Why I love Baltimore, MD (even though Gene Hackman attacked it on the Rosie O’Donnell Show!):
Always something to do, even thought I am only 19 - dance clubs, restaurants, poetry readings, art galleries, etc.
The National Aquarium. I could move in there.
The Inner Harbor, it’s so beautiful there, it’s sort of the downtown hub. The Galleria mall, the Harborplace mall, the science center and the aquarium, the water taxis.
Fells Point - near the Harbor, lots of artsy shops and antique stores, great nightlife.
CRAB CAKES!! MMMM-MMMM good!
Historical stuff - visit Poe’s grave, the Babe Ruth Museum, Fort McHenry - sounds cheesy but I have fun doing that stuff.
Food - there are so many awesome restaurants here: Phillips Seafood, Martha’s Mussels, Uncle Ou’s Chinese, CityLights, O’Brycki’s. IF YOU GO TO BALTMORE, you MUST EAT HERE!!! E-mail me for directions. Oprah has their crab cakes sent to her in Chicago, they are heaven-sent.
Weather is great - seasons are right where they are supposed to be!
In certain really nice neighborhoods, you can get beautiful townhouses for $60,000. Of course, in other places, it’s $1000 a month to rent a three room apartment.
Location - 3 hours from Ocean City, three from the mountains (where I go to college), three from NYC. Oregan Lake is 45 minutes away, as is Annapolis and VA.
Big city but not huge. Just right.
Why I hate it here:
Crime.
Pollution.
Poverty
The ghetto (hey, I grew up there, but it doesn’t mean I like it. Spent most of my life trying to get out!)
Suburban sprawl.
We have a bad rep.
Drug problems, sp. Edmonton Avenue. Ewww.
Hell, I’m probabaly moving to Boston after law school, but I do LOVE it here.
There are more sunny days there than we have rainy days here; therefore, there is more variety.
The weather is usually cold and wet, just the way I like it.
It’s green everywhere you look.
It rains there.
All of my friends live there (Seattle, Bellingham & Hoquiam).
It rains there.
It’s close to Canada, which is a very beautiful country (and Vancouver rocks!).
They have rain.
I like the ferries. (No, not “fairies”, smart asses!)
Well, y’see… there’s this girl…
I like rain.
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I am moving to Seattle next month. I love the rain, and the green. I just could not live in some place like Phoenix. Sun is overrated. I currently live in Portland, Oregon - essentially a slightly smaller Seattle with the same climate. There is nothing terribly wrong with Portland, but my heart belongs in Seattle.
Just wanted to take a second to defend my beloved Denver from the original poster.
Colorado Springs is nothing like Denver. IMHO Colorado Springs sucks. I have been in the Springs three times in my life and I have been drawn into fights three times. There seem to be three main contingents in the Springs. The Fundamentalists, they started a fight with me and my friends cause we had long hair. The Airmen, who started a fight with me and my friends cause we had long hair. And the Olympian pricks who think that the whole world should bend over for them, and more specifically think that people should step out of line in Mcdonalds cause they are Olympians.
Denver is a whole different matter though. The traffic sucks, but the people who live there(like any other big city) learn to drive at places and times where traffic isn’t so bad(for example avoid the interstats at all costs). The biggest problem with the city is that it is mellow and layed-back. you can’t really show off the city to people who are going to be there for a few days. But every one of my friends who were coming through with at least a week and a half to spend in Denver ended up staying/moving here. My poor couch which has had someone sleeping on it about 2/3 of the nights for the last 2 years can attest to it.
Hi Mullinator,
You asked where I lived in Kansas. I live only 13 miles from the border of Nebraska…north of Concordia. My family lives in Lincoln, Ks. which really isn’t too far from Russell, (about 50 miles, I think). Lincoln is about 50 miles west and north of Salina. I grew up in Lincoln until I was 11.
Do you get to Kansas very often?
I’ve flown into Savannah, Ga. (on my way to Parris Island, when my daughter graduated from Marine boot camp), but that is all I’ve seen of Georgia. learae
scarborough…or toronto, depending if you ask me or someone who accepts the amalgamation…
[ul]
[li]it’s dirty, and smelly and full of homeless (but they’re usually very polite)[/li][li]people can’t drive. and parking is too expensive downtown.[/li][li]and the construction (there’s a phrase…toronto has two seasons…winter and construction)[/li][li]we’ve got a silly tall tower that costs an arm and a leg to even visit.[/li][li]our subway spans ALMOST but not quite enough of the city, leaving the only alternative to be buses (but long rides mean more reading time…and trust me, you want to read, it’s a boring trip down in those there subways when you do it EVERYday)[/li][li]great cultural diversity[/li][/ul]
my scarborough’s great though
[ul]
[li]my wonderful house.[/li][li]nothing to do…but that’s what the downtown core is for.[/li][li]tim horton’s on almost every corner.[/li][li]my workplace…a medical centre…where people go to treat bullet wounds and the common cold…where there are over a dozen doctors but the walkin wait is always at least a half hour…and where the receptionists (us) don’t care if you HAVE been waiting an hour and a half with a screaming kid and it happens EVERYtime you see this doctor…see a different one then…(gah…sorry…bad day at work today…ahem)[/li][li]trees everywhere.[/li][li]and best of all…all of toronto thinking scarborough’s the most “ghetto” part of toronto. (like we have drivebys EVERYday…it’s only a weekend thing)[/li][/ul]
Why I love the San Francisco Bay Area, and why I miss Hawaii
A few folks mentioned why they live the San Francisco Bay Area; I’ll just add a few cents:
[ul]
[li]Being in the heart of tech happenings (this is particularly good for me because I’m a tech nerd)[/li][li]Living in a city (Oakland) where I can have easy access to two MLB teams (A’s, Giants), two NFL teams (Raiders, 49s), two NBA teams (Sacto Kings, G.S. Warriors), and one NHL team (SJ Sharks) all within easy driving distance. Hawaii had NO professional teams at all, period.[/li][li]Living 30 minutes away from state parks and tons of hiking[/li][li]Living in a metropolitan A-level city for movie releases (even the smallest releases and sneak previews manage to get shown in SF)[/li][/ul]
The primary downer here is the threat of a catastrophic earthquake. The 1989 Loma Prieta was just a sneeze compared to what the geologists are predicting. I have earthquake kits stashed everywhere (car, apartment, office) but beyond that, all I can do is keep my First Aid/CPR current. Oh… that, and the overwhelming number of SUVs here.
I’ve actually only been in California less than two years. Before that, I lived in Hawaii for 20+ years and I consider it home. You’d think I’d miss the weather (nah, too hot most of the time); but what I miss the most is the “local” food. We went to a Hawaiian food restaurant in San Francisco the other week, and I almost wept going over the menu. But there so many wonderful things about Hawaii… someday I’ll start my own thread!
Why I love the San Francisco Bay Area, and why I miss Hawaii
A few folks mentioned why they live the San Francisco Bay Area; I’ll just add a few cents:
Being in the heart of tech happenings (this is particularly good for me because I’m a tech nerd)
Living in a city (Oakland) where I can have easy access to two MLB teams (A’s, Giants), two NFL teams (Raiders, 49s), two NBA teams (Sacto Kings, G.S. Warriors), and one NHL team (SJ Sharks) all within easy driving distance. Hawaii had NO professional teams at all, period.
Living 30 minutes away from state parks and tons of hiking
Living in a metropolitan A-level city for movie releases (even the smallest releases and sneak previews manage to get shown in SF)
The primary downer here is the threat of a catastrophic earthquake. The 1989 Loma Prieta was just a sneeze compared to what the geologists are predicting. I have earthquake kits stashed everywhere (car, apartment, office) but beyond that, all I can do is keep my First Aid/CPR current. Oh… that, and the overwhelming number of SUVs here.
I’ve actually only been in California less than two years. Before that, I lived in Hawaii for 20+ years and I consider it home. You’d think I’d miss the weather (nah, too hot most of the time); but what I miss the most is the “local” food. We went to a Hawaiian food restaurant in San Francisco the other week, and I almost wept going over the menu. But there so many wonderful things about Hawaii… someday I’ll start my own thread!
I live in southern California’s beautiful San Fernando Valley!
WHATS GOOD.
It never snows.I’m close to both the Dodgers and the Angels! It never snows. I’m a stone’s throw from Hollywood. Babes! Celeb’s! Easy access to movies, theater, fine dining, concert’s of all kinds, comedy, porno. I’m an hour from mountain, sea, and desert. Did I mention that it never snows?
WHAT’S BAD.
You can’t swing a stick with hitting a dozen people. More coming every day. It’s faster walking than taking the ‘freeways’. It’s expensive. It’s too hot in the summer. For the moment, we are still a part of the city of Los Angeles.
It’s smoggy.
I spent two months in Burlington last year training with IBM. It is a beautiful part of the world but your right there isn’t much to do there. I spent most of my time drinking Sam Adams beer and looking for Champ
As to the OP. I live in Dublin , Ireland .
I really love this city , its so youthful and vibrant. There is always something to do and as we say the craic is always good .
Downside: The usual city things , crime , pollution etc.
It’s 20 minutes to and from downtown Boston. It’s fairly cheap. It’s 30 minutes from NH. I have a nice apartment. It’s five minutes from a beach. It’s a new place to explore. It’s close to a lot of historical places. It’s over a thousand miles from my in-laws and my family. There are movies after 10pm. I am within an easy drive of Logan. Easy access to cultural events. All kinds of educational opportunities. People out here are friendly. Public transportation. It has seasons.
Why I miss Omaha, NE:
I don’t. I do miss my friends there though.
Why I miss Rochester, MN:
It’s conservative. I know it like the back of my hand. Crime? What crime? No blue laws. No tourists. It doesn’t change quickly. Most of my family and friends are within 3 hours drive. My in-laws are still at least 5 hours away.
With two good-sized Universities (FSU & FAMU) we have a good variety of activities to chose from. Lots of bars and clubs, several museums and a new science center, lots of theatres showing amatuer productions, etc.
The Southern Shakespeare Festival. Every summer we get a little extra culture in this town. It’s next week and they’re performing The Tempest this year. Can’t wait.
It’s a beautiful town (uh, most of it anyway). There are special ordinances that protect trees in town and the result is a lot of greenery and canopied roads.
What I don’t like:
It’s the Capitol. Way too much politicing around here and any screw up in this town hits the front page of every paper in the state. Plus traffic is really bad when the students and the legislators are all in town.
No professional performing arts center. If you want to see one of the Broadway touring companies you have to go to Atlanta, Jacksonville, or Orlando.
This town is a black hole. I’ve noticed that anyone who’s lived here for more than a year can’t seem to get away. This phenomenon has happened to several of my friends and my husband (before we got married).
I hate to tell you this, but I think Tall Tales went out of business. At least, that’s what it looked like last time I was over at Toco Hills. Or maybe I’m confusing it with the Cinema, which was next door and which definitely went out of business.
IAE, there’s a bookstore over at N. Decatur and Clairmont called Wordsworth, which has a lot of the mojo that Oxford Books used to have.
Back on-topic:
I’m an Atlanta native. I second all the points made by Mullinator, Spoke, Rackensack et al. and add that I’ve also lived in Athens, GA, Houston, Newport, RI, San Diego and Honolulu. So my experience with U.S. cities is pretty broad. All those cities had their charms, except Houston which sucked and has nothing whatsoever to recommend it.
But since returning to Atlanta I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Objectively, I know that Atlanta’s no better than many other cities, but psychologically and subjectively I feel very strongly that it is. Do you think this is because I’m a native? Do other people feel the same pull rooting them to (or bringing them back to) the city they were born in? Other people here at SDMB, anyway?
No, they just moved to a space between the kosher Kroger and the new Pike’s Nursery, way at the other side of Toco Hills Shopping Center. Wouldn’t have known that except that we noticed it when we went to Kroger to lay in Passover provisions. It feels a lot more like your standard shopping center bookstore now, without the funkiness of different levels, tightly packed shelves reaching almost to the ceiling, etc. I suppose they probably have more space now, and you’d think with none of the shelves being more than five feet high it’d seem roomier, but it just felt kind of bare to me, less intimate and somehow diminished.
