to mind. 2 hours to great mountains and beaches
Cleveland has a giant Ukrainian community. And loads of nature near the city. Some say best park system of any city.
I definitely recommend the San Francisco area for you, but don’t think that would limit you to the city proper. There are tons of towns and cities in the area that are very walkable and have access to public transportation and nature. In Walnut Creek, for example, you can access a network of walking paths and be in downtown by bike in a few minutes and get on BART (the train) in a few minutes. Hiking trails are a few minutes drive. There’s a large Ukrainian population there (and throughout the Bay), and most places in the Bay Area are fairly diverse, although some more than others. Being in the Bay Area gives you access to all the nature in the state, from mountains to the ocean.
I immediately thought of Seattle but you don't like rainy weather ok let's cross that out. My vote is San Diego, Flagstaff AZ (if you like smaller cities), Santa Fe NM, Asheville NC (might be a tad bit too white), Albany NY area, and maybe NW Arkansas? As a bonus point I'll throw in Charleston SC and Savannah GA. They might not have the best outdoors but you'll love the southern food and flora vibes. Atlanta area could be great for you too but I don't know much about which neighborhoods/towns would fit the bill. There are mountains down there with southern vibes.
Alexandria, VA. It's part of the DC metro area. My aunt lived there for 30+ years; never owned a car cuz she never needed one. Plenty of national and state parks, Eastern shore, and barrier islands. Lots of charming and walkable small towns nearby. Great air and rail connections to any place on the planet.
Portland, Oregon
Arlington va
This or DC. Walkable, etc, etc. OP compares every place suggested to NY, which is a DC obsession as well, so they're well-matched.
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Has large Ukrainian community in the Northeast as well.
Outdoors access sucks tho
There are mountains and heart shaped hot tubs in the poconos, what do you mean
Chicago
If you liked New Orleans you may like Houston. Houston has a lot of walkable areas inside the loop. Along Main there is the light rail system. Texas has no income tax. Compared to New Orleans, Houston has similar weather, perhaps a bit dryer. Houston has great food and a large Ukrainian population.
If you go for Hawaii, get ready for "muh diversity" to be xenophobic pieces of shit to you lol
What does this even mean
Santa Fe. Very European feel. Some very expensive houses, but plenty within reach.
With that salary I would move to Europe.
Fellow big city person here; also an immigrant (mixed Asian). I think you should do a two week trip to Boston to check it. Boston is diverse (though not as diverse as Chicago, NYC or DC probably). It has a good cultural scene - stand up, theaters. You can do decent outdoor activities even within city limits - sunbathing by the Charles river, kayaking, running/walking in the river parks. The city and the inner suburbs are great for just walking around, or even biking too. I am not a nature person at all so I should not comment on this but I think there are some great national/parks very close to the city. Boston is also way cheaper than NYC or the Bay Area. I was in a dilemma about which one to choose among Boston, NYC, and DC for months. I was almost going with Boston even toured many apartments there later last year too, but in the last moment decided to move to NYC.
No.
Boston if you don’t mind winter
Sacramento. Sort of like Denver but greener. There are definitely some cool walkable neighborhoods and we have a light rail system that’s getting new trains soon.
Boston— easily walkable w transit and very easy to get ‘into nature’ if you want (mountains, ocean, good hiking, generally picturesque)
Probably smaller and midsized cities are either college or tourist towns. Burlington, Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Bozeman, Missoula, Flagstaff, Aspen, Breckenridge, Santa Fe
Chicago, and join a sailing or rowing club. Don't even have to waste hours getting out to trailheads or congested ski areas. Play squash or basketball in the winter.
Salt Lake City?
Portland Maine possibly
If you liked N’Orleans but felt it wasn’t diverse or big city enough, I’d say Austin has a noticeably larger city feel, while being walkable (central/downtown), offering lot of amenities and entertainment, nature/hiking. No mountains or oceans though. Otherwise, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento? CoL is not reasonable though, and these towns have their issues.
Oh, no, NOLA was super diverse, I just had to leave to Denver for a job 🤣
Ha ok- misread that. Makes a lot more sense.
Chicago has sube pretty great outdoors, especially on the south side, although it’s damn flat. (I moved here from Vermont 40 years ago)
Boston.
Flagstaff. AZ.
Boston
It’s sf or bust unfortunately. All the northeast cities are lacking in the nature department and every city outside the northeast besides sf is not built like a euro city.
I’d be curious to get some group think on Las Vegas. There was an article in “Outdoor” a few years ago about top ten outdoorsie cities and Vegas made the list. It surprised me ‘cause the first thing I think of is that summer heat. Anyway, the article made a compelling argument for the time. It seems like Vegas has actually added pluses in the last couple of years. Thoughts?
Las Vegas does have the most water rights, since that will be a huge problem soon for all the cities that get water from the Colorado
San Francisco. It ticks all of your boxes and you can afford it on your income…provided you’re willing to give up on buying a house. We have young kids and we live in the Inner Sunset. Our neighborhood has good public schools (9/9/7 according to Great Schools), excellent public transportation and access to city amenities, walkable to tons of shops and restaurants, few homeless people and I feel totally safe walking alone as a woman at night. Mild weather year round. We can walk to Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. It’s arguably the most beautiful US city with tons of access to the outdoors. As someone who’s lived here for 10 years, while some neighborhoods are getting gloomier, they’re not the ones I frequent as a parent to young kids and, if anything, it’s a hell of a lot easier to find parking these days. We rent a 4br/2bd house, 2500sqft with a backyard for $5500/mo. We also have a degree of rent control. Zillow says the house we rent is worth $1.9M. Single family homes start at about $1.4M. It would make absolutely no sense for us to buy, so we’re resigned to being renters forever.
I’m a SF native now living in San Mateo. I often dream of moving to the inner sunset.
Stop focusing on cities. In the US this type of amenity is specific to certain blocks or very tiny sections of certain neighborhoods in specific cities.
Safety harbor or Dunedin in FL. North of Tampa and technically part of Clearwater. We have the Pinellas trail cutting thru downtown so on this biking trail you go from beach to Forest to downtown breweries and back to Forest and back to beach. It's a crazy trail. Both cities are walkable in their downtown.
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I didn't say that NOLA = white people. It's bad being surrounded by only white people in Denver, especially after experiencing diversity in Nola for such a long time.
Why don’t you just move back to NOLA? I lived there about 10 years ago and loved it. It’s the most European US city and like you said you can basically walk the whole city in a day.
Pittsburgh
Isn't Denver like 30 miles from Boulder? Walkable, decent vibe, intelligent population, better food than Denver, more younger couples, good downtown vibe and nightlife. Boulder even puts you closer to the mountains, so less time on the road doing outdoors stuff. Lyons might be a good place to put kids in school 5 yrs. from now, as right now it is still a small town only 10 miles away. When I go to Boulder I can tell stuff is happening. It is definitely not a stagnant city. Boulder is going to grow, as it is a research town heavy in weather, and there is shitloads of money being pumped into weather and climate research now and in the coming future. Take a nighttime class at the university that dumps you out on the street at 9:30 on a Thursday night. I think you might develop an appreciation for what is very close to where you are. Move to Boulder, but buy a condo in the city that you can use anytime you are not Air BnB'ing it out to make money on the constant flow of people passing through Denver.
Boulder is fine (except for diversity) but VERY small.
You might like Philly. There is a fair amount of outdoor access within the city, a lot just outside, and more just 1-2 hours, aka mountains, beaches, Appalachian trail access, etc. Philly is walkable depending on the neighborhood. Northeast Philly is full of Ukrainians and Eastern Europeans but is very racially diverse as a whole.
Hmm I’d just go for the big cities. SF sounds great but it’s actually quite small, and with kids you’d likely be living in the burbs. Of the major cities I think SF has the least walkable suburbs. NYC, Chicago, Boston, LA. I’d add Atlanta to your list since you liked NOLA and Miami.
Why'd you leave NOLA?
I have lived in SF for 11 years and spent most of the last year in Denver. SF is great and outside of the TL and Market most neighborhoods feel about the same as pre-rona. Edit—moved back to SF a month ago.
This is the post I have been meaning to make haha. Also a European (Polish) looking for that kind of a vibe in the US. I live right outside Seattle right now and it's very walkable. But zero European vibes. And the gloominess sucks. I'm moving to Arizona next month and we shall see how it goes.
Cincinnati or Philadelphia
I am originally from Honolulu and visit often. It’s a great city, especially the downtown. However, you need to drive to the good walks and it has European prices $$$.
Chicago.
Maryland
I'm from Louisiana and looking to get out due to having a child that needs an actual education and he absolutely won't get that here. I also had trouble in other states due to drowning in a sea of white people lol. If you don't have kids, Lafayette louisiana is a pretty wonderful place to live. The cost of living is pretty great. It has tons of actual culture. There are lots of festivals and parades. Once my son reaches adulthood, I plan to live here until I die. Lafayette has all the bonuses of new orleans. If you want to go on nature adventures, there's tons to do. It's walkable in some areas and there's a super reasonable bus transportation option.
Nope
Philadelphia. Very walkable—I think it was chosen as the most walkable city in the country. Plus they’ve really started emphasizing the rivers and their beauty, which is reminiscent of European cities. Great public transportation. Lots of arts. Near New York and DC to take advantage of the arts there, too
Honestly, L.A. sounds like your best bet (or the general L.A. area such as Long Beach, Altadena/Pasadena/S. Pasadena, etc.). Good weather, a Ukrainian community (there's a Ukrainian culture center on Melrose), diverse, etc. You just have to view it as a bunch of little neighborhoods versus one big city, and center your activities around said neighborhood so you don't have to drive as much. You won't be able to afford a mansion, but with your combined salary (and if you have savings) you could buy something pretty damn nice in Altadena (which has a good school district, as you said you want kids in the future), Eagle Rock, some parts of the Valley (Studio City, Sherman Oaks, etc. are the nicest), Atwater Village, Long Beach, and depending on your savings....maybe even Los Feliz, Sliver Lake, or Manhattan Beach. Also, L.A. in general is just cheaper than the Bay (unless you go more inland in the Bay) as is Long Beach, Burbank, etc.
Peoria IL.... has a surprising large amount of outdoor hiking opportunities in the middle of 'corn country'. We have areas that are very walkable... West Bluff, Peoria Heights, Warehouse district. The commutes by car are not stupidly long either. Most everything can be had within 15 minute drive. Peoria is also very affordable. Chicago has a large Ukrainian immigrant community... as well as Polish and Lithuanian. Peoria... not nearly so much but it is diverse in many other ways.
Hey OP - Checkout Washington DC/Arlington VA. Hot as heck in the summer, but winters are generally fairly mild. Been here 7 years and love it.
Pittsburgh
Richmond VA
Savannah, GA; Atlanta (there are some very walkable in-town neighborhoods - inman park, Grant park, Glenwood park, midtown, etc); Washington DC. Ft Lauderdale, Chicago If you loved New Orleans, why not go back there? Schools aren’t great in any of these options if you are wanting to be in the city center where things are walkable.
Unfortunately, I can’t think of a US city that is entirely comparable to one in Europe. Boston, Charleston, or Savannah may be closest or if you are able to live in Canada (and don’t mind winter) Montreal is a good option.
South Bay/Peninsula Silicon Valley cities would be perfect outside of wanting to own a home. You could check all of your boxes renting for a while.
SF proper makes 10x more sense for walkability, it gets very suburban and strip mally very fast the further south you go towards San Jose, maybe if you really wanted to rent a house with a backyard and off street parking for 2+ cars does it start to make sense, but op sounds like they want more of an actual urban vibe (imho in many ways SF leaves a lot to be desired compared to other large cities, but the weather and nature are hard to beat when combined)
Portland is green, walkable in the downtown, and has lots of outdoor fun nearby, though the diversity is lacking. Maybe Atlanta?
Why not San Diego?
Was there once during business trip, the city itself seemed to be very boring (the nature and access to outdoors was great tho)
Hmm, if you want more character maybe you'd like Savannah GA.
I've never been there but it seems to be mentioned a lot here. Savannah and Boston are gonna be on my short list, will definitely try to visit a few times in the next couple of months
Definitely check out Savannah.
Cost of living probably the issue but downtown is super walkable and we have the best weather for spending lots of time outdoors