Leaving the Bay Area
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Leaving the Bay Area
June 2005
Like many others (judging from all the ''moving to ... '' posts on
the BPN) my husband and I are thinking about whether we should
leave the Bay Area. We were both raised here and have lived here
most of our lives. But though we love it, we're growing
increasingly weary of the astronomical cost of living and the
stress that making our ''monthly nut'' puts on our family. We own a
modest home that we have a lot of equity in now, and the idea of
''getting out of dodge'' and moving somewhere less expensive has a
great deal of appeal. The problem is, we don't know *where* to
go. We don't have family anywhere (other than here) that we'd
consider living, and don't have the money to travel willy nilly
to see what appeals. So I'd love to ask BPN members who've lived
and/or visited places they've loved, ''Where would you live if you
couldn't be here?''
We're looking for a vibrant small city or cool college town
anywhere in the USA or Canada (my husband has dual citizenship,
courtesy of his Canadian mother) that:
* Is significantly less expensive than the Bay Area
* Isn't suburban tract-house hell; a place that has nice in-town
neighborhoods filled with vintage (teens, '20s, '30s) homes on
tree-lined streets
* Has a cultural life -- concerts, readings, community events,
writers, artists, weirdos, etc.
* Has a decent economy; I freelance from home, but my husband
would need to find a job (his background is in retail management)
* Has a good public school system (through high school)
* Is somewhat politically and socially progressive; we know that
the redneck and ''Red State'' factor will be an issue pretty much
anywhere we go, but we need to be somewhere we could find a
community of like-minded friends
* Isn't 100 in the shade or 0 degrees three-quarters of the year
Are we dreaming? Some of the places that sound promising, but
that we've never actually *been* to include Eureka, CA; Portland,
Ashland, or Eugene, OR; Amherst or Northampton, MA; Chapel Hill,
SC; and Denver or Boulder, CO. Any other places we should add to the
list?
Thanks so much for any and all input!
Anonymous
I think there will be trade-offs wherever else you move to--that is why the
BA is so popular (and, therefore, expensive).
That being said, I'd encourage you to consider Minneapolis. I have not
lived there, but some friends are moving there this summer. They bought
a GORGEOUS Arts & Crafts, 4 bedroom home on a big lot, for $260,000.
Minneapolis is well known for a terrific theater and arts scent, is
supposed to be a very progressive city, with an excellent standard of
living. Also, Minnesota is supposed to be quite beautiful.
The trade-off is that it does get very cold in winter.
Good luck!
Trying to stick-it-out in the Bay Area
Hi, your post strikes a very familiar note with us! We have
been planning to move away from the Bay Area for several years,
but have been trying to find a place similar to what you're
asking for. We visited the Eureka area and were very
disappointed. We visited Eugene, OR and liked it, but we
actually liked Corvallis, OR much better and have plans to move
there in Spring 2007. The town is really nice, large enough to
offer most any service you could want, and is close enough to
Eugene (35 minutes) or Portland (about 90 minutes) if you need
a bigger city. Corvallis seems to have a better economic
outlook than other parts of Oregon, and appears to be growing
rapidly. There are many charming, tree-lined neighborhoods,
and the schools are rated as some of the very best in the
country. Oregon State University is in Corvallis also, which
helps add a lot to the town. You can check out real estate at
www.midvalleyrex.com and find out visitors/relocation info at
www.visitcorvallis.com. As for Ashland, my parents live in
nearby Grants Pass, and while Ashland itself is cute, it is
very small and pretty expensive and trendy (think like Carmel
of Oregon). It gets very hot in the summer, and the nearest
large town is Medford, which I can't think of anything positive
about it. Lots of rednecks and strip malls. Good luck in your
search!
Gayle
We're actually planning to move to the Vancouver BC area, if
getting a Visa will work out (it can take forever). N. Vancouver
and the Sunshine Coast (Gibsons), which is supposed to have less
rain, seems like an incredible place, lots of culture, art, kid
friendly, Green party, great people, etc. Just Google their
website. Houses are cheap, bigger and much better quality
compared to the Bay Area, especially when you take the
conversion to the Canadian dollar into account after selling
here..
Plan B for us, if that doesn't work out might be Corvalis, OR.
It's a University town with Berkeley ''mentality''. Also not that
far from the shore and Portland. Houses there are also cheap and
big (decent 2 story for about $300,000 or less. More rain of
course but I'm actually tired of the long dry seasons here. I've
lived in the Bay Area for 25 years.
anon
I recommend East Aurora, NY. It has what you're looking for as
far as the history (birthplace of Millard Fillmore, the Roycroft
Arts & Crafts movement, and hometown to the headquarters of
Fisher Price, but no factories, only a toy museum, shop, and the
''brains'' of the company).
Tree-lined, front-porchy streets with old, pretty houses, a Main
Street complete with an incredible, huge, family-owned 5 & 10--(a
new Wal-Mart was just nixed by the townspeople) excellent school
system. You won't find the open-mindedness you'll find here,
ANYWHERE else. But the people are nice, friendly, and very
neighborly from my experience. The kind of place where you watch
out for each other's kids, everyone decorates at Halloween, etc.
The closest big city is Buffalo (1/2 hour) (not great, but does
offer some cultural opportunities), but it's also close to
Canada, Lake Ontario, Niagra Falls, and Toronto (2 1/2 hours).
Compared to here, cheap, cheap, cheap. For the price of a small
home here, you could buy the biggest, fanciest house in town
there (like 5 bed, 4 bath, pool, acreage...)
The countryside is farm-like, wooded, hilly, and beautiful. East
Aurora does get snow, but misses the ''lake effect'' that Buffalo
gets, with the numerous feet of snow. The town is
well-maintained with snow-plows and such too. My parents live
there; let me know if you want more info.
heidi
check out Burlington, Vermont, housing may be unaffordable
(maybe-not sure, I wasn't looking at real estate there) but it
is a great town!
It seems what would be most beneficial for you is a college
town in one of the ''flyover'' states. I believe some of the
towns you mentioned have also see significant price increases
in housing.
I lived in Columbus, OH for 8 years, and really liked it. Ohio
State is there, and there are a number of close-in communities
and suburbs that are progressive. There is a large gay
community there, and the University has tons to offer. It is
also a huge retail mecca (Les Wexner, who owns The Limited and
other stores, is based in Columbus, and lots of retail stores
are tested out there).
You get all 4 seasons, some snow, but not enough that you need
a snow blower. The worst part is the humidity. If you have
lived in the Bay Area your whole life, you REALLY need to test
out the humidity factor before moving away from the Western
US. Some people actually like it, but most hate it!
And remember, Ohio was almost a Blue State!!
Good luck with your search!
Sitting on Serious Equity Myself!
Nov 2003
My husband and I are trapped in the Bay Area rat race. He works
too many hours at a job he doesn't like just so we can afford a
cramped house for us and our two young kids. Before we had
kids, we thought it was worth it. We love the Bay Area, but now
that we have kids, the compromises that we must make to live
here are just too much. And -- frankly -- the traffic and
congestion are really getting to us. When we think about what
we really want for our family, this isn't it. We have this idea
that there is another way to live -- in which the community is
family friendly and affordable and welcoming and broad-minded.
I'd love to live in a modest and affordable home on a tree-lined
street where my children could walk to a neighborhood school
that I am proud of. I'd like work and shops to be either a walk
or a short drive away. To me, this sounds like a small town or
a small city, but I'm at a loss as to where it is. Do any of
you have ideas about where to go to afford a good honest life in
a place that doesn't break your bank?
Homesick
Your description immediately brought to mind the village where my
parents live, East Aurora, New York. It is exactly as you
describe. It's about 30 minutes from Buffalo, with a population
of about 6,000. They get all 4 seasons, but miss the heavy snow
that Buffalo gets. Excellent schools, no ''bad parts of town'', a
children's museum, a famous, wonderful , old fashioned 5 & 10,
the Fisher Price headquarters, with toy museum & shop (but no
factory). Tree lined streets, with pretty, well-kept, older
homes, most of which have a front porch. VERY neighborly feel.
I would be happy to tell you more...oh, the real clincher (which
makes ME want to move there...) the typical home there is in the
$100,000-$200,000 range. You can basically get your dream home
for less than $300,000. You can email me to get more info, and I
can connect you with my parents if you want a first-hand account.
Heidi
My sister moved from Hawaii to Durham NC because she and her husband
checked out many places all over the country and felt the quality of life, from
the climate to the cost of living was the best they could find for themselves.
They've been there a few years now and are very happy with their choice.
Just thought I'd share that. They don't have school aged kids anymore, so
they probably had more freedom to not base their decision on the quality of
schools. That I don't know about the Raleigh/Durham area.
Good luck.
Irene
Boy, will your message strike chords. There are lots and lots of
places in this enormous country that will more or less fit the
bill you describe. You don't say whether it's important to you
to stay on the coast (or a coast) or whether you have to have a
particular kind of weather or vegetation or... But I can offer
some guidelines. If you can handle intense weather, the college
towns and small cities of the Midwest will certainly fit your
description. Even when they're located in fairly conservative
states, they tend to be islands of liberal thinking and cultural
activity. There's Madison, Wisconsin and Columbus, Ohio and
Lawrence, Kansas, and Iowa City and smaller places like Oberlin
and Xenia (Antioch College) in Ohio and Ithaca (Cornell
University) in New York and Boulder, Colorado (U of CO) and
Columbia, Missouri (U of MO, Stephens College).
All of these places (and many, many others) have the tree-lined
streets, dearth of serious congestion, reasonably-priced housing,
sense of community, etc. you describe. Good luck with your
search -- a lot of us are thinking along the same lines...
missing the Midwest
-
We have friends that just moved to Beaverton, Oregon which is
close to Portland. They sold their house in El Cerrito for the
low $400,000's and were able to buy a really great house (and a
new car and one person can take a year off to be home with
kids)...in a great neighborhood. The kids walk to school and can
play in the streets with the other neighbor kids.
Let me know if your'e interested and I can give you their e-mail
address.
I don't know about stores and such, but they are SOOOO happy
there.
Good luck.
June
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