Do you like where you live?

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Were you were born and raised there? Have you moved around a lot in your life? What do you like, dislike about where you live? If it's rural, would u like to live in a city? Vice Versa? Are you dug in or looking for a door? Why do I ask? Eh, I'm a, just a guy who used to travel a lot, who's lived in different parts of the US, and now that I'm kind of in lock down, I miss it. Besides, I'm eh, just curious.

MaryMumsy · Oct 4, 2012

I lived in probably a dozen places before I graduated high school. I went to nine schools in twelve years.

I've lived in this house for 37 years. Most of the time I like it here, but June, July, and August, not so much. We finally are set to see the end of triple digit temps.

I wouldn't mind traveling a little to see places I haven't been, but have no interest or desire to move.

MM

Lavern08 · Oct 4, 2012

Lurve it...

I live in Virginia.

With the exception of the horrible humidity in the summertime, I love it.

I live in a townhouse in the suburbs, but I work in the city (about a 40-minute commute).

I'm close to shopping, all kinds of cultural and historical stuff, very nice restaurants and there's a church on every corner.

I've traveled to other places, but I've lived here all my life, and at this point, I think I'll stay put.

firedrake · Oct 4, 2012

I've moved more times than I can remember, including three separate stints in the US, once in Connecticut (6 months way back in the mists of time), Pittsburgh and Arizona. I'd go back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat.

Now I'm pretty much permanently back in the UK. I live in a lovely little village, in a rented cottage which is about 250 years old. It's mouldy and damp, but it's home.

Perks · Oct 4, 2012

I was raised in the DC area, but I've lived in the Asheville, NC area for the last nine years. I absolutely love it there.

CaroGirl · Oct 4, 2012

I was born and raised in the suburbs of a single small city and went to one elementary and one high school. I finished HS and moved away but not terribly far. I've lived in the suburbs of a much larger city (about 3 hours away from my home town) for about 20 years. I love this city but would prefer to trade in the suburbs for a larger and more private property further out of town. Not a farm, but slightly more rural location.

ETA: I'm in Ottawa, Ontario, in case anyone's wondering.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

MaryMumsy said:
I lived in probably a dozen places before I graduated high school. I went to nine schools in twelve years.

I've lived in this house for 37 years. Most of the time I like it here, but June, July, and August, not so much. We finally are set to see the end of triple digit temps.

I wouldn't mind traveling a little to see places I haven't been, but have no interest or desire to move.

MM

Had this kind of a childhood myself- went to three 2nd grades. I think maybe that's why the wanderlust is always with me

Alpha Echo · Oct 4, 2012

Lavern08 said:
I live in Virginia.

With the exception of the horrible humidity in the summertime, I love it.

I live in a townhouse in the suburbs, but I work in the city (about a 40-minute commute).

I'm close to shopping, all kinds of cultural and historical stuff, very nice restaurants and there's a church on every corner.

I've traveled to other places, but I've lived here all my life, and at this point, I think I'll stay put.

Me too, to most of that! I work only a few minutes from my house, but we're about 40 minutes from DC. I have easy access to any store or restaurant I want. Traffic sucks, but...well...I don't have to sit in it because I work so close to home.

We'll retire in Belize. But we're happy here in the meantime.

Grew up in MD about an hour away. Moved around about 10 times on Long Island within about as many years. Finally settled and very happy.

EMaree · Oct 4, 2012

I was born in the highlands of Scotland, lived on the Scottish islands for a while, and on the (rural) mainland for much longer. I moved from a tiny city to a sleepy fishing town, and I love it.

I occasionally crave the excitement (shopping! sushi! other writers!) of some of the Scottish cities like Edinburgh, but I'm not a fan of London's vastness. I've been across the Netherlands and adore everywhere there, especially Stockholm and Helsinki. I've also been to Spain a few times but after my parents had their villa broken into and, on a seperate occasion, their luggage slashed open I always feel unsafe there.

I'd love to travel more, to Canada and Japan and America, though I'm a homebird at heart. Scotland's definitely in my blood.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

firedrake said:
I've moved more times than I can remember, including three separate stints in the US, once in Connecticut (6 months way back in the mists of time), Pittsburgh and Arizona. I'd go back to Pittsburgh in a heartbeat.

Now I'm pretty much permanently back in the UK. I live in a lovely little village, in a rented cottage which is about 250 years old. It's mouldy and damp, but it's home.

Nice to hear you liked Pittsburgh- it definitely ain't for everybody. I lived all around the city, East Liberty, Brookline, Downtown, spent a large part of my childhood, back and forth to Garfield, near the corner of Negley and Broad. I know it's bad now, wasn't all that great then, but I loved it. Very vivid memories of that area. What neighborhood, suburb did u live in?

Anninyn · Oct 4, 2012

I do. I live in Norfolk, in the UK, and for all my typically-british complaints about it, I love it. I live in the city, and it's a beautiful city with a lot of history. It's small enough to walk across in a day, but big enough to have all the important things, and it's safe and friendly. I am surrounded on all sides by miles of lush fenland and farmland, and I'm only an hours drive from the coast. And the sky. You've never seen sky like Norfolk sky. It's huge. Artists have always come here, just to paint our sky. It's especially wonderful at the coast.

I can imagine Norfolk is probably quite boring for people not as into books and old buildings as me, but they aren't proper people.

I have just bought a three bedroom maisonette right at the border between the city and a village that it grew into, a newish construction - build sometime in the seventies. It's clean and bright and gets sun all day, all year round. It's big enough for us... and for the family we plan to have soon.

If we have enough money when Jos retires, we'll retire to a nice cottage in one of the nearby villages. Far enough out to have lovely views, close enough to be convenient.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Alpha Echo said:
Me too, to most of that! I work only a few minutes from my house, but we're about 40 minutes from DC. I have easy access to any store or restaurant I want. Traffic sucks, but...well...I don't have to sit in it because I work so close to home.

We'll retire in Belize. But we're happy here in the meantime.

Grew up in MD about an hour away. Moved around about 10 times on Long Island within about as many years. Finally settled and very happy.

Used to want to live in Belize. I don't really know that much about it- just seemed like the most exotic setting I could think of where they still spoke English.

I lived in Baltimore for a year when I was a kid- My stepfather (he wouldn't last for long) was in law school. I have very spotty memories of the place, I don't know why. It's strange, 'cause I can remember all my teachers, classmates, before and after, but my memory of that school and any of the people in it is just like a black void. I'll never forget the hardshell crabs though! Also, one double header I went to that the Orioles took from the Tigers

shadowwalker · Oct 4, 2012

I was born and raised in the same rural town (3k) - born less than a mile from the family home where I grew up and moved back to a few years ago. I lived in a small city (80k) for 20 years and hated every minute of it, and have no liking at all for big cities. I've done a little traveling, mostly by car, and if I could move anywhere else, it would be the mountains of southern Idaho, northern Montana. I hate where I live in the winter - nothing but bare farm fields covered with snow, but love it the rest of the year. So I'd love to have a cabin in the mountains to hold up in during the winter, and come home for spring through fall. Ideally, I'd just have a motorhome and go where and when I wanted.

angeluscado · Oct 4, 2012

I've lived in the same area for my whole life and have moved twice - once before I could remember and then three years ago to my current place. I love the location of my apartment - close to everywhere and a short bus ride to downtown/work. Hubby's work is about three blocks away and he walked to work until he got his license.

The only thing I don't like is how expensive my apartment is. Sure, we split the expenses, but sometimes just... Ugh.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Anninyn said:
I do. I live in Norfolk, in the UK, and for all my typically-british complaints about it, I love it. I live in the city, and it's a beautiful city with a lot of history. It's small enough to walk across in a day, but big enough to have all the important things, and it's safe and friendly. I am surrounded on all sides by miles of lush fenland and farmland, and I'm only an hours drive from the coast. And the sky. You've never seen sky like Norfolk sky. It's huge. Artists have always come here, just to paint our sky. It's especially wonderful at the coast.

I can imagine Norfolk is probably quite boring for people not as into books and old buildings as me, but they aren't proper people.

I have just bought a three bedroom maisonette right at the border between the city and a village that it grew into, a newish construction - build sometime in the seventies. It's clean and bright and gets sun all day, all year round. It's big enough for us... and for the family we plan to have soon.

If we have enough money when Jos retires, we'll retire to a nice cottage in one of the nearby villages. Far enough out to have lovely views, close enough to be convenient.

Sounds absolutely idyllic! Were you born and raised there? Also, what's "fenland"?

Mclesh · Oct 4, 2012

Like angeluscado, I've lived in two places my whole life--the house I grew up in, then when I moved out and bought a place. Still there. And it's just across town. I didn't choose it because of its proximity to my mom's, more that it was affordable in Southern California. It's a fairly quiet neighborhood, small crimes, fairly safe. The thing I appreciate most about living here is the weather. Other than when it's too hot, our weather is mostly good. The winters are mild. We've had more than our share of humidity lately. Don't like that. But that seems to be over now.

I like the proximity of things. The old joke in L.A. is everything is 20 minutes away (except when you factor in the traffic).

If I could live anywhere, it would probably be at the beach--Laguna, Del Mar or Santa Barbara. (If I ever win the lottery and wake up wealthy.)

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Lavern08 said:
I live in Virginia.

With the exception of the horrible humidity in the summertime, I love it.

I live in a townhouse in the suburbs, but I work in the city (about a 40-minute commute).

I'm close to shopping, all kinds of cultural and historical stuff, very nice restaurants and there's a church on every corner.

I've traveled to other places, but I've lived here all my life, and at this point, I think I'll stay put.

Home is a good thing, no denying it. But I guess it means more than just a geographical location. Been gone so long there's no going back.

Anninyn · Oct 4, 2012

Bebop said:
Sounds absolutely idyllic! Were you born and raised there? Also, what's "fenland"?

I was. I spent a few years living in a small town (very small) in the middle of nowhere, too.

Fens. It's marshland, effectively. It means that cities and towns can;t spread too far, as you can't really build much more than the odd cottage on it. In spring and autumn mists will rise up from the fens very quickly - last winter the entirety of Norwich was covered in a mist so thick that buses were disappearing into it.

firedrake · Oct 4, 2012

Bebop said:
Nice to hear you liked Pittsburgh- it definitely ain't for everybody. I lived all around the city, East Liberty, Brookline, Downtown, spent a large part of my childhood, back and forth to Garfield, near the corner of Negley and Broad. I know it's bad now, wasn't all that great then, but I loved it. Very vivid memories of that area. What neighborhood, suburb did u live in?

S'liberty, eh? Been through there a few times. I believe I may have gotten very, very drunk and passed out at a party there.

I lived in Monroeville.

Anninyn said:
I do. I live in Norfolk, in the UK, and for all my typically-british complaints about it, I love it. I live in the city, and it's a beautiful city with a lot of history. It's small enough to walk across in a day, but big enough to have all the important things, and it's safe and friendly. I am surrounded on all sides by miles of lush fenland and farmland, and I'm only an hours drive from the coast. And the sky. You've never seen sky like Norfolk sky. It's huge. Artists have always come here, just to paint our sky. It's especially wonderful at the coast.

I can imagine Norfolk is probably quite boring for people not as into books and old buildings as me, but they aren't proper people.

I have just bought a three bedroom maisonette right at the border between the city and a village that it grew into, a newish construction - build sometime in the seventies. It's clean and bright and gets sun all day, all year round. It's big enough for us... and for the family we plan to have soon.

If we have enough money when Jos retires, we'll retire to a nice cottage in one of the nearby villages. Far enough out to have lovely views, close enough to be convenient.

Norfolk is one of the best kept secrets in the UK. I used to live in Suffolk and my job involved quite a few jaunts to Norfolk. I love it. Spent a memorable week at the University, when I worked at the Open University. They did the Summer School there. Good times.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Mclesh said:
Like angeluscado, I've lived in two places my whole life--the house I grew up in, then when I moved out and bought a place. Still there. And it's just across town. I didn't choose it because of its proximity to my mom's, more that it was affordable in Southern California. It's a fairly quiet neighborhood, small crimes, fairly safe. The thing I appreciate most about living here is the weather. Other than when it's too hot, our weather is mostly good. The winters are mild. We've had more than our share of humidity lately. Don't like that. But that seems to be over now.

I like the proximity of things. The old joke in L.A. is everything is 20 minutes away (except when you factor in the traffic).

If I could live anywhere, it would probably be at the beach--Laguna, Del Mar or Santa Barbara. (If I ever win the lottery and wake up wealthy.)

Yeah, I finally like it here. Took me a long time. The 20 minute thing, it's funny right? Especially when there's traffic and you can hit traffic any time of day. I love the beach, too. I'm one of those guys that's just a dot in the blue horizon when I'm in the surf. I lived in Venice for a while, a half a block from the boardwalk.

It's been a rough summer, you are right. But pretty soon here, we'll have about seven months before weather is even a consideration.

The distance between point A and B can be a drag. LA has everything NY has, only it can be so far out of reach you don't bother.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

firedrake said:
S'liberty, eh? Been through there a few times. I believe I may have gotten very, very drunk and passed out at a party there.

I lived in Monroeville.

I know, and you should have heard the things you said in your sleep.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Anninyn said:
I was. I spent a few years living in a small town (very small) in the middle of nowhere, too.

Fens. It's marshland, effectively. It means that cities and towns can;t spread too far, as you can't really build much more than the odd cottage on it. In spring and autumn mists will rise up from the fens very quickly - last winter the entirety of Norwich was covered in a mist so thick that buses were disappearing into it.

So great when you love where you're from- 'taint always the case. You sound happy- nice to hear that kind of thing.

Maze Runner · Oct 4, 2012

Perks said:
I was raised in the DC area, but I've lived in the Asheville, NC area for the last nine years. I absolutely love it there.

Meaning, not here- are you in NYC?

xKatya · Oct 4, 2012

I lived in one place from birth through high school (but travelled quite a bit during that time), and then moved over 3000 miles to go to college. There was a point during college when I moved every six months for two years, because I studied abroad on two different continents. I racked up a pretty impressive amount of airline miles, too!

It's very hard for me to imagine staying in one place for more than a couple years, honestly, and I've spent enough time other places that I feel like I have trouble fitting in anywhere. (The number of times I've been told I don't seem like an American is slightly ridiculous)*. To further complicate things, my parents and extended family come from a very different part of the country than where I grew up, and I feel more out of place there than I do abroad. So it's a pretty complicated question for me. I'm back at "home" now but frustrated by the isolation and the fact it doesn't really feel like home anymore, and I'm hoping to move back east at some point, but committing to stay put anywhere is somewhat terrifying.

*To the point of being asked if I spoke English, when it was clear the expectation was I didn't...

Lavern08 · Oct 4, 2012

I suppose it really is true that "Home is Where Your Heart Is?"

Do you like where you live?

Maze Runner

MaryMumsy

the original blond bombshell

Lavern08

Sit Down, and Shut Up!

firedrake

practical experience, FTW

Perks

delicate #!&@*#! flower

CaroGirl

Living the dream

Maze Runner

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

EMaree

a demon for tea

Maze Runner

Anninyn

Stealing your twiglets.

Maze Runner

shadowwalker

empty-nester!

angeluscado

Maze Runner

Mclesh

It's too hot

Maze Runner

Anninyn

Stealing your twiglets.

firedrake

practical experience, FTW

Maze Runner

Maze Runner

Maze Runner

Maze Runner

xKatya

Lavern08

Sit Down, and Shut Up!