# I love where I live **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333 "2005-02-04T05:54:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/1 "2005-02-04T05:54:30Z")
Warning: Really mundane and pointless. It’s almost always sunny here. The most ‘blah’ New Mexico sunsets would be spectacular elsewhere. You can see for miles on a clear day. The night skies are jaw-dropping clear and crisp. During sunsets, the land seems to literally glow red. The people are nice. They’re mellow, laid back, and willing to talk to other people. I grew up in New Jersey, where people rush because if they don’t, apparently, they’ll drop dead or something. You can relax here. There’s a trail up a mountain no more than two minutes from my dorm. Need I say more? Art. Art is everywhere here. You can go into the plaza, walk around, look at the expensive but gorgeous paintings and jewelry and wish you could afford it. There really is a mixing of cultures here, and you can see it all around. Everything’s bilingual. Going to work or town, it takes half the time to get there as it does to get back. On the way down, I don’t actually need to use the pedals on my bike if I don’t want. The food. You can duck into a tiny, family-owned mexican restaurant and get a sinful amount of insanely good food for absurdly little money. ‘Green or red’ is a profound question, but either answer is tasty. There are drawbacks here. The distinct lack of oxygen, for one. The buses are always late and no one really cares. Drunk drivers. Insane weather. An absurd number of non-New Mexicans think we are not, in fact, part of the US. The tourists. I never actually _liked_ where I grew up. By the time I graduated high school, I was more than ready to get the hell away and never go back. Living someplace nice is, well, nice. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/2 "2005-02-04T09:47:09Z")
Don’t be down on yourself. It was a delight of an essay, neither mundane nor pointless. I thought so. I agree the local environment is a large part of the quality of life. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/3 "2005-02-04T11:15:14Z")
I love where I live! Though it probably means nothing outside of New Zealand, I love being a JAFA (Just Another Fucking Aucklander). I am more then happy with EVERY tourist entering via Auckland then travelling down south the returning here and telling us we ain’t real NZ’ers. I am 5th generation Kiwi. I am happy with my “realness”. I am more then happy to say FUCK YOU WANKERS to all those Kiwis who claim I’m not Kiwi enough cause I’m from Auckland. I am happy I come from a country where rural and small town types are “real” but FUCK YOU for saying I’m not! There are 4 mill people in NZ, 1 mill are in Auck. We are NZers wether you like it or not! Ooooops sorry. This was building. Some Kiwis seem to think coming from Auckland makes you worse then…Australian 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/4 "2005-02-04T19:27:44Z")
Mm. And another reason I love this place: Frito pies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sinusoidal\_Saurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Sinusoidal\_Saurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinusoidal_Saurus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/5 "2005-02-04T19:52:57Z")
**NinjaChick** , I love where you live, too. I visited Albuquerque and Santa Fe last fall for the first time, and I can’t wait to go back. It’s so different from what I’m used to, and absolutely gorgeous. Friendly people, great food, fascinating history, great scenery, lots to do. Mr. Maisy gets to go back next week for work, and the folks he’s consulting with out there have asked him several times to consider taking a permanent job, but he’s not interested. I’d take it in a heartbeat! It seems like a wonderful place to live, I could really see myself there permanently. I sincerely envy you. Enjoy! Maisy PS - wait, I have a question, and it’s a silly one. I have a huge case of arachnophobia. When we have discussed moving out there (specifically to Albuquerque), I do kind of worry about the tarantula thing. Do you see them on a regular basis, is it a problem, do they (eep!) get into people’s homes, do you wake up with them crawling on your face at night? Just curious! ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/6 "2005-02-04T22:28:44Z")
I always enjoy visiting Santa Fe, but one aspect of the place that sometimes gets to me is that it has changed from an artsy town to more of a resort town, and the middle class, such as it is, is dwindling to even less than before. But New Mexico is indeed a beautiful place, bursting with color and yes, enchantment–don’t want to harsh your mellow, **Ninjachick.** And **maisy** , I’ve been visiting New Mexico since I was 15 and don’t remember seeing hordes of big hairy spiders there. I love where I live too, it’s sunny and the winters are usually mild (people were walking around in shorts today–until the next snowstorm) and I absolutely adore my neighborhood. But I miss the beach real, real bad. **calm kiwi** I enjoyed your JAFA post. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SteelWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@SteelWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteelWolf)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/7 "2005-02-05T04:13:04Z")
> [@maisypjh](#): > > PS - wait, I have a question, and it’s a silly one. I have a huge case of arachnophobia. When we have discussed moving out there (specifically to Albuquerque), I do kind of worry about the tarantula thing. Do you see them on a regular basis, is it a problem, do they (eep!) get into people’s homes, do you wake up with them crawling on your face at night? Just curious! Mostly, I see daddy long legs. I haven’t seen a tarantula outside a terrarium yet. They tend to avoid the more populated areas. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/8 "2005-02-05T04:19:05Z")
The weather is… _insane_? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/9 "2005-02-05T04:40:34Z")
Never seen a tarantula. The weather? Mostly mellow. Apparently, late winter through spring it can get kind of crazy, though. Just the other day we had a thunderstorm. Only with snow. And the temperature drops like mad at night: it can be about 60 degrees in mid-afternoon, and by an hour past sunset, it’s not quite 30. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/10 "2005-02-05T04:54:01Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > the other day we had a thunderstorm. Only with snow. And the temperature drops like mad at night: it can be about 60 degrees in mid-afternoon, and by an hour past sunset, it’s not quite 30. Sounds like Texas weather _lite_. ---
**Author:** ![iggy\_popov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@iggy\_popov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iggy_popov)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/11 "2005-02-05T05:10:38Z")
You have no idea how lucky you are to live in NM. One of my favorite places. Santa Fe has got the be the best city I have ever been to. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-where-i-live/288333/12 "2005-02-05T05:43:03Z")
I too love where I live. Melbourne is _classified_ as the most liveable city in the world. I wouldn’t necessarily go _that_ far, but it suits me right down to the (sodden) ground (we had record rains in the last two days, and it’s a bit damp still). 😛 Melbourne is classy and trashy and beautiful weather one day and fucking disgusting the next. 😃 We’ve got the classy galleries and museums to attract the tourists, and the dingy pubs and clubs to draw in the _better_ class of tourist…the backpackers who spend more money!! Living here, especially as I live close to the CBD, is grouse. I can wander up to get a souvlaki or a tandoori curry at 3.00 am when I have the munchies, or I can go shopping in a supermarket 300 metres away to get my full week’s shopping at a decent price. I can wander the streets at night and not be mugged, and I can stagger home from my local pub within 3 minutes. There’s work for those who can work, and there’s the dole for anyone else… Gahhhhhhhhh. I do live in the lucky country, and I thank Ogsworth that I do. 😃