Romanticized locations (movers, shipping, school, hitch)

[silverwing]

Folks need to read the North Carolina board. People want to move there because of the "slow southern lifestyle" then beetch when they get here.

People drive too slow, they don't use turn signals, they hog the left lane, they drive too slow (even on the twisty backroads where one is likely to meet a slow hay wagon or escaped cow just around a curve); "OH GOD! when is a Trader Joe's/Whole Foods/Publix/Ikea going to be built? I just can't get by without one of those stores!"; people drive too slow (yeah, I know that's a threepeat. you wouldn't believe how people gripe about that). People aren't as friendly as I thought they'd be (yeah, well, when you constantly whine about how much better it is "back where I come from", you will get the stink eye).

I moved to NC 22 years ago. After the first year, when I observed all the things newcomers gripe about, I decided to start driving slower. I never gave up using my turn signal, nor do I get in the left lane except to pass, but I find that Harris Teeter or Lowes provides all my daily nourishment needs. On the back roads, I slow down to watch hay being baled or tobacco harvested (not so much anymore - tobacco is no longer an NC staple crop). There's not a single thing I miss from my old Midwestern home. The spring season is more colorful, falls are typically glorious, winters are very mild. I found myself truly adopting that "slow Southern lifestyle" and began to fit right in with the natives, though I know I'll never be one of them.

Reading the gripes on the NC board, I see why the "slow, southern lifestyle" is being obliterated. People move here looking for it, but never understand that it means adapting.

[loveautumn]

San Diego - OMG, read the posts on that thread and you would think that SD is everyone's dream place to live, the answer to everyone's prayers and problems! Sure, parts of it are beautiful, especially the coast, the weather is mild (boring), I get that. But there are plenty of ghetto towns here too. Most towns have row after row of strip malls, all the big box stores you could every want, no quaintness, every house looks the same (spanish architecture to the max), overcrowded highways, noise (SD is a very noisy place...no place you can go where it is really quiet except the very exclusive wealthier areas where you have some land around you). It's diverse but not integrated very much. It's a polite but not friendly place. Everybody wants a "safe", "family friendly", "walkable" neighborhood...it really makes me LOL...I mean, who doesn't??? San Diego is very expensive to live and the middle class is being pushed out. I've lived here over 34 years, I know there are worse places to live but it is definitely "romanticized"...perfect description.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

San Diego - OMG, read the posts on that thread and you would think that SD is everyone's dream place to live, the answer to everyone's prayers and problems! Sure, parts of it are beautiful, especially the coast, the weather is mild (boring), I get that. But there are plenty of ghetto towns here too. Most towns have row after row of strip malls, all the big box stores you could every want, no quaintness, every house looks the same (spanish architecture to the max), overcrowded highways, noise (SD is a very noisy place...no place you can go where it is really quiet except the very exclusive wealthier areas where you have some land around you). It's diverse but not integrated very much. It's a polite but not friendly place. Everybody wants a "safe", "family friendly", "walkable" neighborhood...it really makes me LOL...I mean, who doesn't??? San Diego is very expensive to live and the middle class is being pushed out. I've lived here over 34 years, I know there are worse places to live but it is definitely "romanticized"...perfect description.

LOL. I am loving this thread. I went to HS with a guy that lives in San Diego. He seems to love it there or at least wants people to think so. Every few days he will post a screen shot of his iPhone with the weather. He enjoys whenever anyone says they are jealous. Overall, no place is perfect but it is really cool to hear people's perspectives on the romanticized locations. I live in Indiana so I don't have to worry about bringing anyone back to reality.

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by Bakeneko

We've leaving for our 6th or 7th trip to Oahu in about two weeks. Looking forward to it, but the lifestyle we could afford if we lived there would be day/night to how we "live" when we vacation.

Enjoy your vacation! We were in Hawaii a year ago for our first time and it was really wonderful to have all that warmth and sun (we're in Oregon... sun deprived!)...

But when I travel I like to go off the beaten path - see how the "real" people live. Well... you have to be careful doing that in Hawaii. I wasn't expecting it to be so rough! There is a lot of poverty there, a lot of gang graffiti and tagging we saw, drugs of course, and crime. It's really sad. It really isn't a paradise... that's just for show for the tourists. And that money that the tourists bring with them and spend on the islands unfortunately doesn't seem to be helping to improve the living conditions any for those less fortunate.

I do miss shopping at Foodland, though. I loved the Foodlands in Hawaii. Somehow they were just a lot of fun! lol

We're going back again - love that sun and warmth - but I definitely have a different idea in my head about Hawaii now that we've been there. I'm not bringing anything with me that I wouldn't want to risk it being stolen.

[crazy carrie]

Originally Posted by bentstrider

Where I'm stuck right now, CA.
The beaches, LA, SF, and movie-land are all pounded into the skulls of everyone in other states so hard that they think they'll hit it big once they get over here.
Then I demoralize them about the COL and other restrictions in those areas and remind them that everyone else lives further inland and rather close together.

Give me a place that isn't so hyped up and I'll be glad to flaunt it.

Yes I agree!! I even moved from a much less glamorous state (Michigan) and after about 6 months, the novelty wore off, and I was ready to move somewhere else. I really think that california, and particularly southern california (since that is where I live) is a location where visiting is very different than living here. I would love to come here for a week or so and visit, but living here is a whole different animal. I have been to northern CA, and enjoyed it, but I know it's even more expensive up there.

[crazy carrie]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

Well, we're in the perfect place - for us. The weather is gorgeous - if you love incredible 3 day blizzards in winter, and monstrous violent storms in summer, humidity between 30% and 60% (never higher). The water is pure and clean and plentiful. The rivers tumble down waterfalls and move tubes and kayaks with graceful slow tumbles for miles. The people are few and far between - but those who are here are devoutly conservative, hard-working, honest, and fun to be around; they honor and respect our country and its veterans, and take care of the aged. There aren't a lot of jobs, but there are a lot of people who work all day and then go home and take care of the ranches and cattle. We all 'live small', don't blow money, don't seek out/demand amenities, don't cater to the whiny or drama queens whose poor little lives have never worked out for them (and never will). We eat our own chickens and eggs, butcher our own steers for beef, and trade with friends for hogs fresh from the farm; we can hunt all day (deer, turkey,, antelope) or fish all day (bass, pike, and trout), ride the 4-wheeler or the horse all day in the pasture, and it's no one's business but our own.

We're very happy here; we do our own things, mind our own business, and so does everyone else. We work together, share what we have, trade skills and things we've grown or created with each other, and have good laughs. No one makes fun of the guys who walk in the door, fresh from the range, dusty and dirty and smelling of sweat and horses, dressed in jeans, flannel shirts, and chaps; and no one is afraid of the people who open-carry on their hips.

It doesn't suit everyone, but it does suit us, right down to our boots!

That sounds wonderful, actually. My boyfriend would love a place like this, he's told me this type of environment is exactly what he wants.

[arctichomesteader]

My own state of Vermont. People think of the pretty scenery, the quaint old buildings in the villages, the snow and winter sports in the mountains, maple sugaring, etc., but the reality is, there are few jobs to be had here so most people living here can't afford to buy a home. Outside money drives up the cost of real estate. Taxes are through the roof. The roads suck. "You can't eat the scenery" to quote an old saying here.

[haggardhouseelf]

What about Maine? I romanticize Maine in my own mind. But how it is, really?

[loveautumn]

isolated and cold

[WyoEagle]

"You can't eat the scenery"
This should be posted on any career board in a college. I know I will never make that mistake again. The two most beautiful places I lived ended up being the worst.