Looking for recommendations on areas to live

[Timshel]

Pardon if this isn’t the right forum!!

My husband, 7 year old son and I live just north of Austin Tx. Hubs was born and raised in Austin and I moved here from New York when Ann Richards was governor to go to UT and stayed. It’s getting way too hot here, and for that reason (and many others as you can guess) I am ready to move. It’s going to take some convincing the hubs just because his entire family is here, but he is ready to and has signaled he is open to it. We are looking for a reliably democratic state, and there are only really 10 or so - I would also prefer not to have freezing temps for half the year so the most northerly eastern states would be too cold. At the moment we are looking at MD, DE, OR or WA. We aren’t from any of those areas, and so I have no ideas of neighborhoods, etc that are solid. We couldn’t afford to live directly in city, which is fine as we’d love to have an acre or two, but need good schools and obviously a progressive slant would be awesome (tired of seeing my neighbors Trump sign still up). We truly truly love the PNW, and I could probably see us there most of all….. but I have family in the northeast still, so that would probably work for us too….does anyone have recommended neighborhoods/areas? Or places to avoid? Thanks so much in advance!!!

[ret5hd]

1. Maybe not deep blue but...

New Mexico is pretty damn good compared to TX.
Abortions are safe there, pretty Dem legislature.

Santa Fe, the highest high this coming week looks to be about 80.

Beautiful scenery, wonderful air, etc.

[Timshel]

3. We do love NM

We’ve camped in Angel Fire constantly over the summers…. The thought of NM has crossed my mind…. I do worry about the water situation there though. I’ll have to look at the temps, as I’m definitely over the TX heat!! Thank you! 😊

[ret5hd]

14. Oh oh oh! I forgot...

NM legislature recently made in-state college tuition free.

[Timshel]

21. Ooooo - I don't think I'd heard that!

What an awesome thing to do! And with a little one, college costs are always rearing their ugly heads in our thoughts! Thank you for telling me that! ❤️❤️

[Laffy Kat]

28. Yes, I think if I ever relocate it will be to NM. nt

[multigraincracker]

2. I look for college towns, when

I make a move.

[Timshel]

5. Definitely a good recommendation!!

Thanks for the reminder! We are such creatures of habit, even the idea of picking a place is daunting!!

[multigraincracker]

9. I move more often than others.

I’m in my 4th forever home now.
😋

[Timshel]

12. I wish we felt comfortable enough to do that!

I love to get a place and settle lol

[multigraincracker]

29. I'm ready to settle now as I've

found what I was searching for. Now it’s us and not me. ❤️

[elleng]

4. Make it MD; we have THIS here!

[Timshel]

6. Is that Chesapeake Bay? It's gorgeous ❤️❤️

I have family in Catonsville and Hagerstown…. MD is high on the list!

[elleng]

10. Patuxent River, Calvert County, 5 miles from the Bay, 60 miles south of DC.

I lived in Hagerstown for a few years; never Catonsville.

[Timshel]

11. It's gorgeous!!

What areas do you recommend there? We obviously couldn’t swing areas right outside of dC but potentially other areas have seemed more affordable!

[elleng]

15. Calvert is the smallest county in MD, I forget whether it's by population or geographic size.

Less expensive than DC bedroom areas like Silver Spring/Montgomery County. I really got here by chance, saw an ad in ''''s list, with beautiful photos; my house, which I rent, is on it's own little peninsula!

My daughter lives 7 miles south of me, also on the river.

Keep in mind, you probably know, there are mountains AND rivers AND ocean-side areas. Closer to DC than many others, also close to Baltimore, for city stuff.

[Timshel]

16. Awesome

Thank you so very much! The outdoors is a huge draw for us, along with the seasons - I will research ❤️ Again, thanks so much!

[elleng]

19. You're welcome, and Good Luck!

[nolabear]

7. Western WA is wonderful but very expensive.

And out in the country it can be conservative. Eastern is much more conservative. But it’s quite wonderful if you can handle dark, rainy winters. Summers the days are long and glorious. Wildlife is abundant. Jobs are plentiful. Education tends to be good.

But next to Texas houses cost a bundle. I love it, but have been here a long time and Mr Bear is in tech so we’re secure. Oh, and medical treatment is great.

[Timshel]

8. We've been looking at western WA

Luckily our houses have gone up in cost so we might be able to afford something there, but the COL is definitely higher! How is Bremerton? Port Orchard? I was looking and saw some small acre plots that we could maybe swing…. I forgot about the darker winters though….. I’ll have to look up the daylight times and see if I could handle that!

[nolabear]

13. Bremerton is nice. It's a navy town and has great water access.

South of Seattle but close enough to go there for fun. Soon the light rail is going to make things wonderfully accessible. They’re building north and south like crazy.

Winter makes me a tad crazy but there’s lots to do to help keep you sane.

[Timshel]

18. Thank you so very much!

I really appreciate the insight ❤️

[fierywoman]

23. I've been in the PacNW since 2004 -- basically love it but the lack of sunlight

really gets to me -- look up average of how many days of sunlight there are here and see if you could deal with it -- after a few years here I looked it up and it said "54" -- if I'd known that before I moved, I might have thought twice about moving.

[Timshel]

30. I will admit that does worry me.

I’m not necessarily a sun worshipper, but I do enjoy a good sunny day. I am also an avid vegetable gardener, and I have read that some summer crops that I love to grow like peppers and tomatoes may be harder to grow there - would have to look into a greenhouse of some kind and that is of course more money. BUT the close recreational opportunities and the ability to still be outside most of the time draws me!

[Walleye]

17. Come to Delaware we would love to welcome some ex-Texans

It certainly is reliably blue at the moment. I am living about 3 miles from where Joe Biden lives. The suburbs of Wilmington have a good schools and arefairly reasonable. It gets kind of cold in the middle of winter but it’s not too bad. No Trump signs in my neighborhood, maybe downstate.

[Timshel]

20. Oh yay!! Thank you!

I would love to be an ex-Texan 😂 can’t wait!! I don’t know that I’d mind some cold, especially for the other three seasons!! Thank you for the Wilmington rec - I will take a look ❤️❤️

[texasfiddler]

22. Thank you for this thread. I'm in a similar situation.

I helped Ann Richards campaign as a college student. I was part of the proud and the few Aggie Democrats. I will never forget how proud I was that we packed the Rudder Auditorium with hundreds of pro Ann Richard Students at Texas A&M of all places. She kicked Clayton William’s butt. I had a long personal conversation with her. She was so appreciative of our efforts. I will never forget it. Things have changed and I just want to go some place where my progressive views are appreciated and not threatened. My daughter is a Senior at Texas A & M and she met wonderful young man from Minnesota. He is an open minded science driven guy . Maybe Minnesota will be our destination.

[Timshel]

24. I'm so sorry 😢

It’s so hard. We’ve such a wonderful life here, and friends/family…. It’s so painful to think of leaving. I’ve tried here as well - I worked on Betos campaign against Cruz, among others. But I’m tired to be honest, and feel the same. I want a better place for my son ❤️

[LuckyCharms]

25. Have a good friend who just relocated to OR, with upcoming plans to then relocate to WA.

He's a lefty, but not a hard lefty. Not sure if he is a Dem or independent.

Currently in OR, it suits his tastes well. He loves it there. He's somewhere on the northern edge, near the WA border. He He sends me pictures, it's gorgeous around where he is currently living.

If you were not adverse to cold weather, I would definitely suggest upstate NY to you. Finger Lakes region. One of the most beautiful spots in the country. Overall, NY is a blue state, but you have to be wary upstate because there are many red pockets. But a city like Ithaca might be ideal. Progressive, with Cornell University and Ithaca College. Top notch vet school and vet practice on the Cornell campus.

Gorges, beautiful parks, nice restaurants.

[Timshel]

31. I am from New York!

Newburgh, so not the same area…. I think about NY a lot, I just don’t know that I want THAT cold 🥶 😂

[LuckyCharms]

32. Well, at least neither one of us live/lived near Buffalo!

They get a few hundred thousand feet of snow during each storm

[Timshel]

35. 😂

No joke! It’s crazy!!

[LuckyCharms]

36. I have family up there.

We have not spoken in a long time. They're probably mummified in a 60 foot tall snowbank.

[Timshel]

37. I have family in North Dakota

Same 🙌

[LuckyCharms]

38. I think you should live in NY then because

since trump took office in 2016, NY now borders ND because he moved it by drawing on a map with a black Sharpie.

"In fact, you probably didn't even know that my best accomplishment during my reign was to move New York State next to North Dakota. Where it rightfully belongs, because they both start with the letter A. But no one ever talks about that because you're all terrible journalists".

[WheelWalker]

26. I think you'd like my area. SW Oregon.

North of Roseburg, South of Eugene. Just off I-5, 45 minutes to the beach, or to the Cascade crest. It's a red area of a reliably blue state. Rep. Pete DeFazio's House District. Sen. Jeff Merkley's home county. Both died in the blue Dems. I moved here from Ohio in '59.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_Oregon

[Timshel]

33. The Willamette Valley area would be incredible

I’ve been to Eugene and loved it!! It’s gorgeous…. I keep running into houses in Cottage Grove, and then south, Grants Pass…. Are those good areas?

[Laffy Kat]

27. Boulder County, Colorado!

It's blue. The weather is usually comfortable, although it's dry. It's a little expensive, but I suspect comparable to Austin. Boulder Valley Schools are considered excellent. We have great sports teams and there's loads to do all year 'round. Oh, and it's beautiful.

PLUS: I'm here!!!!

[Timshel]

34. ❤️ that would be a plus 😬

Hubs would definitely feel more comfortable staying closer, and he’s mentioned CO….! I don’t know much about Boulder County - I will take a look! Thank you!!!