Do you like where you live?

[AMOCO]

Well I didn't give you all any insight where I am from.Here we go,
I am from the big city of Houston,TX.My girlfriend and I hitchhiked from Houston to Inglewood,Calif.We lived there for 6 months with my girlfriends sister.So they got into an argument one day and we took a map out and closed my eyes and just put my finger on the map and my finger was on Colorado.
We came to Colorado and the first stop was Beautiful Glenwood Springs,CO.in the middle of the Mountains.Stayed there for a few years,Working in Aspen,CO.(Great money there).
Moved to Denver,CO. for a few years then to Colorado Springs,CO.
And this is where we settled,We had lived here for 5 years.Then I for out my Mother had terminal Cancer,So we moved back to Houston,TX. so I could spend time with my Mother before she passed.
Well we were stuck there for an another 7 years after my Mother passed.
Also while in Houston,TX. Hurricane Ike hit,Was no fun with no power or cable for 3 weeks,Never again.
So when we got the funds to get the heck out of Houston,Tx. and back to Colorado Springs,CO.
And been back for 2 years now,I am truly home now.

 

[GreenTea]

If I had voted eight years ago, I'd have joined you!

Tell us why you're unhappy where you live--and why you stay.

I have an almost-paralyzing fear of storms and I live in one of the most tornado-prone areas of the country (it's one of the dark colored, >15 places on the map below).

I've never been in a tornado, thank god, but they do strike with great regularity in my area (I know people within a 15 mile radius whose houses have been hit several times in as many years). A few years before I moved here, I lived in one of the lighter-colored areas on the map, and I actually was close enough to a tornado to hear it--it destroyed houses in a neighborhood about 1/2 a mile from where I was living at the time. It scared the bejeezus out of me.

I stay because we moved here for my husband's job, and although he is looking for jobs in other areas (he has the itch to relocate every 3 - 5 years) he hasn't found one yet. He actually wants to go overseas (Germany or S. Korea) and while I'm not dying to move that far away, almost anywhere would be better than here!

You live in California and you cannot begin to understand the depth of my envy. I've only been there twice in my life--most recently in early January of this year, when I spent 3 - 4 days in the LA area--and I'd give almost anything to live there! Aside from the LA area, I'd love to live in the desert. There's just something about it; I'm guessing it's the lack of tornadoes.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I have an almost-paralyzing fear of storms and I live in one of the most tornado-prone areas of the country (it's one of the dark colored, >15 places on the map below).

I've never been in a tornado, thank god, but they do strike with great regularity in my area (I know people within a 15 mile radius whose houses have been hit several times in as many years). A few years before I moved here, I lived in one of the lighter-colored areas on the map, and I actually was close enough to a tornado to hear it--it destroyed houses in a neighborhood about 1/2 a mile from where I was living at the time. It scared the bejeezus out of me.

Believe me, I understand. The first time a tornado hit the Dallas area after we moved there I was just terrified. And the thing is, my fear/hatred of tornadoes never subsided. I think because they're so totally random. When I was a teenager living in Florida [my first non-California living experience] and a hurricane came through, it was exciting! Well, in all fairness, we were far enough away from it that we didn't get hit in hugely destructive ways, as people closer to it did. Besides, even if we had...we were renting then...it wouldn't have been our responsibility. But it was exciting--the dark skies, the crazy whirling wind, branches flying through the air, rain...lots of rain... But with hurricanes, you know for DAYS ahead of time that they're on their way. You know their [almost] exact trajectory. You have time to either batten down the hatches or get the hell out. Tornadoes? No such luxury. Sure, you see the sky turn black--preceded by that strange quietness/stillness--and then you see the rain coming down horizontally [because of the wind], and the TV stations break in with "severe thunderstorm warnings" which then escalate to "tornado watch" and, finally, "tornado warning." But they're so RANDOM. They can hop and skip over a neighborhood, destroying three or four houses in a row, then skipping a few, then flattening a few more, then jumping across the street and doing the same, and then turn BACK and do it all over again. Hurricanes are so predictable compared to that.

We were very lucky to never be hit by a tornado in Dallas. The closest one that ever hit was ~1 mile from our house, where it flattened parts of a neighborhood. I hope to never, ever see that kind of weather again.

Oh, before someone points it out: YES, I know that earthquakes are random, too! But, unlike tornadoes, they're not a constant, predictable, dreaded part of life. And here in California we have the best, strictest building codes in the country. Look at the SF quake just a few days ago--zero casualties. A magnitude 6+ quake like that in NY or the midwest would flatten cities and cause tons of deaths.

I stay because we moved here for my husband's job

Been there, done that. First it was my husband's job, then mine. Just too good to walk away from. *shrug*

and although he is looking for jobs in other areas (he has the itch to relocate every 3 - 5 years) he hasn't found one yet. He actually wants to go overseas (Germany or S. Korea) and while I'm not dying to move that far away, almost anywhere would be better than here!

Yeah, I think moving overseas would be fun FOR A LIMITED TIME.

You live in California and you cannot begin to understand the depth of my envy.

No, actually I can! You know what was the absolute worst day for me every year I lived in Dallas? New Year's. I'd start watching the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, with the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains in the background, and the blue sky, and the tourists in shorts and flip-flops [having left the frozen tundra of wherever they lived], and listen to the announcers drone on and on about "another PERFECT day here in Southern California!" I'd change the channel after a bit because I couldn't stand looking at where I used to be...and then look out the window to the frozen fountain on my patio, ice/snow on the ground, and a balmy 20-something temperature outside. The street I grew up on in Pasadena was three blocks south of Colorado Blvd, so on New Year's morning we'd get up early, walk three blocks, and watch the parade.

I've only been there twice in my life--most recently in early January of this year, when I spent 3 - 4 days in the LA area--and I'd give almost anything to live there!

You were here during our warmest year since records have been kept. From January-July this year, it's gone in the books as the warmest ever. We went to Disneyland in December and it was TOO HOT for my liking.

Aside from the LA area, I'd love to live in the desert. There's just something about it; I'm guessing it's the lack of tornadoes.

I love Palm Springs and its surrounding cities. My mom particularly liked Desert Hot Springs because it was away from the hustle and bustle of Palm Springs and gave more of an authentic desert experience. You know you can buy houses out in some of the desert areas for a song [compared to other areas in SoCal!].

 

[JohnDoeIII504]

I seriously dislike where I live. I'm from the GNO (Greater New Orleans area) but currently living in Central Louisiana in order to take care of my grandparents. They live in a small town called Jena, LA, that made the national news a few years back because of the a**holes called the Jena 6. I have many reasons for not liking it here, but here are the main ones:

01. All of these people around here are to put it mildly, rednecks.
02. Everyone in town listens to country music (including my grandparents)...I don't, I always have been and always will be a "metalhead".
03. In order to get anything stronger than a beer, I have to make the 15 mile drive out of town to get booze.
04. They have a total of 0 bars in town....but they do have 100 + churches.
05. The church thing would be fine.........except I am an Atheist.

Now the area where I'm from still holds a special place in my heart, but ever since 08/29/2005, the area hasn't felt like home. If you are wondering, that is the day Hurricane Katrina hit. It first made landfall just a few feet from my house in Empire, LA.

After Katrina, I moved to the north end of Plaquemines Parish, where I'm from (I'm from the southern end of the parish), in Belle Chasse, which I loved 90% of the time, but hated 10% of the time. Traffic was always a pain in the butt in Belle Chasse, b/c the main route out the parish involves a bridge and tunnel that is always broken (a bridge for north bound traffic and the tunnel is for south bound traffic). The bridge was always getting stuck in the up position (they didn't build it high enough for larger boats to pass under) and a tunnel that is always leaking. But once I got use to being that close to everything and only 10 minutes to New Orleans, I decided I was never moving back to the southern end of the parish.

I did get the brilliant idea in 08 to move to Chicago. That lasted all of 3 months in the dead of winter. I enjoyed it while I was there, but it was too cold for my liking and I got to miss home.

Once the opportunity arises, I want to move somewhere in Colorado. I am thinking the Denver area, but seeing as how I've never been there before, that could change.

Later on, I would like to get an RV and spend some time traveling.

I know, I will always end up back in my home state of Louisiana, b/c that will always be home to me. Yes, I know we have our own problems here, but it's home. In Louisiana, we don't have 4 seasons we have 2, Hot and cool/mildly cold (even though this past winter it did snow 3 times, which is unheard of where I live). The mosquitoes are horrible 24/7/365. We have hurricanes. But the people and most importantly the food totally make up for all of this states downfalls. I love the fact that I can go jump on my Pops' Boat and go catch all the shrimp I want, basically whenever I want. Or I can grab my crawfish nets and go crawfishing whenever I feel like it.

When I was a teenager, my family did live in Ocean Springs, MS for 5 years. I didn't love it there, but I didn't hate it there either. I still have friends there that I do keep in touch with.

 

[jhawkkw]

I've lived through ALL of that, and I plan to stick with earthquakes from here on out! At least while we're rockin' and rollin' we get to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, scenery, and temperature.

PS My best friend's mother lives in Rochester. Oh, the stories I've heard about winter there...

The great thing is that even getting a foot of snow over the course of a day doesn't paralyze the city like most other locations outside of the belt. The plows can keep up with snow at a rate of 1" per hour no problem. At 1.5" per hour, they can do a good job but eventually will fall behind if it lasts long enough. Unfortunately with the lake effect snow, if the winds stay constant out of the north Ontario will continue to dump snow and if out of the west Erie will dump snow. It has been known that the winds can stay like that for days. Buffalo a few years back got 80+ inches over the course of 5 days near Christmas time.

 

[MoodyBlues]

The great thing is that even getting a foot of snow over the course of a day doesn't paralyze the city like most other locations outside of the belt.

Absolutely. Remember not long ago how the Atlanta area was absolutely paralyzed--for DAYS--because of a little snow?

The plows can keep up with snow at a rate of 1" per hour no problem. At 1.5" per hour, they can do a good job but eventually will fall behind if it lasts long enough. Unfortunately with the lake effect snow, if the winds stay constant out of the north Ontario will continue to dump snow and if out of the west Erie will dump snow. It has been known that the winds can stay like that for days.

Don't ask why, but one year...in JANUARY...my husband and I went to Chicago. We learned a lot about lake effect snow AND really, really cold temperatures very quickly. *brrrrrr*

Buffalo a few years back got 80+ inches over the course of 5 days near Christmas time.

When I think of Buffalo I think blizzards! Tons of snow.

 

[jefboyardee]

Well, you know it's just a short drive west from Arizona.

Not the way I did it, had to spend eight years around Seattle first. I'd never even been to Arizona until '95. moved there a year later.

I remember, with disdain, the horrible smog of my youth...a brownish-gray veil hanging in the air.

When I was doing that Silverlake job, I had to drive down the hill from Montrose. Every morning, as I entered that sea of smog, I'd mutter, "why the hell am I doing this."

Anyway, you can dig SoCal all you want but I had too much of it in just six-ish years. But if I do move to Bullhead, Death Valley Calif will just be a few miles away.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Not the way I did it, had to spend eight years around Seattle first. I'd never even been to Arizona until '95. moved there a year later.

Did you ever see the sun while in Seattle?

When I was doing that Silverlake job, I had to drive down the hill from Montrose. Every morning, as I entered that sea of smog, I'd mutter, "why the hell am I doing this."

When I was a kid and we'd go to Palm Springs for a few days, the one thing that always struck me was the WALL of smog we could see on our way back. We'd be heading west, and gradually it would come into view, this brownish/grayish wall. Welcome home!

I'm extremely pleased to say that is a distant memory now. Last year I drove out to Palm Springs to hook up with my daughter who was on faculty at an event there, and on the way home I remember thinking, wow, this is REALLY different from way back when.

Anyway, you can dig SoCal all you want but I had too much of it in just six-ish years. But if I do move to Bullhead, Death Valley Calif will just be a few miles away.

And just think, the no-longer-mysteriously-moving rocks will be right there.

 

[jefboyardee]

Did you ever see the sun while in Seattle?

Actually, years of SoCal lured me to someplace wet, and I sure found it. Close as I could tell, September is the most reliably sunny month, and it sure is a pretty state on a sunny day. Other months, it basically drizzles almost 24/7. I wound up northeast of Seattle, the wettest part of the state. That did get annoying and that did lure me to Arizona.

the no-longer-mysteriously-moving rocks

Great. Another reason not to go to California.;

 

[MoodyBlues]

Actually, years of SoCal lured me to someplace wet, and I sure found it. Close as I could tell, September is the most reliably sunny month, and it sure is a pretty state on a sunny day. Other months, it basically drizzles almost 24/7. I wound up northeast of Seattle, the wettest part of the state. That did get annoying and that did lure me to Arizona.

I just can't imagine living in that. I'd get seriously depressed if I did.

Great. Another reason not to go to California.;

 

[Muckle Dabuckle]

Every year in Dallas as fall wound down--and all the trees started losing their leaves, flowers died, lawns turned brown--I'd plunge into a deep sadness knowing that winter, with its ice and snow and below freezing temperatures, was coming. I'd exist...just exist...until spring, then I'd start feeling halfway alive again. And THEN the reality of summer in Dallas hit! 100+ degree temperatures along with 95+% humidity...bazillions of mosquitoes...miserable...miserable... :dontknow:

That is how a lot of people feel (even native Minnesotans), but I have an opposite reaction where I feel down if it is sunny too many days in a row. I love nothing more than a nice rainy day (or snowy day if I don't have to drive in it). Maybe genetics plays a role? (it's in my blood) I'm half Swedish, half English. Those countries aren't exactly known for their beautiful sunny and warm weather. On the plus side the winter/fall kills all of the nasty spiders on the side of our house!

Now, back home where I belong, I can see the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in winter, and if I should ever have the urge to be in that white stuff again, I can CHOOSE to drive up there. Then get the hell back down to normal when I'm done enjoying it.

That works too!

I know the pain of winter better than most. Living in the snow belt of Western NY will do that to you. The extremely high property taxes of NYS don't relieve the brutal winters either. But then I think to myself, I don't have to worry about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, or Earthquakes. Snow seems pretty easy by comparison.

Lake effect snow beats most snow in Minnesota, but the North Shore of Lake Superior, from Duluth on north, gets a lot of lake effect snow as well. Minnesota is weird because the Twin Cities are in one of the most active tornado zones in the country so summer can be scarey at times. No rest from the weather here.

 

[jefboyardee]

I just can't imagine living in that. I'd get seriously depressed if I did.

The wet side does have a foreboding gloom to it, with a grey ceiling over your head all the time. Even when I go back there on occasion, there's something surreal about it.

It rains here in Arizona too, mostly in the monsoon season, July to September. But given how dry June is, monsoons are not depressing at all, even though they can dump several inches in one hour.

New River, an otherwise dry wash north of Phoenix, was known as No River until last month, when it got five inches in under an hour. Then everyone knew how New River got its name.

 

[MoodyBlues]

That is how a lot of people feel (even native Minnesotans), but I have an opposite reaction where I feel down if it is sunny too many days in a row. I love nothing more than a nice rainy day

BEFORE I moved to other states, I loved rainy days. But looking back on it, it kind of makes sense. They were unusual. (Although not nearly as unusual as they are now--I actually took video of a very brief downpour last year because I wanted to prove it had actually happened!) So they seemed like fun. And there was something almost magical after a rain, especially in the summer, where everything seemed bluer and greener and crisper afterward.

Until I moved to Dallas I still liked rain. When we were in Florida, in the spring, one of our favorite things to do was go out for a stroll during the almost-daily showers. But in Tornado Alley (Dallas), rain became this miserable nuisance. Here's a shot showing my patio after a few MINUTES of rain:

There were long stretches of time in the spring and summer when our backyard NEVER dried out--and you know what happens when you have two Great Danes who have to go outside to potty? Right, they're MUDDY when they come in! And when they're practically knocking each other down to get back inside, it's REALLY hard to get all the mud off before it goes all over the place.

(or snowy day if I don't have to drive in it).

I understand that. It *IS* pretty. But what I hated was the cold temperatures that went with it. I'd watch as my fountain changed from this:

to this:

 

[trophynuts]

I enjoy where I live very much. Could I survive if I had to move somewhere else? Probably. I travel a lot for work both out of the country and inside the US. I always enjoy coming home so much to my hometown. When I see friends talking bad about the town and how they want to leave I have to wonder if they have ever been out of the town period. We do have Tornados in my area but the winter's are usually extremely mild or non existent and it does get hot in the summer. Even with those two items I still enjoy it.

 

[sntaylor]

As the first to comment outside the state's..... I love where I stay, I've moved houses a few times when younger, but the biggest of those moves was 70 miles, Edinburgh to Ayrshire, and it is a big change! From seaside house in the city, to a house on it's own on the top of a small hill. Now that I've moved in with my partner and our son,I can't picture moving anywhere else, only problem is the size of house, otherwise it's perfect, no risk of flooding, big garden with runway at the side of the house, neighbours one side, ex school yard the other, field behind and road/field in front. Road isn't too busy, and it's only a mile walk into the centre of town where there is a train station. Got hills behind the and we are only 40 miles from Glasgow. It's just a perfect wee house.

Scotland's weather isn't holiday resort sunny, but isn't anything bad either. We can have 4 seasons in one hour, let alone the different weather we can have in one day! And that is all year round. Often enough we get it dry, just over cast and occasional showers, in winter we might get snow, rain or sun albeit still cool. Hell there is Neff bet any guarantee of what weather we will get at any time of the year but that's part of the reason I love it so much.

You can sun bathe, ski, surf, climb, hunt pretty much any activity you could imagine, maybe not on the same scale as other places but really I can't imagine living in any other country, except possibly new Zealand, but even then I really do love Scotland too much

 

[Muckle Dabuckle]

I understand that. It *IS* pretty. But what I hated was the cold temperatures that went with it.

That definintely makes it much more difficult to deal with and what makes huge snowfalls often times deadly. People will get their cars stuck in the snow and try to walk for help and die in the cold. When reporting on the weather here they will often tell us how warm it would've been without the 3-4 feet of snowpack cooling the atmosphere. "It would've been 35 degrees today, but with the snowpack it will be 10 degrees and feel like minus 20 with the windchill."

I'd watch as my fountain changed from this:

That's a cool looking homemade fountain!

 

[MoodyBlues]

That definintely makes it much more difficult to deal with and what makes huge snowfalls often times deadly. People will get their cars stuck in the snow and try to walk for help and die in the cold. When reporting on the weather here they will often tell us how warm it would've been without the 3-4 feet of snowpack cooling the atmosphere. "It would've been 35 degrees today, but with the snowpack it will be 10 degrees and feel like minus 20 with the windchill."

I'm just not cut out for cold weather. And after being back home for eight years...well, I have to admit--and I HATE to admit!--that I'm turning back into a Southern California weather wimp! When I first came back I'd laugh and point and giggle and roll my eyes at [fellow] natives bitching when the temps dropped into the frigid...SIXTIES. And then something happened...and I now find myself thinking "oh, I'm cold!" when the temps drop into...the frigid...SIXTIES!! Seriously, I was planning on buying a patio heater this past winter but ended up not needing it.

That's a cool looking homemade fountain!

Thanks. I wanted something big/deep enough to stand up to sub-freezing temperatures, and that could double as a birdbath and fountain. I decided to make my own rather than settle for something else. I put it right outside the French doors leading from my living room to the patio. You could hear the running water from inside, which was nice, but mainly its placement there was for Joy Noelle's entertainment--she'd stalk the birds and squirrels who came to partake of the water:

Note the ceramic tile and the mud towel. When my house flooded [one of the toilets overflowed, and I couldn't turn the shut-off valve fast enough], instead of putting carpet back down in the entire living room, I had ceramic tile put in over in the patio door area. And I had a big bin of clean towels over there, too. Damn, I miss my 'kids' (Freddie Mercury and his sister, Queen--Great Danes. )

 

[bjacks12]

I moved to Las Vegas for work this year. Like the job, kind of meh on the location. I may try and move back to Utah in a few years.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I moved to Las Vegas for work this year. Like the job, kind of meh on the location. I may try and move back to Utah in a few years.

What do or don't you like about Las Vegas, bjacks? And if you moved back to Utah, what would pull you there?

 

[jefboyardee]

Nothing like a Mormon casino...

 

[LilacBleeds]

I love the UK just don't really like the town I live in but it's the cost of living that is keeping in the town I live in...... same with my partner he thinks the same as me......

 

[bjacks12]

What do or don't you like about Las Vegas, bjacks? And if you moved back to Utah, what would pull you there?

I don't know. The town just has kind of a dirty feel to it. I'm a small town person at heart. Being Mormon, the main attractions of the city are irrelevant to me as well. I don't drink or gamble.

Utah is home to me. I was born there, I grew up there, and I love it. I honestly thought I would never move out of the state, but work brought me to Vegas.

 

[jefboyardee]

The town just has kind of a dirty feel to it.

Being that Las Vegas was born as a chapel of hedonism, your claim is treading pretty lightly. Same thing for Laughlin, on a smaller scale... which happens to be where I'm headed tomorrow to contemplate moving.

...I feel kind of dirty.

 

[Revenant Ghost]

I don't know. The town just has kind of a dirty feel to it. I'm a small town person at heart. Being Mormon, the main attractions of the city are irrelevant to me as well. I don't drink or gamble.

Utah is home to me. I was born there, I grew up there, and I love it. I honestly thought I would never move out of the state, but work brought me to Vegas.

Well, you know Vegas is nicknamed Sin City for a reason...

 

[MoodyBlues]

I don't know. The town just has kind of a dirty feel to it.

Dirty as in dirt or dirty as in questionable activities? I've actually never been to Las Vegas (well, not the one in Nevada--I've been to the one in New Mexico!), so all I know about it is based on things I've seen on TV or publications. The Strip looks almost Disney-esque, as if in a very deliberate attempt to create a fantasy world impression. But what hides behind that fake veneer?!

I'm a small town person at heart. Being Mormon, the main attractions of the city are irrelevant to me as well. I don't drink or gamble.

I don't drink either [not for religious or moral reasons, just personal choice], and had never gambled [other than playing the lottery] until moving back home and going with my mom to her favorite place...casinos! But, yeah, I can see how living in a city whose very existence is synonymous with gambling and drinking wouldn't be a very good fit.

Utah is home to me. I was born there, I grew up there, and I love it. I honestly thought I would never move out of the state, but work brought me to Vegas.

Utah looks beautiful, from what I've seen. Some of those rock formations...wow, I'd love to see them in person.