OT - Tell me where you live and your favorite and least favorite parts about the area

[kat999]

I live in southwestern Ohio. My favorite thing here is that I live in a historical/urban area with lots of walkable access to restaurants, a free downtown bus, and yet I'm also within 30 minutes of wooded trails and a great local parks system. Our weather is also pretty fantastic from about March to November: lots of blue sky days and warmth, and it only gets "too" hot (for me) in late July/early August. Even on gray days during spring, summer, and fall, it's still usually warm enough to get outside.

My least favorite thing is the winter, though. This week it's been abruptly brutal, as it is many places in the U.S. Tons of snow, sleet, freezing cold temps, and I'm already not a winter person. Fortunately today it's dazzlingly sunny, so the snow does look pretty, but everything is shut down.

I will say that I appreciate the very low cost of living in my area. Many mid-size cities in Ohio offer amenities rivaling bigger cities yet the rents and mortgages are so, so much cheaper. We're able to afford a pretty huge home in a trendy area that was about 15% of what it would have cost in a bigger city.

[Demeris]

I live in rural Arizona, southeast of Phoenix, northwest of Tucson.

We have the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets, year round. We are only a couple of hours from cool mountain air.

The high today will be in the high 60s. The low this morning was 46. Last week we saw highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

If my neighbors play music or get into riproaring fights, I can't hear them. I can hear them, however, if they shoot their guns.

If I need city amenities, I can be in the Phx area or Tucson in less than an hour.

The summer heat has begun to wear on me, but last year was the first year since 1987 that I haven't been able to escape, either to northern AZ OR out of state, out of the country, for at least a week, usually far longer.

I don't like all the wildfires we get, especially now that we are officially in a drought. I don't like having to go into town (a ten-fifteen mins drive) to get my mail.

I miss meeting my friends for lunch or dinner, but I knew I was giving this up when I retired and moved out here. I also miss my old church community. The parish church here is beautiful, but the people have all known each other for decades. I attended the adult religious ed classes a few times, but I ended up annoying everyone, most especially the religious ed director, because I asked questions I hoped would encourage discussion and pointed out issues of doctrine and faith that had been left ambiguous. When I realized everyone else WANTED the religious ed director to conduct lectures and weren't interested in discussing what we read or viewed, I knew I was distracting from her good work.

[bubbles76]

Everything Summer Breeze said lol! Except I actually love cold weather. I am also more Central NJ than Northernn

[geojill]

I live in northern Colorado, right at the base of the Rockies. I love the proximity to the mountains and hiking. It’s really beautiful here. But I really dislike how crowded and expensive it has gotten here over the years.

I certainly understand why people would want to move here, but it’s turning into sprawl. And if we didn’t already have a house, I would never be able to afford to move here now. My daughter moved to South Dakota for two years because she could afford to live there with her boyfriend without having a million roommates to afford rent. I actually wouldn’t mind moving, but my husband is unwilling.

[wendug]

Gams, Vantreesta, and Jackie B- I'm in the same company as you regarding the cold. Here in Chicago is has been brutal the last few weeks. I have only taken my dogs on short walks. We had 13 inches of snow yesterday/overnight and I have done so much shoveling I'm a bit sore! The sun is out today and it is a bit warmer, but I'm afraid we'll still take a short walk as we're navigating huge snow piles and un-shoveled sidewalks.

Otherwise I'm happy with the area. Everything we need is close. We can hop on the train and be in downtown Chicago in 20 minutes. Nice neighborhood and (generally) nice neighbors.

[BunnyHop]

I'm on the Gulf Coast, actively trying to figure out where to move. I'm still waiting on an insurance estimate from the damage to my roof in last fall's hurricane.

Insurance costs are just insane, I don't see how anyone can afford to live here.

I like seasons, but am a tenderfoot where winter precipitation is concerned. Would seriously love some advice on how to uproot myself, and where a single woman might feel at home.

Would I move if it weren't for the hurricanes? Probably, because I want to be at least closer to a big city. As it is, I'm an hour from Mobile or New Orleans, but that distance is just so inconvenient. A two hour round trip just for a taste of the big city? Sigh. I find it exhausting.

Why do people seem to like living here? Relatively mild heat in summer, compared to further inland. Yes, it gets VERY hot, a humid heat, but somehow it feels less brutal than the summer weather in the center of the state. There are breezes off the ocean that make a big difference. Today's super-cold snap is an exception, (23 degrees at 3:30 AM, 32 degrees at 11 AM, now up to 37 at almost one o'clock.) but it is cold enough here that palm trees really don't do well. People keep paying to put them in, then they eventually get frozen in our few days of winter.

Lots of retirees, and an increasing number of people moving here from elsewhere. The whole coastal region is basically one giant suburb with a good many golf courses and places to go birding. The casinos to the west are a tourist draw. Today is Mardi Gras, so in a normal year there would have been parades galore. The various cities each have their own Mardi Gras parades, you know, when such things are possible.

Iin the past twenty years, the sleepy fishing village vibe has all but disappeared.

[Sissy B]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

Relatively mild heat in summer, compared to further inland. Yes, it gets VERY hot, a humid heat, but somehow it feels less brutal than the summer weather in the center of the state. There are breezes off the ocean that make a big difference. Today's super-cold snap is an exception, (23 degrees at 3:30 AM, 32 degrees at 11 AM, now up to 37 at almost one o'clock.) but it is cold enough here that palm trees really don't do well. People keep paying to put them in, then they eventually get frozen in our few days of winter.

I guess since I'm not right on the water and don't have the ocean breezes I don't consider the summer heat as relatively mild. Even when I did live closer to the water it was brutally hot. And our low last night was 18 degrees, we're at 36 right now.

I'm miserable most of the year because it is so hot and humid here. My daughter goes to school about 3 1/2 hours north of here and while it is hot and humid there in the summer too, it's usually at least a couple of degrees cooler than here. And they get spring and fall, where we usually don't.

[Pat58]

I live in southeastern Connecticut and love it here. There is a river within walking distance, and in a short time I can drive to any number of beautiful beaches. I need to be near the ocean and to experience the four seasons. Our weather doesn't get too severe for too long, and we have lots of trails and places to hike which is ideal for an outdoor girl like me.

The towns around me aren't too urban or too suburban, just a right mix for my tastes. We have a good cultural scene here - well, it's trying to survive COVID but we have all the things you would expect in a big city such as playhouses, a ballet, an orchestra and a thriving art scene. We have two big casinos for shows and fun (again - COVID, sigh) and I can't wait for life to return to normal. Lots of history and I could go on.

Being between NYC, Boston and Providence there are so many places to visit, not to mention the beautiful Ocean State of Rhode Island. An overlooked benefit is living so close to some of the best hospitals in the country if we ever need them.

So many people here retire and snowbird back and forth or just stay in Florida - no thanks, not for me. The sun, heat and humidity would kill me.

The only things I would change if I could are the summers which have become humid heat waves, and our infrastructure is overdue for some serious attention. The cost of living is high, but I would rather stay here and practice frugality than give it up.

Oh - and I want a Trader Joe's.

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by Sissy B

I guess since I'm not right on the water and don't have the ocean breezes I don't consider the summer heat as relatively mild. Even when I did live closer to the water it was brutally hot. And our low last night was 18 degrees, we're at 36 right now.

I'm miserable most of the year because it is so hot and humid here. My daughter goes to school about 3 1/2 hours north of here and while it is hot and humid there in the summer too, it's usually at least a couple of degrees cooler than here. And they get spring and fall, where we usually don't.

I hear ya!! I grew up in central MS, and in my memory it felt like trying to live in a blast furnace, if those had humidity.

Having a garage to put the car in makes a difference. When I was young and living in an apartment with no covered parking, it was pretty miserable. I honestly think the heat made me sick.

[Izzy]

I live in Illinois, about 70 miles west of Chicago in DeKalb County. I can handle the cold, the snow, and I whine about the ice. I love the seasons here and that everything is so green. I just rather live in the mountains. I am a mountain kind of person. But, I try to see beauty everywhere. I had to drive to a very small town (smaller than mine) to visit their library. The sun was shining and the snow across the prairie was just beautiful. I don't like the taxes here (one of the worst in the nation), politics (same), corruption (same again) and how unaffordable most of this state is especially if you retire, but the fact that this state is always in massive debt drives me insane. More people are moving out than moving in.