I NEED to Move...

[matsumoto]

hello.

 

i've been living in the same place for quite some time, and have finally reached the very end of my rope...unless the place i live gets a $2.00 all around wage increase and 40 new venues in town, i'm done...

 

but, i am not gonna just pick up and move blindly.

 

Where is a good place to park my life, for one looking for the following:

--larger Population base without being sprawl or hi-density, decent city infrastructure.

--Religious neutral ground

--has a FLGS nearby or several within sane driving distance.

--actually has local gaming culture that isn't WotC based...

--is not a retirement community

--is not economically challenged

--Non Megatropilan. i could do that, but the cost of living will be out of my par.

--decent crime rate w/o widespread gangs or related BS.

--generally temperate climate

 

 

because i am done with this crap!!!

 

so, if you want a game-neighbor, and your home region is the coolness, tell me!!!

 

Thanks, thanks endlessly!

 

 

 

 

PS: never move to SE Idaho...it's a redneck ghetto!!!!

[kristof65]

First instinct after reading your post? Fairfield CA.

 

Except it's expensive to live there, unless you happen to be in one of the few job fields with high paying local jobs, or willing to commute to the city. And while there a quite a few gamers there, they aren't exactly out in the open - there were three or four different circles there in town when I lived there, but you generally have to find one of their members. Not hard if you know where to look. And, except for....well, ok, it's not perfect, but it sounds better than where you are.

 

From my experience, mid size towns between 50k - 150k on the outskirts of major metropolitan areas have the best gaming - local population big enough to have a lot of gamers, but still far enough away from the city that "there is nothing else to do!"

 

The Denver area has quite a few gaming circles, but the biggest here is WotC. I think there are a couple of pretty decent historicals group out of Attactix in Aurora and Valhalla's in Wheat Ridge.

 

Other than those suggestions, here's the plan I would make. Research what areas of the country are booming for your field of expertise and/or in the professions you want to be in. Depending on your job skills, that will narrow down the locales quite a bit, and then you can get comparisions on all your other requirements.

[mattmcl]

I'd suggest looking at the Denver area. You can't beat the climate, and there are a number of good FLGS' around. The gaming circles aren't huge, but they are here. I would bet you could find what you're looking for, though it might entail some searching.

 

We also have arguably one of the best painting communities you could hope for. There are two very good groups that each meet once a month, and smaller ones around those.

 

There are also two very good cons- Tacticon in the fall (smaller) and GenghisCon in the spring (much larger, with a painting competition).

 

Housing costs are about average depending on where you look. There doesn't seem to be a job shortage. Public transport in the city is very good, though not so good in the burbs.

 

And if you have any interest in the outdoors, you couldn't ask for a better place to: 4WD, climb, hike, camp, ski, bike, etc.

[kit]

I'm kind of partial to Denton, TX.

[Dragon Snack]

While some may argue the 'economically challenged' and 'temperate climate' parts, you kind of described Rochester.

 

But I wouldn't tell anyone to move here...

[Corsair970]

I'm kind of partial to Denton, TX.

 

 

Honestly it's not that bad of a place haha...

 

There's a lot of places in the North Texas area and they're all pretty nice. Weather isn't that bad, just mind the hail or you'll have a million tiny dents in your car like mine...

[Joe Kutz]

I would recommend Rapid City - but the weather puts it right out. This morning I mowed our lawn - this evening I had to go out and put the snow blower back on the garden tractor since the forecast calls for 9" to 2 feet of snow between now and Friday.

 

While we have a LS - it leaves a lot to be desired. Luckily we have managed to overcome that issue through community involvement. I handle orders for the local gamers and we deal with somewhere around 100 different lines of miniatures. I keep example pieces on hand for almost everything in the various lines. Currently we play around a dozen different games which are cycled through on a regular basis.

 

"Economically Challenged" is a bit of a red herring though. Here in the Black Hills there are a lot of different jobs - many are related to a few specific industries. Depending on what industry you are looking to be involved with (and what level in those industries) - that would dictate a lot of what might seem economically challenged. If I went to Florida with experience fixing snow mobiles...I wouldn't like the job market too much. Since most smaller urban areas do tend to be a bit more specific in terms of jobs - you might want to look at the job market first to make sure they have what you do.

[Nial ap Morai]

Any particular occupation?

[Rastl]

If it weren't for the 'temperate climate' part I'd put in my plug for the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor. Quite a few decent shops and all kinds of jobs.

[Kheprera]

hello.

 

i've been living in the same place for quite some time, and have finally reached the very end of my rope...unless the place i live gets a $2.00 all around wage increase and 40 new venues in town, i'm done...

 

but, i am not gonna just pick up and move blindly.

 

Where is a good place to park my life, for one looking for the following:

 

 

--larger Population base without being sprawl or hi-density, decent city infrastructure.

 

Austin, proper, is fairly large, >500,000, but the area is spread out. However, do to some of the more vocal locals, there is plenty of trees, grass, and areas where parking lots are freakishly laid out because they don't want the trees destroyed. That total does not include the surrounding areas of Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Buda, Hutto, Del Valle, Bastrop, and several other locales that actually add to the population total. It isn't like any other large city, either. Compared to some place like Little Rock, Cincinnatti, or Detroit, Austin has the outward appearance of being tiny.

 

--Religious neutral ground

 

While we're in the middle of bible-thumpers central, Austin is strangely diverse. I think it's all part of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement.

 

--has a FLGS nearby or several within sane driving distance.

 

Not only that, but the FLGS (Dragon's Lair) has stores in Austin (Burnet Road), Round Rock, San Marcos, and San Antonio. Very friendly, well stocked, and willing to do special orders. You can't go wrong with a gaming/comic book store that has store cats (used to also have store dogs (corgis) and chinchillas).

 

--actually has local gaming culture that isn't WotC based...

 

While there is a WoTC culture, there's also a heavy historical group (very dear old friend is a part of that one), SCA (of which Richard Garriott is a major contributor), White Wolf, and GW (though no GW store proper). If you want to find a game, you can. Plus Star Drifter and I are here and you're just a 3.5-4 hour drive from Reaper Central.

 

There's also a Jerry's Art-a-Rama here in town, along with Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Hobby Town USA.

 

--is not a retirement community

 

Not with the number of colleges we have around here. University of Texas, Austin Community College, St. Edwards, Concordia... those are the ones I can recall off the top of my head. Plus with the live music scene, 6th Street, and South by Southwest (big music and movie week-long venue), and the number of celebs in the area (music and movie) you're sure to find something of interest.

 

--is not economically challenged

 

Our economy isn't being hit nearly as hard as other places, but we have felt the pinch. Gas is just hitting the $3.50 mark, but our homes haven't been hit by the downturn.

 

--Non Megatropilan. i could do that, but the cost of living will be out of my par.

 

We're pretty laid back here. We're a big city with a small city feel. There is a lot of high-tech companies including Origins, Dell, 3M, Motorola, AMD, and Compaq. Also, being the capitol there are a lot of government agencies.

 

--decent crime rate w/o widespread gangs or related BS.

 

We complain about the crime and gang stuff, but my husband (from Detroit) laughs at it. Compared to other cities we're pretty safe around here.

 

--generally temperate climate

 

We have two seasons: Cool summer and hot summer. No dealing with snow, and if it does, even a slight dusting (1/4") can shut the city down. We have our occassional ice storm, but that also shuts the city down. I've never seen a snow plow except on movies/tv. Snow blowers are called leaf blowers around here. You just need to make certain your house and car have A/C.

 

because i am done with this crap!!!

 

so, if you want a game-neighbor, and your home region is the coolness, tell me!!!

 

Thanks, thanks endlessly!

 

You're quite welcome.

[vejlin]

I love Austin, of all the US cities I've been in Austin is my favorite.

[anvil]

College towns have always been my favorites. I would recommend looking for one of those. You may have to bite the bullet on some of your restrictions, though. Ideal list, I know.

[vutpakdi]

Austin is a great city. I would recommend it also. Good economy, but biased towards high tech, state government, and University of Texas (which isn't a bad combination).

 

Dallas and Houston areas have good economies (more broadly based though there is an energy industry bias). Dallas has more of a high tech influence than Houston (though Houston is decent). Both sprawl though since there is considerable cheap land all around.

 

College towns (of decent size) in general probably are a good idea. For example, Charlottesville, VA (University of Virginia) is a great small city.

 

Ron

[DjinnWing]

I'd love to live in the Austin area.

[wildbill]

Tulsa, OK!!! There is only like one store (maybe two) that sells Magic stuff in town. My LGS sells D&D stuff (which is technically WotC), but the specialize in board games, GW products, Flames of War, Privateer Press, and Reaper products. If you are in to Warlord, I have a group of guys that routinely gets together either at my place or the LGS to play. You would be most welcome to join us.

 

And, if you did move here, I would marshal some troops to even help you unload!! HA!! Take that everyone from Texas!

 

As far as weather goes, it does get toasty warm in the summer time, but typically in the winter it won't get colder than freezing for more than a couple of days. There are always exceptions of course, but my parents that live in Kansas City, MO are always heckling me about the fact that we are at like 40 degrees and they have 14!

 

Let me know if I can help!

 

Wild Bill