Suggestions request; first trip with 8mo baby, for 6 wks, cheap-ish, safe, walkable
 

Humbly asking the FT experts for suggestions on a new country to visit for ~6 weeks.

Looking for a place to go with my wife and 8 month old baby for the summer to get out of the heat (we live in the desert and the summer confines us indoors - and we’ve already spent too much time inside between Covid and new baby).

Prioritizing nice weather in June (50-75f), walkable city, reasonable prices. Likely going to rent an apt for the 6 wks and then take day trips or weekend trips from there.

Destinations we’ve considered - Buenos Aires (maybe not safe enough?), Lisbon (maybe too warm, also have been there before), Bali (probably too hot). Possibly Northern Europe like Denmark but probably too expensive to vacation there for 6 wks.

Places out of the running for various reasons (not safe enough or have already been there): Poland, France, Africa, India, UK, Italy, Greece, Southeast Asia, Japan, SK, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Caribbean, Brazil.

Baby limits us a bit because he needs to be home every 2-3 hours for feeding / nap etc., so not really into “adventurous” destinations. Not going sailing or 4 wheeling etc. Kind of envisioning taking daily walks around the city, stopping for lunch and people watching, then back to base for baby for a bit then out again.

Does it have to be a foreign country? I should think that parts of New England or Upstate New York would fill the bill.

Eh, we have traveled domestically pretty extensively during Covid but haven’t left the US in 3 years. And this may be our only chance for a couple of years if we end up having another kiddo.

For cost reasons, too. NE is probably too expensive to “vacation” for 6 weeks, but it’s not completely out of the question.

Northern Michigan may be an option. Summer airbnbs are expensive but the cost of living is otherwise lower.

Because so many students leave town for the summer, you might be able to find (relatively) inexpensive summer sublets in college towns in the Northeast -- or elsewhere. About ten years ago, I was able to sublet a furnished one-bedroom apartment in Ithaca, New York, for about $1,000/month over the summer -- two years in a row. I arranged the sublet directly with the building's landlord.

I suggest Berlin. Very easy to get around, lots of rental possibilities, great food and lots of things to see.

Naps can happen in the stroller! At least that was our philosophy when traveling with our kids when they were that age.

Copenhagen or Amsterdam came to mind because anywhere there are a lot of bikes, getting around with a stroller is pretty easy as well. Berlin also a good suggestion - we actually went there without our kids, but it would be easy to get around, a really interesting place to be, and convenient to get away for the weekend trips.

What about someplace like Brisbane?

I think if you pick the right neighborhood Buenos Aires can be fine safety-wise. That said I have family there so they always take care of those concerns. Santiago may be the most family friendly place I have ever visited.

I like the idea of Copenhagen or Amsterdam, but IME these places will certainly have more than a few June days above 75 F. The places that would fairly reliably avoid that would be *northern* New England, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco, Alaska, and not much else. SF might be too hilly for long walks with a stroller and the same would be true for parts of Seattle. (This also eliminates Ithaca NY which was mentioned upthread.)

Watch out for countries that require a visa (or a visa in advance) for stays over 30 days. I think Bali and Australia could be problematic, but Schengen should be OK.

Downtown Ithaca -- which has lots of apartment buildings -- is not hilly at all, and quite walkable. Supermarkets, drug stores, etc., are all a 15-25 minute (flat) walk from downtown. There is also frequent, inexpensive bus service from downtown to Cornell, the big shopping mall, Walmart, a big lakeside park, etc.

But there will certainly be days when the temperature exceeds 75°F.

A lot of the interesting stuff in Ithaca as well as some nice walks would be up the hill. I don't think OP wants to do a lot of juggling baby and stroller on local public buses.

I think the OP really wants to get out of the country, but with all the Ithaca discussion will also throw out Ghent (being a college town). I had to spend a few weeks there a decade ago when my mother in-law had surgery. Our oldest son was 2.5 then so we had the stroller -- Ghent was really easy to get around and very nice overall. I would assume a little more affordable compared to a larger city like Amsterdam. You can even get out to the beach (Ostend) with a 40 min train ride (great promenade and walking area) and certainly good connectivity for other weekend trips.

We were there during this large 10 day festival held in July - Gentse Feesten . I think they have a lot of other cultural events during the summer as well.

June average high of 70 low of 55 with 9 days of rain.

Thanks for the suggestions all!

I'd be concerned that old cobblestone streets could be difficult with a stroller. Otherwise, I like the idea of Ghent. BTW Brugge tends to be filled with tourists, but another pleasant small city in Belgium is Leuvin (formerly known as Louvain, but it's Dutch-speaking like Antwerp, Brugge, and Ghent. Brussels is a big city and has some interesting neighborhoods, but also places with stairs as well as the cobblestone streets. In general, Belgium can get hot and somewhat humid; it isn't universally air conditioned.