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I actually thought the supposed "Seattle freeze" sounded great, since I'm a pretty quiet and unexpressive person myself. Haven't noticed it at all since I moved here.
My wife and I lived on Cape Cod, MA for a year and a half helping care for my mother-in-law. Nationally, Cape Cod has a very good rep. Some of the rep is well deserved. They preserve their history VERY well. Most of the towns on the island are very pretty and well kept. Residents there are, overall, very nice. But I found it, personally (as well as my wife), very underwhelming. The beaches are very hard to access, bad signage. Where there are public beaches, they're usually narrow and small. TONS of seaweed in many areas (gross). Many rocky areas and sand that is more gritty than powdery. Ocean water is always chilly, even in Summer months. Most beaches have very little wave action for surfing/boogie boarding. About half of the restaurants (even in Summer months) close for the day 3pm or earlier (found this very strange). Cape Cod is a HUGE island. Other than Route 6 and a small part of Route 28, every road is pretty much 2 lanes. Takes forever to get anywhere. Summer traffic is a horror. Outside of water activities, there's not much to do. There are a few things, but not nearly as much as you would think........ As I said, Cape Cod has its merits and I don't want to offend those who love the place. But I would MUCH rather visit beaches along the Carolinas/Georgia coast and Florida's Gulf Coast that visit Cape Cod.
We were looking for a nice, quiet little town not far from a large city where we could retire, have some peace and quiet but still have good amenities. Many people recommended Danville, Kentucky, and the ads about the town were great - local college there, cute little main street, etc.etc. Couldn't wait to see it since taxes are low and there are plenty of both new and wonderful old houses available.
When we finally visited, we walked down one of the beautiful historical streets with stately homes - which had been turned into a TRUCK ROUTE, with 18 wheelers and everything else keeping the noise at 100 decibel level and making walking there quite unpleasant. Even driving was not very pleasant, with traffic so bad that making a left hand turn off this road took a wait of about 25 seconds. Who would like to live on this otherwise very beautiful set of streets? Not me. The grocery which had been in town had recently closed, forcing people to drive a few miles to the edge of town where the new Kroger crouched on a highway, along with other big box stores.
Quite a disappointment. This town is living on its past reputation and the town council needs to get its act together to prevent further degradation of its assets.
We spent a month in Italy and the next year, a month (both May) in Greece. Loved them both.
Sure, there are some disappointments: I hated the Vatican and Sistine Chapel (shoulder-to-shoulder shuffling---couldn't see anything in Sistine). But overall, I expected tourists so that was no let-down. The weather was perfect, outdoor cafes for people- watching with good food and service. The other museums regulate visitors so the experience was great. We loved Rome.
Athens is kind of a mess and crowded but worth it to see the Acropolis. But it had construction trailers and scaffolding across most of it. Still, awe-inspiring.
Santorini is very crowded but we felt it was worth it for a couple days. A "must-see", once.
I also felt the Grand Canyon was a let-down. Grey, no colors like in the postcards, LOL. Maybe we were in the wrong spot. The section of CO River in Utah that I lived and rafted on, was spectacular.
Zion was a total let-down, but Bryce is fabulous, as is Arches.
I'm glad to hear about Disneyworld, so I don't get the itch to visit. Grew up next to Disneyland, so got the best of that anyway.
I'm ambivalent about Machu Piccu and the Amazon, though I'm "near" both. Reviews are mixed.
I agree. I visited San Francisco a few months ago and there were bums all over the place. I had a hard time buying tickets from the machines at a BART station because the heroin addicts kept harassing me.
Why people pay an exorbitant amount of money to live there is beyond me.
I lived there for thirteen years. The trick is to spend your time west of Twin Peaks. That's where the cool stuff is and the tourists are not : New Chinatown, Presidio, Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Park, Ocean Beach, etc.
Marrakesh.. Just hated it there. No idea why it shows up on all of these lists of "Best Places to Go".. People were insanely pushy and unfriendly, always felt like someone was trying to rip us off. It's also super easy to get lost in inner part of the city. We couldn't wait to leave.
Not so much a place as an experience. My first & only Carribean cruise was the exact opposite of what I like about travel. Stuck in what is essentially a huge hotel with mass produced food, casino - no thanks, low rent live performances... & then finally hitting a port in what might be an interesting country but you only have a limited amount of time there & mostly hounded by touts who know when the hordes of clueless marks arrive. (And some go to the casino in town!) And then back onto the floating resort for another day... no thank you.
I did take a ferry from Seattle to Alaska & could see that a cruise like that, or in the fjords or a short one along the Dalmation Coast, that could be interesting as you see constant beauty & some wildlife rather than open water. Or even a cruise with a particular kind of cultural/scientific focus.
We were looking for a nice, quiet little town not far from a large city where we could retire, have some peace and quiet but still have good amenities. Many people recommended Danville, Kentucky, and the ads about the town were great - local college there, cute little main street, etc.etc. Couldn't wait to see it since taxes are low and there are plenty of both new and wonderful old houses available.
When we finally visited, we walked down one of the beautiful historical streets with stately homes - which had been turned into a TRUCK ROUTE, with 18 wheelers and everything else keeping the noise at 100 decibel level and making walking there quite unpleasant. Even driving was not very pleasant, with traffic so bad that making a left hand turn off this road took a wait of about 25 seconds. Who would like to live on this otherwise very beautiful set of streets? Not me. The grocery which had been in town had recently closed, forcing people to drive a few miles to the edge of town where the new Kroger crouched on a highway, along with other big box stores.
Quite a disappointment. This town is living on its past reputation and the town council needs to get its act together to prevent further degradation of its assets.
Our small town has the same problem. For decades a bypass has been proposed but the powers that be say no- then our businesses will lose out. They can’t see the forest for the trees. No one is stopping in town and strolling down Main Street and browsing in the shops precisely because of traffic. 4 lanes of traffic- constant 18 wheelers- it’s the opposite of peaceful. We have two colleges in town- we will always have those to drive the economy. Reroute that traffic and those business will boom because people can go and enjoy strolling to shops and parks.
I walk to work everyday. Main Street at 7 am is peaceful. At 3:30 pm
It is unbearable.
They are. No radar, constantly bumping into you. Only good thing about them is that they are mostly very small, regretting they walk into my 210lbs.
The bigger they come, the harder they fall.
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