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Old 06-15-2016, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Nowhere I would like to be!
41 posts, read 44,179 times
Reputation: 57

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Ten months ago, I moved from Chicago to Bremerton, Washington. I am an introvert and like nature but still hate this place. I came here for a job. I really liked having things available around the clock, although I rarely used them. Things being open stores, late night restaurants, 24-hour grocery stores, museums, nonmilitary-packed bars, etc.

I am 41 and recently single. This place is not the place to meet anyone, so I will remain single.
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Old 06-15-2016, 07:44 PM
 
2,598 posts, read 4,898,285 times
Reputation: 2275
Quote:
Originally Posted by skidamarink View Post
I previously lived in DC and Seattle and then moved to Omaha. I am originally from another Midwestern town, so its not a huge shock for me. But I definitely felt like I was living decades behind. I'm not materialistic so I wasn't shopping and indulging like crazy when I lived on the coasts, but just finding things like groceries that cater to my alternative diet, holistic practitioners, people with similar intellectual interests and travels, etc was a miserable failure in Omaha. Top that withthe fact that there was no one my age that I could meet and click with in Omaha. The pros were that Omaha is significantly more humble and anti-pretentious than a place like DC. But I learned that living in places like that also have their downsides. Boredom and lack of intellectual stimulation being one of them.

I left Omaha for another town that is not much bigger but at least has pretty mountains. I am currently trying figure out where I want to go next.
Kind of interesting that you couldn't find anyone your age that you could meet and click with. In a metro of almost 1 million, I would say, that's on you. If you couldn't find intellectual stimulation, that's on you, as well.
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Old 06-15-2016, 07:56 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,738,436 times
Reputation: 10783
As a kid I lived in the Los Angeles area, Houston (not that I consider Houston a "world class" city, particularly then), New York City and LA area again. We moved to Portland, OR, following the spouse's first job out of engineering school, stayed there for 27? years or so, decided it was too big, too crowded, too much traffic. For retirement we moved way out to a rural area in the high desert and after 7 or 8 years decided we'd gone too far the other way (among other reasons/issues) and moved to a town for 80,000 in a "metro" area of 200,000.

We have traveled extensively in the US, Europe and Asia. At this point we enjoy visiting large cities for brief periods of time - we take advantage of what they offer and then go the heck home. I don't need to live in a big city.
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Old 06-15-2016, 08:50 PM
 
208 posts, read 169,379 times
Reputation: 439
Yes! I have! (Good new thread idea by the way!)

I left Paris, France, where I was born and raised to live in Bridgeport CT. What a culture shock! I was 16 years old and came with my mom who emigrated to the US. It was a pretty difficult and rough transition! I went from a cosmopolitan city full of beautiful architecture, culture, arts, awesome food, chic charm etc. to a "city" in CT that seemed boring and run down in comparison. So I had to adapt to a COMPLETELY different lifestyle. The funny thing is, when I arrived, I kept asking for "monuments" thinking monuments were found everywhere. Aside for the obvious difficulty in adapting to a new language, new metric system, new mentality, I also had to adapt to a new environment. Bridgeport offered nothing much interesting for me to do, except for going to school, whereas in Paris I had unlimited choices of entertainment/leisure. In Paris, I could catch the metro or bus to go wherever I wanted. In Bridgeport, I was mostly stuck since I didn't drive. I can honestly say I was so glad to finally move out of Bridgeport to live in NYC, which was more my type of place.
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Old 06-15-2016, 09:11 PM
 
74 posts, read 93,149 times
Reputation: 67
The subjectivity of the terms “podunk†and “world class†gives me the opportunity to write my treatise on urban living so thank you skidamarink. I moved from DC to Louisville, KY and it was the best move I ever made. Many of my friends thought I was moving to a Podunk old river town. Keep in mind the Louisville back then is not the Louisville of today. The sewers had exploded and collapsed some streets and the riverfront was a huge junk yard.

Why was Louisville better for me when DC had better mass transit, better jobs, better architecture, better museums, possibly a better river, better bars and restaurants, more vibrancy, better education opportunities, more diversity, more professional sports, etc? I not sure Louisville outranks DC in anything except livability.

Here is a litmus test for cities – would you move back if you left? I would not move back to DC for anything despite the fact I have close family living there. But I would move back to Louisville in a heartbeat because it is the best place I ever lived. Apparently, it’s not just me because when I worked in Louisville a number of my coworkers left the city for other job opportunities but almost everyone eventually came back! Heck, I believe even Peter1948 has posted he left and came back. It is unreal. Even some retirees who moved to the sunbelt states came back after a few years. I actually am not aware of any retirees who permanently moved away. I maybe the only person who has left and not come back - it is a lonely place.

Well, there are two areas Louisville crushes DC, it is affordability and less traffic congestion. I had a major goal of owning a boat and I could not see myself towing it around in DC traffic. I also got tired of being punched in the stomach every time I inquired about the price of a sandwich or service.

I am so thankful I live in America and have the opportunity to live in some of these so called second and third tier cities.
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Old 06-15-2016, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,763 posts, read 15,699,194 times
Reputation: 10850
Quote:
Originally Posted by Candh07 View Post
Yes! I have! (Good new thread idea by the way!)

I left Paris, France, where I was born and raised to live in Bridgeport CT. What a culture shock! I was 16 years old and came with my mom who emigrated to the US. It was a pretty difficult and rough transition! I went from a cosmopolitan city full of beautiful architecture, culture, arts, awesome food, chic charm etc. to a "city" in CT that seemed boring and run down in comparison. So I had to adapt to a COMPLETELY different lifestyle. The funny thing is, when I arrived, I kept asking for "monuments" thinking monuments were found everywhere. Aside for the obvious difficulty in adapting to a new language, new metric system, new mentality, I also had to adapt to a new environment. Bridgeport offered nothing much interesting for me to do, except for going to school, whereas in Paris I had unlimited choices of entertainment/leisure. In Paris, I could catch the metro or bus to go wherever I wanted. In Bridgeport, I was mostly stuck since I didn't drive. I can honestly say I was so glad to finally move out of Bridgeport to live in NYC, which was more my type of place.
That sucks! Almost anything would be a letdownafter Paris! It reminds me of the song "How ya gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree?"
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Old 06-15-2016, 10:11 PM
 
Location: Texas
1,982 posts, read 2,069,248 times
Reputation: 2185
I left the suburbs of Dallas for Manchester, New Hampshire. I don't necessarily regret my choice, but I got out when I could. Beautiful place, but that was all it had going for it. Well, apparently it later got on a list of one of the best cities for business in the nation, if I remember correctly.

Going by a different definition of "podunk," when I was a child, my family moved from Houston to Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was a nice place to live, but it does get tiring being the only Asian kid in a class. At that age I could be entertained anywhere with a stick and a handful of stones. If I moved there now, then I probably would be bored.
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Old 06-15-2016, 11:02 PM
 
Location: Omaha, Ne
559 posts, read 505,544 times
Reputation: 949
Quote:
Originally Posted by NowInWI View Post
Kind of interesting that you couldn't find anyone your age that you could meet and click with. In a metro of almost 1 million, I would say, that's on you. If you couldn't find intellectual stimulation, that's on you, as well.
Completely agree. And I'd add, if one can't find groceries for an alternative "diet" in a 1 million metro (and I can assure you, there are a bevy of health oriented, high variety grocery stores in Omaha from the smaller "mom and pop" stores to the larger big names).. Then that's on the individual too. Omaha is not Podunk in any way, but it's not Shangri la either (what city is, really)..

If a person simply didn't like Omaha, or any city they were residing in, just be straight up and say it..without the passive/aggressive insulting tone..

I lived in Manhattan, Ks for one year (a city of about 50,000 and a metro of 125,000). It was tolerable and I met a lot of great people.. But moved back to Omaha as soon as I was able..

Peace...
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Old 06-16-2016, 08:27 AM
 
1,349 posts, read 1,691,874 times
Reputation: 2391
Quote:
Originally Posted by NowInWI View Post
Kind of interesting that you couldn't find anyone your age that you could meet and click with. In a metro of almost 1 million, I would say, that's on you. If you couldn't find intellectual stimulation, that's on you, as well.
Obviously he or she is one in a million!!!
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Old 06-16-2016, 08:35 AM
 
827 posts, read 682,201 times
Reputation: 1345
Quote:
Originally Posted by skidamarink View Post
Have you ever lived in a metro that was very popular and at the top of its game, and then moved to an undesirable place? What was the experience like for you? Are you happy with the move?
I left Los Angeles for a developing country. No regrets. I learned a lot about myself and had a great time. Now I'm back in the US, but I live in a mid-size city. I would only go back to LA for a really great job offer.
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