Where would you like to live?

[Burt]

The drive to move away from my home state of OK is getting stronger and stronger as my kid approaches grade school age. Literally, I could move to anywhere other than Mississippi and be in a better school system. The allergies wreak havoc on my health for 4 months a year. I am sick and tired of tornadoes (been hit twice). I am sick of the crime (burglaries, murders near my home, etc.). I am sick of the backwardness of a fair percentage of the residents. I am sick of police kiliing citizens (we're #1 in police murdering citizens, I think). I am sick of high home insurance because of tornadoes and fracking. Mexican cartels and horse racing. Sex trafficking is a surprisingly large issue in this state (in the year 2015, how crazy is that?!).

 

I didn't really openly complain until this year, and monkeygirl called me out on it and made a good point. I do choose to live here to some degree, deal with it or quit griping.

 

I am not really well traveled. I have been to all of the interior states, but not the Atlantic or Pacific coasts. I tried to finagle a trip to Maine this year, but the funding fell through. Of the places I have visited, I really liked northern MN, northern WI, and the UP the best. I've heard good things about the northeast. Montana was beautiful as well, and working on a refuge would be a no-brainer.

 

So, where would you like to live? What was your favorite place? Least favorite?

[Ms. Spam]

Currently I am where I want to retire and live my life. San Antonio is pretty great as far as being a big city with attractions and things to do. If I can't find something to do within the city that is good, I can drive to the coast in about three hours, drive to Big Bend in about five hours or if I want to see major league baseball or football go to Houston or Dallas. My costs of living are good. I have a nice roof over my head. I don't pay state income taxes yearly. Gas is cheaper than more areas of my state. HEBs are the f'n bomb to shop at - just ask Cerina. I have been a victim of a breaking and entering but I think most people have had a burglary or something happen to their car but I still feel relatively safe. There's not much bad that can happen here in San Antonio unless it is water related such as running out of water or having too much.

 

If I could chose a place other than here I think it would be Savannah, GA. I used to vacation there when I lived in Atlanta and on Tybee Island and loved the people and such. It's hurricane prone but beautiful homes and architecture as well as beaches and places to go. It would also be closer to the family side that I love and want to visit and spend time with.

 

For where I would never ever consider being it would be Tucson, AZ. Holy crap on a stick. I am miserable there. They don't have a good way to get around quickly. Gas is high. State income taxes. Bad food to go out to eat. Water issues are there too. I went to Wal-mart when I went out to help my Mom and they're so used to old people they put just two items in a bag when bagging your groceries. They gave me a bag with just my one roll of paper towels. I am not OLD, you can pack those bags please. However, I may end up doing my entire break from school there. It will be a struggle to not kill myself. Even fantastic sunsets won't do it for me or good places to climb or going birding (It's hummingbird season). Of course it is slightly something to do with family and I did go to high school for two years in Tucson so I have lived there. The heat won't kill you. It will be the endless nothing but waiting out the heat.

[UK Legend Killa]

Rome!

 

Spent a week there and loved it, the culture, the food and the lifestyle. I would love to up sticks and move there.

 

Then on to Florence ten years later.

[Destiny Skywalker]

I have lived in 3 different places: Chicago suburbs, coastal Florida, and Seattle suburbs.

 

Growing up in the Chicago area, I was fairly ignorant of politics. It just wasn't something my family worried about all that much. I would consider it pretty moderate, if only because there are many views, and so combined they end up being center. Great schools (teachers make really good money there), and there's a ton of activities for adults and kids both. I would happily return there to raise my family if there was an engineering job that I would find enjoyable.

 

Coastal Florida was very laid back. HOT. I was there for 6 years and I don't think I ever completely adjusted to the heat. It's a whole different ballgame than midwest humidity. Not a lot of "culture" compared to Chicago and Seattle, that might be partially because the area I lived was actually somewhat rural. That sort of thing didn't bother me when I was a college student, don't know how much it would matter to me now that I have kids. I have a feeling we would still have enough to do, but we likely wouldn't worry about it so much (see earlier note about laid back). Politics tend towards the conservative side, but not full-blown Southern, for the most part. We joke that the further south you go, the further North you're really going. By the time you get to Miami, you're back in New York. People are much simpler, friendlier, and tend to worry about their own issues instead of everyone else's business.

 

Seattle is beautiful, but very uptight and pretentious. I find people to be somewhat irritable and closed off, almost rude. Very judgmental. I am considered upper class in the area but there are people who would consider us to be "not good enough". Very competitive culture. There is a large Asian and a somewhat significant Scandinavian population, I'm not sure how much of it has to do with that. There is a lot to do for adults and kids. Schools very much depend on where you live. Some school districts command significantly higher home prices. Politics are extremely liberal. All the cars on the roads are imports, either commuter Hondas/Toyotas, Priuses, or Mercedes/BMW. The rural parts outside of Seattle are more typical rural atmosphere but still a little more uptight than the Midwest lol. That said, we are here for at least the next 5 years, despite a recent opportunity to move to Hunstville. I ultimately withdrew myself from contention because of my son's vision issues, and I worry we might have difficulty finding a pediatric ophthalmologist out there. My mom has a lot of health issues and I'm finding that "urban rural" hospitals are pretty much a joke.

 

Where would I like to live? I admittedly love how beautiful Seattle is. I think I would be happiest somewhere out west but without the pretentious attitude. Maybe Denver? I do love mountains. Ultimately, I think we will retire somewhere that my husband can play golf 300 days a year, partially because he likes golf that much, and also because he is a Southern California native and can't stand the cold. He has a bum knee, too, the dampness/cold really gets to him. The industry we work in is somewhat limited for geographic diversity, but there are more options opening up as our company tries to move out of the area because of the unions. There may be an opportunity for us to move back to Florida, actually, but I think we're going to stay put for now because of the aforementioned health issues. We really do miss our friends and family down there. My mother-in-law plans on leaving us the house, which we will probably turn into a family vacation home. When her husband passes away, I think she will probably move closer to us, wherever that may be. But where she lives is 20-80 miles from decent jobs, so living in the house full-time is not optimal.

[RelentlessMalice]

Some place where I hardly see the sun, no humidity,nice constant breeze, steady rainfall. Not alot of people.

[Cerina]

I'd move back to the Texas Hillcountry in a few years. Since we homeschool, I'd be hesitant to move out of Texas since the homeschool law is so open and relaxed here. I like living close to the city also because there's so much here for enrichment and culture.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

I plan on retiring in or near Sedona, AZ.

 

If money were no object, then I would live in Encinitas, CA, with time shares in Cabo, Italy, Ireland, British Columbia, and Panama.

[Darth Krawlie]

San Diego is by far the absolute best place I've ever lived and I never want to leave here. That being said, moving sounds increasingly appealing due to cost of living and cost of homes. I doubt we'd ever leave the west coast, though.

[Ms. Spam]

I plan on retiring in or near Sedona, AZ.

 

If money were no object, then I would live in Encinitas, CA, with time shares in Cabo, Italy, Ireland, British Columbia, and Panama.

I liked Sedona. If I had to live in Arizona it would not be Sedona though as it is expensive. I love the White Mountains where John Wayne retired. I'd move out to Alpine and live in a cabin with some chickens and a horse and garden and in general be left alone. My ultimate dream is to open a nice home cookin' restaurant and be open limited hours and be chief cook and bottle-washer. During the cold months I'd do some cross country skiing.

 

My restaurant would do home cooked meals like meatloaf, spaghetti, fried things like chicken and steak and hamburgers with other sammich options and breakfast. On Friday and Saturday I'd do a supper club type thing where you could have something to drink like a local brew of beer or wine or mead, some tasty appetizers and then a main course with dessert and coffee. Then someone could give a local talk or we could have a movie in the yard or something.

[Burt]

Sedona was unique. The UFO stuff kind of turned me off, but the people were nice.

[Evolence]

Savannah, GA is really nice. I could easily call it home. I've lived in different parts of Georgia and I don't care for the heat or conservatism. Atlanta is culturally great though.

 

Maine is a great state, but an acquired taste. The winters suck and the taxes can be high. But it's a very pleasant culture.

 

Like you, I'm not well traveled and have little to recommend.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

Sedona was unique. The UFO stuff kind of turned me off, but the people were nice.

Yeah there are some weird new age types up there for sure. But I'm antisocial, so I won't have to interact with them, anyway.

[Carrie Mathison]

This is a question I've thought about a lot over the years. As most of you probably know, I grew up in and lived most of my life in NYC. But what many of you may not know is that I've actually lived in several different places as well- Boston, DC, the South, the West. I've traveled to all 50 states and now live in Europe and have been here for a few years.

 

As much as I've gone on at length on this board about how the world begins and ends in Manhattan, since I'm not in a trolling mood today, the truth is that I could actually find places to live in every region of the US. Sure, I'd bitch about it in public, but I could find something tolerable almost anywhere. In the South, I agree with Ev that Savannah is a cool little town. Also Charleston is surprisingly decent. Outside of that, it's basically a lot of sun-belt mid-sized sprawly cities that are interchangeable. Atlanta is OK, but if you want a sprawling city of freeways and malls in that design, LA is a superior choice, both in climate and culture. Though it's not the South per se, I've always liked Miami. A lot of people don't really like the fact that it's basically Cuba, but I've always thought it was pretty cool, even if the climate is insufferable.

 

The South would be hard for me though, mostly because of the climate. In the Mid-Atlantic, NYC is obviously my favorite, but DC and Philly are both fine. New England- never been a huge fan of Boston, but I think rural New England is very pleasant.. probably the only rural area I would live in. In the Mid-West, although I talk a lot of sh-t about it, Chicago is a decent enough town. In the West, Denver is not bad. It's a bit sprawly and if you're not super into the outdoors (I'm not), you can get tired of it quick, but it's basically the only thing between Chicago and the west coast, and I could easily live there if I had to. On the West Coast, I used to say that SF was my favorite, but the truth is, that although it would be easiest for me to find work there, I don't think I really fit in with the culture there. LA is much more my style. I hate driving, so maybe I'd live in Manhattan Beach or something. Finally, Texas. Houston and Dallas are both fine, not preferable, but certainly tolerable. Never been a big Austin fan- seems like a cool place to live a year in your early 20s or something, but I'm kinda past that.

 

So that's the US. Probably in rank order would be NYC, then DC, then LA. My #1 place in the world would be not be in the US though- if I could literally live anywhere, it'd be Tokyo. Amazing vibe, always exciting, super clean and efficient, tons to do, great shopping, awesome restaurants, a financial and economic center of the world, and on top of that, I absolutely love Japanese culture. #2 would be a two-way tie between Singapore and Hong Kong. HK has the best skyline in the world and both those cities are better for Americans to find jobs, but the climate in both is inferior (too hot/humid, no real seasons).

 

Outside of those... in Europe, London in the UK is nice. Never been a huge fan of France. Southern Europe is fun to visit, but I don't understand people that actually want to live there. Take it from someone that regularly visits Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.. these places are great to pop in for a weekend or something, but actually living your day-to-day life there is a gigantic pain in the ass. Germany is OK- I really like a lot of their cities (Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne are all great), but the German people can really get on your nerves after a while. Amsterdam is a fun place to spend a weekend, but I wouldn't live there. Scandinavia is probably the most liveable place in Europe. Of that area, Copenhagen is probably my favorite. Norway is super pleasant, but it's actually kinda boring, even though it's got some of the best natural scenery in the world. Stockholm is nice, but I think I preferred Copenhagen. The rest of the smaller countries I wouldn't live in, except Switzerland, which is nice. Also, Vienna- really awesome city; in my top 3 for Europe.

[Burt]

I really enjoyed my time in Tokyo. I wish I could have seen more of Japan outside of Tokyo, but I got off the plane with $350 in my pocket to last a week, so my options were limited. I was mostly in Ikebukuro, which didn't seem like the cheapest place. I did get north of Tokyo in the rural areas, which were great as well. I was amazed at how many random conversations I got into. I guess people over there jump at the chance to use their English? If I was 23 and single, I would totally sign up to teach English there for a year just for the experience.

[IMericka]

I'm heading north as soon as possible. There's no water here and everyone works too hard for way too little.

[Copper]

I'm super happy in the bay area, but I sure do wish it wasn't so damn expensive!

[CoLA]

I'm pretty satisfied with Tucson for the time being. It does get pretty hot in the summer but you can't beat the winters here! Plus, I can drive to LA or San Diego in about 7 hours, so it's nice to be near to them when I want to get away to the coast and all the various SoCal craziness. Sedona is really beautiful, too!

 

I've been to Italy (Rome!) before and that was awesome! If I could afford to and I could speak the language, I wouldn't mind living there. Probably my favorite city I've been to! Also been to Ireland and that was pretty fun. Not sure how I would feel about the winter months there...

 

I have not been to Germany but really want to one of these days! I've been teaching myself to learn German, too, so that I can speak with the locals in their own language when I do!

 

I think if I made very good money I would live in San Diego or Orange County, I've always liked going to those areas. Not too keen on LA so much but I do like Santa Barbara.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

I'm pretty satisfied with Tucson for the time being. It does get pretty hot in the summer but you can't beat the winters here! Plus, I can drive to LA or San Diego in about 7 hours, so it's nice to be near to them when I want to get away to the coast and all the various SoCal craziness. Sedona is really beautiful, too!

 

 

Tuscon is an OK city and is totally livable in the right areas: there's a lot nicer places to live, but there is a ton of a lot worse places to be, too. It just suffers from being an older city with some sprawl and needs a better nightlife, but in the last 15 years the growth in the east and revitalization of downtown, has really helped breathe new life into the Tuscon area. Catalina Foothills is sort of like North Scottsdale or Carefree. Speedway BLVD around U of A is a typical college town area. Barrio Hollywood can be rough in some areas. South Tuscon, which is technically its own city, sucks ass, though.

[Ms. Spam]

I went to high school for one year at South Tucson. There are only two nice things to say about South Tucson - You only have to pass through it on the way to Kitt Peak and the smog doesn't looks so bad from San Xavier De Bac.

[Darth Krawlie]

Tucson was okay for the few years I lived there, but would never want to go back. It was one of the darkest periods of my life, coincidentally. Trying to get my brother out of there but it's not looking likely.

 

We've been looking pretty heavily at the Seattle area lately, but it wouldn't be for a number of years at least before it happened, if it does at all.

[Ms. Spam]

Krawlie, I think you like expensive places to live.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

I went to high school for one year at South Tucson. There are only two nice things to say about South Tucson - You only have to pass through it on the way to Kitt Peak and the smog doesn't looks so bad from San Xavier De Bac.

Which is totally understandable to me why you hate it there.

Tucson was okay for the few years I lived there, but would never want to go back. It was one of the darkest periods of my life, coincidentally. Trying to get my brother out of there but it's not looking likely.

 

We've been looking pretty heavily at the Seattle area lately, but it wouldn't be for a number of years at least before it happened, if it does at all.

I wouldn't necessarily want to move to Tuscon by choice, unless I received a job offer that I'd be a fool to turn down, but for me, whatever Tuscon has, PHX has more of, so that's unlikely to happen. And it's not like PHX is a paradise, either, but I can think of a lot of worse places to be, too.

 

My friends who live in east Tuscon (nice pad, actually, Excalante and Houghton) are moving to Bellevue, WA. They say they love it there.

 

But really, if you aren't happy to begin with, location isn't always going to help. It's like that saying "Wherever you go, there you are."

[Darth Krawlie]

Krawlie, I think you like expensive places to live.

They tend to be more liberal and actually have shit that's interesting to do, so I guess so. Seattle is considerably cheaper than San Diego, that's for sure.

[Driver]

 

Sedona was unique. The UFO stuff kind of turned me off, but the people were nice.

Yeah there are some weird new age types up there for sure. But I'm antisocial, so I won't have to interact with them, anyway.

 

Was there for my birthday last years for a week. It was odd, and the dining options were limited (big deal to me), but it was beautiful.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

 

 

Sedona was unique. The UFO stuff kind of turned me off, but the people were nice.

Yeah there are some weird new age types up there for sure. But I'm antisocial, so I won't have to interact with them, anyway.

 

Was there for my birthday last years for a week. It was odd, and the dining options were limited (big deal to me), but it was beautiful.

 

Sedona is beautiful, but yeah, not a lot of good restaurants. Probably the best options that are somewhat close are Flagstaff and Jerome. The greater Verde Valley area has a lot of Californians who moved there, actually. This has driven the home prices up over the last 20 years or so.

 

Not sure what I can afford when I retire (recently I found out I may be laid off in the very near future, so my retirement plans may be shot all to hell!), but just to get out of PHX and retire somewhere nice yet still something pretty affordable, I would even live as far away as Flagstaff, an visit (or work in) Sedona frequently. It's less than an hour drive. Cottonwood's area is beautiful too, and close by Sedona, but the town itself is like Sedona's trashy trailer park cousin the rest of the family doesn't want to talk about.