jdd (04/04/83)
About a week ago I sent out the request:
I'd like to do a survey on where people live, why they like or
dislike it there, where they'd \like/ to live, and why they'd
like it there.
I have received 17 replies (but perhaps many of the non-respondants live
somewhere too). Of these 17, 7 liked where they lived and 6 did not; the
rest of the replies were impossible to classify.
Because of the small sample size, I'll skip any further in-depth analysis
and simply reprint the replies, lightly edited.
Cheers,
John ("Living in the USA") DeTreville
Bell Labs, Murray Hill
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>From brunix!jss Tue Mar 29 04:07:44 1983
Subject: Re: Where To Live? (allegra.1119)
We live in Providence RI, and we like it a lot. It's small enough so that one
can get anywhere in town in a short time, but it's large enough that there are
places to get to. In the last several years we've gotten a fair number of
worthwhile restaurants, which are our favorite form of entertainment. Trinity
Square Reperatory Company is an interesting theatre, producing plays most of
the year. There are a large variety of concerts, dances, strawberry-and-other-
festivals, "ethnic" events, and generally things to do. Taxes are kind of
tough, but there are places that are a lot worse. The cost of housing is much
less than in nearby Boston, for instance. Shopping for trendy things is not
one of the strong points, but it doesn't interest us, either. The countryside
is near the city. There are beaches close by, for them as likes beaches.
The seafood is very good! Politics are dirty, but in a kind of open, almost
innocent way. Sort of "Of course he got a job for his son-in-law. What kind
of a man wouldn't help his own son-in-law if he were in a position to?"
And of course, Providence is only 1 hour from Boston and 4 hours from NYC,
so one can go see what one is missing by living here, and be VERY happy to
come home.
judith
!decvax!brunix!jss
-----
>
>From cbosgd!mark Tue Mar 29 15:49:52 1983
Subject: Where To Live?
BOSNYWASH (including NJ) is horrible. Too crowded, too expensive.
People there all seem rude and weird. Everything is old and falling apart.
I like the west coast. Things are newer. People are nicer. I especially
like California, although housing costs a fortune, most other things
are less expensive than BOSNYWASH.
I live in Columbus because (1) it's got a BTL site, (2) it's not in BOSNYWASH,
(3) it's within 3.5 hours of my inlaws, (4) it's really not a bad city,
(5) cost of living is very very low. Columbus is not decaying, unlike
most cities in Ohio or the far East. It's growing and booming. Lots
of things are brand new. Good roads. Good cheap housing. Low crime.
Mark
-----
>
>From druxn!kak Tue Mar 29 22:13:45 1983
re: Where to Live?
I'm out in Denver right now. Of the places I have lived (4) I like this
place the best. The things I like about being in Denver are: Most interesting
geography; Ease of rapid escape from urbanization; More different kinds of
interesting recreational activitys available (especially skiing!!); no feeling
of being surrounded by people all the time. I think that there is more of
an active, outdoor orientation to the people who are out here, too.
I didn't like NJ very much, although I wasn't out there very long, because
of the feeling that there were people everywhere -- even the countyside
around where I was felt like a low-density suburb. Maybe it would have been
better if I had been out there during the summer and could have gone
to the beach for something to do.
Chicago suffers from too much urban sprawl. It seems like you drive forever
to get out of the city, only to get into a suburban wasteland. Even the
reasonably far out area around IH is begining to be built up by new develop-
ments, removing much of the area's charm.
Champaign-Urbana, IL. was a nice place to live. It was small enough that
you could get out of it fairly quickly, yet had almost all of the amenitys
of a much larger urban area. Much of was due to the influence of the
university there, which caused a lot more activities and cultural events
to be available than could be had for a normal town of that size. The only
things I disliked about Champaign-Urbana were the fact that it is in the
middle of flatland as far as landforms go, and that I got awfully tired of
being in a college town after a while.
Kris A. Kugel (druxn!kak)
ABI Denver
-----
>
>From hpda!bvi Wed Mar 30 20:34:14 1983
Subject: Where to Live?
Where I live: Bay Area. Love it. Advantages: Beaches & snow readily
available pretty much year-round, lots of places to hike, some within .5 hr
of where I live; lots of good wineries, restaurants, and shows (ballet &
symphony quite good); a number of similarly-minded people (almost an
extension of school in some sense). Disadvantages: everybody else likes
it too - too many people, housing prices outrageous.
Where I'd like to live: I'm pretty happy where I am. Other reasonable
places are Colorado (not near Denver), and some areas of central Jersey
(eg Princeton), and pretty much anyplace in New England, as long as
it was near someplace that provided me with as interesting a job as I
have now (rather hard to do in most of those areas).
Where I wouldn't live: anyplace in the Deep South and anyplace that didn't
have either coasts or mountains readily accessible, even if the job was
exciting/well-paid.
Beatriz Infante, HP Design Aids Lab
-----
>
>From uofm-cv!paul Thu Mar 31 04:25:21 1983
Subject: RE: where to live
[...] I have lived in the following places:
Marquette, MI. Getting close to the great white north. My favorite place,
but currently has an unemployment rate of 103%. Great climate, but lots
of snow, so that depends on your temperment. Clean air and water, etc.
and what they say about Northern girls (they keep their boyfriends warm at
night) is true. Biggest advantage -- far away from things. Also its
biggest disadvantage.
Ann Arbor, MI. Where I am now. I have Neanderthal political views, so I
don't like the liberal climate. If they vote in a tax for human services,
for example, I am moving to beyond the city limits. Also, 9 out of 10 Big Ten
women are good looking, but the 10th one goes to UMich. This is true. Also,
political consciousness * beauty = a constant. Frat boys are also wearing
thin, as far as I am concerned. But I am aging (ungracefully). If you are a
"concerned" kind of guy, Ann Arbor is your kind of place. I am here because
it is also a good place for people to say "I am working on my Ph. D", and have
other people believe it. I also enjoy 18 year-old co-eds more every spring.
Anyway, I lived not too far from Green Bay Wisc. one year. Awful place.
Unless you like paper mills and Pabst.
This summary does not count places I only hung around for less than a year, or
places I lived when my parents were making the big decisions (mainly small
towns in northern Michigan).
Paul Killey
Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
-----
>
>From phil@tektronix.UUCP Wed Mar 30 18:24:01 1983
Subject: where to live..
I lived for two years in Silicon Valley working for Intel and liked the
area but it was getting awful crowed (except I love SF). I have recently
left Intel for a Startup company in Portland Oregon area and have really
liked it so far (In spite of all the rain...). I have been told the
summers here are unequaled.. I can't wait to see..
Phil Hochstetler
Sequel Computer Corp., Inc.
-----
>
>From tom@rlgvax.UUCP Wed Mar 30 18:21:43 1983
I live in Reston, VA, a suburb of Wasington DC.
The DC area is quite nice. Very pretty, and the Western suburbs of
DC are comfortable to live in. I am originally from NYC, and it has much
(not all) of the things "happening" that NYC does, but is a LOT more
convenient. In Reston, I am over 25 miles from the District, but can get
there in about 1/2 hour, except during morning rush hour. In NYC, if
you are 30 minutes from Manhattan, you're still in Manhattan.
Weather is similar to the rest of the East Coast -- a bit too hot
and much too hazy in the summertime.
The ocean is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours (but weekend seasonal traffic is
annoying). The Blue Ridge Mountains are 1 - 2 hours away,
and the denser mountains of West Virginia about 4 hours. And NYC is
4 1/2 hours away. The Potomac River and associated parks are a real
treat in one's "backyard".
Disadvantages --
- none of the "character" and "flavor" of older cities like NYC, or
nearby Baltimore (some may see this as an advantage). The international
flavor comes from embassies, not mom-and-pop restaurants in
ethnic neighborhoods.
- Expensive. Life is geared to the well-to-do. Middle class is
tolerated and lower class barely so.
- Politics are annoyingly omnipresent.
-----
>
>From uvacs!pds Wed Mar 30 17:27:18 1983
Subject: Where do I (have I) (would I) like to live
I have been living in Charlottesville, Va., for the past 4 years
(my tenure as a graduate student) and I very much like the area for
these reasons:
Good points of Charlottesville:
------------------------------
1) It is near (45 min. drive) a good number of recreational areas
(Shenandoah National Park, George Washington Nat'l Forest, Blue Ridge
Parkway, Lake Anna, James River, Shenandoah River, Wintergreen skiing,
Massanutten skiing, loads of lakes and ponds for my canoe and fishing).
2) It is a rural environment; Albemarle County has some of the most
beautiful horse farms (and regular farms) that I have ever seen. I
have spent many hours exploring the countryside on foot, bike, and by
car, with my camera or sketchpad; each season brings new colors and
texture the hills and mountains.
3) The population is small (50,000) but large enough to have many of
the services of a city (shopping centers, specialty stores, etc.);
traffic is not too bad either, with basically one road to avoid twice
a day. There are a number of good restaurants as well.
4) The University of Virginia gives the city an edge over the
ordinary 50,000 person town. Cultural events are plentiful because
of the school, and continuing education opportunities for adults
are provided as well (and U.Va. is a pretty good school academically).
Medical facilities are very good, much better than in a small town
without a university.
5) Virginia in general is a great state to live in--loads of history,
pretty mild weather, a little of every kind of geography (sans desert)
from ocean to mountains. State politics are generally conservative
and predictable.
6) Charlottesville is within an easy drive of Washington, D.C.
(2 hours). I have lived in D.C. for a few months, and I know that I
was miserable there due to the traffic and crowds ALL THE TIME.
But I loved the museums and shows and restaurants, and I can visit
regularly from Charlottesville without having to suffer the consequences
of the D.C. lifestyle.
Bad points of Charlottesville:
-----------------------------
1) Poor transportation services--minimal airport, basically shuttle to
D.C. airports; only Trailways Bus service in town, and it is not good;
city bus service is marginal since students make up 1/3 of the population.
2) The local economy is geared heavily toward U. Va., so jobs are tight,
especially for spouses of students (like mine).
3) There is a minimum of technical employment opportunities; General
Electric (Industrial Electronics Development Lab) is about it.
4) The telephone service is abysmal (and horrendous). It is Centel if
you are naming names.
*****************************************************************************
I have also lived in the Richmond, Va., area for my first 22 years
of life; it is a much bigger city than C'ville (600,000 in the metropolitan
area), and in general is a nice place to live. Secluded places are harder to
come by, traffic is pretty heavy (I lived in northern Chesterfield County
which is a bedroom/commuter area), city politics are fishy, and taxes are
higher than many like, but it is not bad for a city of its size.
The economy is fairly recession-proof thanks to diversified
manufacturing and the tobacco industry. The Virginia Museum is great, and
the Richmond Symphony Orchestra is pretty good, too. The city is loaded
with architectural history (on some boulevards you can drive for several
miles and watch the decades flow by in the house styles). There are a
number of nice, big parks (one small zoo) and good access to the James River
(swimming, rafting, whitewater). The city schools are only fair, but both
Henrico and Chesterfield Counties have fine school systems (Chesterfield
is second only to Fairfax County in the state).
*****************************************************************************
Where would I like to live? I am an ocean lover but I don't like
sand. My wife is a country/mountain lover (I'm a mountain liker). We
are both winter likers. We are looking for the place that has all rolled
into one. The closest we have come to finding it is the Maine coast (the
mountains don't have to be 20,000 ft.) so we hope to live there for a while.
The topography is hilly and rocky, the ocean is pervasive in the culture,
there is plenty of country and woods to go around. And very little sand.
But very little technical employment opportunities, either, especially
of the academic variety.
We intend to investigate the Pacific Northwest, too.
Dave Stotts, Univ. of Virginia
uucp: ...decvax!duke!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!pds
CSnet: pds@uvacs
Arpa: pds.uvacs@udel-relay
-----
>
>From silver@hplabs.UUCP Thu Mar 31 17:00:56 1983
Subject: living in Colorado
It's GREAT because of:
-- The clear skies (most of the time);
-- The mild winters (most of the time, except they're cold);
-- The mountains are pure and natural;
-- It's not TOO crowded;
-- It's centrally located.
It's NOT SO HOT because:
-- It is a very conservative area of the country;
-- Sometimes it's bitter cold here;
-- Fort Collins is 120 miles from the closest decent skiing (and we
live on the Front Range, fer Chrissake);
-- We are ignored by the major networks (the whole Mountain Time Zone);
-- It is so dry it is too dry and dusty sometimes;
-- There aren't many trees out on the plains.
Alan Silverstein
-----
>
>From floyd!trb Thu Mar 31 17:02:21 1983
Subject: life in nj
I live in Basking Ridge, NJ. Pretty country, but horribly dull.
Cold neighbors, etc. Nothing at all to do, nowhere to go. Hardly
any restaurants or anything open in the evening.
I'm a Bronx boy, and really like a bit more action, at least I'm under
an hour from New York. I drive to Princeton (30 mi) each week to dance,
I would like it if I didn't have to go so far for some quality entertainment.
The good thing about New Jersey is that it's close to NYC.
Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ (201) 386-6491
-----
>
>From ariel!rra Tue Mar 29 09:14:00 1983
I have always lived east of where i work/study because I hate to drive into
the sun. However I have been forced further and further east. Grew up in
western Minn, went to school in Ill - it really is hard to get east of
Northwestern Univ. Then Murray Hill [New Jersey], now Holmdel [New Jersey].
I suppose I should like California, but if I were there I should like to
look over the ocean, which would be west of most everywhere.
When I retire i should like to spend much time in Minn - perhaps the hill
country out northeast of the Univ of Minn.
Richard Anderson
ariel!rra
-----
>
>From allegra!honey Tue Mar 29 09:55:47 1983
Subject: Where To Live? (allegra.1119)
i live in fanwood [New Jersey] cuz it's convenient for me and sheila [his
wife]. i don't like it cuz it's too wholesome. i wanna live in marin
county.
peter ("i'm not a flaming asshole") honeyman
btl, m ("gimme some self-indulgence") h
-----
>
>From allegra!phr Mon Mar 28 17:58:16 1983
Subject: Re: Where To Live? (allegra.1119 followup)
I live in Millington [New Jersey].
I'd like to live in Manhattan.
I might like to live in California. In a few months, I may find out fer
sher.
-----
>
>From rabbit!ark Tue Mar 29 08:44:48 1983
I live in Elizabeth NJ. Reasons: I work at MH but spend a lot of time in
New York at concerts and such. Also, the woman I'm living with works in New
York.
-----
>
>From eagle!karn Tue Mar 29 00:21:35 1983
I live in a rented house, in the suburbs, for a very practical (although
unusual) reason: nowhere else can I erect effective amateur radio antennas.
Phil
-----
>
>From druxv!cdash Tue Mar 29 21:09:00 1983
FROM: c.m.shub
TO: allegra!jdd
DATE: 3/29/83, 7:07 PM
SUBJECT: where to live
how does boulder colorado grab you???
Charlie Shub (...druxv!cdash)
-----
>
>From yale-comix!debenedi Tue Mar 29 22:10:04 1983
There's a line from some Eagles song that seems appropriate:
"Call some place Paradise and it's lost"
(I think that's the line).
Good Luck, anyway,
Robert "No Need to Respond" DeBenedictis
----------------------------------------------------------------------