a mountain of a task
July 18, 2017 5:31 AM Subscribe
I think I want to move to the mountains. But, where? How?
I currently live in DC, where I have family and some roots, but don't really enjoy it and find it unbearable to live in at times - especially in the warmer/humid months. I like my city but I also love nature and the outdoors, and think I need more of that in my life. I want more tranquility, peace, quiet, and green.
Where in the US (probably New England-ish) would a 30-something year old woman find safety, and natural beauty, but not total remoteness? And affordability?
I currently live in DC, where I have family and some roots, but don't really enjoy it and find it unbearable to live in at times - especially in the warmer/humid months. I like my city but I also love nature and the outdoors, and think I need more of that in my life. I want more tranquility, peace, quiet, and green.
Where in the US (probably New England-ish) would a 30-something year old woman find safety, and natural beauty, but not total remoteness? And affordability?
Jobs are harder to come by in the mountains, and I think that will be your most constraining factor... very little of New England is truly remote, so I wouldn't worry too much about that aspect of it.
If you need to be along a train corridor to get back to DC in an easy manner, consider the towns along the Hudson River which would give you easy access to the Catskills and also easy access to the Amtrak line to NYC- being able to grab a train to NYPenn and then to DC rather than having to drive 6+hrs to visit family is really nice.
Further North to VT/New Hampshire is an awesome option, but you don't mention how you handle snow. Additionally, you can consider heading south along the Appalachian band, but again, jobs are going to be your limiting factor.
posted by larthegreat at 5:55 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you need to be along a train corridor to get back to DC in an easy manner, consider the towns along the Hudson River which would give you easy access to the Catskills and also easy access to the Amtrak line to NYC- being able to grab a train to NYPenn and then to DC rather than having to drive 6+hrs to visit family is really nice.
Further North to VT/New Hampshire is an awesome option, but you don't mention how you handle snow. Additionally, you can consider heading south along the Appalachian band, but again, jobs are going to be your limiting factor.
posted by larthegreat at 5:55 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Do you need to be able to find a job in such a place? If so, what kind of job?
Western Massachusetts (especially the Northampton/Amherst area, and the Berkshires) is safe, beautiful, and not totally remote (a few hours to NYC or Boston, and lots of artsy-academic-y stuff and small-ish town downtowns in the area), but jobs are a bit hard to come by and although it's affordable compared to DC it's not a truly low cost of living area. I moved there as a single 30-something woman (for a job) and I liked a lot of things about it and never lacked for things to do but I found it hard to find "my people" or even just to meet people (I moved back to Boston).
And oh yeah, you can take the train from Northampton to NYC and on to DC (the Vermonter), but it's not very frequent. Supposedly someday you will be able to take the train to Boston as well.
posted by mskyle at 6:00 AM on July 18, 2017
Western Massachusetts (especially the Northampton/Amherst area, and the Berkshires) is safe, beautiful, and not totally remote (a few hours to NYC or Boston, and lots of artsy-academic-y stuff and small-ish town downtowns in the area), but jobs are a bit hard to come by and although it's affordable compared to DC it's not a truly low cost of living area. I moved there as a single 30-something woman (for a job) and I liked a lot of things about it and never lacked for things to do but I found it hard to find "my people" or even just to meet people (I moved back to Boston).
And oh yeah, you can take the train from Northampton to NYC and on to DC (the Vermonter), but it's not very frequent. Supposedly someday you will be able to take the train to Boston as well.
posted by mskyle at 6:00 AM on July 18, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you for the feedback. Here’s some additional criteria that are important to me.
- community in an area that is welcoming of minorities (not merely “tolerant”)
- I’m in a bit of a transition point and can work from home
- cooler climate, low year round humidity (I can deal with some snow, not multiple feet of it, but some snow is fine)
- Access back to DC/VA a few times a year is important, and ideally not more than 1.5-2 hours from a major airport.
- I want to live in a place where I can have a peaceful view, from home
posted by raztaj at 6:15 AM on July 18, 2017
- community in an area that is welcoming of minorities (not merely “tolerant”)
- I’m in a bit of a transition point and can work from home
- cooler climate, low year round humidity (I can deal with some snow, not multiple feet of it, but some snow is fine)
- Access back to DC/VA a few times a year is important, and ideally not more than 1.5-2 hours from a major airport.
- I want to live in a place where I can have a peaceful view, from home
posted by raztaj at 6:15 AM on July 18, 2017
I'd seek out college towns for the safety/welcoming aspect. Also because they draw a nice variety of options for restaurants, coffee, and cultural events.
How about New Paltz, NY? Lots of hiking and outdoorsy things to do there. May be more snow than you like, but that's the northeast for you. You won't lose the humidity unless you get out of the northeast, but along the Hudson it's much more pleasant than DC.
posted by mochapickle at 6:49 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
How about New Paltz, NY? Lots of hiking and outdoorsy things to do there. May be more snow than you like, but that's the northeast for you. You won't lose the humidity unless you get out of the northeast, but along the Hudson it's much more pleasant than DC.
posted by mochapickle at 6:49 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's not clear to me if you're open to places with a reasonable direct flight to DC or not, but in case you are, Boulder/Denver (probably more Boulder than Denver)? The general area checks your climate, community, airport access boxes and will feel more mountain-y than New England yet is not remote. I have family there and though I'm happy where I am in the NE, I regularly fantasize about their quality of life. It is not going to be appreciably cheaper than DC, though.
posted by superfluousm at 6:50 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by superfluousm at 6:50 AM on July 18, 2017
Particularly given your follow-up, I'm going to second mskyle's recommendation of the Northampton, MA area. Northampton proper may fail your "affordability" requirement (depending on what "affordability" means to you), but it squarely hits every other requirement. If you get a little bit outside of Northampton, it's a bit more affordable (Leeds, MA, Williamsburg, MA).
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:33 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:33 AM on July 18, 2017
You might want to also use WeatherSpark to look up various places and get a reality check on the year-round climate. There's a good reason California is so crowded.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:43 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:43 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Colorado will check those boxes. Glenwood, Montrose, Durango are all biggish towns with great culture. While the front range (Boulder/Denver/Colorado Springs) is nice enough, it's also much more big city than further west - and getting to the mountains can mean hours of traffic. Much better, IMO, to actually live where you play.
All of those towns have flight service to DIA, are big enough that they aren't small town and are small enough that they aren't big city, and a nice property with good views and access to hiking/skiing/biking/etc. are part of the package.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:46 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
All of those towns have flight service to DIA, are big enough that they aren't small town and are small enough that they aren't big city, and a nice property with good views and access to hiking/skiing/biking/etc. are part of the package.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:46 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
The obvious answer is Asheville NC, but not sure what your parameters are for 'affordable'. It hits all your points though. Not remote, very welcoming, great for 30-somethings, lovely weather, airport access, easy VA/DC access. You could look in smaller areas outside of Asheville that might afford you cheaper housing, like Brevard or Sylva or Barnardsville, etc.
posted by greta simone at 7:54 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by greta simone at 7:54 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Your list also describes much of south-coast Vancouver Island.
posted by bonehead at 8:07 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by bonehead at 8:07 AM on July 18, 2017
Seconding larthegreat. My wife and I have just started looking in the Hudson Valley (Beacon-Newburgh specifically), and it sounds like it hits a lot of your notes. It's beautiful and small-town while not being too remote. We didn't think we'd be able to find anything commutable to NYC that was also beautiful and affordable. Some areas do seem a bit more homogeneous than others, so it's definitely worth a visit to see where you'd feel most comfortable.
It may also be worth noting that Stewart Airport in Newburgh has just opened up a few international flights. I don't think you can fly direct to DC from there, but for me it feels a tad less isolated to know there's an international airport nearby.
posted by taltalim at 8:10 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
It may also be worth noting that Stewart Airport in Newburgh has just opened up a few international flights. I don't think you can fly direct to DC from there, but for me it feels a tad less isolated to know there's an international airport nearby.
posted by taltalim at 8:10 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
As for the Colorado recommendations, neither Boulder nor Denver are in the mountains, but you can see the mountains from them. I like to imagine that the first European settlers basically saw the mountains and said "screw that, I'm not going over those" and stopped.
Durango ticks your welcoming box, and while you can get connecting flights to hubs, they tend to be expensive. Also maybe a little colder/snowier than you want. I'm not sure I'd describe Glenwood or Montrose as welcoming of minorities, particularly Montrose, though I'd categorize both as tolerant. They're also both connecting airports but not hubs.
On the welcoming-to-minorities front, I would avoid mountain towns in the Rockies that aren't either ski towns or college towns.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:14 AM on July 18, 2017
Durango ticks your welcoming box, and while you can get connecting flights to hubs, they tend to be expensive. Also maybe a little colder/snowier than you want. I'm not sure I'd describe Glenwood or Montrose as welcoming of minorities, particularly Montrose, though I'd categorize both as tolerant. They're also both connecting airports but not hubs.
On the welcoming-to-minorities front, I would avoid mountain towns in the Rockies that aren't either ski towns or college towns.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:14 AM on July 18, 2017
Asheville is pretty tolerant, but (I suppose lots these towns are similar) it feels/basically 100% white
posted by sandmanwv at 9:39 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by sandmanwv at 9:39 AM on July 18, 2017
I grew up in the mountains above Paris, VA. It's great there and still close to your family in DC.
posted by trbrts at 10:51 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by trbrts at 10:51 AM on July 18, 2017
Asheville is much less tolerant since the election and is absolutely not affordable if you do not bring or make your own job. You'll never make it on what jobs pay around here. The surrounding area despises the city and the state is actively trying to disable the city.
I'm 20 miles out now for reasons. The house you could get for 750 in 2004 is going for 2k now. Every empty space is under construction. Retirees and AirB&b have been driving up prices since I landed here.
I still think it is great area. My son has never known anything else and I won't move him. You can have foodgasms around here that rival Paris. You can get anything fresh if you know where to shop. Good music plays here because they like being here.
I moved to NC from DC. People think traffic is bad but you will find it a joke. It still gets oppressive in the Summer. Especially when the TVA smog settles in these valleys.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:33 PM on July 18, 2017
I'm 20 miles out now for reasons. The house you could get for 750 in 2004 is going for 2k now. Every empty space is under construction. Retirees and AirB&b have been driving up prices since I landed here.
I still think it is great area. My son has never known anything else and I won't move him. You can have foodgasms around here that rival Paris. You can get anything fresh if you know where to shop. Good music plays here because they like being here.
I moved to NC from DC. People think traffic is bad but you will find it a joke. It still gets oppressive in the Summer. Especially when the TVA smog settles in these valleys.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:33 PM on July 18, 2017
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posted by COD at 5:51 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]