Eastern cities opinion questions (maybe the east coast is where we're headed).

[Thorsteinn]

So me & Tamalyn were talking about where to move when things came time and of all places Pittsburgh & Philadelphia came up. Also eastwards we thought of Cleveland, Hartford, Charlotte, and not-NYC New York. (note: Seattle is not off the list) The advantage is that, for us, most of these places are new and unexplored. Sort of a "pick a big town and go there" kind of deal.

I was wondering if y'all have any input. We're looking for a place with a good food scene, and education for us & the little one.

Also not super heavy on the allergens.

[Sir William]

I'd leave upstate NY alone unless you absolutely want to live there.  So far as I know, there's not much up there depending on what part you go to- a lot of small towns and villages, lots of open farmland.  It would make sense that there's an SCA presence up there as there isn't much else to do.  There's a town not far from Oneonta where the entire populace is related, in some cases, several times over.  My sister went to school up there, which is how I got to know a little bit about the environs.  lol

PA, CT and NC are all much better choices, imo.

[Sir Douglas]

Heh, I live near Pittsburgh and I want to get out West. Maybe we could trade places.

I'm not much of a city person, so take this from where it's coming: I don't really have a lot of nice things to say about Pittsburgh. A lot of the surrounding towns are old steel towns that started getting slummy and run-down after all the steel mills closed. Finding one's way around the 'Burgh itself is a nightmare. Taxes are getting pretty bad in PA compared to some surrounding states, and it's hard to find anything related to our particular interests. That said, I'm only about a hour or so from Pennsic, though I've never been.

But like I said, I'm a little biased. Some people just love it here. To each his own.

[Sir Edward]

Charlotte, NC is a decent town. Very suburban, with rural areas surrounding it. But I only have very passing exposure to it, so I can't say much more about it.

The Philadelphia area has some nice parts, if you get away from the main city. Lots of historic towns, with an Amish influence in many places. Philly itself is a very dirty, run-down city IMHO, often referred to as "Filthy-delphia" by those of us who escaped.

[Sir William]

LOL - my sister lived in Philly for a while til she moved out into the suburbs; have to second Sir Edward, it is a dirty, filthy town- inhabitants included!  Big difference outside the city, really.

[Aiden of Oreland]

Philadelphia all the way. Philadelphia Cream cheese, pretzels, and Philly cheesesteaks. Can't go wrong with that. May I also suggest an exploration of the Reading(pronounced reding) Terminal Market if you ever want a true taste of Philly experience. I myself live outside of Philly, and the country, especially Lancaster, is very beautiful and has the largest Amish population.

Charlotte, NC is a decent town. Very suburban, with rural areas surrounding it. But I only have very passing exposure to it, so I can't say much more about it.

The Philadelphia area has some nice parts, if you get away from the main city. Lots of historic towns, with an Amish influence in many places. Philly itself is a very dirty, run-down city IMHO, often referred to as "Filthy-delphia" by those of us who escaped.

LOL - my sister lived in Philly for a while til she moved out into the suburbs; have to second Sir Edward, it is a dirty, filthy town- inhabitants included!  Big difference outside the city, really.

It really depends on where you are. South Philly and NORTH Philly are rather run down. But hey, it's having money issues. If you stay in Center City it's very beautiful. Ah, it's honestly one of my favorite cities. It's all about knowing where to go. If you want a great educational experience go to Liberty Bell, Franklin Institute, and The Art museum which has a spectacular medieval section armor and weapons section.

[Mike W.]

I love the DC metro area. Maryland (aside from its ridiculous firearm laws) is actually a pretty cool state. We've got the Chespeake Bay on one side (along with blue crabs, oysters, and Old Bay) and the mountains on the other. We've got farms and cities and everything in between. Montgomery County has some of the best public schools in the nation, a great library program, and awesome recreation activities for kids. Plus DC has the Smithsonian (which are free). now that I'm heading out on my own, I have every intention of staying near DC. Growing up, my parents exposed me to the wealth of resources in the area - great schools, nature, amicable communities, good public transportation. The cost of living is a bit high, but depending on your skill set and experience, there's jobs to be had in Baltimore and DC. Plus Maryland just has the best flag in the Union and our state sport is jousting. Doesn't get better than that.

[Sir Nate]

Yes Philadelphia does have a fantastic food scene. I am seconding much on what has been said about it.
It is sad how it is dirty. Not all of it is bad, but....
A place like reading terminal market, has every food option you can imagine, and it all tastes good! It is like a bizarre! 
Yep the museums. It is very well known for colleges, I think Pennsylvania in general has more colleges than any other state.
University city is a part of Philadelphia (there are Universities there :p) Which is Notably clean.
Not much more to be said, ah wait a moment, Aiden and I live next to philly, what better a reason? Although we cannot go out and have a drink with you for 5 years
I don't really know how it is as far as jobs and price of living go. (from what my folks tell me, it gets higher the closer to center city you are)
I everyone I know can get a job in the area.

If your in need of more convincing to move east coast, do remember this magical store called Wawa.

[Sir James A]

Plus Maryland just has the best flag in the Union and our state sport is jousting. Doesn't get better than that.

Jousting at tiny little rings. Put on some armor and get back to me.

[Lord Dane]

Hey!! Don't rule out us New Englanders. Hartford, CT is WAY expensive & heavy taxes will weigh upon you as a resident. Lots of gang trouble there. Nice city for visiting (not living).

NY & New England have a strong SCA presence. I could use another sparring partner, Thorsteinn, if you are considering this area. Of course, you'll have to convert to SCA-East. Economy is pretty good in Boston but taxes are pretty high (but that depends on location). We have a good mix of everything from rural to urban. Most of the best schools are here, and jobs market is pretty decent dependent upon your field or occupation.

Charlotte is a beautiful city. Very clean & scenic. Not sure how their local economy is.
PA is not for me to say. I travel there for vacations, SCA, etc. Lots of fun but won't offer an opinion as the others here live closer to that area.

[Thorsteinn]

Well we prefer a large city that also is not like California in it's laws. Doesn't that leave Boston out? (I dunno)

What about Providence? Anything worth living in New Jersey over?

[Sir Wolf]

stay outta the mid east. away from murland lol. lower va, nc is better.

[Thorsteinn]

stay outta the mid east. away from murland lol. lower va, nc is better.

Sir Wolf, you've been to Reno. Where would you move given our needs if you were us?

[Ian]

Ah the Mid-Atlantic East Coast... land of no courtesy, and pretentiousness without anything to back it up.  I've lived in Southern VA and MD for several years each and have spent a lot of time in the DC / Baltimore Metro area, much more DC than Baltimore.  The Mid-Atlantic desperately wants to be as relevant as the Northeast but has nothing to offer.  It has crappy weather like the Northeast with none of the culture, and none of the hospitality of the South.  It's the middle child of the East coast that resents it's older Northern brother for being more important, and looks down its nose at its younger Southern brother for being friendly 

Northern VA has an incredibly high cost of living for no reason whatsoever.  A house in the normal world will cost you triple the price in Northern VA for the same square footage.  And as a bonus you get to deal with horrendous DC commuter traffic if you work anywhere beyond 15 minutes from your house.

Maryland is a communist state with the most ridiculous laws ranging from overreaching gun control to making it illegal for you to save rain-water without legal penalty.  It's in general more affordable than Northern VA depending on where you live.  There are counter-examples, like Annapolis which is again outrageously expensive but at least it has historical charm unlike Northern VA 

Southern VA is more affordable than the north by far.  VA beach is very generic America with all the standard chain everything, suburbs and shopping centers and the ever-present roar of F/A-18s from NAS Oceana.  Southern VA to me anyway, just feels like it doesn't have any unique character.

Washington DC has a lot of cool things in it, but don't fall in love with a personally operated vehicle if you want to work in the city.  It makes NYC look like it has the smoothest traffic flow on the planet.  The DC metro is relatively clean and easy to navigate though. 

I've never lived in PA, just visited Philly for Army Navy Games so only saw touristy stuff and ate cheese steaks.

NC is nice!

Western VA is beautiful!

OK, tongue now removed from cheek.  Northern VA really is inexplicably expensive for no apparent reason compared to similar communities elsewhere.  We are personally looking at moving to Western VA (Charlottesville is high on the list right now) or possibly going back southwards (NC or FL/AL).  But we don't intend to stay in Southern VA, and if we have to go to Northern VA it would only be with a high enough paying job to maintain our current lifestyle, and we'd really like to avoid Maryland, because half of what I own will magically become illegal.

[Sir Douglas]

It's the middle child of the East coast that resents it's older Northern brother for being more important, and hates its younger Southern brother for being friendly 

LOL! Oh, geez...I'll have to remember that one.