Who lives in PA,DE,NJ, MD, VA or DC and enjoys it??

[BeachLove]

I'm looking for a change and I'm ready for it. I've started looking at various areas and I'd like to go back to the Northeast! (This whole living in the south just isn't for me- and I gave it several years) I'm a single female, non drinker/smoker, outdoor & animal lover and self employed. Over the past couple years I've figured out that I enjoy being able to walk places instead of having to take a car. I also prefer having public transit available! Along with a dog friendly area.

So! I am looking for recommendations on places to move to..
Any suggestions? What areas do you love and why? Places with lots of things to see and do like museums. Parks are fabulous, I enjoy biking and would like to try out kayaking or some type of boating. Living in a safe/walkable area is important to me so I'd like to avoid stab happy areas for my safety. I would be renting at first and would eventually like to buy another home. As for rent....staying under $1200 would be my goal.

I'm all ears....

 

[Raenstoirm]

DC metro is great, but $1200 rent would be rough. Cost of living here is HIGH!

 

[aVASTGrl]

DC metro is great, but $1200 rent would be rough. Cost of living here is HIGH!

haha completely agree...there is sooo much to do in our area but it IS very expensive. Depending on what you do for a living, and where you're looking to work, the farther away from DC (in any direction) the less you will pay for housing, generally, but then your public transport options decrease.

Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland are all FANTASTIC places for an outdoors lover. I have the Blue Ridge mountains and the Appalachian trail only 45 minutes from my house, DC is covered in parks (dog & human), and the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay are great for watersports. If you're interested in this area, my advice would be to visit and see for yourself...rent a car and drive around!

 

[Needafix]

I cannot wait to get out of the NE and head south, but after reading your reasoning, I can totally see why you'd prefer to be here. I raised 2 kids in the Bethlehem, PA area and it's just now really starting to gain in things to do. We are centrally located b/w NYC and Philly. DC is only a short 3 hours and now we have all this fabulous new stuff opening up in Bethlehem. The new Sands Event center is fabulous for concerts that are not out of control huge. We have Coca-Cola park which has wonderful minor league baseball and a fun place to hang out even if you're not a major baseball fan. They also have days you can bring your dog. There's ArtsQuest where they have movies, concerts and great outdoor bands and entertainment on a regular basis, all at very reasonable prices.

Great dog parks too.

I could go on and on. There's a ton of great stuff to do and now that my kids are in their late teens and I have time to get out and do stuff, it's fantastic. My problem is I can't stand the cold, so I'm hoping to move south in 4 years or so. Good Luck. There are so many fantastic places to live in the NE, I'd have trouble picking.

Oh yeah - you can get very reasonable prices too - especially compared to major cities. I'm looking at $1500 for 3 bedroom, 3 bath new condos, so for just you, you should be able to do much better.

 

[BeachLove]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I'm leaning towards the DC /Northern VA/Maryland areas. I've only spent about 9 days total in short spurts visiting the area in the past year. Work has kept me busy. I have family in MD, but we are so different that they wouldn't be able to tell me if Park 123 is still there since 10 years ago when I left to travel. They know nothing about the new developments,growth, etc. I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad to ask to move in with them until I checked out the area again. (lol or would it be the worst idea ever..I guess I moved out quickly for a reason) At least I know they'd be ecstatic! I could always re-join facebook and see what old friends say about the area now.

I've only rented twice in my life in different states for a grand total of 18 months. What percentage of income is typical for spending on just rent?