Ask HN: Where to Live in the US? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Where to Live in the US?

If you were to move to a city in the US, which one would you pick, and why?

I currently live in San Francisco, and sometimes I ask myself if (e.g.) LA would be a better choice.

If your willing to leave the West coast, I was very impressed with the Dallas Fort Worth area. I can't really point out a single reason why other than very good infrastructure such as roads and transit and maybe the friendly safe feeling I got from the people there.

Before visiting Texas I had an unfounded opion of people from texas being gun toting rednecks but after spending a week in Irving, I can now say that Texans are a very friendly, generous and diverse people, nothing like the stereotypes I had heard and believed.

Stereotypes are stereotypes - reality is always different, maybe a bit, maybe a lot.

This country is done for. Move to Canada if you can. Seriously. Montreal and Toronto are world-class cities. Ottawa is fantastic and underappreciated. Vancouver is beautiful. Victoria is a tiny gem. I am encouraging my kids to start thinking about it.

Source: 63-year old American who used to live in Canada and cannot believe that there was anything worse than Nixon, Reagan, or Bush II.

I’m an American in my 20’s who travels to Canada often for business. Everything you said was accurate up until Ottawa. Nothing there for any single person. Extremely boring to say the least. Every person I’ve spoken to from Montreal and Toronto have said the same thing, some even gestured putting their finger in their mouth.

It's a shame that the bullet train in California has not become a reality. It would have given many people the option to work outside the big cities and it would have given small towns an economic boost. And you a bunch of options. Anyhow, my advice is to keep your options open by trying different cities.

I would try Austin, San Diego and Portland. Los Angeles is nice but the cost of living is always rising and it's crowded. The reason is simply because it's a nice place to live. The weather is mostly great and there's so much to enjoy outside work.

But you could have said the same of San Francisco 20 years ago. Now there are lots of people who are trying to get out.

I think people in LA are beginning to question whether they should go somewhere else too for the same reasons San Franciscans are asking if they need to go elsewhere. I suspect that LA is not the best choice.

Thanks. Those are fair considerations in regards to LA. Perhaps I still see LA as a more "real" city than San Francisco, not just because of its size, but also more diversity in the type of people you can meet or deal with. At least, that's my 0.02 based on having visited numerous times.

San Diego CA for that So Cal laid back beach atmosphere plus a good tech scene if you are or can be oriented toward biotech.

Santa Fe NM - feels like it has roots. Unique culture and great food. National Labs - Sandia and Los Alamos not too far away for a good science flavoring.

Boulder CO - great outdoor recreation opportunities, university and research institutes support science and tech vibe

A friend just emailed me and told me about San Diego. Somehow I can't get to love the place. I don't know why.

Santa Fe: never been, on my list. Sandia and Los Alamos are two things that I never considered about Santa Fe.

Boulder: love it there. My wife and I even have a favorite restaurant, Frasca. If you happen to go, try it out. The owner is super kind.

Just moved to the Charlotte, NC area. Love it here. Highly recommended. Cost of living is reasonable compared to SF/LA and tech jobs are plentiful.

One of my biggest things is weather - everybody says so, but I know it's 100% true for me. How's the weather there?

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