Best liberal cities to move to with CHEAP cost of living

[Herman Munster]

Anyone got suggestions?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I heard Seattle, but unsure about the cheapness. Cheap as

compared to New York City and its suburbs.

[Herman Munster]

3. cheap to me

is where a family can buy a decent 3 bedroom/2 bath home for $200,000. I don't think Seattle qualifies in that respect.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Olympia, WA

is close.

Aberdeen, WA has a strong tradition of pro-labor democrats and is a cheap place to live. "Liberal"? I dunno.

[trotsky]

24. I plugged in 3BR, 2BA, less than $200k into local realtor...

http://www.edinarealty.com

And got over 1000 hits. The Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota is quite liberal (stay away from the outer-ring suburbs, though) and the cost of living, while not as cheap as many places, is very good for a big city. Low crime rate, excellent cultural options, I love it here.

[MrCoffee]

39. Seattle is the opposite of cheap.

That would be expensive. I have a 2br 980sq. ft. apartment about 20 minutes from downtown for $1300/month.

[Doctor_J]

2. Amsterdam?

I have also heard wonderful things about Munich and most of the non-prairie Canada.

If you're talking about the US, you probably need to find a college town like Ithaca NY, Ann Arbor, MI, or the like. I have heard that even in red states like KS, the college towns (in this case Lawrence) can be tolerable. If I had a choice between living in College Station, TX, or dying, I would choose to go dirt surfing.

[rhiannon55]

33. Lawrence is more than tolerable

It's a great place to live. We have KU, a vibrant downtown (no actual malls!), a lively music/arts scene, and a community of tolerant, liberal, educated people. It's a blue island in a red sea, and I'm glad I moved here six years ago. Locals complain that housing is a little pricey for Kansas, but coming from Denver, it doesn't seem all that pricey to me. You can buy great houses for $150,000 to $200,000.

[Blue_Tires]

68. welcome to the site!

and i have another vote for Lawrence!

[SoCalDem]

55. Saskatchewan

:)

[Fridays Child]

4. Check out Albuquerque.

I've heard it's nice there. :hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Austin is better than many.

People diss Texas, but Austin is still realtively cheap compared to places like California.

Yes, it's hot, but you've got Barton Springs there for cooling off.

[ceile]

8. Beg to differ, FSC

I've lived in Austin for 12 years now and I have always found it very expensive.
But it is a nice patch of blue in a sea of red!

[fudge stripe cookays]

29. I know it's changed a lot since I left.

But compared to California real estate? Austin can't touch it. Our rates are half that in Texas.

[im10ashus]

22. LOVE Austin.

One of my favorite cities and I would live there in a heartbeat. If I didn't freakin love Manhattan so much.

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. San Antonio is cheap and certainly cheap compared with Austin.

And we are growing, especially up 281 toward Johnson City. Liberal? Well we should be.........:silly:

[AspenRose]

37. S.A. was more blue when I used to live there (70s-80s)

Nowadays it's more purple, no thanks to those people up around 281 towards Johnson City! I mean really...Ronald Reagan High School? :puke:

West, South and East San Antonio is probably still diehard blue....Northside (Northeast and Northwest), forget it....bleeds red....

[SammyWinstonJack]

42. Yep the greedy richy rich are moving up 281. Makes me wish

I had bought property up that way. :rofl: I live just off of 281 and 1604, actually Thousand Oaks and Henderson Pass area. I like it here and it is growing big time. My property taxes reflect that. :-(

[Dora]

40. I love Austin, but the prop taxes are killing us.

We were "lucky" enough to buy "low" in a central neighborhood in 2002. This is our fourth year in the house, and our taxes have increased our mortgage payment by $300 month. Meanwhile, our income has decreased by 33% (thanks to the UT layoffs of '03), and our expenses have gone up to the tune of one-baby-in-daycare and $3-per-gal gasoline.

I loooove Austin and the Hill Country. Regardless, I'm lobbying to sell high in two years and get the hell outta Dodge. With everything Austin has to offer, and it offers a lot, it doesn't offer enough to justify being a slave to our house payment for the next 26 years.

[SammyWinstonJack]

52. Property taxes in Bexar County aren't much better. Since we

bought our house in '97, our taxes have doubled. Our taxes were $2,400, now are $4,900. And the increase in property values aren't that great. When we bought our house it was appraised at $109,000, it is now appraised, 9 years later at $168,999. :woohoo:

[SoCalDem]

59. That's how Texas can be a "no-state-income-taxes" state

They saddle the homeowners with the financing of the state's "biddness".. They make promises to corporations so they will move there and provide jobs, but I bet a lot of those "deals" get renegged on or re-negotiated all the time. That happens here all the time.... a bigbox or light manufacturing place opens up and gets a 7 year "tax forgivenness" period, and about year 6, they start the negotiations.. "extend it, or we'll pull up stakes and move"...

We have a lot of BIG empty buildings....

[SammyWinstonJack]

60. Well property taxes weren't so bad when we had a Dem Gov who

left Pinhead with a surplus that he promptly gave away to the rich land owners and bidnesses. The rest of us got screwed! Sound familiar? :rofl:


on edit: We were doing okay until the fake Texan "defeated" Ann Richards with his mega smear campaign courtesy of Karl Rove! Again, sound familiar?

[tonkatoy57]

6. St. Louis City...

...and certain areas of St. Louis County are both inexpensive (real estate prices) and solidy Democratic.

[Dora]

35. Good to know.

My husband and I have discussed a move to the Midwest, and St. Louis is at the top of my list.

[The Anti-Neo Con]

71. Liberal areas of St. Louis.

Pretty much all of the city could be considered liberal.

North St. Louis county is pretty solidly democratic.

Whatever you do, stay the hell away from West St. Louis County, or St. Charles County those places are Freeper hellholes.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Define cheap? Portland Maine is nice. See links

http://www.portlandmaine.com/

http://www.ci.portland.me.us/

[Herman Munster]

16. cheap to me

is where you can buy a decent single family home in a safe neighborhood for $200,000 or so within a half hour to 45 minute commute from major employment centers.

[Gormy Cuss]

28. Portland is a major employment center in a cachement area of

250-300K population. Housing outside of the city of Portland itself costs just slightly above your target range. It's also 2 hours from Boston.
It's on the ocean, has cultural amenities like museums, parks,and theaters that rival the level found in many cities twice its size, a large university campus, historical sites from the colonial period, excellent restaurants, a modest public transportation system, a diverse housing stock, etc.

It's also the Democratic stronghold of the state.

[leftofthedial]

58. what's the music scene like?

in Portland?

[Gormy Cuss]

65. There's always been clubs and other venues for a variety of music

acts, some big names, some regional. I don't live in that area now so I can't say what it's like exactly these days. As small cities go it's a pretty cool place.

[readmoreoften]

73. Austin TX does fit that criteria.

I have one friend with huge 4-5 bedroom houses who pay $900 a month (including land and property taxes) just move to the East Side. More ethnically diverse and less expensive. Austin also has homeowner incentives for people who are coming to STAY and build up the neighborhood...as opposed to just trying to flip a property.

[GreenPartyVoter]

74. Portland housing isn't that cheap but there are some surrounding

towns where you might find something. Try peeking here: http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListings.asp?mlsttl=Maine&frm=bycomm&pgnum=1&mls=maine&lnksrc=REALRSCF2C0003&js=on&poe=realtor&st=me&areaid=1010878&areaid=1010991&areaid=1011013&areaid=1011150&areaid=1011209&areaid=1011229&areaid=1011259&areaid=1077196&areaid=1077211&areaid=1077217&areaid=1077223&areaid=1077306&areaid=1077342&areaid=1077348&areaid=1077353&areaid=1095476&typ=1&mnprice=150000&mxprice=250000&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnsqft=0&ss_fthb=n%2Fa&ss_mitm=n%2Fa

[tridim]

9. I would guess Minnesota and Wisconsin are still fairly cheap

Denver used to be cheap, but housing prices are way out of control here.

[eallen]

10. Excellent question! Where are the liberal "sleeper" towns?

Liberal cities tend to be expensive, because people like to live in them. Even the mid-sized cities with a liberal bent -- Ithaca, Provincetown, etc. -- are fairly costly. The cheapest places to live are the many small, conservative towns in middle America, with wall-to-wall churches.

But. There are some sleeper blue towns, that haven't yet become over-priced. Or at least, some in a middling shades of purple. I know there are. There must be. Here's one: Corpus Christi. Of course, you had better like it hot and humid.

[LisaM]

11. Seattle is NOT cheap. It was recently rated most overpriced in the US

based on salaries compared to housing and food costs. Stuff costs close to NYC and California prices, but we don't get paid NY or California salaries to match.

Portland, Oregon is cheaper and it's really nice.

[LeftyMom]

36. I was going to suggest Portland, though I hear it's hard to get a job up

there right now.

[Ravenseye]

12. Define liberal

Pittsburgh is a pretty liberal city, though we're surrounded by some pretty red areas. We're something like 80% Democrat in the county.

We bought a nice 1600 sq ft 3 bed 3 bath house in the city last year for 80k. You can get even nicer ones (even 4 bed) in great school districts still very close to the center of town for under 150k. 200k will give you plenty of options.

Cost of living here is really low. For instance we pay per month for daycare for our daughter what they pay per week in many other cities (under 400 a month)

[Herman Munster]

14. I'd say a liberal place

is where both Gore and Kerry got >60% in the city or county.

[Ravenseye]

15. Yeah that's Pittsburgh

Low cost of living and liberal. We fit the bill.

[Herman Munster]

19. Are there jobs in Pittsburgh?

One of the problem with low cost of living places is they are economically depressed. Detroit is another one of those old rustbelt cities that are cheap cause there are no jobs.

[Ravenseye]

21. Yeah there are jobs

Depends on your profession, but I'd say it's pretty good overall.

[SammyWinstonJack]

26. So why not consider moving to a city or county that didn't go for

Gore or Kerry > than 60% but that is cheap? You could make a difference there and possible turn that city or county around. My county, Bexar, in South Central Texas is cheap and went for ** 61%, we could use more Liberals here!

[theHandpuppet]

17. Depends on what you mean by city

Large city? Small city or town? Could you be a bit more specific?

[Herman Munster]

20. I'd say anything that is within 45 minutes to a major employment center

That doesn't necessarily mean large metro. But close to something substantial, at least a couple hundred thousand people so there are a wide variety of jobs available.

[misanthrope]

47. Even a couple of hundred thousand population...

...isn't necessarily a good indicator of economic diversity. It varies a lot from place to place so be careful using that generalization.

[maxsolomon]

18. Weed California

at least it SOUNDS liberal! :smoke:

[Mz Pip]

31. If only....

Weed CA is in one of the most redneck regions of CA. It's beautiful country, but RED politically speaking.


Mz Pip
:dem:

[Mz Pip]

32. Portland, OR

If I had to move from the San Francisco Bay Area, I'd seriously consider Portland.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[MissB]

44. And coming from San Fran

Portland's real estate wouldn't seem quite as high.

[MadHound]

23. Columbia Mo

Nice liberal college town, low cost of living. Lots of bike trails, vibrant downtown, lots of cultural events. $200,000 will get you a nice house, 3-4 bedrooms, a couple of baths, nice yard and garage, perhaps more, depending on what part of town you wish to live in. Good schools, excellent health care, college sports(and tickets are reasonable). Population is aprox 100,000, unemployment is around 3%.

Granted, we're in the middle of a red state, but there aren't that many fanatics in Mid Mo, and Columbia is a liberal oasis.

A few links for you:
<http://www.showmenews.com>
<http://chamber.columbia.mo.us/>
<http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/>
<http://www.missouri.edu/>
<http://local.yahoo.com/?csz=Columbia%2C+MO>

And if you ever get the itch to hit a larger city for a weekend, St. Louis and Kansas City are just a couple of hours away on I-70. Hope this helps:hi:

[Ravy]

54. I used to live there...

and I thought it was *great*. I wish I could go back there, but the distance from a major airport is a problem for me.

[MadHound]

57. Well, we're only a couple of hours away from Lambert Field

Or KCI, and if you don't want to drive, there's a shuttle that runs back and forth to both airports all day and half the night:shrug: And :hi: to a former Columbian.

[Ravy]

67. Yah, I know.

My daughter and her husband still live there, and my Mom lives in Mexico, MO where I grew up.

It is tempting. If I *had* to move someplace away from Tampa, it would be high on my list.

[fishwax]

56. I liked Columbia when I lived there in the ealry 90s

I didn't live there full time, but spent a couple of summers there. It was a nice town, and I liked living there. I passed through it recently (back in February, I guess) for the first time in a dozen or so years, and it seemed like it had changed quite a bit. It felt much more incorporated than when I was young. Still had fun passing through, though.

[LSK]

27. Chicago is probably the cheapest of the big cities

You can find decent homes in the 200ks and still be a 45 min train ride to downtown.

[Radical Activist]

30. I guess compared to big cities, but

its extremely expensive compared to the rest of Illinois or the midwest in general.

[porphyrian]

49. Chicago is like NYC without the attitude.

Unless you're from NYC, you'll probably agree with that. I loved it there, but the closer to the city, the more expensive. Same as you approach the lake.

[porphyrian]

51. Here are some online cost of living calculators:

http://salary.nytimes.com/
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html
http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/

[Warren DeMontague]

69. Chicago is wonderful. Everything except the January days with -20 wind

chill.

Beyond that, it's a great place. Great people, excellent food- beautiful city.

[junkiebrewster]

34. Asheville, NC

It's fairly liberal within the city limits. The COL isn't too bad, either. Plus, it's a beautiful area.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

38. It's Hard To Find Liberal Cities With A Cheap Cost Of Living.

A high population of Liberals make the property values go up. :)

[bullwinkle428]

41. Iowa City probably fits the definition...real estate isn't

overly expensive, as there's been a tremendous amount of residential development along the outskirts of the city as well as the adjoining "suburbs" (Coralville and North Liberty). I just moved here last week.

[TrogL]

43. Edmonton

[laundry_queen]

53. While I love Edmonton

And grew up there, I don't think the COL is particularly low right now. Although if you're looking for a job, it's a great place. As for being liberal, anywhere in Canada is more liberal, isnt' it? LOL. A nice place with a nice low COL is Winnipeg. And it's pretty liberal there :D And Grand Beach makes up for the mosquitos.

[CottonBear]

45. Athens, GA. It's super hot and humid in the summertime though. n/t

[porphyrian]

48. Good call. And it's relatively close to Atlanta and the Appalachians. -n/t

[CottonBear]

50. It's a short trip to the SC or GA coast as well! I love this town! n/t

[porphyrian]

62. ...and SC still has decent fireworks...

:evilgrin:

[OregonBlue]

46. Eugene, Oregon and Missoula, Montana. Both are relatively cheap

compared to major cities. Not the greatest employment due to the large universities but, nice places and mostly affordable.

[stevietheman]

61. Louisville, Kentucky

It's a Democratic-run town although we have a Republican Congresswoman. There are many inexpensive areas in town to live in that are also decent, such as the south end. We have incredible park space (I mean, out the ying-yang!), decent attractions, and we generally care deeply about our history and preserve a lot of it.

Wikipedia article for Louisville

[LostInAnomie]

63. Bloomington, IN

Nice city, very liberal, fairly cheap in comparison to other liberal cities.

Or you could go to Gary, IN which is considered to be one of the most liberal cities in the country. Be warned though, you may be shot or stabbed.

[shrike]

75. But the cities west of Gary

you won't get stabbed or shot.

Munster, Highland, Griffith and those slightly south get rapped by a lot of people for being "an armpit." BUT, there's an easy train access (two lines) that get you into the city (i.e., Chicago), and more and more Illinois people are discovering us. They complain about us mightily (backwards, etc.) but they sure like our prices. You can still get a decent home around here for under $200,000, and if you don't mind living simply in an older condominium development you can actually get something for around $125,000 or even less, if you don't need a lot of room.

Actually, I've been in Gary plenty of times and have never been threatened. Probably because the city's emptying out: there are areas there that are literally going over to nature.

[BeyondGeography]

64. Hudson, NY

A classic old river town two hours via Amtrak from NYC in beautiful Columbia County.

[helderheid]

66. I know you won't believe this but Salt Lake City Utah is liberal and cheap

[gulfcoastliberal]

70. Davis, California

Real estate costly, but you can ride a bike anywhere.

Best farmers market anywhere.

Great restaurants.

Lake tahoe 2 hours East.

San Fran/Berkeley 1.5 hours west

Sacramento 15 minutes west

Surrounded by agricultural fields

HOT COEDS (summertime is best, hardly any clothes worn)

Great public transportation if you're too lazy to ride a bicycle

Fantastic marijuana

Very liberal

[NuttyFluffers]

72. actually, this is a good suggestion.

been to davis for 2 years, it's a very cute little town. if i was 40+, wanted to slow down my pace of life, and still wanted a lot of the cultural events of a vibrant and liberalized community davis would be hard to beat.

but it's too slow for my tastes, so i had to leave... oh, and the allergies were some of the worst i experienced from travelling pretty much the globe. might be the open field GMO testing they do (unless something drastically changed in a few short years), that's always been my suspicion ever since my agg professors pretty much openly admitted that there's no controls on GMO exposure to surrounding ecology. but other than that, it's pretty cool.

i'd still say the SF bay area, because i love it here -- and if you look really, *really* hard you can find a home for just under 1/2 a million dollars, which is quite a bargain! :D granted its a shanty under a freeway, but still... j/k actually check out East Palo Alto, Oakland, Richmond, etc. for some cheaper SF bay area housing. the homicide and general crime rate can be a little high, but otherwise it's all good. or there's always the outskirts of Concord and the north bay. check Martinez, Crockett, Pittsburgh, Antioch, Vallejo, etc. something there shouldn't be too expensive, and you'd be relatively near BART and Amtrak, too.

[never_get_over_it]

76. Any place in FL?

I'm kind of in a bind right now - moved from Northern VA to Space Coast just under two years ago - love my house - love being near the ocean and that is it. I find the people here sort of uninformed and not too friendly. I moved here because of a good friend of mine - who just recently in the past month up and moved back to MN. So I'm pretty much alone here and trying to figure out if I should move. I hate winters so am wondering if there is any hope for this state?

Any suggestions?