progress is slow.....

With global warming becoming a reality I have been thinking of moving to another country that is more supportive of cycling and transit. The answer of course would be somewhere in Europe. Here's where it gets a little sloppy though: even though places such as Germany and the Netherlands are very cycling friendly, they are also nearly 5000km away from Cleveland. Jet travel will inevitably get more expensive and I may not have the opportunity to visit my family if I live over there. Over the past few days I have been obsessing over this. Questions always pop up in my head about where I would like to be five years from now.
I guess my consensus now is that I am probably going to stay around the midwest area. I like my family and the community here. I might not stay in Ohio. They are way too conservative here and ODOT is not my friend. Maybe I will move some place that has more of a "village" feel. Here are my criteria for finding a city in which I would like to live: it must have groceries, library and work within 10mi of my home. It must have public transportation. It should have some type of cycling culture (at least 5% modal share is probably the highest number one could hope to reach over here) and it should have some type of nightlife scene and outdoor activities. The place should also have a low crime rate. Maybe college towns will fit the bill. My job is pretty portable, I can work anywhere there is a hospital, which is everywhere.
I am always looking for a transformation in how our nation is responding to the rising need of cycling, walking and transit and progress is always slow and depressing. It seems everyone in America is still fixated on driving everywhere because that is all they know. Every now and then there is a ray of hope. I like reading planetizen because it shares my point of view, but there is little interest in my views in the regular news.