Tell us about your city/country

[ihynes]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

I live in Seattle, Washington State, USA.
Seattle is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world and is also nicknamed "The Emerald City". There are many natural wonders in the area. Culturally, Seattle is home to many different ethnicities and many European cultures who settled here cling to tradition. Musically, the area is known for bringing Jimi Hendrix to fame. The people of Seattle - Seattleites - are among the most educated in the US. Seattle also boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the USA for a major metropolitan area.

I am really enjoying everyone's posts, but I find that most of them are a little more balanced than this one, in that they offer both pros and cons. You sound almost like you're a real estate agent . . . are you?

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by ihynes

I am really enjoying everyone's posts, but I find that most of them are a little more balanced than this one, in that they offer both pros and cons. You sound almost like you're a real estate agent . . . are you?

Nope. I just really enjoy where I live. Everything I said is true.

Some cons ...

- Traffic. Due to the natural beauty and lakes restricting landmass possibilities on easy mass transit or highways, there are chronic traffic issues. There are high hopes for the new light rail system being built.

- Cost of living - The flip side of having such an educated and skilled workforce is that EVERYTHING is expensive! Recently it's gotten so bad that engineers with 5 years experience cannot buy a starter home. It's getting better thanks to the housing bubble collapse, but it's still out of whack. Everything else is expensive too ... $100 a week in groceries.

- Drizzle, wet, about 7-8 months out of the year (and 2-3 months there is constant, and I DO MEAN CONSTANT, drizzle), and cold. No wonder why there's a high suicide rate here. And no wonder grunge music was born here.

- Slow drivers. You get the freedom fighters driving in the left lane (the fast one) and still going 55, even though there's no one to the right. It irks me mightily.

[ihynes]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Some cons ... Traffic. Cost of living. Drizzle.

oh, thanks! All in all, Seattle still seems to be a special place, even after being such a people magnet for 20-some years now.

[ihynes]

I have been living in a suburb of Chicago for the past 5 years. Before moving here, I lived in Arizona for 15 years, and I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, a college town. Chicago is known for its architecture (it is where the steel frame skyscraper was invented), its hot dogs and its corrupt politicians. The winters are dreary - temps are always bouncing around the freezing mark, so there's more ice than snow. However, young people have a vibrant nightlife with lots of theaters, bars and concerts. The city is on one of the Great Lakes, so there are lots of (freshwater!) beaches up and down the city's coastline. For families, there are water parks, zoos, nature preserves, and science museums. For culture, there is a symphony orchestra, opera house, and world class art museum. There are lots of street festivals celebrating different ethnic groups in the summer, too. I just wish it wasn't so far away from anything else that's interesting to see. If we want to get out of town for the weekend, there isn't really anywhere to go in less than a day's drive. I also wish that getting a job here was based more on your ability than on who you know.

[Zea mays]

Originally Posted by ihynes

I have been living in a suburb of Chicago ...

I live in a Chicago suburb also (Lisle). Yes, it is a very beautiful city. The city has great architecture, a beautiful lakefront, lovely parks, and livable neighborhoods. If only the summers weren't so hot and the winters so cold.

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by ihynes

oh, thanks! All in all, Seattle still seems to be a special place, even after being such a people magnet for 20-some years now.

Yeah ... it is. Seattle is a very nice place to live, on the whole.

Some other cons, after thinking about it awhile:

- Inept politics: It takes 10 years of "environmental studies" to build a road next to a pond anymore. No wonder the roads are in such disrepair! And why are we spending $15 billion on a new subterranean highway to replace Alaskan Way viaduct ... with fewer lanes??? Makes zero sense to me. It's also very "liberal" whatever that means. So "conservatives" hate it here.

- Did I mention cost of living? It's seriously out of whack, it deserves a second mention.

Other than that it is small peanuts compared to some cities, like Detroit.

[frostyb007]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

While all Canadians are aware that Toronto is the center of the universe, I think you'll find that the CN tower was acknowledged as the world's tallest free-standing structure; the largest man-made object on the planet is the Great Wall of China.

That's what I meant, tallest man-made structure (until burj), thanks for the grammar lesson, turd.

As for the 401, it neither belongs to Toronto, nor, at 500 miles, is it even close to being the world's longest highway.

Wow, you're an idiot! The busiest part of the 401 runs through Toronto. Next item.

Toronto may well be the world leader in feeling self-important, however.

I'm guessing, Vancouverian? lol of course.. the hate continues.

[Cornerguy1]

Originally Posted by frostyb007

I'm guessing, Vancouverian? lol of course.. the hate continues.

Don't quit your day job for being a carnival weight-guesser, then..........unless Vancouver has been re-located to Ontario.

Actually a Toronto lad born and raised, but I'm not blind to the reality of the city's overblown sense of self-importance

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

Don't quit your day job for being a carnival weight-guesser, then..........unless Vancouver has been re-located to Ontario.

Actually a Toronto lad born and raised, but I'm not blind to the reality of the city's overblown sense of self-importance

Not to stray too off-topic but ... are they worse than NYC people?

[jacq63]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

Toronto may well be the world leader in feeling self-important, however.

Sorry, that'd be Sydney!

Sydney is busily frantic, resting it's laurels on the harbor and the bridge. As I need to be here right now for many reasons, I've spent a lot of time seeking out places to hear the kind of music I like (American country and bluegrass, blues), to help make it all more enjoyable. Hard to find it here, the most popular music is what is referred to as 'doof-doof', i.e. techno, rap, etc. Not really my scene.

It's humid in summer, but unlike drier heat places, the temp rarely gets above 86, and it doesn't have days and days of unbearable heat.
Contrary to what you might believe, it feels cold here in winter, at least to me. Todays forcast temp is 64. We're at the very beginning of winter right now. Coldest month tends to be August.

Culturally, it's a bit extreme. At one end you have the bimbo crowd who enjoy shelling out $$$$$ for a ditzy cocktail and some artfully arranged but hard to see food, (as opposed to seafood) at the other end is the beer and rugby crowd. My partner and I, (along with many others) fall in the middle somewhere.

And it has an ego to match the size of the harbor. It's often compared to L.A., while Melbourne is more like S.F. People here are generally quite loud, in-your-face, and very Anglo despite it's reputed multiculturalism.

That'll do for now I think. So hard to be objective about where you live..