The best place to live

I've moved to a lot of different places and unfortunately,��I'm still moving a lot.� There have always been a few things I liked about each place I lived.� I'm guessing that Kansas is not going to be the end of the line for me, so help please?
Where is the best place you've lived?� Why did you like it?

San Francisco Bay area.
Why?
Great weather--no snow, few cloudy days, little rain
Amazing diversity of population
Lots of great cultural/arts events
Beautiful scenery--water, hills, parks, palm trees
Great food opportunities of all sorts
Liberal political climate
Awesome boyfriend

The bay area is truly and completely amazing. Everything you've said and more. The people are incredibly friendly, even moreseo than the midwest. And despite the tech boom's hard work ethic, the overall pace of live is slower. People aren't in a hurry.

That said, the downside is that housing is beyond expensive. The area is nestled between a mountain range and the sea, so there's nowhere to expand, and everyone else has found out how great it is. So you end up thanking your lucky stars when you're able to find a 2 BR early-80's apartment relic for $1500 a month. And the weather is a mixed blessing - after 8 months of sunny days, moderate temperatures, and no humidity, you start desparately wanting a tornado warning or a hurricane to plow through. :)

Everyone should live there at least one in their life. I'd say to leave before you get soft, but screw it, soften yourself up all you want. :)

My Latin teacher in high school said pretty much the exact same thing. He lived in San Francisco for a year then moved back to Ohio and said everyone should live there once.

Actually I love the mild weather. I do not miss Ohio snow and ice or Tennessee 1,000% humidity and heat. I think California living has made me a weather wimp--which isn't an problem as long as I live here!
But I agree that real estate is crazy expensive--just nuts. Traffic is frequently a pain, and can kind of keep people who live relatively close to each other fairly isolated. I think that the good and bad things about living out here have kind of created a sort of transitory population, as folks move out here to get a piece of the pie, then realize how hard it is to buy a house (or the dot com bubble bursts) and then move away. At the same time, all the great features, I believe, tend to attract some really interesting and amazing people.
I lived most of my life in Ohio, and Ohio will always be part of me, but California is what feels like home, Schwartzenegger notwithstanding. :)

In your highpoints, you named the reason I could never ever live there.
No snow.

That would be my main draw. :)

"No snow" is a bit of an overstatement, just exceedingly little. In the winters of 2000 and 2001, there was a snowstorm each year that covered the surrounding mountains, making for a strange and truly beautiful experience. Hwy 17 down to Santa Cruz was a snowy mess. The valley floor even got a tiny bit.

But if you wanna build a snowman, go to Minnesota. :)

Texas. Hands down the best state in the US.

I would express my extreme displeasure with Texas, but since I have never been there, I shall reserve my judgment. I probably won't ever go there, though. You Texans scare me.

*hides from Starfox* :-p

Why do us Texans scare you? Texans are some of the friendliest people I've ever met.

Ah, I'm just kidding. One of my best friends came from Texas. It's the Bush family coming from Texas that really scares me. :-)

Yes, well, now you know what us Texans had to deal with for 8 years of his governorship. We just figured it wasn't fair to hog all the fun. ;-)

Aw, that's so sweet of you</bitter sarcasm>

Hey! I like my Texans! (preferably served cold with a dash of Tabasco)

I repeat:

Anyone with any sense at all should avoid states with panhandles. Nothing but trouble, all of 'em.

And in the minds of many texans, the only state in the US.

its not a state... its a country in its own right

The best place to live has very little to do with climate, convenience, shopping opportunities, or political compatibility. Although these aspects make life more comfortable, they have minimal bearing on happiness.

The best place to live is in the company with people you can trust. Working out who you can trust is so difficult, isn't it?

Cause it's NYC. Isn't that enough?

Word.

up.

Green, fresh, lots of stuff to do...What more could you want..

Great music... great arts community... a ton of awesome restaurants.. all within 15 minutes.

Lots of good bands come through here, and there are a ton of great local acts...

Also, you can be completely in the middle of the woods, and drive 5 minutes and be in the center of town.
I luff it.

Oh, and the weather, of course.... the fall is beautiful.... and we have real winters. :)

mmm, real winter. i want snow up to my neck.

Amen to that!

Hmmm...one of my friends noted that he and his wife would love to retire there...I can definitely see why after visiting earlier this year.� I could even deal with the snow in April. :)

Aww yeah, NoHo is the place for me too.

Carey had a hometown-finder quiz link up once on her diaryland, and the thing even came up with NoHo as my top choice. That alone proved its accuracy. :)

The Maine coast is nice too, but but much more isolated.

Heh...what's wrong with the People's Republic of Amherst?

I read an interesting something somewhere, I think it was Henning's Eye on Northampton blog at MassLive.com, saying that Northampton was too expensive for the artists and that Easthampton now had the happening arts scene. Not being too much into the arts other than music, I can't really comment.

Heh. You read henning too?
:)

can't think of one single place off the top of my head, but several come to mind.

seattle.� mostly because i've lived in the area all my life, but the weather is of extremely reasonable climate, cost of living has fallen to almost decent, and it is a pleasant crossroads of a great many cultures.� it's a short distance from both the ocean shore, a huge selection of other bodies of water, and an even shorter distance another good selection of mountains for skiing, snowboarding, or just general getting away/

nashville.� if you're into a wide variety of music, then this is probably a happy playground.� couple that with amazing down-home, inexpensive eating, and i could get used to a city like that.� (except that i like it here near seattle (: )

montreal.� anyone who knows me knows that i maintain that if i were forced to leave the seattle area forever, montreal is where i would want to be.� beautiful cultire, amazing architecture, and an atmosphere that i cannot get enough of for some reason.

i wish i could say chicago, but chicago scares me. :D regardless of all the realtives i have who live out there, i don't think i could bring myself to relocate there.� heehee� likewise with NYC.� then again, i'm not a huge fan of most large cities...

�-= george =-

Definitely Brooklyn, though any borough of New York City, aside from Staten Island will do.� Simply the most exciting/busy/serene/crazy/relaxing/scary/happy place on earth (at least for me).�

Though Ithaca would come in second. It's in the middle of nowhere, but it's an open-minded liberal beacon of hope in the middle of conservative nowhere.� They have great restaurants, two major universities, lots of hiking and parks, and their own local currency.�

I would never say Perryville, MD.� That place is way too small for my tastes.

their own currency?

Yes, I concur. :o)

Yes, Ithaca has it's own currency called Ithaca Hours�and at one point had a Socialist mayor.

Is there a reason Perryville got singled out?� Why not Oolitic, IN?� Or Fillmore, CA?

Well, yes, because I lived in Perryville on and off for a year while I was in AmeriCorps.��Well, technically,�I lived in Perry Point, which is essentially the home of a Veteran's Adminstration Medical Complex with various medical and administrative buildings, as well as a string of houses where some of the employees live.� Anyway, Perryville is just a really small town, but they do boast a shop that claims to be the World's Largest Postcard Shop.

Only good thing I could say about the place is gorgeous sunsets over the Susquehanna River (which definitely helped).

I'd live in either Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal...in that order.� I'm a city girl.� I also don't know enough about the states to suggest where to live there, so I'd have to say any of Canada's major cities are awesome.� Tons of culture and music, great places to eat, Toronto has the best shopping (yes I'm a shopping addict), and everyone's nice because we're Canadian (I get the impression from this board�that Americans are also very nice, but I think Canadians are particularly known for being nice).

Right now I'm living in Waterloo, ON.� I wouldn't recommend living in Waterloo if you're not currently enrolled in one of its universities.� If you are it's a decent enough place to live, with cheap rent.

Woohoo Canada! I was wondering when somebody would mention us up here. I've only lived in three places so far: Chatham Ontario, Azul Argentina, and Toronto and Toronto is my favourite so far. Chatham is a ghastly hole in the ground, Azul was nice, but I was only there for a year and i think that was enough, but Toronto actually has things to do and places to go after 9 pm that doesn't necesarily involve copious amounts of draft beer. I think i could be happy in any city that had a) my soon-to-be husband and b) at least 5 book stores

I went to one of the FruCons (sorry, can't remember which...) and found myself ASTOUNDED by the size of Toronto.� It just NEVER ended.� I liked the ethnicity I saw, though.� :)

It was FruCon 5.

Toronto's nice, but 401 just goes on forever.� Next time, I'll go through Buffalo.� It has to be quicker.

Well, I grew up in Columbus, and until recently would have listed that as my favorite place...

But that's been changing lately, and this weekend kind of comfirmed it for me. I feel much, much, more at home in Bowling Green, than I do here in Columbus. This kind of breaks my mind because it's a small town and I've always been, and still see myself, as a city-kid.

Yeah, so, um, I dunno.

Coulmbus has more of an arts scene, and a lot of things are less expensive and even avaliable. But then the arts scene tends to be on the pretentious side, and a lot of what makes the city unique is being torn down to make wall for Les Wexner's grand plan.
Bowling Green is just... comfortable. I can't even quite figure it out. All I know is that I'm not happy here, but was all but jumping to show Zilpha around Bowling Green.

I've always been, and still see myself, as a city-kid.

Hahahahahaha!

Oh, sorry. [/snobbery]

I expected that reaction. Which is why I said "city" instead of "big city" ;-)

city snobbery?

from Gella?

never.



;D

I can't quite figure out what makes bowling green comfortable for me either - maybe because i spent the happiest years of my life there (college), maybe because i know it like the back of my hand, maybe because it's just where i've been for 6 years.

i thought moving back to toledo would be so wonderful and comfortable and social and..just everything. but it wasn't.

color me surprised. returning to my roots was more like trying to grow a whole new tree.

..but it's starting to get easier.

Yep, same boat I'm in. Well, except Columbus isn't getting much eaiser.

You could join the great fr�head migration to Bowling Green that seems to be in the works for next summer ;-)

Based on my travels, I'd have to rate the following as top of the pops.� Standard disclaimer applies, with an addendum that certain areas maybe more appropriate to certain stages of life.

1. Chicago, IL - All the advantages of NYC, with added bonuses including outstanding architecture, friendlier people, and streets that non-city people can use.� Airports and a decent Interstate network mean you can escape it when the need arises... not that the need would ever arise.� (Special note to NYC: The comments were not meant to insult your city, merely to promote mine.)

2. Seattle, WA - An eccentric city with a relaxed feel.� Granted, this is based on one visit... but that's true of every place listed except Chicago.

3. Baltimore, MD - Charming.� A city this big shouldn't feel so young.� Oh, and the food is outstanding.

4. Minneapolis, MN - The first large city I visited where I felt completely safe.

Unless we were talking about places we've lived... that changes things drastically.

Friendlier people? Where do you folks get this crazy idea that NewYorkers aren't friendly??

*snort*

By ever dealing with anyone in NYC other than fruheads?

:)

um... hi... I work retail. People are nice.

um... hi.. I worked customer service.

I served:

NYC (brooklyn, queens)
Carmel, NY
Central NJ
Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Chicago, IL
Parts of CT and RI
Various parts of PA
Various parts of CA

NYC people were, hands down, the most snotty, rude and arrogant fucks I have ever dealt with.

Well, that's different.

hahahahaha

right.

:D

well yeah... customer service... that's, like, a whole other thing.

Well, I agree.

But the fact remains, even if it brings out the worst in people, the worst of new yorkers is 25 times worse than the worst of any other ... place.... on the... planet.

:D

bite me� �;-}

hehehe.

I rest my case.
;)

bite me� �;-}

I thought Chicago was the worst.

Only for phone.

:)

Substitute Black or Jew for New Yorker and you'll realize how incredibly bigotted that was.

um... huh?

Great comment for someone who came so easily to the conclusion that I am an antizionist. My erstwhile girlfriend for five years never noticed, even though she had much more opportunity to detect such an attitude. Her mother was freed from a concentration camp in 1945, aged 16.

Ummm... okay?

Thanks for not calling out the streets part. :-)

As for the people... maybe it's because my trip to NYC was entirely Manhattan, which is entirely too busy.�

I've lived in the Midwest for my entire life...and I've got to agree with Bruce's ratings...although I haven't yet been to Seattle.

I dunno what it is about the coasts, but the attitude of a lot of the people i've encountered there really turns me off. Like, it's pretentious, and assuming that you're the center of the universe. Of course, I'm from Minnesota, and we just don't *do* pretension there. Heh.

But, yeah. If I, for some reason, could no longer live in Chicago, I would *totally* move back to Minneapolis. Although I would miss being able to see theatre on Wednesdays. Heh.

baltimore and chicago are both way up at the top of my list. but considering i've only lived in three cities, maybe my vote doesn't count for much. :)

Not Fredneck?

as we discussed at the house concert, fredneck is a great place to live if you are old and like antiques a hell of a lot. this is why people like my parents and amy's parents live there, but people like me and david got out as soon as we could. :)

But how the hell did David get in Fredneck?

move to england! it's english. and, uh, wet. um.

did i mention it was english?.. :D

Ew. English language.
May I quote Winston Churchill: "The English and the Americans may have a lot things in common but not the language".

"A bookie's got blagged last night." -- Bullet Tooth Tony
"Blagged? Do me a favor, Tony, speak English. I thought this country spawned the f***ing language, and so far nobody seems to speak it." -- Cousin Avi

(Snatch.)

-- Pauley

Mmmmm. Well, I do have a soft spot for Oxford, and not just because of the people there. :)

I just got this from Vin Scelsa, world's greatest DJ.

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I say thanks for this!

This Sunday Nov. 30, 2003, the corner of 2nd Street and The Bowery in Manhattan will be officially named JOEY RAMONE WAY by the City Of New York. The 1-hour long ceremony begins at 1 PM Sunday afternoon, right outside CBGB.
There will be lots of cool "speakers" ... lots of Joey's friends gathering to honor their compa�ero. The public is invited. I think we should jam the neighborhood with well-wishers and good wishes!

What a terrific recognition of Joey! Way to go New York City!

Vin

PS Up until just a few days ago the name was to be Joey Ramone Place ... but it was changed to Joey Ramone Way. Which has a kind of a Zen quality to it, doncha think? I like it. "The Way of Joey" - gabba gabba hey!

Reason number 3951 that NYC is the best.

I hereby retract half of the negative thoughts I've ever had about NYC.� And I've started planning my next trip.�

After living in Chester County and Montgomery County PA my whole life, and seeing many other places, I've kind of realized that WOW I really do like this area. granted i love a lot of other areas too, like canada and the southwest and california and (sigh) upstate new york.� but i would not mind at all living on the main line, or in philadelphia, or somewhere in Chester County. it's real nice.

I just reread the initial post.� Since this is for places we've lived, I have to completely revamp the list.� Although in January, I can put Chicago back at the top.

1.� Japan - My dad was Navy.� During his tour in Japan, we lived at Yokosuka for a short time and near the Atsugi NAF for about three years.� I was nine, so I wasn't excited about going... but I really enjoyed it once we were there.� Imagine being able to take a day trip to anywhere in the country, and still be home in time for dinner.� What a great place!

2.� Lemoore, CA - My birthplace.� There's two parts to Lemoore:� The city, which was around 18,000 people when we lived there; and the base, which outsizes the city about twice over.� I lived there until I was nine, and after three years in Japan, we came right back.� It was like a homecoming.� It was also the west coast base for the Blue Angels, so we always had airshows... or a plane in parades.� Marching in front of the plane is incredible.� Sure, noone's looking at you, but it's still fun.� I went back to Lemoore about six years ago.� I don't have access to the base anymore, but the city side has grown up nicely.� Many of my memories of Lemoore are lost in the haze of age... a child's lack of responsibility can make even the worst place seem wonderful.� I'd give it another try...if I could afford it.

3.� Bloomington, IN - The best town in Indiana.� It's not saying a lot, but it's there.� About 60,000 during the summer and 94,000 when IU's in session, Bloomington rates as Indiana's 8th largest city.� It mixes�pretentious college town and dying industrial city in a very charming way.

4.� Bedford, IN - Best known for its limestone, Bedford is�a dead industrial city that's trying to revive.� It's a good place to raise kids, provided you don't mind the backwards Indiana mindset.� It seems�sad to rate Bedford at the bottom of the list, since there a lot of places that are worse... but of the places I've lived, this is the one I'll never live in again.

5. Terre Haute, IN - I only lived here for about six months, so I wasn't planning on counting it.� But this moves Bedford off the bottom of the list.� My brief college time was spent in Terre Haute, so I have some decent memories of the city, but the town smells bad, has more bad spots than good, and (aside from Columbia House) has no redeeming qualities.� Even the school I attended is just outside the city.� The only things that could get me back to Terre Haute are school (which isn't likely... at least, not that school) and Headstone's (a great record store).�

" It mixes pretentious college town and dying industrial city in a very charming way."

Ya know, I think that's what I like about Bowling Green too ;-)
(My favorite part of the city is the old mostly-abandoned factory that was behind my apartment).

Our old, abandoned factory was actually attractive, except for the broken windows... and the way it felt like it was trying to cross Rogers St.� So the city tore it down.� Now it's a huge empty lot, providing a fine view of the hideous, abandoned distribution center.� But the state declared it an "enterprise zone" to encourage development.� It hasn't worked yet.