Best *warm* cities to live in for aspies?

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how 'bout vegas, anyone? or phoenix? or santa fe? opinions, anybody in WP land?

I lived in santa fe and thought it was just as cold as where I'm living now, plus more expencive.
and I live in a money trap,

Some cities in AZ seem pretty reasonable. Like Tucson - I've looked into living there because it's a city atmosphere surrounded by beautiful, peaceful nature, and it's not THAT big (compared to say the overwhelming NYC). Utah might also have some nice places.

I thought about Phoenix, or a suburb. The housing prices seem really low, which is both appealing and a red flag. Does anyone happen to know why the housing prices are so low? Is the unemployment high, or are the locals leaving the area for some reason only they know

Some people only live there during the winter (snow birds), who leave when the temperature starts to rise. There's been some housing issues too, like in other states where the housing bubble burst, & foreclosures. If you don't mind Hellish temps in the summer (can get into the 110 degrees or higher), there's some nice places in the greater Phoenix area. Gotta love temps that can melt runways & strand travellers during summer though.

phoenix is the only american city i've heard of, where the local university built outdoor cooling towers in several downtown parks. and i am wondering if tucson is welcoming of diversity.

Any place can be affordable if one is careful and/or creative when handling their finances.

try paying for a non-rent-controlled new york city apartment on minimum wage sometime, you will see it can't be done, it just doesn't add up. same for any place in san francisco. what kind of creativity were you referring to in handling one's finances sufficient to rent efficiency apartments that still cost well north of a kilobuck each month? minimum wage just won't cover it.

I wasn't talking about minimum wage, I was just saying that it isn't necessary to be uber-rich to live in those places.

And the high costs of living in those areas has more to do with lack of land that can be developed, than with supply and demand.

Lived in Vegas for a year. It did have a lot to recommend it - not just the gambling, but the art galleries and such like located in the casinos, and the foodie culture - there are some awesome restaurants. Away from the Strip it's not *too* different from any other Southwest city; and you have the Valley of Fire/Lake Meade, Red Rock Canyon, and Mt. Charleston (at the leading edge of the Sierras) if you like hiking and the outdoors. It's a beautiful area in its way, but if you're used to green, it's a hard transition. Downside is that Vegas is in a slump/on the decline. The housing bust hit it hard; a lot of people lost their jobs; and the casinos aren't doing well enough to really keep propping up the state in the absence of a state tax. And there's the water-table issue that has northern Nevada up in arms - Vegas is simply using too much water to be sustainable forever, especially with the current drought. Up at Hoover Dam, you can see where the water level used to be...and where it is now. Very dramatic difference.

Last edited by Natty_Boh on 12 Feb 2011, 9:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The political/social stance of a city or region has absolutely nothing to do with whether it's 'good' for someone on the autistic spectrum to live. Most people don't give a s**t either way, as long as the individual isn't going around causing trouble.

As for 'warm' places, check out the south and southwest. Major cities in states like Texas, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, etc are usually relatively warm year-round; at least compared to the Northeast and Midwest.

As far as southern states go, the most socially conservative one by far is Oklahoma.

I haven't read the other threads, but let me guess: all of the north, cold cities were generally in the northeast?

It's not that the cold makes society more tolerant in general, it's that warm = The South. I live in the Bible Belt myself. It's awful. Not to mention what it does to "sex" XD. (I'm not joking. Missionary 24/7 anybody?) I know you probably didn't care about sexual preferences, but where you live affects that too (by a large amount), and most people don't consider that.

However, thankfully there are exceptions. I live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. But my small town here somehow makes it on the lists compiled by Kiplingers. We are considered the 2nd best city to live for artistic expression. As a whole, the city is filled with self expression, tolerance, and fun people (along with some not-fun people, as always). It's not uncommon to walk down the street and see two girls holding hands and kissing, or two guys buying groceries together; a hippy chilling at the bus stop or a gothic person chilling at the mall. And for the most part, all of these people are "accepted". A good chunk of people here (with a very strong dissent from the other people) actually enjoy seeing different kinds of culture and lifestyles. It's quite amazing, and something I've never seen anywhere else. Although Kiplingers did say that there was a city in Washington that beat us out for spot number 1.

You might also try the south-west, or California. I don't know anything about those regions of the country.

Nice, France.

I'm an Okie from Muskogee anyone? That song is horrible btw.

I too live in Portland, and it is perfect for Aspies. Here you sorta stick out if you are "normal."