I traveled around a lot while I was in the service and saw, temporarily, a lot of towns and cities. I’d joined the service for school benefits when I got out, and, corny as it sounds to see the world. (I did get to Korea, and DON’T move to Seoul)I couldn’t wait to get away but I suprised myself when I realized that in the end I wanted to come back to Topeka, Kansas.Big enough for the amenities, small enough to get a personal touch. If I couldn’t live here though, I would try the Seattle/Tacoma area. Loved it during the short three months I spent there. Montery CA was fun but so damned expensive. Columbia SC, uggh!!! Near Ft. Devens in Massachusetts, double uggghhh!!! And except for the steaks, San Angelo TX had no socially redeeming value.
<B>VIENNA</B>, Austria, a thousand times.
The Danube River flows through the center of the city. Lovely architecture: museums with Klimt paintings and a gorgeous opera house. In the heart of Europe.
Excellent cuisine.
Except for the newly elected political party that took the county in a sharp right last year, I would love to visit again.
Hi all again!
We have decided! Boston, MA
We are moving at the end of September. I bought a Boston Sunday Globe and it seems to have tons of jobs and some reasonable (sort of) places to live. We may not live right in Boston, buy pretty close. We are going to drive up there the first week of Sept. to check it out and try to find a place.
Thank everyone for your input. I would love any advice on Boston!
Boston… EXCELLENT. My advice is to live outside of the city. Like other cities with VERY limited area (San Francisco, Manhatten), the good parts of Boston are PROHIBITIVELY expensive. As I say, any where you might want to live, you can’t.
As for nearby suburbs that are convenient to the city, some of the North Shore towns can be kinda nice. Lynn and Peabody aren’t awful places. Salem and Danvers are really old towns, and a bit wacky, especially with the whole “witch” thing going on there.
Northwest of the city are some great areas to live: Woburn is a nice town, as is Winchester and Wilmington. A bit farther out (though not much) is Concord, which has some very white-trashy parts, but isn’t bad overall. The nearby northern suburbs (Melrose, Malden, Beverly, Revere, Watertown, Summerville, Cambridge) are VERY densely populated, and close to everything. You should find adequate housing there, but it will feel like the middle of the city.
You might want to get some more advice from people still living there, since it’s been 6 years or so since I left the area, and I lived a bit farther out than perhaps you are looking. I have friends from the Natick area, and that seems like a nice place as well (Sharon/Foxboro/Natick/Medfield)
Providence: Very clean, run by the mafia, cheap rent, lots of construction (e.g. new mall downtown), GREAT food, college town (URI is 30 minutes away, Brown, Rhode Island School of Design, and Johnson and Wales are in the middle of the city, strong Portugese element (approx. 10% native speakers), big concert scene (at least one or two major acts per week). Public school system isn’t great, but that’s about it.
Philly: Everything already mentioned is worth noting (well, maybe not the Eagles) esp. Reading Terminal Market and South Street.
PS Don’t listen to Weirddave. The fact that he has to mention every other cities’ deficiencies before mentioning Baltimore’s merits should say something about Baltimore.
I’m still living here. Northern suburbs - East Arlington 100 feet from Cambridge, 5 minute walk from Alewife station. If you have questions, let me know.
lunapark: congratulations on your Boston decision. My brother lives there and absolutely loves it!
SR: I LOVE Savannah too. I have been there three times (two times before “The Book” became so popular) and have often thought that if I ever move out of Florida, I would definitely head straight for Savannah.