Hi all, DH and I are planning a fall road trip to visit an aunt and also rule out/include small cities (mostly 80K population or less) to move to in the next 5 years. We haven't ever visited these cities. Once we winnow down the list from this trip, we would return for a many-week stay to really be sure (or even rent) before buying a home. I know how to research statistics for cities on the Internet, but I'm not sure how long to stay in each city on this initial trip in order to get an accurate view of them. How long would you give yourself to rule out a future home? One day and night, or more?
I think you nailed down an important factor immediately with the fact you know you want to live somewhere with 80k or less population...but initially when I started with that criteria, I didn't realize that if you went to an island with only 80k... that's it. no surrounding other cities of random 40k, 55k, 29k etc that the suburbs and exurbs of say the top 20 most populous cities in America.
I would really focus on how far away you also want to be from these said large city centers...1hr, 4hrs...that will limit you.
Culture for us wasn't a biggie, we just wanted different culture than we were used to, and totally got that with Maui no ko oi love.
Is sports important, not all places have equal sports teams. Didn't bother me though I've lived in states with no pro teams. It's fine.
How far will you be from friends and loved ones, and especially those not doing so well that you might want to spend a bit more time with?
Any furry pals coming? Some cities are WAY and i mean WAY more friendly with certain species than others.
Pollution, air quality, and weather. Traffic. Food sourcing. Entertainment. College town?
Good hospitals, specialties specific to your needs?
How does price per sq ft compare to your current locale? Shop the online grocer ads for the city/town you target to get a feel for egg/milk/bread prices etc.
And good of you for asking for help! Moving is a big deal. When we left Minnesota to move to Maui I think I ended up with the #1 read blog about Maui on City-Data...I may still hold that record. That forum was super helpful, but not as well moderated as this.