Downtown Denver: There is so much going on in downtown Denver and it might be pretty cool to have a loft there.
Austin, Texas: This is supposedly beautiful, young, fun and rich with a lot of activities you won't get anywhere else. Apparently, it has a great music scene too.
San Francisco: This is a gorgeous city. If you can put up with weirdness, I've heard amazing things about the place.
Savannah, Georgia: A gorgeous mix of Old America and youngest America.
Burlington, Vermont has amazing trees. London and Paris seem cool too. Vegas has fun, booze and hookers! Detroit has crime and drugs galore!
Notice that I didn't give much detail. Why? Because
23 comments:
Unfortunately I haven't traveled as much as I'd like. I know we've talked about Austin a few times but I'm still not convinced that it won't drive me crazy after a few weeks. Out of the places I have been, though, I loved San Diego. Great climate and layout, especially the seaside area. I thought there was something cool about Phoenix, too, though I never got to explore it.
- Daniel
Bogota, Colombia is nice if you live in the money areas. Nice weather, excellent public parks (in the money areas, which isn't true in every country), great restaurants (most have Argentinian beef), lots of fascinating museums, incredible but pricey shopping (all the drug money sloshing around attracts a lot of expensive stores and even creates some bargains because some stores are used to launder drug money) and a lower risk of street crime than in some less infamous cities.
Last but not least there are lots of beautiful women.
I'd promote my hometown, but I don't want any libtards moving here. So that's what you get. ;-)
Daniel, I've heard good things about San Diego too. Never been there though. I visited Austin once and really enjoyed it, plus I watch the Travel Channel a lot and it always impresses me.
tryanmax, LOL! We find that the media views Colorado as "Denver" and "outside Denver," and that suits us fine because we'd rather not get flooded by people moving here... not that we aren't already.
Anthony, Argentinian beef... yum!
I've never been. The closest I've been was the Caribbean, which was pretty nice (depending on where you are).
In terms of money, I've actually found that's the key to unlocking most big cities. There is live in the city and then there's life in the city with money, and the two are very different. DC is an amazing place if you can afford to do all the nice things. It's not so great if you're a poor student.
In all honesty, drug money can make a city. Look at Miami.
I've always been partial to the Gulf Coast; maybe Biloxi, Galveston or Panama City. I love Colorado Springs, but it's too damn cold there in the winter...there's a little town down in East Texas that I've always loved, Dime Box,,,I think I could be happy there...but to be honest, I'm content right here in the Ozarks. We're 2 1/2 hours from St Louis and 2 1/2 hours from Memphis,,,winters are usually mild, low crime rate, low taxes and lots of public land for fishing and hunting.
Andrew -
My closest friend lives in Miami and he wants nothing more than to leave. Yes, there are some nice areas (the ones you see in movies) but the rest of it looks like everywhere else: suburbs, strip malls, and traffic, only with more Spanish being spoken! And people can't drive for shit, but that pretty much applies to all of South Florida.
I've never been to Austin but I might have to visit one day. It's one of the cities people mention to me (i.e. home to many creatives, cool film/design scene, etc.).
And as I mentioned earlier, I love NYC but I don't think it's the place to be right now. I want to live in something bugger than a shoebox! Incidentally, when I was there last weekend I went to the 9/11 Museum. All I'll say is it packs a punch, and the logistics involved in cataloging every artifact, newspaper, video clip, and piece of ephemera must have been daunting.
I lived in Los Angeles for a year and a half (in Sherman Oaks) and I still miss it. Yeah, it's crowded and traffic can be crazy, not to mention "The Big One" geologists keep talking about... but I thought it was so cool living within driving distance of the film studios, not to mention they have the coolest music store I've ever seen and an even cooler... what I can only describe as "nerd store." :-)
One of my favorite cities is Seattle. It's fun, clean and very friendly. Okay, the weather is not the greatest, but Pikes Street Market is worth the trip.
Least favorite...New Orleans. There's just something sinister going on there.
You lived in Sherman Oaks for any amount of time, Scott, and you're pimping Amoeba over Freakbeat Records? Eh, to each their own ...
After 20+ years in LA/The Valley/OC, and the recent desire of Jerry and his Brownshirts to make California even less habitable for few beyond illegals, finally packing up when our lease expires in 8 months. Georgia one of the places on our mind, along with Tennessee, so don't think I missed that above nod to Savannah. Of course, I'll have to bite my Yankee tongue and only think, "Great architecture, but I don't notice any buildings from before 1865."
I'm really fond of my little corner of the world - Northeastern NC. We have beautiful beaches and a nice climate. I've lived here all my life and there's just something about the area. I've been to DC, Pittsburgh, Vegas and LA, but as the saying goes - I like visiting, but I wouldn't want to live there; too many people for my taste.
TJ, I thought North Carolina was gorgeous, especially when the trees changed! :)
Eric, I've always wanted to visit LA, but I've never thought about living there. It seems far too congested. But it definitely sounds like it has some fantastic things to do and see! Enjoy your last 8 months!
I've never been to Savannah, but I've seen a lot about it and it seems pretty fantastic.
Scott, I've heard Miami is a pit out side of about two blocks.
On NYC, NYC is one of those places that if you have a ton of money, then it's amazing. But if you don't, then it's kind of lousy.
Critch, Colorado is quite temperate for the most part. It's not frigid like the Northeast and it's not hot like the South, nor is it humid. I love the climate a lot. That's my biggest problem with moving south, is that I love cooler climates.
Andrew -
Your line about Miami is EXACTLY right! When Stephen Fry toured the US for a TV show, he referred to Miami as "a hole." This delighted my friend to no end.
Eric -
I must confess I've never heard of Freakbeat Records! My roommates - classmates from film school - turned me on to Amoeba because of their movie section (including old laserdiscs).
I like the idea that people think Colorado has terrible weather but it is generally dry, not too hot (rarely gets to 100), not too cold (rarely gets below 0), and 4 distinct seasons. 300 days of sunshine keeps the seratonin pumping.
I love the bay area even though there are so many people. I also like Portland and Seattle although the rain can get depressing.
I lived in Reno and although there are rough parts of town, I loved the location. Mild weather, 30 min to Tahoe and multiple skiing hills. 3-4 hour road trip to San Fran. Salt Lake was also awesome but does have some issues with Lake stink and mormons.
Kansas City has improved over the last 10 years but about as far south as I feel comfortable with regard to humidity.
I don't like Chicago or NY or Houston or LA or Las Vegas. DC can be fun to visit but I'm always flying in one day out the next. Boston seemed nicer than I expected. Philadelphia has such promise but needs a complete overhaul. I hate Orlando and Atlanta for some reason.
Amoeba, great for in-store concerts (still love that I rubbed elbows with a Ramone while watching Paul Westerberg tear the place up) + beyond exhausting selection. However, there's only so much I can take of the super-snotty staff (High Fidelity's Rob x 1000), especially when I can ultimately get anything they've got via Amazon or eBay.
While we're on the topic and just to get it off my chest, Cincinnati is a foul toilet. Violent, loud and dirty with terrible roads and absolutely shitty weather. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS ANGRY but they express it differently. The black people are violent, the white people are condescending and passive aggressive. The powers that be are obsessed with race and their goal is to make the town into the affirmative action capitol of the country.
Not ONE DAMN PERSON in the entire city can drive a car. They basically treat driving as a game of real life bumper cars and when they run into each other they both blame the other one and fight.HMMM... What else?
Oh yeah, that pissy excuse for a football team. It's not the team itself, it's the fans. You can tell a helluva lot about somebody's character by the way they treat their team. Every summer when training camp starts the Bengals are an unstoppable juggernaut. Then EVERY... SINGLE...YEAR when it falls apart the exact same "fans" call their team,the same team that it was in July, mind you, losers and quitters,etc,etc,etc. And did you know that the Bengals have never lost a game in their entire franchise history? It's always that the sun was in somebody's eyes, the refs were bribed or incompetent,the other team drugged the gatorade or put lsd in the coaches coffee,etc ad infinitum. Cincinnati Fans are crybabies,frontrunners and quitters.
To top it off, a few years ago Forbes named Cincinnati the bed bug capitol of the United States! I can't think of a more fitting honor for the place.
GypsyTyger
HMMMM...
Violent,Loud and Dirty wouldn't be a bad title for a novel, would it? If it was a movie Robert Rodriguez could direct it. :)
GT
It must have been a bad winter when I was stationed in Denver, because it was colder than a well digger's butt...the summer's were gorgeous however...
Finally had a chance to catch up, sit down, and write something... Eric, I'm a Georgia resident, and while I'm not an expert on the state I can point out a few things. First off, you'll probably want to stay away from the northwest, which is where I'm currently stuck. This part of the state is definitely declining, though s visit to the Berry College campus definitely isn't a bad idea if you like beautiful scenery and random deer encounters even around the main buildings (a running gag among Berry students is the deer-to-student ratio on campus). They even offer hunters a chance to go in and hunt deer a few times a year. Then again, the same can be said about most of rural GA in general. Atlanta is really the only game in the state if you want a place with a strong economy assuming you can put up with the crime and other big city problems there.
Augusta isn't doing too bad either from what I've heard, and same for Savannah, but Augusta is one of our blue spots (along with Atlanta, Columbus, and Athens), so be warned if that's an issue. And speaking of Athens UGA's North Campus is definitely worth a visit, especially when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and the bridge going past Sanford Stadium was always neat to walk on. Catching a Bulldogs game at Sanford is another thing every GA resident needs to do at least once, too. I'm not much of a sports person but the enthusiasm and the history there is definitely infectious! Downtown Athens has some neat restaurants and shops, too, even if they don't realize that at least a few of their customers aren't liberals... Chalk Athens up as a nice place to visit but don't plan on settling down there unless you've got a high tolerance for college town liberalism, drunkenness, crazy drivers, and general lunacy. Despite being one of our larger cities Macon itself is a pit from what I've heard, though Warner Robins, just outside of it, has a decent economy centered on its Air Force base, though from what I've heard theft rates are fairly high down there.
As far as Tennessee goes most people around here talk about moving to Chattanooga or Nashville if that means anything to you, and Memphis has a bad reputation as being a crime-ridden cesspit. Jed or someone else who's spent more time there than me should be able to give you better advice as fat as TN goes. Also, TN doesn't have a state income tax and it has one of the stronger economies in the SE at the moment so that should probably enter into your calculations, too.
Scott, people recommend Austin to me for the same reasons. An old friend of mine said that Sixpence None the Richer had even sponsored some kind of creative community there a few years ago, though I don't know if it's still active or not. I know that a few gaming companies have offices there, too, which theoretically puts a few more points in its favor for me, too. Unfortunately said companies are EA and Blizzard and I'm not especially thrilled at the thought of working for either of them - especially two time Worst Company in the World winner EA. Plus with Austin being Texas' darkest blue spot I imagine any creative community I find there will be the same as every other one I've found online aside from here at Commentarama and Larry Correia's circle of friends - heavy on SJW message fic and prone to going berserk at the slightest deviation from their ideology. As much as I'd love to start over again in Texas I'm not sure if it'll be possible if places like Austin are my only real chance to find work.
Well, I suppose I've still got time to figure out a new place to move. Who knows, I might even find a place with a good economy that won't drive me crazy in a cooler climate, even. For someone who was born and raised in the south I never was a fan of the heat...
- Daniel
One place I have seriously considered is Heber Springs, AR. A lot of my Air Force buddies moved there after retirement and really love it.
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