Peter

Ang -

Carrie is the one who whined specificially about no Target Greatland being close by. And I've been to that Jewel/Osco on Ashland - how you could possibly call it limited is beyond me.

marilyn

Some people just shouldn't try to live in a city. The whole point of living in a city neighborhood is to be able to walk to lots of things. If you want to drive everywhere and park in a big free parking lot, then you need to live in the suburbs, or in a city like Atlanta that is more like a lot of suburban sprawl in search of itself.

I do agree the weather in Chicago leaves a lot to be desired. This winter has been exceptionally mild, Carrie--it might have been sunnier if it had been colder, since sun in Chicago during the winter usually correlates with single-digit temperatures.

Bob

I moved to New Orleans and it's lousy. Culture here consists of eating and drinking. People aren't generally too educated. It's hot all the time (of course, I knew that). Seems like all the men have names here that end in "y". The town is dirty and poor and there is a real underlying tension between so many groups. The crime is so high that there are times that I feel afraid to be out after dark.
Before you proud Orleanians come back hard at me, ask yourself whether or not this is true.

T

TTT

Bob

The "Common Wealth of Pennsylvania" cause Stephanie lives there.. .

merton

I grew up in Manassas, Va from 1970-1986, and I never liked it much, and neither did anybody else from what I ever saw, adults or classmates. Literally everybody was sort kind of social climber whose lusts and ambitions were definitely out there, which made it almost a requirement that you had to consider anybody else who lived in Manassas a loser. What a miserable place. I have gone back once since the day I left and the place gave me the creeps.

I live in NH now, and it's better than Manassas, but I admit it's kind of boring. There actually are a lot of educated and interesting people around but they are not exactly social and about town much in the evenings, or they go to Boston for amusement. I go to Boston once a week myself, otherwise I would go insane. I would move there but a)I'm married and my wife doesn't want to move anyway, and b)we couldn't afford to live anywhere that would be acceptable to her anyway.

Kat

Carrie:

If you want to be near stores then you should move to the burbs. I work with the group of people that love living in the city. I can't stand it so I live in the burbs. If I had to live there I would, but I would ned a better job!! I do visit often... the Cubs start this week and I will be there next Saturday! Chicago is a great place that doesn't have 6 month long winters. We haven't really even had snow this year. The reason that I moved to Chicago from California was to have 4 seasons. If you can't seem to figure out what those seasons are.... then maybe you should move somewhere else. Even today, 56 degrees, a little windy... but the sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. If you need a super Kmart then you better find one and shop fast because most are going out of business. If you want to have a grocery and drug store combined then you should start heading South. Otherwise, please leave this great state ASAP!!! We only like friendly fun, outgoing people that don't whine!!!
Thanks!

Randy

Union Springs AL....you can really tell this town had it's hey day back in the 1800's.....eerie and creepy now....Mom would vote for Cedar Key,FL.Made the mistake of going there in the winter-talk about nothing going on....a small town on the Gulf with no beach,resturants or shopping!

****

Berkeley, CA. What the hell is going on there? You can't walk down a street without smelling pot. Heroine addicts lived under the outside stairs of my apt. building, but the police didn't do anything because they had a right to shelter. Homeless people EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHERE, and increasingly younger. Suicides at the high school once a month. For all their liberal propaganda, people are very narrow-minded, anti-anything not leftist. Scary.

mack

Larry, WEREN'T THE STRIP MALLS THERE BEFORE YOU MOVED TO MANASSAS?

Laurie

Reply to London:

I lived as a student in London for 5 months about two years ago. I absolutely loved it, and didn't want to leave. I met and made several British friends, who quickly assimilated me into their social groups.

I also had help b/c my roommate knew people who she introduced me to. If I had the opportunity to move there, I would jump at it. Obviously, you must research what is right for you careerwise, and such.

There is so much to do, and as someone else posted, you can travel anywhere on a long weekend for a reasonable price and without too much hassle.

My only issue with living in London is the prices. Our rent for a 1 bedroom flat near the Fulham Broadway tube station was $1600 US per month, which I think is outrageous.

If you can financially handle living in London, I highly recommend it.

Good luck!

ATLhater

Atlanta. No place to live, if you've ever lived well in any major city in the US. To be fair, the ATL has only been a real city for 20-25 years. It is now in its adolenscense and absolutely miserable.

Lived in the close in suburbs of Boston. No better place in the US. The western burbs of Chicago, DuPage County was a real drag. They still held book burnings. Tons of transients. you know, relocated executives who are just stopping by to fulfill an assignment.

Twin Cities..nice liveable area. The flava is there you just have to search for it. Nothing wrong with that place. Just expand your horizons.

Charlotte, what's the big deal? Grew up around there. Couldn't pay me to live there. Apparently their basketball team feels the same way.

Tina

I live in the Old Town area of Chicago and love it. Great restaurants, people and culture. I empathize with Carrie because winter may get depressing for somebody that is not familiar with the midwest.
I moved to Orlando for a year due to work and HATED it. It was the most artificial and bland looking place on Earth. Orlando was full of transients, horrible chain restaurants and ugly neon signs with strip malls everywhere.
By the way, after I moved back to Chicago, my Orlando pal was carjacked in a great suburb of Orlando (near Tiger Wood's home). Yes, it can happen anywhere. I also felt much more uncomfortable to jog in Orlando than Chicago or NY because punks would constantly beep their horns and leer at me out the window.
Orlando had nothing to offer except great golf courses and I hate Golf.

whitey-latina

Larry, to answer your initial question: though I've lived in places I'd never choose to live again, I found that overall, it's all in the attitude. I loved and hated my small-town experiences, and I've loved and hated my metropolitan experiences. There are good aspects and bad in every place. If you choose to focus on the bad, then the whole place will suck. You might as well enjoy it. Even Enid, OK is better than Karachi.
As for nothing but strip malls. That's just an unfortunate staple of the American landscape. That's when you escape to a nearby park or join a commission to revive your downtown.

I personally love living in the Arlington, VA area.

Gosh, Roger. If you hate your community that much, you can move, you know. This is a free country, with a free market. That's why immigrants come here. That's why my husband has sworn to uphold and defend the constitution with his life, if necessary.
I, personally, thrill at the symphony of languages I hear everyday on my bus-ride to the Pentagon. I do own a car, but don't see the need in adding 30 min of my own smog to a 5 mile ride, each day. (Uh-oh. I may be an "L"word)

John

Responding to Jenna's "complaint" that Lebanon is too white, what a weird thing to complain about. This is a "problem?" Please. As someone who has lived in cities with the "diversity" and multicultural insanity,(high crime, horrible public schools, constant racial friction, etc.) I along with many others do not complain at all about the racial makeup of Lebanon. Are you kidding? By the way, would the comment be made about somewhere being "too black?" I could show you something in South Central L.A.

kristen

Americans: Do NOT take this personally!!
10 years ago I emigrated from England to Miami Beach in search of nicer weather and a more relaxed way of life.
Not what I find at all. People I encountered were nasty, backstabbing and very self-oriented. Soooo disappointing as I had been so many times on vacation there and loved it!
Left after two tears. Now live in Vancouver, Canada. Hardly the warmer weather I had originally been looking for but the people are way nicer to live among!
Proud Canadian (but still fond of the USA)!

merton

To the last poster. I doubt most people would take it personally that you didn't like Miami Beach, seeing as most Americans probably wouldn't want to live there either. The tone of your post indicated that your experience in Miami turned you off to the whole country, though, which is frustrating (and seems to happen a lot) because the personality of most of the US is considerably different from that of Miami. Similarly, people you meet abroad will often have a thoroughly negative opinion of "your country" based on a visit to Los Angeles or Las Vegas, which to people who live in New England, for example, besides being very far away, are not places most people there really identify with very strongly as "theirs" the way they would consider Boston, New York or even to a certain extent Montreal, which is not even a proper "American" city.

And I know many Americans make even wilder generalizations about foreign countries based on visiting one area or seeing something on television, but that was not the point of this particular post.

RT

Manassass? Larry, move in to Arlington. We are friendly here. Every Friday night we have neighborhood happy hour, people have babysitting co-ops, we borrow each other's tools and actually return them and it's not as "urban" as you might think. Plus, NO STRIP MALLS! try us, you'll like us.

G

Arlington is not nearly as expensive as Fairfax or Loudon County, and for the record, we like to use the word "diverse" for our wonderful, cultural population, so as not to come across as bigots, right-wing hillbillies, racists or our others of our pal Roger's ilk. Arlington is the most highly-educated, highest earning county per capita in the state of Virginia. Let's see...looks like some might be rising above that witty, charming and finely-crafted label "Chihuahua-North." Shine on, Arlington.

Atlanta

Having grown up in Atlanta but lived in Chicago for the past 5 years, I can't resist adding a few insights to the debate...

Unexpected they're not, but Chicago winters can still be painful. What is unexpected is for it to still sometimes feel like winter in May! I get over it, of course, but for me a 40 degree day in May is much harder to take than a negative 10 degree day in January. But then are are days like this past Sunday (sunny and in the 70s!) that just make you feel good to be alive...

On the flip side, Atlanta summers are simply UNBEARABLE!!! Maybe it's just that some people deal better with cold than heat (and vice versa), but triple-digit heat indexes that regularly extend for weeks? Now I'd say something can't be right with that!

As for culture and activities, it all depends what you're looking for. In my opinion, downtown Chicago wins out over Atlanta by a landslide. But the two cities are almost too different to compare. Atlanta is more a cluster of suburbs, whereas Chicago is a big city. The atmosphere is entirely different. I'll take the museums, theatre, art galleries, unique shops, fabulous restaurants and hustle & bustle, of Chicago any day, but that's just me.

One final note (and I may make a few enemies here). For those who didn't grow up in the midwest, the vast flatness of the landscape can really get old after a while. The skyscrapers and lake give the city it's landscape, so you don't notice it so much there. But in the suburbs it's impossible to miss - in some newly developed areas you can see EVERY last house in a neighborhood from the street just outside! Ugh! Also (and I'm really going to make a few enemies here), Chicago's suburbs are for the most part lackluster, depressing and overpriced. Maybe it's because the city is so lively that the burbs are so sleepy? I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm determined to move elsewhere (San Diego is awfully nice!) when it's time to raise a family.