If you don't require dark skies for 360 degrees, you can get away with going to a place that has dark sky in the direction of whatever you're trying to observe.

If you don't require dark skies for 360 degrees, you can get away with going to a place that has dark sky in the direction of whatever you're trying to observe. I've done a lot of deep sky photography within an hour of the Bay Area by being mindful of this.