Adieu
Well-Known Member
3k on rent alone? Bugger that
Best Places to Live (USA Edition)
- Thread starter SpaceDock
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3k on rent alone? Bugger that
jaxadam
Well-Known Member
My old neighbors moved out to LA (Thousand Oaks or some shit like that) and their rent is $7k a month for half the house they lived in here and they hate it. He got transferred from the Jags to the Rams on a 2 year contract.
Drew
Forum MVP
Oh, I absolutely have confused you two, haha.
Still, this being a thread about the best places to live in the US, and you're talking about three places that I'm pretty sure haven't been mentioned once.
But, if you don't mind tightening your belt and living in a shoebox, you may as well just go to NYC and at least have the experience of having lived there if even just for a year or two. Just, try to find a job locally so your salary will at least recognize the cost of living, even if you're relocating because you can telecommute with your current job (I may still be confusing you two here).
But, like, New York City and San Francisco are two cities that people are actively trying to move away from these days, even before the pandemic.
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Shoot.
When I first moved out of my parent's house in the Detroit area, I remember seeing a house for sale for $5k, and, two blocks away, a 1 bedroom apartment for lease for $5k/mo. How do you make sense of those two bits of information?
City living is expensive, for whatever reason, it's ridiculously expensive in many places. That's why I don't understand how anyone can survive off of $12/hr. For that matter, it's hard for me to understand how people can make twice that and be reasonably accommodated.
jaxadam
Well-Known Member
It can also be seasonality too. I did a project up in New Jersey about 10 years ago and during the off-season they were nice enough to rent me a 2 bed condo for $600/week. After May, in-season it went to $6k a week and I said fuck that and stayed in some shitty hotel!
jco5055
Well-Known Member
Oh, I absolutely have confused you two, haha.
Still, this being a thread about the best places to live in the US, and you're talking about three places that I'm pretty sure haven't been mentioned once.
But, if you don't mind tightening your belt and living in a shoebox, you may as well just go to NYC and at least have the experience of having lived there if even just for a year or two. Just, try to find a job locally so your salary will at least recognize the cost of living, even if you're relocating because you can telecommute with your current job (I may still be confusing you two here).
But, like, New York City and San Francisco are two cities that people are actively trying to move away from these days, even before the pandemic.
Sure all you said makes sense, but I think maybe the issue is overall this thread/SS.org's view of "Best places to live" is different than mine, which is totally ok! But I think this thread's idea is more in line with what USnews City rankings and such rate as the most livable cities (which again makes total sense), but often when I view those I'll be like "need a car no thanks" or "sure low taxes but you live in the outer Dallas suburbs NO THANKS" so I may just need to watch this thread instead of actively asking for advice since I think I'm the odd man out haha.
Yeah, one time I had business travel in Boston, and the cheapest hotel within a one hour radius of my worksite was over $400/night. I decided to instead drive home, sleep for 5 hours, get up, and drive back. There had been a previous trip to the same place where I stayed for under $200/night (and thought that was pretty expensive, considering the hotel was kind of run down).
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Back OT, the best place to live, most likely, is the place where you have roots. I grew up in Detroit, which is arguably the shittiest city in the USA, but I've had to fight so many battles just because I'm constantly a stranger to everyone everywhere I go. I know that when you are in your twenties, it's like "I gotta get far away from this place," but then you get older and your parents get old and sometimes you can't help them because you aren't there, and then your friends get older and you lose touch, and then there will be things you need, that your new friends can't help with, ... so there's a value on all of that sort of stuff.
It's always easier to guess that the grass is greenest where you can't see it, and if you really sit down and think about what makes certain places great and what makes the place you live now bad, you get the same effect. I see it all the time out here. People move here from Boston/NYC/Hartford/etc. and immediately praise how pastoral it is and how the air smells so good, etc., but, after about 3 years, it's "Boy, I really miss going to Walmart," or "I'm so sick of there being nothing to do all winter," etc. I still really love it in VT, but I never really gave a shit about Walmart or Target or whatever. As long as I can hold a decent job and buy groceries and I have heat, electricity, and water, I'm pretty much all set on amenities. It's nice when there's at least some semblance of a music scene, but that's just a cherry on top. But the unseen stuff is more about how you have to get your car inspected, but, since everyone who grew up here knows somebody, they get their cars inspected and passed for $50/yr., whereas "flatlanders" are constantly replacing their O2 sensors and stuff, and, half the time, your stuff isn't even getting actually replaced (always ask to take home the broken part, and also get the job itemized on your receipt/work-order), or other shady stuff like that.
NYC is a huge city. There's tons of stuff to do. There's so much opportunity and so much noise and so much hustle and bustle. But during a pandemic, is that the place you want to live? Sure there's great public transit, but the infrastructure of the city is really old in parts. If you do have a car, even if you don't drive it except on weekends, you have to figure out a place to keep it, which could be very expensive in NYC. Also, your insurance will almost definitely go up, as NYC is a place where cars are damaged or stolen more often than many other places. There's a ton of this little stuff that can really add up, and it's difficult to quantify.
Best of luck!
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Back OT, the best place to live, most likely, is the place where you have roots. I grew up in Detroit, which is arguably the shittiest city in the USA, but I've had to fight so many battles just because I'm constantly a stranger to everyone everywhere I go. I know that when you are in your twenties, it's like "I gotta get far away from this place," but then you get older and your parents get old and sometimes you can't help them because you aren't there, and then your friends get older and you lose touch, and then there will be things you need, that your new friends can't help with, ... so there's a value on all of that sort of stuff.
It's always easier to guess that the grass is greenest where you can't see it, and if you really sit down and think about what makes certain places great and what makes the place you live now bad, you get the same effect. I see it all the time out here. People move here from Boston/NYC/Hartford/etc. and immediately praise how pastoral it is and how the air smells so good, etc., but, after about 3 years, it's "Boy, I really miss going to Walmart," or "I'm so sick of there being nothing to do all winter," etc. I still really love it in VT, but I never really gave a shit about Walmart or Target or whatever. As long as I can hold a decent job and buy groceries and I have heat, electricity, and water, I'm pretty much all set on amenities. It's nice when there's at least some semblance of a music scene, but that's just a cherry on top. But the unseen stuff is more about how you have to get your car inspected, but, since everyone who grew up here knows somebody, they get their cars inspected and passed for $50/yr., whereas "flatlanders" are constantly replacing their O2 sensors and stuff, and, half the time, your stuff isn't even getting actually replaced (always ask to take home the broken part, and also get the job itemized on your receipt/work-order), or other shady stuff like that.
NYC is a huge city. There's tons of stuff to do. There's so much opportunity and so much noise and so much hustle and bustle. But during a pandemic, is that the place you want to live? Sure there's great public transit, but the infrastructure of the city is really old in parts. If you do have a car, even if you don't drive it except on weekends, you have to figure out a place to keep it, which could be very expensive in NYC. Also, your insurance will almost definitely go up, as NYC is a place where cars are damaged or stolen more often than many other places. There's a ton of this little stuff that can really add up, and it's difficult to quantify.
Best of luck!
Drew
Forum MVP
Eh, I live in an extremely urban area too, and while I have a car, I almost never drive it. You still couldn't pay me to move to New York City, man. Believe me, recruiters have tried!
Adieu
Well-Known Member
You couldn't pay me enough to live in NYC.
What an utterly hideous place.
What an utterly hideous place.
Drew
Forum MVP
Fun place to visit for two days, three at most.
Not going to make any specific recommendations, the only thing I will say is that the goldilocks zone for "best places to live" is somewhere balanced between crime and affordability (for the kinda lifestyle you want to live). The first part explains itself, second is a balance of job opportunities with cost of living and availability of property in your price range (along with taxes, etc).
The rest of the stuff is bullshit. Being a "beautiful" place with "a great scene" is meaningless. You get over the landscape pretty quick, the "scene" changes and if you have kids or get old you won't partake anyway.
Reminds me of my relatives that live in the Caribbean and never go to the beach and don't own a pool. Other than the climate, they could do the "stuff" they do in a given day almost anywhere on this planet. Thats most people.
The rest of the stuff is bullshit. Being a "beautiful" place with "a great scene" is meaningless. You get over the landscape pretty quick, the "scene" changes and if you have kids or get old you won't partake anyway.
Reminds me of my relatives that live in the Caribbean and never go to the beach and don't own a pool. Other than the climate, they could do the "stuff" they do in a given day almost anywhere on this planet. Thats most people.
Steinmetzify
CHUG & SLUDGE
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Currently living in SLC UT, and it’s ok but not great. You can’t walk anywhere, it’s too spread out. Public transpo is timely but besieged by the homeless begging for change/money and it’s not exact enough for me anyway, hence the reason we own multiple vehicles. Between my myself and my wife, daughter and her BF we own 2 cars and 2 trucks, plus my bikes which I don’t ride anymore because of the influx of Californians who don’t see motorcycles.
Also, home prices are thru the roof the last year or so due to that influx. My wife’s aunt is our realtor in the family, and she’s had multiple deals go thru in the last 18 months with people paying up to $200k over asking for a house that’d be $300k in Vegas but here runs about $750k-$800k for desirable areas.
Traffic is a fuckin nightmare anymore as well.
Currently looking at relocating to Vegas sometime in the next year or two; I’m sick of snow and people that move here and can’t drive in it, and I’m also sick of the monopoly the Mormon church has on liquor and tobacco. I can buy smokes and booze cheaper anywhere else in the country.
We currently pay around $2200 for a 2bd/2bath apt with a garage and two carports, in a really nice area right next to the mountains and it’s just getting to be too much with all the new people.
Sold our house a few years back for double what we paid 12 years ago, and that house now is on the market for almost $800k.
Comparable pad near mountains/amenities in a guard gated community in Vegas would be around $450k.
Also, home prices are thru the roof the last year or so due to that influx. My wife’s aunt is our realtor in the family, and she’s had multiple deals go thru in the last 18 months with people paying up to $200k over asking for a house that’d be $300k in Vegas but here runs about $750k-$800k for desirable areas.
Traffic is a fuckin nightmare anymore as well.
Currently looking at relocating to Vegas sometime in the next year or two; I’m sick of snow and people that move here and can’t drive in it, and I’m also sick of the monopoly the Mormon church has on liquor and tobacco. I can buy smokes and booze cheaper anywhere else in the country.
We currently pay around $2200 for a 2bd/2bath apt with a garage and two carports, in a really nice area right next to the mountains and it’s just getting to be too much with all the new people.
Sold our house a few years back for double what we paid 12 years ago, and that house now is on the market for almost $800k.
Comparable pad near mountains/amenities in a guard gated community in Vegas would be around $450k.
MFB
Banned
Bingo.
I got to NY a couple times a year now for shows, since usually they'll get bigger venues for anniversary shows and whatnot; but having lived in three cities right outside Boston, and working in the city every day, NY still kicks you right back down to reality if you think your city is "busy." That shit is going 24/7, and I've had nights where I was out at 1/2AM going back to my hotel, and it's not much different from the day time, and I don't see how that's possible, but it's happening.
So I go out there, get my existential reality check, come back here and am way more content with our level of "city."
Drew
Forum MVP
I think the "scenery" has to dovetail with your interests. The Caribbean would probably kick ass if you were into surfing or ocean kayaking or snorkeling or sailing. As someone who enjoys riding road bikes up mountains, I'd probably go stir crazy on most of the islands, though. Likewise, VT is stunning, and chock full of amazing road and gravel (and MTB) riding, but if you're a surfer it's going to get old real fast.
Where, if you don't mind my asking? My sister lived out there for a number of years, in Draper for a while, and then... Daylight, maybe? There was a lot of stuff I liked out there - great outdoors scene if you were a hiker, skiier, or cyclist - but culturally she never really fit in and I'd have maybe found a home in the counter-culture out there (harder for her, as a single woman) but would have definitely been an outsider for the most part.
