bchappy

Life choices can be really hard. People move all the time, but for some reason this seems like a really tough decision. I am a 30 year old NJ-native living in San Francisco with my husband (a brit). After 9 years living in SF (and loving it), we are starting to think about moving east to be closer to family (clumped in England, NJ and scattered as far north as VT and south as VA).

We love the active lifestyle that comes with living in SF (I run outside 365 days a year). We also love the open-mindedness, laid-back culture, and pedestrian-friendly nature of the city. And, of course, I can't leave out the amazingly fresh, natural and simple California cuisine, and the diverse food choices. As far as climate, we've come to accept the mild SF climate, but wouldn't mind some degree of seasonality, but no extremes.

We own a home in SF and would want to buy where ever we land. Having a yard is very important and I love colonial/traditional/victorian architecture. We also want to feel part of a community, be able to walk to "town" from our home.

For a long time we considered moving north to Marin county, but we have yet to find a town that we really love. I have a hard time justifying a move to town that I'm not really in love with, especially when it means being so far from family and friends.

Can anyone recommend any cities or towns in New England or the Mid-Atlantic region that have some/all of attributes we love about SF? Boston is probably as far north as we would venture, and Virginia as far south. Just want to have some ideas to consider as we think about this over the next couple of years.

Thanks!

andrew8

Essex, Connecticut
http://www.essexct.com/

New Canaan,Connecticut
http://www.newcanaan.info/


What ever you do avoid the harsh property taxes in NY and parts of Long Island. Both the towns I suggested in CT are great/safe places to raise kids.

andrew8

I meant to say harsh property taxes in NJ.

kelliebellie

I know it isn't east coast, but Chicago fits all your requirements except climate. It is a wonderful city full of wonderful things to do. And the plane ride to the east coast would be fast and they have direct flights to Europe. And the western Michigan coast is just a couple of hours drive which is very similar to CA.

nytraveler

If you want to avoid weather extremes you really can't look at New England. All the states get serious winter often with lots of snow. And as you go further south the summers become horrendous(Baltimore or anything south is excrutiatingly hot and humid in summer).

The SF climate isn't really duplicated on the east coast - so I think you're going to have to decide if you're willing to give up on moderate year round to come back.

Once you decide that - and if you're willing to live with really cold winters or really hot summers -you can start to look further.

Ceidleh

I don't believe you will find an East Coast city/town in New England that can compare to San Francisco if you are looking for weather to not run from one extreme to the other. This past winter saw quite a few snowstorms and the past few days (early June) unseasonably hot & humid temperatures in the high 90s/100s.

Housing prices in the Boston area are quite high, but as you live in San Francisco, they shouldn't seem excessive to you.

I would probably recommend the Philadelphia area. Having lived there for a signficant amount of time, they seem to dodge a lot of the winter storms that tend to head towards NYC and north to New England. Philadelphia can have some very hot/humid summers (but you will find humidity a factor up and down the East Coast - there is no way to escape it). It is a very walkable city. Housing prices are more reasonable than any other major Northeast city, and if you are selling a home in San Francisco, you will probably find you get more home for the money.

In Philadelphia, I would suggest looking into the Chestnut Hill neighborhood if you don't want to live right downtown. Outside of Philadelphia, you could look into some of the suburban towns along the Main Line (i.e., Narberth, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore). On the New Jersey side of the river try Haddonfield or Collingswood.

Philadelphia offers very easy connections to New York City, Baltimore and Washington. It has a major airport for international flights to England. You can also travel to many towns along the New Jersey Shore or get to the mountains/lake (Poconos) or country (Lancaster) in about 90 minutes.

cabovacation

Boston is as close to perfect as you will find if you want a big city. The weather is not that extreme - oh, yes - sometimes - but not constantly.

Chicago has terrible weather. Anywhere south of NY has terrible humidity. Boston is also nice and close to NY and all of new england.

I love SF, but I fully understand the convenience of being closer to Europe and family on the east coast. The only negative I can think of here (in CA) is distance from those areas.

gb944

Just keep driving south on I-95 until you stop seeing the signs that say "Bridge Freezes Before Roadway."

nytraveler

By the time you get that far south the summers will be high 90s and humid.

Really there is no east cost area with weather similar to SF.

sobster

Northport, NY-Not SF but it DOES have hills. Near beaches, train station for NYC. Nice village.

sobster

Oops.
Forgot to say that Northport NY is on the north shore of Long Island.

Bill44

Charlottesville, VA seems to be what you are looking for. Usually voted near the top of "Best places to live".

bchappy

Thanks for your suggestions and comments. Very helpful. I fully realize there is nowhere on the east coast that will replicate the SF weather and am fully prepared to have more dramatic seasons (remember, I grew up in NJ and my husband England - we can handle weather). Bill44 - I went to school in Charlottesville, and absolutely love it, but think it might be too far south for us (weather and culture).

"Reasonable" housing prices would also be nice. That said, we're used to high prices for small homes in SF, and have gotten pretty used to both.

I think my next step is to make a short list and visit these places to check them out (during seasons with extreme weather.) What are the other things I should be considering? Schools? I've only moved once in my adult life (east to SF)!

At this point, based on your feedback, I'm leaning towards the Boston Metro area and Connecticut. Philly is an interesting suggestion and one I hadn't really thought about. Love to hear more suggestions for specific towns in any of these areas... I heard Essex and New Canaan in CT, anyone have specific town tonsider in the Boston area? I don't think we'd want to live IN Boston, but in one of the surrounding towns would work.

Thank you!!!

andrew8

Look into Westwood in the Boston area. My sister leaves there...great schools.

Ackislander

A really good option might be Providence or elsewhere in Rhode Island. Providence has an excellent airport and frequent Amtrak service to both Boston and New York. Their are wonderful restaurants and good cultural activities at Brown University, RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), and Rhode Island College. The only downside is that the nearest international airport is in Boston. There is reputed to be a fair bit of corruption but little crime, and if you like sailing, RI is fantastic.

Anywhere in New England, on the coast, right along the coast, the weather is much more moderate than inland. Last Saturday in Boston it was 77 on the waterfront, 85 in Harvard Square, and 95 in Arlington, a total difference of about ten miles. This is not dissimilar to the situation between SF and the East Bay.

Here in Nantucket, our winter climate is like southern New Jersey or Delaware; we got a total of less than 2 inches of snow last winter. Our summer climate is usually quite cool, much like Northern California. Our fall is like March in the Bay area without the rain. Only our spring stinks because the ocean is very cold. Our high tomorrow will be 69.

People play golf 12 months a year on Cape Cod, though they certainly can't play it 365 days.

You don't mention the need to earn a living, but Massachusetts taxes are lower than Connecticut and gasoline is much cheaper. New Hampshire has no income or sales taxes but punitive property taxes.

Just some thoughts.

jtrandolph

This is all very interesting, but DON'T DO IT.

JetBlue has cheap, cheap flights from San Francisco to the East Coast.

Remember, this is not a visit, this is your life.

andrew8

I agree with JT.
Instead of Jet Blue, use Virgin America into JFK or Washington DC.

Ackislander

The problem with "don't do it" is that it really does nothing to solve the OP's difficulty of family in the UK.

From Boston, we could regularly be in Glasgow in 5.5 hours, London a bit more. Paris is worse because of the additional time difference, but I doubt if we would ever go to Europe at all if we lived on the West Coast. We l-o-v-e California, but it is just too far from what is an important center of our life to live there.

Flying from the East Coast to the West and back generally takes as much time and involves as much jet lag as flying to Europe. A person on the East Coast can go in either direction.

Before the Deluge of responses begins, I realize that this is an extremely eastcoast centric view, but then that is my view. Your mileage is likely to vary.

go_laura

I was born and raised in Philadelphia, lived in several Connecticut towns for 28 years, and now am in a small town 1/2 hour train ride from Philly.

I'd second the vote for considering Philadelphia, and in addition to checking out the Chestnut Hill area if you choose to visit, I'd also suggest the Washington Square area if you'd like to be right in Center City.

Media, PA where I now live, is great if you're interested in a small town with a walkable downtown with many restaurants and shops, and easy access to the city's center. It's small, but it has a lot going on, and is known as "everybody's hometown." For instance, tomorrow night is our Arts and Blues Stroll, with blues music and/or special art event/shows in 23 venues. We also have Ridley Creek State Park right nearby, and we're an easy ride to the rolling hills of the Lancaster area.

In Connecticut, I'd suggest checking out West Hartford, I think it would meet most of your requirements. Very walkable, good food choices, wonderful places to walk/run, etc. Might be worth considering Middletown CT too, tho' I think it's become more taken over by Wesleyan than it used to be.

Good luck!