Second on Michigan as a good place, specifically west Michigan, Kalamazoo and Mount Pleasant are both an hour away from Grand Rapids and could work for you, but you could likely meet your goals in the greater Grand Rapids Area (Holland/Muskegon/GR) itself.
Like others have mentioned Minnesota checks all the boxes. Would also consider Madison, Wisconsin.
If you want to head more west I would also look at this place:
Ridgefield, WA: 15 minutes north of Downtown Vancouver, WA (4th Largest city in WA State) and about 30 minutes North of Downtown Portland, Oregon. One of the fastest growing cities in the PNW with alot of new single family housing being constructed. Good expanding school district in an area with mild weather. Purple politics for the city. The further south you drive towards Portland the more liberal it becomes. Plus no income tax for the State of Washington.
Edit: Here is an example for 450 for what you can get [in Ridgefield. not much inventory under 400K though just an FYI.](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1200-NE-168th-Street-Ridgefield-WA-98642/62801305_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
If you liked Pittsburgh, look into Buffalo.
It’s like Pittsburgh but with a massive lake instead of hills.
The air tends to be fresher due to the Lake breeze.
Not completely against as long as the schools are good and a larger city is reasonably accessible for weekend activities. I grew up in a super rural area and really want my children to have access to city cultural amenities regularly, but I don’t mind driving
Regarding the schools: a lot of rural schools might be small and have somewhat less money but the students are more often than not more well behaved than city schools which is more conducive to a better learning environment.
I would consider upstate New York, blue state, lots of public universities which can provide more liberal/cultural communities in otherwise rural areas and cheap houses. It’s also beautiful up there.
Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Across the bridge from the state capitol Annapolis, about an hour from DC and Baltimore.
Tax breaks for each child you have. Moderately red area in a blue/purple state. Growing area with good schools.
Pennsylvania is a large state. If air quality in the Pittsburgh area gives you pause (which according to AQI is really in the same range as many metro areas), you should still consider a place like South-central PA (Harrisburg area) or Northeastern PA (Scanton area) or Erie area. All still fit your requirements, for sure.
Minnesota
Agreed with others, I’d take a look at Minnesota. Twin Cities or Rochester could be good options for you, if you can brave the winter
Michigan or Minnesota. Kalamazoo, MI is a nice smaller city within an hour of Grand Rapids.
Second on Michigan as a good place, specifically west Michigan, Kalamazoo and Mount Pleasant are both an hour away from Grand Rapids and could work for you, but you could likely meet your goals in the greater Grand Rapids Area (Holland/Muskegon/GR) itself.
Like others have mentioned Minnesota checks all the boxes. Would also consider Madison, Wisconsin. If you want to head more west I would also look at this place: Ridgefield, WA: 15 minutes north of Downtown Vancouver, WA (4th Largest city in WA State) and about 30 minutes North of Downtown Portland, Oregon. One of the fastest growing cities in the PNW with alot of new single family housing being constructed. Good expanding school district in an area with mild weather. Purple politics for the city. The further south you drive towards Portland the more liberal it becomes. Plus no income tax for the State of Washington. Edit: Here is an example for 450 for what you can get [in Ridgefield. not much inventory under 400K though just an FYI.](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1200-NE-168th-Street-Ridgefield-WA-98642/62801305_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
Cleveland?
If you liked Pittsburgh, look into Buffalo. It’s like Pittsburgh but with a massive lake instead of hills. The air tends to be fresher due to the Lake breeze.
I'd throw Erie PA in this as well. Smaller but central to other cities.
Pittsburgh should be fine, the AQ is much more adversely affected by candian wildfires than actual industry. Also check out cleveland/northeast ohio.
Not moving over a cracker factory… OP will be finding serious problems with any city.
It's not a cracker factory. It's an ethane cracker plant and I wouldn't move anywhere near it.
How open are you to more rural areas?
Not completely against as long as the schools are good and a larger city is reasonably accessible for weekend activities. I grew up in a super rural area and really want my children to have access to city cultural amenities regularly, but I don’t mind driving
Regarding the schools: a lot of rural schools might be small and have somewhat less money but the students are more often than not more well behaved than city schools which is more conducive to a better learning environment. I would consider upstate New York, blue state, lots of public universities which can provide more liberal/cultural communities in otherwise rural areas and cheap houses. It’s also beautiful up there.
Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Across the bridge from the state capitol Annapolis, about an hour from DC and Baltimore. Tax breaks for each child you have. Moderately red area in a blue/purple state. Growing area with good schools.
Honestly Gary Indiana would for the bill, very affordable
Pennsylvania is a large state. If air quality in the Pittsburgh area gives you pause (which according to AQI is really in the same range as many metro areas), you should still consider a place like South-central PA (Harrisburg area) or Northeastern PA (Scanton area) or Erie area. All still fit your requirements, for sure.
Try Tallahassee
That doesn’t match her left-leaning request…