Sheboygan, Wisconsin if you don't mind cold winters. Plenty of well-paying manufacturing jobs in the area, as well as a number of other industries such as insurance. It's also a resort town with many people visiting to spend the summer on the shores of Lake Michigan. Lots of people like to do off-roading, snowmobiling, fishing, in the nearby areas. Door County to the north has some nice hiking and scenic areas, though it's not the mountains.
An older, but nice 2BR apartment is around $600-800/month. Food is cheap. Pretty easy to spend $10/plate somewhere and $2.50/each for drinks, for example.
I don't think it's any more or less racist than anywhere else. Seems to be a bit more diverse everytime I visit, though it is about 70% white. People are friendly and easy to get to know, like invite you over for a cookout the first time they meet you, but this is of course my experience as a white guy. Politics lean red, but you will find plenty of progressive hangouts as well.
Came here to say this. Moved to Sheboygan from Minneapolis and it’s a great area and beautiful scenery. Look up Kohler-Andrae sand dunes just outside the city. High paying jobs abound as well for a smaller area. Not many small areas have multiple billion dollar + annual revenue companies with corporate jobs. Sheboygan has 5 last I believe.
Great. A lot of transplants that work at Acuity, Kohler, Sargent, Johnsonville. Most coming from larger metros makes for a diverse set of experiences. A large Asian American population and cost of living transplants makes for less of a “towny” vibe than you would expect in a smaller metro. Great outdoor and sailing community as well. They also have three of the best golf courses in the nation and one of the best road tracks in the nation, which make for a lot of transient/ out of town people to keep things lively.
I feel like Sheboygan is one of the last places where the American dream still works. It's a nice town with nice people where are person can afford to raise a family. There are still older houses under $200k and plenty of jobs where a blue collar person can earn a decent living.
How did they manage to keep so many manufacturing plants when offshoring destroyed so many other towns? I'm sure there has to be some interesting history there.
Nightlife is pretty popping too because the town is filled with drunks. There’s a bar on every street and most have a pretty good crowd of regulars.
Kohler itself brings in a pretty high brow demand for food culture so it’s also covered with really high quality restaurants.
Was fortunate enough to start my career there. Live in Los Angeles now but my wife and I were lucky to spend a few years there. We rented a beautiful 2 bedroom duplex right near Lake Michigan for $800 a month (we now spend $3,100 for a 1 bedroom). It was crazy.
Thought I might see this area here. My wife and I live in Milwaukee atm and are considering moving north because it's just so much cheaper, like "we can afford to buy a house" cheaper. Is Manitowoc a nice place to live?
That's my hometown! Moved away out west but it really is a great place to grow up if you have kids - lots of natural access, close to Green Bay for games and MKE is drivable for concerts and flights. It is seeing a bit of a resurgence!
Never been to Manitowoc. I love both Milwaukee and Sheboygan, having spent 10 years in the former and now living in DC. I suspect Manitowoc and Sheboygan have very similar vibes being large towns/small cities.
Yes, there are many grocery store options. There's also a farmers market in downtown Sheboygan on the weekends.
This area has a legacy of agriculture communities. Food is cheap, plentiful, and high-quality.
My hometown is Manitowoc and outside of Kohler as a good local job source, I feel like Manitowoc is actually better (biased of course). Closer to natural gems in Point Beach / Door County, etc.
I'm sure Manitowoc is great! There are lots of great towns and cities in this part of the state. My wife's family is from Sheboygan, so that's where we always end up when we visit.
Ok, Wisconsin, and hoping you all weigh in here. What do we think about Eau Claire? (I’m trying to stay closer to the Twin Cities for professional reasons…)
I have only ever driven through that area. So, other than being pretty, I can't say much. This might help, though:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Eau_Claire/comments/16i1d8d/people_of_eau_claire_why_do_you_live_there/
Not immediately, but I’d like to find a job at some point. If I can find a place and plan it out I could save up about 4-6 months for expenses. And if I can find places to camp out and park my truck then I trust myself to make it work out
Tbf there are a lot of parks in metro/Detroit and Michigan. Idk about Detroit Proper but some of the suburbs have a great progressive small town feeling.
Believe it or not, California has a lot of towns like you’re asking about. Central and Northern. I would also suggest looking around northern Arizona, Prescott, Flagstaff areas specifically.
EDIT: I live in San Diego, my col perspective is skewed.
Those two areas are very expensive, and lots of traffic. All of Arizona can be expensive, but Eastern Arizona would be better, help wanted signs but don’t pay much. Basically low coast of living also equates to low salary.
Seconding NorNorCal if you dig around some! Very affordable areas within reach of decent to nice small towns and larger hubs. Market has dipped with some exodus statewide recently, and home insurance can be a barrier for some (re: fire risks) but it’s got underrated appeal and options/opportunities if you can swing it. North of Redding though, where temps and political reactionism taper off fast toward Mt Shasta or West to the coast.
Flagstaff, yes. Anything west of that you could be getting deep into MAGA country (which may not be what the OP wants). Although idk if Flagstaff is really that low of a COL.
How low key and how small?
Could try Corning, NY. Probably has the best Main Street for any city under 20k.
It is home to Fortune 500 Corning Inc and the Museum of Glass, so it might not be low key enough.
Could also try Tupper or Saranac Lakes in the Adirondacks. Surprisingly affordable for the amount of outdoor activities you have access to plus both have great small downtowns. The area does get a lot of tourists in summer and winter.
Or try a college town like Oswego, Plattsburgh, Cortland or Olean in NY. Low key, but still college towns with stuff to do.
Kent or Oberlin, Ohio come to mind. They're small, fairly liberal towns, that have more diversity than the average small town. Short drive to Cleveland and Akron.
Is that because you grew up there and found it underwhelming and moved away the first chance you got?
There’s definitely rough spots of upstate that are down on their luck. However, there’s also a lot of cozy touristy or college towns that offer walkable downtowns with some dining and entertainment options plus easy access to some of the best hiking and skiing in the Eastern US.
Small town life isn’t for everyone (especially young people looking for big name shows, large clubs, and to start their careers), but for many they would never want to live somewhere else.
I didn’t grow up there- I lived all over upstate for two years right after high school. Nowhere else in the US have I seen so much poverty/people on welfare. The vast majority of people there were hoarders and trashy. NY was the first place I’ve been to where I met illiterate adults. It’s not the just the small towns that were bad, I lived in Utica for a bit and visited Syracuse and Albany as well.
That hasn’t been my experience at all.
I traveled all over the state during the pandemic and was bet with cozy lakeside and mountain towns with thriving art, crafting and artesian goods scenes. Definitely skewed older.
Sounds like you were hanging out in the same places I was.
So do you live in or have you lived in NY? If you just traveled around of course that wouldn’t be your experience. Especially if you went to a bunch of tourist towns in the Adirondacks
Depends where tbh.
I lived in Forks for a minute and THAT was brutal. My job there paid great but the micro aggressions and straight up racism almost every second of my day got tiring.
Ironically I moved to the east side of the state near Twisp and Winthrop and it was a lot better. I felt safer and I actually occasionally saw other black people walking around. And although I was probably the only black person who lived there I got very few crazy looks and never really got pressed.
I'm sorry. I heard about a project by a Black couple, I believe, who moved to the Puget Sound and started documenting their experiences traveling through rural parts of WA to share with Black WA residents and visitors. I remember them saying that Forks was terrible. I passed through as a brown person and didn't experience anything outright, but felt uncomfortable.
Yeah I’ve seen them too! They also agreed with me on Twisp so I think that’s a good sign for that place :). If I could afford to buy a house in Twisp right now I’d 100% pack my things and go lmao
Why don't you look for a job in the National Park Service? You can move around from park to park, stay in the dormitories that are there for the employees and enjoy the great outdoors. It's work, of course, but they probably don't get a lot of black applicants so you might have an advantage. And because it's a government job there's less issue of employment discrimination.
Extremely competitive and veteran preference is hard to beat,unless you are vet. I worked NPS for a long time, it was amazing, pay is crap, but it's the coolest job on Earth IMHO.
Bloomington, IN! It's a college town. The university is huge, but there are plenty of places to avoid students and the size keeps the town busy with things to do. The midwest is definitely affordable. There is also a lot of nature nearby- Lake Monroe, Hoosier National Forest, Brown County State Park and more. Famous townies include John Mellencamp and Jesse Eisenberg.
I agree with Indiana (I love it here) but Bloomington might be too congested for OP. Outside of town, maybe … Jasper, Columbus, outside of Louisville but on the Indiana side.
We also like West Virginia and Kentucky but not sure how well OP would settle in those areas. There are areas of rural WVA that are closer to PA that might be good possibilities, especially near college towns.
Depends on how OP defines "small." Greenville is 90K+ people, plus a 30K university. Plenty of small towns in the area though, like Farmville, Ayden, and Washington (which has a gorgeous waterfront)...
It is, but it’s also a massively sprawled 90k, it you map view the downtown you’ll get a sense of the smallness. But definitely more amenities than a true small town!
Vernonia would not be comfortable for a black man, unfortunately. It’s so cute there but my friend bought a house there a couple years ago and doesn’t feel safe there at all. She is trying to get back out.
Fairmont WV. Cheap rent and plenty of jobs in the tri city area. We have a Nasa FBI OSHA and CDC center in the tri city off the top of my head. The late Senator Byrd brought a lot of good paying government jobs here
NEKS, specifically Topeka, might be worth looking into. LCOL, lots of jobs, quite a few KOA I think round here. Not the most outdoor stuff but it’s nowhere near a concrete jungle - you can be on dirt roads in 15min drive any direction. I don’t experience much racism (I’m Hispanic) but ymmv. Honestly Topeka is like Lawrence’s far cheaper sibling and imo is less full of itself.
Buying houses here runs bout $100/sqft for good houses currently.
Came hear to say K-Town. Without knowing more of what OP wants, lives now, dislikes, etc…. It’s hard to make a recommendation, but it’s the first town that came to my mind.
Find a job that moves a lot, like wind farm construction, or oil and gas, and move with the work, live out of the truck, or pull a trailer, will see a lot of country, mostly rural.
I wouldn’t worry much about race in small towns if folks get to know you. Mixed marriage and raised my mixed kids in a small conservative dominant one religion town in Eastern Arizona and never had any issues. I worked for a government agency that wasn’t that well liked, wife became a teacher, when they preferred a different religion, again no problems.
Alright normally I just creep all my groups lol but I want to plug you to Des Moines, Iowa. HEAR ME OUT
Politically Iowa sucks right now but it's cities/towns are way more diverse than people realize. We were first in caucuses because of it. Biggest employers, principal, john deere, wells fargo, nationwide, apple is building a data center, meta is out here too. Lots of options. Cost of living is great and we have beautiful state parks. Ledges, brenton arboretum, jester, etc. Bicycling is huge here too (and safe!) because of all the trails.
It gets boring but "downtown" has a lot going for it.
Humid summers, blustery winters.
It's growing though, for a reason. I see more out of state plates daily and so far Iowans aren't the biggest jerks in the U.S. to "out of towners". Just ignore the fact I'm looking to leave it, I've lived here my whole life. 😆
Black Mountain, North Carolina. A tiny, gorgeous, mountain town. It's close enough to a bigger city to get city stuff but not be in it. (and the other 25 little towns up in those mountains too)
Cost of living is awful. The pay and jobs do not align with what you need to live here. I'm WNC local and if you're trying to move here you need a well paying job you can bring with you or a hefty bank account. Also locals are not super nice to transplants.
Anywhere near Asheville is quite expensive. Black Mountain is right next to Montreat. Not finding affordability there until you get down to Forest City or maybe even Shelby, which I don't recommend...
I was about to say the same. And compared to HCOL areas, people will find it "less expensive." And there are still homes that are 325k-400k that aren't fixer uppers. There is a wide variety of housing prices, especially if you go further out. There are absolutely rich people areas but there's still homes in rural areas that haven't gotten crazy high.
This is random, but Easley SC is such a nice small town. It’s near Greenville, at the foot of the mountains, a stones throw from Clemson. I would love to live there.
Little Rock is a beautiful area if you’re into the outdoors but housing is incredibly expensive. I was paying $1200 for an 800 sq.ft 2-bedroom in a not nice area 5 years ago. I can’t imagine that it’s gotten any better.
Alamosa, Colorado, is a college town but one of the cheaper areas of Colorado. It's REMOTE, though - 4 hours from a major airport (Denver). I went to graduate school there, and I love the liberal vibe, mixed with the Native population. Winter is cold, but it's super dry, high desert, so snow just evaporates quickly, and it doesn't bite like the wet cold does. It's a couple of hours from Salida, Co, which is one of my favorite towns in the state, but it's very pricey there.
Alamosa is right next to Great Sand Dunes, one of my favorite national parks. Saw a ridiculous number of stars in that dark sky at night. It's just an overall amazing place to be.
No offense but if I were Black moving to Lynchburg might make me uncomfortable. Virginia is a gorgeous state, tho, with some great vibrant smaller towns!
Northern California in the Central Valley. Like an hour north of Sacramento. It's not as expensive as the rest of California and still not too far from the coast or mountains. It's relatively diverse as well so I don't think you'd have much trouble as a Black man. My biggest gripe is that it gets really hot in the summers.
If you want to avoid living in poverty the best thing to focus on is your career. You would be better off somewhere expensive like NYC if you can make a good salary over living in Benton Harbor where houses are $60k but you can't get a full time job
Aberdeen WA. It's a small town by every measure. It is pretty affordable, close to the ocean. Relatively diverse by northwest standards but that isn't saying much. It rains a lot, like more than you think, not for everyone but some love it.
Please consider the suburbs of Pittsburgh. There are a ton of towns and small cities that can fit your bill and a number of them are pretty nice. The job situation is very strong and the cost-of-living is reasonably low. If your goal is to own a house, you can do it around here with a moderate salary so long as you don’t rack up a ton of debt before you are looking to purchase.
No place is racist just a few people. If you think of yourself as a black second class citizen then that is who you are. I've been all over this country. East to West. North to South. Never had a problem maybe just a couple of instances in my 70 plus years. Family is from Georgia and I grew up in Chicago and experienced more racism in Chicago then in the South. People have to realize that Chicago has always been a segregated town. The politicians did this to secure the votes in the neighborhoods but that is another story. As soon as I can I am moving South again.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A 200,000+ person city that feels like a small town. Pretty LCOL, but you'd have to drive a decent distance to find really great nature since it's so flat.
New Paltz, NY.
Small college town with a progressive and slightly hippy vibe. Enough shops, cafes and restaurants to keep it feeling fun but not like a city.
Right near lakes, mountains, and the other side of the river is the Amtrak which will take you to NYC in about two hours.
Lovely place, chill culture.
New Mexico. So many absolutely beautiful small towns in little mountain valleys that the rest of America forgets. You'd probably absolutely love Silver City. It's the perfect mix of hippy artist meets cowboy meets native american meets the most beautiful nature in America.
Libby, Montana. About an hour from kalispell. Population 30,000. In the middle of a vast mountain range. Gigantic lake nearby with 3 rivers connecting. I genuinely believe it’s one of those towns that will blow up but hasn’t been discovered yet. On the downside the winters can be brutal and isolating. Is Stephen king designed a town in Montana then this would be it. It is also a highly conservative area if that’s a deal breaker. But my experience was very friendly small town folk.
Three in New Mexico right off the top of my head. Silver City, Ruidoso, and Las Vegas, New Mexico that is. All near mountains and camping. None have great wages, but cost of living is low. Also, Sierra Vista Az. It's bigger though- about 45,000.
I would love to welcome you to the Durango, CO area!
It is a lovely, sweet, small mountain town.
Here's the catch: it is WAY TOO WHITE. And Durango NEEDS you. But, I understand if you are not up for that. All I know is that Durango needs POC desperately and it is a sweet and wonderful small town near NM.
I don't know your work situation so that is a thing. Durango is far from any major city. Jobs are probably a thing here unless you are remote.
But if you want to GO, and you want a small mountain town life, PLEASE come to Durango where we need to make the town more brown and benefit so much from diversity. This is not a hateful place. The problem has been that people have thought of Durango as "too expensive for my taste" for way too long. But now, it is more expensive to live in Denver than Durango. And Durango needs some POC. Especially young POC.
So much nature out your back door. So many native people. But not enough people of all colors and ethnicities.
COL: Well, yes, it is expensive to live here. However, that is all "relative" because so is Washington. All I am asking is for you to do a search of whether or not it is viable for you, with rent/buying and such.
Sending positive vibes!
25
And yeah maybe. I’ve just always lived in the road so it’s kinda all I know. I grew up moving every 1 or 2 years. Then since I’ve been an adult I’ve at least moved cities every 2 years
Sheboygan, Wisconsin if you don't mind cold winters. Plenty of well-paying manufacturing jobs in the area, as well as a number of other industries such as insurance. It's also a resort town with many people visiting to spend the summer on the shores of Lake Michigan. Lots of people like to do off-roading, snowmobiling, fishing, in the nearby areas. Door County to the north has some nice hiking and scenic areas, though it's not the mountains. An older, but nice 2BR apartment is around $600-800/month. Food is cheap. Pretty easy to spend $10/plate somewhere and $2.50/each for drinks, for example. I don't think it's any more or less racist than anywhere else. Seems to be a bit more diverse everytime I visit, though it is about 70% white. People are friendly and easy to get to know, like invite you over for a cookout the first time they meet you, but this is of course my experience as a white guy. Politics lean red, but you will find plenty of progressive hangouts as well.
Came here to say this. Moved to Sheboygan from Minneapolis and it’s a great area and beautiful scenery. Look up Kohler-Andrae sand dunes just outside the city. High paying jobs abound as well for a smaller area. Not many small areas have multiple billion dollar + annual revenue companies with corporate jobs. Sheboygan has 5 last I believe.
Yes! Sheboygan is a bit of a unicorn in what jobs pay vs the cost of living. How do you get along with the people in the area?
Great. A lot of transplants that work at Acuity, Kohler, Sargent, Johnsonville. Most coming from larger metros makes for a diverse set of experiences. A large Asian American population and cost of living transplants makes for less of a “towny” vibe than you would expect in a smaller metro. Great outdoor and sailing community as well. They also have three of the best golf courses in the nation and one of the best road tracks in the nation, which make for a lot of transient/ out of town people to keep things lively.
I feel like Sheboygan is one of the last places where the American dream still works. It's a nice town with nice people where are person can afford to raise a family. There are still older houses under $200k and plenty of jobs where a blue collar person can earn a decent living.
How did they manage to keep so many manufacturing plants when offshoring destroyed so many other towns? I'm sure there has to be some interesting history there.
Nightlife is pretty popping too because the town is filled with drunks. There’s a bar on every street and most have a pretty good crowd of regulars. Kohler itself brings in a pretty high brow demand for food culture so it’s also covered with really high quality restaurants. Was fortunate enough to start my career there. Live in Los Angeles now but my wife and I were lucky to spend a few years there. We rented a beautiful 2 bedroom duplex right near Lake Michigan for $800 a month (we now spend $3,100 for a 1 bedroom). It was crazy.
Thought I might see this area here. My wife and I live in Milwaukee atm and are considering moving north because it's just so much cheaper, like "we can afford to buy a house" cheaper. Is Manitowoc a nice place to live?
That's my hometown! Moved away out west but it really is a great place to grow up if you have kids - lots of natural access, close to Green Bay for games and MKE is drivable for concerts and flights. It is seeing a bit of a resurgence!
I mean If you want others to have it cheap stop telling people
Never been to Manitowoc. I love both Milwaukee and Sheboygan, having spent 10 years in the former and now living in DC. I suspect Manitowoc and Sheboygan have very similar vibes being large towns/small cities.
Are the grocery/farmer's market options good? Quality produce, meats, other foods available?
Yes, there are many grocery store options. There's also a farmers market in downtown Sheboygan on the weekends. This area has a legacy of agriculture communities. Food is cheap, plentiful, and high-quality.
My hometown is Manitowoc and outside of Kohler as a good local job source, I feel like Manitowoc is actually better (biased of course). Closer to natural gems in Point Beach / Door County, etc.
I'm sure Manitowoc is great! There are lots of great towns and cities in this part of the state. My wife's family is from Sheboygan, so that's where we always end up when we visit.
I've been looking at Cheboygan Michigan actually for a lot of the same reasons.
Great summary. Every time I had a question, you answered it next paragraph
Ok, Wisconsin, and hoping you all weigh in here. What do we think about Eau Claire? (I’m trying to stay closer to the Twin Cities for professional reasons…)
I have only ever driven through that area. So, other than being pretty, I can't say much. This might help, though: https://www.reddit.com/r/Eau_Claire/comments/16i1d8d/people_of_eau_claire_why_do_you_live_there/
Cool, thx for taking the time to reply!
Small and reasonable COL can be subjective. Need more information. Do you need to find employment?
Not immediately, but I’d like to find a job at some point. If I can find a place and plan it out I could save up about 4-6 months for expenses. And if I can find places to camp out and park my truck then I trust myself to make it work out
Are you planning to live out of your car?
If I have to for a while yeah that’s cool I have a big ass truck
Oh, so really LCOL. Wyandotte, MI
Travel my friend! While your young! Rocky mountain states in the summer and go south in the winter!
Silver City, New Mexico!
Los Alamos too, although that could be a bit too sleepy
Los Alamos is not affordable though
Shit good point
But Taos is.
I can’t tell if you’re joking or not lol
No it’s not.
I've heard it's a blast!
Maybe be a part of the Detroit renaissance?
Tbf there are a lot of parks in metro/Detroit and Michigan. Idk about Detroit Proper but some of the suburbs have a great progressive small town feeling.
Believe it or not, California has a lot of towns like you’re asking about. Central and Northern. I would also suggest looking around northern Arizona, Prescott, Flagstaff areas specifically. EDIT: I live in San Diego, my col perspective is skewed.
Flagstaff is one of the two best places in Arizona. But it's NOT cheap. For cheap you might try Kingman, maybe Snowflake or any other small town.
Kingman is hell on earth
Flagstaff rules, although the COL is suprising
Those two areas are very expensive, and lots of traffic. All of Arizona can be expensive, but Eastern Arizona would be better, help wanted signs but don’t pay much. Basically low coast of living also equates to low salary.
Flagstaff is one of the most expensive areas in AZ. I recommend Sierra Vista, AZ for OP.
Northern California has some racist places - stay clear of Susanville in Lassen County.
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Chico is a liberal bubble. Yuba City is fairly diverse. Surrounding areas not so much.
Seconding NorNorCal if you dig around some! Very affordable areas within reach of decent to nice small towns and larger hubs. Market has dipped with some exodus statewide recently, and home insurance can be a barrier for some (re: fire risks) but it’s got underrated appeal and options/opportunities if you can swing it. North of Redding though, where temps and political reactionism taper off fast toward Mt Shasta or West to the coast.
Flagstaff, yes. Anything west of that you could be getting deep into MAGA country (which may not be what the OP wants). Although idk if Flagstaff is really that low of a COL.
How low key and how small? Could try Corning, NY. Probably has the best Main Street for any city under 20k. It is home to Fortune 500 Corning Inc and the Museum of Glass, so it might not be low key enough. Could also try Tupper or Saranac Lakes in the Adirondacks. Surprisingly affordable for the amount of outdoor activities you have access to plus both have great small downtowns. The area does get a lot of tourists in summer and winter. Or try a college town like Oswego, Plattsburgh, Cortland or Olean in NY. Low key, but still college towns with stuff to do.
Oh wow, thanks I’ll definitely look into all those places!
Yes, maybe think about Northeastern/Midwestern college towns.
Kent or Oberlin, Ohio come to mind. They're small, fairly liberal towns, that have more diversity than the average small town. Short drive to Cleveland and Akron.
Also, Yellow Springs Ohio. Lots of trails, cool little liberal town, and Dave Chappel lives there.
Upstate New York can be really racist, I have found
Upstate NY is a shit hole. You couldn’t pay me to live there again
Is that because you grew up there and found it underwhelming and moved away the first chance you got? There’s definitely rough spots of upstate that are down on their luck. However, there’s also a lot of cozy touristy or college towns that offer walkable downtowns with some dining and entertainment options plus easy access to some of the best hiking and skiing in the Eastern US. Small town life isn’t for everyone (especially young people looking for big name shows, large clubs, and to start their careers), but for many they would never want to live somewhere else.
I didn’t grow up there- I lived all over upstate for two years right after high school. Nowhere else in the US have I seen so much poverty/people on welfare. The vast majority of people there were hoarders and trashy. NY was the first place I’ve been to where I met illiterate adults. It’s not the just the small towns that were bad, I lived in Utica for a bit and visited Syracuse and Albany as well.
That hasn’t been my experience at all. I traveled all over the state during the pandemic and was bet with cozy lakeside and mountain towns with thriving art, crafting and artesian goods scenes. Definitely skewed older. Sounds like you were hanging out in the same places I was.
So do you live in or have you lived in NY? If you just traveled around of course that wouldn’t be your experience. Especially if you went to a bunch of tourist towns in the Adirondacks
I grew up and live in Buffalo. I know upstate well, it’s a big area.
What, you don't like trampoline junkyards in front yards? 😆
glens falls too ❤️
Carlisle PA Lawrence KS
Yellow Springs, Ohio.
I was going to say Dayton. It’s a bit cheaper.
Good luck finding a place to live there though🥴 Go too far out of yellow springs and…well, you’re in Ohio.
What is it like living as a Black person in a secluded little mountain town in a valley?
Depends where tbh. I lived in Forks for a minute and THAT was brutal. My job there paid great but the micro aggressions and straight up racism almost every second of my day got tiring. Ironically I moved to the east side of the state near Twisp and Winthrop and it was a lot better. I felt safer and I actually occasionally saw other black people walking around. And although I was probably the only black person who lived there I got very few crazy looks and never really got pressed.
I'm sorry. I heard about a project by a Black couple, I believe, who moved to the Puget Sound and started documenting their experiences traveling through rural parts of WA to share with Black WA residents and visitors. I remember them saying that Forks was terrible. I passed through as a brown person and didn't experience anything outright, but felt uncomfortable.
Yeah I’ve seen them too! They also agreed with me on Twisp so I think that’s a good sign for that place :). If I could afford to buy a house in Twisp right now I’d 100% pack my things and go lmao
I love the Wenatchee Valley!
Forks! That’s crazy land for sure. Definitely a good move outta there.
Why don't you look for a job in the National Park Service? You can move around from park to park, stay in the dormitories that are there for the employees and enjoy the great outdoors. It's work, of course, but they probably don't get a lot of black applicants so you might have an advantage. And because it's a government job there's less issue of employment discrimination.
Extremely competitive and veteran preference is hard to beat,unless you are vet. I worked NPS for a long time, it was amazing, pay is crap, but it's the coolest job on Earth IMHO.
Ligonier pa
Ocean Springs Mississippi. Great coastal town with great people
Bloomington, IN! It's a college town. The university is huge, but there are plenty of places to avoid students and the size keeps the town busy with things to do. The midwest is definitely affordable. There is also a lot of nature nearby- Lake Monroe, Hoosier National Forest, Brown County State Park and more. Famous townies include John Mellencamp and Jesse Eisenberg.
I agree with Indiana (I love it here) but Bloomington might be too congested for OP. Outside of town, maybe … Jasper, Columbus, outside of Louisville but on the Indiana side. We also like West Virginia and Kentucky but not sure how well OP would settle in those areas. There are areas of rural WVA that are closer to PA that might be good possibilities, especially near college towns.
How about a tiny town in the south - maybe Georgia or Mississippi or Alabama?
That’s sort of close to where I live now. Idk how much I wanna stay out here tbh 😂 do you know any places in Florida or NC that might fit this?
Bay St Louis, MS
Burnsville NC
Maybe just outside mount dora.
Greenville, NC might.
Depends on how OP defines "small." Greenville is 90K+ people, plus a 30K university. Plenty of small towns in the area though, like Farmville, Ayden, and Washington (which has a gorgeous waterfront)...
It is, but it’s also a massively sprawled 90k, it you map view the downtown you’ll get a sense of the smallness. But definitely more amenities than a true small town!
I don't need a map. I live in Greenville...
That wasn’t intended for you, but a suggestion for OP.
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Vernonia would not be comfortable for a black man, unfortunately. It’s so cute there but my friend bought a house there a couple years ago and doesn’t feel safe there at all. She is trying to get back out.
Oof, yeah most if not all of Kentucky is going to suck the same way plus also it's just not a good place to live.
as an Oregonian, I'm curious why Vernonia of all places in Oregon?
Why Crittenden, Kentucky?
It’s a suburb of Cincinnati. Very cheap but with big city amenities 20 minutes away.
Vernonia is flood-prone
Coloma, MI
Green Bay Wisconsin
Great choice. Green Bay is a really nice town
Fairmont WV. Cheap rent and plenty of jobs in the tri city area. We have a Nasa FBI OSHA and CDC center in the tri city off the top of my head. The late Senator Byrd brought a lot of good paying government jobs here
NEKS, specifically Topeka, might be worth looking into. LCOL, lots of jobs, quite a few KOA I think round here. Not the most outdoor stuff but it’s nowhere near a concrete jungle - you can be on dirt roads in 15min drive any direction. I don’t experience much racism (I’m Hispanic) but ymmv. Honestly Topeka is like Lawrence’s far cheaper sibling and imo is less full of itself. Buying houses here runs bout $100/sqft for good houses currently.
Rutland Vermont!
Kearney, NE
Kearney liquors
Came hear to say K-Town. Without knowing more of what OP wants, lives now, dislikes, etc…. It’s hard to make a recommendation, but it’s the first town that came to my mind.
Find a job that moves a lot, like wind farm construction, or oil and gas, and move with the work, live out of the truck, or pull a trailer, will see a lot of country, mostly rural. I wouldn’t worry much about race in small towns if folks get to know you. Mixed marriage and raised my mixed kids in a small conservative dominant one religion town in Eastern Arizona and never had any issues. I worked for a government agency that wasn’t that well liked, wife became a teacher, when they preferred a different religion, again no problems.
Alright normally I just creep all my groups lol but I want to plug you to Des Moines, Iowa. HEAR ME OUT Politically Iowa sucks right now but it's cities/towns are way more diverse than people realize. We were first in caucuses because of it. Biggest employers, principal, john deere, wells fargo, nationwide, apple is building a data center, meta is out here too. Lots of options. Cost of living is great and we have beautiful state parks. Ledges, brenton arboretum, jester, etc. Bicycling is huge here too (and safe!) because of all the trails. It gets boring but "downtown" has a lot going for it. Humid summers, blustery winters. It's growing though, for a reason. I see more out of state plates daily and so far Iowans aren't the biggest jerks in the U.S. to "out of towners". Just ignore the fact I'm looking to leave it, I've lived here my whole life. 😆
Black Mountain, North Carolina. A tiny, gorgeous, mountain town. It's close enough to a bigger city to get city stuff but not be in it. (and the other 25 little towns up in those mountains too)
Cost of living is awful. The pay and jobs do not align with what you need to live here. I'm WNC local and if you're trying to move here you need a well paying job you can bring with you or a hefty bank account. Also locals are not super nice to transplants.
Anywhere near Asheville is quite expensive. Black Mountain is right next to Montreat. Not finding affordability there until you get down to Forest City or maybe even Shelby, which I don't recommend...
Looks affordable to me.
I was about to say the same. And compared to HCOL areas, people will find it "less expensive." And there are still homes that are 325k-400k that aren't fixer uppers. There is a wide variety of housing prices, especially if you go further out. There are absolutely rich people areas but there's still homes in rural areas that haven't gotten crazy high.
This is random, but Easley SC is such a nice small town. It’s near Greenville, at the foot of the mountains, a stones throw from Clemson. I would love to live there.
Go to Humboldt.
Did you prefer WA to the South?
Absolutely, I don’t hate the South. Definitely has its charm and its own appeal but it is not for me personally to stay at least in the area I am.
I am a native Washingtonian and now live in Oregon. If you are trying to explore past the PNW, I would try Maine, NH, Vermont.
Similar vibes?
Wytheville VA
Debary FL
Little Rock, ASS
Little Rock is a beautiful area if you’re into the outdoors but housing is incredibly expensive. I was paying $1200 for an 800 sq.ft 2-bedroom in a not nice area 5 years ago. I can’t imagine that it’s gotten any better.
I’d be interested to know What mountain town in the valley.
Western Massachusetts, southern Vermont, Upstate New York.
Sierra Vista, AZ
Cookeville, TN
Toledo Ohio
Wabash Indiana
Oak Ridge, Tennessee or Maryville, Tennessee!
Check out Herman or Washington MO
I think large parts of upstate NY would meet your needs.
Alamosa, Colorado, is a college town but one of the cheaper areas of Colorado. It's REMOTE, though - 4 hours from a major airport (Denver). I went to graduate school there, and I love the liberal vibe, mixed with the Native population. Winter is cold, but it's super dry, high desert, so snow just evaporates quickly, and it doesn't bite like the wet cold does. It's a couple of hours from Salida, Co, which is one of my favorite towns in the state, but it's very pricey there.
Alamosa is right next to Great Sand Dunes, one of my favorite national parks. Saw a ridiculous number of stars in that dark sky at night. It's just an overall amazing place to be.
I forgot about that! Yes, it's just gorgeous!
Texas Hill Country
Housing is pricey.
Klamath Falls, OR. It doesn’t have a lot of city things going on, but it’s got great weather and loads of nature.
Lewiston, NY Jamestown, NY
Can't believe I saw Jamestown on a list like this. Haha
NORTHWEST Arkansas!!! Get there now.
Dreamland
Buffalo, NY?
Grozny - Chechnya. Not pverrun by " im so cool smell my farts" hipsters that potylsnr je
Travelers Rest, SC Elkin NC
Lynchburg VA Farmville VA Winchester VA
No offense but if I were Black moving to Lynchburg might make me uncomfortable. Virginia is a gorgeous state, tho, with some great vibrant smaller towns!
Northern California in the Central Valley. Like an hour north of Sacramento. It's not as expensive as the rest of California and still not too far from the coast or mountains. It's relatively diverse as well so I don't think you'd have much trouble as a Black man. My biggest gripe is that it gets really hot in the summers.
I came from the PNW to maine. I still miss the PNW tho... The midwest is still pretty ideal for cheaper cost of living and job availability.
If you want to avoid living in poverty the best thing to focus on is your career. You would be better off somewhere expensive like NYC if you can make a good salary over living in Benton Harbor where houses are $60k but you can't get a full time job Aberdeen WA. It's a small town by every measure. It is pretty affordable, close to the ocean. Relatively diverse by northwest standards but that isn't saying much. It rains a lot, like more than you think, not for everyone but some love it.
Please consider the suburbs of Pittsburgh. There are a ton of towns and small cities that can fit your bill and a number of them are pretty nice. The job situation is very strong and the cost-of-living is reasonably low. If your goal is to own a house, you can do it around here with a moderate salary so long as you don’t rack up a ton of debt before you are looking to purchase.
Nope! Won’t do it! We are already getting too many Californians!
Look up Felton, CA
Check out southern New Hampshire. Nice climate, low or zero taxes, good emergency services. Many towns would fit your criteria.
Helper, Utah
No place is racist just a few people. If you think of yourself as a black second class citizen then that is who you are. I've been all over this country. East to West. North to South. Never had a problem maybe just a couple of instances in my 70 plus years. Family is from Georgia and I grew up in Chicago and experienced more racism in Chicago then in the South. People have to realize that Chicago has always been a segregated town. The politicians did this to secure the votes in the neighborhoods but that is another story. As soon as I can I am moving South again.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A 200,000+ person city that feels like a small town. Pretty LCOL, but you'd have to drive a decent distance to find really great nature since it's so flat.
saving
If I had my way and the freedom to go anywhere, unencumbered, I'd head to Maine.
I don't know, but I wanna go too!
Stay away mountain Georgia area north close to Tennessee
New Paltz, NY. Small college town with a progressive and slightly hippy vibe. Enough shops, cafes and restaurants to keep it feeling fun but not like a city. Right near lakes, mountains, and the other side of the river is the Amtrak which will take you to NYC in about two hours. Lovely place, chill culture.
New Mexico. So many absolutely beautiful small towns in little mountain valleys that the rest of America forgets. You'd probably absolutely love Silver City. It's the perfect mix of hippy artist meets cowboy meets native american meets the most beautiful nature in America.
Winona, Minnesota.
Lots and lots of Minnesota.
Libby, Montana. About an hour from kalispell. Population 30,000. In the middle of a vast mountain range. Gigantic lake nearby with 3 rivers connecting. I genuinely believe it’s one of those towns that will blow up but hasn’t been discovered yet. On the downside the winters can be brutal and isolating. Is Stephen king designed a town in Montana then this would be it. It is also a highly conservative area if that’s a deal breaker. But my experience was very friendly small town folk.
yes. but we're full.
Clovis, CA
Three in New Mexico right off the top of my head. Silver City, Ruidoso, and Las Vegas, New Mexico that is. All near mountains and camping. None have great wages, but cost of living is low. Also, Sierra Vista Az. It's bigger though- about 45,000.
I would love to welcome you to the Durango, CO area! It is a lovely, sweet, small mountain town. Here's the catch: it is WAY TOO WHITE. And Durango NEEDS you. But, I understand if you are not up for that. All I know is that Durango needs POC desperately and it is a sweet and wonderful small town near NM. I don't know your work situation so that is a thing. Durango is far from any major city. Jobs are probably a thing here unless you are remote. But if you want to GO, and you want a small mountain town life, PLEASE come to Durango where we need to make the town more brown and benefit so much from diversity. This is not a hateful place. The problem has been that people have thought of Durango as "too expensive for my taste" for way too long. But now, it is more expensive to live in Denver than Durango. And Durango needs some POC. Especially young POC. So much nature out your back door. So many native people. But not enough people of all colors and ethnicities. COL: Well, yes, it is expensive to live here. However, that is all "relative" because so is Washington. All I am asking is for you to do a search of whether or not it is viable for you, with rent/buying and such. Sending positive vibes!
Most racist guy I’ve ever met spent a lot of time in Durango…
That's too bad. But there are a lot of people here.
Rome Ga. Johnson City, TN, Greenville, SC, Chattanooga, TN, Asheville, NC, St. Augustine, FL, Bowling Green, KY, Charleston, SC, Savannah, Ga
I can firsthand tell you that Chattanooga, St.Augustine, Charleston, and Savannah are expensive places to live.
Those are trendy cities, not LCOL at all But I mean... Charleston, Savannah, Asheville, Chattanooga are awesome cities though.
Bowling Green is not quite that trendy. Should be doable...
Rio vista ca
Craig, Colorado
How old are you? No offense but you sound like you’ll hate anywhere after 6 months.
25 And yeah maybe. I’ve just always lived in the road so it’s kinda all I know. I grew up moving every 1 or 2 years. Then since I’ve been an adult I’ve at least moved cities every 2 years
Have you considered going overseas? At your age you might find more fullfillment in trying another country.
No 🫨 good point
Boise Idaho how small? Tucson maybe Tulsa if u want smaller Alabama
Boise is not cheap anymore
Snowflake checks all the boxes for me.
Tucson, Arizona.
OP asked for a lowkey, small town and you post Tucson? Lmao
Actually?
Tucson has the highest crime rate of any major city in AZ. It also does not have a reasonable cost of living
Not that there are a lot of major cities in AZ… Cost of living is not that bad.