# If you had to move to a new city —one you haven't lived in before —where would you go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077 "2015-10-09T21:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/61 "2015-10-11T19:04:25Z")
Dublin, for all the beautiful Irish redhead chicks! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/62 "2015-10-11T19:08:46Z")
It depends. It seems like every time I go somewhere I end up saying, “Gee that house is beautiful. I wonder what it would be like to live there…?” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/63 "2015-10-11T19:38:17Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > How far up the coast from San Diego do I have to go before I’m outside of the metropolitan statistical area? 😃 Just the San Diego MSA? Because when you leave the SD MSA, you run into the Los Angeles MSA, and the next place north of that would be Santa Barbara County. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/64 "2015-10-12T01:41:07Z")
It’s the “having a job” part here that makes this a tough choice. My choice for retirement would probably be a lot different than having a job. The “having a job” part makes this pretty similar to my current living circumstances, except, you know, I was offered Nanjing instead of any city of my choice. Having a job? Maybe I’d pick Ghent, Belgium. Awesome little town (better than Bruges!), industry in my line of work, and a great location to travel to the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/65 "2015-10-12T02:23:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Ugh. Thanks, but not the kind of un-city-ness I really meant. I really want something that has the feel of a leafy village, so, yeah, I think I’m going to say Stockholm, or something like that. sounds like you’d like most of Michigan outside of the Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor areas. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/66 "2015-10-12T02:31:59Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Dublin, for all the beautiful Irish redhead chicks! Considering how hair coloring has caught on here, you could move to Bangkok too. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/67 "2015-10-12T05:33:40Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > sounds like you’d like most of Michigan outside of the Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor areas. I’m not sure what he means by a leafy village or un-city-like city. I’d always imagined that Stockholm was a typical city: population density, big buildings, stuff like that, but definitely not something we would call a leafy village. Ann Arbor feels un-city-like when I’m there; downtown reminds me very much of a typical Michigan small town, plus the addition of a university campus and a lot of parking structures. There are a sprinkling of cool little towns throughout the Metro Detroit area, too. Unfortunately they’re all connected by suburban homes forming a large megalopolis, but there’s definitely some small-town charm (e.g., Birmingham). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/68 "2015-10-12T05:48:22Z")
I’ll say Fairbanks. I’ve always dreamed of Alaska but haven’t had the guts to go. I’d like to see if I could make it there. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/69 "2015-10-12T15:47:13Z")
Luzern, Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/70 "2015-10-12T16:45:38Z")
For me it’s pretty close between Vancouver and Santa Barbara. While Vancouver’s got more things going on, I think Santa Barbara wins because of the climate and its proximity to LA. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/71 "2015-10-14T01:22:43Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > For me it’s pretty close between Vancouver and Santa Barbara. While Vancouver’s got more things going on, I think Santa Barbara wins because of the climate and its proximity to LA. The TV series _Psych_ was set in Santa Barbara but filmed in Vancouver. The crew had the best of both worlds. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/72 "2015-10-14T01:40:26Z")
I think I’d go for London, or one of the little towns in the south of England like Salisbury or Guildford. I’ve only been to England once but I fell in love with the place. Aberystwyth, Wales would be nice too. Hell, anywhere nice and relatively close to a big city in England or Wales would probably make me happy. If I had to stay in the USA, I’d probably pick Seattle or one of its suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/73 "2015-10-14T02:43:13Z")
Israel – any city or town ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/74 "2015-10-14T18:30:52Z")
Send that outside force at once, because I absolutely hate where I currently live; I’m not here by choice, but stuck in the godawful bachelor pad where my spouse was living when I moved here. He has no inclination at ALL to move, even knowing how stressed out I am in this hole. I desperately want to live in the city where I work, as my commute is a daily, stressful faff (not naming it, but it’s in the south of England) and because he won’t shift any of his junk out of this tiny house so I can properly move in (have just about had it with storage rental fees). Seriously, if I could up sticks and move there tomorrow, I’d be out of here like a shot. If not there, I’d have no probs moving to Brighton or Bath, presuming I could afford it; certain parts of London that I’ve lived in, albeit briefly. There are parts of Paris that I’d be happy in as well. As much as I fondly remember and miss the small town/village in the States where I grew up, nothing on earth could tempt me to move back to anywhere in the US. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/75 "2015-10-14T19:35:44Z")
I thoroughly enjoyed Prague and Vienna when I visited. I can see myself spending some years in either city. For a more rural area, give me Tuscany. I know it has become a cliche, but in all honesty, I don’t care! In the US, were money no object, I’d winter in Santa Fe, NM and summer in the Traverse City, MI area. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/76 "2015-10-14T19:50:24Z")
I’d have said the Chicago 'burbs, but I spent 7 weeks there on a work assignment a few years ago, so that violates the rules. I think I’d have to go with the Cleveland suburbs. And given that I just finished moving across the country two months ago, the ONLY reason I was willing to consider this hypothetical is because someone else was handling the logistics. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/77 "2015-10-14T20:09:57Z")
Minneapolis or Denver ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/78 "2015-10-14T22:31:29Z")
Barcelona. Dublin. Seattle, if you insist on US. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/79 "2015-10-14T22:38:23Z")
Sydney Australia. Biggest city they have and there’s a lot of things to do. If I had to stay in the US. Austin Texas because of the film and music culture. I’d enjoy being around creative artists. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077/80 "2015-10-14T22:45:06Z")
So many place to choose from… Aix-en-Provence, France. But I can think of a dozen other European locales that would due, too. Barcelona, Munich, Paris… If it were the US: Santa Barbara or Carmel, both in CA. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-move-to-a-new-city-one-you-havent-lived-in-before-where-would-you-go/734077.md?page=5)