My sister and I live together, are both single, have no children and in our early 30s and we’ve been talking about moving for a couple of years now. We currently in a small borough in Pennsylvania that’s affordable but very boring. We’ve lived here in we were in our teens and even though we do love the fact that it’s affordable we want to live somewhere that has a lot more to do, is walkable or has great public transportation, and has a variety of places to eat. We want to live in a quiet area that has food and entertainment nearby. Where we’re at now we have to drive hours for entertainment.

We were kind of debating if we should move to a new apartment in our area or a new state. The apartment we’re in is very affordable but we need more space, we looked for apartments in our area but what we were looking for is so high in price that we were like we might as well look into moving states for that price. We’ll be paying the same amount so we should probably look into paying that amount in a new area rather than staying in the same boring place.

We were looking into Washington DC but wasn’t sure where. If anyone had any good suggestions we’d appreciate them so much but we are not open to LA, NY, or ATL or anywhere near ATL really. Thanks!

Do employment opportunities factor into this decision at all? If so, in what field(s)?

Does weather matter?

When I was your age I moved cross-country... from Vermont out to Seattle, Washington... with the idea to try it out for a year or two. Liked it so much I have stayed here. I wanted a major city but something less intense than NYC for example. Seattle has everything you request but is not particularly affordable.

So it’s kind of mixed. My sister will work anywhere but she usually goes for food industry jobs or gas stations like Wawa and Sheetz. I on the other hand prefer Supply Chain / distribution/ fulfillment center jobs.

As for weather my sister and I aren’t too much of a fan of really hot summers, we love the fall, don’t mind rain but she doesn’t like snow and I love snow

You mentioned several times that the area where you now live is “affordable” but you haven’t given us any idea of what you deem is “affordable” . It would help if you gave us some idea (in terms of a dollar range) of how much you are able to spend for housing and what size housing you expect for that figure.

One more suggestion: Once you have narrowed down your choices to a few cities and towns go to www.city-data.com where you’ll find detailed profiles of all cities in the United States, The website will provide information on population, demographics, housing, businesses, crime, weather, schools and more.

My favorite towns are San Luis Obispo, CA (central coast) and Ft. Collins, CO (north of Denver along the Front Range)..Rent is $2,000-$2,500 for a two-bedroom apt. SLO has been called the happiest town in America. It has a great climate year-round and is only a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Plenty to do and see but not hectic like a big city. The university helps make it lively. Ft. Collins also has a university and is only 45 minutes from the Rocky Mts. It has two historic downtowns loaded with great restaurants.Another option is Charlottesville, VA which is a lot closer to you. The Uni. of Virginia makes it lively. It is close to the Blue Ridge Mts. which have recreational opportunities.

Gas stations/convenience stores and warehouse/fulfillment centers would limit where you could afford. Most places in California for example you'd probably both need to moonlight holding down more than one job.

Yes, as RoamsAround asked -- what sort of housing budget do you envision?

(I do think a $2000 two bedroom apartment in SLO would be a unicorn. It is a university town in a HIGHLY sought after region. Even studios can run $2000+ to over $3000 / month)

Welcome, borasora, and good luck with your hunt. I'm a huge fan of Maryland, and the Annapolis area. Check metro routes into D.C. from other Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

My DH and I also enjoyed the Brandywine area...Chadds Ford.

What are your interests?

You might want to study the charts in this article. Cost of living includes a lot of factors...

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortg...ving-by-state/

Findimg an affordable apartmemt in NH might ne almost impossible due to low inventory. Just in case, check out Concord NH which has a walkable downtown, a great independent bookstore that hosts authors, free lectures at the City Auditoorium, live theater, great independent movie theater, etc. it's an hour from Boston by bus. An hour from the mountains. An hour from the seacoast.

I agree the pay scale for those types of jobs you mention would not be enough to afford to live in Seattle.

That might be a way to do your research... pick a few random places that sound good, then look up what jobs pay vs what apartments/houses cost.

Good luck!

If you want to stay in Penn., check out Lancaster. It's highly rated nationally. https://money.com/best-places-to-liv...-pennsylvania/

thank you and to answer the other question where we live we pay $800 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath , rent usually goes up to $1,200 for 2 bedrooms so we’re kind of looking for anything around 1,200

Then you can forget anywhere in California, or on the west coast really. In my nondescript suburb outside of Sacramento 2 bedroom nothing burger apartments or duplexes are running $2500 to well over $3000 per month . . . IF you can find one.

I think you have to look at cities with a more reasonable cost of living in your situation. I think some major cities in the Midwest might fill this requirement. I think you should consider:

Columbus, OH
Cleveland
CIncinnati
I don't know a lot about Pittsburgh, but what about that?

You are looking for highly desirable local amenities. This means the areas that provide them will be in demand, with correspondingly higher rent. The lack of local amenities where you are now explains the rent that would be impossible to find in areas that meet your requirements.

Lancaster, PA has two-bedroom apts. for $1,200. Maybe spend a weekend there and see if you like it?

{where we live we pay $800 for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath , rent usually goes up to $1,200 for 2 bedrooms so we’re kind of looking for anything around 1,200}

Thank you for posting. You would give at least 3x that much for a 2 bedroom in my neighborhood! And those jobs likely around minimum wage.

Definitely cross out the entire west coast. I live in Seattle. My sister lives in a smaller town in Oregon. Prices are surprisingly similar both places.

Lancaster PA is really dull and boring if you ask me. It's the center of Amish country, for one. It's not exactly full of entertainment. I think even York or Harrisburg would be better than that.

DC is way too expensive, you can't get a 2 BR apt for that rate.

Morgantown WV is another option, if you are on west side of PA, you wouldn't be too far from home. You can rent a 2 BR apt there for that rate and being a college town, there is stuff to do and entertainment, bars, restaurants, etc. I wouldn't stay right near the campus as it will be too student-y and I suspect not great for nonstudents, but you can still get a 2 BR apt in the city in other places for that.

I'm from OHio and it is very reasonably priced compared to many areas. I know you can get a 2 BR for that in COlumbus. It's really become a more happening place from when I was a student there decades ago, there is a lot more to do now.