Best place to live in US?

Savannah100

I was just wondering, if any of ye have lived in America temporarily or long-term, what your experiences of the different places were and where would you recommend moving to.

I'm in my early twenties and I will probably be moving over on my own. A fresh start and all that.

How easy was it to make friends, what is the pace of the city like, lively or laid-back, climate, crime, etc?

I'm currently thinking of Boston, Chicago, or Austin. Austin is winning at the moment!

Anyway, just if anyone would like to share their experiences or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

(Please move to North America thread. Sorry, didn't see it before!)

silja

We live in Rogers, Arkansas. Very family friendly, lots of nature trails, great employment opportunities, and centrally located. Low crime, quiet; great forsettling down, but maybe not for a young person wanting night life! Too hot during the summer (40 C for the last two weeks!).

You could start with this list, 100 best places to live in the USA:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL2718116.html

Savannah100

Thanks for your reply! That link is great as well as I wouldn't have known about all those other cities and towns! Much appreciate it!

lonestargirl

I'd go for Austin.

I like the South, sure the weather sucks 8 weeks of the year but that's why we have A/C. The rest of the year you can walk outside in a t-shirt. I found the people in Houston to be very friendly and extremely polite and courteous. Between oil and the medical centre there are a fair few expats but everyone is spread throughout the city. It still has a very unique identity of its own - Texan first and American second.

Another thing to consider is the cost of living, when we initially decided to come to the US I had romantic notions of living in NYC, however on a resident's salary we wouldn't have been able to afford to do any of the nice things on our doorstep. Here in Houston we have a house in a lovely area (similar to Ranelagh) with a 10 min commute for both of us and can afford to go out for dinner etc. This cost-of-living calculator says you can live equivelantly in Austin for 30% less than you can in Boston.

Chicago and Boston are also large multicultural cities, Austin in not small by any means but you'll know you are in Texas. I think if you are going to relocate somewhere for a while it's a good idea to experience something very different from what you are used to and I think Austin will give you that. The hill country around Austin with it's wineries is also a lovely place to go for a weekend away, it's only about 60-80 mins drive. The only thing about Austin is that you will definetely need a car.

lil_lisa

I'm currently living in San Diego. Never lived anywhere else here so I can't really give any input for any other city.

Personally I love this city. I found friends through friends and, although I will say there are a lot of "fake" people in Southern California, I have been lucky enough with the people I've met. The mood here is very very relaxed, laid back, easy going. I find that people here can be easy about everything, although from my experience, North California can be even more relaxed.

Crime here has actually been down in the last few years, there have been a few issues with murder rapists which is worrying but they're pushing down the law lately.

There are a lot of homeless people in Southern California. A lot of homeless people move here for the weather, you have to be careful about homeless scammers. Which also brings up an issue, there's a slight lack of honesty around here. Not sure how it is in the rest of the country.

I was extremely lucky to get work down here and land myself with friends, that's probably the hardest thing here. Apart from that, I really love this place. And although, this has been the coldest summer in 77 years, read here. But having moved from Ireland, I'm not going to complain

Tom Dunne

Portland, Oregon, there is no better place.

Skiing to the east, one hour drive. Pacific to the west, just over one hour drive. I have a picture of me taken in the snow in August. I have another picture of me taken the following day, at the beach. Not too many places you can do that.

Great climate - it is warm in the Summer, but rarely gets too hot (which is good, because air conditioning is also rare), low crime rate, incredible scenery, certainly a place for the outdoor types. They also have great public transport (for a US city) - the light rail (Max) is very convenient.

Oh, and did I mention McMenamins? A chain of pretty amazing pubs that brew their own - nothing nicer than sitting outdoors in the beer gardens with some of their homebrew stuff. And good food too.

I think in the US you can make friends, only if you want to. Yes, these cities are much bigger and certainly more impersonal and people do tend to keep to themselves. But if you make the effort and get out there to meet people, you will find everybody is friendly and welcoming.

lonestargirl

The boring question that you have to ask also is, what kind of job are you looking for? For us as we are both in the medical field this limited the number of cities that provided good oportunities for both of us. Unemployment is around 10% in the US at the moment but there is a fair bit of regional variation with some areas/industries doing better than others.

Savannah100

Thanks for all your feedback! It's exactly what I was hoping for!

I have a degree in business and am quite interested in HR, although I would be open to advertising/marketing as well. The visa I am going on means I have to get a job to which my degree is related, however I do have the option finding a job when I get there, of course I'd prefer to have something lined up beforehand just for peace of mind.

There are so many cities to choose from in the US! I will definitely be looking into all your recommendations. If anyone else has any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them!

InTheTrees

If you're in your 20's I'd reccomend the west coast. California, Oregon or Washington.

San Diego, San Fransisco in California, Portland in Oregon or Seattle in Washington.

I've heard nice things about Austin but to be honest its only in comparison with Houston or Dallas which i've never heard much good about. Its a university city so there's life to it but its pretty isolated down there in the deserts of texas.

silja

Oregon is beautiful and has a great social scene. It's also the most like Ireland culturally (ie liberal, unlike Arkansas!).

Tom Dunne

silja wrote: »

Oregon is beautiful and has a great social scene. It's also the most like Ireland culturally (ie liberal, unlike Arkansas!).

Yeah, myself and my wife were really smitten with Oregon. It really does have a great social scene (did I mention the brew-pub culture? ). And it's funny you say how it is like Ireland, that is certainly something that struck us when we lived there. Not just the culture, but simple things like the roads, the greenery, the lack of high-rise sky scrapers, etc.

lil_lisa

Tom Dunne wrote: »

(did I mention the brew-pub culture? ).

I gotta hand it to the Yanks, they know how to brew beer. I will choose micro brews over imports any day. Usually, the smaller the better. Wine too. I've never seen so many options of wine and "champagne" then in California. Hmm, maybe I should travel more.

Fr Tod Umptious

Savannah100 wrote: »

I was just wondering, if any of ye have lived in America temporarily or long-term, what your experiences of the different places were and where would you recommend moving to.

I'm in my early twenties and I will probably be moving over on my own. A fresh start and all that.

How easy was it to make friends, what is the pace of the city like, lively or laid-back, climate, crime, etc?

I'm currently thinking of Boston, Chicago, or Austin. Austin is winning at the moment!

Anyway, just if anyone would like to share their experiences or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

(Please move to North America thread. Sorry, didn't see it before!)

It really depends on what sort of life style you are looking for.

Are you interested in going out every weekend to various pubs and club, or would you prefer to go to restaurants, or stay in, have friend around, or go to movies, theatre, etc.

Do you like the outdoors and doing outdoor stuff , either summer or winter ?

Do you drive, can you drive ?

Do you want to be part of an 'Irish scene' and meet other Irish (or British) people ?

Do you mind long commutes to work ?

I lived in Boston for a number of years from my mid 20s onwards and really adjusted to it.

Boston is an old city with lots of neighbourhoods that have been build up over centuries. If you are going out you are never more than a taxi or a bus away from a main street with restaurants, pubs, shops etc.

If you work downtown it's easy to get their by public transport.

You are a few hours drive to the mountains of New Hampshire or Vermont and less to the beaches of Cape Cod.

It has a strong Irish community so if you would like to meet other Irish people there is no shortage of places to find them.

It is only a 5hr direct flight to Shannon or Dublin

I have only been to Chicago for weekends to visit people but I found that outside the city centre the place really spread out, there was no public transport and everything was a drive away. You have a far more isolated feeling that you would in Boston neighbourhoods

As you go further west to the newer cities the centres get smaller are in the suburbs things get even more spread out. Plus to get back to Ireland takes at least one flight change and becomes more expensive

InTheTrees

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

It has a strong Irish community so if you would like to meet other Irish people there is no shortage of places to find them.

It is only a 5hr direct flight to Shannon or Dublin

I have only been to Chicago for weekends to visit people but I found that outside the city centre the place really spread out, there was no public transport and everything was a drive away. You have a far more isolated feeling that you would in Boston neighbourhoods

As you go further west to the newer cities the centres get smaller are in the suburbs things get even more spread out. Plus to get back to Ireland takes at least one flight change and becomes more expensive

Very good points.

When I moved to California it was to be with my wife so I was moving into her life.

Savannah100

Thanks to you all for replying, you've been really helpful!

I've been looking into Portland, Oregon as you've recommended it - it looks amazing!

It's making this decision-making quite difficult!