Do You Love Your City?

[Orchidflower]

and vice-versa.

Good one, Westernskies, by the way! +1

My son still lives on the Illinois-Iowa border, and I am getting weekly texts about the raising of the taxes in Illinois. I think Illinois is trying to "borrow" something like $6 billion dollars (someone from lllinois correct me). That State is in a heap of trouble now...and they can thank Chicago's powers that be for that.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

It's been almost 20 years since I've been back to SIU Carbondale. Several of my friends want a reunion there, but it's just too far now since I live in MN. I'm hinting at Chicago.

Class of 89 CTC program, 90 AJ program, and Army ROTC for the first 2 years.

I hear you on the state income tax.... alot of upset people in IL right now. But it could be worse, move to MN for DW's family and welcome to state income tax of about 7.85% from IL 3% in 2004 =(

Hang in there.

Well, the climate is nicer. However Carbondale residents also woke up today to find that the lame duck legislature had voted in the largest income tax increase in state history.

So no

 

[DeborahB]

Thinker, my DH had a few opportunities early in his career (unlike me, he's always worked in corporate cultures) to move for a promotion. We know that once you turn those down, you don't get any more. And we were okay with that.

I'm glad that it worked out for us to live where we wanted and just let the jobs be whatever they were, but I made it clear to him when we were dating those first 4 years that I'd never leave Charleston permanently. Born in the sight of water and all that.

When I worked for Habitat, there were some retired "big guns" on our board who lived on Kiawah, which is the fancy resort for retired Yankee executives near here, and was shocked by their stories of moving 8-10 times during the course of their career (one lady said that they moved 21 times) to accept promotions within their corporations.

I hope when SO's mom passes that you can move closer to the ocean. Or that she will let you move her with you.

Unfortunately she will never move except within this metro area. And never live with us. She'd drive us mad.

Unfortunately with the amount of stuff my SO has for his work - it dwarfs mine! - I don't know whether we could move. I have a bad feeling that I'm stuck here.

I had lived here for 6 years when we met - he has entertained the notion of moving, but when it comes to actually doing it, he won't. He's never lived anywhere else. And I don't think he'd like the cost of living on the coast...

I plan to manage with lots of trips. We've been together 18 years and I've come to realize it's just not going to happen.

How's the cost of living in SC? The climate sure beats southern New England, where I'm from.

 

[Ronstar]

Good one, Westernskies, by the way! +1

My son still lives on the Illinois-Iowa border, and I am getting weekly texts about the raising of the taxes in Illinois. I think Illinois is trying to "borrow" something like $6 billion dollars (someone from lllinois correct me). That State is in a heap of trouble now...and they can thank Chicago's powers that be for that.

I've read that the state thinks that they can raise about $6b with the tax increase and they want to borrow anywhere from $12-15b (depending on the news source).

The depressing part to me is not the tax increase - its the state's reluctance to realize that they have a financial problem and need to cut spending. They have no intention of cutting spending. The State debt will only increase once they have spent the proceeds of the tax increase without paying down the debt.

 

[martyb]

Hmmmm...maybe....

.....as long as it's chocolate!

Make mine Bluebell Rocky Road, please!

 

[martyb]

Hmm! Then I guess that is a reason why the movie was called "The TEXAS chainsaw massacre". To be serious, here in Louisiana I think everybody has a chainsaw. I almost bought one myself but then decided to borrow his when I need one.

Well, I sold mine, but since I'll be retiring in Louisiana, I guess I'll be getting another one!

 

[Orchidflower]

Make mine Bluebell Rocky Road, please!

Yankees won't get that, so here:


Blue Bell Creameries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Only sold really in the South...pity. It's da bomb!

 

[Sarah in SC]

How's the cost of living in SC? The climate sure beats southern New England, where I'm from.

That's a bummer about all the ties to your area. But I guess it won't last forever and planning where you will go might be part of the fun, I know it seems like that has been the case with our own W2R.

I don't really know about that whole cost of living question. I mean, we can live cheap or live big, depending on what we want to do. I live outside the city limits, so my taxes are cheap. I think our houses might be cheaper than other parts of the country, but there are expensive ones, too.

It isn't exactly possum living, but I think you can live fairly cheaply here and I don't hear quite the complaints about taxes that you do in other areas, like up North. But then again, we've got no services, really.

It is hot in the summer, but we've got the beach right here and a million places to go on the boat in little creeks and big rivers. Come see us on vacation and we'll give you the dog and pony show!

 

[Rustic23]

DW and I have moved a total 23 times in our 43 years of marriage. While some places were better than others, I can't say we disliked anyplace. We always took the attitude that there were thousands of people that choose to live here and are happy, so let's find out what they are doing and try it. That lead to volks marches, snow skiing, surfing, wind sailing, rodeos, and lots of other things we would have never tried. We don't live in a city now, but find our little part of heaven on earth just right.

 

[clifp]

Three or four years ago I would have said, "I love living in Honolulu what's not to love". However, I voted just very happy living her. Reflecting back I actually loved Silicon Valley the passion that people in the Valley had for inventing the future was infectious.

So I would say that I loved working in Silicon Valley (if you have to work) but as place to live it is too crowded and too expensive. All in all living in Honolulu is pretty sweet, but I am glad I don't have to work here.

 

[W2R]

All in all living in Honolulu is pretty sweet, but I am glad I don't have to work here.

I worked there, and you've got that right! Working in a tourist destination like Honolulu or New Orleans is less about the location and more about the job....

 

[Purron]

DW and I have moved a total 23 times in our 43 years of marriage. While some places were better than others, I can't say we disliked anyplace. We always took the attitude that there were thousands of people that choose to live here and are happy, so let's find out what they are doing and try it. That lead to volks marches, snow skiing, surfing, wind sailing, rodeos, and lots of other things we would have never tried. We don't live in a city now, but find our little part of heaven on earth just right.

I really like your comments Rustic23. Looking for the beauty in every place you've been. Because of you're positive outlook, I'm thinking people welcomed you and your DW in all these places. Who wouldn't like someone to moved to their area then found something to love about it?

DH and I often hear people complain about our area and comment about how the place they're from is so much better. You know, cheaper, better weather, slower place, less traffic, etc. This place far from perfect, but it's our home.

 

[Independent]

I moved to the midwest from the northeast. I didn't realize how different the culture would be. I've been here 24 years and still don't feel bonded to it.

The main thing I miss is the ability to easily go to the beach, or mountains - I mean for the day, not after a 10 hour drive. Especially, I miss the ocean. I don't know what I was thinking... Just that Boston had gotten too intense for me.

I also find people are way too polite here - they don't say what they think, they say what they think they should say. It's weird for me. I got used to it - like, when people asked me how I was doing, I was supposed to say "great, how about you?". Even if I was recovering from bronchitis or cancer... the answer is that you're great, or fine, or whatever. It's not supposed to be the real answer.

OTOH it's much cheaper to live here, and the salaries were not that much lower. So I was able to retire. But I miss my friends and family - on both coasts, mostly - and the ocean. I was unprepared for that.

I can't leave now - SO's mother is our responsibility and she's here.

I think for me and for many others, where our roots and families are have a lot to do with it. I grew up in a (cold) beach culture. I had no idea.

I've travelled extensively and found places I thought I'd like to live in, but really have only lived in 3 cities. Strange.

Sorry if this is a rant!

I got to the same result via a different path. I was raised in Detroit, married a woman from Nebraska, and settled in a county seat in Iowa. I had hoped to move after I retired. Realistically, "moving" would have meant a house closer to the kids in a larger city in the midwest, plus a condo for three months somewhere warm and probably a couple vacation months during the summer in the mountains or along a coast, but that would have been fine. I'd like to see more places rather than move to one.

A combination of health issues, the economy, and a more realistic view of my wife's tolerance for travel seem to have stopped that.

Unlike you, I like the polite people in the midwest. I learned from my wife that in a small town you can start a little conversation with the person behind the counter at the convenience store, the bank teller, or whomever. If it turned into a long conversation you'd probably discover you had a number of mutual acquaintances. But, the little traveling we've done says there are better views, better weather, more things to do, and plenty of nice people elsewhere.

 

[Meadbh]

Finding value in wherever you live is a subject I have been thinking about quite a bit recently, since I am planning to move from a much maligned frigid (in winter) prairie location to a warmer and more congenial location in 2011. I am thinking not only about the climate and physical location but the people and customs. I'm going to miss the cultural diversity of where I live now, and the community spirit. Hopefully there will be plenty of that where I'm going!

Here is a photo of my street taken this afternoon.

 

[Purron]

Finding value in wherever you live is a subject I have been thinking about quite a bit recently, since I am planning to move from a much maligned frigid (in winter) prairie location to a warmer and more congenial location in 2011. I am thinking not only about the climate and physical location but the people and customs. I'm going to miss the cultural diversity of where I live now, and the community spirit. Hopefully there will be plenty of that where I'm going!

Here is a photo of my street taken this afternoon.

It's beautiful Meadbh. Even so, I can understand your desire to move to a more temperate climate. The older I get, the harder it is for me to tolerate winter. Please keep us posted on the move. Sounds exciting

 

[Khan]

I'm here. I've been here ~32 years. Would be an introvert no matter where I lived.
Have been trying to figure out where to move to for old age.

 

[Moemg]

Finding value in wherever you live is a subject I have been thinking about quite a bit recently, since I am planning to move from a much maligned frigid (in winter) prairie location to a warmer and more congenial location in 2011. I am thinking not only about the climate and physical location but the people and customs. I'm going to miss the cultural diversity of where I live now, and the community spirit. Hopefully there will be plenty of that where I'm going!

Here is a photo of my street taken this afternoon.

Pretty picture ! I love looking at snow . Living in it not so much !

 

[REWahoo]

Here is a photo of my street taken this afternoon.

Why are all the trees on your street wearing belts?

 

[travelover]

Why are all the trees on your street wearing belts?

Silly question. Did you ever try to put suspenders on a tree?

 

[Meadbh]

Why are all the trees on your street wearing belts?

Very observant, REW! The "bands" are impregnated with chemicals that kill the beetles that cause Dutch Elm Disease.
Dutch elm disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[theloneranger]

Don't like cities. Never did. Grew up on my Granddaddys 600 acre farm and had no playmates except for the children of sharecroppers.
Several times when I moved for a job, I lived in a city for a short time till I found a place out of town to move to.
Now have been in the same county for almost 32 years, but have never been
"in the city".
We moved eight years ago to a 12 acre place seven miles out of town.
Less than ten minutes to the golf course and grocery store.
I hate traveling to most big cities, especially in the LACA area.

 

[ERD50]

Finding value in wherever you live is a subject I have been thinking about quite a bit recently,....

Don't like cities. Never did. Grew up on my Granddaddys 600 acre farm and had no playmates except for the children of sharecroppers. ...

I didn't vote in this poll, as I am somewhere between the top 2 poll choices. The two posts above put everything in context for me.

I feel fortunate to have lived in a rural/farm area, and the 'Big City' (NW-N side of Chicago), and the suburbs. Each have their own positives, and each would suck (for me), without ready access to the other areas.

I love that we can make a day or weekend trip into the city and enjoy world class entertainment (the Chicago Symphony, Art Institute, museums, the vibrant City itself, etc).

I love that we can come home to a quiet, almost crime-free place to relax.

I love that we can travel 15 minutes in the other direction to real farms, or just a few minutes to deep forest preserves.

And if I lived in another area, I'm sure I would seek out the positives that it had to offer, and make the most of them. In a similar vein, I've been planning a trip with a friend (DW refuses to get in an airplane). We debated about this destination or that. I said that I pretty much didn't care, we would find a way to have fun regardless of the destination (within reasonable limits, of course).

-ERD50

 

[BTravlin]

I didn't vote in this poll, as I am somewhere between the top 2 poll choices. The two posts above put everything in context for me.

I feel fortunate to have lived in a rural/farm area, and the 'Big City' (NW-N side of Chicago), and the suburbs. Each have their own positives, and each would suck (for me), without ready access to the other areas.

I love that we can make a day or weekend trip into the city and enjoy world class entertainment (the Chicago Symphony, Art Institute, museums, the vibrant City itself, etc).

I love that we can come home to a quiet, almost crime-free place to relax.

I love that we can travel 15 minutes in the other direction to real farms, or just a few minutes to deep forest preserves.

And if I lived in another area, I'm sure I would seek out the positives that it had to offer, and make the most of them. In a similar vein, I've been planning a trip with a friend (DW refuses to get in an airplane). We debated about this destination or that. I said that I pretty much didn't care, we would find a way to have fun regardless of the destination (within reasonable limits, of course).

-ERD50

Have you ever been to Vancouver, BC? If not, I suggest you visit soon as it sounds right up your alley.

 

[ERD50]

Have you ever been to Vancouver, BC? If not, I suggest you visit soon as it sounds right up your alley.

Yes, just a short stay en-route to an Alaskan Cruise. The PNW is absolutely at the top of my list for places to retire to if my ties to N IL become weaker, which is increasingly likely at some point in the next decade (kids moving to start their own lives, remaining parents passing on, etc).

Wherever I travel, I'm going to have to have at least an annual fix of a Chicago-Style hot dog (no Ketchup!). We can get frozen Lou Malnatti's Pizza now that is pretty good, and I can make my own. I've never been able to capture the essence of a Chicago Hot dog made in my own kitchen though.

-ERD50

 

[Brat]

My city loves to have people make fun of our quirky culture, evidently there is a series in production: YouTube - Portlandia - Dream of the 90s