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Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

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Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#821

Post by mindcrime »

Technetium wrote: post #816
cbames89 wrote: post #708

I'd highly recommend the triangle area in North Carolina. In Raleigh, there are a large number of tech companies, RHE, Cisco, IBM, Unreal Engine, just to name a few. It has the second highest % of computer science PhDs, and it's home to NC State, Duke University, and UNC. It's also a cultural hotspot for Blues creativity. Many of the best contemporary blues artists are located here in the triangle. The cost of living…

If you think you're going to have a good time living in the Carolinas, then I genuinely hope that you don't plan on being black or gay outside of a major city. There is a ton of bigotry and racism still present there, and the politicians in charge are happy to see it continue.

As a native North Carolinian who grew up in a rural part of the state, I can confirm that there is a substantial difference between the rural parts of the state, and places like the Triangle region, in this regard. There definitely are still racists, bigots, homophobes, etc. and they are more common when you get out into the country areas.

That said, it's not the case that every 3rd person you meet is a KKK member, raging homophobe, or conservative snake-handling fundamentalist who refuses to send their kids to the doctor, or any of those other stereotypes. Those people exist, but even in the rural areas they aren't necessarily ubiquitous - although this will obviously vary from region to region, town to town, and I haven't lived in every part of NC, so there are probably some spots that are especially bad that I don't know about.

But anyway, the conversation about was about living in the Triangle area around Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, and this region seems to be in pretty good shape as far as tolerance, diversity, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#822

Post by thrwthrw »

dsiegel2275 wrote: post #655

This is easy. Pittsburgh. Consistently ranked as a top city in the US, and world, to live in, in no small part due to the comparatively cheap cost of home prices, rent, and living in general. For example, there are nice neighborhoods in the city where one can buy a three bedroom, 2000sq foot house for With Carnegie Mellon University here, the 'intellectual' and more specifically the tech scene is thriving. I work for…

How is the tech scene around Penn?

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#823

Post by akhilcacharya »

cbames89 wrote: post #708

I'd highly recommend the triangle area in North Carolina. In Raleigh, there are a large number of tech companies, RHE, Cisco, IBM, Unreal Engine, just to name a few. It has the second highest % of computer science PhDs, and it's home to NC State, Duke University, and UNC. It's also a cultural hotspot for Blues creativity. Many of the best contemporary blues artists are located here in the triangle. The cost of living…

I grew up in Raleigh (born, elementary school through NC State) there and recently moved north to start my first job...IMO, the jobs with competitive compensations just don't exist in Raleigh at the new grad level. Almost all of the top students that I know of move to Seattle, NYC, SF etc after graduating.

Housing is also surprisingly expensive in the nicer parts of town given the necessity for a car. With that said, it's a great option if you're comfortable with the opportunities here and want to settle.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#824

Post by [deleted] »

RightMillennial wrote: post #758
phatboyslim wrote: post #744

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To counter this, as someone who lives in Chicago, there are some additional drawbacks beyond the weather: - Taxes are extremely high here, with no sign of slowing down - Political corruption is rampant in the state - Crime is mostly relegated to south side of city, but it's still an issue - Public works are decaying: train stations, airport, and everything else look like they need work - Schools are undesirable and a…

Regarding taxes, are you talking about Chicago proper or the surrounding suburbs? I rented in North Chicago for a couple years and I don't recall any taxes other than local and state sales tax, and state income tax. Granted that's pretty far north. Are the taxes higher as you get closer to the metropolis center?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#825

Post by 60654 »

ChefboyOG wrote: post #706

If you want to remain in a major US city with a lower cost of living, great quality of life, and thriving intellectual community, I'd strongly recommend checking out Chicago. While it's not as cheap as many cities you'll find abroad, it is extremely affordable compared to US cities. The food is fantastic and affordable. There is a wonderful intellectual community. The nightlife is amazing, if you're into that. It's a…

Agreed, I lived in both SF and Chicago and much prefer Chicago. As a city, it's much better, more livable.

Plus it's cheap. There's so much housing stock available, you can find a place at practically any price point you want, from super affordable to very expensive. I tell my SFBA friends how much I paid for a condo in the city and their eyes pop out. :)

Also the hiring situation is desirable. Northwestern and UChicago are top notch schools, and many of their graduates would prefer to stay in the area for work.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#826

Post by MaxBarraclough »

klmr wrote: post #557
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's a bad style of writing for a forum like this. In natural speech, we communicate a lot by our use of emphasis. Consider three sentences which could carry very different meanings: Polite decline: "No, thank you." Firm decline: " No , thank you." Scolding decline: "No, thank you ." Perhaps not the best examples, but if italics helps reduce ambiguity and preserve more subtlety, I'm for it.

Except it seems to be completely random words , with a "few" random quotation marks and brackets [thrown] in the mix. Taken together it has the opposite effect of what it’s supposed to achieve.

On closer inspection I have to agree.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#827

Post by mindcrime »

dsiegel2275 wrote: post #655

This is easy. Pittsburgh. Consistently ranked as a top city in the US, and world, to live in, in no small part due to the comparatively cheap cost of home prices, rent, and living in general. For example, there are nice neighborhoods in the city where one can buy a three bedroom, 2000sq foot house for With Carnegie Mellon University here, the 'intellectual' and more specifically the tech scene is thriving. I work for…

One thing to consider about Pittsburgh, especially compared to the bay area, is the weather. The winters are going to be a bit harsher in / around Pittsburgh than they would be in the SF bay.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#828

Post by joncrane »

ChefboyOG wrote: post #706

If you want to remain in a major US city with a lower cost of living, great quality of life, and thriving intellectual community, I'd strongly recommend checking out Chicago. While it's not as cheap as many cities you'll find abroad, it is extremely affordable compared to US cities. The food is fantastic and affordable. There is a wonderful intellectual community. The nightlife is amazing, if you're into that. It's a…

With all due respect, no. I live in the Washington DC suburbs and used to be married to a woman from Chicago. I would recommend DC over Chicago any day of the week.

It may be slightly cheaper. But as they say "there are two seasons in Chicago: Winter and Construction." Either way, traffic is gonna suck.

And of course there's the weather, the Political Machine that runs the city (and to a lesser extent the State), and of course the traffic.

While I agree Chicago offers incremental upgrades to many of the "worse" major cities in the US, the difference does not justify the cost of uprooting and moving there.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#829

Post by mindcrime »

ChefboyOG wrote: post #706

If you want to remain in a major US city with a lower cost of living, great quality of life, and thriving intellectual community, I'd strongly recommend checking out Chicago. While it's not as cheap as many cities you'll find abroad, it is extremely affordable compared to US cities. The food is fantastic and affordable. There is a wonderful intellectual community. The nightlife is amazing, if you're into that. It's a…

I've spent a lot of time working in Chicago over the years, and consider it to be one of my favorite cities in the whole country... from about the end of April until the middle of October.

That said, the food scene is great, the night life is great, and the city just has a nice, chill vibe in general. For somebody who likes, or can tolerate, cold winters, it's probably a great place to live. For the rest of us, it's a great place to visit.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#830

Post by the_clarence »

panorama wrote: post #419
the_clarence wrote: post #191

I have made such a list myself. Asia: Bangkok, ChiangMai, Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, Hanoi. Europe: Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Berlin, Varsaw Not sorted

Would you consider the English level of Bordeaux or Montpellier good though?

Definitely.
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