Where do you live, and how do you like it there?

[KiwiScout]

We're whiny in Brisbane. 20C is when we go "Brrrr! It sure is cold today, hey?" and we put jumpers and long pants on. *checks thermometer* It's 20 degrees in my house right now, 11pm at night in Spring. I have goosebumps, I'm so cold. (I still prefer this "cold" weather to our mind-meltingly hot and humid summers, where temperatures in the mid 30s are common.)

Best avoid Australia in the summer, I reckon, if you visit, or stick to the south-east.

Well that explains all the funny looks I got from Brisban-a-nites(?) in July, for walking round in a tshirt and shorts and swimming everyday when I got back to the Hotel I was staying at. 20C is an awesome Christchurch summer day hahaha.

[Sinuosette]

I love this thread! Gives me more inspiration for future trip

I'm from Rome, Italy but I moved to Versailles in France 5 years ago, so I can tell you what I like/dislike of both places.

Good things about Rome:

- Everyone is super friendly. Even though many italians don't speak English they try their best to help foreigners and each other out.

- It's close enough to the sea!

- Seasons: they are all different, super hot in summer and cold in winter, with fall and spring being something in between

- Foooood, omg I can't get over howgood the food is

- History everywhere!

- My family and friends. This is only important to me, but most of my friends and my entire family is there

- I'm sure there's more that I am forgetting

Not so good things about Rome:

- August is super hot and humid. That's not fun if you're stuck at work and can't go to the beach

- Rome is not taken care of as one would expect: it's dirty compared to other cities I have seen

- Not many Romans speak English

- The job market is terribad

- No cycling lanes, except for one that takes you from A to B. Rome is not cyclist friendly

And now Versailles!

Pros:

- The town is tiny and everything is within walking distance

- The Chateau de Versailles and its gardens are breath taking, especially considered the historical facts that took place there

- There's parks and forests within a few miles from the city

- Health insurance that covers pretty much everything, almost completely

- Bike lanes! They are everywhere

- Bakeries, omg the bakeries (I'm not walking in, but the smell of freshly baked bread is mouthwatering!)

- PACS: the French civil partnership. I haven't used it myself, but I like that the country I am living in allow for same sex partnerships (applies to a lot of other things, but hey..)

Cons:

- Not many speak English here either, but then again I should improve my French. It would have just made my first few months here a little easier

- It's difficult for some people here to accept that i DON'T WANT nor LIKE to eat meat and that it was my decision. Versailles has very few options for vegetarians

- People in the Parisian aread can't drive very well. I think they just get easily distracted

- Weather: weather in the area makes me sad, really. This year, after 5 years here, I saw for the first time something that looked like a proper warm summer. It never lasts too many days in a row and degrees can plummet to very cold overnight

- Have I mentioned the weather?

[UltimoJefe]

I live on the Connecticut shoreline.

Beach filled summers (does get a bit humid in late August but not that bad as most places)

An actual autumn (like in the movies)

Snow in the winter (not upstate NY snow thankfully)

Spingtime is great (but pretty short)

1 1/4 hours from NYC, 2 1/2 from Boston

15 minutes from New Haven and all the good food they have to offer

[Tocho]

I live near the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. The winters are horrible and cold. The summers are unstable; sunny, warm days are very rare. (Maybe about 10-15 good days throughout all of summer, i.e. May-August) It rains a lot as well.

The university also decided to cancel all language courses indefinitely/forever recently, so I'm pretty much forced to move if I want to study at university level. Which, I suppose, is a good thing since I already wanted to move. Preferably somewhere warm, like... some country in South America. Or New Zealand.

I don't like my city at all.

To give two examples of unstable weather: May is supposed to be late spring/early summer month. 2 years ago, it started snowing and went below zero (Celsius) for a few days. This year in May, class mates and I were out in the city, wearing t-shirts because it was ~20 degrees. 5 hours later, it's 10 PM and the temperature was -5. IN MAY.

But fine, good things about Sweden:

Universal healthcare

Free education (including university)

Stable society (+ Peace)

Pretty cool and impressive history for being such a small country nowadays

Uhh, what else. Not much that I can think of.

Bad things about Sweden:

Weather

Most of the people

The politicians (corrupt, waste money like there's no tomorrow, don't care about the real issues, and censor things/won't listen to the people)

Weather

EU membership

Integration issues

Oh and did I mention weather?

[Pup]

It's worth noting that we Swedes LOVE to talk/complain about the weather. But I'm still not sure if that is because we tend to have shitty weather for all seasons or just perceive it like that because we like to complain about the weather. Might be a chicken/egg-thing going on.

If I could decide, I'd have the infrastructure and continental proximity of Malmö but the climate of the deep north. I like my winters dry and at least fifteen degrees below freezing thankyouverymuch (not like these super humid barely-freezing temperatures that goes right through the marrow)

[BopGun]

I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It's a much more rural area than I'm originally from (Massachusetts).

The good:

-- Beautiful scenery. Vast acreage of pine forest and unspoiled Great Lakes shoreline. (Lake Superior is about a thousand feet from my door.)

-- Best air quality of any location I've ever seen.

-- People here are generally much friendlier than in the northeastern U.S.

The bad:

-- The weather is brutally cold. If you like 200+ inches of snow every year, this is the place for you! I don't, though.

-- Most people's idea of culture here is a bar. There are tons of bars and not much else for nightlife. If you value nightlife but are not a big-time drinker (which I am not), you'll find the area badly lacking in things to do.

-- Very little human diversity. I hear ethnic and gay slurs here somewhat regularly, which I never did in the Northeast.

-- Ignorance is a way of life here. I have noticed that education and/or intelligence are simply not valued here like they are on the East Coast.

-- The food SUCKS. Most restaurants here are awful, and there aren't many of them. I love Indian food, for example, and there are no Indian restaurants at all within many hours' drive. (Although there are, surprisingly, two Thai restaurants in my town which are both OK-to-good.)

[Jaksavage]

Fairfield county Connecticut.

Good: love the spring fall and winter.

An hour from NYC. Plenty to do and I still have nature all around me.

Bad: people can be snooty...

Everyone assumes I'm rich...I'm not...I'm poor...no one believes me.

The summers are extremely humid.

The beaches are lame.

Overall not to shabby.

All your base are belong to us...

[Tocho]

It's worth noting that we Swedes LOVE to talk/complain about the weather. But I'm still not sure if that is because we tend to have shitty weather for all seasons or just perceive it like that because we like to complain about the weather. Might be a chicken/egg-thing going on.

I like my winters dry and at least fifteen degrees below freezing thankyouverymuch (not like these super humid barely-freezing temperatures that goes right through the marrow)

True, but even if we didn't like talking/complaining about the weather in the first place; we'd grow to do it because of the weather. Hen or the egg indeed...

AND BIG YES! -25 dry is so much better than -10 humid.

[Blaidd]

I live in city called Cape Town in a country called South Africa, maybe you've heard of it?

It is the tourism capital of our country and is also host to our parliament!

We have three major sports venues, of which one was the very first stadium of its kind in our country in the late 1800s.

Home to a little over 5mil people and growing.

We're the only province/state that is run by a political party that is not our national governing party.

Our Premier (Governor), our mayor and our parliamentary representative are all women!!

Two oceans caress our shores, the cape doctor keeps our air crisp and clean and our mountain is one of the Natural Wonders of the World.

Our wines are rated some of the best in the world and our vineyards some of the most beautiful.

I might be mistaken about this but the last time I checked we were the only piece of land outside of the Meditteranean to share its climate - it storms in winter and summers are hot, but spring and autumn are the most breathtaking of all the seasons!

We built a billion dollar stadium to host the World Cup soccer in 2010 but that wasn't enough for us. To counteract any potential harm we built a wetland/park right next door that stretches a km or two, made it open to the public, put some outdoor gym equipment in it, built picnic areas and a science/biodiversity section for the kids.

The rest of our country would tell you that we are the LGBT capital of SA and although we technically aren't we wear that badge with honor and pride because we certainly are the LGBT friendliest city!

We're home to Air Jaws and although we have a love/hate relationship with the majestic creatures especially during their mating season (when most of the attacks occur, once every few years), we really are very proud that they call our coasts home.

From August to November every year, you get to enjoy the sights of hundreds of Southern Right Whales as they come into coast to breed and play and die.

I was born and spent my childhood at the naval base (navy brat) so I shared my heart with all these beautiful creatures.

20km away I spent my teen years, a little inland in the lush foresty suburbs of Newlands, under the shade of Table Mountain, where everything is always green and soft and filled with tons of kids and students. I even went to university at the iconic UCT, where I had lectures on two campuses that were literally separated by thousands of steps and a highway (law faculty was at the foot of the mountain and commerce was mid way up - I hiked up and down those stairs daily).

In my 20s I moved up the mountain a mere 14km away and now I live looking out over the business hub of our fair city, where the lights twinkle at night and the full moon sets over the peaks, where there is constant activity and noise and a going to the local deli could take you on a hike up the mountains (literally). Where the sunrise paints the mountains pink against a crisp blue sky in summer and isn't visible under the cloud cover (loving known as The Table Cloth) in winter, I am literally in the clouds and cannot see the building in front of mine when it really rains!

We've been voted as one of the top 10 travel destinations for years, our mayor (now Premier) received the Worlds Best Mayor award, two years running, you cannot swing a cat without hitting a World Heritage site and most of our beaches are Blue Flag.

There are only two things I don't like about my city:

1. The gap between those who live in abject poverty and the filthy rich makes the Grand Canyon look like a stream ran dry! It's incredibly awful. You can literally drive 15min from a place where bachelor lofts that are occupied less than half a year go for tens of millions to a shanty town where 16 people share a single mattress in a shack made out of scrap metal and cloth.

2. Making friends is hard. If you don't belong to a group (or are a foreigner), you're going to have a hard time. If you keep at it, you will succeed though and then you will have friends for life!

Apart from these two things, I could be mistaken for living in paradise

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Jcannon98188]

I live in Olympia, Washington and if I can help it, I will never move!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I live in San Antonio Texas. We enjoy very mild weather most of the time - but as soon as it rains, people suddenly forget how to drive. Seriously Texans are terrible drivers when it comes to any sort of weather. The summers can be very hot and humid. Last year was a very hot summer, this year is cooler but very humid. I love that there is no snow in the winter - I can run outside all year round (with the rare exception of an ice storm). Real estate is pretty cheap here - San Antonio was not hit by the housing crash - but the real estate market never really booms either. There's no state income tax, but property taxes are a little steep. In general the people here are very friendly - and very proud to be San Antonians. Oh and don't forget THE BEST BREAKFAST TACOS ANYWHERE!!!!

THIS. And I maintain that Texas is the greatest country in the world.

[Ghost]

THIS. And I maintain that Texas is the greatest country in the world.

Isn't Texas a state?

[TheOtherScott]

I live in Hamilton, Ontario. It's near Toronto.

+ Very diverse in good ways

+ Cheap real estate has meant loads of innovative, independent businesses starting up

+ I can afford a house here that would cost two to three times more in Burlington or Oakville.

+ Very close to some gorgeous trails for running

+ Vibrant arts community that's extremely friendly, to boot

+ Unique history and culture

+ Frequent awesome events (fitness-related and otherwise)

- Municipal government is frequently not very good at making the city better

- Very, very high poverty in some area, plus the relates issues that come with that (drugs, prostitution etc)

- An abundance of one-way streets in areas that make little sense

- Traditional jobs are harder to come by. Or I suck at looking for them. Either way, it's a minus

- Heavy industry has caused air quality concerns

I'm pretty happy with where I am now (I'm not working where I want to, but I'm working full-time in a down economy, so I have that going for me), but if the kind of job I want opens up elsewhere, I'd have to weigh my options and consider moving. But for now? I like where I live just fine.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Isn't Texas a State?

That's true, from a certain point of view. We were a country at one time, and to hear us talk, in some ways we still are. Under President James K Polk we became the 22nd state in the U.S. after winning our independence from Mexico.

[bigm141414]

Festivals: holy cow! Renaissance' date=' Irish, hot air balloon, fairs, Pirate, multicultural, German, Greek... And those are just the ones we went to or plan to go to this year. There are MANY. I think Pirate Days was cancelled though, so =(

[/quote']

speaking of which: Oktoberfest starts in Addison tomorrow Oh happy days!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

speaking of which: Oktoberfest starts in Addison tomorrow Oh happy days!

That's one of the many good things about Texas is the diversity. We have English, Scottish, Irish, Czeck, Polish, German, and Alsatian communities that date back to when Wester Europeans started coming here, to say nothing of the immensely strong Hispanic influence.

[Ocelot]

Rostov: I spent 2 years in Nottingham! As cities go, it's a good place. And yeah, Hay isn't so far from me. Funny connection! xD

[Rostov]

Rostov: I spent 2 years in Nottingham! As cities go, it's a good place. And yeah, Hay isn't so far from me. Funny connection! xD

Small world! Small country, anyway! I said I worked near Hay - it was probably closer to here......

[Ocelot]

heh heh. Us British and our place names. I've actually climbed that very hill... my friend still says "hey, want to climb Lord Hereford's Knob again?" every time I see him and I have to smack him.

[Zima]

I live in Olympia, Washington and if I can help it, I will never move!

Why do you say that?

And I don't mean that in a "oh, psh, I don't believe you" sort of way. I mean it in a "tell me more about that awesome place I'd like to move to one day!" sort of way.

Seriously, I've done a lot of research on different parts of America, and the Seattle region seems like the ideal place for me.

Except for the fact that it's overcast so often. I don't mind, but I'm afraid my serotonin levels will get screwed up and I'll be sad all the time Even in NJ I notice a difference in my mood when there's little sunlight for several days in a row.

[Jcannon98188]

Why do you say that?

And I don't mean that in a "oh, psh, I don't believe you" sort of way. I mean it in a "tell me more about that awesome place I'd like to move to one day!" sort of way.

Seriously, I've done a lot of research on different parts of America, and the Seattle region seems like the ideal place for me.

Except for the fact that it's overcast so often. I don't mind, but I'm afraid my serotonin levels will get screwed up and I'll be sad all the time Even in NJ I notice a difference in my mood when there's little sunlight for several days in a row.

It is kind of hard to explain the PNW to someone not from the PNW (Pacific North West, for those not 'in the know') The first thing I can say, is in Western Washington it is green. Everywhere. You can see the Mountains on clear days, depending on where you live you can get about 2-3 giant ones in your view. The people here have a certain... style? that you don't see everywhere. It is overcast here a bit, but when it is sunny it is GORGEOUS! For a slightly sarcastic overview of why Seattle is better than your hometown check out this blog

http://rottenindenmark.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/my-hometown-is-better-than-yours/

[Laney]

I live in MN and it's probably the worst place in the universe, I mean the best thing we have here is the Mall of America, woo :|

Pros:

-Family lives here

-Rent is cheap

Cons:

-It's cold as balls for 8 months out of the year (such as right now, I'm inside and still wearing my coat. It was like 9*C when I left this moring (47*F))

-Road construction. For SOME REASON it starts at the end of summer, and then goes for like 3 months, and then everything halts while it snows, and then it starts up again in spring, stops during summer, starts again... Seriously. Plus they work on every single friggin' road at the same time. My whole drive to work was dug up and had lanes shifted OVERNIGHT. That's 3 freeways o.O

-I have to wake up early during the winter to dig out my car, and then spend 2 hours in traffic for what should be a 40 minute drive

-It's hard to walk in high-heels in the winter

There is literally nothing interesting about MN. I would kill to live in London or Germany or Australia... Even California or Hawaii would be an acceptable second. Once I finish school for animation I can only hope I get a job opportunity away from this pit :|

EDIT: Also, to the people who have never seen/ lived with snow- it's not magical. It gets on all your crap and then after being on the ground for .2 seconds it turns into this nasty brown slop that sticks to your car and shoes and makes the whole state look dirty. I'd also like everyone to know that December 2010 it snowed 18 inches overnight and I was trapped in my apartment building with my boyfriend and best friend. Our apartment was heated with solar panels (which also happened to be covered with 18 inches of snow) so it was FREEZING. We walked a km to the liquor store and trudged back and got cold and drunk...

[Zima]

It is kind of hard to explain the PNW to someone not from the PNW (Pacific North West, for those not 'in the know') The first thing I can say, is in Western Washington it is green. Everywhere. You can see the Mountains on clear days, depending on where you live you can get about 2-3 giant ones in your view. The people here have a certain... style? that you don't see everywhere. It is overcast here a bit, but when it is sunny it is GORGEOUS! For a slightly sarcastic overview of why Seattle is better than your hometown check out this blog

http://rottenindenmark.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/my-hometown-is-better-than-yours/

That blog post is AWESOME haha.

I wonder what this style is...I hear the patagonia pants joke a lot, but I'm not sure if it's true.

In any case, I hope to visit during Spring break this year. I've been there once before, but it was a long time ago so I don't really remember it well.

[Jcannon98188]

That blog post is AWESOME haha.

I wonder what this style is...I hear the patagonia pants joke a lot, but I'm not sure if it's true.

In any case, I hope to visit during Spring break this year. I've been there once before, but it was a long time ago so I don't really remember it well.

Sadly (or awesomely) this video is only a slight exageration of people in Seattle and Olympia

[Skakklappi]

I live in Iceland.

This is my second year of living in Reykjavík, before this I lived in Akureyri for 5 years but for the majority of my life I've lived in a small fishing village. I do not dislike living in Reykjavík but in comparison to Akureyri it does not stand a chance. So the like and dislikes are about iceland in general

I like:

- The seasons and the weather.

- Swimming pools, natural hot springs and "hot pots" (never found a proper english word...) - available everywhere!

- The availability and variety of Icecream, dairy products and sweet baked goods.

- Relatively cheap energy, and therefor -> warm houses. (learned to really appreciate that after staying in Norway and Britain for a while)

- The small community, low crime rate and helpfulness of strangers. (This applies more to the rest of the country than Reykjavík tho, but every now and then my faith in the people of Reykjavík is restored)

- Low cost higher education.

- Fish

Dislike:

- How most things are double the price they are elsewhere.

- The lack of public transport outside Reykjavík (this is getting better tho)

- High taxes

- The lower education system.

- Drinking culture and the price of alcohol.