[seanaherne142]

hey Yall.

I have only ever lived in large cities in the northern parts of the US (New York, Boston, San Francisco, Palo Alto). But recently I find myself wondering what it would be like to live in the south.

What are some of the key differences that I could expect? What cities would be a good choice?

[Southlander]

If you moved here, YOU would be the one with the strange accent.

You would be shocked by the amount of open land.
And by the lack of traffic, at least most of the time.
And how dark night is with few street lights.

[sleepless in Bham]

My advice is to come down for about a week or so. Drive around, talk to a few locals, etc.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Southlander

If you moved here, YOU would be the one with the strange accent.

You would be shocked by the amount of open land.
And by the lack of traffic, at least most of the time.
And how dark night is with few street lights.

I agree... except:
I would argue about being shocked about the amount of open land, depending on the comparison group. If its large cities on the east coast... sure. However, in the West... not necessarily. In the West people are laid out like defined chunks and in the East they are more like unevenly spread out butter. In the West there are places near the more densely populated areas, such as SF, that very quickly are less populated and more open and developed than anywhere in the state of Alabama. And if you go a little inland, you can literally drive for hours without seeing a single soul. The most rural Western areas really aren't that far from the West Coast. To get anything similar in the Southeast, you have to make it all the way to somewhere like Texas.

However, NYC and Boston, yeah. Probably isn't much open land of any decent size anywhere near there.

[MPC]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

I agree... except:
I would argue about being shocked about the amount of open land, depending on the comparison group. If its large cities on the east coast... sure. However, in the West... not necessarily. In the West people are laid out like defined chunks and in the East they are more like unevenly spread out butter. In the West there are places near the more densely populated areas, such as SF, that very quickly are less populated and more open and developed than anywhere in the state of Alabama. And if you go a little inland, you can literally drive for hours without seeing a single soul. The most rural Western areas really aren't that far from the West Coast. To get anything similar in the Southeast, you have to make it all the way to somewhere like Texas.

However, NYC and Boston, yeah. Probably isn't much open land of any decent size anywhere near there.

I sort of agree with you, I lived in Los Angeles and it is true after you get out the area that its open land but it takes forever to get out. LA has the most dense urban area in the nation, followed by San Francisco.

My point is, once you get out of the metro area, it doesn't even feel like your in that metro anymore. At least as far as I know, within the LA area, there is no open land and everything is very dense. So I think he will not be used to the amount of open land because compared to SF and LA, Alabama will look like it has 5-10x as much land. Also, OP you probably will also be surprised by the lack of mountains, Alabama has them but not like California.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by MrPortCity

I sort of agree with you, I lived in Los Angeles and it is true after you get out the area that its open land but it takes forever to get out. LA has the most dense urban area in the nation, followed by San Francisco.

My point is, once you get out of the metro area, it doesn't even feel like your in that metro anymore. At least as far as I know, within the LA area, there is no open land and everything is very dense. So I think he will not be used to the amount of open land because compared to SF and LA, Alabama will look like it has 5-10x as much land. Also, OP you probably will also be surprised by the lack of mountains, Alabama has them but not like California.

Thats mostly true.. SoCal doesn't have a ton of open area within the coastal areas. I still maintain once you drive 3 hours its more rural than anything around here... but otherwise you can see my bias coming from north of that area.

I guess part of the issue is that not all large metro areas are like. NYC and Palo Alto are a far cry from each other, so its hard to say what Alabama is like compared to them as a whole.

Did someone say mountains?

[MPC]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

Thats mostly true.. SoCal doesn't have a ton of open area within the coastal areas. I still maintain once you drive 3 hours its more rural than anything around here... but otherwise you can see my bias coming from north of that area.

I guess part of the issue is that not all large metro areas are like. NYC and Palo Alto are a far cry from each other, so its hard to say what Alabama is like compared to them as a whole.

Did someone say mountains?

That is true, NYC and LA for example look like two completely different areas, even though the similarity in size. NYC is just like one big city as LA is more open but dense at the same time. Plus in LA you got mountains and the ocean, NYC has the water to but not like LA with the sunny beaches and everything.

Alabama is more like California as far metro's go because it's just too different from the north. California has more shopping centers and apartments, like the ones in Alabama but more condensed. I left LA right before going to San Francisco with a co-worker so I can't really speak on that.

But yes once outside the LA area, even kind of while still in San Bernardino it does rural, and not like green pastures rural, like desert and hot sun rural lol

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by seanaherne142

hey Yall.

I have only ever lived in large cities in the northern parts of the US (New York, Boston, San Francisco, Palo Alto). But recently I find myself wondering what it would be like to live in the south.

What are some of the key differences that I could expect? What cities would be a good choice?

First, we would probably educate you a little so you would realize San Francisco and Palo Alto are not in the northern parts of the US. We could move forward from there. lol

[Beliciano]

I grew up in NYC and now live in Alabama, the biggest thing I miss is the public transportation system. I loved going to bars throughout NY and just hopping of the subway at night and not worry about getting DUI's etc. Down here you have to drive yourself everywhere. Public transportation is almost nonexistent down here. With that being said, it is really easy to drive throughout the city of Huntsville and driving from the North Side to the South Side is not a hassle, except for what passes as "rush hour traffic" in town.

[MPC]

Originally Posted by Beliciano

I grew up in NYC and now live in Alabama, the biggest thing I miss is the public transportation system. I loved going to bars throughout NY and just hopping of the subway at night and not worry about getting DUI's etc. Down here you have to drive yourself everywhere. Public transportation is almost nonexistent down here. With that being said, it is really easy to drive throughout the city of Huntsville and driving from the North Side to the South Side is not a hassle, except for what passes as "rush hour traffic" in town.

I am not from NYC but that is one thing I always admired about there, is it's public transportation system. Alabama is too laid back, therefore lacks the density needed for that type of transportation. It's a cool idea that all you have to do is hop on a train and it can take you anywhere!