What parts of the US have a lower cost of living than Long Island (and aren't terrible)?
June 29, 2010 5:12 PM Subscribe
I'm living on Long Island, New York, and it is ridiculously expensive here. I'd like to move to some other part of the country that shares its good qualities, but without the exorbitant cost of living. Any suggestions?
Specifically, some of the things I like about where I'm currently stranded:
- It's close to a major city
- It's culturally diverse and interesting for the most part
- People here are unlikely to beat gay men with baseball bats or otherwise be antagonistic (this one's kind of important)
- Internet providers don't suck that much
- It actually snows during winter
What parts of the US are cheaper to exist in without sacrificing some of these nice things?
Specifically, some of the things I like about where I'm currently stranded:
- It's close to a major city
- It's culturally diverse and interesting for the most part
- People here are unlikely to beat gay men with baseball bats or otherwise be antagonistic (this one's kind of important)
- Internet providers don't suck that much
- It actually snows during winter
What parts of the US are cheaper to exist in without sacrificing some of these nice things?
Maryland - lots of great places close to Baltimore (and not far from DC either).
posted by maxg94 at 5:17 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by maxg94 at 5:17 PM on June 29, 2010
It sounds like you'd enjoy one of the non-Manhattan boroughs. You can live in relative comfort in Brooklyn or Queens on the kind of money you'd starve to death with in LI.
posted by griphus at 5:18 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by griphus at 5:18 PM on June 29, 2010
Definitely Philly. Diverse, interesting, big (and easy day-trips to DC or NYC), gay-friendly (We have rainbow-striped street signs for a reason), Internet providers just as bad as everywhere else, and basically the same weather you're used to! But much, much cheaper.
posted by Tomorrowful at 5:19 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by Tomorrowful at 5:19 PM on June 29, 2010
Seattle meets all of those criteria except for the snow part, though you can be in the mountains snowboarding/skiing/whatever in about an hour.
posted by proj at 5:22 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by proj at 5:22 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
Seconding griphus - and unlike Long Island, you don't need a car to get around in much of Queens and Brooklyn. I've lived here for five years and never had a car, and I don't miss it either. The rent is still not low (hard to find a decent studio apartment for under $1000 anywhere in the city), but aside from rent, the overall cost of living in decent areas of western Queens is actually pretty cheap.
posted by wondermouse at 5:30 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by wondermouse at 5:30 PM on June 29, 2010
Providence, RI fits all of your criteria to a T. It's also almost certainly going to be weirder than anywhere else you might want to look at. It's got a lot more going on culturally than you'd expect, because Brown University and RISD (especially) pump lots of interesting culture into the city.
posted by Kattullus at 5:34 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kattullus at 5:34 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Let me put in a word for Columbus, Ohio. 15th largest city in the country, a day's drive from everything from Chicago to Boston. Very gay-friendly, diverse, etc., and I rent a 2 bedroom townhome in a hip-ish area for about $700 a month. The internet service is decent; so too with the cell phone reception. And trust me, we get snow.
posted by SMPA at 5:57 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by SMPA at 5:57 PM on June 29, 2010
I grew up on LI and I wasn't aware there were any good qualities. I always think cities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan sound pretty interesting, as does Chicago.
posted by sully75 at 5:59 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by sully75 at 5:59 PM on June 29, 2010
Jersey City has some nice areas that are relatively inexpensive for the amount of space you get, as compared to some of the nicer areas of Queens and Brooklyn. What is your budget for housing?
posted by skwm at 6:14 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by skwm at 6:14 PM on June 29, 2010
It's become a joke among my friends that I'm openly obsessed with Chicago, but after discovering that my friend's gorgeous 2-bedroom (with a garden!) apartment in Andersenville was half of what I paid on my *room* in Brooklyn.... Well, let's just say those were real tears that I cried. And obviously Chicago has snow to spare.
posted by zoomorphic at 6:18 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by zoomorphic at 6:18 PM on June 29, 2010
St Louis is an amazing city, and it fits all of your criteria. Ditto Minneapolis. Nthing Philly, Brooklyn, and Queens as excellent, if you're not interested in moving off the east coast.
posted by shamash at 6:22 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by shamash at 6:22 PM on June 29, 2010
Chicago definitely fits all your criteria.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:27 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by SisterHavana at 6:27 PM on June 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
There are a whole host of ways where if you've got a job, western NY is pretty good.
Most particularly, the cost of living here borders on free. biscotti and I live in a first-ring suburb on a treesy, leafy lane where we can walk to several restaurants and shops at each end of our street. Our 4 bedroom detached house cost less than $150K. Point a browser at www.buffaloniagarahomes.com and weep.
Buffalo itself has some of whatever you'd be looking for in a major city, and what it doesn't have Toronto does. Where it'll probably fall down is on the culturally diverse and interesting to you. There are other folks around, but the area definitely defaults to White Ethnic Catholic, and while there's lots of "grownup" stuff to do, I don't know that I'd want to be 25, single, and interested in flashy nightlife around here. OTOH, I don't know where on LI you are, but unless things have changed since the late 90s, western NY is probably at least as diverse as Suffolk County. Living in Allentown would still be hugely cheaper than LI, and probably at least as interesting.
I can't speak to gay life in western NY, but nobody is going to beat you with a baseball bat.
Internet providers here, in some parts of the area, include fios.
It actually snows here. And then it snows some more, and some more... last year was weak --75 inches instead of our normal 100.
On the other hand, there's that whole having a job thing, which can suck 'round these parts. And while I've loved moving here, there is more than a wee smidge of postindustrial grinding misery to the area. But on the gripping hand, did you see the house prices?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:28 PM on June 29, 2010
Most particularly, the cost of living here borders on free. biscotti and I live in a first-ring suburb on a treesy, leafy lane where we can walk to several restaurants and shops at each end of our street. Our 4 bedroom detached house cost less than $150K. Point a browser at www.buffaloniagarahomes.com and weep.
Buffalo itself has some of whatever you'd be looking for in a major city, and what it doesn't have Toronto does. Where it'll probably fall down is on the culturally diverse and interesting to you. There are other folks around, but the area definitely defaults to White Ethnic Catholic, and while there's lots of "grownup" stuff to do, I don't know that I'd want to be 25, single, and interested in flashy nightlife around here. OTOH, I don't know where on LI you are, but unless things have changed since the late 90s, western NY is probably at least as diverse as Suffolk County. Living in Allentown would still be hugely cheaper than LI, and probably at least as interesting.
I can't speak to gay life in western NY, but nobody is going to beat you with a baseball bat.
Internet providers here, in some parts of the area, include fios.
It actually snows here. And then it snows some more, and some more... last year was weak --75 inches instead of our normal 100.
On the other hand, there's that whole having a job thing, which can suck 'round these parts. And while I've loved moving here, there is more than a wee smidge of postindustrial grinding misery to the area. But on the gripping hand, did you see the house prices?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:28 PM on June 29, 2010
I grew up on LI and I wasn't aware there were any good qualities.
Seconding that, and thirding, fourthing, etcetc.
I lived in Brooklyn for 10 yrs, near Boston for a couple. I was one of those guys who always swore that he would never live in NJ. I now live in NJ, on the western side. I'm commutable to Manhattan (which I do, it's a hike - distance-wise I'm an hour away, but that's about what I did growing up in Nassau and driving home in LI traffic), and I live in some serious woods. It's pretty frigging cool, and I don't have to endure 1+hours of traffic just to get to a bridge so I can start my trip wherever I'm going....
Oh, and lots of snow in the winter.
posted by nevercalm at 6:52 PM on June 29, 2010
Seconding that, and thirding, fourthing, etcetc.
I lived in Brooklyn for 10 yrs, near Boston for a couple. I was one of those guys who always swore that he would never live in NJ. I now live in NJ, on the western side. I'm commutable to Manhattan (which I do, it's a hike - distance-wise I'm an hour away, but that's about what I did growing up in Nassau and driving home in LI traffic), and I live in some serious woods. It's pretty frigging cool, and I don't have to endure 1+hours of traffic just to get to a bridge so I can start my trip wherever I'm going....
Oh, and lots of snow in the winter.
posted by nevercalm at 6:52 PM on June 29, 2010
Just out of curiosity, where are you on Long Island? Are you out on the end, in the Hamptons, or are you closer in?
You might like Cape Cod, though the traffic is terrible during the summer.
posted by crunchland at 7:20 PM on June 29, 2010
You might like Cape Cod, though the traffic is terrible during the summer.
posted by crunchland at 7:20 PM on June 29, 2010
Minneapolis is great - especially if you like snow. Sure, parts of the state are pretty bland, but the cities have a lot to offer.
posted by beandip at 7:55 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by beandip at 7:55 PM on June 29, 2010
Another vote for Chicago! Or Evanston, along its northern border.
posted by onepot at 9:09 PM on June 29, 2010
posted by onepot at 9:09 PM on June 29, 2010
I'll throw a vote in for Denver. Colorado has fantastic weather (it does snow, but the sun comes out right away). It's rarely miserably cold (Chicago is frequently miserably cold). It's not super diverse here but we have some of everybody.
Really, this will depend on the field of work you are in and the likelihood of getting a job in your new city.
Good luck! Moving is good for the soul...
posted by shew at 10:42 PM on June 29, 2010
Really, this will depend on the field of work you are in and the likelihood of getting a job in your new city.
Good luck! Moving is good for the soul...
posted by shew at 10:42 PM on June 29, 2010
- People here are unlikely to beat gay men with baseball bats or otherwise be antagonistic (this one's kind of important)
Long Island has a stupid amount of hate crimes. Immigrants seem to be targeted more than gay men, but that doesn't exactly make me like living here any better.
To answer your question: Chicago is nice. I lived in St. Louis for a few years and while I wouldn't call it amazing, I do miss it terribly.
posted by makonan at 3:25 AM on June 30, 2010
Long Island has a stupid amount of hate crimes. Immigrants seem to be targeted more than gay men, but that doesn't exactly make me like living here any better.
To answer your question: Chicago is nice. I lived in St. Louis for a few years and while I wouldn't call it amazing, I do miss it terribly.
posted by makonan at 3:25 AM on June 30, 2010
Response by poster: Just out of curiosity, where are you on Long Island?
Just barely in Nassau, a little bit east of the Suffolk border.
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I've got a lot of good starting points for research now.
posted by XerxesQados at 7:26 AM on June 30, 2010
Just barely in Nassau, a little bit east of the Suffolk border.
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I've got a lot of good starting points for research now.
posted by XerxesQados at 7:26 AM on June 30, 2010
I'm right in Suffolk on the south shore. Yea, Long Island is unbearably expensive. Why not try your luck in Chicago? My friend seems to love it there.
posted by InterestedInKnowing at 11:29 AM on June 30, 2010
posted by InterestedInKnowing at 11:29 AM on June 30, 2010
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posted by yarly at 5:13 PM on June 29, 2010 [2 favorites]