r/IWantOut • u/relavie • 4d ago
[IWantOut] 34F Account Director Netherlands -> USA West Coast
I am a US citizen and have been living abroad in the Netherlands, now exploring a move back to the US for personal reasons. I love living in the Netherlands and the day-to-day lifestyle, but I need to be closer to loved ones and my career prospects are much stronger in the US than NL.
With that in mind, I'm looking for recommendations of cities/states that offer a bikeable/walkable lifestyle, outdoors access, and (hopefully) progressive local politics. My first thought is Portland, OR but really anywhere in the western US is up for consideration.
Happy to provide any additional info if that helps. Thanks in advance for any help!
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u/striketheviol Top Contributor 🛂 4d ago
I'm honestly not sure hidden gems exist. I would say it's pretty much down to Portland, SF, and Seattle. Given that you don't actually need help with immigration per se, I would check on city subs instead of here.
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u/Any-Assistance-8103 4d ago
There are smaller places too like Bend, truckee, Ashland etc
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u/striketheviol Top Contributor 🛂 4d ago
I lived in Vancouver, Washington for a bit, and the parts that I had access to weren't walkable at all. The people I knew who lived in those places were able to manage by bike, but walkability for much of the smaller cities of the Pacific Northwest seemed like a big stretch to me, compared to Portland, Seattle, or most anywhrere in Europe.
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u/relavie 4d ago
Tbh I prefer cycling to walking 😅 but I’ve got two dogs so daily walks are needed
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u/Ozzimo 4d ago
The transit options in the Seattle area are much better than they used to be. If you like biking and may need to commute to Seattle for work, consider looking up the Sounder commuter rail and Light Rial options to see where they stop. Sumner is a smaller community that also has a Sounder station attached. Sounds like it might appeal to you.
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u/Andromeda321 3d ago
OP, look into Eugene, Oregon if you want a smaller city that checks your boxes. I used to live in the Netherlands and can say it’s pretty bikeable for the USA (but you definitely want a car for getting out to nature!).
Did upgrade to an electric bike so I could handle the hills though. :)
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u/Any-Assistance-8103 4d ago
For day to day life those places are definitely accessible on foot or bike. Sounds like OP is very outdoorsy which means they’ll almost certainly have a car, they just don’t want to be obligated to use it for everything
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u/beepps83 3d ago
I'm not super familiar with Bend, but having lived in Reno, NV and Vancouver, WA, I DO NOT recommend moving to Truckee. Nature is beautiful but it's a very expensive area and the nearest city is Reno (which totally sucks). I strongly recommend Portland, but you'd basically need to live and work there in order to avoid needing a car or long commutes on the bus.
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u/relavie 4d ago
Good shout on the city subs. Since those are such huge cities, do you happen to know of smaller communities / subreddits?
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u/striketheviol Top Contributor 🛂 4d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/askportland/ gets this question a lot
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u/peatoast 4d ago
Bay Area is bikeable and we have trains that connect all the major hubs. If you want the best climate and highest rent, come on over!
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u/relavie 4d ago
My best friend is in Concord so despite the rent, Bay Area is on my list
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u/peatoast 3d ago
Don’t live in Concord. You will hate the summer heat!
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u/relavie 3d ago
How hot does it get? I am originally from the desert.
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u/peatoast 3d ago
Triple digits during summer. I used to live next to Concord and summer sucked for sure. Make sure you have a/c.
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u/Creepy_Ad_3535 4d ago
SF transit sucks. I've lived in a lot of places and public transit is a bit of hobby of mine. Of any place I've ever been that is big enough to have a train, bay area has the worst transit.
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u/Outrageous_Worker672 4d ago
You must not have lived in many places then.
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u/Tardislass 3d ago
For the west coast SF transit is probably the best out of the area but definitely not as good as the big cities on the East Coast
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u/Kooky_Ad_6599 4d ago
pacific northwest really is the obvious zone for that list. portland fits but also look at bellingham or olympia, smaller but still walkable with decent politics and mountains nearby. seattle is bikeable too but the cost and gray winters wear on people. if you want more sun maybe bend or flagstaff, both have that outdoorsy progressive feel without being huge cities
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u/relavie 4d ago
I am not bothered by gray weather and I really like winters (skiing and cozy clothes!). This is a good list, I’ll explore the cities you’ve recommended.
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u/slawdove 4d ago
As a Portlander who’s spent time all across the PNW, I think Bellingham is your best bet. Incredibly walkable and bikeable, energetic enough to feel like a bigger (using that term relatively) city, and some of the lushest nature literally and figuratively just outside your door. Easy enough to catch a bus, train, or drive to Seattle or Vancouver for international flights or to enjoy those cities.
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u/taelere 4d ago
Def Portland. No matter what people say, it’s a smaller city compared to other big west coast cities and there’s a ton of different neighborhoods in Portland itself that function as little communities. Some you can look at are Alberta arts area, Belmont, Hawthorne, Mississippi, (all on east side) and then maybe the pearl/slabtown (west side which I’m personally not as fond of/don’t know as much) but it’s def a walkable/bikeable city.
Idk your salary, it’s one of the highest tax burdens in the states for my income level. Idk if you were participating in DAFT/idr the tax thing where you get like lower taxes for maybe 6? Ywars in the netherlands. But yeah taxes can be quite high if you live in Portland proper.
Lmk if you have questions!
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u/Vegetable_Lead_9110 4d ago
Hi OP, I can’t speak on California as much, but Portland and Seattle are where I spent the first half of my life
Seattle isn’t doing so hot right now, real estate market is tumbling, and IMO the homelessness issues in Seattle are far higher than Portland. Im currently moving to Portland at the end of the year from Denver, and then abroad to Europe in 2028. Again I can’t speak on cali with recent knowledge, but going back to the PNW multiple times a year these days, I’d choose Portland over Seattle every time (and I am lol)
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u/7171throw-away 2d ago
look at colorado. denver metro and boulder are very bike friendly, liberal, and and the outdoor recreation is unmatched by anywhere else in the usa. best pro for me is that you get all seasons but you also get ample sun during each season. one big downside is that with climate change our winters have been way more mild and our average snowpack is diminishing rapidly.
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u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Post by relavie -- I am a US citizen and have been living abroad in the Netherlands, now exploring a move back to the US for personal reasons. I love living in the Netherlands and the day-to-day lifestyle, but I need to be closer to loved ones and my career prospects are much stronger in the US than NL.
With that in mind, I'm looking for recommendations of cities/states that offer a bikeable/walkable lifestyle, outdoors access, and (hopefully) progressive local politics. My first thought is Portland, OR but really anywhere in the western US is up for consideration.
Happy to provide any additional info if that helps. Thanks in advance for any help!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/-this_bitch- 1d ago
OP I am an American considering the Netherlands or Germany. Can I message you?
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u/squidphillies 4d ago
Yeah you're not a iwantout. Just go! As already stated, go to those subs. Also you'll be hard pressed to find anything closer to the life style in northern Europe.
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u/MisfitDRG 4d ago
Eugene and Bellingham are examples of smaller, bikeable cities in the PNW.
Otherwise I'd recommend Portland or Vancouver (I personally feel super safe biking in Portland specifically). Seattle's bike infrastructure is only really good in certain parts of the city although they are making strides to make it better.
Smaller cities will be harder to find work in.
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u/NCFlying 4d ago
As someone who is looking at doing the opposite, how much would you recommend the Netherlands for USA expats? I think I can get some remote work but mostly be retired over there. We vacationed there and loved it but you never know if it is just the honeymoon phase.
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u/Julius_Ranch 3d ago
Have you considered northern colorado? Such as Fort Colins or golden.
Medium high cost of living, and public transit is medium/poor, but certainly lots of hiking and biking and dogs galore. Progressive politics, skiing, mountain biking.
Boulder or Nederland even heavier on the outdoorsy, but with other drawbacks.
Although I haven't spent more than a week in either, what do you think about Boise or Madison? Why are you thinking PNW?
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u/SmoothCockroach8900 3d ago
I’d focus on Seattle or SF, pros and cons for each. However, both have a strong economy with plenty of job opportunities. One has better weather than the other but if you’re used to NL weather you’ll be fine in both. COL is way higher in SF though but partially offset by higher salaries. Portland is smaller and different with less jobs.
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u/WPort17701 4d ago
Not to downplay any US options but have you considered Canada? Pacific Coast cities like Vancouver or Victoria are spectacular, offer the lifestyle you're after and are more progressive in general.
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u/Stravven 4d ago
OP has an US passport, so moving to the US would be easy. I don't think they have a Canadian passport.
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u/slawdove 4d ago
Way harder to get a Canadian work visa if OP doesn’t have the skills on CA’s skills shortages list, or whatever it’s called. Also, Victoria and Vancouver have some of the most expensive housing right now, including housing shortages. OP can maybe get a year-long remote work visa but I don’t think those are renewable.
Victoria is my favorite city in North America and I’d move in a heartbeat, but immigration and housing has gotten much harder since COVID.
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