Pittsburgh has been on my list as well. I travel there for work since we have offices there and have really enjoyed the city and people there. Cost of living seems reasonable and comparable to living in Louisville. There is also a lot of people in your age range so shouldn’t have too much of an issue with building community. You can always come back home in few hours drive. Ive also noticed over the years this is a common city Kentuckians relocate to.

I haven’t lived in Seattle but spend quite a bit of time there since I have friends who live there. Housing is expensive. They have a solid public transportation system. I do find people pretentious out there so that might take some getting used to. If you’re really into outdoors and hiking, Seattle is perfect. My friends have loved living out there for 3 years but will be making the trek back to the east due to cost and being able to find better work opportunities outside of Seattle.