If You Had To Move Away, Where Would You Move To?

[Typo_Negative]

I would be going someplace warm with rain. Screw that snow stuff.

Maybe Sarasota Florida.

Maybe Spain. Or Mexico, along the gulf.

[guizot]

@DLuxN8R-13

Don’t ever bring up that issue of (Oakland and San Fran being the same metro area) while drinking in a bar anywhere in the Oakland city limits. There are many citizens of Oakland who tend to mightily resent what they consider conflation of the two cities.

Besides, {having lived in Oakland for several years once) – anyone can see that they’re two different burgs. Look on a map. Different counties, different area codes, different sides of the bay, different ends of the bridge, different baseball teams…

Yes, I can attest to that, and I’ve lived in both places.

But you forgot to mention that Oakland gets more sunshine/warmer weather, especially in summer.

As to San Diego, I’d never go back there–it’s like Mayberry RFD with a surfboard. And it’s not nearly so warm as people seem to think. The tourist board sends out pictures of palm trees (which are not native to the area) overlooking the bay with the Coronado Bridge in the background and the pretty downtown skyline, but there isn’t much more than that to really distinguish the city, other than SeaWorld, the zoo, UCSD, and SDSU (excellent universities). Most San Diegans’ minds are in a cultural/world-view bubble; they especially like to ignore that they are 120 miles south of one of the most important cultural centers of the country, when they are trying everything they can to imitate L.A.–quite incompetently. (c.f., their pension crisis, and the fact that nobody there seems to understand it.)

As for me, I’d go to New York, providing I could get a good job there; otherwise, back to San Francisco. Abroad, back to the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Or Thailand. Or Montreal.

[guizot]

@Justin Credible

Everyone here is so well traveled. I’ve never been anywhere. I guess I’m a bit of a Xenophobe.

If I had to move somewhere else in the U.S., I would probably pick a small town near Phoenix or Salt Lake City.

As for another country, probably Australia or New Zealand. I’ve always wanted to go there.

Justin, it might be easier than you thought to go to Australia or NZ. I suppose it depends on your work situation, and savings. Don’t let “psychological inertia” stop you. Give it a thought. It doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a xenophobe.

[chowder]

In my home country I’d move from Manchester to Liverpool

Abroad I’d move to Rhode Island…cos it’s fanbloodytastic

[Contrary]

@bbs2k

You are? We are having two “dopefest” (dinners) in late march and early April.

Invite yourself, we admire that sort of bravery.

OH I’m brave enough, I’m just not in Boston yet. We have this pesky house to sell, and so far it’s not selling. Plus I need a job in Boston and so far THAT is not going well either.

[Bridget_Burke]

I’ll give you a 3-part answer!

1. Out of Houston: San Antonio. In the Hill County, not the Endless Coastal Prairie. It’s got a century on most Texas cities & the culture shows it.

2. Out of Texas: Portland? San Francisco? I’m assuming a well-paying job comes with the package.

3. Out of the USA: Ireland? Or Mexico–in an old silver town. With trips to the DF for excitement.

[chowder]

@chowder

In my home country I’d move from Manchester to Liverpool

Abroad I’d move to Rhode Island…cos it’s fanbloodytastic

…or Chicago to be near The Field/Shedd/Museum of S&I

[Missy2U]

In the country, somewhere warm. Maybe Austin, Texas? Is Austin warm? I don’t even know. But it looks really cool when I see it on TV.

Out of the country, probably Ireland.

[Bobotheoptimist]

Apparently there is something not quite right with me. People want to live someplace that’s warm? I get all the warm I can handle July and August, and while it may be a dry heat, it’s still heat.

I’d go somewhere either north of here, or a higher elevation. Then I can vacation in Playa del Carmen, and soak up the sun.

Without worrying about jobs and the like - Kilkenny (Oh my god, they Kilkenny!) or maybe somewhere up in Donegal. Probably too much family in the north, tho.

I still like Seattle, or maybe some parts of Montana, for “in the US” moves. On reflection, San Jose might be slightly below Seattle, just because the weather is nice

[Siam_Sam]

@DMark

I will make it a two-part question:

If you had to move away from the city/town/area where you currently live but could go anywhere else:

1. Where would you move to in your home country?
2. Which country would you move to if you had to leave your own?
   (Feel free to explain why you chose the new locations, if you wish to share.)

1. I used to live in northern Thailand, so I think it would probably be up there. I really like the mountains in the North. Maybe Chiang Mai. We’ll be there in a few months, there and Pai in Mae Hong Son province, so I’ll be better able to tell you which one afterward.

2. Not sure. It would depend on circumstances. If I returned to the US, Hawaii would be my first choice, the last place I lived in the US. Although Phnom Penh is really up and coming right now; if for some reason I wanted to stay close to Thailand, I might opt for there. If I HAVE to choose one or the other right now, though, I’d say Phnom Penh, since that would keep me in Southeast Asia.

[susan]

It would depend why and whether I wanted more or fewer people I already have relationships with around me.

If the former, New England. If the latter, Hawaii or Arizona.

Otherwise, Canada, Israel, or New Zealand.

[Spoke]

Within the US: For city living, San Antonio or Austin. For country living, maybe northern Idaho. Or maybe somewhere in rural New Mexico.

Outside the US: Spain. (Salamanca, maybe.) Or Ireland (Galway). (Dunno if I could handle all the rain in Ireland, though.)

[Thorium_Indium_Potassium]

Maybe this is showing my age, but given appropriate funds, I’m up for living just about anywhere.

Just off the top of my head:

1. In the US: Boston, triangle in North Carolina, Hartford, (CN), San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Jackson (WY), anywhere in Colorado, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Seattle, Spokane, Maui, etc.

2. Outside of the US: London, Madrid, Sevilla, Rome, somewhere in Japan, somewhere in New Zealand, somewhere in Australia, etc.

[Thorium_Indium_Potassium]

:smack: CT not CN. I tried to edit my post but my silly internet connection precluded me from making the window.

[Siam_Sam]

@Siam Sam

1. I used to live in northern Thailand, so I think it would probably be up there. I really like the mountains in the North. Maybe Chiang Mai. We’ll be there in a few months, there and Pai in Mae Hong Son province, so I’ll be better able to tell you which one afterward.

2. Not sure. It would depend on circumstances. If I returned to the US, Hawaii would be my first choice, the last place I lived in the US. Although Phnom Penh is really up and coming right now; if for some reason I wanted to stay close to Thailand, I might opt for there. If I HAVE to choose one or the other right now, though, I’d say Phnom Penh, since that would keep me in Southeast Asia.

It’s morning now over here and I’ve had a change of heart for #1. Today I think it would be Hua Hin, on the upper-peninsula Gulf of Thailand side and our favorite beach town. We actually considered moving there at one point but decided for a number of reasons that we needed to stay in Bangkok. Still, it’s a nice place, and today I’d choose it over the North.

[Zoe]

Camden, Maine. I can’t go there anymore because I cry when I have to leave it.

I think I would live in Ireland. (You know there are parts of it that look like Camden, Maine.)

[Lust4Life]

Into Jennifer Annistons bedroom and to get me out you’d have to prise me out with a crow bar.

[Pixilated]

home country move - Manhattan, KS nice little college town

but if choice was anywhere - Southern Ireland. will always be my home

[Hostile_Dialect]

Oh wow. This is a toughie.

1. Probably LA. Lots of culture, lots of character, good food, lots of interesting people, lots of stuff to
   do, lots of eclectic movie choices. Plus I could do some film work on the side without exerting all the effort it takes to find a needy crew here in San Diego. California burritos and the film work have LA edging out Chicago and New York, both of which I would also love to live in, for the same reasons otherwise. Plus I wouldn’t have to readjust to the cold–I like to think I could handle it, but I’ve lived in paradise for over ten years now, so I’m not so sure I could. If it weren’t for the lack of things to do, I would want to move back to Tucson.

2. France, Paris specifically, for all of the reasons listed in #1 (except the burritos). Or Spain, a big city on the beach specifically, because: I speak the language, the cultural milieux appeal to me, and they just have a kind of lifestyle I wish I could get away with. Plus I love siestas, three-hour social meals and all-night parties. Or maybe Tel-Aviv? Or London? Or Vancouver…OK, I fail. Can I pick all five? Shit, now I’m reading the other posts and I want to live in Amsterdam or Oaxaca. Or Guadalajara. Halp!

I’ve come close to living in Japan and Chile, but both fell apart at the last moment. So far the only trip I’ve made outside of the Upper 48 has been to Israel (although I’ve been all over that (admittedly tiny) country).

@NinjaChick

Bonus: Desert!

I do miss the desert sometimes when it’s 85+ and dry here and I just get that “clean heat” feeling I love. Brings me right back to Tucson.

[ThirdCultureKid]

1. Do you mean “home” country or the one we’re residing in? If the latter, I’m more than happy to stay in Montreal, but Toronto wouldn’t be bad either. If the former, Copenhagen in Denmark or Berlin/Hamburg in Germany

2. If it were a permanent move (i.e. I could never move again) and I’m barred from picking my home country of Denmark, it’d have to be Switzerland, with Geneva/Basel/St.Gallen/Zurich/Lausanne… Ah, the country’s so small, can’t I just flit between them?
   If it were for a few years… hmm… Tokyo, New Delhi, Jerusalem, Amman, Paris, Bejing… I can’t pick.

Screw it, I pick a mobile home in the shape of a Boeing 737 or a superyacht and travel as a lifestyle.

The world’s too big to pick one place.