Yep. Lots of izbjeglice (I use the term loosely) in Vancouver. More balkan dialects in the West End than in Sarajevo 20 years ago, lol. Don't know many Macedonians, but at least 2 Serbian and 1 Croatian church. And more football teams than you can count. Montreal is a place where you speak bad french to peope replying in bad english. Quebec City is far more militantly Quebecoise than Montreal. It is seasonal - you just never know which seasons. Tampa I find mind-numbingly boring. Miami is just too...not sure how to put it...it's like it wants to be a party 24-7, but like DJ Keiko said, one day you wake up and realize you're outgrown doing X every night. You can live/work in Boston without regular use of a car. Used to visit mine every 2 weeks, lol. Mass transit is mediocre by global standards, but quite good by US standards.
I also did south beach for five years. It was great when I got there - you could go rollerblading on lincoln road, the club scene was incredible, and there was a very open attitude down there with tremendous numbers of europeans, gays, models, and boho types. You could get an average 1br rental for $800 year round, and there was still a season. Then, like all things, it changed. More people like me moved in, and pushed out the artsy boho types, condo development went up and went wild, rents skyrocketed, traffic got so bad that you couldn't rollerblade without getting hit by a car, and quality of life declined. So the europeans stopped coming, the models were less frequent, and a lot of not-so-pretty tourists came to south beach. To service them, the big chains moved into lincoln road so that middle america could buy the same stuff on vacation at higher prices than at the mall at home. Yay. People come to south beach for the same reasons they come to Vegas - to "front" and pretend that they are more than they are. They spend exorbitant amounts of money on premium services which they are putting on their credit card. Hey, for a weekend, you too can rent a ferrari & try to impress some chicks (or some guys). And of course, some of them say, "hey, lets live here." Sooo... you too can buy and overpriced condo down by 5th St and West Ave where the sewage system can't handle the number of people living in the new apartment buildings. You can buy into the "lifestyle", but don't actually expect real models, artists, or too many interesting people. You can expect players, perverts, and a lot of professionals who want to capture a bit of the excitement that was there. But from a climate standpoint, its not so bad. Just a bit hot in summer. And its funny to hear about people freezing to death on the news when it hits 45 one or two days a year. Ultimately, the party moved on. So did I.
If I could, I would live in: 1) Hawaii 2) Montana or somewhere else with lots of open Mountain ranges. Only thing is, for 99% of my life I have always lived near a large body of water and it throws me off not to be near one. Best for trading though is Antartica. Then you have nothing to do but think about the markets. nitro
1) I need to stay near my daughter 2) I need to stay in Chicago for the moment because being too far would introduct too much latency nitro
I live in Houston and to use trading lingo it is a good short play. Incredibly humid, other than shopping mall you will not see people walking. On the plus side real estate is more affordable than comparable cities.
I used to live in Charleston, WV and have lived in southern WV my entire life so believe me the things that you list as important aren't here. My advice: look elsewhere! We do have a single A baseball team here. Yeah! and there is a new cultural center here but that is the only one so once you go there once you have seen it all. Charleston is somewhat safe but it does get a little chilly by my tastes anyway. Right now it is in the 40's and can get as low as single digits in the dead of winter. If you do like white water rafting, hunting, 4 wheeling then there is plenty of that to do around here. Most schools are public and most are below average anyway. (that is public school average so you get an idea how far down we are) The only problem is that if you want to buy a house in Charleston I hope you like hills because there is NO flat land and the houses are on hills. What is on flat land costs 20% more. Also there are no high end retailers here (does Kaufmans count? lol) Also I have found that the people aren't really that friendly in Charleston. I moved about 20 west of it and the people are great but I don't know what the deal is inside Charleston. Eric
MIAMI & CHICAGO This is were the bulk of my experience is.... Chicago is a great town, easy to meet people, and alot to do. The only drawback of course is the weather. I started investing in south beach in 1987 and moved there in 1990.....those days were the best...it was still artsy and bohemian. Now I live in Surfside/Bal harbor/bay harbor area, just north of Miami beach and south of Aventura. These are three small towns which essentially sit in the middle of the bay, and are bordered by the ocean. Easy to get to anywhere. Easy access to the beach and the bay, which I actually prefer, to boat, kayak, sail. Being more of an outdoor person, this is what really appeals to me....but if I want big city life, it is 15 minutes away; and, I never feel crowded. There is alot to do in Miami, south beach is the place everyone talks about but where I visit the least. Too crowded, too phoney. You have to accept a multicultural ethnic mix, Miami is the number one city in the world for that. No place is perfect, and I can tell from the posts that some of you will not be satisfied whereever you go....but for me, for the past 14 years and for now, most other places seem boring and pale in comparison. I'm always glad to get back!
Also consider natural disasters when picking a location. Tornadoes, flash floods, earth quakes, etc. Having an F5 come around can ruin your day. Wonder if Texas has any common problems, and where the safest is? I consider crime also and will make sure it is below average, and having no state income tax is a necessity. I also want to be in a state that recognizes my right to self protection, (concealed carry allowed). Texas looks good, I think.
Well, I have the Western US pretty much covered from living and extensive travel throughout the area my entire life. Hawaii: my native home, and I agree its one of the best places to live. Lots of people who move there from the mainland return back to mainland after a few years however. They simply get island fever and run out of a diversity of things to do, or places to go. I never had that problem though. Its also not as expensive as you might think unless you have to buy a home vs renting, or have kids in school. Private school is a must there. Gas is expensive, but nowhere to drive. No heating of the house. If its too hot, move upcountry. Your clothing bill will become virtually non existent as well. Flops and a T shirt are acceptable almost anywhere. For formal biz settings, nice restaurants, etc, wear an aloha shirt. San Francisco: Coolest city anywhere. Expensive as hell. LA. Absolute mess. Other than right on the beach, I wouldn't go near it. Rest of SoCal: perfect weather, lots to do. Portland: wet (not this year). Friendly people. Great for outdoors. Also, a previous post says Bend only for retired folks (not too far from Portland). This couldn't be further from the truth. Bend is a major outdoor sports town, year round. World class skiing, whitewater, mtn biking, windsurfing, fishing etc. Very young, outdoorsy population. Also very dry by Oregon standards. Seattle: very cool city, wetter than Portland even. Getting expensive and has ungodly traffic. Phoenix. growing way too fast. Major sprawl. Hot as hell (literally) half the year. Beautiful, fit women. Utah: Incredibly beautiful, as are parts of Montana and Wyoming (Colorado already covered elsewhere). Not entirely Mormon, depends on your location. Mild winter temps by western skiing standards, and has bar none, the best powder skiing on the planet. This isn't even debateable. Look at any mag with a waist deep shot on the cover (or deeper). Its Alta or Snowbird every single time. I spent 10 years in Park City. Rocking ski town. They hang Mormons there. Well, not quite, but its a very wild place. Jay