Best City to Live

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:42 am

You hear about people who have to get AWD cars, keep pairs of snow tires around on separate rims to change over to.

How do people handle the corrosive road salts they use to clear the streets?

Who needs that hassle?

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:51 am

what the hell is a snow tire?

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:03 am

great thread BTW...

me and my wife were thinking of moving out of South Florida and were looking for suggestions. We were thinking about Atlanta. We visited there and loved it. Like a smaller NYC with trees everywhere and the people were so friendly. I have heard horror stories about Atlanta traffic and that would scare me away, but what about living on the outskirts? We were looking at "Cobb County". Anyone with any insight?

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:05 am

"Mama knows but she don't care
She's got her worries too

Seven kids and a phony affair
And the rent is due

All the little chicks with the crimson lips go
Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks

She's livin' in sin with a safety pin
She's goin' Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks,
Cleveland rocks"

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:22 am

wco81 wrote:You hear about people who have to get AWD cars, keep pairs of snow tires around on separate rims to change over to.

As opposed to all the idiots in Cali who drive SUVs? Lots of need for 4WD out there.

And the snow tire thing is a myth. I've lived in Syracuse most of my life and never had a set of snow tires on a vehicle I've owned.

wco81 wrote:How do people handle the corrosive road salts they use to clear the streets?

Uh, wash their cars?

wco81 wrote:Who needs that hassle?

I'll take that "hassle" over paying a half-mil for a 2,000-square foot house in the Bay Area any day, thanks.

Again, different strokes for different folks.

Take care,
PK

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:30 am

JackB1 wrote:great thread BTW...

me and my wife were thinking of moving out of South Florida and were looking for suggestions. We were thinking about Atlanta. We visited there and loved it. Like a smaller NYC with trees everywhere and the people were so friendly. I have heard horror stories about Atlanta traffic and that would scare me away, but what about living on the outskirts? We were looking at "Cobb County". Anyone with any insight?

Parents lived in Kennesaw from 89-99. Not a true southern city, as many from the north have found it. Homes are very reasonable for the East Coast, and yes, traffic can be a bear, but no worse than S. Florida IMO.

IIRC, Fulton County taxes are much higher that Cobb or Cherokee Co., plus traffic is really a b*tch in Fulton Co.

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:33 am

pk500 wrote:I've lived in Syracuse most of my life and never had a set of snow tires on a vehicle I've owned.

PK sees snow driving as real-life Colin McRae Rally time.

tsunami · Post by **tsunami** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:39 am

Brando70 wrote: I really loved San Diego when I lived there, but it's been more than a decade since I've been back. Incredible weather and really laid back lifestyle.

San Diego is another place I'd like to visit. I hear the weather is fantastic and the lifestyle is laidback as you said. Again, maybe a retirement possibility. Unfortunately, I think it is also the most expensive city to live in America.

tsunami · Post by **tsunami** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:46 am

pk500 wrote:Well, every time I hear someone say a city's winter is brutal, I think, "That's not winter," and I want to tell them that Syracuse <b>averages</b> 115 inches of snow per winter. We're the snowiest major metropolitan area in the Lower 48 states, and I'm damn proud of it!

Take care,
PK

My company has a power plant in Oswego, which is not too far from Syracuse from what I understand. I've been to Oswego a few times but thankfully it wasn't snowing at the time. Which is surprising, as my co-worker and I always tease the guys up there because it seems like they have two seasons there - Winter and whatever you want to call the 2 months its not snowing.

And they say the same thing everytime we complain it's cold in NYC or that we got some snowfall. I'm glad you enjoy life up there, but that's too much snow for me. I need some spring, summer, and fall thrown into the mix.

tsunami · Post by **tsunami** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:49 am

JackB1 wrote:We were thinking about Atlanta. We visited there and loved it. Like a smaller NYC with trees everywhere and the people were so friendly. I have heard horror stories about Atlanta traffic and that would scare me away, but what about living on the outskirts? We were looking at "Cobb County". Anyone with any insight?

I don't think I have ever heard of Altanta referred to as "a smaller NYC". From what you described it doesn't sound anything like NYC...especially the part about the friendly people.

I know some people who live in Atlanta and all they say is that it's hot and humid.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:51 am

There are idiot SUV drivers everywhere, even in the frost zones. But you have such a bug up your ass about California that you have to pretend only CA has SUV-driving soccer moms.

As for the snow tire myth, at least that's what a lot of guys on Edmunds are claiming, that they swap tires as the season changes. Maybe they're blowing smoke but then again, they're talking about spending a couple of thousand to have a separate set of rims and snow tires for their $40k cars.

Oh and for 2000 square feet, try more like $800k, and even that's probably a low estimate. Yes it's ridiculous but the real estate boom or bubble is occurring in all warm and coastal areas around the world, not just CA. People are migrating out of the NE to the South and to the West.

Yeah a lot of people cash out of their overpriced homes and move to rural areas or other states. But then you're in the middle of nowhere and there's a reason why real estate costs 1/5 or even less.

That's okay, the idiot SUV drivers in the coastal regions of CA will just accelerate the flooding or sinking of the state into the Pacific. Then nobody will have to deal with snow.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:03 pm

wco81 wrote:But you have such a bug up your ass about California that you have to pretend only CA has SUV-driving soccer moms.

No, there are plenty of SUV-driving soccer moms here in upstate N.Y. I actually sleep with one every night.

But she actually uses the 4WD for its intended purpose -- better traction in snowy or off-road road conditions.

I'm sure that's the case with the soccer moms in all warmer climates, too.

Take care,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:09 pm

I've heard that in Atlanta, interracial couples know better than to be seen in public.

That's surprising if true, because Atlanta supposedly has seen a lot of migration from people in the NE.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:12 pm

Whenever I hear "Cobb County, GA" I think of the Big Boss Man.

Living in MN, I know people who use snow tires. My inlaws use them and their is a marked improvement. Not worth it to me, but trying to squeeze an extra winter out of worn tires will have you at the tire shop the next morning.

I had frost on my windshield this morning, by the way.

The Twin Cities is a great place to live, in my opinion.

seanmac31 · Post by **seanmac31** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:16 pm

wco81 wrote:Oh and for 2000 square feet, try more like $800k, and even that's probably a low estimate.

When I hear people complain about the high costs of living in SF or NY, I'm always reminded of something Jonathan Franzen wrote: "Manhattan, in particular, offers the reassurance of high rents, which means that this is a city that people want to live in, not escape from. It's no accident that Parisians adore New York. Its orthogonal street grid notwithstanding, they feel right at home here, since of the things that makes Europe Europe is that its urban centers are still attractors, rather than repellers, of public life. Conversely, for an American Midwesterner like me, hungry for a feeling of cultural placement, New York is the next best thing to Europe."

It's so true. You pay the rents because places like New York offer you an experience that is fundamentally unavailable in most of the rest of the country. Most American cities are simply hollow shells where people drive into work and then drive out to the suburbs afterwards, all in identical SUVs, all heading off to identical housing communities ringed by the exact same set of predictable chain stores to service them. (It's one of the great ironies that in our fear of anything smacking of socialism, we've essentially created the socialist dream of a vast uniformity of experience.) There just aren't many places where you can break away from that, and people are onto the few places there are, hence the ridiculous cost of living. But I'd pay it every time.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:19 pm

pk500 wrote:But she actually uses the 4WD for its intended purpose -- better traction in snowy or off-road road conditions.

Actually, every SUV designed and made today are intended to be sold everywhere, especially in warm areas where it never snows.

Why?

Those are the areas which are experiencing population growth while people are moving out of the colder areas. So of course car companies want to maximize sales of SUVs, which are the most profitable vehicles (in fact, they subsidize sales of passenger cars, which are often unprofitable).

SUVs are basically glorified station wagons for those people who have to transport growing families around but think they're too cool for minivans.

And a lot of the 4WD or AWD systems in SUVs are poorly-designed so that in fact, they can't perform in extended off-road sessions. Plus a lot of models are marketed for their amenities and bling, not for the AWD performance.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:21 pm

Wow, that's a news flash. Consider me educated. You mean everyone who drives an Escalade doesn't use it for monster truck events?

Out,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:23 pm

While in the US I used to live in LA (Hawthorne area, CA), lived in Miami (I certainly miss the senioritas) but my favourite city has to be Boston & San Francisco with BOS having an edge because you can't always see Frisco. NYC is great for the active mind and I hear the Island is great.

I travelled all over the world and just to step outside of North America for a bit I'd like to say that in SA the city of Buenos Aires rocks (Paris of SA), in Europe you gotta love London & Paris, Zurich is great also for the mountains and cool people.

Asia, you got to visit Shanghai (for those that haven't visited China lately, you haven't seen anything yet), Hong Kong and Nagoya in Japan, where the current Expo is taking place. The bad about these cities: overcrowded, bad air and pollution

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:27 pm

10spro wrote:NYC is great for the active mind and I hear the Island is great.

The Island, as in Long Island? It's a sh*thole, the appendix of New York state. If the state chopped off Long Island like a bursting appendix, we'd never miss it.

Long Island has lousy traffic (L.I.E., anyone?), overrated beaches, housing developments as far as the eye can see, strip-mall hell, etc., etc. About the only redeeming factors about Long Island are the Hamptons and the fact you can get the hell out of Long Island.

Long Island is the Inland Empire area of Southern California without the nearby mountains, nearby good beaches, good weather and hot chicks. I'll pass!

Seriously, if given the choice between living in New York City or Long Island, it would take about three seconds to make that choice -- the City.

Take care,
PK

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:50 pm

wco81 wrote:I've heard that in Atlanta, interracial couples know better than to be seen in public.

That's surprising if true, because Atlanta supposedly has seen a lot of migration from people in the NE.

That's just silly. I've been the stupid half of an interracial couple for 20+ years. You get all kinds of reactions from all kinds of people in all kinds of places.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:17 pm

I don't doubt that no city in the US is free of people who at least do a double-take when they see an interracial couple.

The question is whether Atlanta has come along as far as other places. Yes it wasn't too long ago in SF that you would not see interracial or gay couples in public.

In some places, we seem to be regressing as people want to teach "intelligent design" along side or instead of evolution. Maybe Scopes might turn out differently if re-tried.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:20 pm

tsunami wrote:
Brando70 wrote: I really loved San Diego when I lived there, but it's been more than a decade since I've been back. Incredible weather and really laid back lifestyle.
San Diego is another place I'd like to visit. I hear the weather is fantastic and the lifestyle is laidback as you said. Again, maybe a retirement possibility. Unfortunately, I think it is also the most expensive city to live in America.

I live in SD. Would never live any place else.

Not the most expensive city, I think we are only at #4. Currently the Median home price is sitting somewhere around $600k.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:21 pm

I am from Boston area and I think I would do a double-take if I saw an inter-racial couple. I would not do it on purpose but it would happen because it would catch me as a surprise. I am just stating the truth about myself.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:23 pm

You do not live in San Diego BK...

Who you trying to fool?

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:24 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:You do not live in San Diego BK...

Who you trying to fool?

LOL, where do I live?