1) WalkScore: http://www.walkscore.com/ This site rates the WalkAbility of your neighborhood, including things such as grocery, libraries, etc. I would cross reference it with people who know the areas (if possible), but this was really helpful during my latest apartment search.

2) How to Live Well Without Owning a Car (book): http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-Without-Owning/dp/1580087574 Provides some useful information on the day-to-day of getting yourself places sans car.

3) Zipcar / FlexCar — I know these have already been mentioned, but they are real lifesavers in a pinch. The Zipcar site has a map of all the locations, but make sure to check the number of cars in the cities you’re looking at. Fewer cars may mean that the closest Zipcar/Flexcar is farther away from your house.

Good luck with your search!

It is also not cheap. The public transportation isn’t bad if you don’t need to go outside the city but it is also not cheap. We are told it is the 2nd most expensive in the country. Also the city taxes are high. If you work or if you live within the city limits you have to pay city wage tax on top of all the other state and federal taxes. Housing is also not cheap unless you want to live in the bad areas and learn how to avoid muggings and drive bys. Once you get outside the city limits the housing really goes up in price – not a cheap place to live. Public schools in the city are also not very good.

Center city is walkable and some neighborhoods have stores etc.. close enough to walk. Most neighborhoods are not what they use to be. People mostly keep to themselves – not horrible but not as friendly as it used to be.

I myself am planning to leave in a couple of years. I am just getting my finances in order so I can do what I want to do.

Good luck with your search.

But it isn’t cheap…THE ONLY drawback…if the cost of living wasn’t so high at the moment we’d still be living there and hope to be living there again as it was perfect for our lifestyle.

California is kind of crowded and Texas has more open space and a lots of green areas…

well don’t know if my little description will work but i can definitely say that in your situation, Texas is better..

In this area, maybe Athens would work? It’s smaller, there are tons of college students and a lot of “stuff” downtown within walking distance. I just don’t know about employment or anything, I’ve never actually been.

There’s snow, sometimes, even down here. If you wanna cook, though, it’s a great place to be. We’ve been over 100 all week.

Seriously, I wish I could help… I wish I could find the place you’re describing myself, but I have yet to see it. I can vouch for Kileen, TX and Riverside/Moreno Valley, CA, also. Neither fits the bill. It doesn’t entirely matter since you can’t go there anyway, but most of southern California requires personal transportation. Without it, you’re left working at the Mcdonald’s up the street or getting up at 3am to ride the bus for hours.

Going south of Seattle, the quality of life gets a bit slower and there are more horse ranches here I think than day spas (which are plentiful).

Warning though, Tacoma though it wants to be, isn’t exactly where you want to live unless you enjoy standing with your back against walls and smelling air that reminds you of dead skunks on a warm day. Housing is cheap, and from what I’ve been told you get used to the smell. I’m out in Dupont, WA and it does make a difference.

Housing can be cheap if you don’t mind living on a boat.

It doesn’t snow there, you can live on the beach.

You probably need to speak spanish.

CLT’s public transportation isn’t great, but it is getting better. They’ve recently introduced many more park and rides and expanded the bus lines. Light rail is coming next year to the south part of town, and any new roadways have to have bike lanes added. The Central Ave area is pretty reasonably priced and pretty funky.

We get maybe 1 small snowfall a year, if that. Most years we’re out grilling by the middle of March and don’t need to turn the heat on until the end of December.

Another good resource to check when relocating is UrbanPlanet.com

here’s the charlotte link:
http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showforum=131

And while biking is trendy on the many bike paths, how often do you see people commuting via bike? I maybe pass one or two a day in nice weather and I think they’re extremely brave. I disagree that biking is accepted; many drivers are complete jerks to bikers. I bike on the main roads as little as possible.

We also have a pretty high crime rate compared to the population size.

Don’t get me wrong, Columbus is cheap, there’s a fair amount to do and yet it feels more like a town than a city. People are generally friendly. But you’d better bring a car and a shovel.

3 jobs and it’s still not enough?

instead of decreasing your costs of living how about you increase your education.

the best way to increase wealth is to MAKE MORE MONEY. you can only cut your COL so much until you’re completely miserable.

Also it’s worth noting that the walkable parts of Portland are more than “moderately expensive”. The Portland Tribune had a front-page story the other day about how expensive real estate is here now: The couple featured had a household income of $100K, but couldn’t afford to buy in Portland.

Um, I hear SF’s good for walkability, but it is more expensive to live there than LA!

I absolutely hate this because I grew up in NYC for most of my life. There was a subway that never ceased a block away from our house and anything that you could need out of pure convenience was a 5 minute walk away.

I saw on American.com today, that they had a story on this exact subject :http://www.american.com/archive/2007/april-0407/walk-this-way
I haven’t read it yet; I was saving it for later. Check it out.

It definately does not get cold here. But if you are used to Houston summers, you’d be fine here.

In some places you can go with out a car. Seems like most all of the neighborhoods have an HEB grocery store, Super Wal-Mart, and a drug store close by. But we do have a good bus system should you wish to venture out a little further.

Great cultural vibe.

Tons of places to go to- great zoo, Riverwalk, Alamo, Seaworld, 6 Flags. Problem is, you might find relatives planning their vacations at your house.

Best of luck to you!

Kraft:
If you don’t mind, can you tell me which part of Austin by naming a few street corners on the outer boundaries of the area you’ve mentioned? My fiancee would like to drive there with his bike and look around, but Austin is huge! And he’s not sure which part you’re referring to.

Everyone:
We’re very, very grateful for all of your responses! You’ve all given us a lot to think about.

I also think Austin or Dallas are good choices.

Good luck!

DC/NOVA: also pretty expensive

Philly: Your best bet in the Northwest. I lived there for basically nothing. Grocery stores are ridiculously cheap, and they have decent public transportation, and downtown is walkable.

The Sun rule limits you considerably.

does anyone actually read the 62nd comment?