TJ

I loved the thread about moving to a new town and not liking it. How about really loving the move you made?

Anon

Sorry, can't do that.
Exposing my town as the next great place to live would only draw attention to it and hasten its decline from the ranks of best kept secrets in America.

xxx3

I reluctantly moved to Milton, Mass. Wanted to live in Boston proper but needed a good suburban school system.

Eventually, I decided that we have the best of both worlds here -- access to the Red Line subway into Boston at one end of town and skiing in the Blue Hills (as well as easy access to major highways) at the other end! It's a leafy, lovely town with no big-box stores and no strip malls.

gina

People say that Milwaukee is the hardest city to get people to transfer to - and the hardest place to get them back out of!

It's a manageable, driveable city with great restaurants, uncrowded parks over Lake Michigan, a summer full of music and food at festivals, a highly-endowed art scene, a symphony, the Milwaukee Rep Theatre, a brand new baseball stadium and nice, nice people. It's eccentricities (fish fries every Friday, funny accents and the tendency to polka at every wedding) add to its charm.

The mayor is taking his cue from Mayor Daley in Chicago to renovate downtown Milwaukee into a pleasant place to be with lots of new development along the River Walk, etc.

And within a several hour drive you can get to beautiful camping/parks, Door County or Wisconsin Dells (those who have kids ONLY!), or Chicago if you miss the big city.

I live in Chicago now, but when my crazy-busy-career life gets old, I'll head north.

MH

Bann, Germany...can't imagine living anywhere else...don't know if I will ever move back to the states.

Cheryl

xxx3: How is the skiing in the Blue Hills? How long a drive from Milton?

xxx3

Cheryl, I was being quite literal when I said we had skiing AT the other end of town. No drive *from* Milton at all!

The Blue Hills are not huge, but they do have excellent snow-making apparatus and special snowboarding areas, and lot of lessons for kids, including afterschool. So you can add skiing lessons to that big list of afterschool activities, right up with music and sports. Or go at night; it's well-lit.

http://www.newenglandskiresorts.com/overview.cfm/ma04.htm

Milton's sports teams are mostly not much, but the music and language programs are excellent, including French and Spanish immersion programs that start in first grade.

bennie

xxx3 is right. Milton is one of the nicest towns in the Boston area. If I didn't work on the North Shore I'd be living there now.

The Blue Hills is a MDC reservation primarily in Milton but also in Quincy, Randolph and Canton and there is one large hill there for skiing. Great place for kids to learn to ski but not a challenge for anyone above beginner.

North of Boston, I live in a great small town, terrific school, active churches, home to writers and artists. But don't ask me where because there's been too much growth as it is. I'm not letting the cat out of the bag either.

Ted

New York City. Manhattan. Greatest place on Earth.

xxx3

Thanks for the compliment, bennie.

I don't have to worry about further development in Milton -- thanks to all the parks and reservations, it was nearly "built out" decades ago. Anyway, I'll be selling my house in a couple of years after the kids graduate, so higher demand is OK with me!

And, Ted, Manhattan's where I'll be heading when I leave Milton. GMTA, I guess.

Joanne

I like Milton, too. It's so amazing that a town that literally borders the city of Boston could still have that old New England feeling, with white steepled churches on the common, active community theater group, spirited local political contests, etc.

xx

ttt

Surely there must be some great surprises out there besides Milton, Milwaukee, and Manhattan.

Tal

Tallahasse Florida. Southern charm, style but with Florida climate. More trees than any city in the USA. Educated people with three major colleges and the State Capital.

As far away in mood from Miami that you can get!

suzanne

Moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn was the best move I've ever made. I went from a shoebox-size apartment to one that rivals Monica's on "Friends". My street is cobblestone, I'm just 3 blocks to the waterfront, and since both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge end in my 'hood, I can easily walk across them into downtown Manhattan. And my commute had been cut in half by the move. My new 'hood has very few residents and is almost completely devoid of tourists...it's NICE to have some peace and quiet when I get home from work, for a change. <sigh> I only wish I could afford to buy a place here.

Laura

Gainesville Florida
I cannot possibly imagine a city with more trees, a couple of years ago it was voted the best place to live in America.

There is a lot to do with the University here and low crime... I'll never leave!

E.

Sierra Vista, AZ.

I moved reluctantly, and the appproach to town along HWY 90 was enough to make me lose heart altogether. But did I ever fall in love, with the climate, the mountains, the wildlife. I would return in a heartbeat.

NoGators

Am I missing something or is there not a good reason people refer to Gainesville as "the swamp"?

Laura

Gainesville is by no means a swamp.

That is the nickname of our football stadium
GATORS play in the SWAMP... getit

sisster

LONGVIEW TEXAS

Carol

Six yrs. ago we had the good fortune to move to the Charleston, SC area. Actually live in Isle of Palms and it's just glorious. Now, I've served my time in other places so I do have real comparisons (Buffalo; Florence, SC; Indy; Newark, NJ). Soooo, I have a TRUE appreciation for my current lot in life...