Do you love your state?

[chicagoshannon]

I live in Illinois - nuff said.....

ditto

 

[Robinrs]

This is soooo true. I love hearing the NY accent down here. My Aunt has been here for over 30yrs and still has hers.

I've lived in Georgia since 1987 and when I went to Universal once a little English girl said I spoke like "the Sopranos"... Hey!! That's JOISEY!!

 

[Ephany]

When we moved here, I cried. The first year I was miserable. I didn't know anyone, I was a SAHM and DH worked a crazy amount of hours. Then I enrolled at the university, got a part time job, actually hung out with my neighbors and made friends. Even though there'll always be a special place in my heart for rural Washington state where I grew up, this is home now. I love the fact that there's sunshine most of the year and that I wear Uggs in the winter because I want to, not because I have to. I despise being cold and the older I get the more it bothers me. We don't quite fit in, we're definitely not conservative in religion nor politics but since we're near a military base there's a good mix of people and it's ok. I've made some good friends and my BFF just found out their next set of orders is here so I'm .

We've got two good sized cities within a reasonable driving distance, it's 3 hours to WDW on a good day, the beach is 30 minutes away and the cost of living is relatively low. Admittedly there's days when it's just too darn hot and humid, but I'll take the mild winters in exchange. Oh, and hurricanes don't scare me nearly as much as tornadoes or earthquakes. I like to be able to see my weather in advance on the weather channel.

 

[klacey1]

I absolutely love New York. Save the four years I spent in RI for college, I've always lived here.
Rhode Island was nice for college-- loved the beach and being close to Boston-- but I was definitely ready to come home when I graduated. NY is home to me! I don't ever plan on leaving-- although I may get priced out of the area where I grew up/where we live now. Also, my work (publishing) pretty much requires I live in NY. There are other centers of publishing, but not as intense and with as many opportunities as NY.
I love NY for so many reasons-- it's close to the beach, near a lot of other great cities, great schools (at least this area), great pizza . Everything you could ever want is in NY. We live in the burbs, so we get the feel of a small town, but are super close to the bustle of the city (where I work).

I can't imagine living anywhere else. If I was forced to move, there's always been something about South Carolina that's intrigued me.

 

[Planogirl]

Can I move in with you? It sounds absolutely beautiful! That describes exactly the type of place I would like to live. Maybe the winters would do me in, but I would love to move to the North. I live in Louisiana, and I would gladly give it up. We are at the bottom of every good list and the top of every bad list. And did I mention the humidity? Maybe I don't appreciate some of the good things about my state and would miss them if I moved, but I am willing to give it a try!

Good things about Lousiana? The food is amazing. The people are nice and there is a lot of beauty in many areas. Louisiana has great history and there is a lot to do. Plus Louisiana people party and play like nowhere else. Did I mention the food?

Just my perspective.

 

[Bama_C]

I have never loved my state more than right now. In the past week I have seen things that I thought I would never see. I have never seen with my own eyes the devastation to an entire region (watched plenty of Hurricane Katrina coverage on TV, and this is the same category natural disaster.) For those who don't know -- the media basically left our state after 24 hours of tornado coverage to cover the Bin Laden killing -- we have been decimated by the tornadoes of last Wednesday, April 27th. Over 200 people were killed in Alabama alone (probably a lot more -- they are still looking.) There is destruction all over the Southeast, but our state was by far hit the hardest. I have lived here all my life, sometimes loving it and sometimes hating it. When I was young, all I dreamed of was going to New York. But now in my 40s, I appreciate the pace of life and beauty of our state... its mountains, lakes, coastline, all four seasons, etc. I know that a lot of people from other areas consider people in the south to be somewhat backward. But, those I grew up around and have known all my life are not backward. Yes, there are "rednecks" -- but then I have encountered rednecks as far away as New York and Colorado and many places in between. You don't have to live in a trailer and have a truck in your yard on concrete blocks to be a redneck... just ask Jeff Foxworthy. LOL. A redneck in any other state is still a redneck.

Anyway, there have been plenty of times I wished I were not from Alabama. But, in the past week I have never been prouder to call myself an Alabamian. The people here are (for the most part) so loving, so generous, so responsive to the needs their fellow man, that I could never again imagine wanting to live somewhere else.

The city in which I lived and ministered for 20 years (Pleasant Grove) was completely ravaged by these tornadoes. I have been able to go in and help... and have seen with my own eyes neighbor helping neighbor, people caring for the hurting, some leaving their damaged homes to help those who lost more, ...the list just goes on. People are willing to go above and beyond to make sure that everyone is getting the help they need. I no longer live in that city, but my heart is certainly there with people I love right now. And, I am thankful I live close enough to drive over and help in these crisis-filled days.

So, yes, I love my state!

 

[ChiCat]

I grew up in Chicago and now live in the burbs. It's actually much less expensive living out of the city, especially when your job is also in the burbs. Municpal services are better, infrastructure is in better shape, schools are better.

That said, when we retire, Illinois is not even on the list.

I guess I figure we would have to buy at least one car, so with that plus insurance and gas, it gets pretty expensive considering we spend around $160 total for the both of us to use the CTA. Also if I didn't want to live in the city I would move back to Indiana where houses cost much less than the burbs.

 

[staley7580]

I love where we live. I never thought we would live anywhere else... But, we are discussing a big move for our family. Alaska. Dunno.. Will we love it? Hate it? No idea. We love Washington. But I think we are ready for a new adventure for our family.

 

[AustinTink]

That is a difficult part of living in Texas. We live in a very conservative area and I am so not like that. I need to be in the Austin or Houston area which is much different.

Unfortunately, even Austin has it's fair share of closed-minded people these days. Unless you have a cool million to plop down on a house in the hipper areas, you really get stuck with a mix bag of kooks in the suburbs. Which is where we live.

We're counting down the years, months, days, hours until DS12 graduates high school and we all relocate to California. He has his sights set high on Stanford, but a few other schools will do. California here I come.

We already spend or summers there, DH could easily transfer jobs. I can't wait.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I love "home". I don't especially love Michigan.

Winter is dark and freezing cold.

Spring doesn't exist, other than to be an extension of winter.

Summer is too short.

I DO think most of Michigan is truly beautiful.

I love the Metro Detroit area because it is home, and it is familiar. It is where my heart is.

I'd love to move to Florida, but whenever I am there, I miss home. I wonder, if it WAS home, if I would feel differently?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I love Louisiana, but not the city we live in now. I loved living in NE, but DH hated it, so here we are.

At least he's happy.

Me? I get by, but have I mentioned I dislike the area we live in right now? DH keeps going on about how many more opportunities we have to do things here.

Yeah. Whatever.

I would love to move to South Central or South East Louisiana or to New Hampshire, but none of those are in the cards for the next 20 years.

 

[T*Bird]

Good things about Lousiana? The food is amazing. The people are nice and there is a lot of beauty in many areas. Louisiana has great history and there is a lot to do. Plus Louisiana people party and play like nowhere else. Did I mention the food?

Just my perspective.

Thank you for that perspective! And those things you mentioned are the same things I figured I would miss if I moved. (especially the food!) I think the thing that has me so frustrated in the recent years is the rise in crime. New Orleans has always been a high-crime city, but lately it has been spreading to other cities. Honestly, if it weren't for that, I could live with all the other negative things and celebrate all the good things!

 

[T*Bird]

T*Bird, I live just north of the Air Force Academy. I'm 15 minutes north of Colorado Springs and 40 minutes south of Denver. Perfect location. This area of the state is called the Front Range - it's the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

As far as cities to suggest, my own thoughts are that living along the Front Range is best because you've got the best of both worlds - access to all the benefits of cities, but you can easily get to the mountains. Colorado is a great place for long weekend trips - we are always discovering some new "burg" in Colorado that we didn't know of before. So, that being said, I'd look into some of the Denver suburbs (Arvada, Westminster, Lakewood, Littleton, come to mind, but here are more for sure), a couple places like Morrison or Evergreen which are more into the mountains but still close to Denver, and then some other cities close by like Golden, Broomfield, Longmont, Loveland, etc.

Fort Collins is a great city, very friendly, but it's a bit further from the moutains. Pueblo is warm, but it's not my cup of tea - although it does have a nice reservoir when there's plenty of water. Grand Junction is also growing on the Western Slope and is a nice change of pace.

Boulder is a wonderful place; both our kids went to CU-Boulder (one still there as a junior), but it is VERY expensive to live there. But the restaurants are to die for - they are "anti-chain" up there and the local places are original and create amazing dishes. Real estate is sky high too.

I like Colorado Springs a lot, but you will find a whole bunch of people who don't because they associate it with Focus on the Family. They think everyone who lives in Colorado Springs is a Christian fundamentalist wacko. That is a VERY inaccurate, broad-brush conclusion. While there certainly is a conservative lean to many people, you'll find plenty of the opposite extreme. We also have a very strong military presence and a lot of support for the troops here, as we have Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Shriever Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Station (NORAD) installation, as well as the Air Force Academy. It's very pretty here too and the city is right against the mountains. My husband's law office is in Colorado Springs, so I don't think we'll be leaving any time soon (I am also an attorney but I work from home for a legal publishing company).

I too love Vail, Breck, Winter Park, Steamboat, Durango, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Crested Butte, Estes Park, Grand Lake, etc. The downside to those communities is the very high cost of living. That's why many of us visit them various times year round. We especially love Vail and Estes Park winter and summer - they are wonderful places!!

Hope this helps a bit. There are a lot of attractive options; it all depends on what you're looking for.

Thank you so much, Sandy! This is a huge help.

Fort Collins is actually the first place he mentioned, and that is where he is doing the most reading up on.

Boulder would certainly not be the place for him with the high cost of living. He will be scraping by for a while, I'm sure.

The Front Range sounds very interesting and worth looking in to.

I will pass on to him all the info you shared. I really appreciate it!!

 

[yellowlabforever]

There are things I love about Montana, and things I don't love about Montana.

I love...
The people
The clear air
The small towns
The "Big Sky"
The fact that I can see the stars at night
The mountains
The farmlands
The relaxed attitude
Cat (MSU)Vs. Griz (UM) rivalry
The variety of culture

I don't love...
The winter (It can get bad... winter can last anywhere from early September through early June...)
Winter, Winter, Winter, and Road Construction. (I think somewhere else has that motto as well, but it's so true here as well. We have no seasons)

I want to try someplace warm for a change like Florida (because Summer is my favorite season), but I think I'll have to wait for the college program for that to happen

 

[T*Bird]

Come on up!!!!

Yes, some winters can be long, but every year is different, some year lots of snow, other years not as much. However, my boys are big skiers so we "need" cold and snow. Although after three months of it, I was DONE with winter!!!!

My DH loves cold weather and hates summers in Louisiana. I would imagine that fall is a beautiful time of year. We always talk about taking a very long road trip to the Northeast during October to see all the colors of fall.

 

[Planogirl]

Unfortunately, even Austin has it's fair share of closed-minded people these days. Unless you have a cool million to plop down on a house in the hipper areas, you really get stuck with a mix bag of kooks in the suburbs. Which is where we live.

We're counting down the years, months, days, hours until DS12 graduates high school and we all relocate to California. He has his sights set high on Stanford, but a few other schools will do. California here I come.

We already spend or summers there, DH could easily transfer jobs. I can't wait.

You will probably find closed-minded people pretty much everywhere. Except maybe California. I still do pretty well in Austin but I agree that living there is pricey. As it is in California...

 

[fall08CP]

Good things about Lousiana? The food is amazing. The people are nice and there is a lot of beauty in many areas. Louisiana has great history and there is a lot to do. Plus Louisiana people party and play like nowhere else. Did I mention the food?

Just my perspective.

But you have to love fish!! I went on vacation to LA as a vegetarian and let's just say I didn't eat for a week They served craw fish everyday for lunch and dinner, so I'd be lucky if they had a piece of plain bread I could nibble on. When we got into New Orleans, I ate up those beignets like nobody's business

 

[Planogirl]

But you have to love fish!! I went on vacation to LA as a vegetarian and let's just say I didn't eat for a week They served craw fish everyday for lunch and dinner, so I'd be lucky if they had a piece of plain bread I could nibble on. When we got into New Orleans, I ate up those beignets like nobody's business

Yes, you do have to like seafood. I've had a good vegetarian jambalaya but I couldn't begin to tell you how they made it. There's also red beans and rice leave off the andouille and meat fat.

 

[princessdaisy]

I love living in my state! California is great especially my city, San Diego. Can't beat the weather or friendly, easy going people.

 

[Lucky4me]

I've lived in Rochester NY most my life and have had periods where I wanted out.
Right now, I'm thinking it's not such a bad place.
Cons are- High real estate taxes and absolutely depressing, cold, cloudy snowy weather that sometimes stretches 5 months long.
Pros are- Homes are cheap compared to a lot of other states. While the weather can be snowy and cold/rainy a lot of the year, we do have beautiful springs, summers and falls. There are no earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods here. I feel very safe.
We are rich in culture. Museums-best children's museum in the country is here among several others. Good skiing within an hours drive. A great lake at our doorstep for fishing and boating. Broadway level plays, festivals, lovely parks. Very family oriented. Great place to raise children.
The pros far outweigh the cons.

Our goal is to head South every year Jan-Apr.
Then we will be living our dream!
(two more years and that dream should be coming true!)