Where do you live and what do you like about it?

[DukesMommy]

I'm so ready to give up living in CA, I have been really tempted lately to just up and move to somewhere else. My husband was laid off last week right before Christmas, the front end of our car got screwed up in a freeway incident and the rental we had was broken into yesterday morning and all the person stole was my husbands military paperwork....(I know this doesn't sound like much reason to leave an entire state, but this is just a few thins that happened in the past couple weeks) We just had one hell of a crappy year here and with the budget problem and everything I'm just so sick of it all!!
So where do some of you live and what are some good/bad things about it?

[labrown]

Lots of people are moving from CA to TX right now, since the climate is so similar but cost of living is much less. I live in Austin, and I love it because there are so many opportunities here. The economy isn't suffering too hard yet, plus the city logo is Keep Austin Weird, which references independent business owners. There isn't a Wal-Mart within the city limits because of regulations of large corporations and small businesses. It is a WONDERFUL city and is within a few hours of most major TX cities. Plus it is listed as one of the greenest cities in the US right now. There is a great public transit system, and they are building a monorail system as well. Not even to mention all of the great food and live music...

There are lots of great sites online that compare cost of living in different cities, and wikipedia has great information on lots of cities.

Just look up Austin on wikipedia. You will want to move here tomorrow.

[BubblPopElectrc]

Great thread!

I live in Philadelphia, PA. I like the convenience of being able to walk everywhere- to restaurants, shopping (love being able to walk to Macy's ), parks, etc. I like being so close to places like art museums, the zoo, and other major attractions that take place in the city. I like that I don't need a car and can utilize public transportation or walk.

I miss having a yard of my own! I miss having outdoor animals- like chickens. As much as I like Philadelphia, I look forward to moving when I am done with school! I like experiencing different places and new things.

[labrown]

Yeah, I am looking forward to hearing what others have to say about thier home cities!

[RowdysMom]

I live in Austin too, so I am echoing Lauren's sentiments. One of the things we love about Austin is that everyone is so accepting. You can go to a restaurant and someone will be wearing a suit and tie, and next to them will be kids in shorts and flip flops, and neither is out of place. We love the laid back nature of Austin. Even if I didn't live here, it would be one of my favorite places!!!

Oh, and the violent crime rate is very low here.

[labrown]

Yep, I also like the fact that everyone is pretty accepting here. I always felt out of place in KS.

PLUS, it is the state capitol. I like being near a hub of democracy. We hosted one of the Clinton/Obama debates.

[daisymae2012]

I am from Tennessee and I love it!!! The people here are very friendly & it is a very laid back atmosphere. I am from a smaller town, but I really enjoy it. The mountains are beautiful & you get a taste of both sides of the weather (hot in the summer & somewhat cold in the winter). You should check it out here! I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

[phfgkl]

South carolina, and would never want to leave the area, I love the mountains, lakes, trees and nice people. If we get snow, it's usually maybe one time and of course, everything is closed down then, and property taxes on our house(just had it appraised at $160000) and the taxes are around $400 a year(and yes, I mean 400 not 4000

[Wylie's Mom]

I live in Phoenix and I LOVE not having winter. You can be outside pretty much year-round, although the summers are incredibly hot during the day.

I grew up in the midwest - and despise those winters...ugh. I also lived in Colorado for 7 years and LOVED LOVED LOVED it - it is mind boggling beautiful and there is so much to do, all year round. And, the winters are actually gorgeous - super sunny and pretty. The mountain towns are amazing -- and you can explore them to no end. I just cannot say enough about Colo. and I miss it a lot.

I also lived in Minneapolis, MN - which is where I met my hubby. Mpls is an amazing city and very beautiful - it's sometimes called the San Fran of the midwest. Gorgeous, old buildings - lots of history; little pockets of different neighborhoods, a very vibrant and cultural downtown. But the winters can SUCK IT. Sorry, but they can . I miss a lot about Mpls, but not those winters.

If we had our choice, hubby and me would probably live in either Colorado or San Francisco. Phoenix is nice and we love the weather, but we don't find it charming or historical in the ways we find other cities. Phoenix often feels like one big bedroom community, it's just different.

[Baby Blessing]

We are looking forward to leaving Calif. to move to North Carolina. Our daughter loves it there.

[Mom of 3]

I live in Atlantic Beach, Florida, near the Mayport Navy Base. The weather here is great, because the summers are hot, but not too hot. Winters do get cold, which is usually for about a month. I use to live near Orlando, Fl and it does get hotter there. I live about a mile from the beach, and the schools are great. All the stores are close by, and the mall is a short drive away(15minutes) I love it here, and yet wish I lived in the country on 5 acres. I am sure If I was in the country, I would wish I was back here near the beach. Right now, jobs are hard to find(except on the base) and gas prices are pretty low. $1.59 a gallon and lower at Walmart, and BJ's($1.49) So I guess I will stay here near the beach for now, there are nice dog parks close by.

[amandawash]

Great thread! I live in SW Idaho, on the outskirts of Boise, which is the capitol city. I absolutely love it here... we have a large enough city to do stuff in, but are only an hour away from the mountains and desert, whichever way you decided to drive. We do tons of outdoor stuff- the horse thing, hiking and camping in the spring, summer and fall, and we snowmobile all winter. Everyone is really friendly here, it has the feeling of a small town but is growing with ammenities. We don't have a Nordstroms or Saks but I mostly order everything on-line, or shop when we go out of town so it works out great!

I would move almost anywhere out west. Hubby is from North Carolina- need I say he moved across the country for a reason We have talked about moving to Flagstaff or Prescott, but that would be a few years down the line. This will be fun hearing about everyone's city!

[MeganS]

I went on a vacation to SoCal last year (that's weirddd to say haha. This past September) and I loved it. But I could never live there - too expensive!

I live in Spotswood, New Jersey. I have days where I hate NJ and days where I love it. I hate New Jersey because there are a lot of inconsiderate people on the roadways. Drivers are ridiculous and the laws for driving are a bit out there as well sometimes.

On that note, I also love New Jersey. I love that basically every street is tree-lined and that there is a lot of forest land. I LOVE having seasons. I love that there are at least 3 malls within 20 minutes of basically everywhere. NJ is great because there are really small towns and there are big cities. It's also fantastic, because it's close to New York City, but at the end of a day in the city, you can come home to your quiet NJ house and relax! It's a very convenient location. It's pretty insane, because there is a little bit of everything in New Jersey. There are beautiful beaches, small mountains, cities, etc. And I swear when you go down to South Jersey it's like you're in a whooole nother state! There are rodeos and farmland and it's beautiful.

Like I said before, we've got beautiful beaches. When people say that they've never seen the ocean before, it just shocks me - I forget how lucky we are. I love nothing more than walking on the beach when dusk comes and the sand starts to cool and all you see are a couple scattered fishermen. I've been going to the beach ('down the shore' ) since I was a little baby. I've always loved it.

And in addition to all of that...the history. I am an American history buff, and knowing that so much of the history of our country took place right where I live...that's amazing to think about. George Washington and his troops slept in my town - and that kind of thing just amazes me.

As much as I say I hate NJ...it'll always be what I consider home (no matter where I'm living *cough*NYC*cough*) and I love it!

[mizzwanned]

I live in NYC and the thing i love about it is that there is ALWAYS something to do, there are always ppl in the street, it literally never sleeps and the transportation, you don't need a car BUT i als hate the fact that it can be so noise when you're trying to sleep, depending on what part you live in. I've been here forever tho and would like to experience something else and just see how it is

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by labrown

Lots of people are moving from CA to TX right now, since the climate is so similar but cost of living is much less. I live in Austin, and I love it because there are so many opportunities here. The economy isn't suffering too hard yet, plus the city logo is Keep Austin Weird, which references independent business owners. There isn't a Wal-Mart within the city limits because of regulations of large corporations and small businesses. It is a WONDERFUL city and is within a few hours of most major TX cities. Plus it is listed as one of the greenest cities in the US right now. There is a great public transit system, and they are building a monorail system as well. Not even to mention all of the great food and live music...

There are lots of great sites online that compare cost of living in different cities, and wikipedia has great information on lots of cities.

Just look up Austin on wikipedia. You will want to move here tomorrow.

I was actually in Texas for 4 months last year! We were in San Antonio and we actually thought about moving to Texas, but the humidity was a killer. For me just about anything is humid compared to Northern CA. But we actually drove to Austin because it was the closest city we could find that had a Jamba Juice! It was really pretty there for what I got to see of it, it was a short trip for us that night, but it definitely made me want to see what else was in that area.