From the City to the Small Town

Hades36

New member
Completely nothing to do with polyamory...

But...

My wife and are considering leaving the hustle and flow of the city and finding a nice, rural town to live in somewhere. We're both professionals with careers that can take root pretty much anywhere there are human beings, so we're good on that end.

We want a small town, not so deep in the country that its cut off from civilization, but far enough in the country that its not packed with city folk out cruising for the weekend.

We are mobile and looking all over the country, not just the East Coast where we live. We're also an interracial couple so we want a place that is diverse.

Any suggestions from any of you fine folk would be appreciated!
:D
 
More selection criteria would be helpful. Are you wishing to stay in the USA? Are you willing to move to any part thereof? Do you have a climate preference? Would a tiny village work, or do you need a small city or town of, say 50,000 people? 20,000, 10,000? Less? Is being near water/mountains important? Are there other geographical and social considerations, e.g., political climate? Is there a broad region of the country you prefer? Or several? Etc.
 
There is a website which has a forum where you can ask about specific places, the quality of life there, property prices, even the best beer bars. ;) It's a pretty cool resource and people there do not hold back their opinions. It is broken down by state and locality, so you may need to post your questions in several forums. I've seen many posts from interracial couples there, asking how open-minded or diverse a place is. People get into some lengthy discussions on that forum and will go into detail in answering questions and suggesting towns -- or even recommending neighborhoods and apartment complexes. The main site collects data about places and puts together reports on demographics, air quality, top ten towns, etc.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/
 
Thanks for the questions, River--all good ones! Hades and I are looking for an area that is close enough to a city (an hour or so away) that we can go in when we need a culture fix, but not too close. We'd like a place that has trees/woods/water and is reasonably priced. Part of our desire to move out of the city is to also find a life that's simpler and less expensive. I don't want to have to work my butt off in order to afford country living if we can help it. :)

We've been thinking about Oregon, near Portland, as a possible option, if that gives you an idea of the kind of climate, etc. we're looking for. We've also talked about near Seattle, but the rain, I think, will be too much for me. I need some reasonable sunshine or I will go insane.

This is a work in progress for us, trying to kind of feel our way to what we want.
 
Check out Ann Arbor, Michigan. Has a great reputation. I've never heard anyone say anything negative about it, actually.
 
Acceptable population size range? (e.g., 1,000 - 5,000 / 5,000 - 10,000 ....)
 
I think a small, rustic cottage or ranch located about 20 minutes outside a small, rural town is my fantasy. Close to woods and water, off the beaten path but close enough for us to connect to people when we really want to. A place where we have the option of being hermits for a week or so if we choose.

Temperate climate tending towards cooler would be nice for me. Love Portland while I was out there. Diversity is getting less important as I get older - the going belief is that diversity creates open minds but that's not been true in my experience. Closed minds are closed minds, whether they're surrounded by people who are just like them or by people who are completely opposite. So, a place where people are open minded would be cool. But what does that look like? I mean, what are the signs of an open minded community? Does that mean they have LGBT day and a Black mayor? Or does it just mean that there is a Wiccan living openly in town with Catholics and Protestants? Hell, I don't know anymore...which is why we need to do some visiting next year.

I appreciate all your suggestions. Please keep em coming!
 
I'm imagining you'd enjoy the more rural parts of Western Oregon. If Southernly perhaps within reach of Ashland (which now has too expensive real estate / rent, but may still be a good place to socialize. Otherwise, most of the Western part of the state has worthy places to explore.
 
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