Hey everyone,  I have been thinking about moving out of Nashville and New york has been my first choice.  I would like some input though on some other places that are great places to live.  Help me out everyone.  I am desperatly want to move out of Nashville.

Thanks

xoxoxo
Bri

-- Modified on 9/18/2003 1:00:28 PM

The answer to you question depends mainly on personal preference and what's important to you.  Do you want sunny weather? Do you want to own a house? Is big city life what you are after? Do you want to live right in the thick of things? The list can go on.....

THe cost of housing in NY, San Fran, much of California,Boston, Hawaii (amongst others) is crazy expensive. Probably night and day compared to Nashville. While some folks don't mind living in a shoe box, or being a slave to their rent, just so they can live in these places, others would prefer a mid market city where your money goes much further.  I did the high rent thing for a while, but will NEVER do it again.  

I found Chicago to be an absolutely beautiful city, with a reasonable cost of living, great proximity, good people. I'd return there in a heart beat. Austin Texas, Atlanta, Dallas, Manchester/Nashua NH, Denver have all popped up on different lists of best cities to live/work.

Link below to money mag's city index.

Having lived in Nashville .. I understand the desire to get out.  Even Homewood wasn't worth .. well .... knowing in your soul that you're still in Nashville.

New York is great!  I love the city.  NYC is the only city I know that, when it rains .. it makes it's own gravy.   Where else can you live where you can park your car, walk 3 blocks and find your own tires on sale?

Chicago is not without charm.   It was founded by a bunch of New Yorkers who said "yanno, we enjoy the crime and the dirt and the poverty, but it's not cold enough - let's found a city where there's an icy breeze off a big lake!"

New Orleans is fun .... but when you towel off after a shower, you stay wet ... for days at a time.

Miami can have some beautiful days and nights.  From November 20 to April 1 it's paradise.   But in August, if you are waiting for a street light to change ... and you wait more than 45 seconds, a tropical vine can start to grow up your leg.

Minneapolis has it's atrraction.  Well, that's what the people there say.   They're known as the exporter of misquitos to the free world.  There are two seasons:  Winter Is Coming and Winter is Here.

We'll skip over the middle of the country, what I call the Square States.  Suffice it to say I can't imagine being over 21, in Kansas, and not knowing you're free to leave.

Spent two weeks in Amarillo one night.  That takes care of Texas.

Seattle has beautiful summers.  They last about 8 days, then it's back to fall & winter.   Seattle weather is why they invented that bitter-assed whiney PacificNorthwest Coffee.  It gives them a REASON to have the puckered faces all the time.

San Fransisco was, at one time, the New York City of the West.  Mark Twain once wrote "the coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco"    It's a good place for socialists - they recently decreed that the bums have a Constitutional RIGHT to piss on the sidewalks.

Los Angeles has great weather 300 days a year.   We also have 326 million people - all on the freeways at the same time - all strictly adhering to the traffic laws of their country of origin.

Santa Barbara is one of the prettiest places on earth.  Only problem is .. well .. you manage to always seem to be 2,550 miles away from EVERYWHERE.

Bri .... heaven and hell ... where ever you go .. you take 'em both with you.


-- Modified on 9/18/2003 1:42:44 PM

The house next door to me is for sale...hint hint, wink wink.

Seriously, New England is beautiful with good weather as long as you can take some cold in the winter.  We have great culture in the larger cities, Hartford, Boston, Providence, Manchester, Portland and all are good for restaurants, night clubs etc too.  I am partial to New Hampshire but there may be limited opportunity for a provider here so I would suggest North Shore Massachusetts.

If you want to know more about any of our cities, let me know and I would be happy to describe (if you visit I can tour guide too!)

Welcome to LA if you like the following:

Hitting on a beautiful blonde, only to discover five minutes later that she used to pee standing up.

That tiny little space in your house called the closet goes for $7000,000.

Must sign away your first born when buying gas.

Dodging stray bullets on the way to work.

Nah...sorry...its a bad choice....

Unless your into feet fetishes....specifically picking...

Am I Right...Popeye Doyle?

Cheers!

try san diego-best climate-only three hours from LA. close to vegas.

Mid-Atlantic states are very nice.  There are mid-sized cities that have a lot of benefits of big cities without all the aggravation.  Plus, you can drive for a couple of hours and be in the mountains, or a few hours and be at the ocean.

Chicago has much to offer with world class theatre, The Magnificent Mile, The Cubs(you can always plan vactions in October because their season is over by then), 3 cabbies who speak english, 5* restaurants, fabulous providers(always room for one more from Nashville), if you are into politics you can vote as many times as you want(as long as you vote for Daley), the list is really endless. Personally I dont live there because I hate the Bears, but I would if the Bears moved back to Champagne. just saying [EOM]

San Diego is a very nice place to live.The cost of houseing though could cause one to question that.I would suggest before you uproot youyself and move to another city you go on tour and visit the area's your interested in.Good luck!

If I survive long enough to retire, that's where I'm headed.

Living in Hawaii where everything is so expensive, i've been looking towards Las Vegas.  Las Vegas is a booming city, houses are affordable and jobs seem to be plentiful.  Lot's of Hawaii residents now call Las Vegas home.

I grew up in NYC (Manhattan), went to college in the Boston area (Cambridge), and have lived in the Bay Area (San Francisco & Berkeley). In my view, all of these, though expensive, are fantastic places to live. (I should note here that I have also seen much of the interior of the U.S., having driven cross-country four times, and having attended many conferences in cities throughout the U.S., including Hawaii).

I currently live in the Boston area again, and given its combination of culture (especially music and museums), and its proximity to Cape Cod (though I really mean the Outer Cape in particular--Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown). Furthermore, if one needs as NYC fix (as I do now & again) it is only an hour by plane, and four hours or less by car.

cuz he knows how much i hate it ...  it's my "Gulag Archipelago"

----

the weather turned cold on a dime ... it's gonna be another brutal winter!



-- Modified on 9/18/2003 10:22:45 PM

Yes, living in Boston he would feel such satisfaction from all the friendly heart-felt hellos he received from all the warm people.

As a single airline employee, and prior to that a stint in the USAF, I've lived several places in the US. California,(Riverside cough-cough: smog capital of North America and "East Bay" Oakland area); Las Vegas, Houston, Vegas again, Salt Lake, and now Tampa.

Each of these places has its pros and cons. You have to consider what you like; do you prefer palm trees or pine trees? Theme parks or National Parks? Solitude and serenity or nightlife and noise?  What YOU are like; are you conservative or liberal? If you are left wing liberal you would't care for Wyoming. If you're a right wing conservative you would hate NY city.

You have to consider also cost of living, taxes etc. Nevada has no state income tax; there is sunny warm weather 350+days a yr, recreational areas nearby for skiing/boating/camping, and of course the strip and its attractions. Oh and of course legal prostitution.

California is far too expensive and left wing for my tastes. Look at what the socialists have done to that place. I was born and raised in Chicago; I don't know what people see in that place. The democratic machine rules that place with an iron fist.

Florida, though cheap to live, I find overcrowded and far too humid. Always wet, always hot. Like living inside someone's underpants. Then you have all the 'bluehairs" ie old folks who make driving extra hazardous. This is also smoker's country. Seems like 90% of people smoke here. An exaggeration but not far off. Also a very touristy place and highly transient...second only to Nevada in pct. of residents not born here.

I actually enjoyed Utah, even though I am not Mormon and their culture and laws can get somewhat oppresive. As a non-drinker however, the liquor laws didn't bother me. It's a small clean city, low crime rate, reasonable cost of living though taxes tend to be high. Outdoor recreation abounds with several ski resorts within an hours drive, and Yellowstone National Park only 300 miles away.

I definitely prefer the mountain west...east coast isnot for me. But you have to go where you'll be happy. You couldn't pay me enough to want to live in NYC.

She just doesn't like you

...whoops, it got urban renewed.

I Know, I'm going to hell.  But wait, I'm already in Boston - same difference.

Having lived in such garden spots  as Milwaukee Wisconsin, El Paso Texas, and Homestead Florida, nothing short of a VERY high six figure income could convince me to leave Los Angles.

The City of Angeles. Sure, we have our problems, but, imho, there is no place like it.

Like Randy Newman says "I Love LA. We Love it!!"

I personally live in Phoenix. Though by all means if I decide to leave this place it is for by far an overlooked area of the country. Washington DC area. There is culture and politics as well as beautiful weather if you enjoy a nice little rain everynow and then. The real estate is high in DC, but very affordable in the surrounding in the areas which include Virginia or Maryland. The clientele in the area is fabulous and you never know who you will meet!!  Clinton anyone? I must say that even with my home being in Phoenix I would consider buying an apartment or condo in DC area because I visit so frequently. Plus you can pop up to NY very easy about a 6 hour drive, much less by train, or down to Miami a little longer, but not bad.  Just my 2 cents on a city I adore.

There is a reason Phoenix is the fastest growing city in America, even with a rather torrid summer.  A great setting with technicolor mountains, palms swaying in the breeze, somewhat affordable, easy to get around in, great sports, all the cultural amenities, great shopping, food, 320 days of sun . . . .
And if you get bored of that it is a great stepping off point. A 6-hour drive to SoCal beaches, a Vegas weekend or Colorado skiing. 3 hours to the 'real' Mexico.  Not to mention closer in places like Sedona or the numerous lakes and national forests which surround it.  The 5th busiest airport in the country which sits right in the middle of the city, meaning that you are no more than 10 hours away from anywhere in the world.
And did I mention . . . . . .