Anyone have any suggestions on good small cities in the US? I currently live in a medium sized city in the southeast but would love a change of venue. I'm looking for a town with low crime, progressive politics, reasonably affordable cost of living, and decent nightlife and tech scenes. Some of the places I've been considering are Madison, Boulder, etc, but I'd love to hear of some more suggestions.
Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
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Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#2i didn't even finish your post before suggesting madison in my mind. so one vote for that. just make sure to consider the winter weather though.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#3How small is small? Portland is nice, as is Austin. Boulder and Madison are both nice but full of hippies. Boston, Pittsburgh and Philly are all pretty cool if you are thinking mid-Atlantic/northeast; Charleston and Savannah are great if you want to be further south.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#4My vote is Austin, TX.
Crime is low, very affordable, and politics are progressive (but the rest of the state is staunchly conservative). Nightlife is good, due to the large University of Texas being nearby and the tech scene is really exploding. Weather is pretty hot though, so you need to be prepared for that.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#5My vote is Austin, TX. Crime is low, very affordable, and politics are progressive (but the rest of the state is staunchly conservative). Nightlife is good, due to the large University of Texas being nearby and the tech scene is really exploding. Weather is pretty hot though, so you need to be prepared for that.
Austin isn't small, though. It's got more people than San Francisco.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#6How small is small? Portland is nice, as is Austin. Boulder and Madison are both nice but full of hippies. Boston, Pittsburgh and Philly are all pretty cool if you are thinking mid-Atlantic/northeast; Charleston and Savannah are great if you want to be further south.
Well Philly is the #5 biggest city in the U.S., so I'm guessing it's out.
I'd say you have to be less than ~350k to be considered a small city.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#7Ann Arbor, MI
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#8Denver's got a club with a Funktion-One sound system in it- those are the best sounding you can get on Earth. A very good club scene since before the 90's, from what I understand- although I haven't been there since 2002. It's a half hour from Boulder, which I hear has a thriving tech scene. Some VC clubs in Boulder. The weather's great, sun all the time, & when it snows, it's sunny & melting the next day or so.
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#9I think you'll find this post interesting: http://blog.ometer.com/2011/01/04/asheville-off-the-tech-hub...
Re: Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?
#10For affordable with a tech scene, you need to look at cities in Texas. I knew someone with a Best Places book and cd who was looking for affordable places and IT jobs and Texas cities dominated the top ten. Other affordable places lack IT/tech. Other tech places are expensive. He did not want to go to Texas so he kept tweaking his criteria but Texas continued to dominate the listings. This was a few years ago but that is where I would start the search.
Edit: And you can look at info here: http://www.bestplaces.net/