Althouse: Don't you like to live where you live?

January 29, 2009

Don't you like to live where you live?

If not, you've got plenty of company.

82 comments:

Hazy Dave said...: "When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!"; 1/29/09, 10:49 PM
Synova said...: I don't know that I like where I live that much, though it makes no sense to dislike it, as this is where the work is.

But I like some things about it just fine and when I fantasize about sudden riches, the lotto I never buy tickets for, I honestly can't decide if I'd leave or not. Where would I go?

Back home to Minnesota? Quite likely, but it really is *very* cold. Maybe a summer place would be the answer, assuming the lotto and all.

So why not stay where I'm at? It's not perfect, but I don't hate it. Looking at the bright side or looking at the negatives is a choice.; 1/29/09, 10:58 PM
Synova said...: On second thought... McPherson, Kansas is really pretty and I could probably have a really great garden and sweet cherries in Kansas.; 1/29/09, 11:00 PM
blake said...: Well, I love where I live. I'd only adjust by moving outward a bit, as the urb has crept into my sub.

But there's the political situation which is probably going to necessitate a complete evacuation, 1620s-style.

But probably not till my folks are gone.; 1/29/09, 11:01 PM
Buford Gooch said...: I like where I live. For some reason, though, the neighbors keep moving.; 1/29/09, 11:05 PM
Wince said...: Dirty Water

by The Standells

I'm gonna tell you a story
I'm gonna tell you about my town
I'm gonna tell you a big bad story, baby
Aww, it's all about my town

Yeah, down by the river
Down by the banks of the river Charles (aw, that's what's happenin' baby)
That's where you'll find me
Along with lovers, fuggers, and thieves (aw, but they're cool people)
Well I love that dirty water
Oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, you're the Number One place)
Frustrated women (I mean they're frustrated)
Have to be in by twelve o'clock (oh, that's a shame)
But I'm wishin' and a-hopin, oh
That just once those doors weren't locked (I like to save time for
my baby to walk around)
Well I love that dirty water
Oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, yeah)

Because I love that dirty water
Oh, oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, yeah)

Well, I love that dirty water (I love it, baby)
I love that dirty water (I love Baw-stun)
I love that dirty water (Have you heard about the Strangler?)
I love that dirty water (I'm the man, I'm the man)
I love that dirty water (Owww!)
I love that dirty water (Come on, come on); 1/29/09, 11:06 PM
Eli Blake said...: Yeah, I kind of do like living on earth. That's why I keep telling everybody to turn down the temperature control.

Because it would definitely be out of my price range to move someplace else.; 1/29/09, 11:14 PM
David said...: Pittsburgh, New York, Charlottesville, Milwaukee, Sturgeon Bay, Winnetka, Chicago, Beaufort (SC). I've liked them all. Lucky me.

I know--If I liked them so much, why did I move? Mostly life stages, education and career. I did like them all, but once I left I never had a strong urge to move back.

I do not miss the cold, though, now that I am in a warmer climate.

"Too old for cold."; 1/29/09, 11:31 PM
Kev said...: Well, I love where I live. I'd only adjust by moving outward a bit, as the urb has crept into my sub.

That pretty much sums up the way I feel about where I live as well. As much as I enjoyed the day off from a rare Texas ice storm yesterday, I'd hate to live through entire winters like that. And, generally speaking, the people really are friendly, there's no state income tax, and there are lots of opportunities to make a living doing what I do. Also, my entire immediate family is within a four- or five-hour drive of me.

No complaints.; 1/29/09, 11:39 PM
DaLawGiver said...: "When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!"

That's because by the time you've said Wisconsin your lips have frozen.

San Antonio is sweet; great weather, great food, The Spurs and it's in the middle of Texas.; 1/29/09, 11:45 PM
DaLawGiver said...: But please don't move here. We have enough people.; 1/29/09, 11:46 PM
Beth said...: Grew up in Texas, spent last ten of those years in Austin - we really miss everything but the heat!

Lived in KC, a small town in the mountains of PA, and now in DC area. DC is growing on me, but there's a serious lack of good food here! The only reason we don't move back to Austin is the jobs/$$ is here. There's always retirement for moving back.; 1/30/09, 12:29 AM
Donna B. said...: Haha, Buford!

We're retired, and theoretically could move anywhere we wanted. But... we'd have to pack. We'd have to sort through all our shit and decide what was worth keeping.

I don't how we'd do that because we can't find half our shit anyway.; 1/30/09, 12:36 AM
Donna B. said...: If we won the lottery, we'd leave all our shit here, buy a new house and new shit.; 1/30/09, 12:36 AM
reader_iam said...: Living in Las Vegas appeals more to men than women.

Duh.

Affluent adults are twice as likely as poorer folks to want to live in Boston.

Duh.

Young people like big cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

Duh.

More Americans would rather live in a place with more McDonald's than one with more Starbucks.

Duh.

TELL US: Where would you live if you could?

Those are some of the findings of a Pew Research Center survey out today on where Americans would most like to live.

"Some" is the most important word. It's always best to go find and read the full report--in general, but also specifically with regard to Pew reports, or at least how the press depends to report them (and how Pew tends to PR them).

Whether they favor cities, suburbs or the countryside, almost half wish they lived somewhere else, the report found.

That surprised a bit.

City dwellers are more likely to dream of living somewhere else,

That didn't.

and men in rural areas are far happier living there than women.

That didn't either.

***

... and so on. Sorry, got bored, as no doubt did you all as well with my too-lengthy-for-itself comment! Being on the same page, I'll turn it and commence to read silently to myself.

; ); 1/30/09, 12:44 AM
former law student said...: I wonder why so many people want to live in Denver. Personally, my skin is already dry. And I enjoy oxygen saturation.

I like living where I'm living, but I might retire to central Oregon, and plant five acres in pinot noir.; 1/30/09, 12:51 AM
Palladian said...: I want to live in an 18th century house in New England, preferably New Hampshire. I currently live in a 19th century converted light industrial building. It's ok, if only the other people didn't live here.; 1/30/09, 12:51 AM
AllenS said...: I bought this farm in 1973, when I was 26 years old. It was the 18th place that I had lived, and that's not counting when I was in the Army. I have so much sweat equity in the place, it would be a shame to leave. I know hundreds of people in this area, and the thought of having to find new friends is a major factor in not leaving.; 1/30/09, 4:56 AM
David Walser said...: Like many, I'd live someplace else if I were independently wealthy. I'm not, so my choices are limited to areas of fairly large populations (where I can earn a living). That's not much of a restriction (I could live in virtually any state) and I like where we live quite a lot. It's just not ideal.; 1/30/09, 5:07 AM
Michael Haz said...: I live in Wisconsin. I love the beauty of the place, and can be in the countryside in about 15 minutes from my front door. The western and northern parts of Wisconsin are especially beautiful, and because I am a motorcycle rider, I enjoy the back roads and small villages.

What I don't like is the income and property taxes in Wisconsin. I won't leave Wisconsin while my parents are alive, but at some point I will move to Tennessee. Same beautiful countryside, but without income tax and with very low property taxes.; 1/30/09, 5:47 AM
Anonymous said...: I've moved a lot because my family has been in a sort of witness protection program. But I'm flexible and it never matters as long as I'm with my Incredible husband.; 1/30/09, 5:59 AM
Bissage said...: Dave Davies cast his vote for "I Gotta Move" and he said he's taking the go-go girls with him, whether his voice cracks or not.; 1/30/09, 6:42 AM
KCFleming said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/30/09, 6:47 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/30/09, 6:47 AM
Richard Fagin said...: Palladian, NH was my summer dream for many years. It's too expensive now that all the escapees from Mass. and N.Y. took it over. You may have to "settle" for Maine. It's great in the summer to escape the Texas heat, but I could never live in New England again. After 30 years in Texas, New England seems like the old Soviet Union.

I recommend everyone go find a copy of a 10 or so year old article in Forbes FYI called "How the West Kicked Butt." It's a great write up on how the outdoor climate seems to be reflected in the locals' attitudes toward life generally, and risk and innovation in particular.; 1/30/09, 7:03 AM
KCFleming said...: I suspect that the American desire to move away is part of the national character. Whether it's boredom, the futile search for perfection, or simply wanting to start with a clean slate, the vastness that is our land, the opportunities available, the rise and decline of industries, and the wanderlust inspired by the culture mean we like to (or have to) move again and again.

When you move where the grass is greener, very soon "there" becomes "here" and other grass beckons, new lands bat their lashes and give you that come-hither look.

I long ago recognized my dissatisfaction is mostly internal, unlikely to be cured by relocating.

That is, yes, I would gladly move. And I hope I don't have to anytime soon.; 1/30/09, 7:03 AM
Unknown said...: Hate to move but I live in New Orleans and life here changed forever since Katrina---not just the devastation and destruction caused by Katrina but now there is palpable, pervasive fear each time a hurricane heads into the Gulf of Mexico. That fear is not easy to live with.; 1/30/09, 7:19 AM
Darcy said...: I like where I live. But I'll probably have to move.

I love San Antonio, Lawgiver. My favorite U.S. city.; 1/30/09, 7:22 AM
TheCrankyProfessor said...: I appreciate the good qualities of the place where I live (Geneva, NY) but I love where I work - so I am not likely to move where I would love to live - Chattanooga, TN.; 1/30/09, 7:50 AM
Sloanasaurus said...: I will encourage my kids to move south - to Texas etc.. All the jobs and wealth will move there because they offer more freedom. States like Minnesota and Wisconsin are in the beginning of a long decline. The midwest will soon be the new south.; 1/30/09, 7:55 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Cranky--

Chattanooga....Pros: Good weather, low taxes, friendly people, strong downtown. Cons: Poor public schools. Also, a tad conservative politically, which could be a pro or con, depending on your views. This is what downtown Chattanooga looks like before and after a huge urban redevelopment project. Lots of old money there.

---

Newcomer walks into country story, asks the old feller behind the counter, "I'm new here. What's it like in town?"

Old guy says, "I dunno. What was it like where you came from?"

Kid says, "I dunno. People were ok. I took 'em one at a time. I guess it was an alright place."

"This here pretty much like that," the old man says.

First guy leaves. Second man comes in, says, "Hey, old timer, I'm new in town. What's it like here?"

Old guy says, "I dunno. What was it like where you came from?"

"People were a bunch of damn thieves and liars and no-good...."

"This here pretty much like that," the old man says.; 1/30/09, 8:02 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Love my house, my neighborhood and the city and state I live in. I wouldn't live anywhere else.; 1/30/09, 8:11 AM
ricpic said...: Moving gave me a nervous breakdom. Now I feel compelled to move again. Go figger.; 1/30/09, 8:12 AM
Henry said...: I love Rhode Island. We're the Appalachia of New England. Nobody thinks they know anything. We hold life by the tail.; 1/30/09, 8:18 AM
Christopher in MA said...: I live in Massachusetts, and while I do partially agree with Theo about the beauty of New England, I'd move out of here in a second if I could. I hate the cold, I hate the idiotic nanny-state politics and I dislike my neighbors.

Other than that, it's fine :-)

I have to stay because my wife's parents are living, and she won't move until they die. . .which will be probably another 20 years.

But I don't know where I'd go to. I'd like a small town where the weather is mild (meaning, hardly any snow!) and with a compact downtown with a good used bookstore and a cozy pub for me to walk to. I think once my wife and I really ARE serious about moving, we'll travel around for a year until we find a place that seems right.

But as Pogo says, dissatisfaction is unlikely to be cured by moving. I'd probably end up hating my new home as much as I hate Massachusetts. But at least I'd be warm.; 1/30/09, 8:23 AM
Ken Pidcock said...: I'm in greater Wilkes-Barre. Don't laugh. Cost of living is great. We have more highways than anyplace else in the country. (That's a political story; ask your parents.) Anyway, I don't remember what a traffic jam is. As to culture, when you listen to Frank sing New York, New York, did you ever wonder what happens to the folks who can't make it there? Yeah, well, a lot of 'em make it here, and they're pretty damned talented.

And we don't have enough people, so feel free to think of moving here!; 1/30/09, 8:36 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Pogo, Theo, and Christopher--

One thing you definitely do NOT want to do is move south, i.e. to The South. It's too crowded. Unless you like trailer parks. Polluted. Toxic waste dumps, refineries, Krispy Kremes. Very violent. Lord Jesus, you can buy handguns in grocery stores. The lynchings don't get reported because there are so many. Solar burns caused by global warming. Plagues of spiders. Fire ants killing babies left in the fields. Kudzu strangling people in they sleep. The cuisine? One word--chitterlings and banana pudding. People are church crazy, waving snakes and what not, foam bubbling out their mouths. Can't find any damn servants since that nigra got in the White House. Jesus, I swear, if my grandmother could see that she'd have a fit of caniption. Apoplexy. Noisy here, too because of all the Nascars on the streets. People keeping catfish in their bathtubs. As pets. It's disgusting.

And that's just Alabama.

Enjoy the snow.; 1/30/09, 8:46 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Christopher:

There is a place in California nicknamed "Hangtown". I think its real name is Placerville.

It may meet your requirements though I think it gets some snow in the winter.; 1/30/09, 8:58 AM
CrankyProfessor said...: Original George -
I grew up and was privately educated in Chattanooga - that's why I'd like to live there now. When Chattanooga expats meet abroad we always say things like "It's not how it used to be!" We mean that in the best possible way.; 1/30/09, 8:59 AM
Heather said...: Don't move to NC either, it's really awful.; 1/30/09, 9:01 AM
former law student said...: From the experience of people I know, the South is the hardest part of the country to get reestablished in. Which is fine if you are content to make your friends among fellow transplants. But if your granddaddies didn't hunt with each other, don't expect the locals to befriend you. They will be polite of course.

And all the Northerners I've known have moved back after a few years.

This caveat doesn't include Florida. Only the panhandle is part of the South.; 1/30/09, 9:12 AM
former law student said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/30/09, 9:12 AM
Wince said...: Theo Boehm said...

Except for the somewhat difficult climate, the expense, and the one-party politics, it's great in New England. It really is.

It just isn't the easiest place to live. But nothing worthwhile ever is easy, is it?

"Except for" sums it up and that's why I like the song Dirty Water so much. You can tell it was written by an aboriginal Bostonian. The Standells were an LA band, their producer who wrote the song is from the area.

Read the the lyrics. The high points: dirty water and frustrated women.

In other words, except for (or is it because of ?)... We're number one!; 1/30/09, 9:14 AM
TitusLetsMeetandHaveABabyNowNow said...: I want to live in an 18th century new england house preferably in New Hampshire.; 1/30/09, 9:15 AM
Deirdre Mundy said...: From the experience of people I know, the South is the hardest part of the country to get reestablished in. Which is fine if you are content to make your friends among fellow transplants. But if your granddaddies didn't hunt with each other, don't expect the locals to befriend you. They will be polite of course.

My in-laws recently moved to Alabama and are having that problem. They came from the midwest, where if you're standing downtown looking slightly confused, 5 or 6 people will appear to help you get directions, ask about your health, etc.

The much vaunted "Southern Hospitality" is really "Keep strangers at arm's length."

For friendly people, you can't beat the midwest-- though I've heard TX is actually pretty decent too....; 1/30/09, 9:20 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Oh, NC is absolutely the worst.

Ranks #3 among states with influxes of population. Roads are jammed with Volvos. Just try to find a recycled hemp-shopping bag at Whole Foods. Mandatory gay training only at the high school level. Jobless yoga teachers at the interstate exits doing asanas for spare change. Talk about your downward facing dog.

(PS...former law, your "friends" might have been a lot happier if they'd found a good church home. There is other things to do on a Sunday morning besides have sex and read the New York Times Style section at Starbucks.); 1/30/09, 9:25 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Synova,

"Looking at the bright side or looking at the negatives is a choice."

Hey, you may be from Minnesota, but clearly you're no Genuine Scandinavian Pessimist™! :-)

For my part, I really like it where I am, but I'm reluctant to say too much about lest y'all show up and overcrowd the place.

Well, OK, since Original George has sung the glories of his home so well, let me just add this. If I had as much money as Bill Gates, I'd launch an ad campaign on national TV. The ad opens with a shot of a depressing, gray, drizzling day, and moves through a series of similar shots. Totally silent, except you can hear a bit of drip, drip, and the faint sound of water running in gutters and downspouts. That's it, for 25 whole seconds, and finally just at the end comes the voice-over-- "Seattle: it's only like this most of the time."; 1/30/09, 9:31 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: Original George you are making North Carolina sound fabulous. I am sorry it is not fabulous.

By the way you should see my downward facing dog.

I would never live anywhere in the south because they are rednecks.

I have lived in Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Madison and for about a year in Santa Cruz-I know totally fabulous. I could never live anywhere not fabulous.

I loved Santa Cruz. The boardwalk was great. I met this surfer dude and we went out on his boat and did it in the middle of the ocean on a hot summer night. It was totally hot. He said things like rad and cool and other words that made me horny. We shot our loads in the ocean. It was really romantic.; 1/30/09, 9:36 AM
KCFleming said...: Life would be great if it weren't for the people.; 1/30/09, 9:40 AM
Shanna said...: I like Arkansas a lot in a lot of ways. My family’s here, lots of it is really, really gorgeous if you like the outdoors. But my two moving dreams are Colorado (also gorgeous, colder with snow and more mountains) and back to DC, where I lived for 6 years and loved as well. Or northern VA. I think I’d be happiest if I could have a place all three of those place. Colorado for vacations, DC sometime and Arkansas some other times.

I’ve thought about moving to Dallas but what stops me is that it’s so flat. I need some hills.; 1/30/09, 9:44 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: I used to smoke pot when I was younger and the Santa Cruz guy and I got really high before we did it.

I remember sex while high on pot was fun. I seem to remember that the loads were more powerful.

I haven't smoked pot in over 10 years.; 1/30/09, 9:44 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Mississippi most religious, Vermont least, survey says.

Most God Fearing (and Willing to Accept Refugees, Temporarily):

Mississippi: 85%
Alabama: 82%
South Carolina: 80%
Tennessee: 79%
Louisiana: 78%
Arkansas: 78%
Georgia: 76%
North Carolina: 76%
Oklahoma: 75%
Kentucky: 74%
Texas: 74%
West Virginia: 71%

Devil Worshipping States,
Most Likely to be Visited by
Tunguska-type Iron Ore Asteroid:

New York: 56%
Connecticut: 55%
Nevada: 54%
Rhode Island: 53%
Oregon: 53%
Washington: 52% **
Alaska: 51% **
Massachusetts: 48%
Maine: 48%
New Hampshire: 46%
Vermont: 42%

** Or volcanic eruption; 1/30/09, 9:45 AM
chuck b. said...: I would like to move to Palo Alto or Menlo Park where the summers are considerably warmer than they are in San Francisco. But we might have to settle for Redwood City which is close but not as nice.; 1/30/09, 9:57 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: Interesting that the most religious states are most of the poorest states as well. And least educated states. And fattest states.

I think Mississippi is number one in fattest, least educated and poorest.; 1/30/09, 9:58 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: Oh I forgot I lived in Santa Clara for a couple of months when the company I was working for was expanding and I was doing strategic, high level initiatives with key opinion leaders.

Thank you.; 1/30/09, 10:01 AM
chuck b. said...: I lived in Santa Cruz for several years. Hardly had any sex there.; 1/30/09, 10:03 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: I am on an important conference call right now.

LA, San Diego, Cambridge, Framingham, San Francisco, Newark are all on the call right now.

Very strategic.; 1/30/09, 10:03 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: Santa Cruz had one gay bar when I was there. It was on the main street. Was it Pacific Avenue? I can't remember the name of it. It was fun and very pretty.; 1/30/09, 10:05 AM
chuck b. said...: The Blue Lagoon. Or as we called it, the Blue Latrine.; 1/30/09, 10:06 AM
SteveR said...: One aspect of all this is people like moving from blue states to red states because they like it better there and then by turning them blue, make them more like thev places they wanted to move from.; 1/30/09, 10:08 AM
chuck b. said...: Pacific Avenue, on the other hand was fun and pretty--much more so before the earthquake in 1989.; 1/30/09, 10:08 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: Pacific Mall yea that's right.

Yea, the bar was the Blue something. Just a long narrow bar. It was fun.; 1/30/09, 10:11 AM
chuck b. said...: The Blue Lagoon. It was tragic and sad is more like it.; 1/30/09, 10:18 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: All I know is I got laid from that bar and that is all the matters.

I was also like 21 so my definition of "fun" was different.; 1/30/09, 10:44 AM
Methadras said...: It's San Diego. What is not to like?; 1/30/09, 10:46 AM
Bender R said...: I have liked Northern Virginia.

That is, until bunches of Northern libs moved in and began all their "smart growth" hyper-density development plans to reengineer the entire area to make it like urban New York and purposely make traffic flow, not easier, but more cumbersome and time-consuming and unsafe.

If I wanted to live in a sh*t-hole urban area, I would have moved there in the first place. But having chosen to live in a place that once had a small-town atomosphere, yet near enough to the city if you wanted to go there, the concrete hell of overcrowded urbanization is being forced upon me.

Is it really necessary that, after having destroyed their own lib areas, that they come and start destroying the more successful (and traditional/conservative) areas?; 1/30/09, 10:47 AM
chuck b. said...: I promise never to move to a conservative area. I promise I won't even visit.; 1/30/09, 10:57 AM
SteveR said...: Chuck,

You're not the problem we are talking about. I'm pretty sure you have no desire to fix us.; 1/30/09, 11:01 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: I won't move to a conservative area either nor will I ever visit.

They scare me. I don't want to get bashed.

Many who move out of "lib area" move out because housing is so fucking expensive.

You pay for what you get. If you want to live near fabulousness it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. If you want to live in redstate shit it is cheap but you have to put up with the rednecks.

I would rather pay to live in fabulousness. The most important quality of where I live is walking out my door and having everything walking distance. I have a 1500 foot loft which is actually considered big by the standards here. It costs over a million here and would probably go for 200,000 in Montgomery but you would be living in Montgomery.; 1/30/09, 11:18 AM
Titus'sStimulusPackage said...: I walk to gym, yoga, spa, restaurants, hair salon, back waxer, clothes shopping, bars, hog. It is all 5 minutes away.

I am horny today.; 1/30/09, 11:23 AM
Christy said...: I loved living in Downtown Baltimore when I was young. Then at some point I realized I was staying in more at night because of the crime and moved to the burbs. That was back when Downtown Baltimore to the Capitol Bldg in D.C. was 45 minutes. Not so quick these days. Baltimore is the biggest small town in America. When you ask someone where they went to school, they will tell you which high school, even if they graduated from Princeton. Move two blocks and you are in a different community. It's a good location, close enough to enjoy D.C, 2-1/2 hours to the beach, 3-1/2 hours to a ski slope, day trips to NYC...

Still, I was waiting until I was 55 to sell my house and move back to East Tennessee. Bad timing unfortunately. I've been looking for a small house on a lot of land on the side of a mountain. Every time I found one I liked, my brother would sigh and say, "Christy, they don't like strangers back there."; 1/30/09, 12:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Titus says:
"I would never live anywhere in the south because they are rednecks."

Instead of "Gone With the Wind read "Deliverance"; it is a real southern love story.
I think a redneck could really warm to you. Well, as long as you could squeal and have a 'purty mouff'.; 1/30/09, 12:56 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: I wonder why so many people want to live in Denver. Personally, my skin is already dry. And I enjoy oxygen saturation.

That is one of the great things about a dry climate - many of those who weren't born in one never quite adapt, and ultimately move away.

The O2 problem though is easily overcome. It doesn't take that long to adapt to a slightly lower O2 content at a mile above sea level. Two is more problematic.

So, why the Colorado Front Range?
- Near the mountains
- Year round outdoors activities.
- Fitness culture
- One of the highest education levels in the country.

The climate is much nicer than most of the country. You don't have the humidity, and so it isn't hot and humid in the summer, nor cold and humid in the winter. Instead, you get 300+ days of sun a year. Sure, it snows in the winter, but you can get 6 inches one day, and it may hit 70 a day or two later, melting it all quickly.

Downsides?
- Occasional inversions where the smog is trapped against the mountains.
- High winds at times (over 70 mph is common, and Boulder has been known to get over 100 mph). (But they do blow away the smog).
- Tornadoes east of I-25
- Too many immigrants from other states.; 1/30/09, 12:57 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: In my life, I have lived in Colorado (up and down the Front Range, and in the ski areas), Wash. D.C. area, Austin, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and NW Nevada.

My preferences in order are probably:
- Colorado
- NW Nevada
- Phoenix and SLC tied
- Austin
- Wash., D.C. area

The weather was horrid in D.C., the traffic bad, the people nasty, etc. Yes, it was enjoyable to drive by the monuments every day on the way to work, but that can't compensate for everything else.

The problem, for me, with Austin was first its summers. Hot, humid, and with a fire ants. Winters were ok (as contrasted to D.C. where winters were bad, but summers far worse). Secondly, it is filled with Texans, who have all the disadvantages of Southerners, without the advantages. Outdoors, it seemed like the only things to do was to drink beer at a lake or kill wildlife that had been brought in close through being fed. Despite the intense heat, I had an easier time in the summers in PHX than I did in Austin.

My problem with SLC was primarily that it (along with the rest of the buildup along the Wasatch Range) seemed to have many more overcast days than does much of the rest of the West from the Sierras into Colorado. There would often be sun at the ski areas, but SLC would be down below under clouds. And, if you aren't LDS, you are never totally away from the "culture" issue.

I am happy right now in NW Nevada, living in a nice small town down on the flats next to the mountains, with a ridge between us and Tahoe. I am 20 minutes from skiing, and can ski for an hour before going to work. I wear jeans to work when in town, unless we have visitors, and most often, even in the winter, walk or ride a bike to work. Being this close to the ski areas around Tahoe that can get 8 feet of snow at a time, it is rare down here to have snow on the ground. And, like Colorado, the snow melts quickly in the sun. And the place is friendly.

The problem for many that we have brought here is that it just doesn't work socially for those looking for their (first) spouse, etc. There just aren't enough unmarried women around, esp. in the 20 something range. This isn't a problem for me, which is why I am happy here.; 1/30/09, 1:21 PM
Beth said...: martha, I have that fear from July through the end of September. The rest of the time, not so much. And I love New Orleans, more than I feel fear. We're still here! We have pumps and gates at the lake; the MR-GO is being closed - we are less vulnerable.; 1/30/09, 6:13 PM
Jennifer said...: I've lived in five different states and this is the first time I've ever not loved where I live. I don't even really like it. I like our house, I like our friends, so it's not intolerable. But, the shopping sucks, the eating sucks and the culture is so very different that it's almost stifling.

I can't answer the poll, though, because my situation is weird. I would and will move the very second the Army lets us. And I will continue to fantasize about all the other wonderful places to live in the world.; 1/30/09, 7:41 PM
Jennifer said...: Or, I suppose I could vote "I am moving". I am. I even know when. It's just far too far in the future for my liking.; 1/30/09, 7:48 PM
Nichevo said...: "We shot our loads in the ocean. "

See, this is your problem, Titus. If she, he or it isn't taking your load (and by "taking" I mean "inside"), or vice versa I suppose in your case, it ain't sex.; 1/30/09, 8:31 PM
Nichevo said...: Oh Christ, did I just agree with Clinton?

Hang me!; 1/30/09, 8:31 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Actually, they're tired of living around the sorts of ignorant people that stake their claim in the exurban areas that are so common in the Midwest and South, and moving into actual cities - a trend that bodes well for Democratic policies and not for Althouse's readership. But this move also conforms to a very traditional notion of politics. In fact, look up the Greek etymology of the word, if you think I'm just trying to pull a Stephen Colbert on you.; 1/31/09, 8:38 AM
Melissa said...: I actually do live in Chattanooga, and it is fabulous for anyone who wants an easygoing, laid back lifestyle. I'm originally from New Jersey- beleive me, this is better.
The only downside- I'm getting ready to graduate law school and having a hell of a time finding work here. The idea of moving away makes my head hurt.; 1/31/09, 4:38 PM
gaielleable said...: There are nice things in Tampa, Florida. But the bad things are major. The roads are bad specially Dale Mabry Highway. I usually wonder if the mayor ever drive around. There are so many stores and small businesses, but most of them don't even know what they are up to. If you want to do your nails or your hair, you better pray before you find a place that will make you go home happy. And the drivers? Don't even mention it... I am from Miami and miss it so much. Why i don't move? Because of school and work. Grateful for what i have. Perhaps i which Tampa was better.; 10/15/10, 6:17 PM