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Have you ever lived in a metro that was very popular and at the top of its game, and then moved to an undesirable place? What was the experience like for you? Are you happy with the move?
Yes. I moved from Charlotte NC to Oklahoma City. While Charlotte is not exactly world class, its much more vibrant and desirable than OKC. It's been four years and I still regret the move almost daily. I have made significant efforts to adjust and I will say I don't hate it quite as bad as I did my first two years here but it still isn't for me and I still really want to live somewhere a little more desirable.
Moving from a big city to a small town works for some, but you have to do it when you are ready as well as go into it with a good attitude. If you do it with a chip on your shoulder you are going to have a bad time guaranteed.
I lived in D.C. for 3 months and returned to Columbus, Ohio. While I really enjoy D.C. things that I don't miss are $9 beers, ungodlly humidity, the cockroaches or the crowds on the metro or traffic.
I did. Born and raised in NYC, moved to the South.
I had a mixed experience.
On the one hand, I needed that total urban detox. It was good for my finances and my blood pressure. We could finally afford to buy a house (in the most expensive zip code!) and, from a career perspective, it was nice to be a bigger fish in a small pond instead of a smaller fish in an enormous pond. That alone opened up a lot of opportunities.
But ... we were bored. It wasn't the lifestyle I wanted for my family. So after about five years, we cashed in and moved on. I'm glad we did it and I'm equally glad to be out of there.
I did. Born and raised in NYC, moved to the South.
I had a mixed experience.
On the one hand, I needed that total urban detox. It was good for my finances and my blood pressure. We could finally afford to buy a house (in the most expensive zip code!) and, from a career perspective, it was nice to be a bigger fish in a small pond instead of a smaller fish in an enormous pond. That alone opened up a lot of opportunities.
But ... we were bored. It wasn't the lifestyle I wanted for my family. So after about five years, we cashed in and moved on. I'm glad we did it and I'm equally glad to be out of there.
Just curious, when you "moved on" at the end, did you go to a really large city again, or to another small place but with less risk of boredom?
Moved from Chicago back to my hometown of Jacksonville. I don't consider Jax podunk but I do realize if it weren't my hometown I wouldnt have ever considered moving here or staying if somehow I was here to begin with.
I do like it...at times some of the lack of progress can be frustrating. There's still some backwards thinking and a number of diverse, desirable amenities that are missing. But overall I've stayed cause it's been good enough to me (and now my family) That said, I actually am quite active and involved in trying to make it a better place so I don't know that it would be the same if someone was just moving here with no allegiance or loyalty whatsoever.
I do know a lot of other folks in Jax who moved from places like NYC...some love it, some hate it, and some think it's good enough for the time being.
I didn't really. I moved from LA to Dallas. From a world class city to a partially world class city. It wasn't that much of an adjustment. I never really wanted to go back home.
However, my mother moved from Los Angeles to Waco, TX. She loves Waco though. She hated every minute she lived in LA.
I like this question. I would like to leave Seattle which is the mecca of the US right now. I'm hoping for smaller, slower, more affordable (and warmer). I have a family, so not looking for a great nightlife and restaurant scene. Hopefully it will be a good transition, but it's hard to feel super confident when you're leaving the city that everyone else is tripping over themselves to get into.
While the previous poster is correct about the meaning of "podunk," I'm going to follow the lead of everyone else and talk about my move from New York City to Rhode Island. While there are many things I miss about New York, I don't think I could ever go back -- I'm too acclimated to much, much, much better housing for the money (I live in a four-bedroom house in the wealthiest town in the state for the same price as I'd pay for a two-bedroom apartment in the hinterlands of Queens), increased mobility (didn't have a car in New York), a faster and less-stressful commute, lower prices on most everyday things, and easy access to the water (I have a little beach five minutes away, and some of the best beaches in New England are less than 30 minutes away). Plus New York is still a three-hour drive away, and I have family to stay with there, so I can go whenever I want.
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