Susan

A second Susan seconding Madison, WI. I'm from there, now living in Chicago. I live for the day I can go back! Since you're in Chicago perhaps you're familiar with Madison.

I suggest you make a short list of candidates (with Madison on it!) and try to visit each place. You'll experience Madison's beauty, progressive, educated citizens and lively culture, not to mention the plethora (ten-dollar word!) of restaurants and shopping available.

Out of curiosity, when people mention what great shopping - i.e., Target, Wal Mart - a city has, do you assume, as I do, that they're being facetious?

Go visit Madison and report back here, Connie.

x

$70K is ok money, but it's just about poverty level in Santa Barbara.

don

How about Santa Barbara CA? I've often thought that if I would move out to the west coast that is where I would like to live. And from what I can tell, it seems to match up with everything you want. Monterey/Carmel and Laguna Beach would be a couple of other great options if the west coast interests you.

Sam

I love Santa Barbara and Laguna Beach, but I'd hate to have to try and live there on a nurse's income. Yes, nurses often make upwards of $70,000, but that doesn't go far where the rents and housing costs are so outrageous.

Cali

We love Ft. Collins, Co and would recommend it to anyone. Do think the traffic and growth is really taking over the area tho. Last time we were there they had a regular rush hour!!

Donna F

I think Manchester NH has gotten too big and you should aim just a bit further north to Concord NH. Downtown Concord is lovely with many tidy neighborhoods, esp pretty in the spring when shrubs start blooming and festive in the fall/winter with holiday decorations. Concord Hospital has a great reputation and depending on your career preferences Concord also has a wonderful Hospice and popular birthing centers. There's a renovated arts center, free lecture series, local law school, local technical college plus branches of other colleges. It gets a little quiet at night but the mountains/lakes region is only an hour away to the north. The ocean less than an hour to the east. Within 2 hours you can be in Boston or Providence. Manchester has a great airport. There are active farms within the city limits. You could canoe on your lunch hour. Check out the local newspaper www.concordmonitor.com.

Lets hear it for

How about our town. Rochester, NY. It was ranked right up there. We have the four seasons, plenty of snow (if you like to ski), Lake Ontario, we are getting a fast ferry that will bring you to Toranto in less that two hours (the money exchange is great). Eastman house, great hospitals, New York
City is less than an eight hour drive. Hills, mountains, great schools and resturants.

Liam

Go to money.com and look for the "Best Places to Live" article. You can do your own search based on the many of the criteria, including town/city population, you listed in your post.

I know it's not the same as getting personal input from fellow Fodorites, but it might help you narrow down your search.

Good luck!

Liam

Sorry, Connie, I just tried to find that survey online and it appears that Money removed it. They do have a "Best" section, but I did not see it as I scanned the page. Each year they do a survey of the best places to live. You can probably get the issue from your local library.

xxx

Another vote for Madison, WI. It meets all your listed specifications.

dan woodlief

Actually Madison doesn't meet all the criteria because its population is about 200,000, but it feels much smaller. Traffic is not a big deal, good food, good college/progressive atmosphere, lots of things going on around town. I am a former resident and loved living there. You even get used to the snow (sort of). I have lived in and around Chapel Hill for a while too. Chapel Hill itself is small (about 50-60,000) and works hard to remain so. It borders Durham and is just 25 miles or so from Raleigh, which provides lots of things to do in the area. The whole Triangle area is now over 1 million people. Of course, except when it gets real hot in mid to late summer, the weather is fabulous. As a nurse, you would love the opportunities for employment at top-notch hospitals here. There are Duke, Durham County, and a VA Hospital in Durham, UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, and several in Raleigh. Madison is much more isolated in comparison, but it is fairly close to Chicago and Milwaukee.

beaver babe

Madison is okay. You've got all the old places scattered downtown by the college, but good shopping along Towne Boulevard. We'll usually stop in at the Applebee's for a late lunch after visiting the stores.

Madison Madam

BB, Agreed--I usually stop by Kohl's about once a week to see what they've got in stock...

Jess

Connie,

Since I haven't seen it mentioned yet, I thought I'd throw my hat in for Texas. Specifically Austin, Texas. First of all, there are plenty of educated/professional people there. It's home to the largest university in the country (bounces back and forth with Ohio State), there's a lot of outdoor activity, beautiful country all around, if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes! Also, as opposed to most of the other cities in Texas, Austin is a very progressive place (mostly because there are a lot of young professionals in the area). But, if you like winters, then I'd advise to look elsewhere, because you'll only get about two weeks of cold weather and the rest of the time it'll be beautiful. Not only that but Austin's only 2 and a half hours from Houston, 3 hours from Dallas/Ft.Worth, and 1 hour from San Antonio. I could rave and rave about Austin (I lived there for 5 years) but if you want more info, just ask!

bennie

How about Newburyport Mass. Boston Magazine just named it as one the best places to live in New England. Its the right size. Has a local hospital right in town plus many others within commuting distance. Its located at the mouth of the Merrimac River (which flows from the White Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean). There is lots of natural beauty between the Plum Island National Nature Reserve (undeveloped ocean beach over 6 miles long) and Maudsley State Park (large wooded area on the river). Lots of restaurants, lively arts scene. The town itself is full of beautiful federal architechture. Its too far from Boston to be truly suburban but it does have the commuter rail to get you in town in just over an hour. It also has a very real feeling of community. Has a great summer festival scene. Lots of outdoor concerts and plays. Boardwalk along the river to stroll. Most residents are college educated from what I can tell. Relocated here 15 years ago from the South Shore of Boston and haven't regretted one second of it.

Check it out. Please let us know what you decide.

GlendiveCOC

How about Glendive MT? It is a beautiful place high in the plains of eastern MT. No stuffy college types here, plenty of cigar smoking blue collar salt of the earth types. Lots of places to eat including, McDonalds, Wendys, and KFC. This town is real America!

lisa

Jess, take your Austin hat back!!! ;-)Austin is approaching 500,000, and Travis Co and surrounding areas are already past 1,000,000...

Spider

Northampton, Massachusetts.

sweet pete

Put a fork in Austin--it's done, what with the telecom bust. Also, living in Austin would require you to live in Texas--cracker heaven, for sure!

Just asking...

Connie, are you really going to move, or are you actually writing a column for a travel section?

If you are genuinely a nurse looking to relocate, it's obvious that a college town with a teaching hospital is what you want. But your 150-mile radius to a big city is pretty limiting, since suburbs can reach out to 50 miles sometimes. And, as you found out here, people define a big city differently. I don't consider Raleigh a big city, by any stretch, although Chapel Hill will qualify as progressive and lovely.

I'd go for the NH or Vt. suggestions if you genuinely are willing to deal with winter some more. You can visit Madison yourself some afternoon and see what you think about that. I think you'd perpetually miss Chicago there.