what is your favorite city??

In My Humble Opinion
21

Seattle is a great city, but lousy traffic (if that matters to you). But I like it a lot.

I love Portland, OR. Don’t worry about the rain… the torrential downpours you hear about are just rumors we spread to keep the city from getting too big. :wink: (Oh, and in case you come, so you don’t get lynched by the mob, ore-gun. NOT ore-gone)

Having been along the east Coast, I’d say Boston was my favorite, though I can’t say if I’d live there. Never really been anywhere in the middle, except for a few airports.

Hate Los Angeles, but here’s a big plug for San Diego. Great place, San Diego. I love it.

Screeme

22

Milwaukee is kind of small. Lots and lots of parks, 1 tavern per 3 people, very minor traffic (as compared to any other city) many nice neighborhoods, and more festivals than most entire states have. Nice people too (yes, we are in fact all over weight drunks of German decent who eat fried cheese & bratwurst every day. So what?). However, taxes are high, and some laws are overly strict, but all in all, I’ve been to 34 states and I like it here best.

23

The entire city is planted with jacaranda trees lining every street. When they all go to purple flowers at once, it’s a sea of beauty! People go to the high ground of the government buildings just to look at it from above.

24

First off, I want to thank everyone for their input.

tymp said:

Well we were considering Hartford because of how close it is to Boston and NYC. We are looking for a town with more things to do. We are vegetarian and like music, so more restaurants and cool clubs are important. We don’t have college degrees, so I thought we might not be able to afford Boston. I thought Hartford might be a nice place to live and visit Boston and NYC for entertainment. Now I’m not so sure about Hartford though. How are living conditions and crime? Just to let you know, we will be renting, probably a duplex or something.

screeme said:

I was strongly considering Portland, OR. Thanks for the tip on pronunciation. I wouldn’t want to be called a hillbilly or anything. The only thing is how far it is from OH, it would be a hassle to move all our stuff. Possible worth it though.

Thanks everyone!

lunapark

25

Please don’t move to San Diego, it’s getting too crowded here!

No, really, ours is a lovely community. I would recommend the North County. Less populous and expensive, but still close to all the goings on. I live in the Mira Mesa area, about halfway between downtown San Diego and the far reaches of North County. One time, I was on the freeway driving south from North County to Downtown on the 5 freeway, and my friend was looking out the window at the late afternoon light on the cliffs facing the ocean, and she said, “You know we live in paradise, don’t you?” I had never thought of it that way, but I can’t help but be reminded of what she said several times a week, when I take the time to notice and appreciate what I’m seeing, this beautiful landscapes of my home town.

However, I think I would die before I would live in L.A. It’s one of the most fascinating, busy, exciting places in the world to live, and there is some real beauty there, but I always feel like I’m walking on a fragile surface of superficial beauty and at any time could go plunging through down into the depths of casual depravity that’s just below the surface. The vast distance between rich and poor is so glaringly obvious there, it’s depressing. Also, the concentration of people there is as suffocating as the air.

New Orleans and most of Florida: the most accessible parts of “the South,” at least for me. The rest, especially the smaller communities, were culture shock upon culture shock for this native Californian. (That’s the best thing about travel, it makes you realize all the things you take for granted; like the proliferation of bait shops all along the highway in the South. In San Diego, the only bait shops are thirty feet from the ocean! I think I’ve seen two in my entire life, until I went to the South).

New Orleans. Magnificent place to visit, thick with history, rich with music and good food. Everyone says I wouldn’t want to live there. But I would. Humidity doesn’t bother me. And I love the smell of turtle soup in the morning!

I’m not sure which city/town to recommend, but I had a wonderful time when I went to Florida, and I have always thought since then that I would like to live there for at least a few years out of my life. I didn’t even realize that I was actually in a Southern state until I visited some of the small towns, and realized that they were just like the small towns I saw when I was in Tennessee! The big cities, probably because of the melting pot effect, are similar in culture (it seemed, during my short stay) to California, except less hurried.

I have never been to the Northeast, so I can’t say anything about it. But, I would love to visit Boston, and New York City above all others.

26

** lunapark asked **

If you’re going to be renting, and want cheap living conditions and easy access to Boston, then I HIGHGLY recommend Southern New Hampshire. Start looking around Nashua, Salem, Plaistow, Pelham, Hudson, Londonderry, Derry, Windham, etc. The seacoast (Seabrook, Hampton, etc.) is a little expensive, but New Hampshire has 2 things going for it:

  1. No Income Tax
  2. No Sales Tax

Now, that DOES mean that the property taxes are outrageously high, but if you’re looking to rent anyways, the cost of rent is relatively low, and though some of the cost of property taxes are passed on in rents, its still quite reasonable. Now, all of these places are ~45 minute drive from downtown Boston, and if you don’t want to drive there it’s easy to get to the Boston commuter rail which has lines running as far north as Lowell and Lawrence Mass. When I was growing up, I used to drive 15 minutes from my home in Hudson, NH to the commuter rail station in Lowell and then it was a 45 minute train ride to North Station in Boston.

Now, I am a bit biased towards the area since I did grow up there, but now that I have more experience in the world I have come to miss my roots more and more. It was a marvelous area to live, and if I could pick anywhere in the world to live again, it would have to be there.

Though if you want access to NYC as well, then the Hartford suburbs might be the place to go.

27

Well we were considering Hartford because of how close it is to Boston and NYC. We are looking for a town with more things to do. We are vegetarian and like music, so more restaurants and cool clubs are important. We don’t have college degrees, so I thought we might not be able to afford Boston. I thought Hartford might be a nice place to live and visit Boston and NYC for entertainment. Now I’m not so sure about Hartford though. How are living conditions and crime? Just to let you know, we will be renting, probably a duplex or something.
lunapark,

As vegetarians, you’ll find Hartford and eastern Connecticut to be very accepting, pleasant communities. You will find many appropriate grocery stores and restaurants. I would estimate that ¼ of all the people I know here are vegetarians. I’m sure this can be attributed more to who I am rather than where I live, but it makes you think.

There is good music to be heard here. There are a few clubs that bring in damn fine blues musicians regularly. Any musician on a US or East Coast tour will play here. There’s also a pretty strong experimental punk scene that has developed about forty miles east of Hartford.

As for clubbing . . . well, it’s not so good. I must say, however, that I do goth, which is something difficult to find a good representation of in any city. You’ll probably do most of your clubbing in Boston, NYC, or even the southwestern, more populace cities of Connecticut like New Haven.

Uh oh . . . No college degree, huh? I don’t think I can help you out at all. You’re a lost cause. Ha! I don’t have a degree either, and I’ve done really well for myself here. I mentioned easy money before and I meant it. Jobs are plentiful and wages are high. I don’t know what you do for work or how far along in your career you are. This point of reference may not mean much to you but my office recently employed a temp just to do some data entry and paid him $17.00/hour. That’s not too shabby. I would have killed for wages like that when I was starting out. Also, there are a number of appealing education opportunities, should you choose to pursue a degree or take some classes. Hell, Yale is only an hour’s drive away.

Renting is a good way to go if you stick close to Hartford. If you try to settle too far east of Hartford, you’ll have trouble finding anything nice to rent. I live in a delightful little town called Manchester, which is twenty minutes east-by-southeast of the city. Quality housing is available in this town. Living conditions are good. This area has lots of money and more than enough pride to maintain itself well. My apartment is a 2000-sq. ft. two story, two-bedroom apartment in a converted silk mill. It’s absolutely beautiful and it carries a fair price, IMO. For a well equipped two-bedroom, you could expect to pay between $750 and $1,100/month.

Crime in Connecticut as a whole is somewhat high, but it’s all concentrated in the rundown communities of the West to which all the bail-jumpers from NYC flee. Crime in Hartford is low and is virtually unheard of east of the river. I have never felt the least bit uncomfortable in this area. Of course, I’m from New Orleans. I’m not easily frightened.

I feel like I’m trying to sell you on moving to Hartford. This is weird. Oh, well. I just want you to know that this is a nice area and you can probably expect success and pleasure should you decide to relocate here. If you do move here, email me.

I’d be happy to supervise your moving efforts whilst sitting on your lawn and drinking your beer.

Crap! Was that my out loud voice?!

28

That’s weird. I could have sworn I added the appropriate vB Code for that quote.

Eh . . . Whatever.

29

It might be trite, but in my eyes, there is absolutely no better city than Chicago.

The food, the scenery, the lake, the clubs, the museums, the art, the music, the shopping, the people, the neighborhoods - I don’t think that there’s a place on earth that can beat it. Honest.

Even if you don’t have a degree, there is plenty of affordable housing too.

30

Denver, Colorado. No place I’d rather be.

31

I’m printing out this thread so my SO and i can review it. We are dead set on moving soon (our goal is late September) so this thread has been soooo helpful. (am i gushing?)

tymp:

That would be great!! I currently am a administrative assistant at an accounting office, so i will be looking for office work.

Wow! Our only vegetarian friends moved to Texas, so sometimes i feel like we are the only ones. I’ve contemplated hanging out in the Veggie Burger section just to see another vegetarian.

My cousin recently moved to Denver, and he loves it. He has to rent an extremely small apartment though.

Thanks again everyone!

lunapark

32

Thanks for the info on New Hampshire. I have never been anywhere in New England, so your posts are extremely helpful. (now i’m definitely gushing)

33

I’m moving to Chicago at the end of the month, good to hear positive things about it.

I loooooove San Francisco, but it’s too bloody expensive. Oldscratch, do y’all have a middle class there anymore?
It seems that no one who moved there after 1968 can find affordable housing! I’ve been looking to move there for about 2 years and finally just gave up on ever being able to afford it.

D.C. has a lot to recommend it as a place to live. If anyone were relocating here I’d be happy to help hook them up with job info, places to live info, and places to go info. Been here for so long I need a change of scene, though!

34

New Orleans-I lived there for a while, and i had the best time there. The economic picture isn’t so great, but crime is down and the pace of life is perfect. There are great coffee shops(Morning Call and Kaldi’s), gloriously decadent food, and neighborhoods with character.

Flagstaff-The job scene isn’t good, but if you can get a good gig, the outdoor recreation can’t be beat. You have the Grand Canyon 90 minutes to the north, you can go mountaineering in the San Francisco peaks just outside of town, and there’s great skiing in the winter. It has a very bohemian feel, great bookshops, and terrific restaurants(Cafe Espress, Stromboli’s Pizza)

Metro DC-I live in DC’s Virginia suburbs, and the quality of life here is great. The cost of living is high, but the job market is booming, there is not much pollution compared to other places I’ve lived, and the cultural scene can’t be beat. We have three Shakespeare theaters, opera, several terrific local theaters(Arena Stage is a favorite), and a wide array of ethnic restaurants. There is a plethera of bookstores(Kultura, Second Story Used Books andPolitics &Prose are great)
Favorite international city would be a tie between Florence and Kyoto.

35

I’ll second goboy on the Virginia/DC suburbs… My wife’s parents live there, we were married there. It’s densly populated, but well organized. I have never seen an area so heavily populated that did such a good job at containing and hiding “sprawl.” You drive down roads in some of the heaviest populated areas, and could never tell due to the proficient use of trees to hide neighborhoods and such. It’s a great area as well for all of the reasons goboy cites. Plus, it has good public transportation into and out of the city…

And lunapark you are welcome. New England will always be my spiritual home, even if I haven’t lived there in 6 years, and am stuck in Chicago now (it’s a fun city, but it wears thin after a few years). Hope you have success in finding a home, and I hope I had some influence in helping you choose New England!

36

Did I mention the extremely high unemployment rate here? 2.2%! Yow!

37

You know, as another Chicagoan, I agree with you. I ate lunch today with a friend outside at a downtown riverfront cafe. The weather was perfect, there was a live band, and the view (in at least 2 senses of the word) was spectacular. Last Sunday, some friends of mine and I took my Lab to a dog beach in Lincoln Park, and then drank some beers and ate some food in a nearby outdoor restaurant while watching softball and listening to a blues band. A week before that, I took a day off, and biked 30 miles along the lakefront bike path. Again, spectacular weather and great views.

Of course, it’s July. My opinion usually differs in January.

38

This ones easy, my top five list"

Asheville, NC - by far the most beautiful city Ive ever been to, great people, large proporty lots

Seattle, Wa - again great people, lots of skiing and parks rains a lot though

Portland, Oregon - just a nice place, oh and the Trail Blazers

Hartford, conneticut

San antonio, TX, the river walk

Unless you’ve got $2500 a moth or so to rent, love traffic and like dodging maniac driver I wouldnt go to SF

39

Same thing goes for Seattle these days, sadly. The drivers aren’t so much maniacal as they are numerous, though.

40

Philly –

Sout Street, Phillies, cheesesteaks, Eagles, soft pretzels, The Inquirer, Melrose Diner, the FU Center, Independence Hall, Longwood Gardens, Liberty Place, Rocky, the Mummers, streetcars, neighborhoods, Penn’s Landing, Flyers, Tastykake, Aronomink Golf Course, City Hall, Benjiman Franklin Parkway, Broad Street, Le Bec Fin, The Zoo, Fels Planetarium, the Please Touch Museum, beer, Hoagies, Betsy Ross House, Street Parties, fireplug sprinklers, Super Sunday, the Liberty Bell, the Convention Center, Broad Street, The Wannamaker’s Light Show, the Eagle, Chestnut Street, Rittenhouse Square, Krass Bros. Mens Stores, Capt. Noah, WPVI Action News, Reading Terminal Market, Avenue of the Arts, Thanksgiving Parade, the Schukyll, the Delaware, Wissahickon, Cobbs Creek Parkway, the Greater Northeast, South Philly, The Tower, the El, 69th Street Terminal and Market Street.

'Nuff said?