There’s no reason you can’t brown bag it in a place like that. Once you start, you’ll notice that a lot of other people do it too. Heck, the illegal immigrants do and the small shopkeepers do. Keep their low expenses and combine with your high income and you will do well.

You don’t necessarily have to move to a small town or make less money!

Look into moving to Greenbelt, MD search on GHI– it is a co-op. Like-minded people live there.

It is very hard to pick up stakes and move away from friends and family to start a new and very different life. I did it with my bf when I was out of college and it was terribly difficult for us both. Maybe she should save up some money and take a few months off – do a road trip or travel around the world? I just think it’s time for some fun and adventure. There’s time later to settle down in a small town, buy a house and join the rotary or whatever :)

Personally though I’m with those who described the potential for simple living in an urban area. Also those who suggested nature, community, and some of the other desired traits discussed here can be found in many places–including the DC area.

If the couple in question want to live in a small town, or the Midwest, then that is what they should do. However if they just want to have more of what they listed: simple living, nature, community, etc., then I don’t think moving the the Midwest or moving far away is necessarily the answer.

You abs. can live simply in a city, in fact often much more easily than elsewhere. Some cities in particular are great for allowing one to forgo a car, have all one needs within walking (or public transit) distance. Higher salaries and many job prospects are common, esp. relative to smaller or less urban areas, and nature is usually accessible in and outside the city. I think suburbs and rural areas require much more resources than city living does, at least with the type of lifestlye I live.

But it is all about personal preference and individual need. Still I wouldn’t discount the possibility of simple living in a city, nor assume one has to spend spend spend by living in one. I don’t part. like the DC area for living in either and feel it is overpriced for what you get. But not every metropolitan area is like DC, which in my view has some of the worst aspects of both urban and suburban living without many of the benefits of those types of lifestyles.

Not all cities require sitting in a car for hours, and it also depends on where and how you live in a particular city. I know the DC area and living and working within the city would likely eliminate/reduce the traffic issue for the most part. Public transit in the area is quite good, even in some of the suburbs.

As another commenter mentioned, I’ve never seen nature that is as accessible and beautiful as it is in the Bay Area, which is quite urban in many areas. There is more nature around for SF residents than there is for residents of many other less urban areas.

I guess my point is the couple may be able to find what they seek in many places, and that jobs, salaries, and other factors must be closely considered in this type of move and blanket generalizations about any area, though maybe true to some extent, must be looked past when deciding about a move. Each area must be considered for its own unique qualities bc often what we are looking for may be in a place we least expect or may even be right under our noses.

Simple living is a lot about personal choices and can be done most anywhere. The key is just to find the place that one fits in best and where one’s needs are best met. Lots of research and a few visits and knowing oneself very well helps a lot. Best of luck to them and anyone else dealing with this issue. If I had to suggest any place, I’d suggest places that have decent public transit and some walkable areas. Perhaps some university communities or smaller cities that others have suggested.

I’m not yet ready to cut the ties to the metropolitan area just yet, for these reasons: Health care. Libraries. Universities. Job opportunities. Ethnic markets. Cultural diversity at work and in the neighborhood.

The rural county in which I live on the weekends has perhaps 35,000 people. After nine years, I am still not reconciled to its insularity, racism (not just subtle stuff, but Ku Klux Klan recruiting flyers), conservative politics, and nostalgic yearnings for the way things used to be (or how they were *remembered* to be–read Kathleen Norris’ _Dakota_ for a Great Plains take on rural life). Or small town petty corruption, like the issuing of county economic development bonds to build a Baptist fundamentalist school. And next county over, the sheriff has been brought up on charges of taking bribes to ignore cockfighting matches. . . and so it goes.

While I participate in the rural community, mostly through volunteer work at my rural church, I can’t ever be truly accepted into the community, because I didn’t grow up or go to public school there. This, despite being closely related to many family members there (and it’s my grandmother’s farmhouse that I bought). I have met some wonderful people there, but it gets very, very old to keep hearing acquaintances refer to my life in the “city,” with a smarmy tone in their voice. (I tend not to talk nor draw attention to my life during the week at all.)

I participate in the rural community, volunteering for many activities through my church, and I do my rural libertarian thing, mostly by retrofitting my house to eventually take it off the grid–to return it to as it was when it was first built. I support the local farmers’ markets, local businesses, and I’m doing more these days to seek out kindred spirits through the local library and arts groups.

But I no longer take it for granted that I will retire there; there is only so much cultural isolation I can take. Before pulling up stakes and moving to a rural area, I recommend learning as much about the area as you can, and knowing your own needs and limits as well.

I agree that NYC, DC, Boston, Paris, London or LA would never be in the list of my favorite places to spend my youth, let alone my middle age. But a change of living surroundings might not be the panacea. May be a change in your job/career is what you need. Sometimes
just changing the color of the walls of your bedroom might help.

I was chronic complainer about the city I lived in – Silicon Valley was too expensive, NYC was too rude, Boston was too crowded, Omaha had nothing except Steakhouses and the Twin cities were too cold. Finally I realized that I was not happy with the job I was doing and I wanted to be closer to my friends and family. So I moved across continents back home to India after 9 years. I was dreading that I couldn’t stand the
pollution, the corruption, and the complete abscence of night life. It has almost been a year ad it has been great!. I’ll probably never move again. I get to do what I enjoy. I’ve made peace with bureaucracy. I work 70 + hours a week and I want more of it!. I own a Condo and 2 acres of land. My dad who had retired 2 years ago and was bored playing chess with his friends, has put his heart and soul into it and now grows mangoes, cashews and other tropical fruit.

Your situation might be completely different and move might be the answer. Som people are influenced by the environment more than others. To think one would be automatically be happy by giving up a materialistic life style is wrong. Unless the city you decide live in has similar values that you cherish, you are better off making changes within yourself.

Travel, even within the U.S., can really give you a different perspective on things, who knows where you’ll end up – that’s part of the joy of it. I would have an idea and a bit of a plan about where you want to land at the end – but don’t adhere to it religiously – things may change and you may end up somewhere totally different than where you thought you’d be when you started out – again, part of the fun.

Another thing to try when you’re traveling around the country is volunteering on organic farms. You get room and board, meet great people, learn about farming and related activities and it’s a great thing to do as your wending your way around, provided you’re willing to work. There is an organization that provides you with a list of host farms when you join called World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, here’s their link:
http://www.wwoofusa.org/index.html

Good luck!

check out dukecityfix.com, a local blog for more info.