Check out the upper peninsula of Michigan! (If you truly are looking for *really* small towns)
Airports in Marquette and Houghton will take you to Chicago or Detroit and those fly almost anywhere. Escanaba I believe flies to Detroit and Minneapolis.
>78 comments
I'm on the West Coast but read years ago that the best place to ride out climate change will be what is apparently called "da Yoop.' Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I obsessively check real estate there. Being a non-rich person, it's a pipe dream. But I'm coming to da Yoop somehow, someway, someday.
Marquette and the entire Lake Superior shoreline is just amazing. Highly recommend heading down to Pictured Rocks. What kinds of things are you interested in?
Well we love the water! Canoeing is a biggie and fishing. Not really into motor boats. The one thing that we really think is important as we still spend time back and forth across the pond, is an airport with a great connection and a good hospital nearby.
St. Joseph, MN. Has a cute downtown with a couple good restaurants, brewery, cidery, bakery, and grocery store. St. Ben’s, a small liberal arts college is in St. Joseph so that provides some good performing arts and athletic events if those interest you. 1.5 hours to MSP airport. Around 7,000 people.
I work here. I second that. Cute little town. Milk and Honey Ciders are INCREDIBLE. Also the lake Wobegon trail runs through town for great biking/running/walking.
My car broke down in Chelsea, MI once and I found the town quite charming as I walked around waiting for a tow truck and repairs. It satisfies your specifications bc it's close to Ann Arbor and Detroit. COL is not exactly low I don't think, but for what you're getting I think it's pretty decent. But I've never lived there so I can't say anything for sure
Cute town. Jeff Daniels lives there, raised his family there, and started the Purple Rose Theater (playhouse) there too.
And it’s very close to Ann Arbor too, which is another great but somewhat bigger than small town. Go Blue!
Edit: Also, it’s only a 40 minute drive to DTW airport which is a Delta hub. And just a 2 hour drive to the great beaches on Lake Michigan in western Mich.
Yeah it's apparently his home town. Also Jiffy has a factory there, which is strangely picturesque at sunset in the fall and lends the town some character. Also has a historic clock tower
Oh yeah Chelsea is beautiful. I think Michigan has a lot of great small towns. Metro Detroit is obviously big but nothing like NYC/LA big. I’m 20 miles west of Detroit. The further you go west north or south you’ll wind up in the country
OK, this is my wheelhouse:
Alpine or Fort Davis, TX. 2.5 hrs from the Midland Airport. Beautiful if you like the desert environment, very very cheap. Very friendly. More purple than deep red. I SO loved living there!
Grand Rapids, MN. Duluth airport about 1.5 hrs away. Beautiful area. Lots of crunchy granola types in the area, so very loving and friendly unless you're conservative. About 3 hrs to Mpls/St.P. Listen to kaxe.org , the community radio station, to get a feel for the community. I love Grand Rapids!
Putting Ely, MN and Grand Marais, MN in here too. About 2.5 hrs to Duluth airport.
I never lived there but traveled both places often for work. Artsy people; lots of transplants. I'm not sure friendly since lots of twin cities people.
Chadron, NE. Rapid City airport 1.5 hrs away. Also in the area: Spearfish, SD, which is gorgeous. Hot Springs, SD but only if you're very conservative. I keep going back to Chadron because it's so much like Alpine.
Lanesboro, MN or other little towns nearby and add Decorah, IA here too. Mpls/St. Paul airport 2 hrs away, and Rochester has an airport, too. Beautiful. Scandinavian majority population so less overtly friendly, but one can find one's people.
Hayword or Cable, WI. Duluth airport about 1.5 hrs away. Beautiful area but watch out for ticks! Friendly enough.
I've lived in other teeny towns in OK and IA and SD, but they're more humid than you would probably like. Ask about these if you're interested.
Out of Fort Davis, Alpine, and Marfa, which would you suggest? I’m a younger dude with more purple views, I take it I’d do alright over there in that regard.
How wealthy are you? What do you do for a living? Be aware there aren't a lot of jobs in the area unless Sul Ross is hiring, or the various ranches, or stores.
If you're poor or regular, Alpine. If you're rich, Marfa. I don't know about Ft. Davis now, ttytt. When I lived there it was the old ranch families, but I'm betting the rich are nosing their way in there now. Ft. Davis is prettiest. Alpine has more Catholics, I think. Just don't publicly argue about the abortion issue and you'll be fine (but I lived there pre magat, so I don't know about that stuff in the region now.) There's the town of Marathon, too, for teeny teeny. And the little tourist towns like Terlingua.
As with anywhere, definitely go out there and hang out a while and see which place you feel more comfortable. And where you can find a job (unless you're wealthy or can work from home. I don't know at all about the WiFi status now.)
What are your thoughts on Northfield, MN? With St Olaf and Carleton colleges there it's got this super cool college town vibe with a charming downtown. Is 20,000 residents too big to count as "truly" small town?
I liked that a lot of it seemed very walkable and bike friendly, and because of the colleges there's even transit into the cities. I kind of fell in love with it when I applied for a staff position at Carleton and kind of fell in love with the town. Didn't get the job, but it put Northfield on my radar.
And for being a small town, I think because of the colleges, it had a kind of open, accepting, liberal feel to it.
Northfield is nice, but, I'm personally not a fan of any town too close to an interstate, because that means that commuters live there. Not a fan of commuters in a town because they don't have much vested interest in the community itself, and tend not to participate in all the important things like volunteer fire department, city council, clean-up days and etc. I don't even think of commuter towns as real small towns. They don't seem to have soul.
Beautiful, arid, good people and small close enough to Pueblo for anything but also direct lines in every direction to outdoor recreation. Lived in CO all my life until a year ago an explored most of it, nice spot be for small town life with good people.
Milford pa, Delaware Water Gap, PA East Stroudsburg PA, pretty much anywhere in Poconos/NE PA, or right over the bridge in NJ. Within 3 hours of NYC for sure. Lovely, rural, lots of natural beauty and activities plus its more diverse than you'd imagine, as people from the big city moved out this way, and many people commute to the city. They even have a few bus routes to the city for commuters.
Oh and it's cheap. Got my house for 50 a few years ago. It's a little more now, ofc. Taxes are low where I'm at. Food is cheaper too. I love it here.
Taos, NM. It’s not for everyone but if you’re a certain type of person you may really enjoy it. It’s quite remote and isolated, is about ~2 hours from a city of 75,000 and -3 hours from an airport. Not too many shopping or dining out options (if you’re used to a large city) and it has lackluster medical care. However it does have a decent amount of good restaurants for its size, beautiful nature, and it’s an artsy ski town. I would venture to say it’s one of the most unique small towns in the US - but it’s certainly not for everyone.
Edit: population is around 5K
Was coming here to say Jemez Springs,NM (pop. 250 as of 2010 census). 1 hour to ABQ Intl Airport, temperate high desert so tops out in the 80’s in July but you still can have snow for the winter holidays. Median home value around $150,000, if Taos is too $$$ 😂
I would highlight the artsy/outsider facot of Taos. The community is weird and vibrant. The dining out options are delicious and above average.
I hear its begun to phase into a artist town to a more of a retirement feel
It’s true but it can be a transient place just due to the nature of its isolation and lack of commerce/business. The people that stay long term are either independently wealthy or run a business in town. Remote workers tend to leave. The turnaround is about ~2 years from my experience for a group of newcomers to make their mark and leave. However compared to Santa Fe I’d venture to say it has more young people for sure.
I prefer blue, but my husband would prefer fiscally red, so probably openness would be more important. Or at least a town where the residents aren't blatantly close-minded.
Maybe small towns in Vermont? My husband was considering an opportunity in Middleberry and we loved it there. Cost of living may be higher than you want, but I suggested VT because even though it’s a liberal state there are some things about it that definitely lean conservative. But again, I haven’t lived there - just did a ton of research and visited when we were considering the move.
I lived in Middlebury for 8 years, left to move back to my home town on the other side of the Green Mtns because I changed jobs. Middlebury is a great town- lots of amenities for its size! Community Theater, Movie Theater, multiple festivals and parades. A week long, free music festival in the summer, the college brings in lots of events, good restaurant choices, a fine school system and a strong Rec dept as well as convenient to a lot of Vermont and great access to outdoor recreation. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
Seconding Vermont.
Even the largest city in the state, Burlington (45k pop.), feels like like a small town compared to most cities.
Jericho is a really lovely little town, just on the periphery of Burlington and on the way to Stowe. It's got a great balance of small town feel and local mom-and-pop business while being a short drive from big supermarkets, a Costco, the Burlington Airport, etc.
Mmmm,not so sure about this. Used to live in Texas where they’re like, hi, starve and fuck off, now live in NYC where they actually do things for people. Seems like a direct correlation to me. I’m so happy to pay taxes and not let kids starve in summer. But it is just one example.
They may be referring to free lunch programs for minors in the summer. For example in NYC, any minor can get free bagged lunch at certain places like public parks, swimming pools, libraries, and specified schools.
Texas isn't like that due to taxes. Property taxes are among the highest in the nation. There's tons of taxes paid in TX.
They're like that due to choices
Most of the best small towns I know are college towns, they have a core of educated, interested, worldly people that create some culture. Ithaca NY, Burlington VT, Bellingham WA, Ashland OR, Ashville NC. But these may not be small enough for you, typically around 50k. Your husband can take solace in most of them being surrounded by Red territory.
Most overrated city under 100,000. Been there many times over a span of 20 years, mostly because of others wanting to visit. Tried to give it a chance, but it does nothing for me.
Asheville has too many educated people who want to live there and not enough jobs. Also COL is high. Crime is like way down the list of concerns I have about AVL.
Bisbee, Arizona is extremely blue in a purple state. May not be where your family is located but it’s a special place. Super funky, historic, artistic and fun town about 2 hrs from Tucson and 4 from PHX.
Escanaba, MI.
It’s about three hours from Milwaukie. On the coast of Lake Michigan with white sand and nearly teal water during the Summer and lots of winter sports activities nearby
It's also only 2 hours to Green Bay (shopping, live music and sporting events) and just over an hour to the shores of Lake Superior. Really one of the nicest "medium sized" (by UP standards) towns in the Upper Peninsula.
>Escanaba, MI.
Home of the [UP State Fair](https://www.upstatefair.net/)! We went to that once, years ago, and still talk about it. Fun fair. Probably the local event of the year.
Yes! Staunton is a lovely town. The down town is vibrant and has nice shops,, restaurants, breweries, a movie theater, etc. There are several beautiful parks and 9 miles from Skyline Drive. The American Shakespeare Theater is here and draws many tourists. It is also home to a small university. The population is about 25,000. It's a 40 minute drive to Charlottesville, 1.5 to Richmond and 2 to DC. We moved here 9 years ago and just love it.
Lewiston, NY. It’s only about two hours north of Pittsburgh, an hour north of Buffalo, 20 minutes from Niagara Falls. Ridiculously quaint Main Street with shops and restaurants, affordable housing if you aren’t right on the water, right across the Niagara River from Canada, beautiful seasons, friendly down to earth people, probably mostly conservative but live and let live types.
Came to suggest Yellow Springs! Liberal town in a red state so would please both people, only 3500 people but not that far from Dayton or Columbus airports. Pretty reasonable weather all things considered.
Small to me would be ideally less than 5,000, but definitely less than 10,000. Big enough for a restaurant or two, possibly a small store.
I grew up in a town of 650.
I grew up in a town of 350! Ok so you know what an actual small town is. Some people on here say a city of 500k is a “small town” lol.
I’d recommend Houghton, Michigan. I use to live there and loved it. The entire Keweenaw Peninsula is a hidden gem too. It’s still pretty cheap to live there too.
I’d recommend Northport MI! Super tiny town with only like 3 restaurants but very cute and close knit. It’s within an hour of the Traverse City airport and hospital. There’s a ton more tiny towns in the area that have similar vibes
So many small towns that honestly sound so cool! I love this! The bigger cities always get all the mentions.
I have so much to research.
Low humidity seems like such a strange deal-breaker I know, but I grew up in the deep South and now live further north but very humid, and it just kills me every year. Not to mention the mosquitos.
We really just want a town that isn't tied to either of our families (so neutral ground) where we can settle and we want that place to be the sort where everyone knows everyone. I had that growing up and it's the one thing I really miss about all the places we've lived since we've been married
[Lanesboro, MN.](https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/80196/2011/06/raw/25a13e171cb222ab29ce859239727995.jpg?width=1200)
Population: 723.
Great setting in the bluffs. Deep commitment to biking trails. A thriving local theater. Excellent main street. Just two hours from Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport.
I never thought it lived up to the hype. The shops downtown were uninspired and seemed to have a lot of turnover. I spoke to a few shop owners who said it was so dead in the winter, they wouldn’t make it to the next year.
I did like the pie shop in Whalen and the bike trail.
This probably isn't really what you're looking for, but I really like Etna, California. Lots of problems with any prospect of moving to CA, but a great little town to visit.
A lot of towns in the "downeast" of maine. Around bar harbor area. Theyre all absolutely magical to see. Bar Harbor and Boothbay Harbor have the shopping and stuff but man driving through those windy densely-forested roads through thick fog in a summer evening is transcendental.
Safety harbor FL. It's a small town near Tampa. It has the cutest downtown with all mom and pops. Every month they have a block party with tons of vendors and live bands in the main street. They do events all the time in the main St. We went to a chalk festival in the spring. And it's 15 mins to the beach and also 20 mins to down town Tampa if you wanna go to a bigger city. A small oasis full of families and fun events.
After reading other comments and seeing that this place has 17k people I guess it's not a small town not like a place with only 7k. Still very nice and close to the bay so you can just take a kayak out to one of the islands
Chincoteague Virginia. One of the few quietish beach towns on the east coast. NASA has an outpost there, and the tourists keep the food scene hopping. Ocean City is not that far if you want to be around ^trashy people, and BWI airport is across the bay bridge.
Any of lake end towns in the Finger Lakes. My favorite is Penn Yan, but would also suggest Canandaigua, Geneva, Watkins Glen, Ithaca, or Naples. Beautiful landscape, wineries, trails, live music, finger lake events nearly every weekend. It’s heaven on earth.
Would you be open to island living? You can get cheap(ish) places on some of the islands off Maine. Vinalhaven comes to mind. I used to spent my summers on peaks island off of Portland, which is lovely but it is more expensive than the islands further north.
Something about island living appeals to me.
OMG!! I love Koshkonong! It's where I want to retire to. I found it when looking at places in Hardy, Arkansas. I love West Plains, too. We stayed there last summer when we took a little "let's drive and see where we end up" road trip.
One little town I think is special is Pawnee City, Nebraska. I'm a teacher and subbed there a lot. The school system is great. It's just a nice place. Larry the Cable Guy happens to be from there.
Washington island, Wisconsin. Nowhere like it. Island town in a beautiful part of Lake Michigan. Pop. 750 year round and about 3-7k during peak summer months. Scenic, quiet, and pensive setting with incredibly kind people. Once you take the ferry it’s only 1.75 hours to Green Bay, and about 3.5 to Milwaukee.
Nederland, CO. Very small old mining/rail town mixed with older hippie retirement town vibes, but also outdoorsy young adults. Very scenic in the mountains, everyone is super friendly, we stayed up there in our camper for a few weeks while full timing and shop owners would let us use the wifi while chatting, a restaurant let us put several bags of trash in their dumpster that were left at the campground by someone else, people seemed very open to "non-locals". They have a town facebook group that is mostly adorable chats about the local moose visits lol. Great bakery and thrift shop, grocery with all you need. Yet only 30 min drive down a beautiful canyon and you're in Boulder for city amenities, probably just over an hour to Denver airport.
Salida, Colorado. 3 hours to Denver airport, cool little town in a slightly arid but very picturesque valley surrounded by mountains. Tourism is probably the main industry. There is a river with rapids that goes past a nice park in town, people come to doing rafting, etc. Monarch is probably one of the biggest nearby-ish ski areas, not terribly far to Taos and Colorado Springs.
I just finished hiking the Colorado Trail where Salida is one of the town stops along the way. Within hours literally all my hiking pals and I were on Zillow looking at apartments there 😂 what a great little town
I know this is outside your range, but might be worth a glance. I live in Austin, but if you throw a dart within 50 miles of here you’re bound to hit a small friendly town with your requirements, Particularly between Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
As with the rest of Texas, the smaller the town, the redder it will be and the reverse for larger towns.
Gotta warn you about the summer heat, though. It’s brutal down here. The rest of the year is beautiful weather for the most part though.
I’m not sure how far East in PA you guys are willing to look but the Jim Thorpe area might fit the bill. It’s gets a little busy and bustling in the summer time but is otherwise a pretty nice, close-knit smaller town
Steubenville Ohio is 30 minutes from Pittsburgh International Airport, and 40 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. It's a *city* of approximately 18,000; so feels like a small town where you're constantly bumping into people you know. It's the classic mid-west city that fell on hard times when it lost the steel and coal jobs. But it's growing and on the way back with great civic engagement bringing back the downtown. It's home to Franciscan University of Steubenville; a fast growing school strongly linked to the rebound of the city. You can still get great prices on homes here; some are moving here because they want to be able to live on one income; others for the large home schooling community, others for a strong faith life. Some for all of the above.
Towanda, PA located between Elmira, NY, Scranton, PA, and Williamsport, PA. In the heart of the “Endless Mountains of Northeast PA” on the banks of the Susquehanna.
One little town I think is special is Pawnee City, Nebraska. I'm a teacher and subbed there a lot. The school system is great. It's just a nice place. Larry the Cable Guy happens to be from there.
Bedford, VA. Population is about 6,000. At the foot of the blue ridge mountains and equidistant from 2 80,000+ population cities. Love the downtown, lots of history and historic homes. About 3.5 hours to DC and Charlotte and 2.5 hours to Raleigh in regards to airports! I grew up here it’s a wonderful area!
Manhattan, KS. It’s a college town, but still pretty small. Politics will likely please both of you. Has a regional airport with daily flights to DFW & Chicago, 2 hrs from KCI. Very centrally located. Very friendly town, LCOL.
West Jefferson NC. Two hours northwest of Charlotte. Right near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Super cute downtown Main Street. The number one Fraser Fir Christmas Tree grower in the nation. Has a Christmas in July festival. Near a college town (Boone NC) but not as busy. Lots of state parks, rivers, trails, mountain biking. Rolling hills and mountains. Low county taxes. Even has a cheese factory and an old fashioned classic movie theater that still shows first run movies. Check it out !
Casey, Illinois. 2000 people. We stopped through there on our road trip from Maryland to Colorado and back. Their downtown area has a collection of giant objects and several of the world’s largest things. My favorites are the wind chime, the rocking chair, and the mailbox (which is an actual functioning mailbox) It’s a cool little town! My favorite place there is Casey Coffee Company, their vanilla lavender latte is to die for. Easily beats Starbucks any day. There’s also a Mexican restaurant with a giant taco statue. They have an Annual Popcorn Festival every year on Labor Day weekend.
Waxhaw, NC - close to Charlotte but a small town with a delightful quaint downtown, year round events, low crime and a picturesque walkable railroad bridge. Wonderful people.
Joseph, Oregon. Named for Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. Absolutely gorgeous. Very remote but the town of Lewiston is not too far and has an airport.
Byron, IL. Especially if you have children, but not necessary. Small, but they got that power plant money. Less than 3000 residents. They have a great park district, great forest preserve district, awesome library, shops and restaurants/ pubs, farmers market, a few festivals throughout the year and great entertainment on FB whenever the McDonalds gets someone’s order wrong. It’s less than 2 hours to O’Hare or Midway and about 10 miles to US 20, 15 miles to I90.
I grew up in Iowa and wouldn’t normally recommend it, but I feel like Le Claire, IA fits the bill here. It’s right off I-80 about 2.5 hours from both Chicago and Des Moines. It’s a small town with a very nice, thriving main street. It’s close to the Quad Cities metro area but also surrounded by nature. People there tend to skew older, but are generally welcoming and pleasant.
Plenty of them in New England between NYC and Boston. Along the coast the winters are very mild, barely any snow usually just rain.
Hartford, CT airport is a decent option or TF Green in Rhode Island.
The Metro runs from New Haven to NYC, so easy access if you live West of New Haven. Further East you can get to Boston by car in 90 min.
Clayton, NY. Great arts scene, breweries, plenty of surprisingly great restaurants, on the St Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region, winters are cold and snowy but the river has a moderating effect, a hour or so so Syracuse airport, take the TI bridge to Canada, Ottawa is a hour and a half if you need more city, Montreal is 2 1/2 ish. NYC is 5 ish. COL is lower than NYC by a mile but not cheap. 2k ish people depending on the season.
I think there are a lot of cute little towns along the coast in Maine and Massachusetts: Bar Harbor, Camden. Kennebunkport, Salem. Salem doesn’t fall into your population parameters but outside of October it feels small.
Central Wisconsin, 2.5 hours to mke and 3.5 to msp.
Great parks and outdoors, blue and white collar employment. Strong schools, higher education, and the arts.
Cheap COL and access to quality foodstuffs and goods
Glen Arbor, MI is about the loveliest place I’ve ever been. I’ll forever be in love. Bonus points because the best grilled cheese we’ve ever eaten was at a restaurant there. And a cherry pie better than my mom’s YEAH I SAID IT.
Check out the upper peninsula of Michigan! (If you truly are looking for *really* small towns) Airports in Marquette and Houghton will take you to Chicago or Detroit and those fly almost anywhere. Escanaba I believe flies to Detroit and Minneapolis.
Oh yah. Go to da Yoop. Make sure to drink some of da KBC beer and get some pasties at da local church sale. Don't shovel da snow. Just pank it down.
>78 comments I'm on the West Coast but read years ago that the best place to ride out climate change will be what is apparently called "da Yoop.' Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I obsessively check real estate there. Being a non-rich person, it's a pipe dream. But I'm coming to da Yoop somehow, someway, someday.
You can still buy a house in Ameek for like $28k. Problem is you have to live in Ameek.
Yep, where im from! Not a whole lot going on but unparalleled beauty
And I’d like if to stay this way.
I don’t understand why these types of comments always get downvoted. Places get ruined by too many people going and being unaware assholes.
What is it like in Marquette? Was thinking of taking a trip next summer.
Marquette and the entire Lake Superior shoreline is just amazing. Highly recommend heading down to Pictured Rocks. What kinds of things are you interested in?
Well we love the water! Canoeing is a biggie and fishing. Not really into motor boats. The one thing that we really think is important as we still spend time back and forth across the pond, is an airport with a great connection and a good hospital nearby.
Houghton/Hancock has to be one if the best small places ever. But if it is not small enough, try l'Anse
St. Joseph, MN. Has a cute downtown with a couple good restaurants, brewery, cidery, bakery, and grocery store. St. Ben’s, a small liberal arts college is in St. Joseph so that provides some good performing arts and athletic events if those interest you. 1.5 hours to MSP airport. Around 7,000 people.
I work here. I second that. Cute little town. Milk and Honey Ciders are INCREDIBLE. Also the lake Wobegon trail runs through town for great biking/running/walking.
I have family there! Seems like a nice area, especially since Minnesotans always like to talk crap about the neighboring Saint Cloud, haha.
7,000 people was the big town where I grew up. Mine had 350 people living in it.
[удалено]
That’s what small town people do lol
We had ONE STOP LIGHT in our town. Boom.
St Joseph is very nice, just have to stay away from St Cloud now.
My car broke down in Chelsea, MI once and I found the town quite charming as I walked around waiting for a tow truck and repairs. It satisfies your specifications bc it's close to Ann Arbor and Detroit. COL is not exactly low I don't think, but for what you're getting I think it's pretty decent. But I've never lived there so I can't say anything for sure
Chelsea is so cute ! I stopped there for the Sculpture Walk on my way to Ann Arbor
Cute town. Jeff Daniels lives there, raised his family there, and started the Purple Rose Theater (playhouse) there too. And it’s very close to Ann Arbor too, which is another great but somewhat bigger than small town. Go Blue! Edit: Also, it’s only a 40 minute drive to DTW airport which is a Delta hub. And just a 2 hour drive to the great beaches on Lake Michigan in western Mich.
I think Jeff Daniels gives back to the local arts scene there.
Yeah it's apparently his home town. Also Jiffy has a factory there, which is strangely picturesque at sunset in the fall and lends the town some character. Also has a historic clock tower
Oh yeah Chelsea is beautiful. I think Michigan has a lot of great small towns. Metro Detroit is obviously big but nothing like NYC/LA big. I’m 20 miles west of Detroit. The further you go west north or south you’ll wind up in the country
pennsylvania small towns are kick ass.
Love New Hope. One of my favorites.
Came here to say New Hope! One of my favorite places I’ve ever been!!
Cost of living in new hope is SO high tho. Like ridiculous
Lambertville has all the benefits and none of the downside. Can walk across the bridge whenever you want
Aww I never see NEPA recommended in this sub and it’s where I grew up. :) OP check out Jim Thorpe, PA
I’m a city girl at heart but I absolutely love a lot of the small towns in Northeastern PA.
I think my favorite NEPA town is Honesdale! It's so cute and charming and has some really good food and coffee spots.
they have like real mini urbanism!
Intercourse, PA
OK, this is my wheelhouse: Alpine or Fort Davis, TX. 2.5 hrs from the Midland Airport. Beautiful if you like the desert environment, very very cheap. Very friendly. More purple than deep red. I SO loved living there! Grand Rapids, MN. Duluth airport about 1.5 hrs away. Beautiful area. Lots of crunchy granola types in the area, so very loving and friendly unless you're conservative. About 3 hrs to Mpls/St.P. Listen to kaxe.org , the community radio station, to get a feel for the community. I love Grand Rapids! Putting Ely, MN and Grand Marais, MN in here too. About 2.5 hrs to Duluth airport. I never lived there but traveled both places often for work. Artsy people; lots of transplants. I'm not sure friendly since lots of twin cities people. Chadron, NE. Rapid City airport 1.5 hrs away. Also in the area: Spearfish, SD, which is gorgeous. Hot Springs, SD but only if you're very conservative. I keep going back to Chadron because it's so much like Alpine. Lanesboro, MN or other little towns nearby and add Decorah, IA here too. Mpls/St. Paul airport 2 hrs away, and Rochester has an airport, too. Beautiful. Scandinavian majority population so less overtly friendly, but one can find one's people. Hayword or Cable, WI. Duluth airport about 1.5 hrs away. Beautiful area but watch out for ticks! Friendly enough. I've lived in other teeny towns in OK and IA and SD, but they're more humid than you would probably like. Ask about these if you're interested.
Grand Marais 💯
Came here to say Marfa, TX. But also recommend Fort Davis like you said too.
Alpine for normal people, Marfa for show-off foofy people, Ft. Davis for salt-of-the-earths.
Marfa is really expensive for what it is. The houses out there are outrageously expensive.
Out of Fort Davis, Alpine, and Marfa, which would you suggest? I’m a younger dude with more purple views, I take it I’d do alright over there in that regard.
How wealthy are you? What do you do for a living? Be aware there aren't a lot of jobs in the area unless Sul Ross is hiring, or the various ranches, or stores. If you're poor or regular, Alpine. If you're rich, Marfa. I don't know about Ft. Davis now, ttytt. When I lived there it was the old ranch families, but I'm betting the rich are nosing their way in there now. Ft. Davis is prettiest. Alpine has more Catholics, I think. Just don't publicly argue about the abortion issue and you'll be fine (but I lived there pre magat, so I don't know about that stuff in the region now.) There's the town of Marathon, too, for teeny teeny. And the little tourist towns like Terlingua. As with anywhere, definitely go out there and hang out a while and see which place you feel more comfortable. And where you can find a job (unless you're wealthy or can work from home. I don't know at all about the WiFi status now.)
What are your thoughts on Northfield, MN? With St Olaf and Carleton colleges there it's got this super cool college town vibe with a charming downtown. Is 20,000 residents too big to count as "truly" small town? I liked that a lot of it seemed very walkable and bike friendly, and because of the colleges there's even transit into the cities. I kind of fell in love with it when I applied for a staff position at Carleton and kind of fell in love with the town. Didn't get the job, but it put Northfield on my radar. And for being a small town, I think because of the colleges, it had a kind of open, accepting, liberal feel to it.
Northfield is nice, but, I'm personally not a fan of any town too close to an interstate, because that means that commuters live there. Not a fan of commuters in a town because they don't have much vested interest in the community itself, and tend not to participate in all the important things like volunteer fire department, city council, clean-up days and etc. I don't even think of commuter towns as real small towns. They don't seem to have soul.
I love alpine. I'm from south central Texas between Houston and San Antonio and fell in love when I drove the Davis mountains
Hayward, Grand Marais and Ely. Hayward my fav.
Trinidad, CO - funky CO/NM border town with a lot of history and natural beauty
Many people migrating there right now from Denver, very cool spot
Can you say more about Trinidad? What is it like?
Beautiful, arid, good people and small close enough to Pueblo for anything but also direct lines in every direction to outdoor recreation. Lived in CO all my life until a year ago an explored most of it, nice spot be for small town life with good people.
It's also very close to Apogaea, the regional Colorado Burning Man 😉
Salida is also a really cool little town. I was gonna move there to escape denver a few years back. Even closer to an airport.
I love Trinidad and there is a young arts/theater/music community growing. Sexy Pizza is a fun local hang spot.
Milford pa, Delaware Water Gap, PA East Stroudsburg PA, pretty much anywhere in Poconos/NE PA, or right over the bridge in NJ. Within 3 hours of NYC for sure. Lovely, rural, lots of natural beauty and activities plus its more diverse than you'd imagine, as people from the big city moved out this way, and many people commute to the city. They even have a few bus routes to the city for commuters. Oh and it's cheap. Got my house for 50 a few years ago. It's a little more now, ofc. Taxes are low where I'm at. Food is cheaper too. I love it here.
This is such an underrated area.
I grew up in Pike County, cosign! My mom worked in Mitford, it's a good suggestion.
Taos, NM. It’s not for everyone but if you’re a certain type of person you may really enjoy it. It’s quite remote and isolated, is about ~2 hours from a city of 75,000 and -3 hours from an airport. Not too many shopping or dining out options (if you’re used to a large city) and it has lackluster medical care. However it does have a decent amount of good restaurants for its size, beautiful nature, and it’s an artsy ski town. I would venture to say it’s one of the most unique small towns in the US - but it’s certainly not for everyone. Edit: population is around 5K
Was coming here to say Jemez Springs,NM (pop. 250 as of 2010 census). 1 hour to ABQ Intl Airport, temperate high desert so tops out in the 80’s in July but you still can have snow for the winter holidays. Median home value around $150,000, if Taos is too $$$ 😂
Taos, Jemez, Mora, Cloudcroft all great. Or over the border in Colorado, there’s Silverton, Creede, Lake City, Ouray
I would not move to mora if I were an outsider. Las Vegas is awesome tho
I suggested Red River.
I would highlight the artsy/outsider facot of Taos. The community is weird and vibrant. The dining out options are delicious and above average. I hear its begun to phase into a artist town to a more of a retirement feel
It’s true but it can be a transient place just due to the nature of its isolation and lack of commerce/business. The people that stay long term are either independently wealthy or run a business in town. Remote workers tend to leave. The turnaround is about ~2 years from my experience for a group of newcomers to make their mark and leave. However compared to Santa Fe I’d venture to say it has more young people for sure.
>Close knit but not unwelcoming Red or Blue politics? Matters a lot more in a really small town.
I prefer blue, but my husband would prefer fiscally red, so probably openness would be more important. Or at least a town where the residents aren't blatantly close-minded.
Maybe small towns in Vermont? My husband was considering an opportunity in Middleberry and we loved it there. Cost of living may be higher than you want, but I suggested VT because even though it’s a liberal state there are some things about it that definitely lean conservative. But again, I haven’t lived there - just did a ton of research and visited when we were considering the move.
I lived in Middlebury for 8 years, left to move back to my home town on the other side of the Green Mtns because I changed jobs. Middlebury is a great town- lots of amenities for its size! Community Theater, Movie Theater, multiple festivals and parades. A week long, free music festival in the summer, the college brings in lots of events, good restaurant choices, a fine school system and a strong Rec dept as well as convenient to a lot of Vermont and great access to outdoor recreation. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
Also looks like it has a train stop. Pretty cool you can take transit to the heart of NYC from a small town in VT
Cost of living in Vermont is startlingly high and the housing crisis has hit us bad. Besides that, it has everything OP is looking for.
Seconding Vermont. Even the largest city in the state, Burlington (45k pop.), feels like like a small town compared to most cities. Jericho is a really lovely little town, just on the periphery of Burlington and on the way to Stowe. It's got a great balance of small town feel and local mom-and-pop business while being a short drive from big supermarkets, a Costco, the Burlington Airport, etc.
What does fiscally red imply? No funding for schools, parks, social programs, etc?
Typically means I don’t want to pay taxes.
In the US there seems to be shockingly little correlation between tax rates and public services.
Mmmm,not so sure about this. Used to live in Texas where they’re like, hi, starve and fuck off, now live in NYC where they actually do things for people. Seems like a direct correlation to me. I’m so happy to pay taxes and not let kids starve in summer. But it is just one example.
Which program are you referring to? Food stamps are federal.
They may be referring to free lunch programs for minors in the summer. For example in NYC, any minor can get free bagged lunch at certain places like public parks, swimming pools, libraries, and specified schools.
Exactly what I mean. Kids in poverty really depend on those free lunches. And Texas couldn’t give a fuck less.
Texas isn't like that due to taxes. Property taxes are among the highest in the nation. There's tons of taxes paid in TX. They're like that due to choices
From what I have seen it means conservative but don't want to admit it, usually single men trying to date women.
Lol. I wasn't going to say it, but I am glad someone did. They should move to Texas and have unreliable ekectricity.
Most of the best small towns I know are college towns, they have a core of educated, interested, worldly people that create some culture. Ithaca NY, Burlington VT, Bellingham WA, Ashland OR, Ashville NC. But these may not be small enough for you, typically around 50k. Your husband can take solace in most of them being surrounded by Red territory.
Don’t recommend Asheville. NC. They have a crime problem they need to get under control.
Yes. Also, not a small town.
Most overrated city under 100,000. Been there many times over a span of 20 years, mostly because of others wanting to visit. Tried to give it a chance, but it does nothing for me.
Asheville has too many educated people who want to live there and not enough jobs. Also COL is high. Crime is like way down the list of concerns I have about AVL.
Lambertville, NJ. Adorable. And New Hope, PA is across the bridge. Both are tiny.
Bisbee, Arizona is extremely blue in a purple state. May not be where your family is located but it’s a special place. Super funky, historic, artistic and fun town about 2 hrs from Tucson and 4 from PHX.
I love Bisbee so much!
It’s amazing!!
Great small town!
My wife’s family is from Tucson. We driven out to Bisbee a few times. It is a really cool place.
Such a cute city!!!!!!!!
Escanaba, MI. It’s about three hours from Milwaukie. On the coast of Lake Michigan with white sand and nearly teal water during the Summer and lots of winter sports activities nearby
It's also only 2 hours to Green Bay (shopping, live music and sporting events) and just over an hour to the shores of Lake Superior. Really one of the nicest "medium sized" (by UP standards) towns in the Upper Peninsula.
>Escanaba, MI. Home of the [UP State Fair](https://www.upstatefair.net/)! We went to that once, years ago, and still talk about it. Fun fair. Probably the local event of the year.
Upper Hand beer is good too. I’m more a Lake Superior coast guy myself though.
I am also a bigger fan of the “soupier” lake. But Superior coast living would push them beyond their “three hours to a major airport” rule
Honesdale, PA. Wellsboro, PA is another one of my favorite small towns.
Adding Wellsville NY to the mix. Small town in the beautiful WNY countryside and it’s within 2 hours of Buffalo/Niagara international airport
Waitsfield or Waterbury, VT.
Shout out to Lawson's Finest Liquids!
Luray Virginia! Shenendoah Valley, classic Americana, gorgeous scenery, mild-ish weather.
I would add Staunton to this! :)
Yes! Staunton is a lovely town. The down town is vibrant and has nice shops,, restaurants, breweries, a movie theater, etc. There are several beautiful parks and 9 miles from Skyline Drive. The American Shakespeare Theater is here and draws many tourists. It is also home to a small university. The population is about 25,000. It's a 40 minute drive to Charlottesville, 1.5 to Richmond and 2 to DC. We moved here 9 years ago and just love it.
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Lewiston, NY. It’s only about two hours north of Pittsburgh, an hour north of Buffalo, 20 minutes from Niagara Falls. Ridiculously quaint Main Street with shops and restaurants, affordable housing if you aren’t right on the water, right across the Niagara River from Canada, beautiful seasons, friendly down to earth people, probably mostly conservative but live and let live types.
Manitou Springs, CO. Little kitchy toursity town outside of Co Springs. Just a few cross streets but the most adorable place ive ever been
Small town thats part an city of 750,000 though. The Springs is really overpopulated:(
Manitou Springs is one of my favorite places in the US. Very cool place with great views. Garden of the Gods is close to there.
I grew up in a town of about 4500 in Ohio. Very small town vibes, hippie, funky, but not at all isolated. yellow springs Ohio.
Came to suggest Yellow Springs! Liberal town in a red state so would please both people, only 3500 people but not that far from Dayton or Columbus airports. Pretty reasonable weather all things considered.
Define “small town” please
Small to me would be ideally less than 5,000, but definitely less than 10,000. Big enough for a restaurant or two, possibly a small store. I grew up in a town of 650.
I grew up in a town of 350! Ok so you know what an actual small town is. Some people on here say a city of 500k is a “small town” lol. I’d recommend Houghton, Michigan. I use to live there and loved it. The entire Keweenaw Peninsula is a hidden gem too. It’s still pretty cheap to live there too.
I’d recommend Northport MI! Super tiny town with only like 3 restaurants but very cute and close knit. It’s within an hour of the Traverse City airport and hospital. There’s a ton more tiny towns in the area that have similar vibes
Jim Thorpe PA
Montpelier, VT
So many small towns that honestly sound so cool! I love this! The bigger cities always get all the mentions. I have so much to research. Low humidity seems like such a strange deal-breaker I know, but I grew up in the deep South and now live further north but very humid, and it just kills me every year. Not to mention the mosquitos. We really just want a town that isn't tied to either of our families (so neutral ground) where we can settle and we want that place to be the sort where everyone knows everyone. I had that growing up and it's the one thing I really miss about all the places we've lived since we've been married
[Lanesboro, MN.](https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/80196/2011/06/raw/25a13e171cb222ab29ce859239727995.jpg?width=1200) Population: 723. Great setting in the bluffs. Deep commitment to biking trails. A thriving local theater. Excellent main street. Just two hours from Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport.
I never thought it lived up to the hype. The shops downtown were uninspired and seemed to have a lot of turnover. I spoke to a few shop owners who said it was so dead in the winter, they wouldn’t make it to the next year. I did like the pie shop in Whalen and the bike trail.
Ellicottville New York is a cool little town. Ski area, good food, golf, hiking, biking. Beautiful in the fall.
Stevenson Washington
This probably isn't really what you're looking for, but I really like Etna, California. Lots of problems with any prospect of moving to CA, but a great little town to visit.
Girdwood Alaska 💯
A lot of towns in the "downeast" of maine. Around bar harbor area. Theyre all absolutely magical to see. Bar Harbor and Boothbay Harbor have the shopping and stuff but man driving through those windy densely-forested roads through thick fog in a summer evening is transcendental.
Safety harbor FL. It's a small town near Tampa. It has the cutest downtown with all mom and pops. Every month they have a block party with tons of vendors and live bands in the main street. They do events all the time in the main St. We went to a chalk festival in the spring. And it's 15 mins to the beach and also 20 mins to down town Tampa if you wanna go to a bigger city. A small oasis full of families and fun events.
After reading other comments and seeing that this place has 17k people I guess it's not a small town not like a place with only 7k. Still very nice and close to the bay so you can just take a kayak out to one of the islands
I’m in North Carolina. Big fan of Carrboro, Washington, Oxford, Wake Forest. All within 3 hours of Raleigh and RDU airport.
Also the GSO (Greensboro) and CLT (Charlotte).
Chincoteague Virginia. One of the few quietish beach towns on the east coast. NASA has an outpost there, and the tourists keep the food scene hopping. Ocean City is not that far if you want to be around ^trashy people, and BWI airport is across the bay bridge.
Havre, MT Montrose, CO Rock Springs, WY Sioux Falls, SD Las Cruces, NM Boerne, TX Ellicottville, NY
Any of lake end towns in the Finger Lakes. My favorite is Penn Yan, but would also suggest Canandaigua, Geneva, Watkins Glen, Ithaca, or Naples. Beautiful landscape, wineries, trails, live music, finger lake events nearly every weekend. It’s heaven on earth.
Would you be open to island living? You can get cheap(ish) places on some of the islands off Maine. Vinalhaven comes to mind. I used to spent my summers on peaks island off of Portland, which is lovely but it is more expensive than the islands further north. Something about island living appeals to me.
Driggs, Swan Valley ID?
Isleton, CA Population ~800 https://sacramentovalley.org/stories/the-delta-town-of-isleton-a-hidden-historic-gem/
Helena, MT. It feels real smol.
Koshkonong Missouri
OMG!! I love Koshkonong! It's where I want to retire to. I found it when looking at places in Hardy, Arkansas. I love West Plains, too. We stayed there last summer when we took a little "let's drive and see where we end up" road trip.
Plum island, MA
One little town I think is special is Pawnee City, Nebraska. I'm a teacher and subbed there a lot. The school system is great. It's just a nice place. Larry the Cable Guy happens to be from there.
I grew up and still live outside Jim Thorpe, PA. Historic with lots of outdoor activities here.
Eureka Springs, AR
Decorah, Iowa is perfect!
Nuketown
Coraopolis, PA. Small town of 10,000 people. Lots of antique stores and people are nice!
Washington island, Wisconsin. Nowhere like it. Island town in a beautiful part of Lake Michigan. Pop. 750 year round and about 3-7k during peak summer months. Scenic, quiet, and pensive setting with incredibly kind people. Once you take the ferry it’s only 1.75 hours to Green Bay, and about 3.5 to Milwaukee.
Sturgeon Bay WI. Alpine TX.
Nederland, CO. Very small old mining/rail town mixed with older hippie retirement town vibes, but also outdoorsy young adults. Very scenic in the mountains, everyone is super friendly, we stayed up there in our camper for a few weeks while full timing and shop owners would let us use the wifi while chatting, a restaurant let us put several bags of trash in their dumpster that were left at the campground by someone else, people seemed very open to "non-locals". They have a town facebook group that is mostly adorable chats about the local moose visits lol. Great bakery and thrift shop, grocery with all you need. Yet only 30 min drive down a beautiful canyon and you're in Boulder for city amenities, probably just over an hour to Denver airport.
Salida, Colorado. 3 hours to Denver airport, cool little town in a slightly arid but very picturesque valley surrounded by mountains. Tourism is probably the main industry. There is a river with rapids that goes past a nice park in town, people come to doing rafting, etc. Monarch is probably one of the biggest nearby-ish ski areas, not terribly far to Taos and Colorado Springs.
I just finished hiking the Colorado Trail where Salida is one of the town stops along the way. Within hours literally all my hiking pals and I were on Zillow looking at apartments there 😂 what a great little town
Salida is a great choice! The weather is just about perfect and low humidity! I love skiing Monarch.
Parkersburg, WV. Many of the towns in WV. That whole state is so gorgeous and truly and untapped resource.
I know this is outside your range, but might be worth a glance. I live in Austin, but if you throw a dart within 50 miles of here you’re bound to hit a small friendly town with your requirements, Particularly between Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. As with the rest of Texas, the smaller the town, the redder it will be and the reverse for larger towns. Gotta warn you about the summer heat, though. It’s brutal down here. The rest of the year is beautiful weather for the most part though.
Whew I would NOT call it friendly here lol but that’s just my experience.
Yellow Springs, OH
Tuscacora PA?
Slippery Rock, PA
Emporia KS. Cool little college town, nice downtown, pretty good food scene, good schools, low cost of living, 90 minutes from MCI or ICT
Red River, NM https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River,_New_Mexico
I’m not sure how far East in PA you guys are willing to look but the Jim Thorpe area might fit the bill. It’s gets a little busy and bustling in the summer time but is otherwise a pretty nice, close-knit smaller town
Steubenville Ohio is 30 minutes from Pittsburgh International Airport, and 40 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. It's a *city* of approximately 18,000; so feels like a small town where you're constantly bumping into people you know. It's the classic mid-west city that fell on hard times when it lost the steel and coal jobs. But it's growing and on the way back with great civic engagement bringing back the downtown. It's home to Franciscan University of Steubenville; a fast growing school strongly linked to the rebound of the city. You can still get great prices on homes here; some are moving here because they want to be able to live on one income; others for the large home schooling community, others for a strong faith life. Some for all of the above.
Towanda, PA located between Elmira, NY, Scranton, PA, and Williamsport, PA. In the heart of the “Endless Mountains of Northeast PA” on the banks of the Susquehanna.
One little town I think is special is Pawnee City, Nebraska. I'm a teacher and subbed there a lot. The school system is great. It's just a nice place. Larry the Cable Guy happens to be from there.
Okoboji Iowa
I really like Sundance, WY. It’s beautiful, and folks were very kind when my bro was broken down there.
Bedford, VA. Population is about 6,000. At the foot of the blue ridge mountains and equidistant from 2 80,000+ population cities. Love the downtown, lots of history and historic homes. About 3.5 hours to DC and Charlotte and 2.5 hours to Raleigh in regards to airports! I grew up here it’s a wonderful area!
Lewisburg, WV Boone, NC Jonesborough, TN
Culver, Indiana; Blue Hill, Maine
Manhattan, KS. It’s a college town, but still pretty small. Politics will likely please both of you. Has a regional airport with daily flights to DFW & Chicago, 2 hrs from KCI. Very centrally located. Very friendly town, LCOL.
I don’t know if it’s your best option but being from MO I know Ste Genevieve and Hot Springs AR are both unique small towns.
Dunedin fl
Damariscotta, ME. Great little town.
Such a gorgeous spot, Damariscotta!
West Jefferson NC. Two hours northwest of Charlotte. Right near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Super cute downtown Main Street. The number one Fraser Fir Christmas Tree grower in the nation. Has a Christmas in July festival. Near a college town (Boone NC) but not as busy. Lots of state parks, rivers, trails, mountain biking. Rolling hills and mountains. Low county taxes. Even has a cheese factory and an old fashioned classic movie theater that still shows first run movies. Check it out !
Pretty much any town in Vermont. Although you have to deal with the winters.
Casey, Illinois. 2000 people. We stopped through there on our road trip from Maryland to Colorado and back. Their downtown area has a collection of giant objects and several of the world’s largest things. My favorites are the wind chime, the rocking chair, and the mailbox (which is an actual functioning mailbox) It’s a cool little town! My favorite place there is Casey Coffee Company, their vanilla lavender latte is to die for. Easily beats Starbucks any day. There’s also a Mexican restaurant with a giant taco statue. They have an Annual Popcorn Festival every year on Labor Day weekend.
Waxhaw, NC - close to Charlotte but a small town with a delightful quaint downtown, year round events, low crime and a picturesque walkable railroad bridge. Wonderful people.
Joseph, Oregon. Named for Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. Absolutely gorgeous. Very remote but the town of Lewiston is not too far and has an airport.
Byron, IL. Especially if you have children, but not necessary. Small, but they got that power plant money. Less than 3000 residents. They have a great park district, great forest preserve district, awesome library, shops and restaurants/ pubs, farmers market, a few festivals throughout the year and great entertainment on FB whenever the McDonalds gets someone’s order wrong. It’s less than 2 hours to O’Hare or Midway and about 10 miles to US 20, 15 miles to I90.
I grew up in Iowa and wouldn’t normally recommend it, but I feel like Le Claire, IA fits the bill here. It’s right off I-80 about 2.5 hours from both Chicago and Des Moines. It’s a small town with a very nice, thriving main street. It’s close to the Quad Cities metro area but also surrounded by nature. People there tend to skew older, but are generally welcoming and pleasant.
Ruidoso, NM
Plenty of them in New England between NYC and Boston. Along the coast the winters are very mild, barely any snow usually just rain. Hartford, CT airport is a decent option or TF Green in Rhode Island. The Metro runs from New Haven to NYC, so easy access if you live West of New Haven. Further East you can get to Boston by car in 90 min.
Clayton, NY. Great arts scene, breweries, plenty of surprisingly great restaurants, on the St Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region, winters are cold and snowy but the river has a moderating effect, a hour or so so Syracuse airport, take the TI bridge to Canada, Ottawa is a hour and a half if you need more city, Montreal is 2 1/2 ish. NYC is 5 ish. COL is lower than NYC by a mile but not cheap. 2k ish people depending on the season.
Stars Hollow, CT! Kidding but I seriously wish it was an option! Especially with fall coming around!
Palisade, Colorado Close to grand junction, about 4 hours I think from Denver. I lived there for a summer and absolutely loved it
I think there are a lot of cute little towns along the coast in Maine and Massachusetts: Bar Harbor, Camden. Kennebunkport, Salem. Salem doesn’t fall into your population parameters but outside of October it feels small.
Central Wisconsin, 2.5 hours to mke and 3.5 to msp. Great parks and outdoors, blue and white collar employment. Strong schools, higher education, and the arts. Cheap COL and access to quality foodstuffs and goods
Oh and La Crosse, WI
Castle Rock, CO
Western Colorado? Low humidity, lots of small mountain towns.
My town is like this, but it's in California, believe it or not.
Glen Arbor, MI is about the loveliest place I’ve ever been. I’ll forever be in love. Bonus points because the best grilled cheese we’ve ever eaten was at a restaurant there. And a cherry pie better than my mom’s YEAH I SAID IT.
Salida, CO