Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just had to say what a lovely writer you are, SCGranny. I few things in your post made me think you may enjoy the Lew Rockwell website. I myself am an avid storm chaser and benefit from the fact that I love to visit Florida during "that awful season" when it rains every day and hurricanes are forming. The rental prices are low and the crowds light. Anyway, congratulations on finding your special place.l
Yes, I would love to move where the rain/thunderstorms are. I miss running home from school in a rainstorm. Now it's driving (crawling?) home in a white-out snowstorm. Nerve-wracking and just not quite the same.
I'll say this, its funny to read the posts about how people in some state forums get all bent out of shape when something bad is said. If you want to read a forum that is flipped around, go to the Hawaii forum.
The majority of people who post about moving to Hawaii ae doing it wearing one heck of a pair of rose colored glasses courtesy of their vacation or the travel channel. So they have some far fetched destrorted view of life on Hawaii, some outragious belief as to what they can get and for how much, some twisted portrayal of economics on Hawaii, and some of the most bizzaro question on food-cannibalisim because they over-heard-from-some-guy-who-knew-this-chick-who-once-dated-a-friend-of-this-other-guy-who-thinks-they-heard-the-storeclerk-mention-their-unlcle-who...... (get the drift). So, usually the regulars who lived or are living on Hawaii and have been through it all will bring up the items that the rose colored glasses are designed to filter out. many times they are just alerting the poster to problems they have seen before and want to make sure the person has though that through or has a plan in case their hairbrain one doen;t quite work out.
WELL, thats always met with charges of being negative.
Its almost as if they built up their image of Hawaii so much that just the mention of some of reality is an electric cold water shock and they lash out with all sorts of claims of being negative of newcomers or people wanting to move there. The unoffcial motto on that board is, hawaii is a paradise to visit, but not so much when you are trying to live there.
Yes. Hawaii is a beautiful state to visit, when you are at Waikiki, get room service and the shoppes are all there for your convenience (at least tourists think so,lol)
We talked to a waitress at Ohana she was very nice and mentioned how blazing hot it is in the summer, how jobs are super hard to come by (even for locals) and how most from the mainland are viewed as outsiders (which is fine, Europe is same way in some areas, if you are a tourist)
The thing is MANY states have this same issue. People want to believe its heaven on earth. If you talk to locals who are honest, you will get a more realistic picture.
Romanticized? That has to be Portland OR. People watch "Portlandia" and believe it reflects the entire city. They see all kinds of glowing stories in the media. Then they post on the CD Portland forum stating they want to move to Portland but are looking for the rents they are paying in their present less desirable cities of $600 a month for a two bedroom apartment. They cannot believe that a studio can run $1000. And with a 3% vacancy rate, finding a place to live is not easy.
They will need a job. Well, unless they are in a high tech type business forget about it. If they are lucky enough to get a job at all they will be paid less than the pay for the same job in other places. And the COL is much higher than they expected.
And they thought they could handle the rain and overcast skies.
But they visited Portland once and thought it was great. Just like people here have posted about Hawaii and other cities; nice place to visit. Very difficult to live there.
I have seen so many come to Portland with their high idealistic hopes only to have reality set in that it's expensive and getting to be overcrowded. They go back home quietly after about a year.
Oregon is a beautiful state but living here is a challenge. It is not the easy life so many envision. It is not for everyone.
Anyone thinking about relocating to another city should go there and spend at least two weeks ideally a few times before making a move. They should try to observe every day life outside of the tourist features of the town or city. They should see for themsleves what life is like rather than just going with the stories they hear in the media.
Most of all, when relocating, they have to ask themselves, "Is this really for me?" Then they should add up the positives and negatives they have seen to determine if the new place is a good fit for them.
The problem also is people read "Forbes 10 happiest cities" or other blogs and get convinced it is a reality. Even in the library when you are relocating, most states only have Frommer's or Fodor's tour guides...its not very helpful.
The problem also is people read "Forbes 10 happiest cities" or other blogs and get convinced it is a reality. Even in the library when you are relocating, most states only have Frommer's or Fodor's tour guides...its not very helpful.
It always seems to me that those publications only very narrowly determine their criteria on very limited circumstances. Happiest and best for whom?
I live in the honeymoon capital of the world and it's a great and wonderful city to live in. It's got everything I would ever need and more. It's got great places to eat and wonderful parks. Housing is very reasonable and nice. The education system is very good, crime is very low. I can sit in a nice park looking at the falls and across the river and thank God I don't live there in crazyland.
To me, the list of romanticized CITIES are:
- San Diego
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Portland
- Seattle
- Miami
- NY
- Boston
Those are the ones people coo about.
Some never carry through with their plan to move,
some get there and stay and complain,
some get there and stay and like it, and
some get there and "go home"
To me, the list of romanticized CITIES are:
- San Diego
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Portland
- Seattle
- Miami
- NY
- Boston
Those are the ones people coo about.
Some never carry through with their plan to move,
some get there and stay and complain,
some get there and stay and like it, and
some get there and "go home"
You got a big 'ol rep from me on this one. That's why I am relocating to Cleveland.
I live in the honeymoon capital of the world and it's a great and wonderful city to live in. It's got everything I would ever need and more. It's got great places to eat and wonderful parks. Housing is very reasonable and nice. The education system is very good, crime is very low. I can sit in a nice park looking at the falls and across the river and thank God I don't live there in crazyland.
It is beautiful on your side of the Falls. My sister lives in Toronto.
You got a big 'ol rep from me on this one. That's why I am relocating to Cleveland.
Actually, Cleveland is like a secret. I've known people who have moved there to take a job and wound up liking it. It's going to be cold, but I've heard it has a lot of good attributes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
