Lease is up in January, where to next?

I currently live in central florida with my partner, paying $1553 for a 1b/1b. We moved here for work, but now have the ability to be remote so we’re seriously considering leaving.

The political landscape is a pretty big part of it. We’re from texas, so we’re used to & can handle some red, but the direction Florida is heading just feels like it’s on another level. And we have the privilege to leave. (Which I feel so lucky for)

I’ve lived in the south my whole life, and just feel like my knowledge of where we could go I is so limited. Would love suggestions.

More context/ what we want:

• we are at the top of our budget, we can keep things the same but we can’t go over 1500
• left leaning city, dreamville would be a left leaning state too but see point 1 (rip)
• small to midsize preferred. I hate interstates and anxiety inducing driving
• I dream of living in a walkable neighborhood
• young community, currently surrounded by old people. It’s been hard to make friends.
• I’ve never lived anywhere with a ton of snow- it’s not a dealbreaker, but would be a big step
• we have no plans of breaking up or getting married, but knowing we wouldn’t be screwed if we needed to live alone OR if we wanted to eventually settle down & buy a house- basically, have options that actually feel somewhat achievable. At least eventually.
• easy access to a direct flight to IAH is a bonus

What’s been suggested, but we’ve never been:

• Kansas City, MO (specifically river market) (love everything I’ve seen, scared of Missouri)
• Lakewood, OH (TikTok has HYPED this up)
• Albuquerque, NM (this sub has lots of mixed feelings about this one)

Would love any thoughts on the cities above, or any additional suggestions. Feels like a bigger decision just because of all of the current legislation. I’m just trying to survive and be a little happy while doing it.

Thanks if you made it this far!