Cities you love?

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Matthew74

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The Department of Rehab is helping me out again. I might be moving to get an internship or job in Band Instrument Repair. I want to give them a list of places to focus on. They need to be walkable - home, grocery, work (and with good public transportation). They need to have a first rate hospital/Epilepsy center. They need to have classical and Jazz music (i.e. an active symphony, music conservatory, or lots of schools with kids in band programs.) They must NOT require a car. No suburban sprawl. Boston is at the top of my list.

Where do you live that sounds like this?

Affordable is a big plus, but the reality is that I'll probably end up somewhere expensive.
 
I use to live in Washington D.C which has all those things but unfortunately is expensive.
 
Move to Canada. Lots of great cities big and small that would meet those requirements.
 
My ex-home is San Diego which is great if you stay towards the inner city areas (not North County or East County which are the sprawl areas). Very walkable and excellent public transit (bus and a trolley system). I recommend the Hillcrest, North Park, and Kensington neighborhoods.

They have a first rate symphony (I have sung backup with them for the Summer Pops series). The Croce family (as in Jim Croce of 1970s fame) runs a great jazz club downtown. A.J. has inherited his dad's talent. Lots of live music venues.
A friend of mine teaches choir at UCSD and could probably get you an interview.

San Diego is know for biotech industries and that attracts good research facilities/hospitals as well. Scripps is widely known.

Yes, it is expensive, but, if you are going to be sitting on a bus bench, it's kind of nice to not be freezing your butt off.
 
Can you go abroad for you internship? I love Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona.
 
Can you go abroad for you internship? I love Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona.

I love this idea. I've been to Boston and I've been to Paris. My son went to law school in Boston and didn't need a car. He rode his bike and took the subway everywhere. But he hated Boston. It's c-o-l-d in the winter!! With a cold attitude. In Paris, we walked everywhere or took the subway. It's a city full of art and music! I'd definitely take Paris if I had to choose.
 
Not everyone in Boston has a cold attitude! But the snow can be a real issue if you're not fond of it. I'm in Cambridge, which is accessible to Boston via bus and subway. Unfortunately, housing is getting pretty expensive in both cities. If you opt for Boston, you might try renting a room in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood -- it's very close to hospitals and symphony via bus and is known for it's earthy-crunchy attitude.
 
I lived in Jamaica Plain. It was awesome. I used to walk by the pond everyday on my way to the seminary, at the top of the big hill. The bus came every 15 minutes, and went straight downtown. I went to Beth Israel/Deaconess (but I'd like to try Mass General). I loved the oak trees. I even took sailing lessons on the pond (a present). I miss Italian cookies...and fresh bread!

I will definitely look at San Diego.

I liked Vancouver, but I'm not sure that's an option.
 
I liked Vancouver, but I'm not sure that's an option.

If you're meaning the Vancouver in B.C. Canada (as opposed to the Vancouver in Washington state) I wouldn't recommend it as it overall is an expensive city. Having said that public transit is great, and there are many opportunities for continuing education. There may be opportunities as well for playing/teaching music and instrument repair but I have no idea; you'd have to research this. Vancouver also has great support for entrepreneurs. If you are looking to live inexpensively, I would suggest looking at smaller communities. If you are interested in relocating to B.C. I can give you names of a few places where cost of living is reasonable (just send me a pm).
 
We live in Philadelphia - it may really hit the sweet spot for you. The public transportation is excellent, there is tons of culture (it was just named the first World Heritage City in the US, and it was also named the #1 music city in the US), and it is MUCH more affordable than Boston or DC. There are beautiful parks, pop-up beer gardens, and lots to do! There are excellent medical centers here as well, with several Level 4 epilepsy centers including Jefferson, UPenn and Temple.

I also love Boston - my daughter went to Northeastern and lived in JP for years - but it is a very expensive city.
 
I've been to Philly, and it would be good for family purposes. I've walked from the Art museum (da-dat daa, da-dat daaa, but sadly did not run up the steps) to the river, and took the commuter train to Lansdowne (?). What would be good areas to look at to live in?
 
We live in Mt. Airy, which is connected to Center City by train and bus, and is awesome in many ways, but you may want to be closer to the downtown area. Center City itself has gotten quite expensive, but many of the neighborhoods right "next door" so to speak are still affordable.

I would look at West Philadelphia (where Penn and Drexel are located), Fairmount, Queen Village, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties and Fishtown. All are well-connected to public transportation, and also very bikeable (tons of people bike in Philly), and are great neighborhoods. Philly has gotten a lot of excellent press lately - it's a great place to live.
 
I will definitely look at San Diego.
If I couldn't drive, I would definitely have stayed in San Diego. Back in the day, my Mom was on the Transit Company Board of Directors. She really pushed for getting the trolly system added and integrating the trolly, bus, and train systems.
The commuter train from San Diego to LA gives you all the cultural amenities of LA without actually having to live there.

Most of the reason I left was because the freeways are starting to get crazy crowded at rush hours.

What I miss most about it is the huge variety of interesting ethnic restaurants. Just within a few blocks in Hillcrest there is a choice of Afghani, Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Italian,Greek, Spanish, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, BBQ, and good old American diner food.
 
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Hmm, why not go to where music is king, Mississippi, Tupelo, or somewhere around there. I'm not from there, but you can go on to Craigslist and check out the rent prices.


:piano: :pop:
 
New Orleans is definitely the birth place of jazz, I know the jazz musicians go, and generally affordable for musicians. They also have Oschner and I met one of the neurosurgeons. The downside is the weather: humidity is so hard on epilepsy. I'm so ready to get to the Midwest or out of the country! But I would consider it because of the music scene and the affordability. One of my friends lives in MidCity and she pays nothing for rent, walks everywhere, and the cultural scene is amazing.
 
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