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Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#91

Post by reggie_n_DC »

jboggan wrote: post #67
Tloewald wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But catholics are barely tolerated.

Having been friends and intimately involved with several Catholics in Georgia I'm really curious where this statement comes from - because it's literally the first time I've heard it.

I remember how shocked one of catholic friends was when she found books on Catholicism in the "World Religion" section instead of the "Christianity" section. At first I didn't believe it so I went to the Books-a-million in Tuscaloosa and checked it myself. She was not joking.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#92

Post by bonobo_34 »

antjanus wrote: post #18
twcooper wrote: post #10

Austin, TX. No income tax, cheap housing even near the UT campus, and 6th Street/Lake Travis to keep you occupied.

I would say that Houston falls in the same category. Very cheap living, no income tax, very awesome place. And just like Austin, a great place for devs to work. I remember having a whole discussion bout how Austin was a RoR town, while Houston was a PHP/.Net city. There's definitely a ton of jobs on both sides. You can make anywhere between 60-90K as a developer, and spend $600-$900 for a nice 1-2br apt. Midtown livi…

Austin is fantastic as far as the job market goes but I wouldn't consider it anywhere near cheap unless you want a very long commute into the city or find a job in Round Rock, Buda, or Cedar Park.

Unless you want to live in the ghetto, you won't be able to rent near Midtown for less than $900 for a small one bedroom.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#93

Post by Falling3 »

Tloewald wrote: post #89
jboggan wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been friends and intimately involved with several Catholics in Georgia I'm really curious where this statement comes from - because it's literally the first time I've heard it.

It's an exaggeration on my part. I'd far rather be a Catholic in the south than non-white. I am told (by my Catholic friends who live[d] in Alabama) that Alabama is considered a missionary region for Catholics. The local Books-a-millions have any Catholic literature in -- I am not making this up -- "World Religion" (not enough space in the third of the store devoted to Christian books.

As a former Catholic, I find that really interesting...

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#94

Post by jdc0589 »

reggie_n_DC wrote: post #90
gtank wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a former longtime resident of the south, including a few years in Tuscaloosa (we seem to have overlapped - 2008-2010), I'd advise against judging the region by the standard of Tuscaloosa. I know it's a huge college town and that seems like it should be a positive influence, but it's not. The University of Alabama is a lingering bastion of negative southern stereotype. I suggest Atlanta as a counterexample - a real…

Spending 6 years in a place like Tuscaloosa pretty much spoils any interest in spending more time in the south. I've heard lovely things about Athens but after my daughter came home from the University of Alabama preschool and announced that she did not like black people, I quit my job and moved my family to a Union state.

hell...Birmingham is better than Tuscaloosa. (To be honest, Birmingham isn't bad at all any more)

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#95

Post by dbla »

fiatmoney wrote: post #40

Madison, Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin & the fact that it's a state capital generates a lot of cultural attractions, and you'll probably find it easy to hire some bright CS/engineering students if you get to that point. The core is very dense & walkable compared to other small Midwestern towns since it's on a tiny isthmus between two lakes (a nice geography too if you're into outdoor activities, although the…

I'd like to throw in another vote for Madison. I was able to fail with several bootstrapped companies and still grow my savings because of things like cheap rent ($350/mon + utilities) cheap transportation (very bike-able when it's not snowing and good bus system when it is) and cheap food (lots of tasty and inexpensive restaurants).

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#96

Post by mikedemarais »

kansas city! i moved here from boston about a year ago to stay at the homesforhackers.com house for free.

kc is cheap, has good food, and is going through a cultural revolution right now. right now is a perfect time to move here.

and we have google fiber!!! $70/month for a gigabit!

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#97

Post by cprncus »

tomservo6502 wrote: post #35

If weather is not a factor Albany/Troy/Schenectady NY. The area is home to a good sized and growing tech industry with an AMD chip manufacture, industry leading nano technology research, universities like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who have incubator programs http://www.rpi.edu/about/eve/ , and Schenectady whose economy depended so heavily on GE manufacturing is not giving large tax incentives to small business…

But, on the other hand, it's Albany, NY.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#98

Post by whichdan »

sogrady wrote: post #80

Portland, ME. Several colleges in the area, can rent an apartment in town for http://startupportland.com ), high end craft beer (Allagash, etc) and a great food scene if you're into that (e.g. http://www.bonappetit.com/columns/the-foodist/article/portla... ). The one negative people tend to bring up is the weather, but Portland tracks Boston temps pretty closely. It won't be mistaken for Miami or Southern California,…

Allagash is quite good.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#99

Post by Tloewald »

jdc0589 wrote: post #94
reggie_n_DC wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spending 6 years in a place like Tuscaloosa pretty much spoils any interest in spending more time in the south. I've heard lovely things about Athens but after my daughter came home from the University of Alabama preschool and announced that she did not like black people, I quit my job and moved my family to a Union state.

hell...Birmingham is better than Tuscaloosa. (To be honest, Birmingham isn't bad at all any more)

Birmingham is better but only in comparison.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in the U.S. to live and work cheaply?

#100

Post by vermasque »

subpixel wrote: post #45
[deleted] wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

Here right now. The main reason I don't want to move here to be with family is it's all suburbs/exurbs with no public transport to speak of. If they ever build a streetcar/light rail system between Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, this region could attract people away from bigger cities, no doubt.

In my few months in RTP, I felt like there was no center of action in the place. Just lots of trees and roads.
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