Moving out of Cincinnati, but to where??? Advice please...

[Leftfield]

Fellow INTP's...

I have decided to go into the working world over graduate school (was an 8-month decision), so I did some research on some cities that seem to fit my personality and are listed below in order of rank.

*If anyone has either lived or traveled to these cities, could you give me a little of the good, the bad, and the lasting impression(s) of the city as a whole and what it meant to you.

The List:
1) Baltimore, MD
2) Boston, MA
3) San Francisco, CA
4) Denver, CO
5) Philadelphia, PA
6) Washington, D.C.
7) Chicago, IL
8) Richmond, VA
9) Portland, OR
10) San Diego, CA
11) Providence, RI
12) Charlotte, NC
not ranked) New Haven, CT

These cities are as of now, what intuitively appear to be the best to my tastes. I would like to be around educated and liberal people, which tends to lead me to the Northeast or West Coast in all but a few cases... I also like mid-sized metro cities, Cincinnati was a great fit and the reason why Baltimore looks to be the best fit.

Thanks for any feedback / output!

- Leftfield

[Nemesis]

Since NYC isnt a choice, I'm gonna say Philly. It's an awesome city. The Arts are absolutely everywhere, and if you're a sports person you'll fit right in.*

Plus then maybe we can arrange a South Street meet up in Philly! :D

*disclaimer: Does not apply to fans of Dallas Cowboys, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils

[Edmond Zedo]

Go to hell bourgois scum! Or anywhere but Chicago, as that's within a day's drive.

[Superstring]

Not that I've been there, but San Francisco sounds like the best choice for educated, liberal people in a mid-sized metro city. My friend recently settled down in the bay area...he's worked in every US city like a million times each and he says San Fran is the best....then again he prefers Chicago to New York :v/

[booyalab]

*If anyone has either lived or traveled to these cities, could you give me a little of the good, the bad, and the lasting impression(s) of the city as a whole and what it meant to you.

The List:
1) Baltimore, MD
2) Boston, MA
3) San Francisco, CA
4) Denver, CO
5) Philadelphia, PA
6) Washington, D.C.
7) Chicago, IL
8) Richmond, VA
9) Portland, OR
10) San Diego, CA
11) Providence, RI
12) Charlotte, NC
not ranked) New Haven, CT


Why the hell would anyone want to live in Boston or DC?
the rest are fine.. If Boston and DC need to be there, put them somewhere towards the bottom. I like San Fransisco, I could see it being in the top 5

[coffeezombie]

Baltimore is on the top of your list? I've heard that the place is worse than Detroit, except for the public transit (and the success of the football team).

[euterpenc]

Since NYC isnt a choice, I'm gonna say Philly. It's an awesome city. The Arts are absolutely everywhere, and if you're a sports person you'll fit right in.*

Plus then maybe we can arrange a South Street meet up in Philly! :D

*disclaimer: Does not apply to fans of Dallas Cowboys, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils

I would advise against Philadelphia. It's a nasty city, with lots of black people and crime.It's quite dirty, and the people who live in and around are scumbags. I would suggest Baltimore or Pittsburgh, two nice cities, and Baltimore is on the bay, and has yummy seafood.

[Conan]

I lived in New Haven, its kind of lame but it has Yale, and its only a couple hours from both Boston and New York.

[Pooja]

try this website, for information on American cities...

www.bestplaces.net

[Heather Harrison]

I'm a life-long westerner; I don't know the eastern cities at all. Out of the western cities on your list, I have the most experience with San Diego. I lived in Carlsbad (a northern suburb of San Diego) for a year, and I still visit the area often. It is a great place to visit; there is a lot to do there. The arts scene is good. The zoo and wild animal park are great. The second-largest museum complex in the country (only the Smithsonian is larger) is located in Balboa Park; it is impressive. There is plenty of shopping as well, and there are even a few little natural areas close by. The deserts to the east are really nice, and at Cabrillo National Monument, not far from downtown, there is a nice hiking trail and some tide pools. And if you get bored there, the Los Angeles area is but a short drive away, and there is a lot to do there too. The San Diego area would be a more pleasant place to live, but it is nice to have L.A. close enough to visit.

However, there are negatives which kept me from settling there. Since I am more of a small-city type, the congestion in San Diego, which gets worse every year, bothers me (if you're more of a big-city type, the congestion might not bother you as much). Since I lived there (about 20 years ago), traffic has become far worse, and it can be hard to even get from North County to Downtown much of the time. If you move there, you would be well-advised to find a place to live close to where you work and/or go to school. Unfortunately, housing costs are really high, so I hope you have plenty of money if you move there!

I also have some experience with San Francisco and Portland. Both are wonderful, liberal-minded cities, but like San Diego, they also have congestion problems (although Portland doesn't seem quite as bad). Housing costs in San Francisco are horrendous; this alone would keep me away unless I got a job that paid about $200,000/year. I could probably find a job there, but from what I have seen I couldn't get much more than $100,000 - and that just isn't enough to live comfortably there, at least not up to my standards. I don't know how lower-income people survive there, but somehow they seem to; perhaps they know something I don't (or maybe they just put up with poor living conditions). I haven't spent as much time in Portland, but from what I have seen I like it a lot, and I would like to spend more time looking around there. Just don't plan on pumping your own gas in Oregon - they have a law that requires gas station attendants to pump gas.

Given the problems with these other places, I'm inclined to stay in Salt Lake City (although I may investigate Portland further). Congestion isn't bad, and the opportunities for outdoor activities are incredible - it is easily one of the best cities in the country for this. (Denver, which is on your list, is reasonably well-situated for outdoor activities if you are interested in that. My few experiences there have been bad, but I haven't spent enough time there to form a proper opinion - someone else will have to comment on Denver.)

Heather

[nottaprettygal]

I grew up in Baltimore, and enjoyed life there. What's cool about the city is the fact that there is literally a bar on every corner, and that the atmosphere is a little more close-knit than in other cities. Neighbors know each other and look out for one another. It's a good place to live for someone who likes an urban environment but doesn't want to reside in a huge city.

Its downfall is the crime rate. But if you use common sense then I don't think it's a major issue.

Any specific questions? Let me know.

[Leftfield]

Thanks, so far the feedback has been very useful, the point of my post is for the reasons for the good/bad of the cities...

Useless replies:

Go to hell bourgois scum! Or anywhere but Chicago, as that's within a day's drive.


Why the hell would anyone want to live in Boston or DC?
the rest are fine.. If Boston and DC need to be there, put them somewhere towards the bottom. I like San Fransisco, I could see it being in the top 5


Baltimore is on the top of your list? I've heard that the place is worse than Detroit, except for the public transit (and the success of the football team).

Come on people, if you are going to post, don't be so critical, I am just asking for the basics, not that I am bourgois scum (which I could possibly become), not that Boston and D.C. suck for no apparant reason, not that Baltimore is worse than Detroit without any reason, this is very uncharacteristic for this forum... if they do suck, state the reasons why and if you do, state a positive about the city, not all cities 100% "suck", with possible exceptions to small, all-white, racist cities in the South - which, geographically is not in my interests and criterion...

As for the other replies... thank you so much!

notaprettygal & superstring: awesome, Baltimore sounds more of a perfect fit now, as does San Francisco...

Heather: thank you for the depth of the West, I am a nature person and it more validates reasons to move out there. An investment firm in S.F. has interest in me, but no dollar amount as of yet. I also read that S.F. is the most expense place to live in the country, so I would have to talk to a buddy of mine that was on co-op out there for six months about the exacts and how he survived out there.

Pooja: that link almost justified my entire list, so that was very helpful, thank you.

I did co-op in Pittsburgh and liked it a lot. The Strip District is awesome and the microbrews in the state are first-rate. With people trying to move out of the city, the congestion isn't horrible, except for downtown but their transit is alright. Being a life-long Steelers fan does help the cause. It is also very similar to Cincinnati, which for the most part is positive.

I have relatives near Philly and saw the 4th of July celebration at their house, and it was catered to black people. I remember some of the musical acts that played, it was interesting and partly funny (due to the cultural & socio-economic differences) but not to my taste. Regardless of this, Philly is still pretty high on the list because I do like the city.

My only "beef" with NYC is the enormous size. The overwhelming feeling of a city that large and with a huge pop. density would make me hesitant to move there. Even when I was in London, it felt a little too big, but London is more spread out than NYC, primarily due to the coast and the fact that NYC can't really expand much further.

I look forward to more POSITIVE, well-written responses...

[altblue]

Interesting topic, as I've been thinking a lot about this as well. Did the Sperling's "find your best place," and I'm not surprised to see that I've lived in or near half of the top 10 places on my list heh. I've probably spouted off on the virtues of San Francisco and San Diego already in other posts in comparison to DC, but there are many personal factors that go into it. I was born and raised in the west coast so I'm partial to it, but I love being by the coast and the ocean, the laid-back atmosphere and people, the weather, the diversity of the people and the really good cheap authentic ethnic food. However, though SF is definitely a metro area, SD kind of felt like just a big suburban county with many different small communities. Public transportation is a bit lacking there, you really won't be able to get to most places without driving. Both places are expensive to live in terms of buying a house, SF being probably THE most expensive. But renting is not too bad, and you could always live in the surrounding areas and commute in. DC, however, is just as expensive as SD. I wouldn't even call DC mid-sized though, it's very, very small. I think I explored pretty much the entire city in a couple of months. But it does offer a lot of arts, culture, and of course, politics within its small size. I actually prefer it to New York, which is just way too busy and overwhelming for me. There just isn't as many people and to me it's a bit calmer. Weather is also a lot milder than NY. I like how most people in DC are very well-educated, well-informed, and won't run away if you want to debate about a book or foreign affairs or world events. But really, you'll be able to find educated liberal people along with all the other types of people in any city. DC is a rather transient city, people come here to work for a few years and usually move somewhere else or back to where they came from. Building permanent connections is a bit harder. Anyway those are just some thoughts off the top of my head, I don't know how coherent or helpful it is but if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

[Star]

I would advise against Philadelphia. It's a nasty city, with lots of black people and crime.It's quite dirty, and the people who live in and around are scumbags.
What the fuck? How do you know that he isn't black, or that any of us isn't?

Anyway I've lived in Boston and Cincinnati and I can say you're in for a big culture shock if you move up there. I loved it, but since you seem to enjoy the smaller suburban type cities, I don't think you'll be too happy in a place where people rent parking spaces for as much as you currently pay per month for an apartment.

[Leftfield]

What the fuck? How do you know that he isn't black, or that any of us isn't?

Anyway I've lived in Boston and Cincinnati and I can say you're in for a big culture shock if you move up there. I loved it, but since you seem to enjoy the smaller suburban type cities, I don't think you'll be too happy in a place where people rent parking spaces for as much as you currently pay per month for an apartment.

I am 100% lame... I mean white (see avatar or profile pic), and I grew up in a small suburb of Dayton, I have never lived in a large city/metro. I have been in Cincy since 2000 (for college) and in addition, I was on co-op in Pittsburgh. Also, when I was in Augsburg, Germany on int'l co-op, I enjoyed not needing an auto / public transportation (thus more interest in Boston, San Fran., DC and maybe Baltimore) even though Augsburg was of similar size to Cincy.

The kicker is when I have the opportunity to visit these cities on interview. I will most likely spend a few days in the city to get a vibe/feel of the city to get an overall first but lasting impression. The other factor is that most of the cities I have listed, I know of people that have lived there and can ask them the relevant questions and the reason why I am posting here, for overall impressions of what people say about the city.

The best example is for some cities, such as Baltimore - 'notaprettygal' grew up there and I can ask her specific questions, etc... but the best part about this is, I have been a member here for awhile and know that her personality appears somewhat similar to mine and we are about the same age too. Anything goes as a factor... keep em' coming, thanks...