OT: Where do you live, and what are the pros and cons of living there?
Folks,
As I stare out my window at the muted void of gray overcast hanging above Dexter, Michigan, I can't help but wish, even a little, that I lived somewhere that was dependably sunny and warm all year round. We've considered Texas, particularly the Dallas area, but then again the muggy heat can be suffocating, and don't even get me started on the bugs.
But there's no way to know for sure what it's really like to live somewhere without hearing from someone whose done it. It's a slow day and I'm curious to hear from others about where you live and if you like it.
I've always considered southeast Michigan to be a bit boring. It's not exactly a travel destination, but it's a decent place to live and work. The weather sucks, except for when it's terrific (fall time, anyone?). Having lived here my whole life, it's hard not to look at other places in the US and think it must be awesome to live there (other than Ohio. Ohio sucks and always has and always will).
April 14th, 2019 at 11:43 PM ^
Islamabad, Pakistan.
Pros: Green and beautiful, good weather, no taxes, uncrowded, lovely people
Cons: Hard to get booze if you're not a diplomat, drivers never actually learn how to drive so it's impossible not to develop road rage
April 14th, 2019 at 11:46 PM ^
Duluth, MN.
Pros:
Winter is way better than SE Michigan, and I’m not trolling. It’s beautiful, and you dress for the cold, and there’s a ton to do, and the snow stays snow instead of turning to slush and ice. There’s a very good ski hill resort inside city limits that’s worlds better than anything in the lower peninsula. There are extensive snowmobiling trails everywhere. 19 outdoor public ice rinks. Ice fishing available anywhere you want. John Shuster’s curling club is downtown and I’ve even tried curling there. And Christmas is awesome, with a giant free walk-through light display on the harbor.
Summer isn’t the longest, but it’s spectacular. There’s usually just one week where 90 is broken for a few days. Some years it’s 70s or low 80s and beautiful almost every day. Lake Superior is amazing. There is a six-mile sand beach and then the spectacular, rocky north shore stretching for hours to the northeast, featuring parks and waterfalls and beauty. The Canal Park area at the city’s main waterfront is a jewel. Outdoor sports like cycling, hiking, sailing, stand-up-paddle boarding, and nearly anything else are available and accessible (I get to sail whenever I want to on a fleet of day sailors for $150).
It’s not a metropolis, but it has everything you need. It’s not Ann Arbor, but it’s slightly offbeat and there are some good foodie places to check out. It’s not the mountains or the coast, but the massive hill we’re built on overlooks the lake and it’s amazingly beautiful. Even has a church where you already know the pastor.
Cons: Big stuff like high-level sports and major broadway productions are 2.5 hours away in the twin cities, and Michigan only plays football there every 6 years or so. You have to watch a highlight of Michigan losing the national championship every time you attend a local hockey game. You have to change planes to fly most places. Spring is not our finest hour, and I do mean “hour.” Nobody just happens to “pass through,” so you don’t run into people you know from out of town. Family is invariably too far away.
You sure are good at making northern Minny appealing. Have you considered a side job writing for Fodor's?
Regarding winters, this is exactly my problem with the weather in SE Michigan. I can handle dependable snow. I don't prefer it, but I'd take that over rain that turns the entire area into a mud pit in December or February or a weird wintry mix in mid freaking April.
My kids had so many snow days this year they extended the school year, and not one of them did they get to actually go outside and play in the snow, because there was never a true snowstorm.
I've got family in Green Bay whom we often meet in Ishpeming for vacations. I'll try to lobby a trip to Duluth sometime based on your recommendation.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:16 AM ^
Orange County, California
PROS:
1. Weather - It's 75 degrees sunny and dry most of the time.
2. Great for certain hobbies - skiing, swimming, surfing, motorcycles, sportscars, fishing (sea), even shooting rifles/handguns (surprisingly)
3. Multi-cultural - great variety of healthy girls and diverse foods
4. Landscape - mountains, ocean/beaches and desert - all within close proximity. It is another beautiful state.
5. No mosquitoes.
CONS:
1. Transportation and traffic is horrible. Infrastructure is still as if it were 1978. Commuting here really is hell on earth, even though California allows motorcycle lane-splitting.
2. Politics - No matter what your actual political persuasion, this entire state - top to bottom - really is worse than anything and everything you've already heard. If you want to see what complete political incompetence and absence of common sense policy looks like, come visit California.
3. Lack of season changes - I miss the autumn colors, spring rains and yes even the snow storms of Michigan and the midwest.
4. Sports apathy - Californian have so many college and pro sports teams -basketball, baseball, football and hockey - they just don't seem to really give a shit. There are some die hard Oakland Raider fans and maybe USC fans. But in general there is apathy and indifference or bandwagoneering going on. Or they are at the beach or busy chasing skirts. USC started out last season 5-2 and everyone in the state was pretty much "meh".
5. Crime & Weirdos - lots of both
April 15th, 2019 at 12:54 AM ^
DMV
Pros: Big city amenities, pro sports, lots of restaurants, good job market etc.
Cons: Traffic is awful, people drive like jackasses, near total lack of local flavor and character , people are incredibly bland and yet self-important, this the type of place where a VP of a think tank figures hes a celeb because hes had an op ed in the WaPo once, summer is too hot and humid, winter is a constant up and down and features way too many cold days to qualify as mild.
Blurb on the radio the other day that 80% of the jobs added over the last [quarter] were in California.
Lived in LA a long time ago and just spent a week in both LA and SF. The homelessness is crazy. Saw a giant tent city in LA near the mission. Lots of normal looking people, who looked like they might be working. Saw lots of homeless in Venice but they primarily looked like meth-heads/hippies. There are lots of homeless everywhere but they aren’t on the streets in the Midwest.
Above was meant to be a reply to a Cali thread. (Damn mobile.)
Live in Western NY (Bufffalo, Rochester)
Pros:
Decent skiing with lake effect snow(not icy). Hill aren't mountains, but they are much bigger than Michigan.
Nice summers.
Winters are no worse than Michigan, but there is usually a nice covering of 3-4" of snow. SE Michigan has all of the bad parts of winter but no hills and not much snow. In the area South of Buffalo they get lots of lake effect snow, but that is where the ski hills are.
Both cities are having a renaissance. Lots of new restaurants and things to do. Solid universities in both cities.
Public schools are some of the best in the country. My kids go to school near a university and have kids from Europe, Inidia, China, Africa, South America, Middle East, and all over the world. Our elementary school international fair is fantastic.
Great Buffalo Wings and Beef on Weck.
Cost of living is super cheap. You can live like a king.
Lots of nature an hiking very close.
Toronto, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh are all very close. The Big House is a 5-6 hour drive.
Lots of cool history in both Buffalo and Rochester. People take great pride in their cities and the region.
Cons:
Not as many jobs as California, NYC, Chicago, Seattle or DC. This is really the only major downer for me personally.
Taxes are high, but the schools are great, the roads are good and the government corruption is at "normal" levels.
The cities are very segregated. Despite the diversity near the universities, blacks and whites might as well live on different planets. My few African American friends are from Africa.
I was trying to skip this...but what the hell:
We live in the great white ghetto-that is Kansas...the provincial-thinking capitol of the world. We only live there (am writing from my sister's place in Northern Indiana) because we have to-for family reasons. Here, a trip to a foreign land is crossing a county line. The weather is harsh-as are the people...I believe the two are correlated. The state color has to be brown. To be avoided if at all possible.
I live in a house in Ann Arbor. Pro: Better than living in a box under a bridge. Con: It's not Tahiti.
Orlando, I absolutely love it down here. Always vacationed here as a kid and when we finally got to move here four years ago the wife and kids were all about it.Theme parks are great for the kids and we live in a suburb off the beaten path so we never see tourists unless we go to a touristy area on purpose.
Summer gets hot as balls but I'll take that over the frozen tundra of Rochester, NY where I grew up.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a Florida resident you get a really nice discount on Disney membership?
Louisville, KY.
Pros: Is Louisville.
Cons: Is in Kentucky.
April 16th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
I'm in Louisville too. Cosign.
Pros also - bourbon, music scene, not that far from Michigan (4.5 hours)
Cons - no natural water in which to swim, too close to Ohio
Ohio...
Pros: (1) There are very few Sparties. (2) At least it's not Kentucky
Cons: O-H
Monroe, GA
Hot days. Almost 90 degrees here around noon time.
Good HS Football area. Trente Jones went to HS with me and so did Kurt Taylor
Great Food
Nice people but some spoiled people can be arrogant
April 15th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
Annapolis, MD
Pros: sailing / proximity to Chesapeake; punches above its weight for bars, restaurants, etc; close enough to DC (aka Hollywood for ugly people) to take part in all it has to offer; cheaper housing than DC but still expensive
Cons: commute to DC is terrible; public golf scene is surprising bad; public schools are surprisingly not that great for as much money there is in the area
April 15th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
I live in Naples Fl. the pro is the weather . the con is the weather. Even though much of the population is mid westerners they seem to change to Floridians . Much of the conversation is about the new restaurants and their last cruise. Maybe it's just my age group.
April 15th, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
Winston-Salem, NC
Pros:
- 3 hour drive from the beach and a 1 hour drive from the mountains
- Great weather, especially spring and fall
- Can play golf year-round
- People are extremely friendly (southern hospitality is real)
- Feels a lot like a slightly smaller version of GR. Downtown area is evolving and lots of young(er) people are moving to the area.
- Housing prices are much more affordable
- Lots of jobs, especially in the medical and engineering fields
Cons:
- People have no idea how to handle snow (could also be a pro since everything closes)
- Long ways away from our family, which as we have kids becomes more of a con
- Closest airport is Charlotte or Raleigh which is an hour and a half drive (Greensboro's airport sucks and is super expensive)
- Quite a few Buckeye fans....and Clemson fans are becoming more annoying too
April 15th, 2019 at 10:47 AM ^
I live in Rochester, NY
Pros:
Family, lacrosse, and decent skiing close to work and home.
Cons:
Economic wasteland, brutally high taxes, crabby populace, brain drain replaced with Cadillac welfare seekers, criminal politicians, stupid gun laws, high regulation, toll roads, mass depression, Mario Cuomo, it's cloudy all the time, our only growing industry other than charitable non-profits are landfills for NYC, terrible high school football, declining population, people think i'm a New Yorker when I travel despite living closer to Detroit than NYC.
April 15th, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
Oh yeah and all my friends that contribute to society moved out of state.
April 15th, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
Ohio sucks.
Washington is awesome.
I live in Bahrain.
April 15th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Just off Clearwater Beach, FL
Pros. I live vacation. No winter. It's cold if it is below 70. Beautiful beaches and coastline. Tampa and St. Petersburg are just 45 minutes away. Tampa Bay is the best local brewery scene in Florida and is becoming one of the best in the nation. On the beach, everything is open late and year round. No one is closed on holidays. Lots of excellent local restaurant opens with fresh locally caught seafood. The days of this area being nothing but chain restaurants is over.
Cons. Traffic. A combo of more people, locals and tourists, than the infrastructure can handle and no one seems to know where they are going. On a nice weekend day, the causeways leading to the beach are gridlocked from 11am to sun set. There is not enough parking. Humidity in July through September is brutal.
April 15th, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
Manhattan, NY -
Pros: Its NYC, with everything that comes with that. With a Michigan degree and some luck, can make enough money to enjoy it. Everyone seems to come to NYC in their 20s and then bail at age 30, so if you stay becomes much more pleasant and livable. Great dating scene for single men. at all ages. Unlike SF/LA, Manhattan has become so clean and safe that people complain that it is antiseptic.
Cons: Obviously, very, very expensive. Expenses go up exponentially with family size so with two or more kids almost impossible without hitting jackpot with your career. Manhattan is too clean and safe and feels antiseptic.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
I live in Switzerland.
The flag is a big plus.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
Olympia, WA
Pros: within 2 hours, I can be in the mountains, the Pacific coast, major metropolitan areas, a rain forest, or high desert-ish steppes. The economy is doing well. No state income tax. Tons of outdoors to enjoy. Public education has been great. The weather is not as bad as advertised and UM plays here in 2020
Cons: no state income tax means property and sales taxes continue to rise to keep up with state budget demands. Increasing animosity driven by political tribalism: generally the affluent liberal elitist hypocrite tree huggers from the Bellingham-Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia I-5 corridor vs. the redneck out of touch racist hayseeds everywhere else. Significant drug and homelessness problems in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area.
I live outside of Federal Way in King County. I'll add that traffic is getting worse every day and with the population set to double in the next 20 years it's not going to be any better. I moved out here in 1985 to work for Boeing. Still love the outdoor stuff and it's nice being able to go to Tacoma or Seattle to see shows, sporting events and restaurants. The homeless thing is really getting out of hand though.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
Hermosa Beach, CA. After grad school I moved back to Michigan, Novi to be exact. I got a program manager position at a big auto tier 1. They had a layoff on my third day on the job which I survived. I survived one more before getting the axe 8 months into my job. I sent out resumes to headhunters all over the US EXCEPT Los Angeles area. I ended up taking my only opportunity at that point in the one area I didn't want to move to.
14 years later I'm still here, save for a 20 month stint in Old Town Chicago. I'm still single and live three blocks from the ocean. The weather and lifestyle are tough to beat. The traffic and cost of living are pretty rough. There are tons of Michigan alums out here which is pretty cool. Also I've really noticed an uptick the last few years of local kids going to Michigan. The U of M brand out here is as strong as I've seen it.
I do miss my family in Michigan but I get back about 4 times a year. This year already have the trips booked for ND and OSU games. Go Blue.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:58 PM ^
Central Florida 9 months of the year, northwest Montana the other 3.
Pros: Great summer weather year-round if you like outdoor activities.
Cons: Would be tough to do with a spouse / kids.
I have lived in Jacksonville, FL for 5 years now. Surprisingly I have liked it a lot more than I ever anticipated. I've lived in OH, KY, GA, SC, and now FL. I prefer Jacksonville to anywhere else I've been.
the pros: No state tax, Good weather (sometimes humid), Cost of Living & Housing (Affordable to live near the beach), traffic is not bad at all, close enough (2.5 hours) to go to Disney or Universal Studios any weekend, decent airport close, cruises go out of jacksonville often so you can find them pretty cheap.
the cons: Jacksonville is the largest land mass city in the US so it is REALLY spread out. But this is a pro to me because there are like 4 cities in one. I live at the beach and it is like it's own little world. road conditions are rough and they are ALWAYS working on them (See "no state tax" / not that Michiganders don't know the sorrows of bad roads). Just like any big city, there are certain parts of town with higher crime rates than others. Dtown is not great but Shaad Khan has been fixing it up piece by piece since he bought the jags.
Juneau, Alaska
Pro: It probably has better scenery than where you live. (I grew up in MI, so i can compare)
Con: "Free shipping to entire USA! We love our customers!" (provides information and clicks on the submit order button) Oh wait,, not Alaska.... we don't even sell stuff to people from there.
Ruidoso, NM
Pros: I am a HS teacher/coach, so I make a decent wage for our state. Housing market in my particular area is pretty high, but, you can find a fair number of houses that need updates for dirt cheap. I live in the mountains of southcentral NM, with the southernmost ski area in the US. Summer temps are in the 70's-80's for the most part. I can send my kids to college at any of our D2 colleges for less than 10k a year, or spend a little more for UNM, UTEP, or NMSU. I have El Paso, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Lubbock within 3.5 hours at the most. Our town's population is around 7k, but due to tourism (ski area, casinos, race track) we usually have between 25k-40k people in the area at one time. Fishing, hunting, hiking, skiing, you name it outside. Food aint bad here either. Texas BBQ due to tourism and Hatch green chile and Mexican places are to die for.
Cons: I live in a resort town... and we are a long ways from a Pro team or even major college teams. My brother in law recently interviewed for admission in to Med school, and in the interview he was asked how hard it was to cross the border to get to classes every day....people forget New Mexico is actually a state and not a part of Mexico. And we have A TON of drugs running through the area.
Sunnyvale, CA (on the Penninsula in the Bay Area). We are likely living here for the rest of our lives.
Pros: Tremendous Diversity fuels a broad palette of cultural and cuisine experiences while exposing people to different viewpoints, thus increasing tolerance. Climate is superb. Jobs. Schools. I have done the ski-in-the-morning-beach-in-the-evening trip. Yosemite is a wonder of the world and it’s the tip of the iceberg in terms of national and state parks and wilderness areas. Standard of living and education is quite high.
Cons: The cost of living is tremendous as well.
A2, Pros: everything
Cons: nothing
Baltimore, MD.
Pros: Much cheaper alternative to DC with a better food scene, cool rowhouse living with a rooftop deck culture, blue collar and down-to-earth, the Inner Harbor
Cons: Long commute to job in DC (though working from home three days a week makes it manageable), squeegee boys at street corners, crime, more crime, very violent crime.....did I mention crime? Someone got shot at a funeral the other day for gang revenge.
I live in burbs of chicago
pros-food, schools, Chicago (not sure if this is a pro anymore
cons-taxes, number 1 moved out of state 3 years running, politics-if you are a Democrat/liberal you are happy if not you are not, weather sucks 9 months out of the year
my my wife and I checked out suburbs of Nashville last year loved it and are saving to make the move by next year
I live in Los Angeles.
Pros: weather, food (absurdly good produce year round), friendly people, lots of jobs, can drive to beach, mountains and desert all within 2 hours.
Cons: expensive, have to be okay with lots of time in the car.
San Antonio
Pros
-Cheap housing. I mean cheap. We pay $1400 per month for a massive 2 bedroom apartment that is fully loaded and in one of the nicest areas of town. You can get a very nice home for next to nothing, though property taxes are pretty high.
-Cheap gas. I do enjoy my ~$2.20/gal. premium gas.
-Very modern highway system. Though some areas still abruptly go from 8 lanes to 2 lanes, the highway system for the most part is very well organized and modern throughout. Loops and feeder highways are complimented by access roads beside them everywhere, and getting to anywhere within the city is a breeze when its not peak rush hour.
-You can be in Houston within 3 hours, Dallas in 4, Austin in 1:30, and the beach in under 2 hours. You can also be in the desert in <2 hours. Hill Country is everywhere - though maybe not the most fun area.
-Very family friendly. This is not something thats a huge plus for me, but for a family, there is plenty to do. 3 theme parks, tons of places to see etc.
Cons
-Compared to the 3 other major Texas cities, San Antonio is by far the trashiest as a whole. Outside of a few nice areas, the town is very "ghetto" and overrun with trash on roads, rundown houses, and undesirable behavior.
-Heat+Humidity. It gets bad. Get everything you need to get done either after sunset or before 10 am. Expect to sweat a lot and expect to crank that AC for 7 months straight.
-Lack of diversity. The city is ~80% Hispanic and you will notice it right away. For some people, it works, but for me, I like diversity in where I live. It was a cool thing to experience at first, but now it has gotten a little old.
-Too spread out. Though you can get anywhere on the highways, the distance you must cover is obnoxious. It isn't Houston/Dallas bad, but is only a step below.
-Jobs/pay are not as great as the other 3 cities. Austin is a tech hub and Houston/Dallas have every kind of job you can imagine. San Antonio is not as great if you are looking for white collar work. this is a very blue collar town, and professional services jobs are fairly hard to come by that pay anything respectable.
-Education. The school districts are probably fine, but outside of Trinity university, UTSA and UIW are the only real schools in the immediate area. Both of these schools are commuter schools, so there is no real school spirit. The overall population of the city not very educated as well, and it becomes very obvious the more you interact with people.
-Airport has few direct flights, and most flights to/from SA are much more expensive than Austin. The airport is always under construction too, though nothing seems to improve.
-Public transportation is laughable at best, as you would expect in a Texas city. If you don't have a dependable car, you are going to hate it here.
-Overall attitude here is unhealthy. People have a very "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality. This mentality is everywhere, and there is a general feeling of doing the bare minimum will suffice here. People generally do not seem to have any real drive.
Also in Ann Arbor really close to the stadium. Love it. Though might prefer California.
Been in Houston last 10 years, but in 9 days I am moving to Knoxville. Been waiting for this day for about 9 years 6 months and now it’s about to happen.
Pros - if you like hot, it’s H-O-T.
Cons - crime, traffic, drunk drivers, street beggars, traffic nightmare, takes hour or more to go anywhere, ghetto city with illegals all over the place. Did I mention the heat?
For the love of a God, stay away from Houston.