My wife and I are "kicking tires" for other places to live that are like College Station. Our plans are not immediate but rather a few to several years away from the actual move (if it happens).

We definitely like it here (been here many years), but are also the kind of people to enjoy shaking things up every now and then – even in places that we are content (if that makes any sense!). Without going off tangent as to why we want to move from a place we like only to someplace “like” it, I probably could better state what we like about College Station (no particular order):

• Good schools
  
• moderately conservative
  
• low crime
  
• lots of churches or at least where faith is more celebrated than shunned
  
• medium sized city that is far enough away from the big ones, yet close enough for a day trip to major cities (for medical care, shopping, airports, entertainment, etc.)
  
• decent access to technology (good Internet)
  
• not overly regulated (i.e. think California)
  
• nice people
  
• economic stability
  
• real estate not overvalued
  
• cheap labor
  

I’m probably forgetting a few things, but mainly just wondering if anyone out there has bumped into places that remind you of the College Station area. Of course, we’d like to be introduced to things that we are not used to here, such as a place with more outdoor activities and more things to do for young children. We are not concerned about employment, more from a standpoint of not needing or wanting job availability to dictate how we live.

Thanks for any advice!

Noblesville, Indiana

Ruston, Louisiana. I am from Bossier city and have been there several times.

I moved to TX from the Huntsville, Alabama area. Madison County metro (including the cities of Huntsville and Madison) is bigger than BCS (about 340k people), but because the population is spread out over a large area, it does not feel that crowded. Plenty of real estate and acreage at prices comparable to BCS, good schools, lots of "tech" companies that support the Redstone Arsenal and NASA (that translates to a highly educated population and lower than average unemployment rates). Two public universities (although, neither can touch TAMU in enrollment or status). Close to Birmingham, AL, Nashville, and Chattanooga (all less than 2 hours by car). More moderate climate than TX, and you get to experience all 4 seasons (spring and fall are absolutely beautiful). The area is in a valley at the base of the Appalachian mountains, so there are a lot of hills and elevation changes. There are TONS of outdoor activities to do, and it's much more enjoyable to be outdoors for a significant portion of the year. The mountains are really close, but the AL/FL beaches are also only about a 5-6 hour drive (depending on where you are going). Decent sized airport (although expensive), so it is easy to get to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, and DC. Downside is, it's Alabama (some people just can't get past that, even though Huntsville is significantly different from the rest of the state), and AL has a state income tax. Property taxes are much lower than in TX, though. I moved to TX for my career, which was a great decision, but I do miss living in that area. It is really beautiful, has tons of adult- and kid-friendly activities, and is in a great geographic location.

Ann Arbor, MI, although I'm not certain that Detroit is the type of big city you were imagining.

I get the sense that there are areas of Tennessee and the Carolinas that are similar.

Franklin Tennessee (suburb of Nashville)

My Aunt and uncle are from Franklin, Tenn. I love it there. Bryant, Ark, is not a bad place either, but I don't know what the schools are like.

I've been told Athens, GA is similar, but have never been myself.

Woodstock, GA....Lot more mountains and I always feel so "confined" there...guess I am just used to being able to see for miles in any direction, but the feel of the town is a pretty close match.

Wow. Ann Arbor, MI, and Athens, GA, are exactly nothing like College Station.

Nothing. I mean, I suppose they both have universities, etc. But on every other level, they are just so different. (I mean, Berkeley, CA, has a university, too!)

But even comparing them would produce a pretty big chuckle from anyone I know who's ever been to both places.

Buck - Athens, Georgia did seem similar when I was there visiting TxDragonfly but since she lives there I will have to defer to her. I did really enjoy the town (and the company).

I recently spent a couple days in Cedar Park, TX, and found it to feel a bit like College Station, particularly the roads, buildings, retail/restaurants, etc. Would definitely be worth a look, especially if you're wanting to stay in Texas.

Kerrvile; Fredrickburg; Crockett; Tyler; Commerce; Vernon; Cat Springs (Katskoller); Ft. Stockton; Dennison; then Argyle and the area west & north of Denton.

Ames, IA is not bad, but I've not been there longer than a few hours.

Tucumcari & Taos are nice in NM, in their own way (particularly for their distance from Santa Fe); Ruidoso also not bad, just remote. White Sands is spectcular, but you have to be a certain kind of person to live out there well.

Safford, AZ fits several of your requirements.

But, there's a reason most of my recommendations are in Texas--such is my bias.

Papillion, Nebraska.

Rated #1 Top Small Town of 2012. Small town in population, but only minutes away from Omaha.

http://livability.com/top-10/top-10-small-towns-2012/papillion/ne


[This message has been edited by TDAggie (edited 5/28/2013 4:04p).]

[This message has been edited by TDAggie (edited 5/28/2013 4:04p).]

Dangit. Trying to get that link to work. Google Papillion. Sorry.

Midland, TX if you can tolerate the weather.

Economy and real estate prices can be boom or bust depending on oil & gas.

How about Bryan?

I've always thought Ft Collins, CO would be a cool place to live.

Alexandria, Louisiana.

Lived just outside Charlottesville, VA for two years, good times. Lots of history, Appalacha Mtns, Richmond and DC just down the road. Real estate is high and a few extra hippies but nothing major extreme. Wife and I talk about going back.

Cary North Carolina. Clean and pretty place. Low crime rate. Highly educated population. North Carolina, Duke and NC State within about 10 miles. Short drives to the Mountains or the beaches.

Norman OK.

I'm familiar with quite a few of the locales mentioned and Scruffy's suggestion is by far the closest.

A lot of people here will disagree, but I found Manhattan, KS very similar. It's a little smaller but had very similar amenities. Lived there for 3 years and really enjoyed it. Excellent outdoor activities if you are into that.

Frisco, TX

We lived there for 5 years and part of why we liked it so much was because it reminded us of CS.

[This message has been edited by AggiePhil (edited 5/28/2013 8:24p).]

Northwest Arkansas
San Angelo TX
Morgantown WV

Spartanburg, South Carolina. It is the one place in the United States that I would consider living other then Texas. And that is saying a lot.

I agree with Huntsville, we loved the feel when we visited family there. We were in Birmingham this weekend and it was so pretty.

TechnoAg - I grew up in Alexandria. That's where what is left of my family still is. It's a bit smaller than CS and there are definite areas you dont want to go to but its a pretty town and friendly folk. I miss it sometimes, but I like living here.

Someone rang?

We've been in Athens, GA for 3 years and 10 months, and we're moving to Laramie, WY next month. When I describe Athens to people, it's as, "the size of Bryan-College Station, but the feel of Austin." That is to say, it's one of the more liberal areas if the state, but everything around us is quite conservative. A high school just a few hours south of here held their first integrated prom....In any case, Athens has much of what you described, but there is a "weird" streak (which is what we absolutely love about it).

If you decide to include it on your list to consider or have specific questions, my email is in my profile. I also have a write up about Athens over on the SEC board for those that find themselves out this way for a game.

Bamberg, Germany

quote:

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TechnoAg - I grew up in Alexandria. That's where what is left of my family still is. It's a bit smaller than CS and there are definite areas you dont want to go to but its a pretty town and friendly folk. I miss it sometimes, but I like living here.

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I think it's similar in its relation to Pineville. Yes there's LSU-A in "Eleck" and there's Louisiana College in Pineville, so the collegiate atmosphere is not totally identical to B/CS. But, the isolation from other metro areas and being in the middle of the state make Pineville/Alexandria similar to our situation.

Thanks everyone for the great array of ideas, especially the posts listing specifics.

@txdragonfly - Laramie WY is a growing place (one of the less conservative areas of WY, but then again, that is under WY standards). We have heard a lot of good about it. We spend a good amount of time in Cody, WY but it is quite different in just about all apsects compared to CS (though very conservative).

I'm intrigued about a lot of the southeastern cities mentioned. A good website is www.city-data.com which has forums much like MyBCS.com that are geared towards this specific discussion but the problem is that they are more city specific so I needed to come up with some city names first, which is why I came here to MyBCS.

Thanks to all for sharing. We spend a fair amount of time in other cities and probably the one thing I miss most is MyBCS.com, as sad as it sounds. This website/forum is a huge asset to our community and is much missed when I stay at places without something similar.

If you want to go north... Bozeman Montana is a smaller version of CS. (Think 3/4 size of CS without Bryan). Bozeman is pretty fantastic. But there is more winter than summer and there isn't a major city close.

That said it has all of the above and lots of fun outdoor activities. No sales tax.

Stillwater, Oklahoma.

We lived there for grad school, and I'd totally move back there. With the university, there are always sporting events. It's close to both Oklahoma City and Tulsa, both of which are pretty great towns. The weather is fantastic, and I loved that there are actual distinct seasons. There are several lakes in the area, and Oklahoma has pretty good state parks. There are a handful of really good restaurants.

I missed two things about College Station when we lived there: the local radio stations (really!) and HEB.