Do you like where you live?

calteg said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

j_tso said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Dallas, Texas. Used to be a good place to live. Then everybody from everywhere else moved here.

Housing used to be reasonable. Now it is stupid expensive. 

Traffic used to be reasonable. Now it's insane. My car insurance is going up because transplants drive like idiots.

Same complaints about Austin. It doesn't help that the racing series I like (IMSA, WEC) stopped coming to COTA. Still gotta drive it myself a lot more before I'm done with the place.

I know at least two people who actually moved to Dallas to get away from the high cost of living in Austin. Housing is even worse down there.

Having lived in both, Austin housing prices are much, much worse. At least in Austin you have culture and food and an abundance of live music. DFW has...the stockyards...and deep ellum is kinda cool sometimes. 

I actually spent a lot of time in Austin when I had a girlfriend who lived there. Like every weekend. The restaurants in  Dallas actually compare well to Austin, but they are all too expensive for me anyway. Austin is better for live music and music culture, but that could be changing as musicians get priced out by the Tech Bros and their money. See San Francisco.

I actually was part of the live music scene when I played saxophone with a jazz band at a place down in Lancaster and another place in West Dallas. That all went away after COVID. It really hasn't recovered yet. There used to be live jazz in Lakewood and even at a place up in McKinney. They have live concerts here in Rockwall both downtown and at the Harbor. Mustly old school rock and country. Music has moved out to the suburbs. Rockwall is a great place for boating. There is a free public launching ramp right down the street from the house.

The Stockyards are in Fort Worth, not Dallas. The Stock Show, which is where we went this weekend (see sheep herding competition pictures in my other thread) is not at the Stockyards but it is still in Fort Worth. The State Fair is in Dallas but is way too expensive. Haven't been there in years. Deep Ellum was a cool place to go like 15 years ago. Now it's a good place to get your car broken into and to get shot while listening to the Hip Hop music that replaced the Old School Rock and Roll.

After 7 years we're still happy in Biloxi. It's a good town, but not too big, yet has everything we need nearby. Of course there's always the threat of hurricanes, but at least you have the opportunity to prepare & evacuate vs. most other natural disasters. 

The biggest downside is within the past 3-years drivers have somehow completely forgotten the rules of the road. Seriously. 

Always Fresh, Sometimes Frozen:  

Central CT. Eh, spring thru fall is ok. I'm over winter. I have a heated workspace at least, but the kids get a nasty case of cabin fever around this time of year.

Schools are great. Got a stable job, family nearby.  There's no traffic on my commute to work on generally any place I drive to. There's a surprising number of places to go mountain biking within a 30 minute drive and decent variety in terrain. Sure, the biking isn't epic like out west, but it's good.

So. Do I love it? Nah. I'm tired of winter and rust. My wife melts in the heat, so we'll see what I can convince her to do once the kids are out of school.

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I think coastal Mississippi is a hidden gem and is what Florida used to be.  I've heard great things about the town of Ocean Springs. How's the airport situation there? 

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to alfadriver :

You're not acknowledging the mosquitos :)

Thankfully, they are not everywhere.  Them and the black flies are some reasons I'll never live in the UP.

OKC for 6 years. It has it's good and bad. Incredibly spread out city, size wise. Metro area is almost 1.7 million. Thriving Asian district with great markets and food. Lots of cool districts all over town with great restaurants/bars/venues. Lots of museums and an INCREDIBLE amount of development the last few years. 

They just finished the First Americans Museum, and now the tribe's just broke ground on a $400 million development to go in next to it. NBA team with a near 20k capacity arena, so we get big concerts and other acts. Great comedy club where I've seen tons of the greats. 

Cons: We aren't generally fans of OK politics/politicians, with the exception of the OKC Mayor, David Holt. He's awesome. It's pretty flat and WINDY here, like it's all the time. Seriously windy. No good roads around, have to go to NE OK for those that puts you close to SW MO and NW AR where there are a ton of great roads. 

We'd like to move, but every place we've looked at that we like, means a mortgage payment that neither of us are comfortable with. And the current mortgage is under 3%. 

Probably the big thing is we don't really know anyone here. 

I already made the move, so yes. Ontario has great outdoor temperatures and daylight span 8~9 months of the year, jobs that pay first world money, cost of living isn't too terrible outside the cities. Property is slightly more ridiculously unaffordable than usual for the first world though.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Biloxi.

Biloxi, Biloxi!!!...I had the scare of my life in Biloxi.

Training wife and I honeymooned in Biloxi for a few days right after our wedding giving the super blue icing on our wedding cake time to make its way through my digestive system.

I'd been chugging daiquiri's and swimming in the Gulf for two days when I had a wildly psychedelic green poop causing me to be sure I'd picked up some life threatening bacterial infection (blue dye becomes green after being metabolized).

True story but still a joke...Biloxi has a lot going for it.

calteg said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

j_tso said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Dallas, Texas. Used to be a good place to live. Then everybody from everywhere else moved here.

Housing used to be reasonable. Now it is stupid expensive. 

Traffic used to be reasonable. Now it's insane. My car insurance is going up because transplants drive like idiots.

Same complaints about Austin. It doesn't help that the racing series I like (IMSA, WEC) stopped coming to COTA. Still gotta drive it myself a lot more before I'm done with the place.

I know at least two people who actually moved to Dallas to get away from the high cost of living in Austin. Housing is even worse down there.

Having lived in both, Austin housing prices are much, much worse. At least in Austin you have culture and food and an abundance of live music. DFW has...the stockyards...and deep ellum is kinda cool sometimes. 

I wish the housing prices where I live were more like the prices in Austin. I live in the greater Vancouver area.

I love the abundance of outdoor activities here (mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, snowboarding) and the proximity to the ocean, but our housing costs are nuts.

RX Reven' said:

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Biloxi.

Biloxi, Biloxi!!!...I had the scare of my life in Biloxi.

Training wife and I honeymooned in Biloxi for a few days right after our wedding giving the super blue icing on our wedding cake time to make its way through my digestive system.

I'd been chugging daiquiri's and swimming in the Gulf for two days when I had a wildly psychedelic green poop causing me to be sure I'd picked up some life threatening bacterial infection (blue dye becomes green after being metabolized).

True story but still a joke...Biloxi has a lot going for it.

 

 

I'm not sure what it is, but several times I've had similar reactions from blue food coloring. It's almost frightening. 

Scotty Con Queso said:

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I think coastal Mississippi is a hidden gem and is what Florida used to be.  I've heard great things about the town of Ocean Springs. How's the airport situation there? 

Ocean Springs is a great town, but when we moved here 7-years ago the home prices were definitely higher.

Gulfport airport is a nice modern place, but small enough to get in & out easily. Our son-in-law flew in back in December from Colorado & other than needing to catch a connecting flight in Dallas there wasn't any problem. SWMBO is flying home today, but she paid a bit more to get a connecting flight through Houston so she could avoid the mayhem of DFW. 

We're only 1.5 hours from the new Nola airport too. 

I think I've expressed it before here, but I love where I live. Sackville NB Canada is a small university town (pop 10k residents when school is in). Small town vibes but because of the university you still have good bands, good food options, and the town is kept very clean. 

No town is without issues and we've seen crime go up and down since we've been here. But I live on a private lane and have really great neighbours. We like it here so much that I bought a business here. 

We have an international airport 30 minutes from my doorstep and if we want to go to an city for the weekend we can head down to halifax nova scotia which is about 2 hours away. 

Mostly though it puts me about an hour from my parents which is important to me with small children. 

We may not live here forever but for right now it's a really great fit. 

Minnesota is fantastic if you can stomach the cold.   Great schools, excellent companies for jobs. The access to nature is fantastic.  I prefer to move around every 3 to 5 years. I do like a variety but this isn't a bad place to park as my kids graduate highschool.  Then im off to somewhere new. 
 

Car stuff is a bit tough as the season is short, but BIR  is nearby. There is a good autocross club and one good karting club. 
 

outdoor activites:  In the summer; I paddle the boundary waters, cycle constantly with a large network of mountain bike and rail trails, do triathalons and hike/camp in our big group of state parks.  In the winter; I fat bike and Nordic ski.  Coldest fat bike trip was -7 air temp so far.  

 

when talking to recruiters in this area they always say " it's really hard to get people to come here, but it's even harder to get them to leave"  

Scotty Con Queso said:

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

I think coastal Mississippi is a hidden gem and is what Florida used to be.  I've heard great things about the town of Ocean Springs. How's the airport situation there? 

There are regular flights into the Gulf Port/Biloxi area because of the casinos.   My family spent many summer vacations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast - a short drive from the New Orleans area where we lived.     It really was a hidden gem before development knocked down all the cool old hotels in the 70's and then gambling.

Do I like where I live?  Its Houston, Tx.   Work is here.   Having grown up in the New Orleans area I can say Houston has no soul.   Just a bunch of people making money to live on, running around in cars like malicious children, cutting people off in traffic with no discernable gains,  running red lights, and always in fear of the next freeway wreck that makes them 1/2 hour late for their destination.   Housing is expensive, property taxes are high, and its become a "Blue" city with "Woke" leaders"; which is not my personal preference.

People don't retire and say "hey, I always want to live in Houston".

So no, I don't like where I live - but its a living.

mainlandboy said:

calteg said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

j_tso said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Dallas, Texas. Used to be a good place to live. Then everybody from everywhere else moved here.

Housing used to be reasonable. Now it is stupid expensive. 

Traffic used to be reasonable. Now it's insane. My car insurance is going up because transplants drive like idiots.

Same complaints about Austin. It doesn't help that the racing series I like (IMSA, WEC) stopped coming to COTA. Still gotta drive it myself a lot more before I'm done with the place.

I know at least two people who actually moved to Dallas to get away from the high cost of living in Austin. Housing is even worse down there.

Having lived in both, Austin housing prices are much, much worse. At least in Austin you have culture and food and an abundance of live music. DFW has...the stockyards...and deep ellum is kinda cool sometimes. 

I wish the housing prices where I live were more like the prices in Austin. I live in the greater Vancouver area.

I love the abundance of outdoor activities here (mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, snowboarding) and the proximity to the ocean, but our housing costs are nuts.

 

There is stupid expensive. Stupid, stupid expensive, and stupid, stupid stupid expensive. It's all unaffordable to me. I would not consider either place. 

I grew up in Northern California near San Francisco and left the state  after finishing college for Colorado because housing there was stupid expensive even then. Years later I left Colorado for Texas because my rent kept going up but my salary didn't When I got to Texas I decided to buy a place after getting priced out of both California and Texas. That still doesn't help with horrible traffic, higher taxes and the California everything has a price culture that is moving in here to Dallas now. 

I feel like I am being chased across the country by a mad pack of developers, investors and house flippers turning each place where they land into yet another level of hell. 

jharry3 said:

Do I like where I live?  Its Houston, Tx.   Work is here.   Having grown up in the New Orleans area I can say Houston has no soul.   Just a bunch of people making money to live on, running around in cars like malicious children, cutting people off in traffic with no discernable gains,  running red lights, and always in fear of the next freeway wreck that makes them 1/2 hour late for their destination.   Housing is expensive, property taxes are high, and its become a "Blue" city with "Woke" leaders"; which is not my personal preference.

People don't retire and say "hey, I always want to live in Houston".

So no, I don't like where I live - but its a living.

I hate that people use the term "woke" as something bad. All my life its been used in a positive sense. But, in the past 2 years I've been seen it used as something that is bad or offensive. No understanding of the word and its history has caused this to happen. The word got trendy by a few people and they completely changed its meaning. Sad! 

Bucks County, PA

In our 30s(1980s) we packed up into an RV and travelled most of the country.  The only places we considered staying in permanently were Seattle suburbs and Salt Lake.  Seattle was too far from family and Salt Lake too many mormons.  We ended up here, 30% because of family but never regretted the choice.  The variety of bike trails is growing exponentially, I can ride my bike to the mall, and several grocery stores.  I have lakes for sailing 3 miles and 15 miles from home.  Issues? It is growing faster than we would like but so is the value of our house.  We keep looking for a better place to live but  have not found anywhere (yet) that makes us happy and is less than a day drive from the kids.  

Harrisburg, PA.

Goods and bads.  I bloom where I'm planted, but would still prefer more fertile soil, so to speak.

Grew up around here, left in 1992 for college, then lived in an RV for about 6 years.  49 out of 50 states and all of the southern Canadian provinces.  I lived all the neat places that I always wanted to experience; New Orleans, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, as well as some hidden gems I discovered by accident like Kalispell MT, Evansville IN, and a few other places.  Only reason I came back to central PA was because I divorced in 2013 and decided to cool my heels at Mom and Dad's while I shopped for a new town to settle, or which of my old haunts I might re-inhabit.  Ended up getting a really neat but terrible pay job in the arts, then met a great lady, then bought a cheap house.

Honestly, though, if it weren't for the great lady, I would rent out the house and go away in a heartbeat.  Central PA is a very even mix of political views which I appreciate, but I do wish it were one more step toward "my side."  I see Harrisburg having a real renaissance compared to what it was when I was a kid, but it's like hanging out with a 5 year old brat.  You can see the potential of what it will become but I selfishly don't want to wait around for 20 years until it becomes what it will be, especially after visiting cool spots like LA, NewO, and Austin that are already my vibe.

I recommend Harrisburg for cheap houses, pretty good diversity, access to some culture, neat microbreweries, and easy drives to NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Pittsburgh.  I don't recommend Harrisburg for equality, high paying jobs, or scenic beauty.

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

mainlandboy said:

calteg said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

j_tso said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

Dallas, Texas. Used to be a good place to live. Then everybody from everywhere else moved here.

Housing used to be reasonable. Now it is stupid expensive. 

Traffic used to be reasonable. Now it's insane. My car insurance is going up because transplants drive like idiots.

Same complaints about Austin. It doesn't help that the racing series I like (IMSA, WEC) stopped coming to COTA. Still gotta drive it myself a lot more before I'm done with the place.

I know at least two people who actually moved to Dallas to get away from the high cost of living in Austin. Housing is even worse down there.

Having lived in both, Austin housing prices are much, much worse. At least in Austin you have culture and food and an abundance of live music. DFW has...the stockyards...and deep ellum is kinda cool sometimes. 

I wish the housing prices where I live were more like the prices in Austin. I live in the greater Vancouver area.

I love the abundance of outdoor activities here (mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, snowboarding) and the proximity to the ocean, but our housing costs are nuts.

 

There is stupid expensive. Stupid, stupid expensive, and stupid, stupid stupid expensive. It's all unaffordable to me. I would not consider either place. 

I grew up in Northern California near San Francisco and left the state  after finishing college for Colorado because housing there was stupid expensive even then. Years later I left Colorado for Texas because my rent kept going up but my salary didn't When I got to Texas I decided to buy a place after getting priced out of both California and Texas. That still doesn't help with horrible traffic, higher taxes and the California everything has a price culture that is moving in here to Dallas now. 

I feel like I am being chased across the country by a mad pack of developers, investors and house flippers turning each place where they land into yet another level of hell. 

Come to PA.  I bought my 2bd/1ba detached house with a garage for $87k.

How much do you have to make to afford a $1.8M house?  I'm guessing it's about 15 times what I make.

I have lived in Ohio, Pa, and FL. Ohio is my favorite among where I have lived. I recently moved back to Cleveland (westside). It is easy to get around, I can be in Lakewood, Tremont, and Ohio city for hipster culture. For the kids we have 4 water parks within in a 10 minute radius, several playgrounds, great zoo, one of the best park systems, and good school district. I like living near a big city that does not have world wide appeal, like Florida, AZ, Las Vegas, and Cali with a constant stream of tourists. The weather doesn't bother me as I have been in worst. I am close to some of the best tracks (in my opinion) Mid-O, Nelson Ledges, Pittrace, Freemont, Thompson(oh), and new kart track being built 20 minutes away in Lorain.

I am sure someday I will move and places that I have visited that I would consider moving to Min, TN, SC, indy, or NC.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

You've lived all over. Where in the US would you live if you could pick anywhere?

I actually like Atlanta. But for context, I moved here from the rural South 35yrs ago for political reasons. I wanted to stay in the South, but avoid political conflicts. The main problem now is the housing costs for living inside the city limits. Very steep for this part of the country. Suburbs are getting that way, when I bought, I ended up in an exurb (Acworth, about 30mi out). Not too bad, so many others like me have moved out here due to that housing cost I mentioned. And we finally got that soccer club I waited for for 20yrs! Great music scene, great food (both domestic and ethnic).

But..every horror story you've ever heard about Atlanta traffic is true.

I've lived in Colorado, San Diego, Boston, Cape Cod and Cleveland.  You couldn't pay me enough to live in Cleveland again.  Boston/Cape Cod were pretty but the winters were brutal without the payout of decent skiing.  I'd want to live somewhere else there in the winter if I moved back there.  San Diego is awesome but wickedly expensive (hence me not living there now) and traffic is insane, I'd be on my moto splitting lanes if I was there. However it's home to me and still feels that way even though I haven't lived there in 30 years.

I currently live in Denver and I like it.  Summers here can be stupid hot sometimes but the access to outdoor activities is pretty awesome, the town has good sports teams/music/events, restaurants are decent.  Schools near us are good, it's traffic-y, in that there is traffic but nothing like a metro area on either coast.  Cost of living here has sky rocketed, especially since Covid when everyone from the Coasts decided to move here. 

If I could afford San Diego I'd be tempted but all of my wife's family are here, so I doubt we're ever leaving.  We'd both like to leave our current neighborhood, I'd like a bigger lot so I could play soccer with my son and have a larger shop but we're priced out of the next level up...