After spending the last 7 years in NYC, I'm feeling ready to move on... I love New York. I really do. But I don't love the fact that I can't afford a decent sized apartment without forking over half my income on rent. Or the fact that I can't afford to live anywhere near my office, forcing me to spend about an hour on the subway to get to work. I love the cultural points of interest in NY, but I'm not into the bar scene or the club scene, or any scene for that matter... What I really want is to have all the things NY has to offer, but on a smaller scale.
What I'm looking for (aren't we all?):
1) A real city. Big, small, tiny - doesn't matter. I want to live in a place that supports a mix of activities and uses (ie: no subdivision/strip-mall "pods")
2) Pedestrian friendly place, where I can walk most places, and only use the car occasionally. I'm all for public transportation, but I don't like having to spend so much time on it. I want to be able to walk to a coffee shop or bookstore, or even do my grocery shopping on foot. And I would LOVE to be able to walk to work.
3) Cultural/ethnic diversity and open-mindedness. I'd really like to live in a place where the overall outlook is on the liberal side. I am part of an inter-racial couple, and I want a place where my partner and I (and our future children) will feel comfortable.
4) Affordability. New York has all the things I mentioned above, but much of it is only accessible to those able and willing to pay top dollar for it. The neighborhood around my office, for example, is really nice, and I would love to live there, but I could never afford it.
I'm about to eliminate a lot of good possibilities, but... because of family issues, I need to live somewhere on the East Coast, preferably in the general vicinity of NYC (as in, within a day's drive or so). If my circumstances were otherwise, I would definitely be open to other parts of the country; alas, I am an East Coaster for now...
SO... does anyone have any good ideas for me???
What I'm looking for (aren't we all?):
1) A real city. Big, small, tiny - doesn't matter. I want to live in a place that supports a mix of activities and uses (ie: no subdivision/strip-mall "pods")
2) Pedestrian friendly place, where I can walk most places, and only use the car occasionally. I'm all for public transportation, but I don't like having to spend so much time on it. I want to be able to walk to a coffee shop or bookstore, or even do my grocery shopping on foot. And I would LOVE to be able to walk to work.
3) Cultural/ethnic diversity and open-mindedness. I'd really like to live in a place where the overall outlook is on the liberal side. I am part of an inter-racial couple, and I want a place where my partner and I (and our future children) will feel comfortable.
4) Affordability. New York has all the things I mentioned above, but much of it is only accessible to those able and willing to pay top dollar for it. The neighborhood around my office, for example, is really nice, and I would love to live there, but I could never afford it.
I'm about to eliminate a lot of good possibilities, but... because of family issues, I need to live somewhere on the East Coast, preferably in the general vicinity of NYC (as in, within a day's drive or so). If my circumstances were otherwise, I would definitely be open to other parts of the country; alas, I am an East Coaster for now...
SO... does anyone have any good ideas for me???