Want to move, but can't tell if our wants are even reasonable/exist in the US!

Hot weather or blue state. Outside of California you basically have to choose one or the other.

You can have ALL of that, if you increase your budget. Simply put. You won’t be able to find it otherwise.

The Bay Area is beautiful, and checks off your other boxes. Look into Berkeley / Northern Oakland / Walnut Creek, for some more sunshine compared to SF.

You get what you pay for.

Honestly, if you’re going to be DINKs anyway, you’ll have a MUCH better chance of making it work in the Bay Area than if you were to have kids.

There are bunches of places in the DMV that will work for you - I'm familiar with more Maryland side - Downtown Rockville, Kentlands, even Frederick.

Maryland is slightly north of DC, but that could be a fit for everything else. Annapolis is my favorite town in Maryland; it’s absolutely charming, and very walkable. I’ve been many times to visit. Maryland is a blue state as well, which is a plus. That’s really the only option I can think of.

Yeah I think you’ll have to make some compromises somewhere.

Albuquerque could fit some of your needs but it isn’t walkable, Arizona overall has this issue.

Virginia might be your best bet, but the weather isn’t really what I’d call nice and I’d prefer the intense heat of the southwest to it

Santa Fe

Come to Decatur, GA and bring more blue votes this way. Maybe we can eventually fully flip this state. Both senators are democrats already.

Sacramento generally meets your requirements. Blue state, warm weather, good food scene, a big enough city to have things to do (and the Bay Area is nearby for more). Nice parks/nature. The central city is very walkable. 

COL is within your parameters in that you can get a really nice 2br for $3k. Though you may need to compromise on the "shiny new apartment complex" - the housing stock in the best walkable parts of the city tends to be more historic (much of it nice and beautiful, but older) small buildings, not shiny modern complexes.

also adding to my previous answer: look into New Orleans.

I’ll plug for Phoenix since I live here and you mentioned hot weather is okay. Comparatively low COL, hot as fuck but it truly is different with the lack of humidity compared to most hot places in the US - it’s a personal thing whether or not you prefer it. It’s a purple state but feels to be leaning a bit more blue. Has good food… walkability overall isn’t super, but highly neighborhood dependent. It definitely doesn’t check all your boxes but it’s an option. There are also other towns in AZ to the north that aren’t as hot, but typically do get snow as well. Having lived in both the PNW and Minnesota, I understand regarding the winters lol. Both beautiful states but the winters can feel rough for different reasons. Granted, many people in PHX find the summers rough so pick your poison.

California: Sacramento (or a surrounding walkable-ish burb of Roseville or Davis). This would be my top suggestion. SMF is a nice airport.

Palm Spring could be another option. Their downtown is pretty walkable but has smaller airport.

Arizona: Purple state (but mostly blue), so that may be up to you. Tempe, AZ is a great spot, and Tucson , AZ as well. PHX (sky harbor) goes everywhere. Also, parts of Phoenix (Roosevelt, Palmcraft, West Encanto) are walkable and historic.

Nevada: Las Vegas has pockets of walk ability. LAS airport will get you many places. Blue state.

Summerlin or Green Valley in Las Vegas. Vegas is car dependent but these have nice pockets, shiny apartments, hot weather ( gets a bit cold in the winter-50's or so but often feels warmer with that sun). Somewaht blue.

you want a college town in Arizona, New Mexico, or California.

Alternatively - I wouldn't really recommend anyone move there and don't like it myself, but Philadelphia also fits all of your requirements. Winter there is not much worse than DC

Riverside California would probably fit your bill. Not entirely sure about the city politics. It's walkable, hot, and affordable by California standards. Lot of stuff to do within an hour or two drive.

I'm pretty sure there's quite the Brazilian community in the LA basin, not sure about the inland empire.

Vegas fits most of your needs. Lived here for 5 years. Great if you have no kids since the schools are the biggest negative. Nevada waivers between red and blue but really is more middle libertarian so the red people arent quite as intense or crazy as in some other states. I would say overall its more of a disdain for politics in general on both sides. Walkable is possible in some areas but when its 110 degrees outside maybe not so much. When its real hot me and my husband go down to the strip and take long walks through the casinos to get excercise but keep cool.

Las Vegas - live near the arts district/downtown. you can walk to a lot of stuff and even the entire strip. great food and lots of nature surrounding the city.

Flagstaff, AZ (not sure how expensive it is these days though)

California, particularly the Sacramento area for your budget.

Richmond, VA

Roanoke, VA maybe? Haven’t spent much time there personally.

Frederick, MD

ETA after reading the replies, Annapolis and Santa Fe were probably good suggestions too. Annapolis is a Navy town, so you have to be ok with that.

Midtown Sacramento, CA you'll love it for literally every reason you asked for, MAX they have like 10 days a year in the high 30s/low 40s and even then when it gets really cold there (comparatively) it's usually crystal clear sunny out.

It has like 90% of what the Bay Area has but is even more walkable and probably twice as affordable.

If it weren't for weather, New Jersey could work for you. Most of North Jersey has what you desire. It does get slightly colder than DC in the winter though.

If it weren't for cost, I'm sure there's someplace in CA that would work. Maybe there are places in CA that meet your cost needs, but I'm not an expert.

Seems like areas of MD like Baltimore or Annapolis or northern VA might work. You say you don't want to live in DC, but maybe living somewhere else in its vicinity would work.

Buenos Aires? Unfortunately I don't think what you want exists in the US. If it wasn't for cost/no Florida I'd have suggested LA/San Diego/Miami (all car dependent cities but have pretty good pockets of walkability)

I moved to Austin but downtown so car is in garage often 5 days a week until the weekend. Would be the same even if I lived in a walkable city. From Australia and I love the heat

If you loved DC, would you consider Baltimore? It has not dissimilar weather to DC, in a very blue state, much more affordable cost of living than DC, has walkability, plus if you visit DC often and have roots there it's close enough to travel when you want to but far enough that there's some separation.

North Carolina is purple but Triangle, Asheville, Charlotte lean blue.

Asheville, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro are very Blue and progressive. Durham is very walkable.

We have hot humid summers but typically mild 4 seasons. Relatively large Latin America population and Brazilian culture for a medium sized metro (Triangle where I’m from).

You guys are looking for the Los Feliz neighborhood in Los Angeles. It has everything you are looking for

It’s really not that expensive

People exaggerate the shit out of how expensive LA and NYC are

I would look at the apartment listings on Zillow for that area of LA. There’s plenty affordable apartments, by your definition of affordable

Baltimore

You pretty much have to throw out blue state if you want hot. South Florida isn’t really Florida, so I wouldn’t dismiss the state out of hand based on the region. Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete tick your boxes (except blue state), and are very different experiences from south Florida. Orlando in particular has a lot of great walkable neighborhoods. Atlanta also fits your bill. Budget may be a bit of a stretch, but it’s in the ballpark in any of these. A more affordable and less considered option would be Birmingham. Food scene there is incredible.

Seems impossible— you’ve ruled out the northwest and anything north of DC. Midwestern states are too cold. And California is too expensive. That’s just about every blue state I can think of other than maybe Virginia or New Mexico. If you’re going to Virginia might as well just live in DC, and New Mexico is not walkable. Neither is Colorado, and it’s also expensive.

You just described Houston. Intense hot, food scene. Not a blue state, but it is a blue city.

Have you considered smaller towns, like 50-75K? There are college towns that might fit the bill, like Redlands, CA for example. A quick glance suggests rents are in your range, it's got a downtown, there's a restaurant scene, and you can of course go to LA or Palm Springs if you want something more.

Probably unpopular in this sub but a lot of what you describe could fit the uptown area in Dallas, TX. The urban core is walkable enough and has a trolley system that runs through it. Very liberal compared to the rest of the metroplex and state with a thriving arts scene and great food. And it’s hot hot hot in the summer.

Long Beach, CA

I reccomend vegas, there's allot of jobs, city life feel, and also is near to some state and national parks as well as historic sites if you ever want to mix it up.plus, great airport and location, close to LA, phoenix, good for road trips or flights. You can also live in the city down town or one of the new developments like Summerlin or Henderson to get the walkable parts, and cost is lower than other areas like arizona or california.

https://www.realtor.com/rentals/details/550-Stanton-St_Frederick_MD_21701_M99200-56495

This look like the kind of place you're interested in? There's a Wegmans a 14-minute walk away, IHOP 8 minutes, Walmart Supercenter 7 minutes, Starbucks 8 minutes, actually a whole bunch of restaurants and shops within walking distance. You can see them on Google Maps.

Okay this is going to be super specific but Riverside, California, specifically downtown. They have been building lots of yuppified apartments from the bones of old historic buildings, and I think the price range would be right. In the downtown area you have lots of dining options, coffee, and several performing arts venues, plus a few museums. There's a pedestrian mall that runs for several blocks. A farmer's market on weekends. Inland Empire weather (they say "Mediterranean"), hot summers and mild winters. Practically zero chance of snow.

I live in a nearby city and we enjoy the downtown Riverside area. My son always has wanted to live in the heart of a city and he eyeballs those apartments with envy.

The area is purple but Riverside edges blue. California of course is blue.

You'd need a car to access all the region has to offer. It truly is an hour from the mountains and an hour from the beaches. LA is 1 to 2 hours away when you need a bigger cultural fix than you can get in Riverside.

I have no answers for you. But can’t even begin to think of a place…did you just say you love South Florida??? Jk I grew up there in the 70s-80s and it was a great place to grow up. But I cannot imagine living there now and have not regretted my move away 20 years ago.

What you want is what I want, but the blue state requirement usually means cold weather and I can’t do it. It might be easier to look for blue pockets in a city.

There are areas of Atlanta that are blue/purple and have a lot of what you want, but in a red state with a lot of stupidity going on in our govt…bright spots (Warnock, Ossoff, and our former Lt. Governor who is Republican and voting for Biden bc he sees Trump for the trash he is). Decatur, Old Fourth Ward, Emory area, Grant Park could make you happy.

Arizona is a swing state. Pockets of Phoenix and Tucson are walkable.

You should check out Tempe, AZ

Hillsborough NC. Check it out. Very liberal, cute, and very walkable. No high rises, and not very big, though. Many famous authors live there, it’s situated on a river. A fantastic sports gym but you would need to ride a bike or walk to it.

Tempe Arizona.

We have all the same requirements except the car thing. I have found it doesn’t exist in America without giving on price. A lot of the places that are affordable are more rural, and therefore more red. Public transportation is severely lacking in a lot of places outside big cities, including all of New Mexico.

San Diego, although you'll have to make compromises somewhere between budget, walkable neighborhood, and building amenities.

Santa Fe

Frederick Maryland might work. It’s in a blue state doesn’t get freezing in the winter and downtown is walkable and cute and has apartments like that. Also maybe Annapolis or any suburbs of Baltimore. Or maybe Richmond va?

The low cost of living is the toughest one. Many cities in California meet everything but the low COL. The southeast meets most everything but no blue states. Maybe settle for a blue city in the southeast? I’m a big fan of Savannah GA or Charleston SC. Not super low COL but way more affordable than California.

As much as I personally don't care for it, this sounds like Albuquerque would be a really good fit maybe?

You can do this in various places in California. Arizona might work too but it’s purple, not blue. You might need to come up just a bit in housing budget.

Check out Nashville. Blue dot in a red state but it’s pretty nice.

Just stay out of Antioch.

Palm Springs!! It checks all of the boxes on your list

Fourth or fifth vote for Palm Springs. Example apartments at The Modern Cactus

That version of the American Dream is now found only in some overseas countries for most people.

Richmond.

While you were in DC, did you ever go down for a weekend? I have lived in both cities for a long time. I think RVA would match your interests

Uptown Phoenix AZ, if you’re willing to sacrifice on the “intensely car heavy”. Purple (blue-ing) state, blue area, You can find a decent place in your budget that’s walkable to stuff, doesnt get cold, BUT you absolutely will need a car for real “getting around”.

claremont, california. tiny town, but much cheaper than LA proper. walkable downtown. college town. try visiting!

I’m going to say no to the Bay Area and suggest a place like Durham NC or Charlottesville Virginia. It has real summers and is a blue area and a lot cheaper than California.

My partner and I had a similar criteria to yours, but we really wanted to own a house again, so affordability was important. Ended up moving to and buying in Greenville SC. We love our area, walk everywhere on the bike trail, and the weather is lovely.

Not crazy about the politics to say the least, but it has been very easy to make like-minded friends with all the folks moving here.

I think if you want to up the budget or don't care about having your own property, we had a ton of California towns and cities on our list that we considered.

Richmond, VA. The city is walkable. It's full of museums, music venues, art galleries, and year-round festivals. It's known as a foodie town with breweries everywhere and wineries nearby. Don't let our Republican governor fool you. He'll be out of here next year. Richmond is very blue and Virginia gets bluer every year. Also the beach and the mountains are two hours away.

Blue states like HI, NY and CA tend to be expensive because they are desirable and their taxes are higher as they have more. In terms of a lower COL, Chicago would check the boxes except that it does get quite cold

I recommend Detroit. The winters are a bit colder than DC (I moved here from DC), but not massively so, and since we're on the eastern side of the state, we don't get virtually any of the extreme snow. I've been here for the better part of a decade, and I think I experienced one snowfall that was knee deep. Compared to DC, when one particular coastal snow storm dumped like 3 feet of snow in 48 hours.

Denver! The Mile-High City checks pretty much all of your boxes. Multiple new downtown residential buildings have recently opened and several more are nearing completion. I think you can find 2BR for $3k, but that’s the only one in your list I’m not 100% sure of. Easy enough to check. The rest of you list sounds like you are describing our great city! lol!

Another vote here for Sacramento. Agree that you might not get the shiny new apartment with that budget alongside the walkability, but you can certainly get something decent in a walkable area, just might not have a gym and granite countertops. Or you could get a shiny new apartment in one of the more outskirt suburbs.

Blue, warm, walkable and low COL doesn’t exist.

Sacramento is as close as you can find with a moderate COL. I visited once and would like to go back. Very nice city.

Corpus Christi

San Diego tho have to compromise on a few things. Richmond, alexandria also fit

Someone told you Houston is car dependent. Not true. Massive bus line, Ubers are ubiquitous and relatively cheap. Plenty of walking and biking areas, particularly in what is referred to as the inner city ( look it up).Houston has everything you want. Heat and humidity? Of course.....you do what people everywhere do in that weather: light clothes, lots of water, wear a hat, etc.

Sacramento CA or Chico CA. Trust me I have lived all over NorCal. The bay is overrated in most areas, unless you want that TRUE city experience in SF. Not worth it in my opinion.

St Petersburg, FL

Blue state is tough. Blue city is much easier. Almost any city on the east coast between GA and DC fits your bill. Maybe check out Savannah Georgia, Charleston SC, Raleigh NC, something like that. Some of those states are purple and have been trending blue in recent elections.

When you find this magical place … tell me

Would say CA not cheap though

Narrow down the list to three non-negotiables.

Durham, NC or something very nearby it. Purplish state.

No

Honolulu (HI), San Juan (PR), Sacramento (CA), Inland Empire (CA), Santa Fe (NM), Richmond (VA).

Since you want a blue state, you’re basically limited to California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Virginia.

Southern California is very expensive and only works if you do like Riverside or Temecula (and is still pricey). Hawaii has high cost of living, but condos are surprisingly affordable so it’s worth a look. Santa Fe has cold winters, but is very artsy, is in a blue state, and is very historic/walkable.

San Juan is fairly liberal and is all of those things (hot, walkable, tropical, historic, artsy) but is far from the mainland and there’s hurricane risk and it’s not as developed. You could also do Vieques or USVI.

Richmond is basically mini-DC but 2 hours South. It’s in a blue state and is cheap by northeast standards, but the winters do get chilly (though not that bad imo)

If you would do swing states, Tucson and nearby (like Bisbee) and Las Vegas fit the bill (minus Las Vegas and ‘artsy’).

If you do red states, San Antonio is all of those things you said (cheap, historic, walkable center, artsy, good food).

Philly