Do you like where you live?

[GetLeft]

I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. It's a picturesque area without a doubt. Weather's ok most of the year, with winters but bearable ones. I'm lucky to have an ok house and a nice sized lot outside of town. 'In the country' as the locals might say. My kids have a decent school to go to. But I live where I live because of my job. Including the place where I was born (southeastern PA), where I went to college (more PA) and then more school (VT) and more school (AZ), then my first real job (SC) and now my second real job, I've always lived in places I pretty much had to live in due to following school and then jobs.

I'm in my mid 50s and would love to retire at 60 but won't be able to probably until my mid 60s. Either way, I've been thinking about where I'd go. For the first time in my life, I'll be able to choose where. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm thinking Oregon today. Never been but I sense a trip happening before too long. And Tdub's out there so it can't be that bad a place.

Maybe I'll retire abroad? Central America? Europe?

Or just be a vagabond.

How 'bout y'all. Stayin' put or movin' on?

 

[scalescliffs]

I live in Arizona and love it. I am in my 30s and was born here. I actually live in a home across the street and down the street from the house I grew up in. I have worked hard my whole professional career to stay here despite constant relocation attempts.

Who knew that one of the more conservative libertarian states would go blue like it is? Our MMJ program while, not perfect, is pretty great.

 

[Farid]

I've lived in the North Shore, MA all my life besides some short time spent in Burlington VT, Lowell, and some summers on the cape. Reading will always be home. My mother grew up here. My grandfather grew up a town over. It's half an hour to NH, 2 hours from Maine, 2 hours from VT, 2 hours from the cape, and 4 hours from NYC. Living anywhere else I'd feel so... isolated.

The cape is great, but I couldn't live there in the off season. I would absolutely live in Burlington VT again, but Reading will always be special. Lowell isn't the most dreadful place to live, but it's not on the top of my list. I only lived there because a seizure made me give up my drivers license for 6 months, and I had to live at school for a semester.

 

[howie105]

No matter where you go, there you are. As I yet again rip off either Confucius or Buckaroo Banzai.

 

[Trypsy Summers]

I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. It's a picturesque area without a doubt. Weather's ok most of the year, with winters but bearable ones. I'm lucky to have an ok house and a nice sized lot outside of town. 'In the country' as the locals might say. My kids have a decent school to go to. But I live where I live because of my job. Including the place where I was born (southeastern PA), where I went to college (more PA) and then more school (VT) and more school (AZ), then my first real job (SC) and now my second real job, I've always lived in places I pretty much had to live in due to following school and then jobs.

I'm in my mid 50s and would love to retire at 60 but won't be able to probably until my mid 60s. Either way, I've been thinking about where I'd go. For the first time in my life, I'll be able to choose where. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm thinking Oregon today. Never been but I sense a trip happening before too long. And Tdub's out there so it can't be that bad a place.

Maybe I'll retire abroad? Central America? Europe?

Or just be a vagabond.

How 'bout y'all. Stayin' put or movin' on?

I'd forget Europe, it's shit for the most part, much like a lot of places where the elite rule and fuck it up....
As for Oregon, Yeah why not? Btw, I gotta say I kinda rate T Dub too :-)

 

[Squiby]

All my life I've lived in the city while yearning for a country existence. My dream for fresh air and wide open spaces came true a few years ago.

I live up on a mountain in Canada. A rural location that is still close enough to a major centre if the urge strikes me. I love it out here amongst the trees and wild animals. The air is noticeably cleaner than the city. It's quiet, save for the forest wildlife noises. Life is slower here but I get more exercise than when I used to go the gym. There's lots to do to keep the place going. I'm isolated but at the same time I'm integrated into the tight knit rural community where everyone looks out for everyone else. In retrospect, I was far more isolated in the crowded hustle and bustle of the city rat race.

It's a simple honest life. I'm happy and content. I've been blessed.

 

[GetLeft]

So Eugene has proximity to the ocean, to the mountains (looks like there's some nice skiing in the area), a university (I don't love constant 'Go My U #1 Forever' attitude but I lived it in AZ too and managed - seems it's common to areas where there aren't professional teams to dilute the audience), recreational mj (I'm craving access to sativas which I can't seem to get around here), it's not too big, not too cold, not too hot. I mentioned it casually to my wife last night and she said 'see ya.' So it has that going for it, too.

 

[StormG94]

I've lived between AZ and Texas most of my life, and I've found very little to dislike about either.

I'm much more a fan of warmer weather, and I lived in a more rural area in Arizona, so I always enjoyed keeping up around our little acre of land. I tried to stay out of the big city for the most part, too much hustle and bustle for me.

Texas was nice, considering it has more seasons than just "hot". I loved the rolling hills and flat plains there, but the lack of mountains like in AZ was kind of a bore. It's a great place for sure, but I don't know if I would want to settle down there.

About two weeks ago I just relocated to the Space Coast to live with my brother. Definitely a lot more green than I'm used to, plus being about five minutes walk from the beach is something I'll have to start taking advantage of. More city here than anywhere else I've lived, but so far I really enjoy it. There is so much to do in such a small area, so far I've already seen three launches, they're so awesome!

Overall, I don't know where I plan to "settle down". I love every place I've lived or visited thus far, I think I'll be happy wherever I end up. After all, home is where you make it

 

[little maggie]

I gradually moved west from Massachusetts where I grew up. A not very desirable city. I spent a few years in Illinois and several years in Denver. And finally ended up in Portland where I've lived since my thirties. I love it here.
Rent was cheap when I moved here. And I bought a home in a program for low income folk in my thirties and that's been the basis of other homes I've lived in. I have a great condo in central Portland now. But I could not afford to live here if I hadn't gotten that first home. Rent is more than I could afford and buying a home would be impossible.
The state itself has more diversity of environments than any other place I've lived. There are parts that are more affordable but I like being in a not too big city.

 

[Krazy]

Im waaay up on a mountain in NM now; >2,500m altitude. I do miss the greenery.

 

[CarolKing]

What I like about where I live is we have the mountains and the ocean. The Pacific N.W - Washington state a beautiful part of the country.

The cost of living where I live is pretty high compared to other areas.

The winters can get grey and dreary with all the wet weather. The temperature is mostly mild. Where I live there are some winters where we hardly get any snow. Every so often we will get a big snow storm.

The spring, summers and fall here are the best. Oh and legal weed!

Some day I would like to spend a few months in the winter somewhere sunny.

 

[duckTape]

I live in a place too small.. Everyone "thinks" they know everything about everyone.

Only thing that keeps me here is my GF, family and the beautiful nature.

Every time I go somewhere else on vacation or such I feel like I can be the "real me".

I used to think I had social anxiety because I hate going to the grocery store. But then I started to go shopping about an hour drive from here, and I noticed that I enjoyed being out and about, seeing new faces.

Baah.. It sucks..

 

[HellsWindStaff]

Yeah I do kind of - I've always yearned for warmer weather but to be frank I don't really hate where I live. I'd love to relocate to a beach eventually but with that comes an increase in price.

Much like CK the winters here get dreary and grey, and we have pretty mild winters in general, 1 or 2 big snow storms. In February this year it was 60 lol. Lot of rain in general but I don't mind the rain when the weather isn't cold. And I even like the grey without the cold. I do get the winter blues though typically with the cold and grey.

Spring and fall are the best here - as it is perfect temperatures/humidity/etc. It is VERY humid around me, much more than you would expect IMO. The summers while nice to do stuff outside can get very sticky and hot.

No beach but a lot of rivers. Food is so so- it's generally decent but definitely not the greatest amount of culture unless you get down to the city. For instance, I can't just go get Thai or Indian or Cuban or Middle Eastern food without a solid 30-45-1 hour drive, depending on traffic. Around me I can get fast food, chain restaurants (still a 20 minute drive really either way for these), and a sliding scale of bar food from edible to pretty damn good.

Oh, and a pet peeve IMO is the faux Italian food. It is Italian food don't get me wrong. But it's not really that great and doesn't hold a candle to the NY/NJ area (where my family is from initially). A new restaurant just opened up in an old restaurant and the new restaurant's calling card is "we even have the secret meat sauce recipe from the old restaurant!" It's pretty damn subpar meat sauce LOL but people here rave about crappy Italian food. The pizza across board by me, by and large, sucks. I can't state this enough. It's not even that it's horrible but the small town isolation causes most every type of food to be exorbitantly overrated by people imo.

People here are pretty nice and friendly for most part. And pretty "simple". It always cracks me up hearing old people here reminiscing about HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL. I'm a transplant but a lot of people have ties that run really deep and over 10's of years through familys and whatnot. It's cool in a sense but IMO it kind of makes them appear simple and isolated from the rest of the world. Nothing wrong with that but that was my biggest yearning to get out growing up, I did not want to become one of those people who never left small Appalachia town.

But it is nice. I can travel and experience new things and come back "home" to the simplicity of life. I was just in Atlantic City for the weekend and it did feel good to finally get back.

@duckTape I can empathize with that for sure, and feel the same way - albeit it is family, friends, and a lack of knowing exactly WHAT I'd want to do or live at that keeps me here. Uprooting is a lot of work and I don't intend to do it more than I have too.

In general I like the "blue collar" feel and people around me though. I get great kicks seeing the entire town/city/area drunk and rooting for the sports teams. I get great kicks of them talking about first day of trout and first day of buck. I dig getting free trout and deer lol (I don't hunt at all and fish rarely - I am the exception around these parts)

I'm from Southwest PA

 

[ginolicious]

Don't mind where I live just south of Hamilton Ontario. Hate my neighbors. Hate the street I live on. Close to work. But once I get enough money I'm moving back to Oakville Ontario. By far a superior town

 

[verdampersweats]

Pacific coast people are lucky truly beautiful i think one day i would love to get enough money to cycle or walk the entire west coast from BC to Patagonia. I am on the other west coast in the UK so we get the rain storms clouds and general grey blandness for most of the year thanks to the Atlantic.

We also get all the air coming from New York/Newfoundland compared to the much cleaner West Coast of America and Australia where there is no real land mass to the east with a lot of people and pollution.

 

[Krazy]

Spring time in the mountains of NM. It snowed 4 days ago; a lot. Then it melted. It snowed 2 days ago and melted. It has snowed all day today. lol.

 

[JCat]

About a 4km walk down a trail from where I live. Used to play down there when I was a kid. (In the summer there are a lot of rock formations and quite the rapids down in the river). This was taken a couple months ago when I took the dogs for a walk.

This one here is on a trail just behind my house (on the way to the other trail)

 

[CarolKing]

What I do like is we can drive 60 miles one way and we get to the Pacific Ocean. We drive 50 or 60 miles another way and we get to the Cascade Mountain range. We live along an area with many rivers, bays and inlets that lead to the ocean. The Olympic National Rainforest is 60 miles away.

I miss warm and dry this time of the year especially after a significantly wetter winter with many gray days. If the sun comes out around here instantly you see folks out doing fun things like running and riding bikes. People are out in their yards but today is another gray, rainy, and cold day. So over this. I needed to vent.

 

[HellsWindStaff]

What I do like is we can drive 60 miles one way and we get to the Pacific Ocean. We drive 50 or 60 miles another way and we get to the Cascade Mountain range. We live along an area with many rivers, bays and inlets that lead to the ocean. The Olympic National Rainforest is 60 miles away.

I miss warm and dry this time of the year especially after a significantly wetter winter with many gray days. If the sun comes out around here instantly you see folks out doing fun things like running and riding bikes. People are out in their yards but today is another gray, rainy, and cold day. So over this. I needed to vent.

You may find this interesting

http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/03/wheres-the-dreariest-place-in-america/388366/

It's balmy out today sunny no clouds in sky, like 59 degrees sorry for your grey the sun is around the corner!

 

[little maggie]

In my part of the Pacific Northwest it has been sunny or at least sunny at times. And yes everyone is out. Although people ride bikes regardless of the weather. I think it's kind of an acquired taste. I have friends who hate living here because of the weather but stay because of their jobs. I lived in New England with hot humid summers and cold snowy winters and in Denver which was too dry for me. PNW is perfect for me.

I would definitely not want to live in Las Vegas or Bakersfield.

On the other hand I've been here since Portland was an inexpensive place to live and was able to buy a condo for low income folk years ago. Renting and buying homes is Very expensive. A friend is moving to Santa Fe for sun and I was surprised that it is less expensive to live there.

 

[Gigsabits53]

No legal weed whatsoever where I live and that has quickly become my biggest issue. I will definitely be moving west when I can retire, if not before. Colorado, the pacific NW, California...those are the states that appeal to me right now. I am so tired of this ridiculous prohibition of a plant! Enough already

 

[Paka-cholo]

I know how lucky I am. I don't see myself ever leaving.

 

[Krazy]

Bear issues this summer in the mountains of NM. We had 2 visiting us on a regular basis.

One, a very large Cinnamon, I treed and kept him so for over an hour. He got the message and didn't come back.

The second, a young and skinny standard black bear: He showed up every day for over a week, unimpressed with all my clever bear methods. Eventually he started showing up during the day and even tried to dig into my fenced off under deck catio. The next night I slept on the couch with the dog alarm and paintball'd his harry ass. He has not been back since.

Last years big/close fire means we are much safer in that regard now.

Albuquerque police continue to get questionable reviews but I have never had a problem. Driving whilst Caucasian may help but mostly it is common sense and X military politeness.

I have not been abducted by aliens which is always a good thing.

 

[HighSeasSailor]

I live in Colorado now, and love it.

Not just the cannabis, I love the mountains, the local culture, everything. The cities here are beautiful, the people act like they want to be here, and just in general it feels like a place to be. The local economy is doing well, cost of living is still pretty moderate, all things considered. This year, Denver Police Dept tweeted everyone a safe and happy 4/20. Within a half hour, I can be playing in the mountains or running among beautiful sandstone monoliths.

Also I get brain-buster cannabis at $125/oz and my balcony looks out on Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain. So yes, I like where I live!

Not just me, either. Colorado cities consistently rank among the top in the country for citizen happiness and livability score - and to top it off, Coloradans are the least obese in the nation and among the healthiest. I pretty much feel like I live on vacation now.

 

[shredder]

I'm in the Northern lower peninsula of mi. Lots of winter snow and summer tourists. I have 25 acres that I share with deer, elk, bears, and smaller critters. I'm retired and maintain a fenced in 70 X 120 organic veggie garden.We try to grow a lot of our food and live close to the land.

Near me are dozens of lakes and rivers. 2 blue ribbon trout streams within 5 miles. And one of the biggest wilderness areas east of the Mississippi is very close.

What's not to love? lol.