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Original poster

Calling US-based mumsnetters

91 replies

StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 21:38

I am looking for a change. Tell me where you live and why I should move there. I am currently living in NYC and, although I know this is an unpopular opinion.. but NY is like an inferior version of London. I can’t move back to London (Brexit) so would like a complete change for a couple of years, maybe somewhere a bit cheaper and a bit warmer! But definitely with cool things going on. Any ideas?

OP posts:
Littlefiendsusan · 09/10/2019 21:59

I'm not American but last year I stayed in Jacksonville for a few months. It's warm has lovely springs and the coast is great, especially around Amelia Island.
Although the city is sprawling, Jax has all the culture and life you need.
What a lovely position to be in, I love the US and it's people.

DulciUke · 09/10/2019 22:13

Could you define what you mean by "cool things"? It's kind of hard to advise you. If you are finding NYC not exciting enough for you, I'm having a hard time thinking of places to suggest.

LA has cultural attractions and a lively arts scene, but everything is quite spread out and you spend a lot of time in the car. Housing costs are high.

SF is prohibitively expensive (see above) and is less exciting than NYC.

The southwest has amazing scenery and hikes, but cultural attractions are quite scattered and you'd have to be into the outdoors. Also might be too hot for much of the year.

Chicago has a lot going on, certainly, but it is boiling in summer and freezing in winter. If not for the weather, though, it might be a good place to try.

Austin has a great music scene and warmer weather.

New Orleans has very humid, hot weather and a very high crime rate, but it is like no other city in the U.S.

I wouldn't call Jacksonville a cultural mecca, but to be fair, I've never lived there and don't know much about it.

smellybelly1 · 09/10/2019 22:16

friends have moved to SF & LA, they love it particularly the weather but they earn £££££, which obviously helps.

Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:18

I do find NY exciting, just not as exciting as London. So for the money it costs to live here I would much rather live in London. It is just not possible at the moment. I want excellent restaurants, live music, a buzzy vibrant atmosphere, like NY, just with better weather and a better standard of living.

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pumkinseason · 09/10/2019 22:20

Chicago is great apart from the weather that is okay in the summer but winter is dreadful and sooo long.

pumkinseason · 09/10/2019 22:21

You aren't going to find somewhere like London in the USA.
Maybe somewhere like Austin or Nashville would meet some of your needs?

AudacityOfHope · 09/10/2019 22:22

Austin, TX

Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:22

I used to live in Chicago. I definitely would consider it again as I loved it. (Much better restaurants than NY) but the winters do put me off. Although it isn’t as rainy as NY.

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smellybelly1 · 09/10/2019 22:23

Miami?

DoubleNegativePanda · 09/10/2019 22:24

I'd recommend Seattle, because that's where I grew up and I absolutely adore it. I currently live in a very small town in central Texas that's actually quite nice. It is of course fairly conservative but we just had our first pride parade last month so things are changing!

I like my little town because it's small enough that people know each other and interact easily, but it's also close to Austin and San Antonio for all the cool stuff.

Texas Hill Country

Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:25

Exactly pumkin I want something different because I don’t want to feel like I am just in a smaller version of London every time I go out. I want something the complete opposite. Interestingly both Austin and Nashville are on my list. I just need to convince my husband.

OP posts:
Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:26

Please give me some reasons to tell my husband Audacity

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Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:27

Is it really rainy Panda? (Although can’t be as bad as NY) do you get snow in Seattle?

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DoubleNegativePanda · 09/10/2019 22:30

Seattle actually doesn't have that much rain, it's just a wide-spread reputation due to the cloudiness and the misty state of the air a lot of the time. Washinton isn't even in the top ten of all the states for rainfall per year.

They do get snow, pretty much every year but it doesn't last overly long.

Ginfordinner · 09/10/2019 22:30

If you are always comparing everywhere with London you won't find what you are looking for.

Are you from the UK originally?

LittleMy77 · 09/10/2019 22:31

I think it can probably be narrowed down depending on your views on gun control, racism and politics. There's places I wouldn't visit or live in outside of NYS because of this.

Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:37

That’s the point gin, I don’t want to be always comparing where I live with London. I haven’t had that problem in other cities because they were so different from London. I just feel that NY is quite similar. I want something different, it is for 5 years or so (probably less) so I want something new.
little my husband is refusing to consider Austin because it Texas. I think he has similar views about leaving NY, I just want a new adventure, but obviously these things do concern me too.

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DoubleNegativePanda · 09/10/2019 22:38

That's a fair point, @LittleMy77. Where I live in Texas is moderately Trump-y, there's actually very little discernible racism (although I may just not be aware of it, as I'm white) and there are definitely guns. My dd was just mocking a church fundraiser that boasted a "30-gun raffle"...I mean really, wtf? That being said, I live by the "you do you, I'll do me" thought process and let most of it pass me by. In most ways, I quite like it here.

If you put those criteria to San Antonio and Austin, I'd be far more likely to choose to live in Austin.

Seattle is very Democrat/Independent/Green Party. I never saw a gun once when I lived there and was schooled in anti-racism from an early age in class.

NotMoreFootball · 09/10/2019 22:39

Come to Nashville, it's the best city in the world!!! Big enough that there always something new to try, small enough that you can make friends easily and feel right at home.
We have live music in hundreds of venues every night of the week and a cool restaurant scene with a good mixture of celebrity chefs type places and local indie places.
Property is very affordable in comparison with NYC, our airport is growing rapidly with connections to all US cities and now a daily BA flight to London, and, although it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, it's still very bearable.
The people here are just the friendliest you could hope to meet and it's actually a very diverse population which makes it all the more interesting.
Can you tell I love Nashville!, we moved here almost accidentally from London 10 years ago and now it's our forever home

Original poster
StathLetsFlats · 09/10/2019 22:43

My friend lives in Nashville, he has an excellent standard of living (he’s from NY originally) Do they have guns? Snow? Europeans? Somewhere to buy marmite?

OP posts:
Soola · 09/10/2019 22:44

Boston.

DulciUke · 09/10/2019 22:45

If you don't like rain, don't move to Seattle. Yes, it gets less rainfall than NY, but it mists a lot of the time and is cloudy, so it seems like it rains more. Food and scenery are great, though, and it doesn't get miserably cold in the winter.

Greatnorthwoods · 09/10/2019 22:46

We are in Northern Maine we absolutely love it but I don’t think it will tick any of your boxes. We are at least 2 hours from a town!!!

My personal record is 9 months without seeing another human other than DH and DC.

LittleMy77 · 09/10/2019 22:46

stath its a tricky one (and there's also places in upstate NYS I avoid for similar reasons! cousin in law lives in such a place with guns freely out in his house, probably loaded...) and difficult to find a middle ground as such probably,

The other thing I'd add into my criteria on reflection, is religion / church going, and avoid it (which basically rules out most of the south Grin) not so much because I'm not religious (altho I'm not) its that so much of life is bound up in church - socials, meets etc - so if you're into that it can be isolating

I've always loved Denver. Its this weird mix tho of ultra liberal and ultra conservative - so very pro LBGTQ and legalization of cannabis, but conversely lots of 'dont tread on me' politics and guns. Oh and its also mental winters!

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