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What has been your experience like living in 2 or more cities? Which cities do you live in and why do you do it? How much time do you live in each city?
I know there are a few people on these forums who really do this in various phases of life (running business in multiple cities to snowbird retirees) so maybe they would give you some real insight.
I used to do it kinda, although some people would say I just travel a lot. But for a 3-year period from 2011-2014 I spent about 30% of my time in DC, which was close to the 50% I spent in my home base of Jax. I did it because my girlfriend-now-wife lived there. I enjoyed it because at my core I love big cities but I also love my hometown of Jax, which is not big league. So this kind of lifestyle gave me the best of both worlds and also allowed me to experience and learn things that I could bring back to Jax.
We continue to hover around the 60% mark for time spent in Jax but that will be changing soon as we relocate to Miami this summer. Because of all the projects I am running in Jax I imagine I will still spend about 20% of my time there, probably around 60% in Miami and 20% elsewhere. Just a guess so we'll see what ends up happening...
Lived in the Miami metro area (different places like Opa-Locka, Hialeah, Coral Gables) for 18 years, lived in San Angelo, Texas for a month, in Cisco, Texas for a few months, in Abilene, Texas over a summer, now in Denton, Texas for over a year and a half and I plan to be here until I graduate then hopefully move to the Twin Cities.
So yea, I've lived in several cities, and in two states. Hopefully I'll live in my dream state within the next few years. Opa-Locka and Hialeah I was really little, I started kindergarten in Hialeah and then we moved to the central Miami area, close to Little Havana, and a little after that to Coral Gables. Opa-Locka and Hialeah are ghetto and ugly places. Coral Gables is nicer, has some upscale places. I don't really like South Florida for living though so I'm glad I moved out.
San Angelo was the first city in Texas I lived in, was only over a winter break. Compared to tropical Miami, San Angelo is a desert. Its not in the desert but you can see the transition in topography. A drier climate, some cacti, even tumbleweeds. I definitely appreciated the change of scenery. It wasn't the first place in Texas I visited but the first I actually lived in. Its an all right city, though a little dumpy. A good amount of drug use out there.
Cisco is a podunk small town, which saw a better time in the early 20th century. Went to school there for a semestre, had a cheerleading scholarship. Too much small town drama for me. As you can imagine its also extremely different from Miami. However I got family that live in rural Florida and I love visiting them, country living is not something foreign to me and I didn't mind that it was rural. I loved going into the woods and hiking and seeing the seasons change, but I hated the gossip and drama. Ugh.
Abilene is probably the nicest city I lived in. Decent size though a small city nonetheless. Very friendly people, a somewhat small town feel. Conservative but open minded. There's an airforce base so lots of military folks and more diverse than you'd think. The weather in summer was hot but drier since its west Texas. I liked it a lot more than San Angelo, which made me think a little bit of Breaking Bad lol.
Denton is a college town (which San Angelo, Cisco and Abilene technically are too but Denton is more quintessentially a college town.) There's a lot I like about it, but some things I don't. The roads and traffic suck, construction is such a headache and crime has been going up since I moved here. I'm happy enough for now, though. I've visited many other places in the country, decided I definitely wanna live in the North.
In 2015, I lived in Minneapolis 65% and Milwaukee 35%. I really liked it. The 5 hour drive didn't both me. I always felt like I was on vacation traveling. I had twice as many options for my social life.
Lately I've been doing Denver 80%, Milwaukee 20%. Same thing really, just not with flying. I get to go skiing, camping, etc, or I can go to Milwaukee and have a fun weekend out with friends and family. If I have no plans in one city, I just go to the other.
This is due to a relationship where my SO has doesn't have as much mobility to travel. I can work from home if I need to and my schedule is pretty open.
It's not for everyone. I could see it really sucking the life out of someone.
When I worked in Stamford, CT, I knew this one guy who lived in CT during the weekdays, but lived in Newport Beach, CA on the weekends. Every Fri evening after work, he would catch a flight to LAX and spend the weekend there, then on Sun morning he would go to the airport again and fly back to NYC, then drive up into CT. He made a LOT of money, but it took a toll on his health and appearance. He looks way older than he really is.
I live between Miami Beach and Raleigh.
I spend more time in Miami Beach but the exact amount of time varies that depends on a multitude of factors. I love both cities and am very fortunate to have my situation. One of my key motivators is that I absolutely hate the cold and I love that I have a work situation that allows me the flexibility.
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