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I considered NYC for quite some time for nothing more than the fascination factor. I would live there if a stellar job opportunity landed on my lap and I could live in a nice yet unpretentious neighborhood (read: non-hipster) near Manhattan (like Astoria, Long Island City.)
I'm curious, A LOT of people from Kentucky and the Cincinnati area go to South Carolina for vacation and rant and rave about it. They talk about how great of a state it is. I don't have a real desire to visit, unless it's Charleston. My current boss spent time in SC when she was in the Air Force and speaks HIGHLY of it.
Thanks for your input, it is really interesting! I've always heard that where you live "is what you make it." That's true to some extent, and I like the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati metro region better than my home region of Central Kentucky (Frankfort/Lexington/Louisville), but not nearly as much as I thought I would. There are a lot of beautiful parks, cultural activities and a nice skyline. But my heart lies in certain locales southwest.
I'd love to visit NYC, but I think that's about it. I'd have to work like 4 jobs to be able to afford anything there.
The Carolinas in general are more laid back...in South Carolina, I emphasize they are laid back when it comes to driving...so many people drive wayyyyyy below the speed limit, which irritates me like crazy! I think the way of life is just not as rushed, and the weather isn't too bad. The beaches though did have snow this year, even Charleston. Charleston's got a ton of character. There are other nice areas, like Columbia. Those areas are not my cup of tea, but I can understand why people find lots of value/appreciation in them.
Yeah, definitely gotta make the most of where you are. Personally, I don't like the city I live in. I'd rather live in Charlotte in the middle of things, but with my schedule slowing down significantly next month (graduation!!!!), I think I may take myself up on a challenge and get more involved...maybe join a club or get involved in a committee or something. If I want to make change, I need to get my hands dirty and stop complaining about everything. I can be anal sometimes :P
I grew up in the Kansas City area. I have absolutely no interest in moving back due to the fact that I spent too many years of my life there. The provinicialism, complacency, and mediocrity are the other primary reasons. The state line divides the metro in half and it will never progress much due to a lack of bistate cooperation. The people are an entirely different matter. Many are not openly friendly at all, are quite materialistic/snobby, and cliquey. They also tend to get married and have kids by the time they are 20-25 which does not appeal to me in the least. The culture is extremely suburban and unbelievably spread out for the most part. The weather is horrible with very windy and dry winters and hot humid summers.
Chicago, IL, born and raised. I am most likely never going back.
Why? I love airplanes. So I studied aeronautical engineering. That limits my cities to basically Washington DC, Orlando area, Houston and Dallas, Las Vegas, LA, Iowa, New Mexico, Phoenix, St. Louis, or Seattle.
I fell in love with Seattle the week I moved here, and met my wife here, and basically been having the time of my life, doing a job I like.
Would I move back to Chicago? Sure, but only as an executive of Boeing ;-)
Philly will always be home, it is one of the best cities in the world no doubt, but I do not see myself moving back there. I really like the Cincinnati area.
I should have David, but I didn't. It was during morning rush hour and it was raining. It was very minor and I got all their information and got in to work a little late. The problem was the man who rear-ended me lied to his insurance company and actually caused damage to his own vehicle to appear that he was rear-ended first. It worked. I lost my claim and my insurance went up because I'd rear-ended someone. B.S. right?
Yeah, got to "love" insurance companies, and jerks like that guy. Sorry you had to go through that.
I left MN back in 1993, not because of the snow and cold, but I suffer from SADD. 300+ days of sunshine a year I was seeking.
I'm looking forward to the day when I can deal with sun-deprived depression more effectively, or if they come up with a reliable medication for it, and then
I'll be free to move to some cloudier area of the country I've always wanted to live in, like Pittsburgh or Charleston, West Virginia, and also try and readjust to living with heat and humidity in summer.
But never would I go back to MN, at this point. It's too isolated. It was always too long of a drive to go anywhere, if you wanted to escape your environment, unless you wanted the typical middle class lifestyle of living in the Twin Cities with a cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota.
My husband and I were raised in a small/medium size city in Wisconsin and decided to leave the cold weather 5 years after we married in the 70's. We had no kids yet. We first went to California. In 4 years we lived in San Diego, LA and between San Francisco and Sacramento. (He got transferred a lot with his job). Then we had our first child and wanted to be near family so we moved to Denver where he had a sister. We also didn't really want to raise kids in California, houses were expensive and we missed the change of seasons and snow at Christmas. Still I loved our time there.
My sister-in-law left Denver six years later and now with two kids, we chose to go back to the Midwest to be near the rest of our family (Ann Arbor, MI and Crystal Lake, IL). After seven years there my husband was transferred back to Denver. We hadn't requested it. That was 15 years ago and we're here for good. (We now have our own business and don't have to worry about being transferred). We love it here! The mountains, the sun, the people, Boulder, Estes Park.... At first it didn't seem green enough (color-wise) when we came here compared to the Midwest. But you get used to it, the weather more than makes up for it, and if you go to the older sctions there are lots of big old trees.
Many people think Denver gets snow like the ski areas. We are a mile high but they are much higher and get 200-300" a year compared to our average of 60". And it'll snow and melt like it's spring , 60 degrees, over and over again through the winter!
Now in Colorado via Washington DC from Dallas/Fort Worth/small-town Texas. My husband was laid off and is looking across the nation, with possibles at this point in Boston and Charlotte. We plan on keeping our home in Colorado and buying a much smaller home (current home 2700 sq ft passive solar on an acre with massive mountain views) wherever the job is.
I worked a short-term contract in Texas two years ago (Dallas area and east) and that absolutely finalized my decision NEVER to return to live. It was bigoted, biased, parochial, and didn't acknowledge it. Mind you, I'm as WASP-looking as it gets but I heard the comments and saw the looks at the blacks and latinos around me. FOX news was the ONLY news believed. I mentioned MSNBC once and was verbally abused.
My husband has family in Texas that he visits regularly and he frankly just shuts his mouth rather than confront their small-minded comments. I bristle and eventually have to reply directly to such, which makes it a little strained with my one family member left (very rich, very Republican, and doesn't realize the comments she makes are bigoted). Fortunately, she has a selective memory.
BTW, concerning Colorado weather...
I'm a very middle-aged woman and at 60 degrees or so, I have to decide if I'm going to wear shorts to run errands in. Our extremely low humidity (single digits occ, 20s very common) and the sun being closer (yep that extra mile or so up makes a big difference) changes the whole dynamic. Ever skiied in shorts? The breeze gets you, but damn, it's fun!
I live about 2000 ft higher than Denver and get more snow, but six inches will melt when the sun comes out (300 days of sunshine). We don't tend to get those huge mounds of snow (aka ice pack) that you see on parking lots back East. I've shoveled deeper snow (say 2 ft) in shirt sleeves. You learn very quickly how to layer. I may start the morning in jeans, a polo shirt, fleece vest, ski jacket, gloves, and scarf, and come home in the polo and jeans. Of course, the reverse is true, but we usually have warning--just look at Pikes Peak if you're in the area. If it's wearing a "cap" of cloud, the weather's gonna change in the next 24 hrs.
Okay, too long a reply but shoot, you got my hot spots.
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