Possibly relocating.. help anyone?

[doghouse]

And on another note, I had no idea marijuana was legal in small amounts in Denver..

No offense to anyone who partakes, just not my thing..

 

[sonsie]

My vote is: Portland first, Colorado Springs second. I was on my way to Portland when I got waylaid in Nebraska. No, I don't wanna talk about it. :eusa_doh:

whewww.. culture shock. I lived in VT until age 15, at which point we moved to TN. I swear I couldn't understand half of what was being said, and they still don't sell liquor in the college town of 35,000 that we lived in. But hey! They started selling wine in grocery stores a few years ago, and on Sunday, after noon or 1. The humidity's high in the summer, but you'll find that most places.

But the Smokey's are lovely, as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway - some of my best memories still live there ~ and some of my worst. [huh] Stuff happens.

sonsie

 

[deanglen]

But isn't it FREEZING in Michigan?

[huh] Okay, some adjustment is required...but hey, we've got FOUR seasons, contrary to the opinions of some. Rather than any further suggestions, I'll offer a prayer that you will be guided to the right place, a much safer task for me than being a consultant for this matter. God bless your search! It is a big decision.

dean

 

[Elaina]

To be honest, I worked as a waitress, so people naturally seem to be ruder to them then other times. Usually it was just a handful of people over all that was like that. They're not as friendly as we are down here (like I once offered to help an elderly woman carry her groceries in, and got the weirdest look of my life) but it's different, not bad.

I ALWAYS stood out as a Texan. Even though I don't sound like one, you just exude that aura lol. Most people were fine, and I didn't have problems for the most part. I knew my neighbor, watched her kid (and vice versa) and had a local antique store hold stuff for me. Waitressing was a different style (who knew you're not supposed to TALK to customers!?) and I went at a very tough time where everyone seemed to be political.

I came home because it IS home. My dad got really sick, my mom was in a car accident, my sister was under 10 and I was diagnosed with lynphnomia. It was time to come home. Personally, I liked it there, and if we go back, I'd be okay with it. I still miss the trees and mountains, and I miss going to downtown Portland and walking around all day. While Dallas is my home, and I love it here, I'm not going to walk around downtown anywhere. It's too hot.

I've been home for 2 years now, and I'm just now trying to branch out and make friends, something I had a much easier time with in Portland. There just always seemed something to do, and it's not always the case here, or at least without driving an hour to go to it. And unlike what it seems here, people are more willing to include someone new into a group and get to know them then they are here. I also think my husband had alot to do with the transition being harder, we joked alot about the yankee/southern thing and some people don't know how to take it, as well as transitioning ourselves from a 10 year friendship into a love affiar/marriage. We did our bumps up there.

I went back about 3 months ago to visit a friend, and it's the same. Great place to be, stayed a week longer then I meant to, and we're planning on going back.

Elaina

 

[doghouse]

Colorado Springs sounds nice... except for the fact I seem to recall someone saying it was a VERY conservative town...

That's funny about the liquor thing. Where I live at the moment the Texas side is dry, and the Arkansas side is wet..[huh] Makes no sense to me.

 

[doghouse]

To be honest, I worked as a waitress, so people naturally seem to be ruder to them then other times. Usually it was just a handful of people over all that was like that. They're not as friendly as we are down here (like I once offered to help an elderly woman carry her groceries in, and got the weirdest look of my life) but it's different, not bad.

I ALWAYS stood out as a Texan. Even though I don't sound like one, you just exude that aura lol. Most people were fine, and I didn't have problems for the most part. I knew my neighbor, watched her kid (and vice versa) and had a local antique store hold stuff for me. Waitressing was a different style (who knew you're not supposed to TALK to customers!?) and I went at a very tough time where everyone seemed to be political.

I came home because it IS home. My dad got really sick, my mom was in a car accident, my sister was under 10 and I was diagnosed with lynphnomia. It was time to come home. Personally, I liked it there, and if we go back, I'd be okay with it. I still miss the trees and mountains, and I miss going to downtown Portland and walking around all day. While Dallas is my home, and I love it here, I'm not going to walk around downtown anywhere. It's too hot.

I've been home for 2 years now, and I'm just now trying to branch out and make friends, something I had a much easier time with in Portland. There just always seemed something to do, and it's not always the case here, or at least without driving an hour to go to it. And unlike what it seems here, people are more willing to include someone new into a group and get to know them then they are here. I also think my husband had alot to do with the transition being harder, we joked alot about the yankee/southern thing and some people don't know how to take it, as well as transitioning ourselves from a 10 year friendship into a love affiar/marriage. We did our bumps up there.

I went back about 3 months ago to visit a friend, and it's the same. Great place to be, stayed a week longer then I meant to, and we're planning on going back.

Elaina

Hmmm. I'm definately going to have to do some serious thinking on this. If I can come up with enough money to do so.. maybe I'll go up there for a while and check it out. Honestly leaving Texas is kind of a scary thing for me. lol
I have a hard time making friends anywhere I live...I'm not exactly a social butterfly in real life.
And you mention about your husband joking around and that may have affected things..my husband jokes about everything. His sense of humor is way off in left field.. so I guess if I decide to move I should prepare for that.

Due to all those terrible situations (hopefully things are at least a little better now) I don't blame you for moving home. Part of me wants to kick myself in the butt for not just moving back to Dallas.

 

[Elaina]

LOL sorry I was trying to point out it wasn't terrible.

Elaina

 

[doghouse]

Thank you!!

[huh] Okay, some adjustment is required...but hey, we've got FOUR seasons, contrary to the opinions of some. Rather than any further suggestions, I'll offer a prayer that you will be guided to the right place, a much safer task for me than being a consultant for this matter. God bless your search! It is a big decision.

dean

 

[doghouse]

LOL sorry I was trying to point out it wasn't terrible.

Elaina

Haha, it's ok. Thanks!

 

[Michaelson]

whewww.. culture shock. I lived in VT until age 15, at which point we moved to TN. I swear I couldn't understand half of what was being said, and they still don't sell liquor in the college town of 35,000 that we lived in. But hey! They started selling wine in grocery stores a few years ago, and on Sunday, after noon or 1. The humidity's high in the summer, but you'll find that most places.

But the Smokey's are lovely, as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway - some of my best memories still live there ~ and some of my worst. [huh] Stuff happens.

sonsie

Well, not much has changed....still can't understand half that's said here...humidity is just as high as you remember, and we still have the one week of Spring, and one week of Fall, then cold for about a month or two...then SUMMER AGAIN!

Booze is a little easier to obtain now. (grins)

You can't see the Smokey's for the smog now, or the Parkway. And yes...stuff STILL happens.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[sonsie]

Interesting to hear about other sides of the fence - in VT, we discussed yankees and the south about as often as we discussed the Boston Tea Party. I got the impression in TN that they were still at war with us; not in a hateful way, but I'd bet a week didn't go by that I didn't hear the word yankee, often in reference to me. LOL

I worked with a guy at Vanderbilt - a real peach (not). He said, "You know why southerners don't like yankees? They're like hemorroids - they come down, they won't go back up, and they're a pain in the ass." This was that one and only time in my life that the perfect retort came to mind. I said, "Yeah, but you notice they only bother a**holes, doncha?"

LOL I have to chuckle at how neighborly they are. When we first moved into our house, several ladies from the neighborhood came by and brought casseroles or desserts. I swear, you'd have thought they'd presented my mom with a bucket of eggs and a slab of raw bacon. She thought it was nice, and thoughtful, but strange! And of course if you're on a smaller-type road and a car is approaching you from the other direction, you wave, or at the very least lift your index finger off of the steering wheel. I grew into that habit, and when I'd visit non-southern towns over the years and wave at people, You could almost see them rear their heads back to get a better look to see "who in the heck do I know that drives a car like that?" I'd bet more than one man had some explaining to do about "who was that woman who waved at you?!"

"Booze is a little easier to obtain now. (grins)"

OMGG!! I completely forgot about that! I swear this is true: my ex and his friends and I would go to bootleggers back in the hills to get booze.. and you could buy moonshine!! The old geezer we frequented most was called "Cripple Dick" and no I never asked him why. He didn't exactly invite friendly conversation if ya know what I mean. He lived back in a 'holler', 5-10 miles back into the mountains, (talk about humid!) and you'd pull up into his circular dirt driveway and stop. He had a typical old 2 story white farmhouse sitting in a small clearing. Not ramshackle or anything (but we'd been to those, too). Before long he'd see you out of his house window, and head out to get your order. He carried about any brand you'd want of the less-than-20-bucks-per-fifth variety. Meanwhile, his wife is sitting in that window with a shotgun. People DID go out there and try to rob him, and it wasn't the norm, but people DID get killed or shot out there. Some were successful, which explained his shotgun, and may explain his name. I'm not kidding - those were the areas of backwoods where people would go in and never come out. Anyway, you didn't mess around. Maybe after you've been going there on a regular basis for 5 years or so, he'd chat about the weather with you for a minute. Any of you seen the "Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld? Looking back, that's what it kind of reminds me of. I was on edge every time we went.

fftopic: Rambled long enough. Sorry 'bout that; I thought some of you might find it interesting.

Thanks for the memory, Michaelson. :cheers1:

sonsie

 

[Brooksie]

Hey sonsie your post about visiting bootlegers brought up my own memories of living in Texas in a dry town....

Any ways back to the origins of this post - Hey Doghouse if you come to Oregon you will have a friend here... me! I am only about an hour and 15 min. from Portland. I end up coming to Portland at least once or twice a month and if you come to Oregon (visiting the Oregon Coast is a must see event!) you will have to visit the brewpub I work at it is Called the Pelican Pub and Brewery and it is right on the Ocean... we have the best microbrewed beers(even though I do not drink now-I have tried samples of them and they are awsome!) your husband will enjoy it. We also have the most breathtaking views from our windows of the original Haystack rock and the food is great also! The pub is smoke free and very family friendly - we give the kids gold fish crackers and they get crayons and their own little menu to color and we also have dining on the patio (when the weather is nice) and the kids can play in the sand while you eat.

Its funny when I lived in Texas the accents bothered me but now that I am here I miss them and I love it when people from Texas come to the pub I love making conversation and hearing them talk...our resturant and pub is one where the servers actually get to talk to the customers! But I am a hostess not a server. When I first moved back to Oregon and started working at the pub I had developed a just a slight bit of a Texas drawl from living there and all and I said to one customer (her and her family were from Oregon) how are ya'll doin? She said ya'll in a snurly tone, I said I just moved back to Oregon from Texas and she said well that just needs to stay in Texas! I thought to myself what a rude and bitter women! But we are not all like that here... there are a few rotton apples everywhere!

Brooksie

 

[sonsie]

Hey Doghouse - someone on another forum had passed this along and I thought of you.

http://www.findyourspot.com/

It's a friendly site in that you can sign up for info about many things at the end, but they don't guilt you. It was kinda fun. They list your top 24 matched locations at the end. heheh Out of my 24, 6 were in Oregon and 6 in Washington. Seems a little pricey up there, more so in Oregon. Do you find that to be true? Or is it just because I'm in such a different area?

Brooksie - ayup, I'd bet there's a bootlegger or two in Texas. btw, that woman who was rude is a trip. Sounds like a bit of a snob grasping at straws that she thinks will make her 'better'.

sonsie

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

We are considering trying to get a job with Sorenson VRS. They have locations all over the country. If you had to choose where to move to from this list what one/ones would you choose and why?

Birmingham, Alabama
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Denver, Colorado *
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida *
Tampa, Florida
Chicago, Illinois
Louisville, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
St. Louis, Missouri
Charlotte, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Portland, Oregon *
Austin, Texas *
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas *
San Antonio, Texas *
Virginia Beach, Virginia
* - top choices so far

(well.. I guessed I managed to narrow down a little better..)

What's important to us:

- good balance of family life and nightlife
- low crime rates
- good schools
- good cost of living
- friendly, openminded people
- lots of things to do
- nice scenery
- no extreme weather (such as the dryness of Arizona, or the extreme cold up north)
- not too much smog

and it couldn't hurt if the city can fufill these things..
- bustling downtown (especially if its the kind where you can walk and not get odd looks)
- at least some vintage culture (I'm getting awfully tired of being the local wierdo!)
- a decent public transit system

Hi:

I'm going to answer your question based on actual personal experience. I've breezed through several of the towns on your list, but have in-depth, intimate knowledge for only a handful.

Based on your criteria, my recommendation, out of all the cities you listed, would be Portland, Oregon. Portland pretty much has everything you're seeking except a low crime rate (but this is relative: I live in an area of Northern California that has, on a national index, an extremely low crime rate so just about anywhere else looks pretty high by comparison). My understanding is that burglaries, petty theft and car vandalism are markedly higher than usual.

To bookend this previous comment, I would also recommend that you avoid planting roots in Chicago at all costs. I lived there for 28 years and know its virtues and vices all too well.

First of all the weather: your alotment of perfect weather per year is only 2 days. I guarantee you, the rest will be pure, unadulterated misery. Sub-zero degree windchill factors that refuse to acknowledge your bodily integrity during winter and a dome of stagnant humidity that envelopes the city making the temperatures feel like 100 degrees plus during summer are all a part of Chicago's charm. That along with the tornadoes, freezing sleet, golfball-sized hail stones, hayfever and sinus infections completes the picture.

And that's not to mention the swarms of mosquitoes and other airbourne menaces that will be using you as a liquid lunch. As an added fillip, the south and western suburbs are host to large number of landfills and processing plants with Bedford Park's residents claiming the nation's highest rate of thyroid cancer for several years running. The stench is utterly memorable, I assure you.

Traffic is generally horrendous and made worse by poor upkeep of the streets. In some of the worst sections the potholes are redolent of craters left after a mortar barrage. The crime rate is as savage as the housing costs and the property taxes levied against the citizens (it's snidely referred to by the locals as "Chicago's Second Mortgage") with monthly payments of $2,000.00 not unheard of.

If you must do Chicago it's best to go as a tourist, not as a resident so that you can experience only its best side - and what a side it can be! So, go in September, staying along the Loop and Gold Coast where most of the best architecture, shopping and cultural attractions are concentrated. Travel 2 miles west or south of the Loop and you may find yourself in a dodgey, gang-dominated DMZ. Some suburbs that offer great cultural and recreational activities are located in Evanston and Oak Park.

As for the character of the people, allow me to sum it up for you with this motto: Chicago, the City of Broad Shoulders . . . . and Narrow Minds.

Okay, I've blathered on long enough. I hope this information proves useful to you!

 

[airfrogusmc]

Colorado Springs sounds nice... except for the fact I seem to recall someone saying it was a VERY conservative town...

That's funny about the liquor thing. Where I live at the moment the Texas side is dry, and the Arkansas side is wet..[huh] Makes no sense to me.

Theres always Manitou Springs which is very close to Colorado Springs
http://www.manitousprings.org/

 

[Paisley]

And on another note, I had no idea marijuana was legal in small amounts in Denver..

No offense to anyone who partakes, just not my thing..

I think Denver, and the West in general, is more libertarian than libertine.

We are, I think, a little more tolerant of iconoclasts than people in some parts of the country. I've seen drag queens, orthodox Jews and traditionally clad Muslim women walk down the street here without attracting a second look. Would your vintage garb get funny looks around here? I doubt it.

By the way, you can't smoke the MJ, or anything else, inside a public place anymore in Denver. It's all smoke-free.

 

[doghouse]

Thanks so much to everyone that is being so helpful. As soon as Sorenson emails me back with info on their Portland location we will be packing our bags. I figure we will go visit Oregon, and see if it might fit the bill. I'm so excited, this will be my first time out west! I think maybe on the way I might stop in Colorado also.. who knows..

Now if only they will hurry up and email!