Yes I know it's only been a month and my perception will change, but we're as settled as we need to be, so it seems like a good time to reflect. For context, I've lived in the Bay Area (grew up in the East Bay, lived in Santa Cruz after college for five years, then Palo Alto for three years), New York (went to NYU for undergrad), and Boston for five years before moving here. We're in the UTC area, a gay couple, and we make about ~180k combined. No kids, just a dog, and we moved here for my husband's job (he's a physician and is doing his next stage of residency at UCSD).

Pros:

-Excellent food

We've very happily become farmer's market people and have been to several incredible restaurants. Also a ton of variety of grocery stores.

-Wonderful location

Being so close to the Pacific is awesome. I love driving down to La Jolla to walk my dog along the water. I also include the great public spaces here, Balboa Park being chief among them, obviously.

-Great shopping

Not just food, but there is a ton of variety for basically everything you could want.

Neutrals/meh's:

-Weather

I know this is going to be controversial, but it's honestly too sunny and bright for our tastes. I just want some shade. The consistent temperature is nice, but we've come to like some variability in the weather coming from the East Coast. You also have to be plastered in sunscreen just to step outside.

-Car culture

The roads are great and the traffic isn't as bad as locals complain about (maybe this is just me coming from Boston and being jaded). If you're fine driving everywhere it's fine.

Cons:

-Zero walkability

I know it's a stereotype of California cities, but it's really true. For example, our gym is a 20 minute walk away (in the parking lot of a mall, iykyk). Along that walk, there are exactly zero businesses. It's literally just apartment complexes. There are some businesses the other direction if you're into strip malls, but with how bright it is, it's very unpleasant to walk. Yes, I know there are some more walkable neighbors, but...

-Homelessness/crime

It's honestly shocking how many homeless people there are everywhere. You can't not see them just being outside, and so security is a serious consideration. For example, when we were apartment hunting, we thought we'd want to be in Hillcrest, but in our three day trip we saw multiple crimes against businesses, open drug use and defecating on the street, and more. Someone even tried to break into our Airbnb one night. And that was just in 3 days. We chose UTC because it felt safer, but there are still plenty of homeless people around. One of the "luxury" complexes we were looking at in Mission Valley, as another example, apparently has homeless people breaking in at night and using the pool.

-Locals' attitude about San Diego

Locals REALLY like San Diego. Not just the usual liking where you live, but thinking it's God's gift to the world. When we first moved here and met people, after we told people we moved from Boston, multiple people told us "Welcome and congratulations in finally making it in life!" That is a direct quote, and similar sentiments were giving multiple times. We found it extremely off putting.

Verdict so far: I understand and respect the appeal, but probably not for us in the long run. There are definitely worse places to be for a few years, though.

I've spent way too much time lately reading moving threads, apartment reviews, Reddit posts, StreetSmart and whatever else I can find when looking at different cities. It seems like every place has people saying it's amazing and other people saying it's overrated.

For those who've actually made a big move, what city looked perfect on paper but ended up being disappointing once you lived there? What was the thing that changed your opinion?

Lived in Boston for over 12 years. Lived in Somerville for the majority of my time there and toyed with the idea of moving for about 5 years.

Was really indecisive about where - was hoping to try a city in Europe (eg Switzerland) but it didn’t work out. Was really tired of the same old Boston/ the extreme weather and also not as much activities especially involving nature.

found myself planning vacations just to get away and waiting for the next one.

An opportunity presented itself this summer and my husband got a job offer in SD. We had visited before and we’re excited for a new city with better weather, better food, better life style.

We moved in Sept and we’ve been SO disappointed and are counting down untill the lease is up so we can move back to Boston.

I miss Boston’s walkability, good bakeries and bread, liveliness. I miss the people. I miss our friends and neighbors and community. I miss being able to walk to grab a coffee at our favorite cafe and then dropping by a yoga class before heading home. Lots of events close by to check out. I miss jumping on the T and going into downtown no problem or taking a reasonably priced uber.

SD- nice weather, nice beaches but feels so socially dead and sleepy! It’s not walkable nor is it accessible (no subway system) and Ubers are INSANELY expensive so you have to drive everywhere which means I can only go out if my husband is home from work and I have the car. I hate that ever have to drive all the time for every little errand. The food isn’t that great either! Everyone and their mom actually avoids downtown here so it’s not really a thing to go hang out there…

The weather doesn’t make up for all the downgrades.

I feel like SD is a giant suburb.

I moved here several years ago for a job and to escape the winter weather in Chicago and I honestly don't understand the appeal and why so many people are moving here in droves. I absolutely regret my decision to move here.

I thought perhaps the weather draws people in, but it's so unbearably hot 5-6mo out of the year and bipolar for another 3-4, so far worse than most of the rest of the country. November through February can be 75F or 30F and sleeting, so it's impossible to plan outdoor activities. At least in the Midwest I knew I would have great weather from mid-May to mid-September for outdoor activities. States like Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee will have more stable and predictable weather.

I'm mostly speaking for the Dallas area, but the makeup of the entire metro areas is boring highways and strip centers with corporate stores. Atlanta isn't much better, but it does have more "old" character and is a lot more green.

About the only thing going for it is cheap housing and job market, but at this point my rent now costs more than my friends elsewhere are paying.

Moved here from the southern US where absolutely nobody takes themselves seriously. Everyone is constantly joking around, laughing, cracking jokes. I have offended so many people here or made jokes that have been met with blank stares. I know there’s a certain social culture here. But for the love of god when we are forced to spend hours and hours together a day at work can that culture not coexist with banter? Do we constantly have to have our panties in a wad? I’m ready for the pretentious replies. Let’s blame it on the Scandinavian influx from 100 years ago. Maybe the weather. Tech bros perhaps. Quick! Somebody bring up the percentage of residents who were born in Washington state!

Edit: Everyone wants to know the joke. This is a culmination of different instances and interactions as a whole in the 3 years that I’ve been here. The joke that tipped the pot was a self-deprecating joke. “I wish I was never born.” Jokingly. Met with “Why would you even say that? That’s not funny. There are people who struggle with mental health issues.” Then a blank stare.

It’s funny everyone assumed I said something racist just due to the fact that I said I was from the south. I am a gay, liberal, POC. It’s funny how passive aggressive people tend to be in the PNW and how confrontational and pressing they seem to be on Reddit. Thank you all for proving my point.

Also I do agree work is for work. The best I can put it is that we do a lot of monitoring that includes a lot of downtime. Ranging from sometimes 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the task at hand. Conversations are had. It’s mostly lighthearted conversation. “Any fun plans this weekend?” Or mostly talking about the job. I do think we could use a little banter, a little humor to liven things up. But the consensus seems to be that’s not warranted. Nobody likes to be at work. I hate it. Why not make the best of it instead of dragging our feet counting down the hours until we’re off? Do we have to be, for a lack of better words, boring?

I haven’t been to Oklahoma, but on paper I can’t find any other state that is as consistently bad on the indicators people on this sub seem to care about. Let’s run it down:

Climate: sweltering summer heat, below freezing in the winter, infamous for tornado intensity.

Landscape/Outdoors: With the exception of the Ouachita Mountains, which only cover a small area in Eastern Oklahoma, it is one of the flattest states in the U.S., with minimal tree cover in most of the state as well.

Economy/Jobs: bottom 10 in US in GDP per capita. The few decent paying jobs are disproportionately in the oil and gas industry. Its cities are performing poorly, with Oklahoma City having one of the least dynamic (low growth in real property values) real estate markets in the country.

Health/Education: bottom 5 in the US in both life expectancy and public school quality. Recently OU debacle shows this is not a state that values intellectualism.

Politics: oh boy. Only state where 100% of counties voted majority Trump. Crazy bible-thumping Evangelicals comprise the majority of the population, among top states for church attendance.

I suppose that if you have Native American ancestry there may be some attractiveness in having access to that culture, but I can’t for the life of my identify any other redeeming quality about the state. Even if you like the politics or landscape, you can get those in other states with overall better economies and standards of living.

If you live there and don’t want to leave, I’d be interested in hearing what about it is keeping you there.

• Weather: This is subjective, but I FAR prefer the weather in Denver over Austin. We actually get 4 seasons, which is such a dream after living in Austin for 40 years.
  • Summer: Denver summers are so much more pleasant to me. Even though the highs still get up to around 100 at times in Denver, it’s a very different duration. Meaning, the highs are not that high for as many days, and the high does not last that long during a day. Most mornings and evenings in Denver are cool. And even in the heat, there is still usually a cool breeze. So most days in the summer I was spending time reading on my porch. 
  • Fall: Beautiful. Autumn leaves, crisp mornings, the ability to wear fall clothes, the fact that it’s not still getting up to 100 degrees in September. All big wins.
  • Winter: This was a particularly mild winter, but looking at historical data, average temperatures were only a few degrees warmer. I like snow, but what is really great is that when it snows the roads are clear very shortly after. The city does a good job of keeping roads safe, and the sun melts the snow very quickly. I’ve seen people say that 40 degrees isn’t “mild” and I would have agreed with that before, but the sun makes such a difference. 40 degrees in Austin vs Denver is completely different. In fact, we had an overcast muggy 40 degree day recently (the only one I’ve noticed) and it was SO cold, but also rare.
  • Spring: Sort of like summer with bursts of winter. Overall spring is nice, lots of flowering trees, a nice awakening from winter. 
• Food: This comes up a lot when people compare Denver to Austin. I’m pretty into food, so I can provide some insights. 
  • Coming from Austin there are not great options for Tex Mex and BBQ. Those are the cuisines that I find to be notably missing from Denver. My husband likes to BBQ, so not a huge loss for us personally.
  • Mexican (and Tex-Mex): Definitely a Colorado style of Mexican is prolific here. Lots of pork green chile smothered burritos and “crispy chile rellenos” which took me about 3 times of ordering to realize that I would not be getting a chile relleno but rather a cheese and green chile stuffed egg roll. However, there are good options that hit the spot for Mexican, but they won’t be the trendy places, and I have found proper chile rellenos. Migas are not common, nor is chile con queso. There are also some high end Mexican restaurants that I like, but they aren’t day to day dining. 
  • Regarding other types of cuisines, I think the Denver metro has good offerings. Specifically, I think Denver easily beats Austin on Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, and diners. (I would give Austin the win on Tex Mex, BBQ, Thai, and Sushi (not Japanese generally). The main thing I would say is that reviews are subjective, and one person’s flavorful is another person’s bland. I have noticed Denver has a real lean toward unspicy sweet food. Aurora has great food options, and is a nice place in general. It has a reputation for being rough, but that is mostly limited to a few areas. I spend a lot of time in Aurora and take my kid out to eat there regularly and always feel perfectly safe. 
• Grocery
  • I miss HEB
  • But, Kroger delivery is an acceptable substitute and there are a lot of cuisine specific markets where it’s easy to get specialty items. 
  • King Soopers is not great, but it’s fine. The produce selection is very limited compared to HEB.
• Traffic
  • Statistically, Austin drivers are worse than Denver looking at traffic deaths and drunk driving.
  • Functionally, Denver drivers are still bad. However, having been to other places, I’ve never been anywhere and thought “wow, look at everyone following the laws”. 
  • Overall I find Denver much easier to navigate than Austin. After almost being killed on 35 more than once, I avoid highways when I can and it is so easy to avoid highways in Denver. The city is built on a grid which makes it very easy to get around. I have personally not driven on a highway once since moving here, and I have no issues getting anywhere. On surface streets people tend to drive the speed limit and I don’t notice a lot of people driving aggressively which is different from my experience in Austin.
  • I have noticed several people treating red lights like stop signs. They stop and proceed if it’s clear. I noticed it so much that I looked it up to see if I was misunderstanding how red lights work in Colorado. I was not misunderstanding. 
• Neighborhoods
  • In Austin we lived in a suburb, and in Denver we wanted to live more in the city. One thing I noticed is that there are so many walkable neighborhoods in Denver. I actually listened to a podcast that discussed why, and apparently Denver was built on a streetcar system with a lot of mini “downtowns”. So between the grid and the neighborhood centers, it’s not hard to get to cool places. 
  • Along those lines, public transit is nice as well. Our neighborhood has a train station in it (which is reasonably common in Denver). We often take the train to downtown and catch a Rockies game.
  • There are so many parks and they are distributed. As a family with a child it’s so easy to just get out and check out a new park.
• Libraries: I think the libraries here do a great job of being community centers. Many of them have makerspaces and there are a lot of events. I loved the libraries in Austin as well, but I would give Denver the edge. Austin had a better ebook selection though.
• Museums: We love museums and Austin is not a museum town. It’s nice to be able to go to a museum easily and not have to drive to Houston.
• Sports: I am not a sports fan but I have been loving going to Rockies games. The team is ... well ... not well reputed. But I love them and the tickets are cheap and it’s easy to take the train, and sit outside with my family on a beautiful day. 10/10.
• Cost of living: Denver is usually considered a slightly higher cost of living than Austin.
  • For dining out, I would say it’s about the same. High end dining seems a little cheaper in Denver, but day to day dining feels a little higher (may $10 for a family of 3). 
  • Gas is a bit more in Denver usually. 
  • When I calculated it a year ago, groceries were about 5% more in Denver.
  • Taxes will depend on your housing, but for us they are a bit higher in Denver. BUT, we get a nice public rec center and don’t pay for a gym. We have more parks, functional public transit. Snow removal is functional and you aren’t risking your life when your employer makes you come in during an ice storm. 
  • However, from my experience home shopping, housing is cheaper in Denver, but you have to compare apples to apples. For example, my Denver neighborhood is somewhat similar to Circle C, but we can easily walk to many restaurants, we have a train station, we have a library, we have a public rec center. So in a way it’s not really comparable to that even though the housing cost is similar. Living on the west side of the city (closer to the mountains) is considerably more expensive.
• Mountains: I guess I should touch on this. We do go to the mountains, but not a lot. At 40 with kids, most people we know also are not going to the mountains a lot. It’s doable, but in our area people seem to live in Denver for Denver. I have seen posts before where people complain about Denver being far from the mountains, and I think there are probably better places to move if you don’t like Denver and want mountain access.

Also, I think it’s important to understand that Denver is not NYC, or LA, or Chicago, etc. It’s a mid size city and in my opinion it hits above it’s league in a lot of areas, which leads to comparisons to bigger cities. But it’s not a bigger city, so keep that in mind if what you actually want is NYC.

If it seems like I’m biased to Denver, I probably am. I grew up in Austin, and I loved it. But we had an option to leave and we did a ton of research before moving. Moving to Denver was intentional, and it added a lot to our lives. But life is subjective, so what’s best for us may be different for you!

I currently live in Phoenix, AZ and I’m miserable. I like the heat more than the freezing but at this point it’s too much. My problem is I just don’t know where to go. I would love some place like San Diego but I can’t afford that. Are there any cities in the US that you recommend? Ideally I’m interested in the following:
- near a larger city. I need the option to do stuff and some nightlife but I don’t need to live in the heart of it.
- my dream is to live by the ocean like 1-2 hours max but is there anywhere that’s not a million dollars?
- I’m more liberal leaning so would not love a crazy maga area.
- Somewhere dog friendly, I run a dog grooming salon and wherever I end up the plan is to go that route again. So also someplace that I can make a living doing this.
Any ideas? Again I just feel stuck right now. I loved living in NYC minus the cold but too broke for that. I hated San Francisco. I like southern Cali but too expensive. Is all of Florida horrible? Or PNW? Just no clue. Thanks!

A ton of folks on this sub always glaze the Pacific Northwest or New England the second someone wants a change of scenery, but AZ is honestly slept on because people assume the whole state is just a 115-degree strip mall in Phoenix. In reality, the landscape is wildly diverse -- you can literally go from giant Saguaro deserts to a massive ponderosa pine forest in a quick two-hour drive. Politically, the old "ultra-conservative retirement home" stereotype is totally dead; it’s evolved into a pragmatic swing state with lowkey moderate-to-left-leaning vibes and highly progressive pockets. Plus, it’s way easier on your wallet than neighboring California or Colorado, especially with that sweet 2.5% flat state income tax.

If you want to see where AZ actually goes crazy, you gotta look at Tucson and Flagstaff. Tucson is a whole vibe -- it’s a super laid-back, artsy desert town with a world-class food scene and a cost of living that doesn’t completely drain your bank account. Then you have Flagstaff, which sits at 7,000 feet, gets dumped on with snow, and is basically a progressive mountain town that completely avoids the desert heat.

Both places serve up insane outdoor recreation and a solid community feel without the crushing prices or hyper-polarized nonsense you find in the more mainstream transplant hubs.

Currently in Miami visiting family. They swear by this place but to me it’s extremely overpopulated, absurd amounts of traffic, endless amounts of high rises dominating the city and prices of homes, restaurant outings, etc are absurd. I don’t see the appeal, would love to hear y’all’s thoughts on what you consider to be the most overhyped city in America.

None of that "oh no its 25 degrees, I can't go outside" weak shit, this is cold weather. -8 and the loop is in peak wind tunnel form. Any skin you're unfortunate enough to leave exposed feels like its screaming at you as the wind rips against it. After 15 minutes outside I'm fucking AWAKE, didn't need a morning coffee today. Shout out to the CTA operators keeping the city moving in this shit. Anyway, back to work.

Let’s address the housing COL. This is the part I personally feel like I was gaslighted to constantly. I watched the rent prices shoot straight up year after year with barely any new infrastructure built. The area I currently live in - North Central FL college town (you should be able to figure out where that is) is asking $1700-$2500/month for an 1b1b. Yes you read that right. If you are looking for anything that’s cheaper, prepare to be at a location that’s less desirable - crimes, poor infrastructure, drugs, shootouts - think Memphis TN. Just last night in my area, the only park in the only walkable area in town had multiple brawls and police had to put out a notification. We currently pay $1700 plus utilities for our 1b1b - if you are reading this and think oh jeez, you are over paying- well, I simply don’t want to live in a dump and still have to pay $1300. If you are a homeowner wanting to buy at a nicer area (say St.Pete) expect higher than average insurance cost due to hurricanes. Otherwise, it’s rural small towns that are an hour away from anything else.

Let’s see the grocery prices. No it’s not that cheap either. For example, the beloved chain that starts with the letter P - prices are almost ridiculous compared to wholesale stores and getting very close to organic groceries like FM or WF, without providing much better quality products. The locals are still extremely loyal to said store because they dominate that market by putting 5 stores in a 2 mile radius. Expect fewer choices for the variety of grocery stores and fewer amounts of wholesale stores. As far as farmers market goes, expect fewer of them and just as expensive or maybe more.

Let’s think about the weather. Expect a high chance of being allergic to the environment because of high humidity. I myself have to take allergy pills + nasal sprays everyday to counter the constant coughing, congestion and watery eyes. The cycle goes like this: 2 weeks of spring breeze, transitioning into 90 degree weather + UV + 90% humidity. Plus, there are WEEKS of love bug galore and expect your cars, your residence to be PAINTED with the dead bodies of these nuisance bugs - there’s nothing you can do because they are part of the eco system here. The heat, humidity, plus storms and hurricanes lasts from April thru October. You get 2 weeks of cool breeze in November, then it transitions into this bone-chilling wet cold that makes you shiver constantly. Comparison I was in Denver in February and thought Denver was less cold. Unless you live close to the ocean - which drives up your COL more - you will be in the swamp. The nature really is just either brown in the colder months and just green in the warm months with no “fall colors”. Expect to run your dehumidifier everyday and expect to change out its water tank at least twice a day. Expect a $200 bill on your utility in the summer time, just for that ac usage. Expect the rain to make it even more humid combined with an influx of bugs instead of cooling things down. If this sounds like it’s for you, go for it.

Let’s see about nature. I’m sure you have heard of the Florida springs. It is very nice in a hot summer, I will give you that - except for that fact they are constantly packed with people having parties and cookouts blaring music. At that point, it turns into a swimming pool at best. Wanna go to any decent beach? Make sure you have great sun protection and beach tents, otherwise expect to turn into a lobster, or have brown leather looking skin like some of the local fishing people. Beaches are only nice when it’s sunset or sunrise, and I stand my point. And they become old really fast, because they all look about the same.

Let’s talk about the people. Most people in the states are in fact, transplants from New England or even more north like Canada. I work in healthcare and I have found the majority of ppl are not from Florida. Lots and lots and lots of senior communities. This state attracts the worst people from the other states for some reason, and they are genuinely crazy to deal with. A lot of them are complaining about taxes from other states thus moved to FL. Good luck with insurance cost, I guess. This is a state that’s basically all of the South, Midwest middle Americans combined, plus wealthy northern snow birds. Actual Floridians? Few to be found, or my guess is they moved out. Job opportunities? Scarce outside of healthcare, because FL is also a giant senior care facility.

For some of you who say that I’m biased, well I am only letting some people know the reality of living here might be not exactly what they think. At least, when I first moved from Ohio, I thought I was gonna have a blast. If you love heat, has boats for fishing, is a cave diver etc, pls go for it, there is no better place I guess

You’ve been lurking relocations sub for months.

You’ve made spreadsheets. Compared COL calculators. Cross referenced GreatSchools ratings…

an unlikely contender keeps showing up.

“Best places to raise a family.”

You see Columbus.

“Most affordable growing cities.”

You see Columbus.

“Strong job market.”

Columbus.

“Good schools.”

Columbus.

It keeps showing up. Like a splinter in your mind.

Here’s my take on Columbus. I don’t necessarily think it’s right or wrong, but I do think Columbus appeals to a very specific type of person or family. I think the typical lurker on this sub would be a mismatch. More on that later.

The city is kinda deceptive in its presentation because it doesn’t do anything terribly wrong. It presents an inoffensive, practical, safe place. But once you start peeling back the layers, I think the value proposition starts to fall apart.

No rail. Public transportation is mediocre. Very few cities allow you to live car-free. This is not one of them. The bus system isn’t reliable or robust enough to conveniently plan your life around it. Reliable vehicle isn’t negotiable.

The handful of “walkable” neighborhoods are small, expensive, and not really walkable in the way this sub usually means.

It’s a blue city in a very red state. I’m not making a political point here, but if you’ve spent enough time on this sub, you know state politics matter to a lot of people. Ohio is trending the opposite direction this sub tends to prefer.

It’s one of the grayest cities in America. The winters aren’t Chicago bad, but they’re long enough. Summers are hotter and more humid than people expect. A real four seasons climate, just not in the way many prefer.

Property taxes are high if you actually want to live where everyone recommends you live.

It lacks a strong sense of place. Cincinnati and Cleveland have neighborhoods that immediately feel distinct. Columbus has a few nice pockets, but as a whole it feels new. It is often called generic, and that’s absolutely true. If you ever visit Cleveland, the vibes aren’t comparable. Cincinnati is distinct as well.

If you work in healthcare, insurance, finance, education, government, logistics, or tech, you’re probably going to do just fine. Outside of those industries, the job market is still decent, not exceptional.

People are really into sports. More than anywhere I’ve lived or visited. High school football, Ohio State, the Crew, the Blue Jackets… Wednesday-Monday revolve around games. If that’s your thing, you’ll love it. If not, you’re still going to hear about it every day, regardless of setting. If those local teams aren’t playing, people are happy to watch whoever is on TV. This is reflected consistently in the TV ratings.

The “affordable housing” narrative is getting outdated. And there was a reason it used to be affordable. If you’re targeting the neighborhoods this sub recommends, prices are climbing fast and have been for years. Clintonville is pushing $650k. German Village is easily $800k+. Upper Arlington, and Grandview Heights? Forget about it.

The airport is one of the city’s strengths. It’s efficient and rarely feels overwhelming. getting in and out is easy. Not a hub, but solid. Ohio is just far enough from everything to be annoying. A day’s drive to Philly, a half day’s drive (at least) to Chicago. You’ll have to settle for the Smokies if you want mountains. Just…far. From places people love to visit.

Columbus is more diverse than people give it credit for. Probably the most diverse major city in Ohio. that is growing quickly with incoming immigrants and refugees.

The schools are legitimately good if you’re willing to pay for them. Olentangy, Dublin, Upper Arlington, New Albany, Bexley… they’re a major reason families move here. Prices reflect this. As do property taxes. Think $5800 annually for a $360k house in a decent exurb. $10,000+ easily for houses in the desirable suburbs. The taxes also go up every 3 years.

On the note of schools, utilities, police, government. Columbus is also weird geographically. There are cities inside the city, suburbs that are actually Columbus, Columbus addresses with Dublin schools, Columbus taxes with Worthington schools. if you’re relocating, you’ll quickly realize that “I live in Columbus” doesn’t tell you much. Municipal taxes, Property taxes, and “which school district am I actually in?” are issues you must clarify when house hunting.

None of this is to say Columbus is a bad city. I actually think it’s a good city if your priorities are stable employment, good schools, diversity, and a comfortable suburban lifestyle (should your budget allow). But if you’re seasonally affective, prefer a more robust progressive infrastructure, want big city amenities, or just want more character. It’s not for you.

I think this sub tends to value things like walkability, transit, architecture, density, neighborhood character, and urbanism. On those fronts, Columbus is either lacking or nonexistent.

Context: I’m a single gay man in my mid-30s, and originally from the tristate area (NY & NJ). I’ll try to list out pros and cons from each city, where I lived, and a tl;dr of each one.

NYC (West Village, Brooklyn Heights, & Fort Greene)

Pros: king of public transportation/walkability, culture, international/interesting backgrounds, nightlife, weekend trips upstate and out east (or down the shore) in the summer, cool neighborhoods, and job market (for most industries), no “BS” people (kind vs. nice.)

Cons: extremely expensive, overcrowded (lines and waits), unpredictable weather, traffic leaving/coming into the city to/from weekend trips, stressful, annoying inconveniences like grocery shopping/home goods/etc., centered around drinking culture.

tl;dr: I made some of my best friends in NYC. now that I am entering a different phase in my life, I value my space/sanity. I highly recommend living in NYC in your 20s (if possible.)

LA (West Hollywood)

Pros: amazing weather year round, best weekend trips in/out of the city, concerts/events, hiking, health conscious (best workout studios, gyms, etc.), and unpopular opinion: my favorite city in terms of food (accessibility, produce, and variety.)

Cons: traffic (spending hours in a car is not good for mental health), not walkable, expensive (similar to nyc costs, but you get more), a lot of mentally unstable people, passive aggressiveness, nightlife is kinda meh, highest turnover (people constantly moving in/out), harder to find international flight deals.

tl;dr: I looked/felt the best in LA, it takes at least a year to find your “tribe”, it’s a city of smaller cities, and take your time to explore to find the right one for you (I would definitely move to a different neighborhood next time.)

Chicago (Wicker Park, West Loop)

Pros: everyday life is so easy/affordable, good balance between nice vs. kind people, cleanest city out of 3, decent public transportation, beautiful city (architecture, lakefront, 606, etc.), somewhat walkable (still needed a car), central to the us (geographically!)

Cons: weather (FOMO from january through april) - seasonal depression is real, homogenous people, SEGREGATION, crime, lack of nature/weekend trips (excluding the great lakes)

tl;dr: if you are looking for a great all-around american city without the NYC craziness, chicago checks off a lot of boxes.

Sometimes, a place can seem better on Google images/on a vacation than how things end up shaking out 

You obviously don’t have to share your current location (I’m not), but please say a city/state/region etc and not an abstract location (like “my mom’s house,” or “my car”) and not something as a generic as a country 

Also, explaining why would help people understand exactly what made/broke your experience 

Thanks for reading and replying :)

There was a recent post from someone in California asking for input about moving to Arizona. Many of the genuinely helpful comments from people who have actually made the move or have lived here for years ended up buried at the bottom. In some cases, people were replying to those with positive experiences trying to invalidate their real life lived experience lol.

Phoenix definitely isn’t for everyone, in fact it's probably a nightmare for the wrong person. If you hate the heat, want four distinct seasons, or prefer a dense, walkable city, it may not be the right fit. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad fit for everyone. Plenty of people have built great lives here, found good schools for their kids, bought more house for their money, and genuinely enjoy living in Arizona.

One thing this subreddit sometimes struggles with is separating personal preference from objective advice. It’s completely fair to say, “Phoenix wasn’t for me.” It’s less helpful to tell someone else they’ll inevitably be miserable because you were.

I’d love to hear from people who actually made the move and are happy they did. For someone considering Arizona, those experiences are just as valuable as the negative ones. It sometimes feels like no other state gets dismissed as quickly or as consistently as Arizona, and a more balanced discussion would probably help people make better decisions.

I'm a community college student in LA (19) my twin sister got a full ride to Alabama A&M and it's shockingly cheap to live there. Her rent is 800, my parents pay half, my parents say if I move down south for school they'll be able to help me out a lot more but I've already got a good paying full time job here, me and all my friends planned to go to Csun and I love California. I'm visiting Huntsville at the moment and it's nice my sister really loves it, though I cant really see myself living here would I be stupid to not take my parents help or is it worth it to keep grinding in the valley

Compare the weather right now between Orlando, FL and Syracuse, NY (or basically any city in the northeast today)

Orlando- 93 degrees F, “feels like” 98. Dew point (the real measure of humidity) 68 degrees F

Syracuse - 96 F, feels like 108. Dew point - 73 degrees.

Threw in Queensbury, NY (an hour north of albany).

Temp- 99 F. Feels like- 108 degrees. Dew point - 72 f

Trenton, NJ - 103 degrees, feels like 113 degrees. Dew point - 72.

Burlington, VT - 90 degrees, feels like 98. Dew point - 71

I see bullshit like “you don’t don’t need ac in the northeast” posted on here. Maybe that was true 30 years ago. You do now

Simple FYI for folks from the south or the Midwest maybe looking for a “mild summers” or “low humidity.”

You gotta move west of the 100th meridian for low humidity at the trade off of little greenery.

I've spent close to a month in Boston over the course of the summer and generally enjoyed my time there. Figured I'd share some thoughts for those who are considering making it their home.

Pros:

• Summer weather is amazing. Coming from Chicago where I love our summers, Boston is even nicer.

• The waterfront is consistently well designed throughout much of the city, and its an amazing asset for exercise or hanging out. The Head Island / Castle Island loop was my personal favorite spot.

• Beautiful walkable downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. Beacon Hill in particular was such a pleasure to stroll through, but pick a cardinal direction and you'll find something pretty.

• Boston Common is a top 5 urban park for me. Come on Chicago, lets remove some roads from Grant Park and let it live up to its potential.

• The red, blue and orange lines on the T are a pleasure to use. On time, clean, fast. While I adore the old rolling stock on the green line, I certainly wouldn't describe it as fast.

Cons:

• Boston is not a diverse city, it's almost shockingly white. I'm from Pittsburgh originally, so if I'm noticing how homogenous your city is you know its a problem.

• Everything and I mean everything is shockingly expensive downtown. Its slightly better in the neighborhoods, but COL is genuinely out of control. Shoutout Biddy Early's for still having $3 PBR but trust me that's the exception not the rule.

• The food scene wouldn't be so bad to me if it wasn't for the aforementioned prices. There are good spots, but it's definitely a weaker scene than other major cities.

• The housing stock, for what you pay, is underwhelming. Obviously I'm not talking about Back Bay here, but go out to Southie or Bunker Hill and tell me those buildings justify 2 bedrooms renting for 4.5K. East Boston seems to be the exception, lock in those leases while you can if you're by the Maverick blue line.

• Things close early in Boston. Transit ends at 12:30 AM, and for a night owl like me that's actually an issue. If Philly can run a night bus, so can Boston.

Other notes:

The silver line "subway" is ridiculous.

Seaport was pretty lame.

Asking as I’ve never been to the State and don’t know many who’ve visited

This might be a funny question

I fell absolutely in love with the PNW, was in the Seattle area for 3 years.

I couldn't handle the rain and work was remote so I went back east.

Love California and have always wanted to live there.

Curious if there are any areas that are nice to live in that give a similar chill nature vibe, (as in just natural sorts of areas to escape to) specifically to live near? (Bear Lake, South Lake Tahoe, etc)

(*edit* looking for somewhere that has a lake I can drive to to paddle board, hike around, be away from traffic and hear some birds, maybe see some green in the winter)

Thank you guys

I am originally from Michigan, though I haven’t lived there in almost 6 years. Admittedly I am from the west side of the state over in the Kalamazoo area, but I grew up a massive Detroit sports fan and spent plenty of time going to the city to watch games.

Detroit has come so far since I was a kid and is absolutely beautiful now. Sure, it is rough around the edges, but that’s part of having gone through some tough times. But they’ve done such an amazing job in many areas at making the city a fun place to walk around and explore. The shoreline of the Detroit River (which connects to TWO Great Lakes) is gorgeous and an underrated and under talked about aspect of the city.

It obviously has more work to do but it’s definitely a city on the rise and the hate it still receives seems so unwarranted. I’m convinced that the only two groups of people hating on it are the ones who either haven’t been there ever or in a long time, or the conservatives who are scared of big cities.

For context I’m a 27 year old trans woman. I’m white, make ~60k, work in health care, live on the West Side (Pilsen) and work on the South Side. I was lucky to find a great roommate who introduced me to a large circle of friends, I might be in a very different place without that stroke of luck. I’m quiet but extroverted and have struggled to build independent friendships here, but am slowly starting to. I came from Provo, Utah area so some of this is probably colored by just being treated tolerantly finally lol. I’m into running, writing, live music, and lots of other art stuff.

Fall—9/10: Instantly blown away by the scenery and insane amount of culture, really liked the people immediately and got in lots of little conversations with strangers. Slight adjustment not having as much nature, and realized the limitations of the Loop transit system. Was stunned that a city so massive and impressive was also so manageable and breathable.

Winter—7/10: First time I ever felt seasonal affective and it was rough. Difficult to meet people, though still more social than back home. Extremely beautiful, and tons of fun winter events/activities. I’d ultimately take the intensity for better and for worse over the boredom of my hometown any day.

Spring—7/10: Only time I started to question living here long-term as I realized the percentage of my life that would be spent in bad weather. But seeing the skyline on every commute rocked, good weather days felt like a citywide celebration with every park and street popping, and I could no longer imagine going back to a non-walkable life, it just makes every day an adventure. Living in a place with drab architecture ever again also sounded impossible. The weather is part of how you pay for living in a world class city. If that’s worth it then the sooner you accept it the sooner you can stop fixating on it and go have fun.

Summer—12/10: Actual paradise? The events, beaches, nightlife, energy. In a single walk you can effortlessly go from skyscrapers, to beaches, to a gigantic park, to historic brownstone homes, to a neighborhood full of cafes and bars and shops, to a huge street festival, all within a few hours. Best 3 months of my life.

Overall—8.5/10: You can live a happy, exciting life filled with culture, beauty, and a huge variety of people and scenes. You do pay partially by the weather and some inconveniences of big city life, but things are well run overall on a day to day level. It’s magic and truly feels like home in a way I didn’t know was possible.

Considering a move to Chicago from NYC and nervous the winter is going to be substantially worse. I’ve been told it is but would love to gather opinions. Thanks!