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.
I suspect it matters more to some people than to others. For example, if someone really likes ethnic food and lives in a rural area where there's only comfort food restaurants; then they may be happier elsewhere.
If family (parents and siblings) is the most important thing in someones life then moving away from family may make them unhappy, even if the weather or whatever, is better.
If someone really wants to make lots of money and they are in a place where there are only low wage jobs then they will never be happy there.
If you live where there's a lot of snow and you hate snow... well...
No place is perfect. But some places are better than others depending on what brings happiness to a particular individual.
If a typically unhappy person is living in a place where they are miserable because of the weather, jobs, people, food, etc.; they likely will not be not be happy elsewhere. They may, however, be less unhappy where things they enjoy are readily available. Moving from miserable to indifferent is an improvement.
Moving often trades one set of problem for another set of problems. Moving to a place where there are more opportunities and more things to do often comes with a higher cost of living, making for money problems.
Last edited by Neosec; 11-01-2017 at 03:16 PM..
Reason: Expanding
I know we like to talk up certain places as awesome and others as awful, but at the end of the day, it all depends on you and your outlook on life.
That's the same way I feel. It's all about the person and what do you want. As long as you live in a safe neighborhood, can take care of your family and your kids are getting quality educations then it doesn't matter where you live. Some people will be broke in NYC or California just to say they live in those places.
Do you think that it matters where you live? Does the quality of your life change whether you live in place A or place B?
Or will a person who is happy in A also be happy in B, while an unhappy person will be still unhappy in both?
Do you think there are certain places that "match" us each, and therefore creates an environment where we feel at home in and happy in....or do you think people will be still the same people no matter where they go?
I'm unsure where I stand on this issue. Many people think "Oh I hate this place" or "i love that place". Cities, places, where we go, where we live...are so personal to us. How many people thought "when I move here, everything will be so much better?" only to learn that people are the same wherever we go...there are kind people, mean people, rich, poor, good-looking, not good-looking, deep, superficial, whatever.... all kinds of people wherever we go. At the same time, different locations provide much more of different things. And just as we as people have different preferences, cities have preferences too....some have more peace and quiet, some have more fun and a great night-life, some have a culture of people who are more friendly, some have people who tend to be more direct and to-the-point.
So what do you all think about this and what are your personal experiences? Has your life changed since you've moved somewhere else and how so? Or has it been the same? Do you think people will be the same wherever they go? Or do you think that location can be a variable to the quality of our lives?
This is such a good question. I've moved around a fair amount, not as much as some I'm sure though, but enough. Some places are much better "matches" than other places. It is not my opinion that you can be "happy" anywhere. I wouldn't be half way content in some places in the US or world for that matter. If I'm living in a rural area in some city, no, it's not gonna work. If a rural type person lives as an Urbanite, no it won't work. Some places are much better matches. But, having said that, every place has it's good part and bad part to living there. I've never found a place that checked off all boxes.
Every region of the country people are different. Still "people," but different. In the West people are different from the South. In the South, different from the North East. In the North West, different from the Mid West and so on and so forth.
And, some times you move somewhere for career opps, not the "people," some times it might be strictly "weather" related. It could be family related. It could be other reasons. Different priorities for different people and at different stages of your life you need different things.
Very good post. I do think it matters where you live, but different people have different things that are important to them. That's pretty much the key. For me, I could never live in an area that has a high cost of living. Areas like, New York City, San Francisco/San Jose, Seattle, and Denver wouldn't be for me. I just couldn't afford a home in those places. Even if I could "afford" a home in those places, why would I want to spend more than I ought for the same home compared to lower cost areas? Strong economy, low cost of living, Great buying power (average salaries vs. cost of living), good recreational assets, and nice weather is what my wife and I personally look for. Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Tampa, Houston, and Dallas are the types of places that I would personally prefer. My wife and I are temporarily living in Cape Cod, MA (just south of Boston) to help care for my mother-in-law who is battling Parkinson's Disease. Though there are a lot of good things here and the people are nice, I could never live here permanently. The entire area (even Boston) is just too darn expensive. There are a set of metro areas that come up on "Best Places to Live"-type lists and publications over the last 30 years or so that do have a high quality of life overall. But, still, it just depends on what the individual is looking for. Large metro? Small/medium metro? Small town? Retirement area? Just depends. Again, great, thought-provoking post!
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.
