mykrrrr

34 yrs old. Grew up in the Detroit suburbs. Lived in Ann Arbor for college. Great town especially to cruise around on two wheels but as with any locale, it got stale. Dropped out and went to Bend OR for a winter. Had fun, went broke moved back to A2. Finished school and then moved to Chicago. Loved a lot about Chicago (people, places, summertime) but hated (my commute to the 'corporate' job, traffic, WINTER) Moved back to A2/Detroit suburbs after some self started drama went down with my eX-GF. Just biding my time until this winter when I move to either SF or PacNW.

SF - GREAT weather, family out there. Great vibe in the city. Close to the mountains for winter fun. Always wanted to live there. Was going to move out there after college but my best friend who moved out there before I was going to moved back. Expensive but I'd deal to live there.

PDX - Good vibe in the city. Friends out there. Weather isn't ideal in winter. Close to mountains for winter fun.

SEA - Pretty much same as PDX.

One of my good friends is trying to get me to move to Charlotte NC. I really know nothing about Charlotte. I'm gonna go visit this summer to check the place out. Anyone have experience in Charlotte NC???

If all goes to plan...I'll be in the SF bay area by '08. No more midwest for me (except to visit the rents)

justintime8425

I think im the only one to live in asheville. The bike culture here is huge, everyone is riding ss mtn. bikes and i see more and more fixies out around downtown. We have a track here that was actually a race car track. Its been taken over by the local bike shops and nick named the "mellowdrome" because it's not as steep as a true velodrome. The climate is pretty nice here year round. But unfortunately it's really expensive to live here, and the jobs dont pay that well. I feel like it's one of the last real mountain towns left on the east coast. Lots of music and art.

old and new

I'm planning a two day tripto Asheville,from ALL that I've heard and read..NO down-side. NYC folkes withwhom I'm aquainted enjoy Ashville to visit, one lives there too. I maintain that New Yokers aren't easily impressed. Great natural beauty and culture.

jonnywill

Everyone from Pittsburgh should move to OKC and then say :"Move to OKC".
Only because I really want to live there but I have very little money for moving.
And you guys seem to be really good at getting people to move to your city.

dmg

I really can't think of anywhere in the US I'd rather live that Pittsburgh. Every time I get bummed out on living here, I visit another city and get reminded of all the things I like here.

Internationally, I love Copenhagen and London (I doubt I could afford to live in either under any imagineable circumstances) and Montreal (not in the winter though, eff that ess).

efficiency

How did you manage to do it? Do you just have tons of money, or do you have a job in France? How did you get the job (if you have one)?

entukay

agreed, i travel quite a bit and theres sometime special about driving back into town no matter where you've been and seeing the city. and then almost gettin run over by some crazy yinzer babe on a chopper. its the best.

andre nickatina

i would too. it's basically this, i really like the bay itself and the uniqueness of it, i was just throwing out a number of when i figured it was a hell of a lot cheaper to live there. but sure, beat poets are cooler than hippies any day... gregory corso knows whats up.

thebristolkid

Fort Pitt Tunnel, mama. It's the only city in the country with an entrance. I really miss that place sometimes (my bike is steel grey, black and yellow...and my cats are named Negley and Ellsworth).

veggiemafia

All the love for the PGH in this thread makes me feel good.

I love this city.

To anyone from here who wasn't just beat/lazy today, how was Neighbor of the Beast?

cyclezealot

My wife had a life threatening sickness, from which she is now ok. Changed our outlook on everything. She did not need the tension of American high schools, any longer. So we bagged our assets, took an early retirement. Applied for a French visa and was given one that allowed us to work. She teaches part time , more palatable, teaching adults in need of learning english. In order to secure a French visa that allows you to work, you need prove ability to survive without the need for a job. She teaches, I have an understanding with b and b' we overlook. I help secure customers with bikes and bike tours. Plus the work about the business.
Life is pretty nice here. Not sure how long we will stay. At least three years if not longer.

efficiency

^If you don't mind, about how old were you when you decided to do this? (I'm trying to semi-retire early.)

cyclezealot

My company had a strong union. With enough time, we could retire at 50. It was based on your income so many had to wait closer to 60. For us, 56.

SeanBonham

I work for Whole Foods and helped open the first one there. I guess the fun part was just checking out the city and drinking great beer. Just really like the feel of the city. It is Ohio's savior.

yeah you are right, I guess its my southern blood that makes 25 seem "cold as hell"

odie91

Anyone have comments on the following cities?

DALLAS
HOUSTON
SAN ANTONIO
BATON ROUGE
NEW ORLEANS
ROCHESTER
RICHMOND (VA)
MINNEAPOLIS
KANSAS CITY
FT LAUDERDALE
INDIANAPOLIS

I'm applying to grad schools in all of these cities, and don't think any of them have been mentioned yet.
Thanks!

doofo

^ i say avoid these





but thats just me

jonnywill

buckaroo's are what's in style man.
and the cowboys are part of what's good and more a part of what's bad in Oklahoma. I don't know about Texas cowboys though. I do know that most Oklahoma cowboys have never touched a bovid of any sort, and most are actually roughnecks trying to look classier than they can in their rig suits.

Maybe I hate it here?

p3ntuprage

23, unemployed, occasional freelance photographer/web designer looking for a regularly paying job.

born in johannesburg, south africa.

i like the climate and that it's where half my family are. i don't like the three meter high walls, electric fences, armed private police, carjackings, etc.

have lived in surrey which was ****ing awful. also lived in birmingham, england which wasn't brilliant. i couldn't get on with the small town feeling that it had, despite being britain's second city.

i've lived in london for most of my life. long enough to have grown used to its metropolitan mix, without caring too much about the downsides.

right now i only really cycle for recreation, so i guess ideally i'd want to live somewhere i could cycle to work. zone 1 or 2 in nw london?
close enough to camden, but without the hills in between me and brixton/brick lane.

i've thought about manchester, leeds and liverpool before.

i like the idea of nyc, sf, berlin or amsterdam.

a friend of mine went to amsterdam for a holiday after uni and landed up staying for about four years.

i don't really see myself as fixed [no pun]. i don't think there's anyone in the last four generations of my family [atleast] who's live in the same country as they were born in.

fsnl
sparky

3Lph

Not a fan.


One of my favorite places ever is definatly Charleston, SC.

obstacle

Anyone have comments on the following cities?

DALLAS - Worst airport EVER.
HOUSTON - Good BBQ but otherwise nothing special
SAN ANTONIO - Bob Wills rules this place still
BATON ROUGE - ewwwwww
NEW ORLEANS - No thanks
ROCHESTER - NY? If so, pass.I went to college here. You can do better. I should have.
RICHMOND (VA) - Ummm, cheesy faux-southern "culture"
MINNEAPOLIS - Nice for 30 days a year and hell on earth the rest, find a fat girl to keep you warm
KANSAS CITY - Damn good food and music, Wouldn't want to live there though.
FT LAUDERDALE - They call it "Flo-ri-duh for a reason. I stress the "duh".
INDIANAPOLIS - Actually downtown is pretty rad. Best Italian food I've ever had. But hey, you are still in Indiana.

LuckyKarma

I live about 85 miles south of Indy. The city isn't bad, but the entire state otherwise pretty much sucks. The weather is awful (freezing winters usually, blazing hot summers). This past March it was 80F one day and freezing rain the next. The cycling isn't too bad here, hilly in most areas but not too steep. But after cornfield after cornfield, the scenery quickly loses it's initial magic. I've been here almost 20 years (all my life), and I'm getting out as quick as possible. I'm going to IU-Bloomington and I hope to work on Wall Street once I'm out.

Personally I'd go the southern France route

Poguemahone

Born outside of Manchester, UK to Irish parents, not going back to the UK, no way, no how. A couple of rough trips through Brit "customs"/ "terrorist detection units" in the eighties, plus my parents tales of being Irish in the UK in the early 60s convinced me of that.

Been about the states, live in Richmond now. 20+ years. Like it here, it's cheap and I can do what I do for a living. The "Faux Southern Culture" comments, well, I find they don't apply, unless you're hanging out with eighty year old matrons or loonies from Chesterfield. RVA has the best urban river in the states (easily)... I dunno if I could live in a town w/o easy access to whitewater. Summer heat can be rough, tho.

Where would I like to live? I used to tell my German/Swiss GF I would like to live back in Kerry (South of Ireland, west coast); certainly not (london)derry where my mom's folks are from... the GF was suitable horrified. Maybe the North Woods of Maine/NH would do as a back up.

Citywise, I like Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Bangkok, and on days when it rains, Dublin is bearable, though I've not been there in about fifteen years and understand it has changed considerable. Oh, yeah, and Richmond.

ieandro

i miss the LDN. would move back in a heartbeat.

Kommisar89

WM, married, 45, one grown kid, work in IT - seeking...oh, wait, wrong post...grew up in New Orleans, have lived in Monterey, CA, San Angelo, TX, Houston, outside Boston, Germany, and currently in Colorado Springs, CO. Visited many, many other places - Mexico, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Britain three times. Hated LA. Too much traffic. Too expensive generally in CA. San Angelo was nice but too small. Houston - no thanks. All the bad points of New Orleans and none of it's charm. Of course you could find a job there so that was refreshing. Only passed through Austin so no comment there. Winter sucks in Boston. If I won the lottery I might keep a place in Carmel, CA. That was very nice. But realistically, Colorado is hard to beat. The beautiful "John Denver" tree hugging lifestyle with all the comforts of home. I'm not a big fan of the city of Denver but parts of it are nice. I'm a suburbanite at heart but it's nice to have a large city near by if I want to go to a concert or in case they ship my job to India. Can't think of any place else I'd want to live long term in the US. Now internationally...I spent quite a bit of time in Germany and that was wunderbar. Britain - no thanks. Too much like the US but a great place to visit. The Netherlands - maybe. Pretty cool place but I could take a few years off my lifespan there. But I think I'd like to try Italy. I haven't been there but I can't think of anything about the place I don't like. Great cycling, exciting politics, decent economy, good weather, good food, good wine, beautiful women, beautiful language, and did I mention cycling? Not that my wife is going to go for that. She's already informed me that we aren't living anywhere that English isn't the native language. Oh well...Australia perhaps?

jdeane4

I live in Macon, GA now. Its not great by any means down here. It is hot and humid year round. But I am looking at moving to Decatur, GA in a few years. It is close enough to Atlanta to hop on the bike Path and your in the city. But you are far enough away from the city to still have some sanity. Atlanta has its perks and downsides. But I have grown up in the south and I am used to the mentality. I am also considering Jacksonville, FL or Pensecola. Dont know yet.