What’s to like about where you live?

[tonyb]

Seriously, I wanna know. There’s something to be said for pretty much every point on the map. And there’s something to be said against it, too. Heaven is not on Earth, after all, nor is Hell, although I have questioned that second proposition a time or two.

This matter came up during a discussion with a person living in Central Washington state, where the Cascade range is still visible to the west. (It’s not Eastern Washington, they’ll have you know, no matter how much the people over on the wet side of the state want to call it that.)

Her town is among my favorite places. She feels that way, too. And we further agree that another town over that way has little to recommend it. It’s in a pretty darned nice natural setting, but the built environment is decidedly uninspired. It’s one of those “there’s no there there” towns. No real downtown but lotsa chain motels and restaurants and gas stations and car dealerships.

But, I added, somebody from there might well enlighten us as to what else it is. The town has been there since the late 19th century and the population keeps increasing, so it’s gotta have something going for it.

 

[belfastboy]

Seriously, I wanna know. There’s something to be said for pretty much every point on the map. And there’s something to be said against it, too. Heaven is not on Earth, after all, nor is Hell, although I have questioned that second proposition a time or two.

This matter came up during a discussion with a person living in Central Washington state, where the Cascade range is still visible to the west. (It’s not Eastern Washington, they’ll have you know, no matter how much the people over on the wet side of the state want to call it that.)

Her town is among my favorite places. She feels that way, too. And we further agree that another town over that way has little to recommend it. It’s in a pretty darned nice natural setting, but the built environment is decidedly uninspired. It’s one of those “there’s no there there” towns. No real downtown but lotsa chain motels and restaurants and gas stations and car dealerships.

But, I added, somebody from there might well enlighten us as to what else it is. The town has been there since the late 19th century and the population keeps increasing, so it’s gotta have something going for it.

From 2014 to late 2019 we toured the US west in our motorhome. Everything to the west of the spiral binding on our Rand McNally.
Well we missed Nebraska and Kansas...(tornado season!)

We stayed out of 'cities'....anything over 50,000 people was too big for us. The list of places we fell in love with and romanticized about our life in these rural pieces of idyll was lengthy.

However, two things prevented us packing up and moving to one of them. First, reality...our home, our history and all of our stuff is in our present locale AND secondly, we both have to admit a great weakness for romanticizing, projecting and just plain making shit up about these small town oases of sanity and bliss........ ....seemingly!

 

[belfastboy]

From 2014 to late 2019 we toured the US west in our motorhome. Everything to the west of the spiral binding on our Rand McNally.
Well we missed Nebraska and Kansas...(tornado season!)

We stayed out of 'cities'....anything over 50,000 people was too big for us. The list of places we fell in love with and romanticized about our life in these rural pieces of idyll was lengthy.

However, two things prevented us packing up and moving to one of them. First, reality...our home, our history and all of our stuff is in our present locale AND secondly, we both have to admit a great weakness for romanticizing, projecting and just plain making shit up about these small town oases of sanity and bliss........ ....seemingly!

The first time we visited Winthrop, Twisp, and the Methow Valley was just as day trips. I would take my wife on mystery road trips for the day. This first time was to Winthrop for an ice cream cone, then back home. Lovely little town.

 

[tonyb]

From 2014 to late 2019 we toured the US west in our motorhome. Everything to the west of the spiral binding on our Rand McNally.
Well we missed Nebraska and Kansas...(tornado season!)

We stayed out of 'cities'....anything over 50,000 people was too big for us. The list of places we fell in love with and romanticized about our life in these rural pieces of idyll was lengthy.

However, two things prevented us packing up and moving to one of them. First, reality...our home, our history and all of our stuff is in our present locale AND secondly, we both have to admit a great weakness for romanticizing, projecting and just plain making shit up about these small town oases of sanity and bliss........ ....seemingly!

My lovely missus and I are given to romanticizing, too. But we both know that’s exactly what we’re doing. Once the novelty wears off the hard realities of living anywhere remain. It’s not impossible that we would relocate, but the smart money isn’t on it.

 

[belfastboy]

My lovely missus and I are given to romanticizing, too. But we both know that’s exactly what we’re doing. Once the novelty wears off the hard realities of living anywhere remain. It’s not impossible that we would relocate, but the smart money isn’t on it.

The one big thing we have learned in our 50 years together is that my wife are 'home' where ever we are. I guess we are like turtles, we carry our home on our back or at least with it. We are natural 'nesters', recreating home wherever we happen to be, in whatever living situation we happen to be in. We have lived in a VW van while travelling across Africa, lived in a $25 a week hotel in SF (cooking on a hotplate) and in our present home (32 years now) and in each place was very much home to us. Some, certainly, more comfortable than others but all were very much our home.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Seriously, I wanna know. There’s something to be said for pretty much every point on the map. And there’s something to be said against it, too. Heaven is not on Earth, after all, nor is Hell, although I have questioned that second proposition a time or two.

This matter came up during a discussion with a person living in Central Washington state, where the Cascade range is still visible to the west. (It’s not Eastern Washington, they’ll have you know, no matter how much the people over on the wet side of the state want to call it that.)

Her town is among my favorite places. She feels that way, too. And we further agree that another town over that way has little to recommend it. It’s in a pretty darned nice natural setting, but the built environment is decidedly uninspired. It’s one of those “there’s no there there” towns. No real downtown but lotsa chain motels and restaurants and gas stations and car dealerships.

But, I added, somebody from there might well enlighten us as to what else it is. The town has been there since the late 19th century and the population keeps increasing, so it’s gotta have something going for it.

Not exactly sexy, but the low cost of living where I reside is amazing.

Many locals complain that there is nothing to do, that it's not Chicago, Indianapolis, etc, but that's perfectly fine by me. Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Milwaukee are all within a 3.5 hour drive. Heck, I can hop a train and be in downtown Chicago in the Loop in under 2 hours. I can be on the beach of Lake Michigan in under an hour. Visit one of countless orchards or vineyards just off the lake in even less time. There's a world-class university in our community. Our parks and rec department has heavily invested in creating an amazing river walk over the past decade.

Granted, my perspective is skewed because I grew up in the sticks of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I rode the bus an hour every day just to get to school. The nearest city with a supermarket was 30 minutes away. (As opposed to now where I have at least a dozen choices within a 5-mile radius and the closest less than a mile.) It was a big deal when Walmart arrived.

But yeah, definitely the cost of living.

 

[tonyb]

Not exactly sexy, but the low cost of living where I reside is amazing.

That counts for a lot.

I have cousins, my contemporaries, living in a small town not far from Madison, Wisconsin. They say pretty much the same as you do: They can take in whatever Milwaukee or Chicago might have to offer and still get home to their own beds before it gets too darned late.

In another thread we touched upon older people selling for big money the homes they bought for peanuts way back when and relocating with their bags of cash to places where housing is still inexpensive. This phenomenon is neither all good nor all bad, and I’m suspicious of anyone who would say it is either. Much as I resent well-heeled newcomers telling the natives how things oughta work around here, I accept that things change and that local economies gotta change as well.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Short story.

Living in overaging german smalltown with <7.400 people altogether, our core town <5.500 (but on roomy 55 km² !!).
Lovely peaceful, can't get much better! Like an XXL-village plus infrastructure, including 1887s railway connection.

All youngster assh..es gone in the last 34 years. And the Boys of Marketing also have no more any interest in us, because no money to make, here.

 

[GHT]

The County of Dorset on England's southern shore.
Over half of Dorset is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. So, you’ll either be living in an area of natural beauty, or you’ll be very close by to one.

Dorset has nearly 100 miles of coastline with award-winning, golden sandy beaches at Bournemouth, Sandbanks, Christchurch, Swanage and Weymouth. Don't like crowded beaches? Then the harbours of Poole, Portland and Christchurch offer a great variety of water sports, from kite surfing to paddle boarding. And if you really want to get your heart racing, you could always try high speed RIB rides, rock climbing, coasteering, or even the zip wire that runs off the end of Bournemouth Pier!

Bournemouth is the most vibrant community in the county, with a nightlife that’s second to none and a popular destination for hen and stag parties. The place is equally popular with day-trippers, drawn to its family atmosphere and traditional seaside setting. Meanwhile the historic market towns of Dorchester, Weymouth and Lyme Regis are bursting with places to eat, drink and shop, combining historic architecture with contemporary art and culture, as well as that unique blend of special Dorset charm.

Dorset tops the tables for the highest life expectancy in Britain. According to the Office for National Statistics, if you live in Dorset you can expect to live for much longer than the national average. This is helped in no small part by the wide range of leisure and outdoor pursuits available across the region. The New Forest National Park runs along Dorset's eastern border, offering an ideal environment for cycling, horse riding and walking.

Bournemouth is a coastal resort town in the county of Dorset. Within two hundred years it has become the largest town in Dorset. Previously an uninhabited and rarely visited, other than by occasional fishermen and smugglers, a health resort was founded in the area in 1810. After the Railway opened in 1870, it grew into an important resort town which attracts over five million visitors annually with the town's beaches and popular nightlife. It now has a financial sector that is worth more than £1 billion.


We don't live in Bournemouth, we are about fifteen miles to the north on the border with The New Forest.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's a great place to spot out-of-state license plates.

 

[GHT]

Something rather dubious I forgot to mention about Dorset. This bungalow on Sandbanks sold for a £13.5m. That's $17.3m in Uncle Sam's shekels. With a floor space of 2,909 sq ft, the price works out at £4,640 per sq ft. Sandbanks has now become the most expensive place to live in the world, beating New York, London, and Hong Kong.

Sandbanks is a spectacular peninsular of land at the entrance to Poole Harbour. As you drive along the peninsula you can see the harbour on your right. Brownsea Island is clearly visible in the middle of the harbour. The water on the harbourside is very shallow for a long way out and perfect for practising watersport activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking, windsurfing and dinghy sailing.

That price of £4640 per square foot, compere's with the high end of: Hong Kong at £3,775 followed by New York £2,150, Geneva £1,875, Tokyo £1,850, Shanghai £1,850 and London £1,741.

 

[tonyb]

Short story.

Living in overaging german smalltown with <7.400 people altogether, our core town <5.500 (but on roomy 55 km² !!).
Lovely peaceful, can't get much better! Like an XXL-village plus infrastructure, including 1887s railway connection.

All youngster assh..es gone in the last 34 years. And the Boys of Marketing also have no more any interest in us, because no money to make, here.

And they got internet access, too!

 

[Trenchfriend]

And they got internet access, too!

Now you reminded me! We got DSL contract since 20 years, now (Ma since 2004, me since 2010)!!

Our lovely old copper lines.

 

[tonyb]

We are no longer the new people on our block, having been here nine years come next month. I get along fine with the immediate neighbors, the ones we share fences with, and I enjoy the folks from Algeria who moved in directly across the street three years ago. They had one little boy then. Now they have two. And it appears a third kid might be on the way, but I know better than to ask.

It’s a quiet side street, carrying very little auto traffic from drivers who don’t live on this block.

It’s fair to say I’m friends with the fellow living directly to the north. He’s a retired electrician and a wounded Vietnam vet. He enlisted in the Navy, figuring it beat being drafted into the Army. He ended up on a PBR, a patrol boat riverine. He manned the .50 caliber machine gun on the bow. He got shot at. He shot back. He has COPD but he still smokes. He takes “walks” on his motorized scooter, from which he flies a pair of small American flags on sticks. He has helped me with small electrical stuff around here. We are superficially unalike, but we both like being good neighbors, and we both know that works both ways.

 

[Worf]

Welp.... There's lots to like in my neighborhood. And some things to dislike. I live one block away (and it's a short one) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute est. 1864. One of the better engineering and architectural schools in the nation. This brings with it some pros and cons.

Pros: Drinking coffee on my front porch as the students walk by. I usually have Ruby with me so sometimes they smile and wave.

2: It's an "open" campus so I get to walk Ruby there every morning. Every once in a while a student will ask to pet her. Some miss their own dogs so much they break down in tears. I guess it helps.

3,. My neighborhood is mixed, some Professors, some families, some student rentals. You see all kinds of folks which is a good thing.

Cons: Absentee landowners (i.e. Slumlords) who do NOT take care of the properties AT ALL Run down homes that are over crowded, ill kept and unsightly.

2. "You Honk We Drink" season. At the end of every Semester some Jamokes will hang a sheet over a balcony with the aforementioned title on it. Sigh...

3. Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom". With the demise of hunting in the area and the prolonged absence of humans during COVID, "Mother Nature" (who abhors a vacuum) decided in her wisdom to send us her bounty. I've encountered deer (of all ages), skunks, woodchucks, Geese of all variety and numerous other critters large and small. Plus the occasional Fox and Coyote. Urgh!

Since this is my first house, bought in 2000, paid off in 2015, I've no real complaints. I like it here.

 

[Worf]

One funny thing though... I walked in my neighborhood for 20 years and few if any folks would talk to me. Soon as I got Ruby EVERYBODY seemed to want to stop and talk. Things that make you go Hmmmm. Too scary to talk to until I got a sweet natured Aussie as a walking companion? Enquiring minds want to know!

Worf

 

[belfastboy]

We live in what used to be a small rail head town outside of Vancouver. It is now part of the contiguous bedroom communities stretching out as far as 90 minute commute from the city. It does however still maintain a bit of small town feel to it. A river runs through it and on hot summer's days the kids float down it on inner tubes. It has an actual downtown core about 4 blocks long. A brand new community centre/ice rink complex right in the centre of town.

When I first moved here there was very little to meet our city needs. On a Saturday morning we would oft drive into the 'big' city for a decent coffee and croissant. Now we have about everything we need and have to force ourselves to find a reason to head into the city......usually to meet with friends that still live in Gotham!

Housing used to be cheaper out here. It still is "cheaper" but you would be hard pressed to find even a townhouse under one million. Like most locales, we have used needles in the park but have somehow managed to avoid the tent cities of other locations.
There is a high level of civic engagement, and a high level of public buy-in to the sense of community and following the rules.

Our neighbours on one side have been here for the 32 years. On the other side is a family, two kids, they arrived as infants and now are learning to drive. It is a safe neighbourhood in general as we live on a hill and the druggies don't want to work that hard looking for soft targets that require a bit of a trek.

I coached youth baseball for a decade and volunteered in the schools so watched a generation grow up. I know fewer people now as that coaching gig ended 20 years ago and the kids have grown and moved, as I imagine the parents have moved (or died) as well as I don't see them in the shops any longer. I knew the parents that ran the bowling alley, the bagel shop, the gas station, and the bakery so there was usually someone to chat with when I shopped in town. That has all changed and it is more anonymous now but I suspect life in most locales is like that now. But this is my home....there is a decent old folks home in town as well. I suspect that is where I am headed next.

 

[tonyb]

Welp.... There's lots to like in my neighborhood. And some things to dislike. I live one block away (and it's a short one) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute est. 1864. One of the better engineering and architectural schools in the nation. This brings with it some pros and cons.

Pros: Drinking coffee on my front porch as the students walk by. I usually have Ruby with me so sometimes they smile and wave.
View attachment 638030
2: It's an "open" campus so I get to walk Ruby there every morning. Every once in a while a student will ask to pet her. Some miss their own dogs so much they break down in tears. I guess it helps.

3,. My neighborhood is mixed, some Professors, some families, some student rentals. You see all kinds of folks which is a good thing.

Cons: Absentee landowners (i.e. Slumlords) who do NOT take care of the properties AT ALL Run down homes that are over crowded, ill kept and unsightly.

2. "You Honk We Drink" season. At the end of every Semester some Jamokes will hang a sheet over a balcony with the aforementioned title on it. Sigh...

3. Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom". With the demise of hunting in the area and the prolonged absence of humans during COVID, "Mother Nature" (who abhors a vacuum) decided in her wisdom to send us her bounty. I've encountered deer (of all ages), skunks, woodchucks, Geese of all variety and numerous other critters large and small. Plus the occasional Fox and Coyote. Urgh!

Since this is my first house, bought in 2000, paid off in 2015, I've no real complaints. I like it here.

View attachment 638034

Looks good to me. Nice house.
And yes, a friendly looking dog does wonders. Fur-bearing icebreakers, they are.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We have a policy at the theatre that all dogs walking past the box office window get a cookie handed out thru the Magical Cookie Hole. Just now an enormous shaggy dog named Basil, who looks like Lord Plushbottom in a fur coat, received his treat, thanked me in a throaty Churchillian bark, and licked my knee. There are no other customers I would allow to do that.

 

[tonyb]

The 4x4 post holding up my mailbox down by the sidewalk is a canine newsstand. They sniff it; they pee on it. Some are daily visitors, along with their humans.

People up the street have a little sign asking that people not let their dogs pee on the plantings. That’s okay, but I’d rather have the dogs than the dahlias.