Do you like where you live?

[lumpher]

i live in the dallas/fort worth metro-mess. i hate it. it sucks, and i can't stand it. the population, the noise, the traffic... well, i wish i could express my true feelings, but i tend to hold them inside

 

[ChelisHubby]

Well It is different strokes for different folks. I grew up outside of Kansas city and the hunting and fishing is great. Went to Denver for 7 years loved the mountains and the bars. Now I am in riverside Ca. and yes the taxes are high and the traffic can be a pain and there are a lot of Morons that do live here. But while I do have 4 months of summer I have the other months of shirt sleeve weather. The local mnts or hills really are only 45 minutes away and the ocean is a little over one hour. In the summer I can get out of the shower and be dry quickly because of the low humidity. I c ant see myself going back to the high humidity and the weeks with out seeing the sun.

 

[ghohn]

I don't think you can go wrong with the northwest.


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew

 

[DrunkleJon]

The geography and weather is right here in C/western MA. Employment is certainly dependent on your line of work. I've managed to raise three kids and own a nice-enough home, working an OK paying job.

I guess am going to have to do a little more travelling up and down the coastal states.

Most people I know from here that moved away have gone on to NC or Texas. I am a computer geek, could probably work most anywhere, but being near the government is sort of helpful. Lots of IT jobs here, though cost of living is rather high and the A-hole/sq mile ratio is pretty crazy. Especially when on the roads.

 

[bobeer]

I guess am going to have to do a little more travelling up and down the coastal states.

Most people I know from here that moved away have gone on to NC or Texas. I am a computer geek, could probably work most anywhere, but being near the government is sort of helpful. Lots of IT jobs here, though cost of living is rather high and the A-hole/sq mile ratio is pretty crazy. Especially when on the roads.

Once our little one is a little bigger my wife and I are going to check out the northern coastal states and see what it's all about. Swimming/fishing in the summer and snowboarding in the winter sounds good to me.

I also work in IT but I refuse to work for the government or a govt contractor. There are still a lot of private companies around that require a lot of IT help though. The pay isn't as good but the benefits I have at my current gig are awesome and better than any govt benies.

The cost of living here is insane. We sold our house in Gainesville because of that. Now renting it's a little cheaper but not much and we're not gaining any equity. The only plus side of renting is I feel we can pick up and move a little easier without having to worry about selling a house.

And yes... lots of aholes around here. That's pretty much my main gripe with this area is the traffic and the uncultured aholes. You can leave work at 2:30 and sit in a pile up trying to get home.

 

[todd_k]

I guess am going to have to do a little more travelling up and down the coastal states.

Most people I know from here that moved away have gone on to NC or Texas. I am a computer geek, could probably work most anywhere, but being near the government is sort of helpful. Lots of IT jobs here, though cost of living is rather high and the A-hole/sq mile ratio is pretty crazy. Especially when on the roads.

The "Silicon Valley of the East Coast" is the corridor from Nashua, NH to Boston, MA. I don't think it's quite at that level but you could find some IT jobs in the NE without much of a problem.

 

[bobeer]

Well It is different strokes for different folks. I grew up outside of Kansas city and the hunting and fishing is great. Went to Denver for 7 years loved the mountains and the bars. Now I am in riverside Ca. and yes the taxes are high and the traffic can be a pain and there are a lot of Morons that do live here. But while I do have 4 months of summer I have the other months of shirt sleeve weather. The local mnts or hills really are only 45 minutes away and the ocean is a little over one hour. In the summer I can get out of the shower and be dry quickly because of the low humidity. I c ant see myself going back to the high humidity and the weeks with out seeing the sun.

The humidity suuuuucks here in VA during the summer. It's awful. I'm 6'2 230 lbs and all I do is sweat in the summer without doing anything.
I used to live in Chico, CA and the heat there was so dry. I was there during a big 112 degree heat wave and I remember I could get in the shower with my clothes on and walk downtown. I'd be dry before I even got down there and it was only 5 blocks or so away. I'd take the dry heat over the muggy swamp heat any day.
We have a lot of parks and mountains around here too for lots of hiking, tubing, and camping. During the summer they're pretty crowded though which sort of kills the outing for me. You have to go sort of off the grid in the national forest to not see anyone.

 

[bobeer]

Traffic Sucks, but I still Love Arlington, Va.

Arlington is a cool place to walk the streets but parking there is a b! I drive a big f150 and I can't fit into any of the garages down there and you can forget about street parking. If I go into Arlington you can bet I'm not driving! I went down there for a job interview once and ended up parking in a neighborhood several blocks away because there was zero parking during the week. I find it the same on the weekends and evenings.

 

[bobeer]

I was just in Leesburg Sunday at the outlets and wegmans. That's not far from Winchester. Maybe we should meet up and exchange homebrews or something. I'm up there on the weekends.

Sure, we can do that. I'm not far from the outlets or Wegmans. PM me and we can work something out!

 

[bobeer]

Hey!! I live in Gainesville!

I don't mind it. I like Gainesville actually. As they add more stores it gives me more and more reasons to never have to go to Manassas again.. Except to go to Jay's Brewing or Tobaccology.

That being said, I work from home, so I don't deal with the traffic.

We lived in Gainesville for 3 years and it changed 10 fold from the day we moved there to the day we left. They're cramming more and more folks in there and those road ways were never meant to work with that many people. 29 is always a mess and 15 is pretty bad too. We were lucky enough to live around the back roads that people hadn't seemed to figure out yet. It's very beautiful out there though and you're a short drive from the Blue Ridge and Skyline drive which is awesome any day of the week. The Mexican place in Haymarket is off the chain too. I think I miss that the most!

 

[DrunkleJon]

I also work in IT but I refuse to work for the government or a govt contractor. There are still a lot of private companies around that require a lot of IT help though. The pay isn't as good but the benefits I have at my current gig are awesome and better than any govt benies.

The cost of living here is insane. We sold our house in Gainesville because of that. Now renting it's a little cheaper but not much and we're not gaining any equity. The only plus side of renting is I feel we can pick up and move a little easier without having to worry about selling a house.

And yes... lots of aholes around here. That's pretty much my main gripe with this area is the traffic and the uncultured aholes. You can leave work at 2:30 and sit in a pile up trying to get home.

Contracting is just legal prostitution. Think about it. The Contractor company arranges for then gets a percentage for you doing all of the working...

Surprisingly, I bought my house inside the beltway. WHen I bought it, it was fully rented out and I was making $200/month over my mortgage payments. Now, since I am young enough and unmarried I am renting out the other 3 bedrooms and am making some 80% of it. When I do some further upgrading and find that special lady and if she decides to move in, I will be able to get that much by converting the basement to an apartment and renting that part out alone. I guess my point is that with how ridiculous cost of living is, if you are willing to commit it can cost less to own than rent.

Proximity to work is key. And timing of when you go. I managed to talk my bosses into letting me start work at 6:30, out by around 3:15. 20 minute commute in the morning, just a smidge longer in the afternoon.

The humidity suuuuucks here in VA during the summer. It's awful. I'm 6'2 230 lbs and all I do is sweat in the summer without doing anything.
I used to live in Chico, CA and the heat there was so dry. I was there during a big 112 degree heat wave and I remember I could get in the shower with my clothes on and walk downtown. I'd be dry before I even got down there and it was only 5 blocks or so away. I'd take the dry heat over the muggy swamp heat any day.
We have a lot of parks and mountains around here too for lots of hiking, tubing, and camping. During the summer they're pretty crowded though which sort of kills the outing for me. You have to go sort of off the grid in the national forest to not see anyone.

Ah, the humidity. Yeah that is a pain. Mosquitos can get pretty terrible too. I swear one of my neighbors has set up a breeding ground for them. I cant go outside in the summer for 10 minutes without having 2 dozen land on me. I have since started only going outside when I am accompanied by people who mosquitos like better than me.

 

[bobeer]

Contracting is just legal prostitution. Think about it. The Contractor company arranges for then gets a percentage for you doing all of the working...

Surprisingly, I bought my house inside the beltway. WHen I bought it, it was fully rented out and I was making $200/month over my mortgage payments. Now, since I am young enough and unmarried I am renting out the other 3 bedrooms and am making some 80% of it. When I do some further upgrading and find that special lady and if she decides to move in, I will be able to get that much by converting the basement to an apartment and renting that part out alone. I guess my point is that with how ridiculous cost of living is, if you are willing to commit it can cost less to own than rent.

Proximity to work is key. And timing of when you go. I managed to talk my bosses into letting me start work at 6:30, out by around 3:15. 20 minute commute in the morning, just a smidge longer in the afternoon.



Ah, the humidity. Yeah that is a pain. Mosquitos can get pretty terrible too. I swear one of my neighbors has set up a breeding ground for them. I cant go outside in the summer for 10 minutes without having 2 dozen land on me. I have since started only going outside when I am accompanied by people who mosquitos like better than me.

That's the thing though... I don't want to live in a place where I have to sell my privacy in order to support myself. I guess if I was single I wouldn't mind as much but it would still bother me. With a wife and a little girl in my life now I'd have to know the person who I was renting to pretty well.

Now, living in Leesburg, I'm only 15 minutes from my job which is awesome. Before I'd drive over an hour 1 way... That's over 10 hours of personal time a week wasted rotting in traffic. Yea, I'd tip a few by the time I got home!

 

[DemonsRun]

Contracting is just legal prostitution. Think about it. The Contractor company arranges for then gets a percentage for you doing all of the working... Mosquitos can get pretty terrible too. .

I'm an IT Contracting Whore, not so bad If you can do it as a 1099 but you have more responsibility for keeping track of taxes, expenses and things.

Thankfully I live 10 minutes from work in traffic, Otherwise I don't know how people stand commuting...and yes the mosquitoes make me almost hate the outside.

 

[sboyajian]

We lived in Gainesville for 3 years and it changed 10 fold from the day we moved there to the day we left. They're cramming more and more folks in there and those road ways were never meant to work with that many people. 29 is always a mess and 15 is pretty bad too. We were lucky enough to live around the back roads that people hadn't seemed to figure out yet. It's very beautiful out there though and you're a short drive from the Blue Ridge and Skyline drive which is awesome any day of the week. The Mexican place in Haymarket is off the chain too. I think I miss that the most!

I've been living here since 2005, so you can imagine how much it's changed for me! 29 is not as bad since they opened the one overpass over the train and once they finish the other one on Linton Hall it should be great. I live on the edge, over toward Wegmans, so I don't get a hole lot of the traffic and I can escape toward Warrenton if I really want to. I'm a bit of a homebody and I like staying in my neighborhood.

I've never been to the restaurant (El Vaquero?). I have heard it's good. We'll have to head over there. Thanks for the heads up.

I agree with the jmcquesten, we should all set up a time to trade home brews.

 

[Ridire]

Southern Michigan here. No better place in the world from April through October. November through March...I wouldn't mind living elsewhere.

 

[bobeer]

I've been living here since 2005, so you can imagine how much it's changed for me! 29 is not as bad since they opened the one overpass over the train and once they finish the other one on Linton Hall it should be great. I live on the edge, over toward Wegmans, so I don't get a hole lot of the traffic and I can escape toward Warrenton if I really want to. I'm a bit of a homebody and I like staying in my neighborhood.

I've never been to the restaurant (El Vaquero?). I have heard it's good. We'll have to head over there. Thanks for the heads up.

I agree with the jmcquesten, we should all set up a time to trade home brews.

Yup, El Vaquero West. Best Mexican I've ever had. Cheap too.
Sure, let's trade some brews.

 

[Mongrel]

Central Oregon, 30 minutes from the nation's best beer city. Taxes and housing prices are high, not all that great for jobs, but we live where other people come to vacation, the beer flows, and our weather is so much better than Portland's. If you like to ski, rock climb, raft, mountain bike, drink beer, grow pot (in 6 months), hike, fly fish, camp, have an active brew club (we have 2 with 100+ members), be at the beach in a couple of hours...etc., there's no better place in than here. That said, too many people are moving here, so stay home.

 

[W0GWT]

St. Louis- It sucks a big one (have you watched the news recently).

Pros:

Decent job market, low cost of living, great zoo, good baseball (if you're a Cardinals fan...if not, it f****ing sucks because as a Cards fan, I know Cards fans are *****es).

Cons:
Virtually no culture, rednecks, hood folks, no public transit, crap weather, s**** drivers who freak out about a snowflake, Jesus freaks everywhere, bad public schools, bad food... I could go on forever.

Missouri: Abandon all hope ye who enter...

In short, no. I hate it here.

 

[Qhrumphf]

NOVA is not the worst place in the world. But it ain't the best either. We were originally staying here because family was here (rather than moving back up north like I wanted to do, I prefer the NYC/NJ area), but now with jobs, both the wife's and mine, looks like we're here for the long term.

All you folks' problems is that you live way the hell out in the burbs. I avoid going to Loudoun County whenever the hell I can. I just keep getting dragged out there because the MIL lives in Sterling and the BIL lives in that sprawling LoCo wasteland past Chantilly (South Riding-ish area). At least the FIL lives in Vienna and isn't too far of a hike. But we always end up out in Loudoun County. Plus, the suburbs aren't cheap enough to justify the commute when living there (hell, half the time they're more expensive, I'd pay more for rent living in Sterling than I do where I am a couple blocks from the Metro). Try moving to Springfield. Closer to town and cheaper, too. Or parts of Falls Church, or southern Alexandria (route 1 in Fairfax County, but not that Kingstowne wasteland). Hell, even South Arlington is probably cheaper than what you're paying now.

I tried to get my wife to move into DC on the wrong side of the river and then insist the family comes to OUR place. That idea didn't go over well. I'll take bars on the windows and the occasional breakin over yuppies, Uggs, and Starbucks any day of the week. I lived across the street from an open air heroin market for years up in Jersey. Doesn't bother me. Keeps the rent low.

 

[Fordmi]

I'll chime in with what's sure to be an unpopular opinion... I love living in Southern CA - Orange County. I live far enough from LA to not have to deal with all of that big city pretentiousness and nut job celebrity lifestyle. I can bike to the beach, I surf every day, and the weather never sucks. I don't have air conditioning and have almost never wished I did. I've never turned my heat on in my house either. Sure our taxes are high and our state is broke. It's still better than anywhere else I have lived or spent extended periods of time.

So many people rag on CA but it works for me.

 

[brettg20]

Another OC resident here...f'ing expensive but worth it to me

 

[ubnserved]

I guess it really would help to know what kind of community you are looking for and what kind of activities you are looking for. I have live in KY -hot and humid didn't get out to see anything so I can't say much else. Lived in VA tons to do but crowded. Lived in FL panhandle inland waterway across the street. Hot from may to November was nice only having a couple of weeks of winter usually picked the last of the garden Christmas day to go with Christmas dinner. Great fishing and beautiful beaches and plenty of summertime activities - parties, parades, festivals. Visited Denver for a few months liked it but expensive and crowded but plenty to do. Originally from Vancouver WA. Lots to do not too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer and it is basically a suburb of Portland so you can find any thing in the world there. Lived in Vernonia OR for a year quiet town closer to the ocean far enough away from the big cities to enjoy the peace and quiet and great fishing. A place you can still swim in a river and see your feet when standing in chest deep water. Live in Lincoln NE, as long as you can tolerate the bo polene talk you can live here. Winter is long and cold, summer hot. We have low unemployment 3.2 and top ten of almost every list of great things about cities you can think of, i can't think of anything right now because of my head but it's easy to look up. Schools I would say are at best average if you are planning kids. Cost of living is low about on par with ft Walton Beach area of FL panhandle although car insurance and food is cheaper here. NE also has its share of idiots and seems to be in the news lately for stupid things. (Bo badmouthed so n so, AG suing CO, no pipeline etc) who cares and get off your high horse. (Pun intended). Oil in a pipe is safer than oil in a train and you can lease my yard. But I'm rambling now so I better go to bed.

 

[markme]

I live in MN, can't complain, at least not 5 months out of twelve. Northern Brewer is right here, can't go 20 miles without hitting a lake, craft beer is good,and golf courses are good. Wait I'll complain, it's damn cold now, in the summer the mosquitoes are the size of wasps, only more vicious and I think our taxes are high. But if you like professional sports we do have.......well tickets are cheap

 

[HB_in_Subic]

I think that you have to first set up some criteria for what you are seeking.

For me, I lived in Central FL for 20+ years. I found myself not getting ahead and barely treading water with finances. I also hated winter and the 2 or 3 freezes there. I always wanted to live further south.

I chose to do overseas work and haven't looked back seriously in 7+ years. I got out of debt within 2 years and purchased my retirement house within 4.

Where I live is not 100% the same as the US but I don't want it to be. I live where it is 68F-93F year round, get rain for 6 months out of the year. I am able to relax and do what I want when I want.

Con's; some things are not readily available (HB supplies I have to ship in from the US), I have to be proactive and plan ahead (moving money and purchases from abroad).

Pro's; weather, security, decent living, plenty of stuff to do, expenses low (live on $1500/mo.) in comparison to the US, zero property tax.

I make the best of what I have and enjoy life to it's fullest. I enjoy every day I am home and would never trade what I have for anything else.

 

[bobeer]

I guess it really would help to know what kind of community you are looking for and what kind of activities you are looking for. I have live in KY -hot and humid didn't get out to see anything so I can't say much else. Lived in VA tons to do but crowded. Lived in FL panhandle inland waterway across the street. Hot from may to November was nice only having a couple of weeks of winter usually picked the last of the garden Christmas day to go with Christmas dinner. Great fishing and beautiful beaches and plenty of summertime activities - parties, parades, festivals. Visited Denver for a few months liked it but expensive and crowded but plenty to do. Originally from Vancouver WA. Lots to do not too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer and it is basically a suburb of Portland so you can find any thing in the world there. Lived in Vernonia OR for a year quiet town closer to the ocean far enough away from the big cities to enjoy the peace and quiet and great fishing. A place you can still swim in a river and see your feet when standing in chest deep water. Live in Lincoln NE, as long as you can tolerate the bo polene talk you can live here. Winter is long and cold, summer hot. We have low unemployment 3.2 and top ten of almost every list of great things about cities you can think of, i can't think of anything right now because of my head but it's easy to look up. Schools I would say are at best average if you are planning kids. Cost of living is low about on par with ft Walton Beach area of FL panhandle although car insurance and food is cheaper here. NE also has its share of idiots and seems to be in the news lately for stupid things. (Bo badmouthed so n so, AG suing CO, no pipeline etc) who cares and get off your high horse. (Pun intended). Oil in a pipe is safer than oil in a train and you can lease my yard. But I'm rambling now so I better go to bed.

I think what I'm looking for doesn't exist. I have most of it where I am now but I can't stand how expensive it is here and the crowds. The lack of culture is also very annoying to me.
We just had my daughter in June so where ever we go has to have good schools and low crime.
I've lived in FL before, in the Tampa area, and it's not for me. Great place to vacation but living there sucks.

I'd love to live on the coast but it's just too risky these days. Erosion is going to take away a lot of the coast line in the next 50 years and i don't want to be at risk of losing my house. So, living by the coast is an important thing to me. Maybe an hour away.
I love the mountains too because I like to snowboard in the winter and hike/camp/bike in the spring/fall/summer. So living an hour or so away from that is preferable. I also like fishing, sports, live music, good food/beer, and restaurants that are not big chains.

I love the 4 seasons too. I missed it when I lived in FL and CA. I think winter could be a little shorter but with the right gear you can have some fun outside in it.

Obviously jobs are important too. The area has to have a decent job market. I work in IT so it should be getting easier and easier to find a job doing something IT related as the years go by.

So in conclusion good job market, good schools, 4 seasons, close to the beach and mountains, not crazy expensive to live, not super crowded, nice locals, a good culture, and things for kids to do. Is THAT so much to ask for?? :fro:

 

[Ridire]

I think what I'm looking for doesn't exist. I have most of it where I am now but I can't stand how expensive it is here and the crowds. The lack of culture is also very annoying to me.
We just had my daughter in June so where ever we go has to have good schools and low crime.
I've lived in FL before, in the Tampa area, and it's not for me. Great place to vacation but living there sucks.

I'd love to live on the coast but it's just too risky these days. Erosion is going to take away a lot of the coast line in the next 50 years and i don't want to be at risk of losing my house. So, living by the coast is an important thing to me. Maybe an hour away.
I love the mountains too because I like to snowboard in the winter and hike/camp/bike in the spring/fall/summer. So living an hour or so away from that is preferable. I also like fishing, sports, live music, good food/beer, and restaurants that are not big chains.

I love the 4 seasons too. I missed it when I lived in FL and CA. I think winter could be a little shorter but with the right gear you can have some fun outside in it.

Obviously jobs are important too. The area has to have a decent job market. I work in IT so it should be getting easier and easier to find a job doing something IT related as the years go by.

So in conclusion good job market, good schools, 4 seasons, close to the beach and mountains, not crazy expensive to live, not super crowded, nice locals, a good culture, and things for kids to do. Is THAT so much to ask for?? :fro:

So, you want to live in a place where everybody wants to live...but nobody has chosen to live there. Sounds like it should be easy to find...

 

[bobeer]

So, you want to live in a place where everybody wants to live...but nobody has chosen to live there. Sounds like it should be easy to find...

Exactly. At least someone gets it!

 

[Qhrumphf]

So, you want to live in a place where everybody wants to live...but nobody has chosen to live there. Sounds like it should be easy to find...

Yep.

I gave up trying to find the perfect place to live a long time ago. All places have their good and bad. And the places that have the most good otherwise inevitably get filled up with wankers who drive the cost of living up, which quickly moves it into "bad".

 

[hunter_le five]

I hear Antarctica is nice this time of year, and barely any people. I wonder what the property taxes are like there?

 

[Yooper]

I LOVE where I live- that's why I chose it. I moved to the UP of Michigan as an adult, after growing up in Youngstown Ohio and spending time traveling in the military.

My house is never locked, nor is my car. I'm pretty sure my purse is in my car right now, but not totally sure.

There are 10,000 people in my whole county, and one traffic light in the county which is only "on" Monday-Friday during the day.

We live in town, but have a cottage on a lake. There are over 200 lakes in our county, and millions of acres of National Forests and State Forests surrounding us. The nearest four lane highway is over 150 miles away.

We kayak, hike, fish, hunt, go on canoe trips, etc. I love it here. It's a wonderful place to raise a family, and to grow up.

The winters suck now, though. I used to play hockey, and ski (both cross country and downhill), and snowshoe and that made winter a lot more fun. So we go to S. Texas for two months in the winter.

I vacation or visit a city if I want to, and do that at least once or twice a year. I wouldn't change where I live for anything!

 

[hunter_le five]

I LOVE where I live.....

Everyone I've met from UP raves about it. One of my buddies who is a Texas Transplant from UP keeps threatening to go back there. I keep meaning to take a vacation there, someday. The pictures I've seen of it are nice.

 

[bobeer]

I LOVE where I live- that's why I chose it. I moved to the UP of Michigan as an adult, after growing up in Youngstown Ohio and spending time traveling in the military.

My house is never locked, nor is my car. I'm pretty sure my purse is in my car right now, but not totally sure.

There are 10,000 people in my whole county, and one traffic light in the county which is only "on" Monday-Friday during the day.

We live in town, but have a cottage on a lake. There are over 200 lakes in our county, and millions of acres of National Forests and State Forests surrounding us. The nearest four lane highway is over 150 miles away.

We kayak, hike, fish, hunt, go on canoe trips, etc. I love it here. It's a wonderful place to raise a family, and to grow up.

The winters suck now, though. I used to play hockey, and ski (both cross country and downhill), and snowshoe and that made winter a lot more fun. So we go to S. Texas for two months in the winter.

I vacation or visit a city if I want to, and do that at least once or twice a year. I wouldn't change where I live for anything!

What's the town called? What is the job market like up there?

 

[WNCBrewman]

Asheville, NC baby! Beer City USA.
Livin in the Blue Ridge Mtns and within 3 hours you can be on the coast.
Moved here 9 years ago. Love it here. Never leaving. Weather is perfect in summer, and never too cold in winter. You get all four seasons.
Doesn't hurt that Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues and New Belgium decided to jump on board.

 

[bobeer]

Asheville, NC baby! Beer City USA.
Livin in the Blue Ridge Mtns and within 3 hours you can be on the coast.
Moved here 9 years ago. Love it here. Never leaving. Weather is perfect in summer, and never too cold in winter. You get all four seasons.
Doesn't hurt that Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues and New Belgium decided to jump on board.

I've heard a lot about Ashville. I've heard it's pretty expensive too. Is that true? How's the job market out there? I think there's a lot of hippie type folks live there so there's a pretty good art and music scene.

 

[iijakii]

Moved from DFW, Texas to Portland, OR suburbs 1.5yrs ago. Love Oregon. Living somewhere green and beautiful just does so much to your mental health. Drive or go hiking in The Gorge and let me know if there's any place else you'd rather be.

 

[Yooper]

What's the town called? What is the job market like up there?

I live in Iron River, and the job market is dismal, except for jobs in the medical profession and a few other things. My husband is a retired wildlife biologist, and I'm a semi-retired health care provider (mostly retired) so it's never been an issue for us. The primary industry is logging, and second is tourism I believe.

North of us about 85 miles is Marquette, a college town with culture and diversity, so there are jobs and more people there. The university there has about 10,000 students and lots of jobs as a result as well as many businesses.

 

[ubnserved]

Moved from DFW, Texas to Portland, OR suburbs 1.5yrs ago. Love Oregon. Living somewhere green and beautiful just does so much to your mental health. Drive or go hiking in The Gorge and let me know if there's any place else you'd rather be.

I have to second the Oregon/Washington thing - snow skiing, boating, fishing almost all times of year and depending on where you live you could do all in the same day if so inclined, WA/OR western 1/3rd have very mild climates, rain forests and oceans etc. I can't say much about the schools or cost of living these days but 8f my wife didn't have family here in the Midwest I probably would have moved back to the area years ago. Lots of state and federal lands a good and bad thing. Both have vibrant beer scenes.

 

[drainbamage]

I live on the edge of the Cincinnati suburbs (albeit on the KY side of the Ohio River).

Pros:
Reasonable cost of living
Good job prospects
Cincinnati constantly has new breweries opening, N. KY has a burgeoning wine industry, and bourbon country is a short drive away.
Safe, close-knit communities (for the most part)
There are lots of other big cities to visit within a couple hours' drive (Indianapolis, Columbus, Lexington, Louisville). So are parks and wilderness if that's what you're going for.
UK Fans

Cons:
It snows just enough that everyone loses their s**t and forgets how to drive...and there are a lot of hills.
The Cincinnati/N. KY airport consistently ranks near the top for highest airfares in the US
Having a bunch of small-ish cities directly adjacent to one another usually means a bunch of bickering over what is best for the area.
The city where I live is almost quiet to a fault. Low crime rates are a plus, but there isn't much in the way of interesting stuff going on either.
UK Fans

 

[bobeer]

Thanks for all the responses. This is a very interesting thread and opens my eyes to what the US, and Canada, have to offer. It's fun to read about other areas. Keep em coming!

 

[jrowland74]

I live on the edge of the Cincinnati suburbs (albeit on the KY side of the Ohio River).

Pros:
Reasonable cost of living
Good job prospects
Cincinnati constantly has new breweries opening, N. KY has a burgeoning wine industry, and bourbon country is a short drive away.
Safe, close-knit communities (for the most part)
There are lots of other big cities to visit within a couple hours' drive (Indianapolis, Columbus, Lexington, Louisville). So are parks and wilderness if that's what you're going for.
UK Fans

Cons:
It snows just enough that everyone loses their s**t and forgets how to drive...and there are a lot of hills.
The Cincinnati/N. KY airport consistently ranks near the top for highest airfares in the US
Having a bunch of small-ish cities directly adjacent to one another usually means a bunch of bickering over what is best for the area.
The city where I live is almost quiet to a fault. Low crime rates are a plus, but there isn't much in the way of interesting stuff going on either.
UK Fans

I can certainly attest that the UK fans deserve to be in the cons column! I am in Lexington, home of UK. I will never understand the concept of celebrating victory by burning couches and flipping cars! I personally observed a large group trying to flip a fire truck once.