Where do you live? What do you like & dislike about it?

[Ohiodislover]

Transplant from Ohio to Maryland

Pros
Close to lots of great things to do and see
Great schools

Cons
Cost of living is so much higher than we are used to.
People are rude (some)

 

[tonilea]

I live in a tiny town of 376 people in Northwest Arkansas. I realize some of you might not consider that a real town, but I hate living in town.

I love:
the Ozarks
4 distinct seasons
most people here are genuine and friendly
low cost of living

I hate:
the huge influx of people who don't have any roots here and don't give a rats behind about our area.
I wish we were closer to a major airport - we drive four - five hours to get to Kansas City.
People who retire here, then decide we are too stupid to run our county government and have to run for office - even though they don't really know anything about the people or understand the area.

 

[MomofKatie]

We live in a suburb of Charlotte, NC.

PROS:
-Very family friendly- good schools, great kids sports programs.
-Easy to get to the mountains or seaside.
-Nice weather almost al year, very little chance of extreme events like hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.
-Close to all amenities, but it feels like we are "in the country".
-Low cost of living- housing, taxes, are lower than many other places.
-comfortable driving distance to Atlanta, Washington DC, and Orlando.

CONS:
-Many evangelical Christian friends and neighbors that think we are heathens because we don't go to church. Many big "God Central" type churches.
-Traffic can be bad during rush hour.
-I wish we were closer to family (not really a con for Charlotte, but all of our family is far away).

 

[shellybaxter]

I live in a tiny town in the mountains of Northeastern California - Population 8,000. I actually live in the trees about five miles out of town.

Pros - It's beautiful, blue skys and green trees in the summer, Fall colors, and several feet of beautiful white snow in the winter

- Good neighbors, I would trust my neighbors with anything. They actually just came by while I was typing. They needed to borrow our truck in the morning to put the flags up on main street for Memorial Day.

- Its peacful, there are no traffic jams, you rarely hear a siron and when you do its usually the fire department or the ambulance.

- We are only 10 minutes from the lake

Cons - Walmart is pretty much the only place to shop. I use Amazon.com for EVERYTHING

- There are only a hand full of restaurant and even less that have great food

- We have to drive 1.5 hours just to get to the airport that has practically no direct flights to anywhere.

- For a long time the only way to obtain higher education above and Associates Degree was to move, now it can be done online.

All in all - I love where I live but would go crazy if I couldn't travel a couple of times a year to a busier place (WDW, Vegas, LA, Seattle, etc)

 

[DMickey28]

I live in Boca Raton, FL.

Pros ...
1.) The weather - Never having to worry about what to wear. 99% of the time shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops are perfect.
2.) Proximity to the beach, ports and WDW.
3.) The beauty of the Palm Trees and Beaches in the area.
4.) I can get to almost ever store I could ever want within 30 minutes MAX.

Cons ....
1.) The weather - There are NO seasons. If we are lucky we will get a week or two of weather in the 60's but that's as low as it goes for the most part. I miss my seasons, especially the fall.
2.) The congestion. Every road is a major road with at least 4+ lanes and lights every block.
3.) The strip malls.
4.) The people - Not very nice. Especially in this area, there are a lot of stereotypes here that fit the type to a tee.
5.) The cost of living - though that is getting a bit better.
6.) The crime, the homeless on every block etc.

Needless to say, I don't really care for much here. We are moving home in two weeks (to Cape Cod) and can't wait!! We will buy a house within the next 6 months probably in Southern New Hampshire and I just am so excited to settle down. I will miss some of my friends here and the familiarity of living in one place for a while, as well as the ease to go up to WDW for a few days but overall we are so ready to go home.

 

[FarAway<3]

I live in Texas. I like it here now, but I didn't when I first moved here because it's too hot and I'm not a big fan of a lot of the rednecks around here.
I like it because I live a good distance from some really great places, so if I want to go on a weekend trip, I don't have to travel too far.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Georgetown, KY

The good:
cost of living is great
good schools
lots of amenities-what Georgetown doesn't have can be found in Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati, all less than an hour away.
great scenery-the bluegrass is one of the most beautiful regions in the nation.
Friendly people are everywhere

The bad:
Our mayor is a witch-I think we can vote her out next year. She has set our city back 15 years with her decisions.
Good ole boy network is alive and well here-youth sports is more politics than the sport itself.

We moved from Canton, OH 5 years ago:
The good:
Lots of food choices
close to Amish Country, also not far from Cleveland
Low cost of living

The bad:
Thugs and drugs are everywhere
No jobs
Property values collapsed-roads are crumbling, etc.
Leaders have no vision for the future, brain drain is a HUGE problem.

 

[rparmfamily]

What state (or country, in case you aren't from the US) do you live in?

Hawaii (Honolulu)

What do you like about it?
The list is long, so I'll spare you but it's pretty dang incredible.

Dislike?
-I live on O'ahu, so it's incredibly crowded for such a small island.
-good schools are hard to find once they are out of elem.
-It costs $$$$ to get off the island to visit family on the East Coast.
-Additional costs for everything except fresh pineapples, those are pretty cheap here LOL. EVERYTHING is more here
-Can't ship stuff here from lots of companies, this really ticks me off. Many companies only use UPS ground and well, that's not possible here. So they won't even ship outside the 48 contig. states. OR they charge a "surcharge" of about $8 or so to ship it parcal post. This drives me nuts...I won't order from Bath&Body works, Victoria's Secret,etc because it does not cost $14 or $15 to ship a tiny lightweight bra parcal post.
-Can't afford to ever buy a house here. The areas of the islands we like run about $700K and up, and honestly, there is no way that is ever possible for us on his military income.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

California - SF Bay Area:

Good:

The weather: just a few hot spells each summer, not humid; mild winters
Location: 30 minutes to the beach; 4 hours to the snow
Culture: Major broadway shows, ballet, symphony, major plays, minor plays, major league sports, minor league sports, etc. and tons of movie theaters.
Shopping: I can't even count the number of major malls to choose from.
Jobs/Salaries: Lots of employers around; salaries are higher than most areas

Bad:

Cost of living: The pay might be good but you need every cent!
Housing costs: Ugh! We could sell our house and use the proceeds to buy 3 without mortages in other parts of the country.
Traffic: Not as bad as So. Cal. but not good either
Crowds: Lots of people live here.
State Government: Taxes are high and getting higher, no balanced state budget, budget cuts galore!

 

[twinmomplus2new]

Love my community
love the schools
love the beaches
love the quiet
love that I can be in Boston in an hour

Dislikes
summer traffic is awful
some summer vistors are just nasty some not all. but the ones that are my goodness.
high cost of living
The cold seasons seem to be getting longer and longer. I admit its wearing on me..

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I live an hour north of Tampa

Pros:
We live in a gulf-front community.
Quiet area
Good Schools
Little Traffic
low crime
lots of doctors/hospitals
low taxes

Cons:
Busy-body neighbors
Can almost never get a doctor appointment in the winter due to large migratory Q-tip population
No jobs
High homeowner's insurance ($2700 on a 1140sq ft home $1175 for flood)

Neutral:
Heat

 

[MoniqueU]

Southern Ca
Pros
Close to disney and other theme parks
Weather, I like the heat but then that lead to a con as listed below
I like my friends here
Best mexican food in the country
Cons
Electricity bill the size of some peoples mortgage, no kidding
Traffic
Smog
Cost of living
Illegals
political bent of my state is in sad sad shape and my guess is no one will actually vote our state turkeys out of office
Economy in shambles
High Pressure public schools that overstep their bounds IMHO
very little community programs through the parks and recs
I live close enough that my family expects visits


Honestly except for it being too religious for me I would be happier down south

 

[Planogirl]

I live in Texas to the north of Dallas.

Likes:
Decent job market (soon at least)
Low cost real estate
Good shopping and restaurants

Dislikes:
I'm from the Houston area and I much prefer it there
Too far from south Louisiana
HOT!
Bad drivers and bad traffic

 

[suejai]

I live in Central Alberta, Canada

Likes:
- no provincial sales tax
- reasonably stable economy
- the employment opportunities it has provided for DH
- the variety of landscapes - goes from prairie, to desert, to the Rocky Mountains

Dislikes:
- WINTER - oh dear, it lasts so very long and is so very cold. There is a joke that we have 10 months winter and 2 months bad hockey.
- the increasing risk of hail storms and tornados in the summer
- there seems to be a mean spirit here, a great many people seem to only be concerned with themselves and what they want and be damned to anyone else. But I suppose you can encounter that anywhere.

We are planning on moving to the West Coast next year, primarily because of the weather.

 

[Pakey]

Fresno, CA

Pros:
Easy drive to Los Angeles, San Francisco, beaches, mountains, Disneyland
All 3 of our sons live within driving distance
City is large enough to have alot to offer but not so large to have terrible traffic
Great diversity in the population
Cost of living less than other parts of the state

Cons:
My inlaws are here
Second worst air quality in the country
Weather over 100 from Easter to Halloween
High crime rate
State government is a disaster
Very high unemployment rate
Way too far from Disneyworld

 

[Katy Belle]

I live in Doha, Qatar. I DO like living here!

The things I like : The school is great!
Our neighbors. We've made such great friends!
Travel- we've been able to visit sooo many other countries
Food- Yummo and many, many places will deliver to your door. Even McDonalds
Culture- learning a lot!

The things I dislike :
The heat. It was 103 when I dropped the kids off at school yesterday, at 7:45a.m. By 1:00p.m. it was 121 F!!!! HOT. But we have 5 months of great temperatures

The driving. Yikes. When you move here you are told you WILL be in a car accident at some point. So far so good for me, but I see one every day.

Having to fly for every vacation. Can't drive through Saudi without a hassle, so we must fly everywhere.

The distance from all of our family in the USA.

 

[etoiles]

Chicago suburbs - here for six years.

Like:
- Lots of things around; different stores, types of restaurants, attractions, events, etc...
- Close proximity to Wisconsin. Hopefully one day we can move there!!

Dislike:
- TRAFFIC and rude drivers
- Old Chicago gangster mentality - most everyone looks out for their clan and good luck if you are a new comer to the area with no 'connections'
- City is pretty segregated by race
- Corrupt poliltical scene
- High cost of living for the midwest

 

[xxliz28xx]

I live in Bergen County, NJ.

Likes:
Beautiful spring, summer and fall
The plethora of malls and stores within 10 minutes of my home
bagels and Italian food
restaurants-there are probably hundreds within 10 miles of my home-love all the choices
everything is right here...even if I didn't have a car I could easily walk to the grocery store, kids' schools, drug store, restaurants, etc. etc.
I have New York City 15 minutes away, the beautiful Jersey shore an hour away and rural country an hour away.
The diversity and the acceptance that goes along with that-I really don't find too many judgmental people around here
The fact that even though we are a suburb of a huge city we have a small town feel and we are totally connected to our town.

Dislikes:
taxes and high price of homes...but that's to be expected-location location location
January, February and March

I'm originally from Lodi, NJ and agree with everything. And boy do I miss it!

Now, I'm in Louisville, KY going to the University of Louisville.

What I really hate out here are all of the bad drivers, especially so many people running through red lights. I actually miss the NJ drivers.

I like.....my fiance who I moved here for.

 

[alexandria674]

Artesia, Cal

Pro
Near L.A.
Muesums
Disneyland
Other spots like Knotts, Magic Mtn, Universal City, Universal City block
Good flea markets, I found an old Disney poster of the Haunted Mansion for 24 bucks
Its warm
Variety of cuisine
Beautiful flowers
A variety of cultures
Home of Pinky's hot dogs
good colleges

Con
High cost of living
It's too frickin hot
Traffic
Bad air
Tacky tourists (but that is unfair because most places outside of Cali can have those)
Crime rate
wrong priorities in politics
Some bad schools, too little time, not a lot of money
The bad sterotypes of Californians

 

[mamacatnv]

Reno, NV


Pro's:

The cleanest, clearest, bluest skies I have ever seen.
Crisp high dessert mountain air with virtually no humidity - warm days and cool nights during most of the short hot summer
Low Property taxes
NO state income taxes
Small "town" feel
Affordable housing
10 minutes to the airport
4 hour drive to San Francisco
Surrounded by beautiful mountains
4 seasons although we tend to skip spring often
2 freeways - Hwy 395 runs N/S and Interstate 80 E/W - we have 1 freeway interchange the locals call it the spaghetti bowl, it was designed for a horse and buggy and is a constant source of commuting nightmares.


Con's:

High foreclosure rate
property values that have plummeted to below what we paid 13 years ago
a Governor who is an idiot
Casinos and their workers = high alcoholism, child abuse and domestic violence rates.
A school system that is all about taking care of the administrators and not the kids.
Nothing grows here
Everywhere you look it is brown - I miss the green of N. Calif where I grew up
Citizens with low education levels