OT: Where do you live, and what are the pros and cons of living there?
Folks,
As I stare out my window at the muted void of gray overcast hanging above Dexter, Michigan, I can't help but wish, even a little, that I lived somewhere that was dependably sunny and warm all year round. We've considered Texas, particularly the Dallas area, but then again the muggy heat can be suffocating, and don't even get me started on the bugs.
But there's no way to know for sure what it's really like to live somewhere without hearing from someone whose done it. It's a slow day and I'm curious to hear from others about where you live and if you like it.
I've always considered southeast Michigan to be a bit boring. It's not exactly a travel destination, but it's a decent place to live and work. The weather sucks, except for when it's terrific (fall time, anyone?). Having lived here my whole life, it's hard not to look at other places in the US and think it must be awesome to live there (other than Ohio. Ohio sucks and always has and always will).
Michigan. Because of the roads.
... and sparties. They was the obligatory one at the practice yesterday all decked out.
SW Florida. “Winters” are amazing, but with all the people here it becomes a bit annoying to get around on the roads. As long as you are by the water, the days in the summer are rarely worse in terms of humidity and heat as back up in Michigan. Down here is booming with new construction and if I’m going to retire down here, might as well have the place paid off before I get to that point.
In S. Pasadena Fl. Traffic is heavy. Three minutes to st Pete beach and 10 to downtown which is vibrant, diverse and a college town. But the Tampa Alumni Assoc is great during football season.ill take 4 months of summer over winter.
I live on the island of white privilege, metaphorically and in reality, of Grosse Ile.
It's nice. people are nice, summer is awesome, etc. but it's also feels like a crime to live so nice while the rest of the world burns...
In short: live on an island with a lot of open space, it's fucking awesome... but don't ever, never ever, think about all the people who have to suffer for your comfort.
You're free to live somewhere else, maybe some run-down neighborhood in Detroit. Don't let them get to you that you have to be ashamed if you live anything above a third-world country level.
Virtue signaled.
Virtue signalling is sooo 2016 dude
Wow...what a wimp you are. People had to suffer to let you live where you do? Unless you’re a damn slave owner, I doubt too many people had to suffer for you to live that way. Christ the world is full of people ashamed of having a good life. Like someone said before go find a shit neighborhood in Detroit and feel better about yourself.
This guy gets banned right? I don’t even get the irony...if there is any. I think at neighborhood you live in would be a “shit neighborhood”
Nope. Brian is on autopilot using this site as a cash cow.
You dumb
I started to type a response to this, but your comment was so fucking stupid, that I negged you instead.
Weird flex, but ok.
West Texas. Pro’s : Low cost of living, expanding economy, friendly people
Cons: 2 hrs plus to either DFW or Lubbock
West Texas pride!
Grew up in Odessa. Not the prettiest scenery for sure. Lubbock is even worse. We always said it wasnt the end of the world but you could see it from there.
Spent 5 years in west TX and there is no way that Lubbock is worse than Odessa.
That part is sooo different from the south-east Texas. I love how the landscape changes an hour out of Houston. And it's different based on which side one heads out to.
We drove through Amarilo-Lubbock-Waco last summer. May be Odessa-Monahans this winter.
April 15th, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
Sandhills in Monahans are pretty cool. Lots of fun sandsurfing and 4 wheeling. Don't stray too far from beaten path especially a night, very easy to get lost. Been years since I've been though, no idea what they are like now.
April 15th, 2019 at 10:57 PM ^
My offroading ends with the paved walking trail :) Plan to head out either to Big Bend or to Monahans in the Christmas break. Let's see how things turn out. I am torn in a sense that I want to be out there in new moon so I can see the stars in their full glory. OTOH, I also want to see the sands under full moon. How do I do both?
i live in ann arbor. i’ve lived in lots of places around the world, and there’s literally nowhere else i’d rather be. anyone posting here already knows the pros/cons
I too live in A2, right next to the stadium. One extra pro is that parking money pays most of our taxes.
Biggest con for me is no mountains. I'll be moving back to CO some day.
The U.P.
Pros: No traffic and the people are nice. Haven't heard a car horn yet while driving. Great breweries!
Cons: Theres still over a foot of snow on the ground and four to eight foot piles in yards and parking lots. Lack of quality bourbons.
There isn't some shop within striking distance that sells good bourbon? Huh. That kind of surprises me since it's as trendy as it is.
All I want is some E.H. Taylor. That is all. The bourbon craze is just starting to catch on.
Minor objection to "nice people" not honking. I honk all the damn time and I'm a fucking delight.
Double yer pleasure
Tucson, AZ. Moved here for grad school initially. Been here nearly 6 years. Low cost of living, great weather from October thru April. Excellent Mexican food. The weather is brutal in the summer. Pretty much over 100 everyday from May thru September. TERRIBLE roads. One of the city’s biggest issues is the fact that it wants to maintain a “small town” vibe despite a metro population of around 1 million. The infrastructure is inadequate to support it, so driving here is a chore.
Tucson AZ ain't nothing to F wit
I moved to Tucson from Ann Arbor in August for grad school and thought I was going to burst into flames. That was many years ago but it sounds like the infrastructure still sucks.
San Antonio, TX
Pros: good Mexican food
Cons: it’s San Antonio
I really enjoyed SA when we went down for the Final Four last year. What they've done with the Pearl district is awesome. Great modern day urban planning/revitalization.
I live in Ann Arbor, and while it was an alright place to grow up, it’s not really where I want to be as a single guy in his early 30s. Weather is crap most of the time, and while people from SE Michigan are generally nice, they’re a lot more boring than people who live in other areas of the US. In general Ann Arbor hasn’t grown like other places in the last 20ish years, and it’s significantly lacking in certain elements that have caused cities like Austin to see exponential growth.
Austin, Raleigh, and Madison are great college areas that are also state capitals, which helps growth. Can't dispute the winters are too long in Ann Arbor. No matter how great Ann Arbor is it's good to get away for a while and see the world.
The Farmington Hills Schools part of West Bloomfield.
Pro: Elementary actually ranked higher than any Ann Arbor.
Con: Not Ann Arbor
You must live within spitting distance of where I grew up. Grew up in Olde Franklin Towne at SE corner of 14 and Middlebelt.
Pretty close. Other side of 14, closer to Northwestern.
I should add the diversity here is a major selling point. I wish I could say that's why we moved here but it's because we are close to family and 30 minutes from Ann Arbor. Our neighborhood is 30% black 20% Jewish. We are very close to large populations of Indians, Greeks, Turks, Lebanese, Chaldeans, and a pocket of Ukrainians. The food within a mile of me is unbelievable. International markets and authentic everything up and down Orchard Lake and Northwestern. The best soul food is across the street from the best quick Arabic sandwich, which is down the road from the best Greek takeout diner, and an on-the-Aegean-themed turkish place we can't stay away from. You want Detroit (Sicilian)-style pizza? Buddy's started it. Orchard Lake has your choice of Indian and Persian food. The Thai community here doesn't want you to know which is the good place in which is the bad. The little Italian lady's bakery on Orchard Lake backs up to the Turkish one on Maple. And I have learned in my adulthood that being this close to a decent bagel is something only people in this corner of Oakland County and New York can claim, not to mention THE Stage Deli, and its offspring, Dakota Bread. Ironically for a collection of ethnic enclaves, the people here are pretty same. We all came for the schools , so everybody is the same kind of sappy, culture-obsessed PTA boomer, or Xennniel activity leader parent who uses the word "development" a lot, and the only time we see a Sparty is when someone's disappointing kid comes home to do laundry.
i nominate seth's quote for the next t-shirt for mgoblog:
the only time we see a Sparty is when someone's disappointing kid comes home to do laundry.
April 15th, 2019 at 11:36 AM ^
The biggest pro hands down is that you live so close to Marvelous Marvin's Mechanical Museum.
Rochester Hills
Pro: Excellent public schools. Downtown Rochester
Con: Further away from Ann Arbor than the Farmington Hills Schools part of West Bloomfield.
I like the gulf side of Florida and plan to move there when my youngest finishes high school in 2 years. I travel a fair amount on business and my favorite cities are Austin, TX and Phoenix, AZ. I don't mind heat but I'm not a fan of humidity but can bear it for a few months in the summer in trade for 9 beautiful months a year.. If weather is not the issue, cities like Grand Rapids and Madison, WI always seem to rate very highly in surveys.
I have lived in Tallahassee for 15 years and once thought we had the perfect weather. . . for ten months of the year--though August and September were always brutal--getting down into the 50s evenings, pushing toward the 80s days. Over the last five years it has grown significantly hotter, though, and we have had three hurricanes in the last three years. This last one, Hurricane Michael, destroyed half of my house, and we have spent a nightmarish four months, living out of our bedrooms and the kitchen, fighting the insurance company to do a decent rebuild.
Good town, though, a little smaller than Ann Arbor but not as full of itself. Hilly, unlike the rest of Florida, with lots of nice trees. I went to high school and college in Ann Arbor, and certainly would have preferred A2 for much of my life. Now. . . I can make my peace with this. With two major universities and one of the country's two biggest community colleges, as well as the state government, there's really enough going on to keep anyone busy. There's been a ton of explosive growth in the last decade with many attendant problems, but it has brought a much more diverse population, and we now have quite a lot of decent places to eat. It still lacks much of a walk-able urban core like Ann Arbor has, but it is getting there.
We lived in NYC and SF before coming here, and for a while I was miserable. But unless you're crazy rich I don't think big cities are good places to be any longer. A mid-sized college town with some real diversity and not too many problems might be the way to go. (It's said to be the most liberal place in Florida, but remains quite a bit more conservative than the Ann Arbor I grew up in.) Living in a place with a low cost of living has enabled us to do a lot of traveling we just couldn't do in SF, where we would save for months for a little getaway. . . There are lots of things Ann Arbor has that we don't have--really good food, more bookstores, and probably some more accomplished and creative people--but I'm probably going to retire and get old here and feel pretty accepting of my lot. If anyone decides they'd like to check this area out, I would be happy to show them around.
April 14th, 2019 at 11:33 PM ^
I'm in Tallahassee as well. Spot on from what we've experienced here as well. Been here 2.5 years. Irma hit 2 weeks after we made the move from Tampa. Love the weather here; much less humid.
Just moved to Fresno in September. Positive: I wore a jacket for exactly 2 days all “winter”, in Lake Tahoe not Fresno. They legit think 50 is cold here.
Negative: I’m pretty sure I’m going to spontaneously combust in July when it’s 100 and hell for the 3rd month in a row.
Traffic is minimal. Fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere. Diverse population. 2 hours to mountains, beaches, national parks, big cities. Lots to do here. I love it.
just hope I don’t die from the heat.
But it's a dry heat.....
It's not nearly as humid in CA (even Fresno) as Michigan. There will virtually never be an electrical storm or tornado warning. Mosquitoes are few, although not as nonexistent as in the coastal areas of CA.
If you can handle Michigan summer you can certainly handle the Central Valley.
I don't know about the Fresno area but I've been to a lot of hot places. If you're complaining about Michigan summers you'll complain about anything. Tornado warnings? Really?
April 15th, 2019 at 10:42 AM ^
Tornadoes & humidity?
Hell yeah you can keep em.
Sounds like you like em, so...
GR
Pro: close to Lake Michigan, beer, fun minor league teams, good schools
Con: more and more weirdos are moving here. Go back to San Francisco!
Also the never ending road construction when it's not snowing.