Someone else mentioned it also but I'll say Tucson, AZ
Pros:
cheap: $1500 would get you a long way and you can do lot less than that.
great outdoor: surrounded by easily accessible mountains, wothen a couple hours there are stunning sky islands many of which have very few people. See mt Graham, the chiricahua, organ pipe NM, etc
food: for it's size it has way too many good restaurants and bars
monsoons: they're cool folks.
culture: there are really interesting art scenes and such though sometimes hard to find. But local southwest art is rad.
close to phx: when you need a bigger city
Cons:
summer: too hot. Obviously. Make sure you have AC or camp on Graham all summer lol
smallish: if you want a big city feel well the whole metro area has 1mil so not exactly the biggest. Also means fewer shows and tours stop in
mediocre transit: the bus system is fine and reliable but not gonna be as extensive as you want
Don't do Phoenix it's all the bad but worse and less of the good
Nice ya it really does. What I like about it is that it has a bit of everything. Top of mountains you get stunning pine forests with views down into the basins where you can see the other mountains sprout into their own sky islands. And the Sonoran desert is a special place. Really cool especially during sunset.
Definitely check pics of organ pipe NM and one I just remembered... Aravaipa Canyon. That's a magical world.
God I'd love to be a lizard. And ya those cacti are huge. Massive twisting arms. Really impressive. Hiking aravaipa is great. Just wondering through a cool canyon stream in ankle deep water. Finding little sand barges and places to rest. Lovely
That is a con absolutely. It makes me sad too because I kinda wanna retire there. I just cling to the hope the southwest will wise up and people will move away. Then Tucson will be a small funky southwest community of 100k that can get its own water.
I lived there for about 10 years, and love it to death, but another con is how asinine developers have been destroying big chunks of downtown/4th ave to build those overpriced ugly fucking student apartment complexes
This is true. I did consider adding that as a con. Plenty of other engineering jobs there are also secretly Raytheon anyway. But if you can find one that's not... Well Tucson is worth.
Not only outdoor adventure available... But not a good idea Multiple checkpoints of armed guards. Check the underside of your car when you drive in and search it. Etc.
Someone else mentioned it also but I'll say Tucson, AZ
Pros:
cheap: $1500 would get you a long way and you can do lot less than that.
great outdoor: surrounded by easily accessible mountains, wothen a couple hours there are stunning sky islands many of which have very few people. See mt Graham, the chiricahua, organ pipe NM, etc
food: for it's size it has way too many good restaurants and bars
monsoons: they're cool folks.
culture: there are really interesting art scenes and such though sometimes hard to find. But local southwest art is rad.
close to phx: when you need a bigger city
Cons:
Don't do Phoenix it's all the bad but worse and less of the good
deleted by creator
Nice ya it really does. What I like about it is that it has a bit of everything. Top of mountains you get stunning pine forests with views down into the basins where you can see the other mountains sprout into their own sky islands. And the Sonoran desert is a special place. Really cool especially during sunset.
Definitely check pics of organ pipe NM and one I just remembered... Aravaipa Canyon. That's a magical world.
deleted by creator
God I'd love to be a lizard. And ya those cacti are huge. Massive twisting arms. Really impressive. Hiking aravaipa is great. Just wondering through a cool canyon stream in ankle deep water. Finding little sand barges and places to rest. Lovely
deleted by creator
That is a con absolutely. It makes me sad too because I kinda wanna retire there. I just cling to the hope the southwest will wise up and people will move away. Then Tucson will be a small funky southwest community of 100k that can get its own water.
Yes this is a fantasy but let me have it.
deleted by creator
I lived there for about 10 years, and love it to death, but another con is how asinine developers have been destroying big chunks of downtown/4th ave to build those overpriced ugly fucking student apartment complexes
deleted by creator
This is true. I did consider adding that as a con. Plenty of other engineering jobs there are also secretly Raytheon anyway. But if you can find one that's not... Well Tucson is worth.
You could frame it as a pro: easy access to adventurism.
Not only outdoor adventure available... But not a good idea Multiple checkpoints of armed guards. Check the underside of your car when you drive in and search it. Etc.
deleted by creator