Are there any NICE cities in the US where rent is low and public transportation is good?

I'll be retiring in 8 years and I want a lovely place with low rent where I don't have to have a car. Any suggestions?

• Chicago.

  Anonymous

• Chicago is a good mix, OP. Portland has amazing public transit, but is somewhat expensive. Pittsburgh has a really nice up-and-coming vibe and is very inexpensive, but they just slashed half of their transit routes. Denver/Boulder might not be a bad middle ground either, or Minneapolis, but I'm not sure if the rent is all that affordable. Cleveland has transit and low rent....and it's got some great places too. But it's still a bit depressed.

• Cleveland is a nice city. But lots and lots of snow.

• Where in Chicago is it nice & CHEAP? I love Chicago, but it is faaaaaaar from Cheap.

• Denver/Boulder isn't cheap.

• R4: Compared to New York, San Francisco, Boston, and DC, Chicago is cheap.

  Anonymous

• Move to Chicago if you don't mind getting murdered.

• I want a place that is cheap: where you can find a one bedroom apartment in a nice part of town, by public transportation, for $800 or less. I'm told that Lexington, Kentucky, is such a place (and it even has an out gay mayor) but I want more options.

• Chicago's murder issue is confined mostly to its very poorest neighborhoods, R7. Not everywhere is cheap, but there's several places in the north side and near loop that are fairly affordable, as is Oak Park and Evanston (two close suburbs). Being close enough to a city to be near mass transit automatically takes it out of the "ultra cheap" category, OP. You can have mass transit, or you can have rock bottom housing costs. But it's impossible to have both.

• Check out Kansas City or Austin.

• New Orleans

• Why is Cleveland called "The Mistake on the Lake?"

• Pittsburgh or Cleveland might be viable choices then, R8.

• Manhattan

• Renton, WA is a suburb of Seattle. My friend moved there and doesn't have a car, he takes public transportation everywhere. He's 15 minutes from Seattle. He says there is lots to do outdoors there, if that interests you. He bought a townhouse with a little patch of yard, but rented for around $800 when he first got there.

• Madison, WI is where you belong. Very cold in the winter, but can't be beat as a cultured, progressive (liberal), and gay-friendly city.

• You can't do shit in Madison without a car.

• I live in Philadelphia and only pay less than $600 for a great big 1 bedroom apartment in a nice part of South Philly. Of course, that rent is the exception, not the rule. And public transport is ok, but frustratingly provincial for a city our size. But I walk everywhere. And lots of bikers. Philly gets trashed a LOT not just on the DL, but pretty much everyone I know here really, really likes our maligned but surprisingly fulfilling little ignored city. :) Lots of cities wish they were NYC, Philadelphia couldn't care less about NYC.

• Montreal fits that description, but you said US so, forget my post.

• r12, Erie, PA, Detroit and Buffalo also share that title. Rust belt cities have been viciously made fun of as shitholes. I grew up in the rust belt, and I think it's sad that people call these towns that were once helping to build America "mistakes." These rust belt towns are American metaphors. All their businesses, thanks to GREEDY REPUBLICANS has been shipped off to slave labor factories overseas while Americans are out of jobs and once beautiful, vibrant towns are left to rot. When the rust belt goes, America goes too.

• R17 I lived in Madison for several years without a car, and I was able to get around to many places on the Metro buses. Service is shitty on the weekends, but unless you want to go to West Towne Mall (a clusterfuck if there ever was one) there are lots of options. I lived close to the Square and had an affordable apt. but the problem there is that affordable generally tends to be taken up by students. I do love Madison, though. I did almost everything by walking down to State Street, and took the bus to Woodman's, a grocery store that has everything ever made. And the restaurants in Madison are AMAZING. So is the weekly farmer's market.

• [quote] Erie, PA, Detroit and Buffalo also share that title. Erie and Buffalo deserve it. They've been so depressed for so long it's unlikely anything will change. Cleveland and Detroit have some interesting things happening. There's a great book called "Rust Belt Chic" that talks a lot about the "new" Cleveland. Detroit has some kind of deal where they're offering money to people to live there!

• University City, Missouri. The Delmar Loop, baby!

  http%3A//visittheloop.com/

• Since you're going to be old, the Central West End in St. Louis has Barnes Jewish Hospital, a keeper!

• Asheville, NC has lots to offer retirees and gays. And rents are affordable. Not sure how great the public transport is but it seems to go everywhere. Gays are included in the city's non-discrimination ordinance. And the scenery is great, too. It is a foodie's paradise along with being a huge artisan beer city.

• This is like an episode of House Hunters. Bitch wants all the things on her wish list, for $800 a month! LOLOLOLOLOLOL

• Denver is a no for retirement due to thin air.

• HIGH temp in Denver yesterday....6 degrees.

• I'd advise retirees against moving to cold climates. You have to walk to the bus stop/train station, and are likely to fall on icy sidewalks and stairs and break something.

• Austin? Public transporation is a bus, dear. And it's not as cheap as it once was. I second R18 vote for Philly. Inexpensive for east coast standards. Even some true bargins if you are looking to purchase a home. Beautiful center city and all walkable or with access to public transit. However, stick to center city.

• Salt Lake also. Remember the air at 5,000 feet is about 85% as much oxygen as at sea level. You don't think you'll need that extra 15%....but you will. Old people are constantly getting pneumonia.

• Boystown, Lakeview Chicago: you can rent or have a car - not both. Older folks grab cabs in shitty weather and there's a ton of them around. You rent a zip car for serious shopping or day trips. Be prepared for bigotry coming from the oddest people; stamp it out when you see it. Madison: Keep your car. Condos are surprisingly cheap. I've only visited and I love the city, just can't find any accounting employment up there.

• OP, it's perfectly fine to go without a car while young but as a retiree you will want to drive. Learn how to drive. Waiting for buses as an old person leaves you vulnerable to muggings, and that goes double for riding on public transportation. Do you not see what is happening in our country? It's like a lunatic asylum spilling out into the streets. You,as an old person, will be a target. Here's my advice: Learn how to drive, even if you don't buy a car. It's a survival skill. If you invest in an older car that may not look too good but runs you will have more living options. And secondly, you will feel more in control of your life.

• See, r22? That's what I'm talking about. You really don't know anything about those cities. I was in Buffalo for Christmas. My brother lives in the Victorian part of downtown. People are moving in like crazy and rehabbing these gorgeous 100+ year old homes. He lives right by the Theodore Roosevelt inaugural site, the glorious Wilcox mansion. It's located along Frederick Law Olmstead's first fully integrated urban park, Delaware Park, which is every bit as crucial to the survival of Buffalo as Central Park is to New York (Olmstead's first masterpiece). The next day, we went and visited one of 7 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, the Darwin Martin House, which has just been reopened to the public after an intense restoration. The tour was sold out and we couldn't join. The H.H. Richardson Psychiatric Hospital, which has sat vacant since the 70s, is finally getting rehabbed and will soon be opening to the public as a multi use facility. It's one of the most striking, haunting, gorgeous buildings in America, and you've never heard of it. In 2008, Buffalo got a new art museum, the Burchfield-Penney museum, the first freestanding museum in over a century. That's progress. The Albright-Knox art museum is planning to expand to the historic Central Terminal (a favorite "haunt" of the Ghost Hunters TV show). Also, the historic Lafayette Hotel in Downtown just reopened to its original grand luster after years of being a dilapidated flophouse. In 2011, Buffalo hosted the 65th Annual National Preservation Conference. Architects, preservationists and artists came from all over America and were shocked at what we had to offer. There is life, fantastic food, a better art scene than a town that size has any business referring, and civic pride unlike any other city I know in Buffalo. It's a city that wants to succeed. It's a beautiful city with good people, and you really should rethink what you say about it. It's a city that constantly surprises visitors who happily write the city off as a living junkyard. Maybe Buffalo doesn't want to change. Maybe Buffalo just wants to survive and preserve and grow and continue to be a good place to call home.

• This surprised me

  http%3A//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership

• R18, feel the need to chime in. GOSH, your rent is exceptionally low, do you live south of snyder ave? I agree though, lots going on in Philly and never a pretension of being something different to be seen. SEPTA does suck considering the large size of the metro-area. the one thing I wish was different, I bike everywhere though

  Philly%20Snoop

• [quote] Learn how to drive. Waiting for buses as an old person leaves you vulnerable to muggings, and that goes double for riding on public transportation. on our Public transit it is MAINLY the geriatric and crippled who ride the busses and trolleys, you just don't see them at night.

• No, 36. I live near the heart of Passyunk East. I got REALLY lucky with that price. The owners are suburbanites and it's the only building they own. It's 3 apts.

  r18

• PHILLY!

• Well, R34, I will apologize, then - I was NOT aware of that. I went to college in Erie and 10+ years ago and went out a lot in Buffalo. Not a lot was happening then. I went there a few years ago for legal research and downtown looked decrepit. The library looked like it would fall over. But I am glad to see that people appreciate the old architecture and older buildings. And like Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it shouldn't do anything (ie, become the "next" some town or other) than become the best Buffalo it can be. Erie is still sad, but it's lost so much during the years it had a Mafia mayor that it really lost out on a lot of growth. And suburban shopping plazas don't count in my book.

  R22

• Dallas. Very affordable. DART rail continues it's expansion (will be out to DFW International by next year). Excellent healthcare. Blue county. Great food and shopping. Crazy state politics, but in 8 years or so, the whole state will be blue.

• I'm with the poster who said learn to drive. Even if you just occasionally zip-car for groceries, it vastly increases your options. You can then move to a walkable neighborhood in any number of cities or towns, use primarily public transit, and then still have the option of driving when you need to. Inexpensive, safe, 100% walkable, pleasant cities in the US are as rare as hen's teeth.

• I love Buffalo. And its housing stock is SO old that you know what you're getting. It's not twenty year old shit that's going to blow away in the first gale.

• New Orleans has shit public transit.

• [quote] I went to college in Erie and 10+ years ago and went out a lot in Buffalo. Not a lot was happening then. I went there a few years ago for legal research and downtown looked decrepit. The library looked like it would fall over. Downtown is vacant, but scenic. The library is pathetic, especially considering what it replaced. I used to go out a lot in Buffalo 10 years ago too and had a blast. Chippewa Street was a blast. And goddamn, I miss the food. Best "bar food" city in the world! I used to live in Erie and I hated it. HATED IT. But I was so young and my insane parents were getting divorced then so Erie to me = endless screaming and crying. Buffalo seems more alive to me than Cleveland or Detroit actually, even though it's much smaller. Go back and visit some time.

  http%3A//library.buffalo.edu/exhibits/panam/essays/quinan/thumbnail/fig6tn.jpg

• My link had the old, Victorian library. Here's the "new" one. NOT an improvement.

  http%3A//2.bp.blogspot.com/_Z6ROYWSC-2s/SuPL5EyAOgI/AAAAAAAAFwo/-lPqju6vA7I/s400/2009101001+Buffalo+Public+Library.jpg

  r45

• Dallas is cheap but you need a car to do anything more than go downtown or the airport.

• Wow, R18, you lucked out, that area is so freaky chic now

  Philly%20Snoop

• Tijuana

• [quote] I used to live in Erie and I hated it. HATED IT. Congrats for escaping. I met some fantastic people there, and the housing stock has its pluses, but there hasn't been any new jobs or money there for years. [quote] That area is so freaky chic now Same happened to my old neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It was torn to shit when I lived there in the early 2000s. Now it's the hippest hood in town. Crazy, huh?

• I've heard Muslims are moving into cities like Buffalo, Detroit, Dearborn, Rochester because of the closeness of the Canadian border. Lots of slipping back and forth between the borders.

• Where is that unhinged queen who shows up and screams bloody murder about what an awful place Chicago is? She cracks me up.

• R34, I don't think you know what the word "referring" means.

• Another vote for Chicago. I just love that city. Great food, nightlife, culture scene. The boys are super-friendly! And when I saw what apartments were going for I just about lost my mind. Given, I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - the fastest gentrifying neighborhood in the world (you too can own a 1 bedroom condo -for only 600k!!)...so maybe my perspective is way skewed. Still - I could easily seem myself living there. High quality of life (winters aside) for less.

• It wasn't fair of them to exclude Muni Rail from SF, R35!

• Oh for gawd's sake Muriel, move to The Villages and get yourself a golf cart. The buses go back and for to shopping all day long!

  http%3A//www.pbfingers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/the-villages-florida-002.jpg

• What are you talking about, r53? r50, I didn't have a choice. I was just a kid and we moved out of Erie. I remember it had a zoo, though. Those poor animals. I returned to Erie in 2006 for a friend's wedding and it seriously fucked with my head.

  r20/34

• Red Hook?

• Green Valley Arizona, near Tucson. No transportation but if you have a golf cart you can get to all the stores for shopping and around the community for events.

• Pittsburgh is not a great place to live without a car if you want to live in the cheapest parts of town. There's a whole lot of annual drama between Allegheny County and the Governor over whether PAT (Port Authority Transit) will continue to be funded. They cut a lot of routes out in the last 18 months, and cut back service on others. The sky is as gray here as it is in Seattle or Portland, but Pittsburgh is much colder (and yes, I've lived in all three places).

• Bay Ridge. Quiet, beautiful, close to the city and cheap. You don't need any other options than that.

• Charlotte and Asheville

• Palm Springs + Golf Cart

• Palm Springs is hot and there's not much to do. You're still stuck in the desert.

• Bellingham, Washington

• Just don't get any funny ideas about retiring in Las Vegas. Many have, and have lived to regret it. And I don't care how cheap it is , or what they promise you. Now, Henderson Nevada, which is next to Vegas, has some nice retirement housing and is more wholesome and feasable. Everything is a little more cow-town but hey, that's what you want when you get old (if you are poor). Las Cruces, New Mexico is a major retirement city and a nice one, you might look into that.

• Henderson is a crap town.

• Little Rock has the best weather east of the Rockies.

• Austin

• The Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo (mentioned upthread) is looking good! This kind of renovation investment shows some serious faith in the future of the city.

  http%3A//thehotellafayette.com/

• [quote]Little Rock has the best weather east of the Rockies. I'm from there and don't hate it, but have you ever spent a winter in Arkansas? Dealbreaker. Spring and autumn are beautiful there, though.

• Texas and Washington are among the 7 states with no personal income tax, so I'd go with the Dallas or Seattle areas. (The other states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming and you couldn't pay me to live in any of those places.)

• R34, Buffalo sounds amazing

• [quote]Bellingham, Washington Perfect choice in every respect except climate. Summers are magnificently beautiful, but winters are miserably damp. Maybe not ideal for a retiree? But it is super easy to get around without a car there. It has good county bus transport; the Amtrak Cascades line for easy (if slooow; we're not talking the Acela) access to Seattle and Vancouver; and ferries to Alaska and Vancouver Island.

• Minneapolis Madison, Wisconsin

• Both Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin have excellent bus systems - among the very best bus systems in the U.S. And rents are still reasonable in both cities. The U.S. really has a dearth of nice cities with reasonable rents which also have good bus transportation systems. I've searched for what you desire, OP, as I don't drive and have never owned a car. Your request is a reasonable one.

• Both Minneapolis and Madison, WI are cultured, progressive, very gay-friendly cities. Minneapolis has a wide variety and continual stream of cultural options, including lots of theater and concerts. And every music star and/or band performs in the twin cities.

• There is definitely no there there in Palm Springs. souless, wretchedly hot, an absolutely nothing downtown very few cultural offerings - almost none mainly for golfers and tennis players no transportation system to speak of

• Too me Palm Springs seems like earrings and caftans ground zero.

• As an aside, Minneapolis has quite a few gay newscasters on their CBS, NBC, and ABC local TV stations. They seem to go out of their way to hire gay newscasters and make a point to do so. Very gay friendly city.

• [quote] I don't think you know what the word "referring" means. Ack! Now I see it! I have no idea how that happened...must proofread better.

  r34

• [quote] Buffalo sounds amazing It's a really wonderful place. I grew up there and honestly don't want to move back unless I become wealthy and can buy an old Victorian in downtown. Almost my whole family still resides there. There was a nice article in the NYTimes about Buffalo's architecture.

  http%3A//www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/arts/design/16ouro.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall

  r34

• Las Vegas. A one bedroom apartment is around $595. Two bedroom $690.

• R30, here's a shock, but buses ARE public transportation.

• McAllen, TX Perfect weather year round, (highs in the low 70's/80s during the winter) less than 90 minutes from South Padre Island, and 3 hours away from San Antonio. Lots of palm trees, super-affordable rents for apartment, and all the Mexican food you can eat! Oh, and an ever-expanding bus network.

• Yes, r84. But the OP specified GOOD public transportation. Buses suck.

• r34, r22. I checked out the gay neighborhood of Buffalo a while back and although it is small, it's really cute. Much of the rest of the city, but not all, seemed a little scary.There is a part near the downtown campus of the state university that seemed nice. And there is a state university there. The winters seem harsh however.

• Since OP didn't ask for "good weather" I think the best answer to his question was the first: Chicago. Chicago really is the best US city for offering a large array of cultural and recreational diversions while being largely on the affordable side. You can live in a decent 1BR in Lincoln Park or Lakeview for under $1k a month. In still-good neighborhoods like Rogers Park or Andersonville, you can score a really nice place at that rent. Public transportation is excellent, and many people live just fine without cars. Obviously, Chicago is not a retirement destination for very many, and I don't know how easy it is to move there when approaching retirement age (ie if you don't know anyone, I don't know how easy it would be to develop a social network). Still, OP asked for low rent and good public transportation, and I think that combination of characteristics inevitably yields Chicago. My second choice would be Philadelphia, which is also a great city with decent public transportation. But between the two, I'm not sure you can really make a case for Philly, all else equal.

• "thanks to GREEDY REPUBLICANS " Dam straight. I warned against NAFTA. Just for the record every democrat in power since it has been passed have tried to stop new agreements and repel old ones. It's true. Tee hee hee.

  Bill%20Clinton

• r88, Philadelphia is smaller than Chicago, which can be a plus for some, and its central location so close to other major US cities is a definite selling point.

• I'd like suggestions too. But I have more qualifications first: No snow or cold weather No temps over 90 and NO humidity

• R88, I love Chicago, went to college there and have many friends there. It's a GREAT city. But I've never seen a one bedroom apartment in a good area for under $800/month there. Cold weather is fine with me, in fact I prefer to have at least some snow each winter and I hate heat & humidity. I know how to drive and I drove constantly for most of my life, but I love taking buses & subways instead of driving as long as it's in a city where all kinds of people take public transportation. I know that in many US cities only the very poor take public transportation and I'd prefer to avoid such cities because when only the poor use the bus, the service really sucks. Those cities always neglect their buses. It is a good idea for old people to live by public transportation since there often comes that day as we age when we are not safe drivers anymore. But access to ZipCars is a plus.

• The above comment is by me, the OP

  OP

• Is it wrong that I liked the place R56 linked? No, no it's not.

• OP, please don't come to Boise. We don't want anymore Californians or queers.

  Anonymous%20

• Des Moines: Cheaper, safer and better weather than Chicago or even Minneapolis. Comparable in size and transit options to Madison. Very friendly.

• Good suggestion, R96. I forgot about Des Moines and I have a good friend there. It's not a bad place.

  OP

• DesMoines weather is not better than Minneapolis' weather. And Minneapolis has been affected by global climate change and global warming. Many winters in Minneapolis have very little snow and temps are not as cold as they were. Minneapolis has many more cultural offerings - a huge number actually - than DesMoines does. DesMoines is okay though. Not sure that DesMoines' bus system is as great as Minneapolis' is. DesMoines may be inferior in that regard.

• But can you find a one bedroom apartment in Minneapolis for under $800?

  op

• R99, yes, definitely, one bedroom apts are available in Minneapolis for under $800. DesMoines may have some lower rents, though, because it is regarded as a less desireable city than Minneapolis. As one who lives on social security, I agree that reasonable rents and low rents are important.

• Des Moines is the dullest, whitest city I've ever visited. Omaha is much nicer, but you really need a car.

• Key West - duh!

• Define "nice".

  anon

• One needs a car in Key West to escape the frequent hurricanes and frequent hurricane warnings/threats.

• That cheap fat fairy who ran the ticket booth at Ernest Hemingway's home wouldn't give me the AAA discount. May his ass catch fire with a flame that is never quenched! Then all the goddam chickens running around Key West peck at him in the process.

  anonymous

• Is Nashville affordable rent-wise?

• "Nice" = not economically depressed or with nothing at all to do. With some decent amenities that retirees look for like good restaurants, libraries, and volunteer opportunities. Also a university offering classes for retirees would be great.

  OP