Hey guys,

I have a dilemma. I have currently applied to be a Law Specialist for the Coast Guard. There are 9 possible cities I could choose to be stationed in if available.

New London, CT
Boston, MA
Washington, D.C.
Norfolk, VA
Miami, FL
New Orleans, LA
Cleveland, OH
Seattle, WA
Alameda, CA

Having not traveled much I know little about living in any of them. I have lived in New Orleans for one year. It was nice, however the city itself was very run down. I have visited San Francisco which is near Alameda and fell in love with the place even though I was only there 4 days. Please let me know any opinions you all have for the best place to live for 4 years. Thanks!

Steve

My personal choice would be Alameda, CA. You have been in the area and obviously liked it very much. The only down side is that it is pretty expensive but it is doable and well worth it.

Actually, Steve, all of these choices sound pretty cool to me with the possible exception of Norfolk. I think New Orleans, Cleveland and Miami would be the least expensive as the rest seem to be pretty high-cost. Is your salary fixed or do you get a bonus for living in a high-cost area?

It would help us to give you good advice if we had a better idea of what kind of town you are looking for. Boston, for instance, has lousy weather in the winter but has much more history than all the other towns put together.

The better idea we have of what you're looking for, the more likely we will be to tell you where to find it.

definitely Miami, best overall climate..lots of different things to do, or you can be a homebody like many. less expensive than the other places you mentioned...friendly people, lots of attorneys, UM Law school there...professional ambience when you want it, laid back when and if you want it too. it's fantastic!

If you go to Miami I hope you speak spanish. I'd choose Ca. or Seattle, Wa. if it were me.

Steer clear of Miami. Too much crime and very expensive. My personal choices would be Boston (great public transportation, culture, restaurants--wonderful city) or Seattle for all the same reasons.

Hi Steve,

I have traveled extensively in my life
and very favorite place to be is Seattle. There is much to see and do
there and is a friendly city. Please
email me for more info.

I'd narrow it down to Seattle, Alameda, and DC. I've lived in the DC area now for 25 years. It's been wonderful. I also have visited both Seattle and San Francisco and can easily see living there.

I agree totally with Diane above and I live in DC, also. These are the best choices for climate and culture IMO. If you are getting military housing so that is not a consideration in your costs, I would then choose Alameda probably as San Francisco is so expensive, it would be more difficult to ever live there well any other way. If you are paying local housing costs, it's probably a tossup. I don't like real hot and humid or very cold weather, though -- I'm from the Cleveland area and it's too cold and snowy there for me. SF and DC are a lot more fun, anyway. Forget Norfolk.