Rank the cities you lived in plus where you will move next (better, rates)

[SEAandATL]

Since I have lived in foreign cities (Tokyo and Catania, Sicily) can I talk about them here? Otherwise:

Atlanta - my favorite city I've lived in (besides Tokyo but in some ways even better than that) despite it's flaws so I moved back after retiring from the Navy.

Seattle - would move there if something happened to where I had to leave Atlanta. Love the scenery of the not too distant surrounding mountains. Only drawbacks are too much rain and high cost of living.

San Diego (tie) - opposite of Seattle, too dry and lack of rain gets old after awhile, and to me that's worse than too much rain. Also too expensive.

Jacksonville (tie) - gets boring after awhile. Too hot and humid most of the year.

Norfolk/VA Beach - least favorite. The whole area revolves around the Navy. Not a fun place unless you're some high ranking officer. Also many ridiculous laws (you can actually get a ticket for cursing in the waterfront area of VA Beach).

[mjtinmemphis]

Chicago was great and had a good culture of midwest with a international flair. Fantastic and very easy to socialize due to its size and actual level of activity. Considering what the are has to offer, the cost of living wasn't too bad.

St. Louis is a good middle America small big city. Very green and clean city with pretty good amenities. it has barely enough there for most people without a over whelmed fast pace of life. So easy to get around in. Excellent freeway system with an ok grid. Metrolink is useful depending on where you live work and play but very efficient. When a train is scheduled at 1233 it is there no sooner or later.

Charlotte was nice at the time a little too small. Much has changed since the 90's as with any city. I don't have an updated impression of the city since its been a while since I've experienced that city. The same can be written about Durham NC.

Memphis has great music festivals but the city seem to lack a lot of what I look for. People are way too laid back and the state of Tennessee has some political issues that I don't like.

Las Vegas was okay for what it was and the time I was there. Lots of transplants from California but my life was centered around work, I didn't give the city a chance to show me what it was truly about.


If I do try a new city, It has to have top rated health care, well educated population, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, good park system and useful transit. Population has to be more than 3 million msa and not in the southeast.

Boston
Philadelphia
D.C.
Minneapolis
Denver
with a possibility of San Diego

[bjimmy24]

1. Cleveland - lots of character, tons to do, very accessible, and a certain spirit I relate to (it is my hometown after all), though sometimes the local negativity is ridiculous.
2. Boston - great walkable city with many charming areas. Getting around kinda annoying. Too millennial-focused and too status driven.
3. Columbus - some good spots and honestly a few great neighborhoods that stand up to anywhere in the country. Lacks a cohesive identity though and not a ton of urban amenities you would expect.

I hope to never move again but if I had to, I'd probably choose somewhere like Grand Rapids.

[C24L]

1.Dallas,Texas-Way too big for me,does not really appeal to me anymore because I am not into pro sports and retail therapy and is too far away from hunting for me.I did have lots of fun there as a kid though.I love the restaurants there though like Krispy Kreme,Waffle House, and Pappadeaux's.I like the scenery there.Way too much traffic there.

2. Midland-Odessa, Texas.It was better when i was a kid.Way too isolated,boring,expensive,low quality of life.Hate the wind.Nothing to do.At least its close to deer hunting and New Mexico.Great people.Best thing to do there is watching Lee and Mojo play football during the Friday Night Lights.Thats my favorite part of the year here in Midland proper.Horrible schools and bad healthcare.Cant wait till i move.Really ugly scenery.

My next move will be to San Antone. I know i will like it better than Midland,Odessa, and Dallas.I am also thinking of living in Abilene,Angelo,Lubbock,Waco,Fort Smith,Fort Smith,Northwest Arkansas,Oklahoma City or Tulsa,El Paso,Nashville,Carlsbad,Roswell,Las Cruces,Alamogordo,Albuquerque,Vegas,Phoenix,San Diego,Yuma,Austin.Some of those would be part-time.

[GeoffD]

I’ve never lived in a city. I’ve lived a few places with a mayor and council so technically city government but they were suburbs. West Hartford CT at 62,000 is as close as it gets. Arlington MA is about 40,000. I live near cities, not in them.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I’ve never lived in a city. I’ve lived a few places with a mayor and council so technically city government but they were suburbs. West Hartford CT at 62,000 is as close as it gets. Arlington MA is about 40,000. I live near cities, not in them.

These both count.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

These both count.

So we’re counting small places with a mayor. I double checked. Arlington has selectmen so it’s a town. Ok then…. Cities:

Portsmouth NH - an easy #1. I lived in a small cape with a boat dock on the back channel. 5 minute bike ride to the center. Beautiful waterfront with lots of restaurants. 50 minutes to Boston so not isolated.

Burlington VT - college town vibe with a vibrant downtown. The lake. Stowe 50 minutes. Montreal 90 minutes.

West Hartford CT - as good as it gets in Connecticut for somewhere inland. Vibrant center.


Every other place I’ve lived is a town.

[dbcook1]

I won't include the two cities where I have lived abroad (Paris, France and Trier, Germany). Both amazing places and interesting life experiences, but will keep my post focused on the US.

1. Asheville: I am an artist who loves craft beer and supporting local business. I have lived in Asheville on and off for a few years and return there several times a year as my parents live there. Great town for local arts, beer, and shopping. Has a wonderful downtown core and lots of hip neighborhoods with lots to do for a young person. Close to the Smokies too which is a big plus. Ever expanding greenway network that is shaping up very nice. Love the architecture and vibrancy of downtown. Love all the natural amenities nearby.

2. Savannah: I grew up in downtown Savannah and Ardsley Park (Savannah's first streetcar neighborhood) and went to school there from elementary to high school. I walked to both my elementary and high school. Rarely did we drive as a family living in the urban core. All my surviving grandparents still live there so I get back often. Amazing, walkable downtown area. As a kid I did not appreciate it much and always looked towards the excitement of visiting Atlanta. However, as an adult who lives car-free and appreciates walkable urban form, good city planning, and historic architecture, I realize how fortunate I was to grow up there. Close to the beach.

3. Lynchburg: My current city of nine years. I live downtown and love being a part of the urban renaissance occurring here. Lots of sustainable growth happening in the urban core with a fantastic multi-use trail network that stretches for miles and makes it easy to access neighborhoods around downtown without a car. The interstate never came here and it was largely spared the urban renewal and decimation wrought on cities because of it in the 50s-80s. I am on the Downtown Association board of directors and placemaking committee and there is definitely a high level of engagement from the community and a spirit of revitalization and growth here. Also love the close proximity to the Blue Ridge and many beautiful natural sites. Love being on the Amtrak NE Regional line as well. Never took the train before moving here and being able to hop on the train and be in DC in a few hours and NYC in seven while reading a book or watching a show along the way with a beer is fantastic. Virginia is also my most favorite state I have lived in.

4. Charlotte: Received my undergraduate degrees and graduate degree at UNC Charlotte. Still go back often to visit friends who stayed in the area. Lots of growth, expanding rail transit network, and diversity. Really miss the international festival at UNCC. All that said, the city is still overwehlmingly auto-oriented sprawl that has done a terrible job of preserving its history and its Uptown still seems rather soulless and dead after business hours. Usually when I go I hit the Southend, NoDa, and Plaza Midwood areas. Not much cultural things to do there for a city its size such as any public art museums. Not much in the way of local businesses. Good brewery scene and expanding greenway network are pluses.

5. Las Vegas: Lived here for a Summer working for my uncle's electrical firm. Not a fan of the sprawling hellscape and entertainment scene there. Much prefer historic, walkable cities of the east coast. Many of the folks I encountered living there are more about image than anything else. However, I did love the surrounding landscape and natural parks. Whenever I could escape the city and go to the Spring Mountains, Colorado River, Red Rock, or Valley of Fire I would.

6. Statesboro, Georgia: Started university here for a year before moving with my folks to Asheville and finishing my degrees at UNCC. Very rural and not much happening here outside of college parties off Georgia Southern's campus and football (neither of which really appeal to me). Downtown is still extremely lacking in any kind of storefront businesses, nightlife, and residential infill for a college town of its size. Usually pretty dead downtown and not much going on after visiting again for the first time in years in 2020. The surrounding area is flat, hot, and rather dull. There are a couple of nice historic districts next to downtown and a pretty nice new multi-use trail that connects downtown to the GSU campus. There are some pretty nice gardens here too, but overall not enough happening here to hold my interest.

Where would I like to live next? I have lived 37 of my 38 years in the South and would like to try somewhere new. I am pretty keen on either the Midwest or Northeast or maybe even abroad in Germany or one of the Nordics. My sister and her family live in Germany and I have both studied there and visited many times and could definitely live in a place like Muenster. I also visited a friend in Finland and really like Helsinki. Amsterdam is another city of interest to me. In the US, I'd like to do maybe Boston, Portland Maine, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, Minneapolis, or Milwaukee.

[sub]

)Milwaukee: Great city, great parks, bike friendly, walkable, nice architecture, neighborly, family oriented, mostly clean, lot's to do, fantastic lakefront, good bus system, horrific drivers.
)Kansas City: Vastly better city to explore by car, very pretty rolling hills and parkways. Viewed from the south, it has one of the better skylines out there. Lots of cheap and/or free stuff to do. Wide variety of affordable housing options and a somewhat stable economy that doesn't ride the waves. It's more of a regional hub than Milwaukee so KC has more amenities. Milwaukee tends to be more as a place to live though.
)Little Rock: Favorite city in Arkansas and it's not close. However, the drop from KC to LR is significant. Not a bad city, but a bit small and gets dull more quickly. I like the topography: it's straddles the wetlands, the forests, the Ouchitas, and the Ozarks with the Arkansas river flowing through to top it off. Wish it could do more about the crime. All these have crime issues, but in Little Rock it's a bit harder to avoid.
)Nashville: lived there when I was younger, been there countless times since, and even took a more recent business vacation sort of trip. No appeal at all to me. Not an interesting place to explore. Don't like the layout or the infrastructure or the look of it. Sorry Nashville fans, the appeal eludes me.
)Also lived in several smaller towns in other parts of the south, southwest, and midwest.
It's not perfect, but Wisconsin has been the better experience by a good margin.

Where to next?
Possibly back to the more immediate area of Milwaukee.
Rapid City.
Kansas City if the situation were just right.
Maine if I were feeling particularly adventurous.
Out west... somewhere that was as nice and as affordable as the midwest. Might have to wait for an epic housing crash on that one.

[mwj119]

Cambridge, MA: Awesome urban environment.. Loved the food, had a great music scene, great beer, multiple neighborhoods that aligned with my interests. Having lived in Bellevue/Seattle for 18 months, Cambridge has a similar progressive coffee shop tech culture but without the clouds and drizzle and "Seattle freeze". Quick ride on the red line or a quick walk over the bridges, and you're in the heart of Boston or in the Fens or mixing it up with the lost souls of Allston. Very few cities of 125k have the buzz and density Cambridge does.

Chicago, IL: Two iterations of living in the city, and two stints in the suburbs. Current home. Suburbia offers a strong balance of amenities and COL. But the city is simply electric. No place like it outside of NYC. Great food, great outdoor drinking scene, rooftops everywhere, waterfront, commercial options abound, and some beautiful neighborhoods predominantly on the north and west side. It's festival city USA. You can rent a 2 bedroom for $1.8k in the middle of an elite neighborhood. Consumption power is high.

San Francisco, CA: I loved my time in San Francisco. COL, even more than a decade ago, was quite prohibitive as I was working in corporate tech making a fairly average living. Food scene was good, bar scene was OK, natural amenities were incredible. As time went on, I found myself leaving the city for Sonoma, or Caramel, or other weekend trips further north. It wasn't sustainable, and there was never that "IT" factor that made me want to stay long term. If I had the dough though, you could probably find me in Sausalito. Still love the Bay Area.

Bellevue, WA: I fell in love with Bellevue/Seattle immediately. It fell out of my graces a bit over time.. Something about living here felt monotonous. Outside of Ballard, I didn't love any particular neighborhood. Capitol Hill was fun enough, Belltown had it's bars, and Queene Anne was great for neighborhood walks. But I never found my place there. I guess, to some degree, having grown up in Boston and Chicago, I was used to a certain sports bar, neighborhood, almost communal environment. Big College Football Saturdays, big NFL Sundays, intramural sports, rooftop bars are what I lived for in my 20s. Bellevue, and even broader Seattle, just wasn't the right fit for me at that point in my life. Still a great city that I love to visit.

Newport/Irvine, CA: I won't spend a lot of time here.. Rent prices weren't too bad, and obviously it's a beautiful part of the world. But it was sleeeeeepy. Food was OK. Bars were OK. Car culture and strip malls. Didn't really love the people I met and ultimately befriended. Just not a lot of synergy amongst the group.. Incredibly anecdotal, but the people just weren't super personable, not a ton of layers to discover. I ended up spending more time in Pasadena and San Diego, for multiple reasons.

At this point in my life, I'd probably consider Austin first. We talk about moving to Austin often. I'd consider a jump to ATL for the right opportunity.. If I had to choose right now, I'd probably choose Decatur in particular. DC (MD suburbs) would also be on my short list... For a brief time last year, we actually thought we may end up here in the latter part of 2021. I love the DC area, so that'd be an easy sell. But COL is just as bad in DC as it is in Boston, and I wouldn't want to settle far outside of DC. I'm not getting a lot of house in Bethesda or Chevy Chase at my budget!