Things you love and hate about where you live.

[Roo719]

Colorado Springs, CO

1. THE GOOD:
Some of the most beautiful real estate is moments from my door. In 15 minutes, all concept of "city" is removed.
--health. THis place was voted the healthiest place in the nation a coupla years ago and everyone is fit. There is a gym on every corner, the Olympic Training Center and 5 military installations. If you are not into exercise, well, this ain't the place for you.
---Climate: in a word, perfect. Shh, don't tell anyone.

2. THE BAD:
--The right. If you agreed with the right wing pundits before, you might not want to come here. Because they are rightwing and then some. Even Republicans who move here (I've known a few) end up with the attitude, "do they ever shut-up?" Right wing speciality groups are every where (home of Focus on the Family) and they tend to meddle. They meddle so much, city council can't even add the word 'rainbow' to a paper without them going ape. Everyone is their puppet in local politics, so, basically, nothing is ever done unless it's supporting their special interests. Yes, I know, now everyone's going to get all up in a wad--I'm sure it would be the same if it were a bastion of left-ism, say, like, Boulder. I'm just talking about my home here.
--Tends to be very 'flat-earth.' Nothing new in the areas of ethnicity. Every restaurant tends to be a chain from somewhere else. Fast Food Nation was written about this town.

Peace,
Roo

[SummerInFL]

Tampa, Fl

What I LOVE:

1. Being 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico
2. Being 2 hours from the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Being in the middle of tourist central.
4. Swimming in the pool in the middle of Sept/Oct.
5. Almost everything is within a 10 minute drive from my house.
6. The beaches - Consistently voted in the Top 10 beaches on the Travel Channel.
7. FREE after school care at the recreation centers, only $50 for the ENTIRE year? Love it!


What I DON'T like about Tampa, FL:

1. It's too crowded.
2. The drivers are crazy and act like Nascar drivers. Everyone wants to be first.
3. Construction always makes everything worse and it goes on ALL the time.
4. Florida is "Right to Work" state, so within in the first 90 days of employment they can let you go for ANY reason and they don't have to tell you why.
5. HUMIDITY HUMIDITY HUMIDITY
6. It's flat in this area, I was so happy to find rolling hills in the center of the state!

[Tedi Bara]

Hoquiam, WA

The Good:

-No Traffic
-Close to the Ocean
-Cheap Living Costs
-The Lady Washington from the Pirates of the Caribbean Movies home port is here.
-Our city was a major key in building Disneyland's sailing ship Columbia

The Bad:
-The weather: it will be raining and windy in the middle of July, December, May, and all the other months.
-Nothing to do...the nearest mall is 1 hr. drive away (our bursting shopping center is a Wal Mart)
-No dining..unless you count the typical fast food of McDonalds and Subway
-Even though I live by the beach..it is almost always too cold to go there
-Too far from Disney
-Too far from a major airport (2hrs.)
-I am allergic to Alder trees, which is all we have here so I have to take allergy medication around the clock.
-I live in the top county in Washington for teen pregnancy and meth addiction
-Our only claim to fame is being the first home of Kurt Cobain...who did drugs and killed himself

I CAN'T WAIT to go to college and get out of here.

[PrincessY]

Originally Posted by knittingknerd

I love Miguel Juniors. Where'd you live that you had that? Isn't it only in Corona and Riverside?

Miguel's Juniors is only in the Inland Empire (Corona, Riverside, Norco, Fontana, Grand Terrace) but they do have a sit-down restaurant in Foothill Ranch area in OC.

I've been trying to think about what's good about Corona. Miguel's Jr. is one of them. I'll have to keep thinking for other things.

Oh! Our vet for the fur babies. We love Dr. Yamaguchi!

[Disneyland Daddy]

The Good:
It's been coined "The Next Mission Viejo"
It's grown in size and popularity
It's very nice
It's extremely close to Orange County (first eastern city outside the border)

The Bad:
It's been coined "The Next Mission Viejo"
It's grown in size and popularity
It's very nice
It's extremely close to Orange County (meaning HUGE traffic jams)

[PrincessY]

See, even Disneyland Daddy can't find anything really good to say about Corona. Seriously, it's not that bad.

What I like about Corona:

• From my house, I have a beautiful view of the San Bernardino Mountains and I am right up against the Cleveland National Forest (for which I don't know why they call it a forest since there aren't any trees, just shrubs.)
• People are nice enough - not overly friendly neighbors but I know I could count on them if I needed them.
• 45 min. to an hour and a half away from OC, Big Bear, Oak Glen, San Diego, LA
• Beautiful weather in the winter

What I dislike about Corona:

• SMOG. Not as bad as Riverside or San Bernardino areas, but I cannot see those beautiful mountains in the summer because of smog.
• Developing asthma because of the smog.
• No real mom and pop restaurants (unless you count the 8,000 really bad Mexican restaurants).
• Downtown, which could be really cute if revitalized, is a pit. So I don't see any "small town" civic pride here (like Redlands has).
• Too far from the ocean.
• To get almost anywhere, you have to get on the 91.

[knittingknerd]

I lived for 5 years in Corona. Princessy and Disneyland Daddy, where do you live? I used to live right against the Cleveland (over off Calajco-sp?) and there are some fun things to do in that area.

Corona is cool because it's this huge little town. Tom's Farm is amazing and Hunny's is yummy. What I didn't like about that area were some intersections you just look at them and they're poorly set up (Magnolia near the Ralph's/the Sizzler and then Magnolia where the Costco/Joann's/Petsmart is) and cause so much traffic.

[superstacie]

Bakersfield, California

Hate: our weather. Its either extremely cold, or extremely hot. Never is there an in between.
It's also muggy. Living in a valley we get everyones pollution. Also ours builds up and just sits there. BLAH!

Like:umm......i'll get back to you on that.

[ToyGuy]

Providence, RI

Like about it:
It's close to the ocean, (even though it's too cold to even put your toe in).
Close to a lot of cool places like Boston, New York City, New Hampshire and Maine.
My job.

Don't like about it:
Too far from my family.
Too far from my wife's family.
People drive horribly around here.
Nor'easters.
People around here talk funny.

[spunkymonkey]

Glendale, CA

Love:
The ethnic diversity and restaurants.
We have the only 3 story Target in the US.
Close to everything, Downtown, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Pasadena, Studio City.
Our house has views of both Downtown LA and Downtown Glendale.
Surface streets to Dodger Stadium.
Great school system.

Dislikes:

Traffic
Most people in Glendale do not know how to drive.
With the ethnic diversity, there has been violence issues, but it has gotten better.
It always takes me 30 minutes to go through the In-N-Out drive trhough.
Smog and heat in the summer.
I work in Irvine...Commute is killing me.

[Joshrzmeup]

I live in Southern Ohio. Many, many things I hate about this place and very little I love.

Love:
-Snow (what little we do get considering we are right on the river)
-Penn Station
-We have one of the best Irish Dance schools in the country

Hate:
-when it rains or flurries, people forget how to drive
-Every place you go is run by High school kids who could care less
-When it does snow, even a dusting, it takes hours for any roads or parking lots to be salted or plowed. My school never plowed parking lots or salted sidewalks.
-over abundance of fast-food places on every corner
-Fast food is known as 'slow food' and maybe 1/20 do they get your order right, even if it's one thing.
-Humidity!!!
-the time zone (it's 3 hours ahead of my friends in CA)
-Everything shuts down in the winter, no matter the weather, and it's too hot and humid to go anywhere in the summer.
-Tornadoes
-Construction on every road you travel on, causing delays and back-ups.
-Chili (far too many chili places)
-too much crime, which makes me afraid to drive at night or go anywhere near downtown
-Colleges are ranked as some of the most expensive in the Nation (I just graduated, i've seen my loan bill to prove it)
-Only decent place to hang out is King's Island amusement park, but even that's a royal bore after 3 visits.
-People aren't very friendly or neighborly
-Ice storms!!!
-Black Ice
-People who just can't drive and yet think they own the roads
-No where to go!!
-Everything is so green and lush in the spring that it makes you feel like you're in Jurassic Park!

This is just some of what I hate.

[PrincessY]

Originally Posted by knittingknerd

I lived for 5 years in Corona. Princessy and Disneyland Daddy, where do you live? .

I live off Foothill between the High School and the Middle School.

Tom's Farms is pretty cute. And the new shopping center off Cajalico is very nice with a lot of the clothing stores I shop at. Hunny's has moved locations from that dumpy ancient building over to what used to be The Grinder. We ate at Hunny's once when we first moved here - we thought it was pretty bad and haven't been back since. Maybe it will be better in the new location.

[Wotan]

I live in rural eastern CA, east of Stocton and Sacramento.

It's beautiful, and it's quiet, and it's not crowded, and I like the weather, and the health care system. Home prices are still reasonable, and I can get to some nice places fairly quickly.

On the other hand, it's frequently like living in the set of the movie "Deliverance", where we stand out because we have a full set of teeth, and because we're not cousins. There are a lot of people who, well, are severely intermarried, making for an insular and frequently backwards community. Add in the xenophobia, and the fears of change, progress, and anything "new", and it can wear pretty thin.

[ToyGuy]

Originally Posted by Joshrzmeup

Hate:
-Chili (far too many chili places)

Them are fightin' words!
I miss Cincinnati-style chili soooo much-
I'll trade ya some chili for some chowda.

[sir clinksalot]

We live in Ventura County, have so for the past 4 1/2 or so years.

What I love:

The weather. Generally mild weather. Never really too hot, never really too cold. We do have a few exception days per year, but generally highs from 65 to 75, lows from 50 to 60.

The area. Where we live has a relatively low crime rate. I never feel un-safe, although you can never be TOO safe.

What I don't like:

The cost of living. Although we got a GREAT deal on our house rental everything else is just through the roof.

Traffic. They keep growing houses out here yet the freeway (101) has the capacity of mid-90's population of Ventura county. Meaning that pretty much anytime you need to get on the freeway, there will be traffic of some kind.

Eateries and other entertainment things. Especially in our area, there really aren't any restaurants. We have 2 movie theatres. One has NO stadium seating (talk about living in the 90's) and the other one does, but has small screens. Other than the movies, there really isn't anything 'fun' to do in our area. We generally have to drive over the hill to have anything fun to do.

Distance from friends. Most of our friends are either in "The Valley" or OC and it sucks that we can't hang out with them more.