New Englanders want to see the sun

February 7, 2016 9:15 AM

My husband and I live in New England and we want to move to a warmer location. We are in the brainstorming stage. We'd love to hear of places that tick our boxes.

Me: 30, RN
Him: 38, Union pipefitter
He will transfer to the local UA outfit of wherever we move.

Things we want:
- WARM! We are okay with hot and muggy, we are okay with torrential rain. (Please take our word on this - he spent two years in east Africa and I spent 10 hot months in Thailand). We do not want winter temps below the 50s, maaaaybe 40's.
- Walkable: we will both have cars but I want to be within walking distance of some shops and amenities. I don't mind driving to the grocery store but I want to run some errands on foot.
- Affordable: We can afford ~$1500/month in rent for a 1 or 2 bedroom.
- Liberal: We are from VT. We love Bernie and kale and riding our bikes and going to farmers markets. I want that that liberal arts progressive college coffee shop feeling. OK, I get that we aren't going to find Brattleboro or Burlington or Montpelier VT in Florida or Arkansas, but I want to get as close as we can.

Ideally:
- Dog parks nearby.
- Trails and hiking nearby.

Don't want:
- extremely small towns or extremely large cities, lets's keep the population between 5,000-1 million.

We are open to anywhere in the USA. We have both roadtripped through the southwest and loved the scenery but didn't stumble on any places that check our boxes. Neither of us have spent much time in the south but if you know of any cool places please let us know.

posted by pintapicasso to Grab Bag (27 answers total)

You might like Carrboro, NC. It actually adjoins Chapel Hill, which is part of the Research Triangle, with Durham and Raleigh nearby. Hang out on the picnic tables in front of Weaver Street Market, walk around the area checking out the cafes and shops, and if you're visiting during a weekend check out the Carrboro Farmers' Market.

We live in a part of Durham, NC, which is not very walkable but is great for commuting to other parts of the Triangle. We'd love to live in Carrboro if commuting weren't an issue.
posted by research monkey at 9:27 AM on February 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

Yea definitely Carrboro/Durham. It might be too cold in the winter though - I think it does dip into 30s.
posted by sweetkid at 9:40 AM on February 7, 2016

New Orleans. Certain areas of the city (specifically along Magazine Street and the entire French Quarter) are very walkable. Job market is good for both of your fields, and it certainly fits your weather criteria. It's one of the most liberal cities in the South, with lots of fresh markets, green spaces, and friendly people.
posted by tryniti at 9:58 AM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: North Carolina (both Carolinas, for that matter - most of the South, for that matter) is staunchly anti-union/ "right to work," so it would be worth really exploring what your husband's career opportunities would look like down here.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

Fairhope, Alabama might be a place to look into. It's warm, it's on the water, it's gorgeous, it's nice and affordable. It's not particularly liberal, though, but I can't really think of a place in the south that fits your criteria where the majority of people are liberal. There is a gorgeous downtown and plenty of houses/apartments that are walking distance from lots of things, lots of coffee shops, etc. Message me if you want! I don't live there but I live pretty close to there and I know lots of people who do.

Nashville might also be a good fit, but it gets cold in the winter there and typically snows a few times per year. Coastal Alabama does drop into the 40s off and on for a month or two in the winter but when we had a very light dusting of snow a couple years back, it was the first time this area had seen snow in 15 years, so weather that cold is an extremely rare occurrence!
posted by pimmscup at 10:01 AM on February 7, 2016

New Orleans might fit the bill, if you're OK with hot and muggy and torrential rains (welcome to summer!). There are neighborhoods that are walkable. It's liberal, but you're still sort of in the deep South (but you can forget that for long stretches of time). There's no place that's better at having a really good time (did you know Mardi Gras lasts for a solid week to a month?). There are dog parks and it's super dog-friendly. I think you can pretty easily find a place that suits in your price range, for now at least.
posted by MadamM at 10:02 AM on February 7, 2016

Oh yeah, and New Orleans is definitely more union-friendly than a lot of the South; there's a UA local here and it's an active port/lots of construction going on, so I get the sense that the tradesperson job outlook is good. There are also two large hospitals that have just opened or are opening soon.
posted by MadamM at 10:04 AM on February 7, 2016

Nashville gets absolutely freezing in the winter. It's a great city, but as a fellow cold hater, I can't endorse it.

Maybe look into Tucson? I have never lived there, but I have a couple of friends from there who love it.
posted by primethyme at 10:09 AM on February 7, 2016

Best answer: I know I'm becoming a Tucson evangelist for these types of questions, but it really checks all your boxes. We had many of the same boxes when moving out of Boston and we love it here. Although the state is conservative (going to be a problem for most places in the Southeast too, unfortunately) the city is very liberal and I see Bernie signs everywhere in my neighborhood. $1500 is eminently do-able for a *nice* walkable/bikeable neighborhood (Sam Hughes is amazing and has a wonderful park, very close to the university medical center as well). We pay $1500 for a dog-friendly 3-bedroom with a casita and garage in this neighborhood. We walk to the dog-park and bike to downtown easily. If you live in the center of town you really don't need a car if you're into biking, and I know more than a few car-less households. Beautiful hiking trails within a 1/2 hour to 1 hour drive, depending on where you live. There are tons of liberal progressive coffee shops by the university

Winter night-time low temps do get to freezing in the winter, but daytime highs right now are 70's to 80's and it's almost always sunny. Summer is no joke though, 110 and muggy was not unusual. Moving here to a large extent cured my husband's seasonal affective disorder. He told me yesterday that since moving here he hasn't felt half as crappy as he did every day during a Boston winter last year.
posted by permiechickie at 10:13 AM on February 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Hawaii. You'll want a car, but there are cities/neighborhoods that are somewhat walkable. Not everyone votes liberal, but I find that most people are anti-corporate and very community oriented.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:14 AM on February 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

If you hadn't written off Florida, I might've suggested visiting Gainesville.
posted by easement1 at 10:27 AM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Berkeley is very much like this, although it's increasingly very hard to find a 1-bed for $1500 (possible, though!). It's almost never hot (and not humid), but also rarely below the 50s. Today is in the 60s, sunny, and the trees are in bloom. In the right neighborhood, it's possible to never have to drive anywhere at all. Very liberal, and you can go to a farmers' market almost every day of the week, year round.
posted by three_red_balloons at 10:39 AM on February 7, 2016

Others have mentioned NC, so I'll add Asheville, NC, the "Paris of the South."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:53 AM on February 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

Austin, Texas.
posted by getawaysticks at 11:13 AM on February 7, 2016

Best answer: Many have suggested NC, and that's dandy. I'm in Atlanta and I think you'd like Decatur. It's very close to Emory and the VA, so there are nursing opportunities there.

We have some decent enough transit. Busses and a train. Lots to do on weekends, parks, attractions, etc. It's also a fantastic place to hang out at home watching old movies.

I will also give a shout out to Your DeKalb Farmer's Market.

We rent a 1400 SQ Ft 2 bed +Den apartment for $1500-ish per month. We're in Brookhaven, and I could walk to restaurants, Kroger/Publix or the YMCA. About 2 miles up the street from me are three hospitals at one intersection. Lots of opportunities for you.

We occasionally get cold weather, but we close the city if it gets icy.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:23 AM on February 7, 2016 [4 favorites]

You actually can find liberal enclaves in Arkansas and in Florida. Fayetteville is pretty damn nice (and cheap!), but it gets cold there in the winter.

Miami is quite liberal leaning outside of the Cuban community, but is expensive in the few walkable areas of the city. There was a 2/1 for rent for $1500 next door a month ago..
posted by wierdo at 11:26 AM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: A lot of California would cover the items on your list, with the possible caveat of housing prices.

I'd suggest looking into:

* Davis, California - my first thought when you mentioned kale, bike rides, and farmers' markets. Not sure about housing prices, but seems to be very dog- and outdoor-adventures-friendly, plus warm and presumably more affordable than the Bay Area.

* The outskirts of the Bay Area - it would be really hard to find a place for $1500 in San Francisco proper (or Palo Alto, etc.), but how about places like Berkeley (as three_red_balloons mentioned) or farther south, like Santa Cruz/Aptos? Definitely ticks the warm, outside, liberal, dog-friendly, bike-friendly, and farmers' markets constraints.

* The outskirts of San Diego - also can be pricey, but a lot like the Bay Area, with less variability in the weather (i.e., the old joke about the easiest job ever being a weatherman in San Diego). If you're okay with hot weather in the summer, think about heading inland (El Cajon, Poway, Escondido) where housing prices will probably be cheaper (though walking and biking may be harder).
posted by bananacabana at 11:27 AM on February 7, 2016

Best answer: St. Pete, Florida. Yes it's technically part of Tampa but in reality it's entirely separate. And it ticks all your boxes plus has a very fun and lively nightlife and great beaches.
posted by fshgrl at 11:43 AM on February 7, 2016

You may find the answers to this recent question helpful.

We do not want winter temps below the 50s, maaaaybe 40's.

Are we talking about highs or lows here? I grew up in North Florida, although I've lived in New England for the last ten years. In January I visited the city where I grew up, and the highs most days were in the low 50s, but I think at least one day had a high in the upper 40s, and it went below freezing multiple nights that I was there.

South Florida may be a better bet. If I were you, I'd look St. Petersburg, which is recommended in the previous ask that I linked to. Housing prices may or may not be the correct price range, though.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:45 AM on February 7, 2016

Austin will be too cold for you in the winters. Not every winter, because the weather here is SO unpredictable, but many winters are freezing, grey and soggy. My husband and I were lured here by everyone talking about how fantastic the weather is in Austin, but in my now 7 years of living here, that is absolutely NOT the case. Summers are hot and muggy, winters are... all over the place, some cold and dry, some cold, and wet, and grey for months on end, some warm and muggy and full of bugs...
posted by WalkerWestridge at 11:52 AM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

If you hadn't written off Florida, I might've suggested visiting Gainesville.

Gainesville might be at best kind of okay. Unless being able to walk to the nearest strip-mall with a grocery store counts as walkable, yeah, you can arrange your life so it's sort of walkable but it's going to be very limiting on where you can look to live, especially if you don't want to live near 19-year-old drunk pinheads. And while the town itself, or at least parts of it, have that hippie-college-coffee feeling, it's a very small island in a deep dark sea of super-bible-belt often crossed with this sullen, angry poverty that's hard to be around.

Honestly, while I didn't like the place worth a damn, for pretty much everything you'd look to Gainesville for, Denton TX does it better. In particular there's a fairly wide housing area between UNT and 380 such that you can walk maybe ten blocks to the square with shops and restaurants worth going to, or a little less distance to some shops and restaurants on Hickory or Oak, or up to less interesting but more useful shopping up on 380. But you won't want to do that when it's 105+ outside. And it has the benefit of being near Dallas and Fort Worth as opposed to Jacksonville and, may God have mercy on your soul, Palatka.

In either town, $1500/month would pretty assuredly get you a mortgage on a 3-bedroom freestanding house.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:53 AM on February 7, 2016

agreed with weirdo, fayetteville, ar ticks a bunch of your boxes but gets too cold. it is a magnificent place, though.
posted by nadawi at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

If your winter temperature specifications are lows, you're going to have a tough time. Even places like New Orleans go below 50 frequently in the winter. I was there a year ago and it was colder than home (Oakland).
posted by jesourie at 12:48 PM on February 7, 2016

Best answer: Savannah, GA. Affordable: I pay 700 a month for a three bedroom apartment within a few blocks of several places you'd probably enjoy. Great farmers market. Weather today: 50s and sunny. It does go down into the thirties some and even occasionally the upper twenties, but it never lasts long. Plenty of Bernie supporters, we filled the largest venue in town when he came a couple of months ago, even had to turn people away. Diverse and artsy because of the huge arts college here. Beautiful historic downtown. Great parks and beaches. Lots of people on bicycles. Feel free to memail me.
posted by mareli at 3:35 PM on February 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

Davis is cute. We had a cute 1bed cottage in Midtown Sacramento and I loooooved it. We could walk to several different clusters of shops and find a handful of restaurants, coffee shops, shops, farmers markets, library etc. Parts are walkable to a grocery store - if I'd known ahead of time I'd have looked for a place near the co-op. It's hot all the time, is never muggy, and rarely rains. I'd move back in a heartbeat.

I also like Albuquerque, but I've only visited (not lived). I never thought of myself as a "Hawaii" type person, but I have a friend who lives there and I actually love it. You'd probably want access to a car, but you can certainly arrange to not need it on a day-to-day basis. We have spent time in Honolulu (Oahu) and Hilo (Big Island).
posted by jrobin276 at 5:02 PM on February 7, 2016

Came in to say Fayetteville, AR, or even Eureka Springs. It does get chilly, but not terribly so. Certainly not the blizzard we're having today in New England, ever. Eureka Springs only has about 2k population, but is delightfully weird and full of queer people.
posted by woodvine at 7:15 AM on February 8, 2016

Response by poster: These are all great. We are planning a leisurely drive down to FL this summer and will check out the eastern seaboard destinations.

I'd always written off CA as too expensive so I'll do a little digging on zillow.

And the last time I had an active thought about Tucson was when I watched Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion in high school. Will definitely look into it.

Thanks so much.
posted by pintapicasso at 10:29 AM on February 8, 2016