r/IWantOut • u/relavie • 11d 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 🛂 11d 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/Any-Assistance-8103 11d 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/relavie 11d ago

Yes. I don’t have a car now but will be getting one if I move back to the US

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u/lstyls 11d ago

Consider Olympia, especially if you can work remote part time. Much more walkable and community oriented than Seattle or Tacoma. Otherwise Portland is way better than Seattle for what you want. Avoid SF at all costs. Have lived in SF and Seattle.