I've lived and worked near Evanston and Berkeley actually. If you're within spitting distance there are better places to live, to be honest. My interpretation

I've lived and worked near Evanston and Berkeley actually. If you're within spitting distance there are better places to live, to be honest. My interpretation of this post was that it was trying to draw people away from major urban areas. Some of those examples you give are either in or on the edges of major cities.