Do you love it where you live?

[Mickey's Picks]

I am in the process of forming a new development company which will essentially be building a residential community (not just a sub-division). I personally have moved many times in my youth and have followed a similar pattern during my professional career. As such I have never really ever formed strong ties to a particular state or town so I can answer no to my own question.

As kind of an informal poll, do most of you love where you live? If not was there a place you used to live that you really loved?

I'm asking this for a few different reasons:

1) I would like to know just how amenable a particular person would be to moving from where they currently live to another place. Obviously if you love where you currently live there would be no interest but if you didn't, are you the type of person that would consider moving?

2) If you do love where you live what is it about that town that makes it such a great place to live? Not looking for answers such as because family members live there or you were born and raised there but more specifics regarding amenities, weather, recreational choices, affrodable housing, low crime, clean air, low taxes, etc.

3) If you have never really loved where you lived or wondered if there might be a better place what qualities of that town would you want in order to consider living there? Which would be the most important? Least important?

4) Lastly, assuming you currently reside in a great town or area or know of such a place, are you aware of any large undeveloped acreage that could be purchased at reasonable costs.

Any and all responses will be apreciated and will help me with the many choices I will have to make in the coming months. Since all on these boards are gamblers we all have a different perspective as it regards risk so I'm curious about the opinions here and how the gambling habits might relate to other parts of our lives/personalities. What I am attempting to do with my development company will involve a certain degree of risk on the part of the participants so it will be interesting to see how the population of people on this board respond as opposed to others on different themed boards.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[theGibber1]

:shrug:

 

[freelancc]

i live in Los Angeles doing architectural design for large firm.. and would love to move out of LA.... The city pace is always tense.. but there is a lot of money here... so its a two edged sword.

I am looking for land also in Oregon... Utah.. Arizona and Northern Florida because of the growth potential and more down-home environment....

Most people do not consider balance and harmony as success factors, but they are hard to achieve in the Large cities.

Anyway.. good luck with your venture..!!

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

Other than the cold temperatures I love it here in Toronto. Toronto is a clean, safe, cosmopolitan city with a wonderful network of parks, recreational, and cultural facilities. Toronto is also the home of four professional sports teams and the 2nd largest night club in the world(GUVERNMENT). Educational institutions are endless and in terms of the summer there is so much to do and see if you know what I mean.

 

[thekidwhocould]

okc is nice....4 seasons, cost of living is cheap and you have the oppurtunity to root for the best college football team in the country

i've lived in san diego and austin,tx. 2 great cities. i would just rather spend 100k on a 2000 square foot house than 350k. jmo

 

[bjfinste]

I can't say I've really "loved" any place that I've lived thus far, but I moved to South Dakota six months ago and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the place I've hated the most. It's no wonder to me why there are only 700,000 people in this entire shithole excuse for a state even though it is huge, size-wise.

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

I but I moved to South Dakota six months ago and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the place I've hated the most. It's no wonder to me why there are only 700,000 people in this entire shithole excuse for a state even though it is huge, size-wise.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[ctownguy]

Newport Beach, Oceanview condo, beautiful wife, two great daughters who married 2 fantastic son in laws.

Whats not to like, sorry everyone, but life is beautiful and I'm a very lucky lucky lucky man, except when it comes to betting FB

 

[yyz]

This is a hard one to answer. I have heard that most people are born and die within a 100 radius. Most of this stems from ones comfort and fear of leaving that comfort. Kinda like looking for a new job. You might put up with one, rather than find another.

I know I live in the same town I was born in, and have never had the desire to seek anything else. It is nice here, as far as low crime, small town, etc; but it is not my idea of paradise! I think there is a laziness that prevents most people from seeking out a "better life". I know that was my case!

 

[djv]

My home town is great for one it's size. About 60000. In the area about 100000. If we just did not have the cold Jan and Feb we do it would be unreal. But if that was true then there would be hell of alot more folks here to. The important things a community needs are here. Great Education System. Health Care larger cities wish they had. No huge traffic problems. Reliable jobs and good work force. That work force comes from that good education system. How many towns of 60000 have two Universites and a Junior college that is more into technical and the trades for its teaching. Two majior hospitals. One with ties to the Mayo System and one to Univesity of Wisconsin Health care. Cost of liveing moderate. Only thing that stops it from being low is the cost of winter heating and the ware on your auto and your self those two dam months Jan and Feb. You want to go visit a big city its easy. Twin Cities 140 miles, Chicago 275 miles Madison 125 miles.
Recreation have it, all summer, winter sports and great fishing on the Mississippi.

 

[dawgball]

I have lived in five distinct places throughout my short life, and here is the ranking of best to worst.

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Henderson, KY
3. Athens, GA
4. Covington, KY
5. Cincinnati, OH

Cincy would be last no matter how long this list is. This could be the worst city in America. Everyone there has something that is similar to little man's disease. This could very well be the city that gives the North a bad name when it comes to manners. It is close to the South (borders KY), and everyone there seems to think that they have to prove that they are as tough as any New Yorker around. I have met hundreds of people that are really from the North, and they are nowhere near as assanine as people from Cincy.

I like everything about Atlanta except the traffic, the distance that I am away from my family (a little over 400 miles), and the price of homes. The food scene is excellent, plenty of bars, tons of other entertainment, hosts many large sporting events such as Final Four SEC FB Championship, SEC Bball tournament, etc. Cost of living beside your house are not bad at all. Gas is always cheaper than the rest of the country.

Athens is heaven for a college student. 30,000 plus students, 62 bars in a 4X4 block area of downtown, beautiful women, and a great education. Not a good place to develop a neighborhood though. Everyone rents, and they mostly look for the cheapest place available.

Covington was better than Cincinnati, but you have to depend on Cincy for a lot of things. So it is a step above Cincy but is dragged down by it as well.

 

[hellah10]

Newport Beach, Oceanview condo, beautiful wife, two great daughters who married 2 fantastic son in laws.

Whats not to like, sorry everyone, but life is beautiful and I'm a very lucky lucky lucky man, except when it comes to betting FB

Also lucky man cuz you were born in Toledo

 

[hellah10]

Well, this is a hard question. I was born and raised in Toledo....

The Pros:
- No traffic jams, friendly people, hardly any crime(compared to like Detroit), some years there arent any murders, homocides, etc...The Rockets

The Cons:

- COLD, not many job opportunities, blue collar town, not really a beautiful city


if you go www.findyourspot.com they ask you a series of questions and they find the best place for you to live in the US based on your answers...

mine were

Ventura, CA
Honolulu, HI
Eugene, OR
Portland, OR
Little Rock, AK

anyhoo, I dont mind Toledo at all, its a safe town...just wish there was more to do...although the city has grown big time within the last 5 years and will probably grow even faster in the next 5 years....

 

[JT]

I can vouch for Ventura, only have lived here since 1974. Have been to Portland Oregon twice and really like it there too.

 

[marine]

I might be able to help ya out, I move around the country quite often finding various places to live and hang my hat... and NO I am not homeless!

1. I move a lot due to my occupation, sometimes its good, sometimes it aint, but that's how you play the game. Each time I move I have to figure out where in the hell I am gonna live.

2. Why I like certain areas: low crime, definitely #1 on my list. I prefer low crime areas, BUT I do not want to live in a gated community. Feels like a damn prison. A quite residential area with numerous homes suits me just fine
Hopefully within a 15-20 minute drive there would be a Lowe's/Home Depot, target, movie theatre, multiple choices for grocery shopping and numerous banks to choose from.
A park or two nearby wouldn't hurt either, but I would opt more for some type of woodsy walking paths or something.

Where I am now, State college, PA. Fits the bill with this. There is Penn State right across the street, I can live with 10 minutes of work, minimal traffic, non-confusing road systems, numerous stores (best buy, target etc), a bunch of parks and outdoor areas to take the dogs, very low crime and FRIENDLY PEOPLE! #1 A++++ on my list. The people are not jerks on the streets or in stores.
The community I live in has friendly people who will say hello to you on the street while you take a walk with yer dogs. hell, my neighbors even brought me brownies the weekend I moved in.
And yes, there is a bunch of area up here that they have land for sale to build residential areas in.
From what I gather property taxes are not too bad, and costs of homes are very reasonable. Well below the market for other places I have lived and the houses are newer and nicer and bigger out here.

 

[hellah10]

I can vouch for Ventura, only have lived here since 1974. Have been to Portland Oregon twice and really like it there too.

Lucky

 

[bjfinste]

Hellah- Just tried that findyourspot.com. Not a single question regarding gambling or dealing with anything like that, yet my No. 1 city still came up Las Vegas! So I, for one, can attest to the reliability of this thing. Our only similar city was Little Rock, which was No. 2 for me. I have to say that surprises me a little, but hey, it must fit the criteria from my answers.

 

[AR182]

My wife prefers living in Scottsdale more than I do, since I'm a NYC type of person. But you can't ask for a better place to live than here. Nine months of the year the weather is almost perfect. The other 3 months we have very hot weather, but after awhile you learn to live with it, especially if you have access to a pool.

There are alot of outside activites that you can enjoy living here, such as golf, hiking, biking, & swimming to name a few. There are also many restaurants & both indoors & outdoors shopping areas.The unemployment rate & the crime rate are lower than the country average.

Freelancc,

Am not familar with real estate in the other states that you listed in your post, but am very familar with real estate in Arizona. I will tell you that it is almost impossible to make a bad real estate investment in Arizona. I highly recommend it.

 

[SKEETER1]

Have to agree with ya AR182

Have to agree with ya AR182

Scottsdale is awesome...gotta luv it here

 

[Eddie Haskell]

Dawgball:

I've lived in Cincinnati for 32 years. I couldn't agree with your post more. I affectionately call this place helltown. Filled with rigid, right-wing, nazi types. Very racial and homophobic. Lots of appalachian hillbillies come to this town looking for work. IMHO due to the strong German influence in this silly town.

Being married with children barely makes this place tolerable. I would seriously consider suicide if I were single in this town.

Eddie