DH and I are planning on moving early next year. We'll both be looking for jobs just about anywhere in the U.S., but we do have certain areas that we'll be looking into first. DH is fond of North Carolina. I'm leaning towards Pennsylvania (one of my friends loves the Harrisburg area), New Hampshire, Vermont, or Massachusetts. Some of our criteria includes an area that has an excellent internet connection (I think he'd live on the moon if it had a good connection!), a co-op grocery store, a wooded area that's very near town, and farmers' markets. Also, I'd like to be within walking distance (bus service is also fine) of grocery stores, libraries, bookstores, etc. I would love living in a area that's friendly to baby-wearing, homeschooling/unschooling, cloth diapering, homebirths, and midwives (not too tall of an order!).
Well, I started thinking about it and maybe we're looking for an area similar to Fredericksburg (maybe not). Our apartment backs up to a park. Our internet connection is wonderful. There's a doula-led birth circle that meets at the local library. There are farmers' markets every weekend right downtown. There was a "Family Table" farmers' market that was held downtown today with activities for kids. I saw lots of mamas wearing their babes in slings, carriers, and wraps. However, Fredericksburg is not walking-friendly (except for old town which has a library, but houses are the most expensive there and the rest of the city spreads out into strip-mall sprawl).
I've lived in Fredericksburg or near it for most of my life. The area hasn't felt like home to me and I haven't quite figured out why. I've been searching the Mothering forums for crunchy/hippie towns and they all sound great (PNW being the exception; DH feels that climate would make him miserable with his allergies).
So, for those of you who have lived in or near Fredericksburg, would you describe it as a crunchy kind of city?
*(Partial information from this new thread will be posted in a different thread in FYT)*
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