What do you love about your chosen city of residence?

[hindsight2020]

My travels...

Born and raised in San Juan, PR. What can I say? I had to move to the states to realize the weather had spoiled me. Now I'm beggin' to move back south.

SJU (TJSJ for the ICAO freaks) Pros: Caribbean weather. Enough said. It's so perfect it's ridiculous. The wind ALWAYS blows from the E-NE. Flying is easy, and the scenery, JHC!
Did I mentioned the weather was perfect? As for the hurricane thing, wayy overblown (no pun intended), and this applies to FL as well.

4 days of 120MPH wind = 361 days of freggin' perfect weather!! I've personally been thru 5 of those suckers, big deal! They ain't that bad, just don't be the idiot standing outside wondering "could I practice my x-wind landings today?"

Cons: No jobs. No jobs. No jobs. Crime rate sucks. City cannot handle the traffic, badly planned, decades behind current population scale. Also, not a problem for me, but if ya ain't bilingual it could be tough.

Have also lived in Atlanta, GA. I miss that place, big city but didn't feel too big. Weather is tolerable. Plenty of things to do. Flying was interesting (nothing like getting your private right under ATL class Bravo on the summer). Good looking girls. Housing getting a little high but considering other places, it's worth it. Love the south, closest to the weather that spoiled me back home, this side of the Mississippi of course...

Tuscaloosa, AL...well, being from PR suffice to say I spent more time teaching geography during parties than hooking up...as if that was gonna happen with my last name down there. Beautiful country, it's a shame people are still backwards, did make worthwhile friendships though. Same weather as ATL basically. Cheap cost of living is the biggest pro for me there.

Lafayette, IN ....sh%t where do I begin....weather $uck$ a big one. This is ridiculous! Stupid 4000 degree temperature gradient in 24 hours and wind that'll flip your car over if ya drive faster than 2MPH...great for x-winds right? Snow, no thank you I'll pass. People are blue half the time cause the weather sucks so bad and it reflects on you too. Unless I was one of them professor folks here at Purdue hoggin' the tenure teet and making 6 figures, I'd pass it.

Would move back to PR if it was economically sound, which is not. Closest thing right now is to set up shop in FL and scour the flying opportunities in the Caribbean. Ultimate goal would be to commute between FL and SJU and stop everywhere in between...throttle in one hand, knee on the control, left hand on the piña colada, window open..after that you can pull the plug I'd go home happy.

 

[Vector4fun]

Why I live South of Dallas....

Come to work today and there's a Ground Stop to DEN for UAL and FFT flights, supposedly they can't keep up with the de-icing.

It's Freaking April 10!

Brrrrr. I'm gonna have to go watch the Masters with a sweater on just to get over the mental image....

 

[SENECAII]

The weather in SW FL does rock most of the time.(except during the hurricanes last year)

I have lived here 30 years and last year was the worst.

 

[Phoenix45]

Oceanside, CA

Pros: Mostly clear days (except for June...), Great flying weather most of the time. North of Class B airspace of SAN. Great beaches, lots of entertainment

Cons: Living costs (housing, gas, etc), traffic congestion (especially in summer), June gloom, illegal aliens, poor public schools

 

[DashTrash400]

Portland, OR

Pros: Decent cost of living compared to other west coast cities, 2 hrs from the beach, 1 hr from the Gorge & Mt Hood with great hiking, camping, skiing, etc. If you're into boating, the Columbia and Willamette Rivers offer good boating & several marinas. Can live across the river in WA and pay no income tax, shop in OR and pay no sales tax. Portland has lots to do between great restaurants, a decent music scene, and some really nice parks. Like Seattle, lots of good coffee houses. Microbrews, too.

Cons: If you come here straight from SoCal, as I did, the slow drivers will piss you off. Winters are wet and windy, although not as wet as Seattle and somewhat warmer. The economy here is somewhat depressed, with unemployment higher than most other west coast cities. Panhandlers are pretty aggressive here. And like SF, be prepared to deal with angry anarchist/pinko mobs staging mass protests against Bush, Iraq, Wal-Mart, The Man, or Western Civilization in general.

 

[toneal]

Cons: be prepared to drive everywhere, at least the highways are good.

And if you do come to Dallas, stay off 75/635.. Nightmare...

 

[Saabslime]

PHOENIX:

Pros: -Year-round golf!
-Beautiful women
-Several good boating and fishing resevoirs within a half hour drive
-Perfect weather 9 months out of the year. Even the hot ones arent
that bad (its a DRY heat).
-Tons of outdoor activities to suit anyone.

Cons: -Housing is getting ridiculous. People are averaging 20-25% a year. If
you want a house in a decent area, be prepared to compete with
several other buyers and go well above asking price.

-Rush hour traffic starts as early as 6 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. and it
sucks.
-One of the most sprawled out cities I've ever seen. Takes forever
to get from one end of the valley to the other.

 

[hopalong]

Here's my .02
Born On Long Island, NY
Pros: Beaches, close to NYC nightlife and culture
Cons: People are extremely rude, except my family of course.
housing prices through the roof and noone knows true traffic unless
you've traveled on the L.I.E.

Pennsylvania( pocono area)
Pros: Beautiful mountains, skiing and some nice lakes
Cons: Getting a little trashy looking in some parts

Boston, Ma.
Pros: Culture, sports, history, not far from white mountains NH
Cons: Rudest people I've ever encountered, very regal & expensive.

Orlando, Fl.
Pros: Weather, Disney, beaches, night life
Cons: No change of seasons gets dull after a couple of years, hurricanes,
traffic. Expensive housing.

Mid- Michigan area is by far my favorite place to live. The mid-west is
the best kept secret.
Pros: Lakes, lakes everywhere. Friendliest people ever, housing is dirt
cheap in some towns, up north lots of hills, skiing, snowmobiling, boating,
fishing, not far from cedar point,
Cons: the winters, of course are harsh but now is the time to invest in Mi.
with the prices being so low. Hopefully, we can boot out granholm and turn the economy around. I am buying up as much real estate as I can.

 

[FN FAL]

What do you love about your chosen city of residence?

The police chief will sign off on the ATF C.L.E.O. signature requirement without a big fuss.

 

[MFRskyknight]

Medford, Ore.

PROS:

Just the right size @ 80,000 (but growing fast), manageable traffic and commutes, gorgeous scenery, quick access to skiing, fishing, camping, the coast, hiking, rafting, Crater Lake NP, etc., nice little "int'l" airport, relatively tranquil airspace, less rainy than Portland, no sales tax, don't pump my own gas. No tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, severe t-storms...hell, hardly ever as much as a stiff crosswind. Rated by Forbes as the 7th safest city (from a disaster standpoint) in America.

CONS:

Rifriggindiculous housing prices. Full of Californians. Valley constantly socked in with pea-soup fog during the winter. Rain and flooding were nasty this last winter and even worse in 97. Ashland (nearby) is completely unaffordable to live in and full of the weirdest types you'll ever meet. No shortage of gun-totin' inbred rednecks either. People aren't as open and friendly as, say, the Midwest.

I still rate it a strong 8/10 as an overall place to live.

MFR

 

[CitationXDriver]

Despite what he Capt. Megadeth said about my lovely town it really is a nice place to live, and here is why:

Chicago

• People - very friendly

Are you kidding me??

 

[navigator72]

Southern Maine

The good:
The ocean (cold for swimming but the fishing is great)
The mountains
Very little crime
4 seasons
Boston is only 2 hours away
You can live without sitting on top of your neighboors (3.89 acres of privacy)
No big traffic issues, The state only has 2 highways.
No major natural disasters, no floods, no fires, no mudslides, no hurrincanes, no tornadoes, only the occasional 12" snowstorm



Bad:
4 seasons not evenly distributed (Spring 10%, Summer 6%, Fall 15%, Winter 69%)
The job market sucks
Ocean water is too damn cold for swimming
3.89 acres of privacy, except for the mosquitos the size of a small car
Every summer you get invaded: Speedo wearing Canadians coming to the beach from the north and Massholes dragging their SUV's full of ugly kids from the South.

But hey it's Maine, "The way life should be"

 

[Twotter76]

Dayton, OH

Stay far, far away. Not a d@mn thing here except flat ground and crappy weather. Often smells of rotting plant-life. Housing is inexpensive so I guess thats something. No hot women but plenty of nascar fans (*shudder*). Crappy humid summers, relatively cold winters with not much snow and nowhere to do anything with it even if you had it. Everything rusts. The aviation museum is interesting but one good thing does not offset a landslide of negatives. I really don't understand peoples attraction to the midwest. Have any of you ever been west of the mississippi? You know, the half of the country that doesnt suck ass?

 

[Hawker rider]

Hey!

Arkansas is west of the Mississippi, just barely, i know, but still....

And yeah, it sucks!

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas:

My $0.02...

Grew up in FLL. It was MUCH nicer back in the day. Now it's filled with Tony Soprano wannabes and their wives. Single? Forget dating unless you clear 7 digits left of the decimal every year. Insane taxes, and only during the VERY hot part of the year to you get any respite from the maddening tourists, their crappy driving and the long lines to do anything. Real estate is in orbit. Unless you already own, your screwed. Forget living south of the Dade county line unless you can speak Spanish without an accent.

Daytona? Same...see above except with more of a red-neck element. Typical Florida flat savannah surroundings. I understand that there used to be a nice interstate between DAB and TPA, but now it's used as a combination raceway/parking lot.

Macon, GA was actually pretty nice. All of the amenities of a big city without any of the hassle. Hot, hazy summers, but cost of living was very reasonable. Nice places went for $450 or so for a 2br/2bth. Comes in 2nd.

New Orleans...well, its a great place to live if you get into the proper state of mine (or the state of intoxication) or live on the North shore. Definately an aquired taste, but loads of fun once you get in the groove. Great food, great music, great locals, and laughably poor government. Reasonable cost of living, but prepare to faint when you see your NOPSI (electric) bill.

Eastern North Carolina. Very nice, very quaint and very quiet. Plenty of real estate for reasonable $$$ and very reasonable cost of living. If you are single, forget dating unless you're a Marine. Make sure you take the ferry out to Kill Devil Hills at least once.

Central Virginia. Shenandoa Valley, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville. My all time favorites. Mild weather, great locals...plenty to do up in DC. I understand that real estate in CHOville has gone nuts, though, so you might need to head out of town or over the hills a bit. Verdant to the extreme and the area looks like it came out of "Lord of the Rings".

Minnesota......ahhh, it would be a OK place to live if it weren't for the obnoxious locals and the LOOONG winters...the grey cold sky lasts from September to May. Punitive taxation. Watch the movie Fargo, and you will know all you need to...the people really are like that. All your buds that have been there will tell you "don't move here, the people will drive you nuts!" You will anyway, and in 6 months you will find out your friends were right. The locals were as glad to see me leave as I was glad to be leaving the place. If you marry a girl from there, go ahead and buy the grave plot, cause you will NEVER be leaving.

The Dakotas...Minnesota without the nasty locals, high cost of living or the insane taxation. FSD can be VERY nice if you are into the mid-west scene and the weather doesn't bother you...Your $$$ goes a long, long way. The folks there are honestly glad to see you and aren't completely without the social graces like their cousins in MN.

Nu