Everything I hear and read refers to how great it is to live in Colorado (Boulder,Longmont,Durango, Denver,on and on). There must be tons of bad things about Colorado that I cannot seem to find. Everyone I know who lives there loves it. What are the downsides? Where are all the Colorado "haters"?..lol Also, about the weather, according to weather.com it seems to snow every day. I thought Colorado was "America's sunniest state" - at least that what my Colorado guide book says
Well there's that show South Park Kidding. Good question... I haven't heard of anything bad about Colorado either.
You're looking at it from a "visiting" perspective, I'm looking at it from a "living there" perspective. The light shows, the beauty of the Darling Harbor area, that stuff gets old pretty quick. If you've got money, lots of it, and can afford to live in the northern side, in the nice areas, well, probably Sydney's better. But it's expensive. If you're forced to live in the South or the West, better brush up on your Arabic. I'm not that rich, so this is one of the deciding factors for me. For those who've never had the "fortune" of living around a bunch of Arabs, lucky you. Our very own Wael is a good example of your typical Arab. Loud mouthed, gets offended and starts kicking up dust at the drop of a hat, forever bragging about how tough he is, up to the eyeballs in hypocrisy. (And before anyone starts jumping, I'm from a minority group myself.) The crime level in Sydney is a lot worse than Melbourne, and increasingly turning violent (influenced by all the "hip hop culture" if you ask me...increasing use of guns). Areas at a comparable socio-economic level in Melbourne are much more pleasant, less "grimey" looking. Other points about Melbourne: - Universally recognised as Australia's "most European" city. Huge numbers of Italian, Greek and exYugoslavs. (Third largest Greek city in the world, including Greece.) (Also lots of Asians, strong Vietnamese, Chinese communities. The mayor is chinese, and can barely speak english). - Biggest casino in southern hemisphere. (It's very good, too. I lived in Vegas, and only a few Vegas casinos better it, imo. Sydney's is a joke.) - Less traffic than Sydney (lot less), because the road system is so much better organized. I used to live 25km from the city centre and could make it home in half an hour during rush hour. Try that in Sydney, lol. - Less (openly) gay than Sydney. In Sydney gays have little compunction about holding hands or kissing in public, whereas I've never seen that in Melbourne. (Not really juding anything here, just an observation. Comes down to personal preference.) - Melbourne's more sophisticated, fashion-wise. People tend to dress up more to go out. More vibrant "cafe culture" (more Italian restaurants than Rome, it feels like.) (- Another observation: virtually no aborigines in Melbourne.) Really, the only thing Sydney's got more in its favor is the beaches and the climate (although Melbourne is far from cold). Take it from me, the people in the know will look past the glitz and choose Melbourne. I could live in either one, and I've got much more family in Sydney than Melbourne, yet I choose Melbourne.
All of Australia is pretty "laid back". It's amazing the Australian economy is so competetive given how much people value having a "laid back" personality.
Miami is VERY tempting, Cubes. I've been looking forward to the chance to practise my Spanish. And the pull of the babes (is it a myth?) is very strong, too. The only thing that puts me off is the humidity (which I hate!) and the crime. (Although, I feel pretty secure. 16.5" guns, which isn't huge, but from the would-be thug's perspective, there's easier victims out there. Who does most of the crime, anyway? Is it the Cubans? I easily pass for a Hispanic, so would that make me any less of a target?)
Probably not, but it in my books it does. Safe with a lunatic like Wael running around? Can a city with five million (or whatever) people really be considered "dull"? Part of the draw for me is the (reasonably) strong Macedonian and Serbian community there -- can Vancouver compete on this note? As for Montreal, I'd love to. But I'd want to work. It wouldn't be realistic to work in Montreal with English only, would it? Actually, Quebec City would probably be my preference, but I'll save that until I brush up enough on my French in a few years. Is it as pretty in real life as in the pictures (where it looks breathtaking)? How does Toronto compare in public transport? Rain doesn't bother me (I actually like it). Are skies grey pretty much year round, or seasonly? In your opinion, what's "missing"? Okaay...Any reason in particular? How does it fare in public transport? (Nowhere I've seen in the US ranks "good" in PT). I'd really prefer to avoid the hassle of arranging a car if I could. I'd love to check it out. I don't know why, something just keeps telling me to have a look. As has been said on this thread, no ever seems to have anything bad to say about Denver.
NYC and Chicago, fair enough. But from my research, it's just too expensive to live anywhere halfway decent and interesting. (I'm just going on what I've dug up on the 'net.) DC? Why?
Well, I know you're kidding, but I did think of something. The problem is that there aren't enough of those Colorado "haters" and this place is very quickly getting stuffed. I do a lot of work in commercial real estate, and the growth forecasts are staggering. Not just pie in the sky kind of stuff--many companies are already moving the dirt. Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley form a pretty decent triangle geographically. The infill over the next ten years is projected to be around 800,000. That's not counting the cities themselves. The total is supposed to top 1.5MM. Getting to a ski area on I-70 on any weekend is such a nightmare that my wife and I gave up our season's passes. I see that getting even worse. The concentration of population in Colorado will become almost one continuous stretch from Colo Spgs to almost the Wyo border. Denver, like all cities, has a sickly, brown layer of air surrounding it most days. Our views and clear air on the Front Range likely won't last forever.
In terms of Miami, I would first ask you a few of questions: 1. How old are you? 2. Do you like clubbing e.g. the kind of places with music so loud you are deaf when you leave ... and sometimes need to be "somebody" to get in? 3. Do you speak Spanish? 4. Do you like hot humid weather from April to October - but great weather the rest of the year? 5. Does a large gay community bother you? 6. Do you want to live on the water? 7. How much money do you have? I just moved from South Beach after living there for five years. When I moved there, I can honestly say that I really didn't know much about it; I just wanted to live somewhere warm and in a tax free state. I can't say that it's a bad place, it's just not my style ... and if I were 22 again, it would have been a lot more fun. Regards, Slave2Market P.S. There's definitely lots of "Eye Candy" on South Beach ... but it's very young!