What Do You Like About Where You Live? What Do You Hate About It?

[rastahomie]

I live in a little mining town in southeastern Missouri, in the middle of nowhere, 40 minutes from the nearest stoplight.

What I Like

The natural beauty in this part of Missouri is world-renown. The Missouri Ozarks (and I live right on top of them) are ripe with mountains (OK, hills, but you get the point), valleys, rivers, springs, bluffs, waterfalls. The area is hugely popular with visitors who come for canoeing, camping, hiking, cave-exploring, and so on. I'm not much for outdoorsy things, although I do rent a canoe and go floating (read: get hammered while trying not to flip over your canoe) every now and then.

Fireworks are legal (to purchase, anyway; laws about setting them off vary by jurisdiction) in Missouri, and in this town anyway, the cops will look the other way as long as you're not launching them after about 10:00 p.m.

The cost of living down here is insanely cheap. I'm renting an 1100-square-foot, 3 bedroom house for $500 per month!

What I Dislike

I live 40 minutes from the nearest stoplight. That means that going grocery shopping, going to the movies, or even getting something to eat (besides Casey's pizza) takes planning as well as clearing your schedule for the afternoon.

Missouri makes it difficult to own a car. You have to pay property taxes on it (!), to both your city and your county, as well as get it inspected. It takes two pieces of paperwork from two different agencies to renew your plates; compared to Illinois, which just sends you a bill, you send them a check, Bob's your uncle, and you have new stickers.

The people around here lack the manners that I was born and raised with. That's not to say they're not friendly; they just act in ways that I'm not accustomed to. For example, if someone is here, and they need to be there, and you're between here and there, you'd best be getting out of their way, and quickly, because they will shove your [butt] out of the way.

There are also huge cultural differences between me and my neighbors. The police cars have bumper stickers that, if the ACLU saw them, there would be lawsuits. Almost every yard has a sign for the presidential candidate that I didn't vote for. Our county jail literally housed Jesse James at one time, but no one wants to spend any money on making the place, you know, humane, because if you are accused of a crime well you must be a terrible person and you deserve to rot in an 1868-era jail with no air conditioning and heat that only kind-of works.

Tell me what you love and hate about your area!

 

[tvguy]

What I like: It's home.

What I dislike: People trying to change it in such a way that the things that make it an attractive place to live no longer exist. It is a place people who live here don't want to leave, and people who come here for a job stay because they don't want to leave.

 

[dotfurio]

I live in central California.

What I like:
Close to lots of popular areas - a couple hours to LA, the beach, and about 4 hours to Vegas
mild winters
lower cost of living

What I don't like:
The summers here are ridiculously hot and it makes my electricity bill outrageous
The pollution in our valley is disgusting
For the size of my city, there really isn't a lot to do as far as arts, culture, festivals, museums, etc.
I'm not trying to get into politics, but I don't like that the majority views of my area disagree with my personal views

 

[rastahomie]

I'm not trying to get into politics, but I don't like that the majority views of my area disagree with my personal views

It can be frustrating. The peoples' attitudes just shock me to my core. If Amnesty International saw our jail, they'd freak out. But when a county commissioner dared suggest allocating a few bucks to fix it up, the whole county turned on him. The people here believe in "family values" up until the point where you're accused (not convicted) of a crime; then, well, screw you.

Edited to add: this is our jail. Inmates and guards have all gotten hurt there; the design makes it well nigh impossible for a guard to intervene in time whenever something goes down.

 

[mjkacmom]

Pros - close to everything I could possibly want or need, major cities, entertainment venues, sporting, shopping, restaurants, mountains, beaches, lakes..

Cons - traffic and COL, I believe my county's property taxes are the highest in the nation. A one bedroom apartment goes for over $1000 a month, here in the suburbs.

 

[amberpi]

I don't like with the amount of rednecks in the larger area of my town, and the way "country" living and lack of science and education are venerated. I love my little part of Nashville that is the opposite of that. I love the food. I love the weird juxtaposition of living in a very urban area in the south. I love the weather. I hate our lack of public transport. I love the food, but hate the unhealthy lifestyles that are displayed by so many. Obsesity in Tennessee is pandemic. I love how easy it is to fly places. I hate having to own a car. I think the cost of living is amaZing but I've lived in nyc, did a 10 month in London and lived in atl. I get paid in nyc dollars, so it's pretty darn cheap here. I love that I can walk to a farmers market and that we get tons of great musical acts. We have some of the best festivals ever! Hot Air Balloon, Tomato, Hot Chicken, Strawberry, as well as the more typical Italian, Greek, Fall festival, but I hate tourists.


Good and bad, just like any other place.

 

[PollyannaMom]

(South of Boston)

Pros:
close to museums, etc. in the city
an easy drive to the beach
great area for anything medical
a ton of colleges and universities
DH's family is only a few minutes away

Cons:
no hills (I grew up in the Finger Lakes region - gorgeous there in autumn!)
cost of living
my family is far away

 

[jsmla]

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Like
Friends and family
The food!
Winter

Hate
Crime
Cruddy schools
Poor economy
Summer

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I live in a very small town (3500 people give or take) in Southern New Jersey, not too far from Philadelphia. What do I like about it? It's safe. It has a very neighborly atmosphere. That's about it.

What don't I like? I don't drive, and like a lot of New Jersey you really need a car so I feel isolated. I grew up in Philly and was used to taking the bus everywhere and having lots of stuff to do in close proximity. I spend most days here in my room where my computer is. Like a lot of small towns, there's not much to do-we have no community centers or movie theaters or nightlife. If you want that, you have to go to the nearest city.

 

[kimblebee]

Winnipeg, Manitoba

What I like-

We have four distinct seasons
We have all necessities within a reasonable distance
It's a fair sized city..not too big, not too small (~800,000 population)
It's home
We have an NHL team
All my family is here (except one brother who comes home every few months)

What I don't like-

The summers are brutal
Crime is on the rise (we've only had 3 or 4 murders so far this year so it's not THAT bad)

I definitely like living where I do.

 

[minniecarousel]

Love:
Being near San Francisco
Weather!
Most of my family is here
Proximity to the Coast
Having a lemon tree
It's home

Con:
Cost of living! ($750,000 for a
Townhome!)
Traffic
Too expensive for our younger son to buy a home here
Cost of Living (needs repeating!)
Cost of everything

 

[karen1987]

Rotorua, New Zealand

Likes

- Natural beauty (lakes, bush walks)
- Geothermal area, so natural mineral pools for bathing are available - free and paid!
- 30-mins drive to the beach
- 3-hrs drive to the mountains
- Good general proximity to others areas in central North Island
- Cost of living is good
- Not much traffic
- People are friendly
- Being a tourist town you get to meets lots of people from all over the world

Dislikes

- Far away from my family who are in the UK
- The cost of flying out of NZ is high (but we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!)
- Tourist drivers
- Inequality and the drink and drug problems that affect our cities population and appearance

 

[MIGrandma]

I live in the country, on a farm. Love the fact that houses aren't right on top of each other, there are wide open spaces. Our address is a small mid-Michigan town, love the smallness of the town (only about 3,000 people) and that there is very little crime (serious crime) in this area. You can walk at night and feel safe. Love the small stores, and getting personal service from those we frequent. Love that the tellers at the bank ask how my Mom is doing anytime I go inside to do my banking, things like that. I love the city park, that has a walking path all the way around it, I can walk across the railroad track and walk in the cemetery too. So quiet and peaceful. And most of our family lives in the general area, with one granddaughter about an hour's drive away.

What I don't like is the CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) about a mile up the road from us. Our area used to be so quiet, but with thousands of cows on that "farm" there are trucks going by all the time (milk trucks, feed trucks, construction trucks (he's always expanding) and the manure trucks/tractors. It's never ending. And all that heavy traffic has ruined the road, the the county just keeps patching it. Patches on top of patches. It hasn't been resurfaced in so many years, it's pathetic.

We have a "second home" in Northern Michigan and spend as much time as we can there during the warmer weather months. It's 30 acres and we park our 5th wheel camper there, plus it came with another camper so we use that as a guest camper for family and friends. Love spending time up there, normally it's so quiet you only hear the wind in the trees and birds singing. We have trails in the woods for walking and quad/Ranger riding, pick blackberries in the summer, and DH has a shooting range in the back. We enjoy a lot of outdoor cooking and a campfire in the evenings, especially love it when family or friends are sharing it with us. The whole area has tons of riding trails so we go exploring all the time. We have some great neighbors on the one side of us. We are next to state land on one side and there is a small beaver pond near us, and we can occasionally hear loons. Love that! The only thing I don't care for is the other neighbors do a lot of shooting, which would be fine but they do it right by their cabin which is very close to our campers and the larger calibre guns are just so loud. Sometimes they'll shoot for an hour or two in the morning, again in the afternoon, and again before dark. It does get tiresome, especially when they own 160 acres and could easily make a range at the BACK of their property, like we did (so it isn't loud for the neighbors). But thankfully they aren't always up there at the same time that we are, and when they are I just put ear plugs in my ears when they start shooting.

 

[dish rag]

Well I live in 2 areas. Orlando the traffic and construction are awful. Much of the area is becoming very poor due to wages remaining stagnet for many years, many areas that were once nice are becoming run down. There has been a huge influx of people in the last 20 years that has changed much of the area in a negative way, they choose to not assimilate. Crime is very bad in many areas. I like the weather and that I can get to Daytona and Sarasota very easily. I like Tampa as well and my children live here.
Ontario. I love the people. I love the hiking and biking trails. I love my home that is on a nice river. Great neighbors. I also like the weather there. I like the youth, much more wholesome then the American youth. We also have a place on the water near Tobermory and I love it there very much too. About the only thing I don't like is the taxes.

 

[RedAngie]

Pros:
Relatively low housing costs for a large metro area. Low property taxes. NO sales tax. Close proximity to stores, restaurants, cultural and recreational activities.

Cons:
Traffic can be brutal at times.
There is no there here. (suburban sprawl)

 

[Kitty 34]

Love my neighbors....most are family
Love our big yard and our wooded area 5 feet from the back of the house
Love living in a small town and on a street with very little traffic
Love that we have no house payment!!

Don't like the fact that our house is small and old; always having to fix things
Don't like the fact that there is no grocery store in our town
Don't like not having a basement

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Orlando, FL
Pros:
-Our downtown area is really charming: lots of brick-lined streets, little lakes, huge oak trees, historic homes..
-A blossoming local dining/arts/culture scene
-A bunch of farmer's markets and festivals
-I live about 10 minutes to Universal and 20 to WDW
-The natural springs are incredible, and I can choose between the Atlantic and the Gulf
-Growing infrastructure and amenities like new stadiums, a beautiful performing arts center, etc.
-The winter weather is beautiful
Cons:
-Cost of living (especially rental prices) is high vs. typical pay here
-Tourists
-Summer heat/humidity is brutal
-Not enough museums
-public transit it pretty poor, although I don’t mind car culture

I love where I live

 

[Newsies]

New York, NY
Likes:

• Culture
• Shopping
• Food
• You can get what you need 24/7. Need a package of cookies at 2 am? CVS right downstairs. What about some coffee? 24hr Dunkin right across the street.
• Transportation

Dislikes:

• Cost of living
• Super, SUPER sketchy people all around
• Cost of living
• High threat of suspicious activity (esp since I live right next door to OWTC)
• Cost of living

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

We live in a small town outside a major city. I am not a fan of this area at all, but, that said, I scrounged up a few Pros to list.

Pros:
- super easy to get around the entire metropolitan area
- we've met some really great people
- lots of activities for varying interests and supportive communities evolve within the different interest groups
- our drinking water is apparently among the best in the country though recent decisions by local govt might negatively impact our water source in the future

Cons:
- crime in the larger city is among the worst in the country and is beginning to creep into our supposedly "safe" town
- housing and taxes in the safer areas are crazy high
- schools are terrible - even the "good" schools are nothing impressive; private schools and homeschooling are popular choices because of this
- too far from the mountains or beach to get that sort of fix on a regular basis
- very unhealthy area - obesity rate is high; fast food is king; the area is known to be very bad for respiratory systems due to high humidity, mold levels, and large crop areas treated with poisonous chemicals
- shortage of natural areas due to the McMansion-plus-tiny-yard trend and the large, mono-crop fields
- I find it difficult to find politically and socially like-minded people here; there are some, but we are in a clear minority
- we have two seasons: dangerously hot and humid summers and wet, not-quite-winters
- it's not Stars Hollow, and we don't have a Luke's Diner

 

[DawnM]

Pros:

It is pretty here. Lots of trees, lots of green.
Not much graffiti or trash around
Low-Ish cost of living, houses are fairly reasonable
We can afford a large (to us) house on 2.5 acres within driving distance of the city
We can afford to live in the best school zone in the area
People are friendly for the most part


Cons:

Humidity in summer
Bugs in summer
Heat in summer
Too far from beach
Too far from the mountains
My job is quite low paying here
It isn't on the West Coast
Not as many opportunities