Tell me where to live!

[Arathe]

Also Canadia is TOO FUCKING COLD

Having lived both in the US and Canada, all I can say to that statement is TRUEFAX. I hate the cold. ;_;

Anyhow, my vote is for Spokane, Washington. It is, I believe, the second largest city in the state behind Seattle, with less big city congestion, but plenty of events and goings-on since it's the biggest city on that side of the state. Washington in general is a beautiful state, with lots of skiing, lakes, state parks and other outdoorsy type things to see/do. Riverside State Park is a short drive from downtown, with access to camping, hiking, and rafting.

Weather is generally pretty middle of the road. It does snow, but in my experience rarely over much, and the temperature is pretty moderate in the winter, and rarely gets too hot in the summer.

I can't speak for the night life from personal experience because I'm a homebody, but it certainly seemed like there was a lot to do and see. There were always plenty of concerts and events going on.

Spokane has a lot of personality, and I loved living there. They have all sorts of fun events, such as Bloomsday (The world's largest timed race in terms of participants. Last year they had over 40,000 finishers), and Hoopfest, (A 3 on 3 basketball tournament in which the whole of downtown shuts down for a weekend, and the streets are filled with basketball hoops and spectators).

So, yes! Spokane is awesome. I totally wouldn't have moved, but I had to go and marry a Canadian for some batshit reason.

 

[Yeyinde]

Also Canadia is TOO FUCKING COLD

Not Victoria, BC! It rarely snows and it has a nice mild slash rainforesty climate.  The only problem with Victoria is the huuuuge cost of living.

 

[gavdaddy]

I know you said you only wanted American places, but you can hardly look past a place like Brisbane or the Gold Coast. The weather is extroadinarily exceptional, usually around the 30 degree mark, with minimal rain (although that means there's a drought, and thus water restrictions). There are tons of recreational zones, there are night clubs if your into that sort of thing, the quality of sport is amazing, the beaches superb, with ACTUAL SURF. Ive seen the beaches in America, and believe me, there not beaches compared to the ones here.

 

[terramaster]

Also Canadia is TOO FUCKING COLD

Not Victoria, BC! It rarely snows and it has a nice mild slash rainforesty climate.  The only problem with Victoria is the huuuuge cost of living.

Go to Penticton and it's a desert! But a nice one, I live three hours away and the entire Shoushwap (Curse you Native Americans, CURSE YOU!!) is the most awesome place for outdoor activities. Not that I partake in any of them mind you. I have cousins who come from Austria and Germany who say B.C. is the best thing since electricity and flush toilettes.

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

in fact, I'll I've ever heard from you is about how crappy new york is! About how it's just as hot and humid as florida, and how you've been jumped/assaulted TWICE in the last year, and how you can't find a decent place to live, and how the cops are all totally racist, bigot, careless jackholes!

You do know I've been assaulted THREE times since last year, and TWO of those weren't in the city of NY right?  Jersey and Long Island don't count :p
That I can't find a decent living place because I don't have decent wages, that most of the east coast is as hot and humid as Florida (hey we're only hot and humid 2 months out of the year - fall and spring and a chunk of winter are fucking wonderful), and the cops are racist... just like the majority of the cops.  I just have freaky cops who are racist and bigot towards your social class :p

Besides I said "with me" I never mentioned NYC. I wouldn't move only because I currently can't legally move.  I never said I wouldn't if I could - simply I wouldn't want to.  That and the only person whose asked me to move out of this great state had bad timing :\

 

[tofurkey]

You don't have any interest in living in either the DC metro area or New Orleans, Venetia?

 

[dadevvtsvre]

My cousin lives in Vancouver, B.C., and she loves it there. It's been ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world many times (tied with Vienna and coming just after Zurich and Geneva) and has also been ranked the 10th cleanest city in the world.  The weather is just like the Pacific Northwest (a lot of rain, but winters rarely get snow, and even if it does snow, it doesn't stay for very long) I know it's in Canada (SCARY I KNOW) but I thought it might be a decent choice. The only problem is that it's very expensive, from what I've heard. Maybe check it out, as it's got a lot of things going for it.

 

[Axerax]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I lived in a town about an hour or 2 away, we had short winters, chilly falls, warm springs, and warm summers. Really pretty landscape too. If I get a chance to move back, I will. I'd consider it my hometown, I miss it and love it that much.

 

[Untra]

I would suggest Colorado. The snow tends to only reside in the mountains more then it does in Denver most of the year. The skiing and hiking is nice, and its a overall great place. If you do check out Denver, you won't find much in terms of a forest though. The hiking, ATVing and river rafting ARN'T thirty minutes away, but they can be doable if you set aside part of your day. I live on this hill that heads west, and just brief look shows a road the leads down to a park with cities in the distance, then dwarfed by the mountains.

Spoiler: omg big image

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q98/Untravaersil/DSC_0004.jpg[/img]

The air is clean, however the altitude might take a day to get used to. The nightlife is frickin incredible, with a local chain diner known as Sams no. 3, and a family owned anything every third block. In terms of clubs... clicky. (the cluster of them are all in downtown denver)

Colorado is Urban, Suburban, and (only if you wan't to live the mountains) rural. I love Colorado, and the only bad thing I would admit about it is that its not that humid.  If you choose to live in Colorado, or at least come to visit, tell me. I know where the best restaurants, locations, movie theaters and even clubs are (I'm not old enough, but I'm counting the days to my eighteenth birthday).

 

[DaithioDell]

Portland is a great place, but the economy there is pretty awful at the moment. It's a bit stangnant. It is also very strange in how close the beautiful parts are to the dirty ones. The famed Rose Garden is right next to a sort of slummy, run-down neighbourhood. I don't mean a few blocks away, I mean you'll look across the street and see decaying houses. It's quite disconcerting. The Hawthorne district is fantastic, however, tons of nightlife, great restaurants, you name it. The suburbs aren't bad either, very pretty and, for lack of a better word, nice.

Personally it sounds as though Tacoma would be a great match. You're near to Olympia, which has some of the most beautiful trails in the country, and a quick jaunt up to Seattle which is a wonderfully relaxed and acessible big city. It has an astonishingly huge amount of nightlife. There is actually something there for everyone. Great bars, great shows going on constantly, great opera, fantastic neighbourhoods, etcetera. The Cascades are a little over a half hour away, but not much. ATVing, whitewater activities, fly fishing, etc. All you have to do is go west until you find a city whose name you cannot pronounce and bam, you've found somewhere beautiful. I'd say Tacoma over Seattle for you because it is quieter and easier to slip away if you want to, while still posessing plenty of in-city entertainment. Plus, it's not that long a drive to go to Portland to see the sights.

A lot of people may mention the rain, but really it's just a light drizzle which you learn to ignore very quickly. You asked earlier if it snowed in Seattle and I didn't see a response...it does very occasionally. It's actually quite funny, it turns into quite the event. They shut down Queen Anne Hill and some brave souls go tobaganning. It's only a few inches, normally, if any at all. Tacoma or that area gets a little more, but it's just as rare. The winters don't get particularly cold (I'm from Toronto, however, so my opinion may be suspect), and the summers don't get too hot and are bearably humid.

 

[Dr. Funk]

International Falls MN
lots of trees and stuff, cliff jumping into a river, and plenty of potheads.

 

[Xephyr]

I'm thinkin Gatlinburg, Tennessee, if nobody's mentioned it yet.

First off, it ain't small.  There are tons of forests and big mountain hikes and large parks within easy driving distance, and not to mention the strip.  No, not strip clubs, and we all know Venetia loves her strip clubs; the stip is like so many little shops it's kind of hard to really comprehend.  It's basically the reason why it's a well-known city.

Seriously it's like 5 miles of non-stop little shops with every type of thing you can think of.  Not to mention the other reasons I mentioned.

It's all in Tennessee, which means it's pretty much got the perfect middle-type weather.  Moderately chilly winters, moderately hot summers.


Xephyr wins.

 

[Venetia]

Blech I don't like Tennessee though

Sorry bud! Nice try

Also MN is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too cold.

And for the record, I don't actually smoke anything or do ANY drugs. For one, I have terrible asthma. For another, I think it's gross :/. I've had a few pothead friends, and I don't personally have any problem with people doing drugs (just because they're gross doesn't mean that people can't do it) but i don't actively seek out a pothead/druggie community.

 

[Xephyr]

what have you got against Tennessee? o.O

I don't live in Tennessee, in fact I live in Ohio, I'm just sayin I think Gatlinburg pretty much meets your requirement.  =P

 

[dadevvtsvre]

I went there last year. But I don't think it'd be that great to live there. It's become a MAJOR tourist attraction, which means on any given day you could easily find thousands of tourists there. The town's population isn't even 4000.

 

[Xephyr]

I went there last year. But I don't think it'd be that great to live there. It's become a MAJOR tourist attraction, which means on any given day you could easily find thousands of tourists there. The town's population isn't even 4000.

Well I figured you would live about 10~15 miles away from it.  It's relatively close to Memphis (i think, or the other big city in Tennessee), so she would be in the middle of a lot really.

 

[Venetia]

Yes but one of my first requirements is that it's not in the south, and since Tennessee is the home of country music, the redneck, and the suthern accent, I'd say it's definitely on the "no" pile

 

[kaze950]

So I guess that means no North Carolina.

Charlotte is a pretty nice area.

 

[Venetia]

definitely nope :3

(i have family there so that's an INSTA-NOPE lol)

 

[Untra]

what about my colorado suggestion?