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

[nene0182]

Pros:
Great neighbors
Easy to get around

Cons:
Winter
Not much to do
Winter
3-5 hours to a big city
Small town mentality
Winter
Limited job opportunities for those with college degrees
Did I mention winter?

 

[tcufrog]

I've lived in DFW all my life. The crazy quick increase in home prices is mostly because of so many people moving here from out of state because of the lower cost of living. Ironically, the mere fact of them moving here to save money has driven up prices.

 

[cruiser21]

Phoenix
pros
Perfect weather 8 months of the year
Low cost of living
Decent wages
We don't really have an inner city crime problem. There are a few neighborhoods that I wouldn't walk around alone at night, but there aren't any neighborhoods I would be afraid to drive through or visit during the day.
Great golf courses
Beautiful 5 star resorts with really cheap rates in the summer for staycations
A really nice airport
Spring training
4 sports teams
Great freeways
Most importantly really nice people.
Low property taxes

cons
4 months of HOT, HOT weather
4 months of high AC bills.
No real downtown area
The pool you think you need can be a real money pit.
Were the fastest growing county in the US and traffic is getting really bad.
Not the greatest schools
Scorpians

I moved here from California and overall I'm very happy with Phoenix. The cost of living here compared to California allows me to cruise and vacation several times a year. The people are very nice and chill even when it's 115 outside.

 

[cruiser21]

Seattle

Pros

• The economy is booming and the jobs pay very well
• No income taxes
• Scenery is great, mountains and Puget Sound
• Temperatures are very moderate, never too hot or cold
• Progressive transportation policies that are making it easier to commute by bicycle while discouraging driving to work
• Transit system is good and they are building a subway stations by our house
• Schools are good
• Very casual dress, you don't have to dress up to go anywhere
• Property tax rates are low

Negative

• Sales tax is high although you can avoid it by ordering online
• Hours of daylight are very short since we are father north than almost every other city in the US and even some of the major cities in Canada
• Very cloudy in the winter
• Economic cleansing, city government is making it harder and harder for the lower and middle class residents to remain in the city. Many are having to move to the suburbs

No income tax?

 

[MillauFr]

No income tax?

Not in Washington State. We prefer to collect taxes from lower income residents in Washington State. The upper income residents are pretty much given a free ride.

 

[cruiser21]

Not in Washington State. We prefer to collect taxes from lower income residents in Washington State. The upper income residents are pretty much given a free ride.

Federal tax? I assume your talking about state tax.

 

[MillauFr]

Federal tax? I assume your talking about state tax.

Yes state income taxes. The companies here can't reduce your federal income tax to zero. What they do instead is to pay your salary in stock options which are taxed at capital gains rates not regular rates. They can cut your federal tax bill in half by doing this but you generally still have to pay something.

 

[amberpi]

Phoenix
pros

I've visited Phoenix several times for work and the weather is a huge blessing for someone who suffers from allergies in the South. Are there any walkable neighborhoods? Like, walk to restaurants, boutiques, bars, coffee houses kinda places?

 

[FINFAN]

I've visited Phoenix several times for work and the weather is a huge blessing for someone who suffers from allergies in the South. Are there any walkable neighborhoods? Like, walk to restaurants, boutiques, bars, coffee houses kinda places?

first place I thought of was Old Town Scottsdale, but here ya go
https://www.walkscore.com/AZ/

 

[Heidict]

CT - small shoreline town

PROS
-excellent school district, one of the best in the state
-Wonderful small town with beautiful houses, beaches and shops. Very safe.
-We can be in 7 different states within a 4 hour drive or less
-Taking the train into NYC for the day
-The fresh seafood. So many amazing restaurants to choose from and the huge selections at the fish markets.

CONS
-Cost of living
-The people out here can be very standoffish, rude, unfriendly and down right cold. More than 20 years out here and I still see it and hate it.
-Not a heck of a lot to do in this state. We have a few things, but not many.
-Snow, especially Nor'Easters. I don't mind the cold, just hate the white stuff!
-Our Governor

 

[Heidict]

OOPS

 

[cruiser21]

I've visited Phoenix several times for work and the weather is a huge blessing for someone who suffers from allergies in the South. Are there any walkable neighborhoods? Like, walk to restaurants, boutiques, bars, coffee houses kinda places?

Yes you can find a house where you can walk to a number of things. I can walk to about anything I need in 15 minutes. Keep in mind in the Summer you won't want to walk anywhere except out to your pool. I never had allergies until I moved here. I came from California. I usually only notice it in March and October. I doubt it's as bad as the South. We do have dust storms in the Summer so anybody with asthma or copd may have some issues.

 

[glassslippergirl]

South Florida

Pros:

• First and foremost, no winter (I don't do cold weather)
• Bustling area-- always something to do
• I don't butt heads with many people in terms of politics (70% of voters in my county voted for the same Presidential candidate in 2016).
• A lot of cultural diversity, and a real effort to respect it, at least in my experience.
• I'm a teacher, and the public school district I work for is huge, providing lots of opportunities for professional development, networking, and movement to find the "best fit" in terms of position.
• Lots of water-- short drive to the beach, lots of lakes, canals-- always a nice view
• Plenty of fresh, locally grown produce year-round.
• One word: Publix!
• 2.5 hour drive to WDW

Cons

• Cost of housing (I'll never be able to own a house with a yard and no shared walls)
• General overcrowding-- living on top if people, negotiating traffic, waiting to get an appointment with a doctor, etc.
• Florida's political divide-- Most people don't realize that North and South FL are very different in terms of economy, history, politics, and demographics. It creates a political divide (especially with the state capital solidly in North Florida) that's hard to bridge on a lot of issues. There's a reason it's so hard to call how FL will vote in national elections.
• My electric bill in the summer (but it's still a lot lower than many Northerners' winter bills, so that one is more of a wash)

I want to compliment the OP on an interesting topic. This one required quite a bit if soul searching on my part.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

South Florida

Pros:

• First and foremost, no winter (I don't do cold weather)
• Bustling area-- always something to do
• I don't butt heads with many people in terms of politics (70% of voters in my county voted for the same Presidential candidate in 2016).
• A lot of cultural diversity, and a real effort to respect it, at least in my experience.
• I'm a teacher, and the public school district I work for is huge, providing lots of opportunities for professional development, networking, and movement to find the "best fit" in terms of position.
• Lots of water-- short drive to the beach, lots of lakes, canals-- always a nice view
• Plenty of fresh, locally grown produce year-round.
• One word: Publix!
• 2.5 hour drive to WDW

Cons

• Cost of housing (I'll never be able to own a house with a yard and no shared walls)
• General overcrowding-- living on top if people, negotiating traffic, waiting to get an appointment with a doctor, etc.
• Florida's political divide-- Most people don't realize that North and South FL are very different in terms of economy, history, politics, and demographics. It creates a political divide (especially with the state capital solidly in North Florida) that's hard to bridge on a lot of issues. There's a reason it's so hard to call how FL will vote in national elections.
• My electric bill in the summer (but it's still a lot lower than many Northerners' winter bills, so that one is more of a wash)

I want to compliment the OP on an interesting topic. This one required quite a bit if soul searching on my part.

I think political divide is a healthy thing. When you live somewhere that is solidly "party x" or "party y" ideas stagnate and closed mindedness persists. Debate is a good thing - even heated

 

[Nancyg56]

North Central CT in a rural farming community.

Pros: I live in a beautiful area, stunning Fall show, gorgeous Spring, and lovely shaded back roads I travel on daily. I see the sunrise as I drive down the mountain, and watch the sunset beyond the tree line.

The community is small enough that we all seem to "know" one another.

Easy access to the airport and Amtrak.

Close to vacation destinations without having to rely on air travel.

The shoreline is close.

4 seasons

Our local police dept is as proficient in assisting wildlife as they are in assisting people. The turtle rescue this week was almost as newsworthy as the heifer arrest. LOL!

Cons:

4 seasons

Our proximity to two fairly large cities has brought us a heroin problem that is getting out of control. Breakins are common place lately.

The cost of living. It is getting so expensive that people and business move away.

 

[RangerPooh]

Near Memphis, TN

Pros:
-We have Target and Costco within a 10 minute drive. Where I use to live in WA state they were 1.5 hours away.

Cons:
-Crime!
-Bad drivers!
-People who don't care about others...aka those who leave dents in your car doors, smear poop on your car (yes, that actually happened to us), swipe your packages, etc.
-The Shelby County School system is terrible...we live in the burbs and thankfully have our own school district now. -
-Humidity and heat, I miss the snow.
-No real mountains like I had in California, nor do we have the ocean
-Conservative minded people!

 

[RangerPooh]

Spokane plows but the great mystery is whether or not they have a cohesive idea of where to move the snow. They plow cars in, curbs in, fire hydrants. These enormous berms of snow appear in the middle of the street so should you turn the wrong way or be forced to swerve, or hit a corner wrong, the car bottoms out on the berm. The city does not shut down ever- it just assures you that the road crews will be by eventually, and in the meantime, coudn't you walk?

Don't forget the potholes that appear thanks to all the freeze and thaw of winter snow and ice. We lived in Pullman for almost 10 years so this was always on the news out of Spokane.

Pullman like Spokane also had issues with snow thawing and refreezing to only create slick sheets of ice on all shady hills. Nothing worse than bad (college kid) or timid drivers on those.

 

[cleverclovers]

Northern Ohio
Like: all 4 seasons in one week.
Hate: all 4 seasons in one week.