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://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://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://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://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://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://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://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
Surely Montreal is not cheap to live in, is it?
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Can somebody start a thread about ft lauderdale and Miami beach in 2013. I'm going in march, want to see what the locals and recent visitors have to say about the sister cities. Must dos? Must don'ts? 26 yo outgoing frendly gsy guy here. Thanks in advance. This should be a fun thread.
You can't get a 1BR in Chicago for $800. Small shitholes for $1000 in a meh neighborhood. But overall, it's much less expensive than other major cities.
Another vote here for Pittsburgh. When the lists of best places to live are released, Pittsburgh usually ranks very on the lists. The main reasons for the high ranks are inexpensive housing and low crime. You can get a three-bedroom, one bath house in a close in suburb with good schools for $70,000. You can also get a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the city or in the suburbs in the $80,000 to $120,000 range. It is true that the countywide mass transit system has had severe cuts in service, but the suburbs, in particular the ones furthest way from the city were the most effected. If you live near a major artery, especially if it connects to a major hospital the bus service is very good. Years ago, a transit executive told me that the last routes to lose their service are the ones that serve the hospitals. As an earlier poster mentioned, the annual pissing contest between the county and the state can be trying for commuters. But sooner or later, both sides usually work something out ... 'cuz if they don't, they know that the voters will kick them out of office. BTW, there were more murders in suburban Allegheny County in 2012 than in the city of Pittsburgh. Most of the murders in the suburbs occurred in the older mill towns.
There is absolutely no decent public transportation ANYWHERE in Florida, and the heat and humidity are off the chart. I live in Orlando and utterly despise it. Plus, the Villages is a somewhat costly area that's commonly referred to as "the Republican Dumping Ground." No self respecting gay man wants to live at the Villages. I grew up in Arkansas, right by Memphis, Tennessee, and found the winters quite reasonable, actually. They're mild to moderate at worst; nothing like Chicago or Philly. Austin is a splendid city, but I'm not sure about public transit. Madison WI sounds interesting to me, and I would have never thought it to be gay friendly. That's nice to know.
Florida is a swamp that one dreams of escaping FROM, not going to. Awful, awful place. Bugs, gators, half-wits, heat, humidity, hurricanes, drugs, booze, aids-central, and all the crazies you can imagine. I would actually recommend Las Vegas, which is a hellhole, and even worse to retire in, over shit-hole Florida.
sweaty armpits
Try researching Spokane, Washington. I think it might fit your criteria. And it's a great place if you like being outdoors.
[quote]Madison WI sounds interesting to me, and I would have never thought it to be gay friendly. all the guys there look like they all just walked off of a Sean Cody porn shoot, so in that sense it's very FRIENDLY.
Portland might fit the bill. Better weather than Chicago and cheaper. Good public transit system (it's actually free to use in the downtown metro) Also might consider a bay area burb like Oakland. Cheap rent and some really incredible neighborhoods there. It's not all drugs and murder and very easy to get in to the city on public transit. Maybe the Valley in LA? Public transport is not all that, but doable and as long as you're not looking to go to malibu everyday you could make it work. Rent is relatively cheap in the valley as well.
West%20Coast%20Homie
Omaha...they are considering a trolley system. Good food, great theater, symphony, many events at Century Link.
Downtown Sacramento, CA, has pretty good public transit and is walkable to groceries, shops, theaters, etc. There's a thriving eldergay community of retirees from SF/LA and snow refugees from the Midwest who seek lower housing costs. Easy trip to SF via Amtrak and BART. But I'd choose Portland over Sacto. Portland is pretty and more urban. Have family and friends in both areas. SF is my hometown. I own a house and am very grounded here but will need to sell it for retirement and live somewhere cheaper. There's now way in hell I'd want to deal with driving, walking these hills, or the high crime rate, in retirement.
Kansas City ain't that bad, really. Lots of hot cowboys. No real Public transit to speak of though. . . .
Places like Buffalo and Madison should advertise themselves as summer home areas to people in hot places. People in FL, GA and other swampy hot areas may be up for buying summer homes or renting for 3 months up north to escape the heat. If become a successful summer area works out, more public transit could become a reality.
[quote] Plus, the Villages is a somewhat costly area that's commonly referred to as "the Republican Dumping Ground." No self respecting gay man wants to live at the Villages. Thanks! I'm sure everyone thought R58's post was totally serious!
Us Murkins dont need no pussy public transportation like sissy Your-peons do! We are self-reliant individuals with cars and guns.
I know that whoever said Las Vegas was joking. Vegas has the worst public transportation in the entire fucking world, bar NONE. ,
anonymous
Austin apts have gotten expensive and property taxes in Texas are high.
Naturally one wants a home close to the Baptist church.
I like how all the various Buttcrackians chime into nominate their miserable towns
r110 Miami & Ft. Lauderdale are great places to visit, but it can be very difficult living here. There is one season all year. Humidity is awful, it makes you feel ten pounds heavier and you always feel greasy. You must have a car in South Florida, you will waste hours of your day depending on public transit. If you dont speak fluent Spanish or Creole it will greatly limit your career, earning, and social opportunities. You will make less here than any other of the major cities discussed on this thread.
Florida is too hot & humid. I could never live there. And Miami & Fort Lauderdale do not have low rents.
Grand Junction, CO
Hot and humid sounds good right about now.
40 degrees in NYC
I live in Miami part of the year and love it!
What about Cincinnati? It's very cheap. Or is it good choice only if yr black?
[quote]and I hate heat & humidity. And yet you want to live in Chicago? Have you ver been there during the summer, OP? You walk out the door and its like you're immediately coated with wax. Horrible heat, horrible humidity.
Summer in Chicago lasts all of two weeks.
Not the last two years, Chicago's summers lasted months. Weren't the Villages carved out of the Mormon Deseret Ranch property?
R113 College towns are usually fairly liberal and gay-friendly. Where is this "Villages" that several people have mentioned?
Only people living on inherited wealth who never worked a day in their life and who use the word "frau" all the time know where "the Villages" is.
I found St. Simons Island in Georgia to work perfectly for us. It does not have much for public transportation but you can walk or ride a bike to just about anything you could ever need. The locals have been very accepting and we do have two others gay couples on our street.
Galveston, TX
Kansas City has a good bus line. Live anywhere in the downtown or south midtown area and you have grocery stores, good restaurants, and bars alll within walking distance. Brookside, Waldo, Westport are all gay friendly.
Sedona az is amazing. I wish to retire there soon!
Morgantown, West Virginia
Galveston has nearly no public transit at all.
Wheeling WV is the secret place. You get all the benefits of Pittsburgh but none of the cost and inconvenience since Wheeling is just 25 miles away.
R144, what are you talking about? Island transit stops on like every corner. In fact, half the population doesn't even drive. It's a shithole, though. The only redeeming quality is the large quantity of HOT medical students.
Another vote for Madison, WI.
Is there really an ideal place with perfect weather and low cost of living in the us? I wish I knew where that was because I would be heading there today. Anyone?
R146, lots of Galveston's transit infrastructure was damaged by Hurrican Ike and still hasn't been repaired or replaced.
Follow the blacks and Mexicans, r148.
(R148) I can suggest Asheville NC.
[quote]Is there really an ideal place with perfect weather and low cost of living in the us? I wish I knew where that was because I would be heading there today. Anyone? Las Cruces, NM, but no way in the world would I live there. Albuquerque, maybe?
Skyler%20White
Another vote for Pittsburgh!
I grew up in Philly. I fled at 18. Cruel Fate, which likes a joke, drove me back here to die, when I was 55. I took early retirement at 63. I had largely gone broke so I needed a cheap lifestyle. But since I had not always lived one, I was sensitive to the limits. I eventually made peace with an affordable one bedroom in an area close to the center. Prices are going up as they are most places, but I suspect it is still a somewhat cheaper city than many. For me the main values: Philadelphia orchestra, one of the greatest in the world, back on its feet after a dicey few years, it, orchestras and great performers that tour here, and various shows that come in, the provincial but endurable local opera company, the pretty good ballet company are all very easy to access. There is also the big museum and Barnes Collection (now in the city), fantastic library system and New York, where I lived for thirty four years. Transportation around the city is very well organized, you can get anywhere on the buses and they are reliable if not fast. Subway is ridiculous compared to New York but for straightforward trips up and down Broad Street (the 'main drag') or out to near suburbs is not bad -- it's quite safe. To New York, the buses are cheap and tolerable, though traffic through the Lincoln Tunnel can slow the trip down quite a bit. If you have a big butt as I do (I'm a fatty) they aren't that comfortable but if the bus isn't crowded it can be endured. New Jersey Transit (change at Trenton) is cheap but very slow, I don't like taking it into NYC. Amtrak costs a lot, even for the cheaper trains, but the station is easy to access, there are always tons of cabs there, and the ride can be as short as an hour (on Acela -- very expensive) but is never longer than an hour forty minutes (90 minutes is typical). Obviously, even the cheapest trains are more comfortable than the buses. Sadly, for day trips, last buses and NY Transit are very early if you've gone to the theater, opera or concert; last Amtrak is 11:15. You can usually make that after theater or concert, opera not so much. But being in NY is still thrilling after all these years. It's a pretty friendly city with good to exceptional health care; but as usual with older people without much money, making friends is hard and I haven't succeeded.
San Jose, CA
Rents are high due to few being able to qualify for a home loan. More renters always drives the rent through the roof. Pun intended. If you have excellent credit, you may consider buying a home.
R148, Asheville NC is a pretty perfect place. Very liberal & gay-friendly, good weather 4 seasons, and pretty reasonable rent. But finding a job there is ROUGH. Good place to retire but you really need a car there in order to enjoy the great things to do & see there.
(R157). I agree with you, but does the perfect place really exist?
Where off to ft myers and Naples next week thinking of retiring there. Any suggestions on what/where to go from anyone?
OK, I need your advise. A very close friend looks like he will get his internship at Johns Hopkins medical. Money is tight for interns. I know it's Baltimore, but are there any suggestions for good places to live on a tight budget for a year?
Cleveland is it. Best city on earth! Like Drew Carey said, "Cleveland rocks."
Baltimore is not super-expensive but it's been going up. The best & most reasonably-priced part of town IMHO is Highlandtown, around Eastern Avenue. Also Fells Point & Canton are nice, and convenient to Johns Hopkins. Baltimore is an interesting mix of charming old world neighborhoods and scary-ass hellish neighborhoods. Public transportation is not that good there. Mount Vernon is the gayest neighborhood, and it has great charms but there are also crappy buildings in it.
How much for a one bedroom apartment in Cleveland?
Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood is great fun. It was made famous in John Waters' movie "Pecker," which is a great love letter to Baltimore.
Just get a goddamned car!!!!!
R165, 1. Not everyone wants a car. 2. Not everyone can afford a car. 3. Not everyone is physically able to drive a car. Myopic fool.
If your not physically able o drive a car then Medicare should pay or your rides
Is this the poverty troll?
another vote for Sacramento, though it gets super hot in the summer, it's still in California, the most liberal state and most likely to care about people, and Sac is close to all kinds of natural beauty. is Portland affordable anymore? visited Astoria, OR last year and it was cheap and tiny and charming, but small town.
Los Angeles
R34, are you a blogger with a cottage?
Okay, I just return from vacation. I Live in upstate NY. We went to southwest Florida first. The weather was great on average 84 degrees every day. You can get a great home still fairly cheaply, no income tax and qualify for homestead tax credit for property tax. Nice place if you can stand t heat. Second we went to Atlanta, ga. We hated it. The weather was cold on average 55 degrees and just a big city with no definition. Homes are cheap and you do get a lot for your money but who would really want to live there? Third place was Asheville, nc. The weather was still on average 55 degrees per day but a very cool city. Homes are cheap and they do have income tax but a fun city. I guess it just depends on you personally. Hope this helps someone.
Another vote for Morgantown, West Virginia. Morgantown ranks quite hight on the lists of places to retire. It is a home to a university (WVU, West Virginia University). It has a very good hospital, Ruby Memorial which in connected to WVU's medical school. Pittsburgh isn't that far away with its world class medical facilities and cultural organizations. The Pittsburgh Symphony, in fact, has a concert series in Morgantown. WVU has its own rapid transit system
OP/r92 you need to check out Portland. What you described in r92 fits with PDX.
I love Portland
If you don't hate your family, retire near them. Somebody has to take your aged ass to the doctor, etc.
R26 I lived I Aahville for a year. Getting around without a car is tedious if not impossible and all bus service is over by eight pm. Taxis are very expensive I do not know why this shithole gets such high marks. The populous seems to be 75% inbred redneck buck tooth hillbillies the rest are not that cultured. This is a conversation verbatim I had with my neighbor "you gays like that little colored boy up on the white house but you wait till he comes an takes away our guns" " Cletus you pawned your guns to get meth" "yeah but you wait he's a socialist..." This is coming from a man on food stamps who is feigning fibromyalgia to get disability. Ashville my ass
Does anybody have any suggestions as far as this criteria. Gay friendly affordable housing and decent weather? Would like to hear from you.
[quote]I lived I Aahville for a year. Where the hell is Aahville? It sounds like some place out of Dr Seuss.
You may want to consider Derbent. Very nice. Good transportation. Excellent gay scene. I think that you would be very happy there. Good Luck!
I think the answer to OP's question is "No."
chicago