Where is the best place overall (not too expensive!) to live in the USA?

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(that’s my android sound effects)

Two cities I have lived in and really liked were Chattanooga Tennessee and Portland Oregon. Chattanooga is small maybe 175,000 people or so. It right next to a mountain. There is a big college, lots of bars, parks, mountain sports and rent is about cheap as you will find in a city in this country. If you live right in the city you can bike, walk, or ride the bus without worrying about a car. There is also an awesome tight knit punk rock scene there. Toothless Tom has been having basement shows in his house a couple of times a week for years.

Portland is quite a bit bigger and a little more expensive but definitely cheaper to live in than Seattle or San Francisco. You can ride a bike, train, bus everywhere there with ease. The people there are fascinating and march to there own beat. You can find something for you whether its activism, hanging yourself from hooks, every genre of music and all kinds of wacky things. And its 2 hours to the Pacific and an hour or 2 to Mt. Hood. You can hike all over the woods out there, snowboard, skateboard the best concrete parks in the country or surf the coast. Oh yeah weed is pretty much legal in Portland.

Both cities are good places to nerd out drink coffee and read.

Sounds like pardise. Thanks Buster. I can’t stop starring at all your stars! Starring or Stareing or staring? I’m lost without “word perfect”.

And tonedef are you sure it’s not bloob bleep?

What do you like to do, amurican?

Where to begin? Well currently I am becoming somewhat addictd to Fluther. I find interest in all kinds of things. Things like wondering what Garlic and the Mandelbrot Set have in common? I love the artful craftsmanship of classic cars, opera,beautiful flowers, deep love, Irish pubs good wine, kind folk, the amazing varieties of flora and fauna, how light can make things glow at the edges of the day, Aboriginal cultures, a wonderful massage and so much more. Oh earth ships are cool too!

I’m partial to Frederick, Maryland. It’s a great town with fabulous architecture; a vibrant downtown scene with all kinds of indie shops, restaurants and bars, live music and art galleries; history and nature. 30 minutes to Washington, DC, about 2 hours from the beaches on the eastern shore, mountains and forests in your backyard.

Did you say fabulous? I love fabulous and it’s sibling marvelous. I will put it on my Googling list for sure. Thank you augustian or is it augustlan? My eyes arent as clear as they used to be.

It’s augustLan…don’t feel bad, no one else can read it either!

Then Louisville KY might just fit the bill for you. The spring is drop dead gorgeous with three solid weeks of Derby fun, the streetrod festival comes every summer, fabulous camping and out-of-doors conveniently 3 hours away at the Red River Gorge, really great restaurants that are affordably priced, easy distance from Nashville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, great arts scene, great theater.

AlfredaPruflock is a very unusual name. It’s marvelous how ever it came to be. I love to play with words. I dont have to be Alistair Cooke to enjoy language.I’m going to learn alot as I fluther my education reading from all these magnificent minds!Yours included.The Red River Gorge sounds absolutely gorg-eous! I will be googling it soon.

AlfredaPrufrock has got a good city with Louisville. I have never lived there but have stayed there on several occasions on account of the huge skatepark there. There is plenty of fun things to do. Ive hungout on Bardstown Road in that city several times. The locals where friendly and Im sure it cheap to live there compared to the coasts.

Amurican, it sounds like California would be good for all of your interests but, it’s not cheap.

Lived in several beautiful parts of Northern Califorea and you are so right “adri027” about it’s being too expensive. If I could go back in time to more easy going times I’d make my way back to Bolinas and all my mushroom friends!

It’s already tomorrow again. Better sign off now. Thanks Fluther, you’ve been great!

I live in Indianapolis, IN. It offers big city culture, good shopping, great sports, four seasons, Hoosier hospitality.
I have new (6year old) 3000 sq ft home for 125K. Gas right now is under $1.80 a gallon.
No hurricanes, occassional tornado, rare earthquake.
Paradise♥

amurican, oh you see I live in southern California we’re better : )

You’d probably like Richmond, VA. Inexpensive, great summer rain, lots of parks nearby—or in the city, there is Maymont the most hiddenest park of all!. Virginia’s wine country is just swinging into a nice rev up period. There’s great theater and opera, the people are awesome, oh I miss it! I miss my Ellewood Thompson’s (the world’s best natural foods store) and my tea shops! And Carytown and the West End and all the diners! It’s a great town!

So why on earth did you ever leave EP if I might be so bold?

I got a job elsewhere. Fresh out of college, I went where the job was!

Louisville is the kind of place where, when you’re pulling out of a parking lot or side street into traffic, someone will stop and let you in. The restaurants are great, and the local coffee shops even better—very different roasts than Starbucks. Housing is affordable like it is in Indianapolis. The music scene is pretty good; I just saw David Byrne, and Buddy Guy/BB King are coming in February. Lots of good stuff in between. Great medical care, too.

I think Michigan is the best place! If you’re thinking of relocating to Michigan. A great place that helps navigate through Michigan’s beauty is http://www.allofmichigan.com One thing Michigan is known for our it’s lakes. When you visit make sure you don’t miss an opportunity to have a day at the lake and bring your camera!

Southern California with all that gridlock, smoggy air and gang violence sure is hard to pass up!

Shows you what I know. I thought Michigan was famous for hot humid summers, mosquitos and frostbite.

Kinda thought it was like a flat version of Maine without the ocean. But with much friendlier people.

I watched the mayor of St. Paul MN deliver a keynote speech on access cable TV from the Mayor’s Convention last month, and he made me think the Minneapolis-St. Paul area would be a cool place to live. I love cold weather, so the winters wouldn’t bother me.

Louisville Kentucky sounds rich in culture, with considerate folks, unforgettable Coffee and great medical facilities. That’s pretty hard to beat. Are tornados something you have to live with like the Californians and their earthquakes?

Not as bad, you at least get warnings. Every 10 years or so, you might get a new roof out of it. For some reason, being in the Ohio Valley, weather seems to hop over Louisville.

In all fairness, I should add that August is can be unbelievably hot and humid.

Boy you can type sooo fast! Wish I could. Years ago I bought an old Messerschmitt 3 wheeled car some where in Kentucky. I always wondered if the “KY” in KY Jelly stood for Kentucky? I heard a rumor Colonel Sanders invented it to shave his chickens. Is that right?

amurican:
Stereotyping perhaps? So-cal is the best in the west it’s not what everybody says well maybe the pollution but it’s still a great place

I visited a fellow in San Bernardino a few years back and the weather was really great. If they hadent clued me in about the backdrop of mountains I never would have guessed they were there. To some folks that had nothing to compare it to other than maybe Salton or Yuma I can see just how you might prize it so highly.Sounds to me like you’re guilty of a bit of stereotyping yourself. Gotcha!

“I don’t know about shavin’ no chickuns, suh,” said Miss Alfreda. “But we do have the Knob Creek Gun Range just a mite down the road.”

Dang!