“Hey Eve, I have been interested in publishing for a long time. Got any good leads for me?”
—Yes. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
When I wake up in the morning, the outdoors smells crisp and clean. Everything is covered with dew, and in the spring the flowers are so bright they take your breath away.
In the summer, the lakes and ponds are clear and inviting. There are waterfalls to visit and sit under, rocks to climb, trails to hike. Miles and miles of road to drive on. My backyard is practically a nature preserve. We live on 13 acres and we freqeuntly find wild turkeys, deer, bunnies, and fox in our yard. Our dogs have room to run and play. We have wild blueberries and blackberries in abundance in our own woods. We have a grove of poplar trees that go “pfffttt” when the wind blows them- a more peaceful sound I really have never heard. (Oh, there’s a hammock strategically placed under the poplars- it’s like heaven). The clouds are fluffy, the sky is blue as can be, and the stars are amazing. You can lay outside on a lawn chair and watch shooting stars.
In the fall, the trees turn the most amazing colors. You can go buy apples that were picked off the trees that very morning. Freshmade donuts and cider are available everywhere, and you can decorate with Indian corn and pumpkins. Hell, you can grow your own pumpkins if you want!
In the winter, it’s cold and snowy, but still beautiful. If you need your faith in humankind restored, visit an “on your honor” Christmas tree farm. Some nice person planted a bunch of beautiful trees and puts out a coffee can every year for people to put their tree donations in. The can is always full, but never disappears. My town decorates the gazebo with red bows and icicle lights, and people actually go caroling house to house.
Well, enough of that. Suffice to say, it’s a wonderful place to be. Safe, clean, and beautiful. Who could ask for anything more?
Zette
I’m Canadian, and have no desire to live anywhere else.
I grew up in Alberta, and I’m quite content here for now, although BC looks pretty good too. People do ask me why I live someplace that gets so cold, however, I do not have to worry about hurricanes, earthquakes, rats, most bugs, or even (most? any?) poisonous snakes. All we really get is blizzards, and the odd tornado. I grew up in cold weather, and get really uncomfortable in hot weather. The Rocky Mountains are close enough for a day trip, and the skiing is great.
Edmonton is great for me, since I like cities, and there are really only two major cities in Alberta. The University of Alberta is here, so I can get my education. My ex-husband lives here, and we have agreed to both live here until our two boys are adults.
My parents moved to Dallas shortly after my dad left the Army in the late 1950s. They bought their first (and only) house in one of the suburbs in 1960. I was born in 1964 and this was the only house I ever lived in, until I was on my own. My parents still live in the same house.
Anyway, I went away to college (still in Texas though) and later moved with my partner to Houston for a few years. But we came back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area because this is where our families are. We’ve settled on the Fort Worth side and are getting ready to buy our first house (We close on it at the end of September! Yea!). So it looks like this is where I will stay for a while - maybe forever, which would be good because I really love it here. Of course, if I ever win the lottery, I’ll have a second home on Kauai or the Big Island.
Short answer: this is were I grew up and where all my family is.
I live on a Caribbean island.
I arrived here in May of 1960 from Canada
(there was 3 feet of snow on the ground when I left)
believe me, it has been (and still is) beautiful place to live.
The year round temp is in the 80s day and night,
the trade winds almost never fail.
We are just outside the path of the hurricanes.
The main troubles we have are the crimes caused
by being on the drug-smuggling routes from Colombia
to the US and Europe. When I first arrived there was
almost no crime, now you have to lock your windows &
doors, and be careful where you leave your car.
Apart from that it is a very quiet place, clean, stable
and with good infrastructure. (god I sound like the
chamber of commerce)
We have raised 3 sons and lots of pets) dogs
(mostly poodles) & cats & parrots & fish.
My darling witch who put the hex on me in 1961
and I have both worked at jobs we enjoyed,
me communications, she teaching.
The crazy thing is that I am now thinking of
a white Christmas in Canada.
One of my sons now lives in Toronto,
so maybe this year… who knows.
I’m in Connecticut until I finish my degree. In about nine months I’ll move to North Carolina to live with my wife, lilah, while she works on her Ph.D.
I was just looking to wet my feet or something…not a permanent career. But if you really say so, I’ll go back to the drawing board. 
MR
Like Eve, I work in publishing, but I’m a freelancer, so I can live wherever UPS delivers and I have Internet access.
That said, I live in central WI, about 60 miles from where I grew up, on the property where my husband grew up. When we got married, he co-owned our current house with his sister. We rented other places for a while, but after a few years we bought out her half.
It’s a pretty good deal. After all, this is a resort area where people have summer places, so it’s nice to live here. We have almost 9 acres, about 2/3 wooded, so there’s plenty of room for our critters. Also, the house is only about half finished, and we already owned half when we bought it, so our house payment is ridiculously low. (We make up the difference in lumber, fixtures, etc.) Hubby’s been working on this house for too many years, though, and he’s getting where he wants to wrap it up, so we’re abandoning some of our lofty plans to just get the thing done.
I could do without the winters, but being a homegrown Wisconsin girl, I guess I’m used to them. Naturally we have our friends and family close by. And hubby really feels comfy on his homestead, with its memories, and when he’s happy, I’m happy. If we could really pick and choose, we’d live about 10 miles out from a cool city like Madison or Minneapolis.
Born and raised here. All of my family is here, as is mommajesus’.
We’ve had the opporunity to move a few times. Just never seemed like the thing to do. I guess it’s just really comfortable here, except for the heat. (Mother of god, it’s going to be 102[sup]0[/sup] with 60% humidity today!)
I left the San Francisco Bay Area five years ago. Born and raised there. Moved north, to Lake Shasta. Quiet, lots of room to move, or think, or just be. My kids want to go back, but they’ll have to go without me!
Born and raised in VA and could never think of living anywhere else. Aside from the family and work connections, there are other reasons. I can’t imagine not living near the coast. How anyone can live on the Plains, thousands of miles away from the ocean, is beyond me. There’s just something to be said for being able to hop in the car and be looking at the sea within an hour or two. By the same token, I can be in the Blue Ridge Mountains in about the same time enjoying all of that beauty. Two hours to DC if I’m hungry for the city experience, or I can sit in my back yard and watch the world go by. Yeah, the summer’s can be hot and sticky, but I like it hot and sticky. The winter’s arent’t too cold (can’t abide the cold), but have enough snow and stuff to make you know its winter. All in all, I think I’ll stay right here 'til the end of my days.
I was born here and I see no point in going somewhere else to find the same things I can find here. I’m proud of the fact that my son is the 6th generation of my family to be born and raised here in Jacksonville.
The Navy… I would never live here (Norfolk/Va Beach) area by choice. I’ve also lived in Ct, Ga, Ky, and Richmond, Va.
I was born and partially raised in the UK.
We’ll probably end up in California, Mr lunasea really misses it, and I don’t mind it.
Born in San Diego, reared in Baltimore county, enlisted in the Navy at 19 and wound up stationed at NAS Jacksonville 10 years later. Married and settled in this area for 14 years, then moved near Fredericksburg VA for 3 years - job-related. We just moved back to the Jax area - also job-related, tho we fully intended to retire hereabouts. If the cost of living was less, I’d prefer to settle on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Instead I’ll have to content myself with cruising the bay for all-too-brief summer vacations until we can cruise our golden years away… <sigh>
Because it’s where my parents live and I’m too lazy to get a job and go to school at the same time.
I live in New York now because it’s part of the “Master Plan”. I grew up in the Midwest (Wisconsin), then moved to Califoria (San Francisco) and now am having a wild and crazy time in New York. I want to live in New Orleans for a couple years after NY. After that, I’m off to Europe to live the rest of my life in Italy and Latvia.
I figure I only have one life - why be stuck in one place the whole time?
Grew up in Philadelphia and went to college in DC. I love the east coast for many reasons, but the humid summers and snowy winters were two things I didn’t love. So, I decided to move to California for the weather. I didn’t realize how much I would love the beaches mountains and ocean. I don’t see any reason in the near future to leave Santa Barbara. I like my job, and I love the area. When I first got here, I sort of missed the big city- stuff was open all hours and I never had to drive. But, now that I am used to it, I don’t miss those benefits at all. And, if I really need a big city fix I go visit friends in San Francisco or make a day trip to Los Angeles.
pat
I am in Atlanta because it is close to family, it has great weather, a fairly laid back attitude, and is a major hub of business and activity, all while being really close to out of the way places.
I live here in Santa Rosa, CA (About 45 min north of San Francisco) for a lot of reasons.
There is so much near here. Every climate is available within a few hours drive, from desert to snow-capped peaks. Locally, the weather is perfect for me. It’s basically warm year round, although there’s enough of a chill in the winter to make Thanksgiving and Christmas have that nice feel. No snow!!! I hate snow. It rains…perfectly. Which is, it doesn’t rain much, but when it does, it rains hard. We also get a lot of our rain during the night, which just seems so cool to me.
The Russian River is a 15 minute drive away, so I can go camping, swimming, canoeing, fishing, etc… The Pacific is 20 minutes, San Francisco is 45 min. Mountains for hunting and camping about an hour north. Most of the best wines in the country are all made within an hour radius of where I live. I love cycling and the rolling hills here make for some of the best cycling anywhere. Cyclists come from all over the world to train here for the Tour and other races.
SouthernStyle said:
Me too! Funny how, for all its problems, Tallahassee does that to you.
grem