Ask HN: What are some good small cities in the US?

5 points by pbj 13 years ago | 12 comments

Anyone have any suggestions on good small cities in the US? I currently live in a medium sized city in the southeast but would love a change of venue. I'm looking for a town with low crime, progressive politics, reasonably affordable cost of living, and decent nightlife and tech scenes. Some of the places I've been considering are Madison, Boulder, etc, but I'd love to hear of some more suggestions.

27182818284 13 years ago |

Speaking of Austin....

Lincoln, NE

(I know, I know, but give me a chance.)

Home of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), it is often referred to as "the next Austin." It isn't there yet, but it is going there. For instance, it was recently ranked happiest city according to Gallup's index. (http://journalstar.com/news/local/lincoln-is-the-happiest-pl...) Additionally, the university recently made a huge land purchase to start "Innovation Campus." A new arena is being developed which isn't the biggest in the area, but is big enough to attract the bigger names. Commute times are low, buses are available, and bike trails are being built all the time because the city is repurposing old railroad paths as bike trails. With respect to the latter, it is easily possible to bike from downtown to the city's limits without having to venture onto main streets (though you'll have to cross a couple in crosswalks)

With respect to Austin, you get some of the best parts from the proximity of a nearby university, while getting things Austin can't offer such as a smaller size, a lower cost of living, etc.

Ten years ago I couldn't haven't recommended it, now I could easily recommend it. It is on the up and up.

hkarthik 13 years ago |

My vote is Austin, TX.

Crime is low, very affordable, and politics are progressive (but the rest of the state is staunchly conservative). Nightlife is good, due to the large University of Texas being nearby and the tech scene is really exploding. Weather is pretty hot though, so you need to be prepared for that.

rdouble 13 years ago | |

Austin isn't small, though. It's got more people than San Francisco.

cdvonstinkpot 13 years ago |

Denver's got a club with a Funktion-One sound system in it- those are the best sounding you can get on Earth. A very good club scene since before the 90's, from what I understand- although I haven't been there since 2002. It's a half hour from Boulder, which I hear has a thriving tech scene. Some VC clubs in Boulder. The weather's great, sun all the time, & when it snows, it's sunny & melting the next day or so.

pukka_my 13 years ago |

How small is small? Portland is nice, as is Austin. Boulder and Madison are both nice but full of hippies. Boston, Pittsburgh and Philly are all pretty cool if you are thinking mid-Atlantic/northeast; Charleston and Savannah are great if you want to be further south.

MatthewPhillips 13 years ago | |

Well Philly is the #5 biggest city in the U.S., so I'm guessing it's out.

I'd say you have to be less than ~350k to be considered a small city.

cjbprime 13 years ago |

I think you'll find this post interesting: http://blog.ometer.com/2011/01/04/asheville-off-the-tech-hub...

brudgers 13 years ago |

Huntsville is small, affordable and has a lot of technology companies associated with defense and aerospace. I don't know about the nightlife.

"Rocket City Rednecks" is not an inaccurate characture.

johnny22 13 years ago |

i didn't even finish your post before suggesting madison in my mind. so one vote for that. just make sure to consider the winter weather though.

hiharryhere 13 years ago | |

Seconded. I was thinking Madison too then saw it in the post. Also its spitting distance to Chicago so there's a fair bit of tech scene 'bleed over' from there.

jaebrown 13 years ago |

Ann Arbor, MI

Mz 13 years ago |

For affordable with a tech scene, you need to look at cities in Texas. I knew someone with a Best Places book and cd who was looking for affordable places and IT jobs and Texas cities dominated the top ten. Other affordable places lack IT/tech. Other tech places are expensive. He did not want to go to Texas so he kept tweaking his criteria but Texas continued to dominate the listings. This was a few years ago but that is where I would start the search.

Edit: And you can look at info here: http://www.bestplaces.net/