Who loves where they live?

[Farrar]

I don't even know how to feel about where I live anymore. 

But yesterday, I went to the Kennedy Center with dh and met a friend and they had roller skating and free skate dance lessons and go go streaming from the speakers and a breeze coming off the river and parking was fine and for a moment I was like, okay, okay, maybe I can love DC again. Maybe the pandemic hasn't ruined city life for me. Fingers crossed.

Do not move here though. There's absolutely nothing affordable about it.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

Everyplace has its pros and cons.  I live in an extremely affordable area that has zero weather related incidents. We might get a foot of snow every two years in a storm but that’s it.

However, if you want culture, it’s not here.  I live here because we can afford it easily on what we make and we love the plentiful outdoors stuff. For culture stuff with my kids, I suck it up and drive.

[Amy Gen]

I’ve loved something about every place I’ve lived. 

Galveston, where I was born has the beautiful Victorian houses and the beach, even though people who didn’t grow up there have nothing but distant for the seaweed, and gray sand.

Clear Lake City, where we moved when my dad worked at NASA grad great schools and a neighborhood where kids played outside until the streetlights came on and every weekend was a party at a different neighbor’s house.

Houston Heights where we moved when my parents got a divorce, had again those Victorian houses and so much more exposure to other cultures than the then all white Clear Lake.

Montrose area of Houston where we moved when I was in high school, had walkability, an active LGBTQ community, magnet schools and a vibrant art scene.

Rural Louisiana had my extended family and my first church family. This is where I was baptized and met my future husband. 
 

Austin, where I transferred had an amazing music scene, great food and a university which will always be my happy place of learning. 
 

Suburban NW Houston, where we moved when our oldest was born had a low crime rate, low cost of living and plentiful jobs. This is where we were able to have a great lifestyle with 5 kids on one income. 
 

New Orleans had again the food and the architecture and we went to church at the Episcopal Cathedral which was so special. Our kids went to the most amazing private school there. If we hadn’t left, I never would have become a homeschooler.

Rural property, NW of Houston is where my kids owned horses and raised goats and won jackets ant trophies at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We got to live a life most people only dream of. At the community college there, my autism kid found mentors and advocates who are still in her life 8 years later.

Where I live now is my very, very favorite, but do I think that about every place I live?
 

Vallejo California, where we live now, has such a bad reputation that when I tell people I love living here, they look at me like I’m crazy and say, “You do????” 
 

The weather is absolutely perfect. The architecture is to die for. That is why we moved here, for a house, but the reason why we stay is the the people. It is a high crime area and the cost of living is only considered reasonable compared to the rest of the Bay Area. We live downtown where we can walk to the farmers market or the book store where when my kid requested a book that was out of print, the owner loaned her her own signed copy from her childhood. We can walk to a ferry that takes us right to San Francisco for shopping and plays. We go to an amazing Filipino church, my kids have the world’s best friend group. I spent all day with them, yesterday at Six Flags and today, I need to text all of their mothers to tell them how much I appreciate the sensitive, funny, enjoyable, intelligent children they are raising. We hope to stay here 6 more years until our youngest goes off to college, because we want the girls and their friends to be each other’s bridesmaids and godmothers. 
 

When my kids complain, I remind them to enjoy what we have right here, right now because one day this phase will be over and we will miss parts of it which we can never get back. 
 

For me, what I end up loving about a place is the very last thing I expected. For example, we moved here for a specific house and a job and a ton of money. We ended up not wanting the house. The company filed for bankruptcy and the money dried up, yet somehow we are still so grateful that we came because the people have become so important that the later now seems trivial. 

[Halftime Hope]

4 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

I hope they understand the housing market here. There is hardly any inventory and, unless you are a cash buyer, expect to have your offer rejected over and over again because you are competing with 100 other people, all paying well over list price on houses that are 20% more than the price they were last year. I have a VA loan, but no one will take it because they don't want to deal with the hassle of the VA, so we have stopped looking for a house at this point. And that's for a 750k 3 bedroom starter townhouse. Forget about buying a detached home unless you don't mind being 40+ minutes outside the city (my DH refuses to commute that far for his mental health).

And the rental market is equally horrific. We are paying 4300/month for a 3 bedroom apartment. It took me a month of looking and putting in applications to finally get that place.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-many-home-buyers-a-5-down-payment-isnt-enough-11624095181

Many borrowers who can afford only small upfront costs get loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs. In an April NAR survey of real-estate agents, 27% said sellers were unlikely to accept an offer with an FHA or VA loan, and another 6% said sellers would refuse such an offer. These loans are less attractive to sellers because they have stricter closing conditions, real-estate agents say.

While mortgage originations of all types rose last year as home buying surged, FHA and VA loans lost market share to conventional loans. FHA loans, which often go to first-time buyers, accounted for 10% of home purchases in the first quarter of 2021, the second-lowest level since 2008, according to Attom Data Solutions.

“It’s very hard to get my FHA offers accepted,” said Olivia Chavez Serrano, a real-estate agent in Los Angeles.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-home-price-growth-rose-to-record-in-april-11624972608

Phoenix had the fastest year-over-year home-price growth in the country for the 23rd straight month, at 22.3%, followed by San Diego at 21.6%. Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland, Dallas, Denver and Seattle all recorded record-high annual price gains.

I hope things work out for you and family! Dh and I are right with you on not being willing to commute; what a waste of time! (At least if you have to do that on the other coast, you can usually find some kind of a shared ride or public transport to make the time productive!) 

[Hyacinth]

I love where I live in the upstate of SC but—I’m sorry—we’re all filled up now. 😜

[Shoeless]

8 hours ago, MEmama said:

We lived in Columbus for years—DH grew up in a suburb. Love, love, love the city. I moved there from SF  in the very early ‘90s and experienced major culture shock, but I found my tribe and the city has really grown up (in a direction we like).

There’s tons to do—all the sports, hip bars and restaurants, shopping, a vibrant LGBTQ scene, the zoo is fantastic with or without little ones, the metro parks are nice, Ohio State is huge and lends an academic influence. The weather does suck year round, though.
 

The biggest downside for us is that while the city is liberal enough for us, it's a bubble surrounded by deep red. Ohio in general isn't even recognizable to DH it’s gone so far to the right. The right suburb might make sense for you and your DH, though, given the clash of demographics outside the city proper. It’s a pretty diverse urban area and the people are wonderful. 

Thanks, what you wrote matches everything eI have heard about Columbus.

It's hard to pick a place to live from far away! 

[Frances]

45 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

I hope things work out for you and family! Dh and I are right with you on not being willing to commute; what a waste of time! (At least if you have to do that on the other coast, you can usually find some kind of a shared ride or public transport to make the time productive!) 

I don’t know about San Diego. But ride sharing and public transport do exist on the west coast. I personally would never choose to live that far away from a job, but prior to the pandemic, I had coworkers who regularly used van pools and public transportation to get to work. Biking to work is also very common here.

[SeaConquest]

3 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

I hope things work out for you and family! Dh and I are right with you on not being willing to commute; what a waste of time! (At least if you have to do that on the other coast, you can usually find some kind of a shared ride or public transport to make the time productive!) 

Thanks. We own a 10+ year old marine business, so we have to be close to the water. We tried living further out -- we had horses and an enormous home with a huge yard -- but the commute really affected my husband and he didn't last more than a year. People where I work are buying in Temecula (60 miles away with no public transportation and terrible traffic) just to get into a home. It's ridiculous. 

We have been living in an RV at a beautiful campground on the beach. I was thinking that we would wait out the market when we moved here in 2016, but the pandemic made things even worse. Our boys are getting older and, after five years in the RV, I just cannot do it anymore. So, I cannot believe that I am going to be a renter again at age 46, but what are you going to do? I have full VA loan entitlement, up to 753k in SD County for a conforming loan, and cannot buy a 3 bedroom 2 bath within 15-20 minute commuting distance of the water. Sucks, but SD is honestly a great city on so many levels. Clearly, there is a reason so many people want to live here, so we just suck it up like everyone else and hand over our money.

Edited July 4, 2021 by SeaConquest

[Halftime Hope]

24 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

Thanks. We own a 10+ year old marine business, so we have to be close to the water. We tried living further out -- we had horses and an enormous home with a huge yard -- but the commute really affected my husband and he didn't last more than a year. People where I work are buying in Temecula (60 miles away with no public transportation and terrible traffic) just to get into a home. It's ridiculous. 

We have been living in an RV at a beautiful campground on the beach. I was thinking that we would wait out the market when we moved here in 2016, but the pandemic made things even worse. Our boys are getting older and, after five years in the RV, I just cannot do it anymore. So, I cannot believe that I am going to be a renter again at age 46, but what are you going to do? I have full VA loan entitlement, up to 753k in SD County for a conforming loan, and cannot buy a 3 bedroom 2 bath within 15-20 minute commuting distance of the water. Sucks, but SD is honestly a great city on so many levels. Clearly, there is a reason so many people want to live here, so we just suck it up like everyone else and hand over our money.

Aww, I'm so sorry for the sucky circumstances. My parents bought under similar circumstances by knocking on doors and leaving their contact info. A certain number of sellers are willing to forego paying a realtor commission.  😄  

[Halftime Hope]

3 hours ago, Frances said:

I don’t know about San Diego. But ride sharing and public transport do exist on the west coast. I personally would never choose to live that far away from a job, but prior to the pandemic, I had coworkers who regularly used van pools and public transportation to get to work. Biking to work is also very common here.

The kind of commute I'm talking about is a 90 minute drive one way,  😉 not bikable.  (OK, I know that's not what you meant.) Ha! Good to know there are van pools and such. 

[whitestavern]

12 hours ago, Mrskitty76 said:

Charleston, SC! 

We visited Charleston this spring and I fell in love. It’s the only place outside of New England where I could imagine retiring. H didn’t feel the same way unfortunately. 
 

I grew up in NH and couldn’t think of a more idyllic place to live. Have lived in CT since high school. Loved that we were close to family and how stupid easy it was to homeschool. But it’s expensive. Our plan is to retire in NH. Trying to decide on east vs west.  

[Lady Florida.]

I love where I live (East Central Florida) but my reasons for loving it don't tick any of your boxes. I grew up here, it's home, and the people I care about are all close by or within reasonable driving distance. 

[GoodGrief3]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:48 PM, Eirene said:

We are pretty much tied to the eastern part of the country because of extended family obligations, but I'm curious as to why is the cost of living in Alaska so high? 

I'm another Alaska resident. FWIW, I'm not sure that I agree that Alaska is much higher than other places on average, at least if you live in the Anchorage area. But the rural parts are quite high because of transportation costs.

[cintinative]

On 7/3/2021 at 10:44 PM, Slache said:

DH says PA is too blue and to go to OH. Suburb of any major city. I maintain that I hate the west side of Cincinnati.

The east side/west side thing has always been interesting to me. I spent most of my life on the east side and barely know anything about the west side.  All I know is that it is hilly and I got lost there once pre-GPS days.  LOL.  Are other cities like this where people rarely go to the "other side" for anything?

I'm clearly partial to SW Ohio, but I would not recommend living here if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Our winters can be hard.  Lots of rain and cloudy skies through the spring.  I love the fall here though. So beautiful.  

[Kassia]

34 minutes ago, cintinative said:

The east side/west side thing has always been interesting to me. I spent most of my life on the east side and barely know anything about the west side.  All I know is that it is hilly and I got lost there once pre-GPS days.  LOL.  Are other cities like this where people rarely go to the "other side" for anything?

I'm clearly partial to SW Ohio, but I would not recommend living here if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Our winters can be hard.  Lots of rain and cloudy skies through the spring.  I love the fall here though. So beautiful.  

I'm in a suburb on the east side of Cleveland and we never go to the west side.  There's definitely an east/west side of the city and people tend to stick to their side.  Our winters are hard, too - very long, snowy, and feels like we rarely have sunshine.  When our kids were little, all the snow was a lot of fun (we have a sledding hill in our back yard), but now we are tired of it.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Kassia

[DawnM]

On 7/3/2021 at 7:06 PM, Eirene said:

I want to know where people love living and why.

This is partly out of curiosity and partly because we often talk about moving but never can figure out where we would go.

Ease of homeschooling and great public and private school options for MS and HS would be very important to us. A manageable cost of living would also be key, and we would love to find a community with like-minded folks, which seems like it should be easier than it is. 

What are the great places out there?

It is hard to really say.....what is it you are looking for?   Can your husband or you work from anywhere?   Do you need a city?   What is your like-mindedness expectation?   

I can PM you where I live, it is outside of Charlotte, NC.   I am a West Coast girl and have struggled being here, but there are many good things about it and it looks like we are here for the foreseeable future.    I have close friends in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Durham area who love it and friends in the Columbia, SC area who love it.   If you want coastal cities, Charleston is very nice.   My son lived in Savannah for a couple of years and loved it.

[Slache]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

The east side/west side thing has always been interesting to me. I spent most of my life on the east side and barely know anything about the west side.  All I know is that it is hilly and I got lost there once pre-GPS days.  LOL.  Are other cities like this where people rarely go to the "other side" for anything?

I'm clearly partial to SW Ohio, but I would not recommend living here if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Our winters can be hard.  Lots of rain and cloudy skies through the spring.  I love the fall here though. So beautiful.  

I don't think so. I do know I've had this conversation several times: "I hate Cincinnati." "Why?" "It's the rudest and most racist place I've ever been." "Oh, you were on the west side." It was incredible how people just knew.

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, Slache said:

I don't think so. I do know I've had this conversation several times: "I hate Cincinnati." "Why?" "It's the rudest and most racist place I've ever been." "Oh, you were on the west side." It was incredible how people just knew.

Wow that's really interesting.  That hasn't been my experience on the east side at all.  I mean, the shoppers at Costco act like demigods, but other than that . . .  😃

 

[sassenach]

 I love where I live (Bay Area) but I don't think most other people would love it 😂. My husband doesn't love it. It's the opposite of affordable. Truly the exact opposite. But I love the weather, and it's beautiful, and even though the city has become an absolute dumpster fire, I still love being close to it. The beach is a short drive away (though I much prefer SoCal for its actual beach weather). I'm not a liberal and that can get a little wearing sometimes but I actually think I would find super conservatives less palatable at this point. The libs are crazy (said with love) but at least they don't co-opt Jesus into their crazy. I like Californians. I know that's unusual but for all the grief that they (we) get, I actually think people here are friendly without being fake. I've lived in unfriendly areas and fake-friendly areas, both of which just wore me down over time. 

[Frances]

2 hours ago, Slache said:

I don't think so. I do know I've had this conversation several times: "I hate Cincinnati." "Why?" "It's the rudest and most racist place I've ever been." "Oh, you were on the west side." It was incredible how people just knew.

Hands down the rudest, most unfriendly placed I ever lived was upstate NY. Plus, the winters were very dreary and depressing. While the fall was beautiful (although that has been the case everywhere I lived), the summers were too humid and buggy for my taste. Housing is more affordable than most other places I’ve lived though.

[Hyacinth]

5 minutes ago, Frances said:

Hands down the rudest, most unfriendly placed I ever lived was upstate NY. Plus, the winters were very dreary and depressing. While the fall was beautiful (although that has been the case everywhere I lived), the summers were too humid and buggy for my taste. Housing is more affordable than most other places I’ve lived though.

Yup. What region of the upstate?

[frogger]

15 hours ago, GoodGrief3 said:

I'm another Alaska resident. FWIW, I'm not sure that I agree that Alaska is much higher than other places on average, at least if you live in the Anchorage area. But the rural parts are quite high because of transportation costs.

 Fuel costs alone (both heating and vehicle) is terrible and health care is tied with DC last I looked as highest in the nation. We may not have $10 gallons of milk like the bush but compared to the lower 48 our food prices are also higher. Housing prices aren't comparable to Silicon Valley of course, but still high compared to most of America but unlike the big cities we don't get great transit etc. for higher home prices. At least in a big city you can sell your home and have something to show for it. Paying utilities is just outright burning money up, including things like internet. And home prices are way worse in Anchorage than surrounding areas including interior Alaska though the Slope and the chain which are treeless have different issues than the interior with home availability.  I actually think that it is cheaper for my Dad to live between Chicken and Eagle then it is for us but of course that takes planning. You have to haul food and heavy items in spring when you can use an ice road so as not to damage the environment. If he had to haul everything in his plane it would be really expensive and take a lot of trips but not paying property taxes or a big mortgage makes up for a lot of that.

 

But no need to take my word for it, it is easy to look up cost of living indexes.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by frogger
Took out bad link

[WildflowerMom]

I like our area, southeast GA.  Affordable, friendly, the beach, nature, etc.   But I would love to move to northeast TN.   We'll probably go wherever ds ends up. 

[Frances]

2 hours ago, Hyacinth said:

Yup. What region of the upstate?

Finger Lakes.

[Scarlett]

On 7/3/2021 at 6:06 PM, Eirene said:

I want to know where people love living and why.

This is partly out of curiosity and partly because we often talk about moving but never can figure out where we would go.

Ease of homeschooling and great public and private school options for MS and HS would be very important to us. A manageable cost of living would also be key, and we would love to find a community with like-minded folks, which seems like it should be easier than it is. 

What are the great places out there?

I do not currently love where I live.  It is a rural community with not a lot of nice housing. A lot of homeless, a lot of houses falling down in disrepair.  I love my simple job. I meet lots of interesting people, work for a great boss and it is 5 min from my house.  We did move to one of the nicest neighborhoods in this town almost 2 years ago…..so that is good.  My neighborhood seems pleasant.  Nice to walk in, no crime to speak of like I read about on FB in other parts of town.  
 

Generally I don’t really care about the minds of the community since we are very involved with our congregation—that is where we have the like mindedness. I have had a rough couple of years….maybe three now….I often find myself thinking I just want to go home.  Then I realize it doesn’t exist any more.  
 

I moved my parents here just as I was deciding I hated it.  So I am here for the foreseeable future.  Dh and I think we will go to AR near some of his family someday.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Scarlett

[lovinmyboys]

I have liked everywhere we have lived, but not loved it. We are going to Europe for 3 years, so I am following this for when we come back. 
 

Kansas City-I liked but it has been a long time since I lived there. Good place for kids, not much traffic, lots of free stuff to do, good barbecue.

Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati suburb-  I thought the libraries and parks were nice and we have lots of good memories of the museum and zoo. Very family friendly

Northern Virginia- I liked a lot about living there, but I didn’t like how buggy it was. I thought the community really took care of each other.

Omaha-terrible weather and people are way too into sports, but the schools are good and lots of good local restaurants.

Edited July 5, 2021 by lovinmyboys