Best city for vintage living

[Chasseur]

I would not really recommend Honolulu, unless you are really into Aloha/tikki vintage or big into Pearl Harbor/WWII Pacific Theatre stuff. We do have many wonderful buildings downtown (not much deco, more beaux arts and territorial styles), and an active WWII living history group, but that is about it. Not many vintage stores other than tikki/Aloha stuff, no real vintage scene. Housing is CRAZY expensive.

 

[DeaconKC]

Well, if high crime rates, out of control gangs, political corruption, graft and dishonesty are nostalgic to you, my old home town of Chicago certainly qualifies. it's too bad, because it is a beautiful city other than that............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0saZiLV7-7E

 

[resortes805]

Architecture? Miami.

Largest, most diverse 'vintage' scene? LA

Cheapest vintage clothing? the midwest.

 

[Widebrim]

L.A. without a doubt.

:arated: (But I'm biased...)

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Hertfordshire
I'm still stoked reading about the Vintage New Year's event that was at the English manor house. Can't remember which thread it was on. Now that must be quite a thrill to be surrounded by history that's older than anything in the US.

 

[Mr Vim]

That did look like a heck of a party.

 

[Captain_joe6]

Portland, Oregon. Strange and thriving vintage scene, and you're pretty much promised acceptance, approving looks, and the odd compliment from a stranger no matter what you wear. We're big on craftsman homes and so long as you settle in a suburb, the schools aren't bad either. Nice place to be, so long as 8 months of rain (read: fall, winter, and spring) don't make you want to kill yourself.

 

[Mangrove]

Finland

Surprisingly I would rate the third largest city in Finland, Tampere, over the capital of Finland, Helsinki, in terms of vintage architecture and community. Tampere was recently also voted for the best city in Finland.

 

[Gene]

Cheapest vintage clothing? the midwest.

The one thing I'm going to miss when I move out to California!

 

[Undertow]

From what I've seen of Minneapolis, specifically Uptown, I was fairly impressed. There's a decent vintage community and some fellow loungers there. The architecture is really something special, too. My lady currently lives in a residential hotel built in the 20's. Great place, great people. All original.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Surprisingly I would rate the third largest city in Finland, Tampere, over the capital of Finland, Helsinki, in terms of vintage architecture and community. Tampere was recently also voted for the best city in Finland.

Was there last year and yes. It's great. Lot of cheap vintage in the charity/thrift stores. Unless Sproily or you already found and bought it. Haha.
Most important: the people are super nice. The language is not easy but they all speak english fluently.

Negative: uhm...beer is too expensive.

 

[Miss Sis]

Hertfordshire
I'm still stoked reading about the Vintage New Year's event that was at the English manor house. Can't remember which thread it was on. Now that must be quite a thrill to be surrounded by history that's older than anything in the US.

Ah, but the people there were from all over England AND Europe! It's more about the group of people than the location, as we tend to have things going on in various places. We have, for example, a number of friends from Switzerland who organise things there too.

Bath is a beautiful city, but there is hardly a 'vintage' scene. A friend of mine lives just South of there and has to come East to London for things. I live an hour out of London and it really is true that when you are tired of London, you are tired of life! Always something going on, lots of vintage shops, etc, easy to get elsewhere. Downside is property prices are mental.

S'difficult to have everything in life, I suppose. [huh]

 

[plain old dave]

I have a radical suggestion: Here.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The vast majority of the homes here in town date back to the Clinton Engineer Works, the streets still lay as the Corps of Engineers laid them out in 1942, and Grove Center, Jefferson Center and Jackson Square are still shopping areas. People here at TFL talk history, I drive right by it every day. The famous picture of the end of the war in Oak Ridge was taken 2 blocks from here, the Guest House where just about anybody that had to do with the Project that was here temporarily stayed is another block down and the house I am in right now was built in early 1943. Just over the Ridge are Oliver Springs and Petros (where they filmed October Sky, a lot of the storefronts are *exactly* as they re-did them for the film) and Knoxville's a 30 minute drive. Remember the "Ennessee Theater" in the movie? The Tennessee Theater on Gay Street in Knoxville has been restored to its 1930s glory, and the Bijou is a block or so down. 30 minutes or so the other way is the Big South Fork and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an easy day trip. If you ride motorcycles, the single most challenging road on Earth is about as far as the Smokies. US129 between TN and NC, the Dragon, has 318 curves in 11 miles. Like the old slogan said,

Come to Tennessee. We're playing your song.

 

[1961MJS]

Was there last year and yes. It's great. Lot of cheap vintage in the charity/thrift stores. Unless Sproily or you already found and bought it. Haha.
Most important: the people are super nice. The language is not easy but they all speak english fluently.

Negative: uhm...beer is too expensive.

Good God man, something must be done, I thought that Beer is one of the food groups back in the Fatherland (Great-Grandmother Mueller nee' Brokamp, Great-Grandfather Berund Mueller, and Great-Great-Grandfather Schroeder).

The four food groups ARE Beer, Sausage, Dark Bread, and Strudel aren't they?

Later

 

[Tomasso]

They used Molwaukee to portray Chicago in Kevin Costner's Untouchables

Not according to IMDb

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094226/locations

 

[TomS]

Hartford, CT. There are MANY restored early 20th century neighborhoods, apartment complexes, etc to live in. The city has nice a nice social scene, and Bushnell park has a 19th century carosell to ride.

 

[Widebrim]

I have a radical suggestion: Here.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The vast majority of the homes here in town date back to the Clinton Engineer Works, the streets still lay as the Corps of Engineers laid them out in 1942, and Grove Center, Jefferson Center and Jackson Square are still shopping areas. People here at TFL talk history, I drive right by it every day. The famous picture of the end of the war in Oak Ridge was taken 2 blocks from here, the Guest House where just about anybody that had to do with the Project that was here temporarily stayed is another block down and the house I am in right now was built in early 1943. Just over the Ridge are Oliver Springs and Petros (where they filmed October Sky, a lot of the storefronts are *exactly* as they re-did them for the film) and Knoxville's a 30 minute drive. Remember the "Ennessee Theater" in the movie? The Tennessee Theater on Gay Street in Knoxville has been restored to its 1930s glory, and the Bijou is a block or so down. 30 minutes or so the other way is the Big South Fork and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an easy day trip. If you ride motorcycles, the single most challenging road on Earth is about as far as the Smokies. US129 between TN and NC, the Dragon, has 318 curves in 11 miles. Like the old slogan said,

Come to Tennessee. We're playing your song.

You make a good case, Dave...

 

[Hercule]

Hartford, CT. There are MANY restored early 20th century neighborhoods, apartment complexes, etc to live in. The city has nice a nice social scene, and Bushnell park has a 19th century carosell to ride.

That's nice to hear. I grew up in (what WAS then) a rural community just a bit north and east of the river, and for us Hartford a place we never went and was to be avoided at all costs, because it was perceived as a city largely rife with crime and squaler. This was during the late 60s and early 70s. When I later went back in the early 90s to do a degree at the U. of Hartford, I found the city very approachable yet still of limited appeal socially. Glad to see it may be on the up swing.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Portland, Oregon. Strange and thriving vintage scene, and you're pretty much promised acceptance, approving looks, and the odd compliment from a stranger no matter what you wear. We're big on craftsman homes and so long as you settle in a suburb, the schools aren't bad either. Nice place to be, so long as 8 months of rain (read: fall, winter, and spring) don't make you want to kill yourself.

I'd be there, or Milwaukee, in a half second if I could land a job. Believe me, if you want to dress like a grownup, you need a cooler climate than the Deep South. Eight months of hot nasty summer, sometimes nine or ten, is just as bad as eight of rain.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I've been considering the Milwaukee area, trying to find a better job. The prospects are much better there than as far north in Wisconsin as I am. The relocation will be tough, though. At least there's plenty of homes, whether you like Victorian, Craftsman, Mid-Century, or whatever, to choose from.

I'd be there, or Milwaukee, in a half second if I could land a job. Believe me, if you want to dress like a grownup, you need a cooler climate than the Deep South. Eight months of hot nasty summer, sometimes nine or ten, is just as bad as eight of rain.