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1. Nowata Oklahoma
The only great thing about Nowata Oklahoma is I was born there and two generations of my ancestors came from there.
2. Long Beach California
Long Beach is Los Angeles California "Second City " and Long Beach California acted as my "Entrance City" to the whole southern California coast , and Inland Los Angeles and also West Los Angeles. And in the latter part of 1977 the whole year of 1978 and the month of January of 1979 gave me more than what I could handle. however the thing that turn me off most about Long Beach California was the ever-present smog and the ever-present urban sprawl. But keeping it upbeat and ending on a positive note both issues will be dealt with by 2030.
3. Honolulu Hawaii
Is Long Beach California Honolulu Hawaii was a military station
Is this best to worst, are they all equally meh, or what?
Years Lived, and Rankings, as Follows
1.) Cleveland-Elyria MSA/Cleveland-Akron-Canton CSA (0-18)
2.) Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA/Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach CSA (18-24)
3.) North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton MSA/Greater Tampa Bay CSA (24-26 Present)
I could see number 2 and 3 being even, or even switching places, depending on (A), if I manage to get closer in to TB in the right location, and (B) how the area develops in the coming decade or so. I don't personally have anything against it, and each of the three has had a reasonable amount of things to do (3 largely because it's proximity to Tampa and Saint Pete), but, I increasingly find that family aside, I would want to (A) Live in a place with access to mountains and deciduous forest at close range, (B) Live in a place without excessive heat, and (C) Live in a place with a dynamic urban aesthetic (whether historic, or if modern, ultramodern), at least somewhere within the metro the ability to walk/take transit to a decent number of things.
Write us when you move to Seattle, Portland (OR) or Denver, in that order.
(A) Live in a place with access to mountains and deciduous forest at close range, (B) Live in a place without excessive heat, and (C) Live in a place with a dynamic urban aesthetic (whether historic, or if modern, ultramodern), at least somewhere within the metro the ability to walk/take transit to a decent number of things.
Portland (Oregon) would be a great choice for you, as well as Salt Lake City and perhaps San Diego or Seattle (though the latter two are increasingly expensive). Would have also mentioned Denver as well but it might not suit your standard on forestation (Salt Lake City is far greener and more forested than Denver and is urbanizing quickly for an American city). Perhaps Minneapolis could work as well. Minneapolis is a pretty productive area, generally speaking high income potential with reasonably controlled cost of living, one of the better income-to-living standard ratios in North America and world. It's also extremely forested and green, gets plenty of precipitation, and outdoor options are abundant in the general vicinity.
For somewhat smaller cities, there are Madison, WI and Portland, ME too.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 02-18-2018 at 07:03 PM..
^ Minneapolis and Portland could be OK, though I'd personally pick Portland over Minneapolis.. Boston as well and if you want to go for a big city, then I'd recommend Chicago.
Rank the places you've lived, from your favorite to your least favorite. Please include the length of time you lived there and some comments.
1. NYC (2 years and counting): it simply doesn't get more exciting then this. My wife and I make good money and don't have kids, so the city is our playground. There is simply an endless selection of entertainment and dining options that keeps us intrigued. Will probably move away once we want to have kids and get some privacy.
2. Chicago (2 years): doesn't compare to NYC but we certainly got more apartment for our dollar. Living in lakeshore east (right by the lake) was a great time. If I decided to head back to the midwest (family is there) I'd look no further than Chicago.
3. Indianpolis, Louisville (1 year): I lumped these together because they're really similar from my perspective. Both are typical midwestern cities that were nothing special, but ok places to live.
I know that's only years but everywhere else I've lived is tiny towns that aren't worth mentioning.
Woah, I'm glad to see this thread maintaining momentum. Y'all have inspired me to expand on my answers and include more places.
1. NYC (8 years and counting): I love NYC more every year. My wife and I make good money and don't have kids, so the city is our playground. I wouldn't want to live in Manhattan on less than 200k or so (you can live on less, but we want to maintain a fairly high savings rate).
There is an endless selection of entertainment and dining options that keep things fresh. We continually find new places to explore in the city. We live in the UWS at 100th street, and our favorite thing to do is simply go for an all-day walk. Think 10-12 miles, all the way down to Battery Park or into Queens. Take your time, soak it in, grab a bite every now and then.
The last thing I'll mention is the career opportunity. The amount of interesting opportunities in unsurpassed. I work in software engineering, and my wife does work in both clinical and research laboratories. We could both find work in any major city, but the caliber of opportunity here is beyond anything we've found elsewhere.
I still don't think I want to raise a family here, so I'll probably move for that. Not to mention that any day now, self-driving cars and drone food delivery will make living in a less urban city more palatable
2. Chicago (2 years): we lived near Lincoln Park for a year and Lakeshore East for another. People like to say Chicago offers a large percentage of NYC for a fraction of the price. I think there's some truth to that, but the gap is wider than folks imply. That said, Chicago is a great city that allows folks to choose from a variety of lifestyles, including the carless lifestyle I love.
3. Indianapolis, Louisville (1 year): I lumped these together because they're super similar from my experience. Neither had terrible traffic, but commuting during rush hour was annoying, and both cities require car ownership, which is a turnoff for me. I've visited and seen some neighborhoods start to feel more urban than suburban since I've lived there, but both cities don't offer what I'm looking for anymore. Ultimately, both are livable and cheap, but simply don't offer the world class set of amenities I'm looking for.
4. Terre Haute, IN (4 years): this was my college town, and it was a perfect setting as such. It had plenty of places to eat and drink, but it mostly allowed me to focus on school and didn't get in the way.
5. Huntington, IN (18 years): this was my hometown. I hated it as a kid, small & boring. But looking back, it was a find place to grow up, while developing an appetite for bigger cities. Schools were fine, I could find part-time work while in school, and safety wasn't an issue.
Portland (Oregon) would be a great choice for you, as well as Salt Lake City and perhaps San Diego or Seattle (though the latter two are increasingly expensive). Would have also mentioned Denver as well but it might not suit your standard on forestation (Salt Lake City is far greener and more forested than Denver and is urbanizing quickly for an American city). Perhaps Minneapolis could work as well. Minneapolis is a pretty productive area, generally speaking high income potential with reasonably controlled cost of living, one of the better income-to-living standard ratios in North America and world. It's also extremely forested and green, gets plenty of precipitation, and outdoor options are abundant in the general vicinity.
For somewhat smaller cities, there are Madison, WI and Portland, ME too.
Portland, Me., is one of the loveliest and liveliest small cities in the country.
But the mountains are a little ways away, in next-door New Hampshire.
He did say he wanted both forests and mountains at close range. That kinda rules out the cities in the Upper Midwest.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., meets that requirement. But the two cities have little else to recommend them, and they definitely lack that "dynamic urban aesthetic." The last time I visited downtown Scranton, the city center looked to me like it had been preserved in amber around 1949. I don't think the popularity of the American version of "The Office" changed that much.
Depending on how close that range needs to be, however, he could possibly consider the Lehigh Valley or Philadelphia even - the Poconos are about 2.5 hours away.
1. Chicago,IL
2. Hinsdale, IL
3. Manhattan, NY
3. Brookline, MA
3.5 Boston, MA-Dorchester
4. Orange County, CA
5. South Bend, IN
6. Pittsfield, MA
Although there is a pecking order of favorites to the places I have lived, I actually enjoy each one for what it offered. Over time each place has changed, but I still manage to remember positives even though some of these towns might be night and day from each other.
Last edited by Justabystander; 02-18-2018 at 10:05 PM..
Is this best to worst, are they all equally meh, or what?
In my old age my 80s 90s and 100th Nowata Oklahoma is going to be my favorite place , solely because of my great grandfather my grandfather and my mother. Nowata OK was my birthtown and my hometown until I was 2 years old and was moved to Tulsa OK.
2. Long Beach California
3. Honolulu Hawaii
4. Cape Cod Massachusetts
5. Yerba buena Island San Francisco California
6. Lake Merritt Oakland California
7. San Antonio Texas
8. Savannah Georgia
9. Panama City Florida
10. Cordova Alaska
11. Vallejo California
12. Tulsa Oklahoma
I am a veteran of two military services , and have lived in a lot of different cities ...I have visited 45 of the 50th states of the United States of America , so I have been around the block once or twice, but at the end of my life I want to go back home to where the family roots are (like they say blood is thicker than mud)!!!
#1: Los Angeles: Lived here multiple times, the city keeps changing with better mass transit, better people, it's huge, better for my interests (aviation, automotive, motion picture etc.)
#2: Denver: Steep #2 compared to L.A. Lot's of passive aggressive folks from the Midwest, but made a lot of good guy friends when I was there that will be friends for probably the rest of my live. It's very cliquey as well.
#3: NYC Metro Area: Family is there, mostly toxic. Bad job experience, hate the weather and the vibe overall. I grew up there so maybe that's the issue. But it's very neurotic overall compared to say DEN, and I would much rather live in Denver over the East Coast.
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