America's endless obsession with moving somewhere else continues - increasingly south and west continuing a 30 year trend. The midwest, especialy Ohio and Detroit are undesireable.
Poll reveals big divides by race, gender and income / not so much by politics as Democrats and Republicans want to live in Pheonix and Denver
the first year, i lived in detroit i would constantly try to defend the city. i've since given up. people can think what they want about it. i enjoy living here and am content.
Minnesota is beautiful in summer. I enjoy 4 seasons. It helps to live in a highrise where on can appreciate the winter light and skys. If I lived in a bleak suburban area in winter in Minn I would die.
Most of the time I love living in NYC, but there are times I want to move back to my hometown of Cincinnati, or back out to the Pacific Northwest, or maybe even live in London for a while. Who knows where I'll actually end up sinking roots.
I've lived in quite a few hick-towns -- some were total dumps. Economy permitting, I wouldn't mind living where I'm living now for quite a while. It's a great place.
FASCINATING. Great find, evilp. I am obsessed with this topic, and would like to blog about it as soon as I get my head out of the sand that is my thesis.
In DC right now. And will move back to CA (san fran) after, or for, graduate school. Seems like everyone and their mother has the same line: "I love the cold, I enjoy seasons...blah blah blah"
mosquitoes have never been an issue in the city. the problem is the brutal cold, the winter darkness associated with being at 45 degrees north, and the dear hunting/ice fishing culture.
I don't mind snow like what the mid-atlantic gets - but I do mind the weeks of sub-zero temps...
yeah... tk, minn can be really tough in the winter... in Duluth where most of my family lives, it starts getting dark in the middle of the afternoon, and there is snow on the ground till may sometimes.
truthfully though, there is a certain breed of people who just do better in cold weather. I am one of them. When you hear people say " i love the cold, i enjoy the season" i would believe them...
I am honestly happiest when im wearing a jacket. Im happiest when i can feel the wind on my face. I love the snow. And i always joke that Chicago is the farthest south i will ever live. I did Kansas for a while, and dreaded every second of heat i had to endure... shoot... chicago summers are too hot for me... ill visit warmer places and enjoy the beach for a week, but the months of october through march are my favorite time of year, and have been since as long as i can remember.
I def hate midwestern suburban small town winters - their so isolating. But then old towns and cities are exciting in the winter. Its a question of surroundings on how the winter affects you. Like Winter in Aspen is prob awesome. Winter looking out at frozen Lake Mich looking all moonscape and sky colored northern hues of purple is really beautiful and unique.
Seriously, I choose to avoid the entire state of Florida...how did orlando make the list? And how does that state keep hosting superbowls? I typically just avoid the south entirely. And the midwest. Sorry to marginalize, nice people in both areas. Just such depressing places to be.
I've been to Orlando a few times. What a God-awful monstrosity of a city. There are many parts of Florida I like, but Orlando is the armpit of the state. About the only redeeming thing about it is the nice airport they have.
I like having four seasons, and I prefer cool weather, but I'm not a big fan of extremes one way or the other. Chicago was like the worst of both worlds -- arctic winters and subtropical summers -- and NYC isn't much better.
Strictly in terms of climate, I think the best place I ever lived was Asheville, North Carolina. You'd still have the change of seasons, but you'd rarely have the extremes that you find elsewhere. Most houses in my neighborhood didn't have air conditioning, there would be only a few days a year where it got miserably hot or cold.
The Pacific Northwest is similar, if you live at a lower elevation and can deal with constant drizzle and fog during the winter. It rarely snows in the lower elevations and the summers are generally mild, but you only have to drive a few miles into the higher elevations to get your snow fix or find hot weather, depending on the season.
You all can keep your snow, ice, etc. I can't take the cold. It was 30 this morning here in Houston and that's as chilly as it needs to be. I've always planned on living somewhere North, maybe Chicago, but a winter visit with family changed my mind. The south is fine.
No harm meant. comparison wasnt even meant. just my preference for certain places. I realize everyone has a particular reason for living somewhere and dont fault them for it.
Anyway, I don't see people having much regional or state or even hometown pride these days. In fact, there seems to be a tendency in certain circles to look down upon those who live near where they were raised and maintain strong family ties, no matter how successful and well traveled they might be. I suppose this is both a symptom and a cause of all this moving around. I don't really see what difference it makes, every place in America is looking more and more alike all the time. Other than climate and topography, most areas of comparable population in the lower 48 are getting to be completely interchangeable.
Good point 4arch. I live 20 min from where I spent most of my growing time, and I dont see a problem with it. But thats probably because its a major met area. might be different for more rural areas.
I live in Chicago, have lived in Indianapolis an St. Louis and I absolutely love Chicago. I suppose I do qualify as one of the half that would rather live somewhere else, but I really just want a different neighborhood.
I visited Duluth on the 4th of July and it was sweater weather...as my friend said for the local women....it is the only weekend out of the year they aren't wearing a sweater....so you can really look at them and see what they look like.
A couple of separate currents here- climate, culture, and rest of the citizens milling about you.
I lved in Boston and loved the culture and most of my citizens but hated the winters. I visited my brother who lived in Chicago and it was the same (but more humid in the summer)
I lived in Colorado Springs and loved the climate but hated the fellow citizens.
And I lived in a small coastal town in Connecticut and loved my neighbors and the climate but missed the culture.
Not sure there is an ideal but only an accomodation of priorities, which evolve over time.
I find my self very restless- i live and go to school in L.A right now..its great here..i think..spend most my life Marching my life away. Though when i do get to explore i like L.A. I miss home in South Carolina and want to be near my family yet i can't stand the idea of doing conservative design work..i need the excitement of the city and what it offers but like the South..i think ill start an international design firm in South Carolina..who's with me! On my list of places to live, NYC, San Diego, San Franciso, Austin, Italy
HA!HA! I find it hilarious that the article stated Cincinnati a place where an overwhelming majority did NOT want to live. Can't tell you how often I wish I did NOT live here too.
In fact the place I seem to feel most at home is Columbus, OH, although if I could pick up and just go anywhere it would be the Pacific NW, including San Francisco. A good portion of my family lives out there and the older I get the more I'd love to get to know this crew better. This region also appeals to me b/c I cannot handle heat and humidity. I am one of those that handles cold weather much better then hot weather, but obviously I prefer more temperate conditions. Unfortunately I have a ball and chain that most refer to as a mortgage, so I'm not going anywhere soon :o(
That's unfortunate, but not surprising about Cincy. I think the city has a lot of potential, but it's being held hostage by a bunch of reactionaries.
I wouldn't mind moving back there myself, but that's mainly because I grew up there, I still have a lot of family there, and it still feels like home. Maybe after I've been back there for a few years I'll run screaming back to NYC or elsewhere... Who knows.
Interesting topic as just this weekend I was driving about with the spouse when she said how much she absolutely loves living where we do. I do fully think the desire to move is a complex with the "grass is greener" thought. All the places I've lived have their unique and good attributes, but I've learned not to fool myself into thinking one place is magically everything I've been missing where I'm at now.
Regarding climate I've found myself very adaptable. I've experienced cold that is unimaginable to the hardiest Minnesotans in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I'm not planning to start digging into the perma frost, but in all relativity MN is quite temperate. Spent several years living in the heat and humidity of Houston Texas. Loved living down there and felt quite comfortable at 90 degrees and 100% humidity. Recently was chatting with a co-worker that just got back from the caribbean. About the cold he said, "at least I can always put another sweater on...in the heat you only have so many clothes you can take off." Interesting POV.
Oddly enough Denver is my hometown and a place I view as higly overrated. It's a fun town, but everytime I go back it just seems like a dirty and congested version of Calgary.
No where is perfect. I've lived in CT, Boston, Providence, Virginia, Kansas, Oregon, Los Angeles, Denver, Gainesville Fl (perfect place for school, I'd hate to be there in the summer) and visited tons of places in Fl growing up.
It all comes down to the your social circle and your job. I'd live anywhere with a good social life and good work.
That said, I don't see myself staying here for too long. I can't stand the desert. I'll take bugs, poison ivy or dreary weather to be able to swim in a nice lake or river.
I will say Denver would be perfect if it were somewhere else ;-).
Native Floridian myself, went to school in Gainesville as well (summer is a burning hell but the quiet town is a gift from god) so I've don't the South-East - now living/working in the North East and looking to jump to the West Coast. I can't see myself living any one place for the whole of my life - I don't understand that sentiment either.
You can just call me a rambling man.....Lived up and down the rockies South Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming ( 2 places), South Dakota (3 places) then in the Land of Lakes Minnesota....then bumped to the Massachusetts, back to South Dakota( 3 places), Wyoming, then back to Arizona and I have called Connecticut Home for the past 20 years. My feet are iching again but first I have to win the Lottery.
Everybody's moving, if they ain't already there
Everybody's got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now
Haven't moved that much myself (have stayed in one city) except one big move from one country to another.
Feb 16, 09 4:00 pm ·
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Half of us want to live somewhere else
USAToday
America's endless obsession with moving somewhere else continues - increasingly south and west continuing a 30 year trend. The midwest, especialy Ohio and Detroit are undesireable.
Poll reveals big divides by race, gender and income / not so much by politics as Democrats and Republicans want to live in Pheonix and Denver
Thoughts?
PEW Research Poll
interesting that the states with the most people moving out are pretty much also the states with the most people moving in.
i'd still like to live in detroit...but, sadly, the older i get the less likely it seems this will happen
its also interesting that 31% of people want to live in a city, as opposed to 26% for suburbs and small towns...
she'll laugh when she reads the part that says i'm leavin'
cause i've left that girl so many times before...
alot of folks wanna move to the city, not many of us want to stay.
the first year, i lived in detroit i would constantly try to defend the city. i've since given up. people can think what they want about it. i enjoy living here and am content.
I'm heading back to Cali once i can secure a job... gotta get out of the minnesota tundra
I believe this represents the "grass is always greener" belief in our society.
Of course when talking about San Diego, the grass probably is always greener...
Insert image of burning San Diego here.
Minnesota is beautiful in summer. I enjoy 4 seasons. It helps to live in a highrise where on can appreciate the winter light and skys. If I lived in a bleak suburban area in winter in Minn I would die.
I could live without the minnesota misquitos as big as birds.
4 seasons in California, too. They just don't look like the ones in the northeast.
Guilty.
Most of the time I love living in NYC, but there are times I want to move back to my hometown of Cincinnati, or back out to the Pacific Northwest, or maybe even live in London for a while. Who knows where I'll actually end up sinking roots.
I've lived in quite a few hick-towns -- some were total dumps. Economy permitting, I wouldn't mind living where I'm living now for quite a while. It's a great place.
FASCINATING. Great find, evilp. I am obsessed with this topic, and would like to blog about it as soon as I get my head out of the sand that is my thesis.
In DC right now. And will move back to CA (san fran) after, or for, graduate school. Seems like everyone and their mother has the same line: "I love the cold, I enjoy seasons...blah blah blah"
as a famous man once said: "fuck the cold"
mosquitoes have never been an issue in the city. the problem is the brutal cold, the winter darkness associated with being at 45 degrees north, and the dear hunting/ice fishing culture.
I don't mind snow like what the mid-atlantic gets - but I do mind the weeks of sub-zero temps...
yeah... tk, minn can be really tough in the winter... in Duluth where most of my family lives, it starts getting dark in the middle of the afternoon, and there is snow on the ground till may sometimes.
truthfully though, there is a certain breed of people who just do better in cold weather. I am one of them. When you hear people say " i love the cold, i enjoy the season" i would believe them...
I am honestly happiest when im wearing a jacket. Im happiest when i can feel the wind on my face. I love the snow. And i always joke that Chicago is the farthest south i will ever live. I did Kansas for a while, and dreaded every second of heat i had to endure... shoot... chicago summers are too hot for me... ill visit warmer places and enjoy the beach for a week, but the months of october through march are my favorite time of year, and have been since as long as i can remember.
^^nice post - I cant take the heat as well. ^^
I def hate midwestern suburban small town winters - their so isolating. But then old towns and cities are exciting in the winter. Its a question of surroundings on how the winter affects you. Like Winter in Aspen is prob awesome. Winter looking out at frozen Lake Mich looking all moonscape and sky colored northern hues of purple is really beautiful and unique.
obviously, all those people that rated Orlando highly either don't live there or have Disney fetishes that can only be fufilled with annual passes.
Seriously, I choose to avoid the entire state of Florida...how did orlando make the list? And how does that state keep hosting superbowls? I typically just avoid the south entirely. And the midwest. Sorry to marginalize, nice people in both areas. Just such depressing places to be.
these regional comparison threads always degenerate fairly quickly.
I've been to Orlando a few times. What a God-awful monstrosity of a city. There are many parts of Florida I like, but Orlando is the armpit of the state. About the only redeeming thing about it is the nice airport they have.
I like having four seasons, and I prefer cool weather, but I'm not a big fan of extremes one way or the other. Chicago was like the worst of both worlds -- arctic winters and subtropical summers -- and NYC isn't much better.
Strictly in terms of climate, I think the best place I ever lived was Asheville, North Carolina. You'd still have the change of seasons, but you'd rarely have the extremes that you find elsewhere. Most houses in my neighborhood didn't have air conditioning, there would be only a few days a year where it got miserably hot or cold.
The Pacific Northwest is similar, if you live at a lower elevation and can deal with constant drizzle and fog during the winter. It rarely snows in the lower elevations and the summers are generally mild, but you only have to drive a few miles into the higher elevations to get your snow fix or find hot weather, depending on the season.
You all can keep your snow, ice, etc. I can't take the cold. It was 30 this morning here in Houston and that's as chilly as it needs to be. I've always planned on living somewhere North, maybe Chicago, but a winter visit with family changed my mind. The south is fine.
"these regional comparison threads always degenerate fairly quickly."
No harm meant. comparison wasnt even meant. just my preference for certain places. I realize everyone has a particular reason for living somewhere and dont fault them for it.
Gainesville (FL) was an awesome place to live.
Anyway, I don't see people having much regional or state or even hometown pride these days. In fact, there seems to be a tendency in certain circles to look down upon those who live near where they were raised and maintain strong family ties, no matter how successful and well traveled they might be. I suppose this is both a symptom and a cause of all this moving around. I don't really see what difference it makes, every place in America is looking more and more alike all the time. Other than climate and topography, most areas of comparable population in the lower 48 are getting to be completely interchangeable.
Good point 4arch. I live 20 min from where I spent most of my growing time, and I dont see a problem with it. But thats probably because its a major met area. might be different for more rural areas.
I live in Chicago, have lived in Indianapolis an St. Louis and I absolutely love Chicago. I suppose I do qualify as one of the half that would rather live somewhere else, but I really just want a different neighborhood.
I visited Duluth on the 4th of July and it was sweater weather...as my friend said for the local women....it is the only weekend out of the year they aren't wearing a sweater....so you can really look at them and see what they look like.
A couple of separate currents here- climate, culture, and rest of the citizens milling about you.
I lved in Boston and loved the culture and most of my citizens but hated the winters. I visited my brother who lived in Chicago and it was the same (but more humid in the summer)
I lived in Colorado Springs and loved the climate but hated the fellow citizens.
And I lived in a small coastal town in Connecticut and loved my neighbors and the climate but missed the culture.
Not sure there is an ideal but only an accomodation of priorities, which evolve over time.
I find my self very restless- i live and go to school in L.A right now..its great here..i think..spend most my life Marching my life away. Though when i do get to explore i like L.A. I miss home in South Carolina and want to be near my family yet i can't stand the idea of doing conservative design work..i need the excitement of the city and what it offers but like the South..i think ill start an international design firm in South Carolina..who's with me! On my list of places to live, NYC, San Diego, San Franciso, Austin, Italy
damn right i do
As an upper-midwesterner, I'm more than glad that coastals and southerners don't want to live here. Now you know why we all say "we like the cold".
HA!HA! I find it hilarious that the article stated Cincinnati a place where an overwhelming majority did NOT want to live. Can't tell you how often I wish I did NOT live here too.
In fact the place I seem to feel most at home is Columbus, OH, although if I could pick up and just go anywhere it would be the Pacific NW, including San Francisco. A good portion of my family lives out there and the older I get the more I'd love to get to know this crew better. This region also appeals to me b/c I cannot handle heat and humidity. I am one of those that handles cold weather much better then hot weather, but obviously I prefer more temperate conditions. Unfortunately I have a ball and chain that most refer to as a mortgage, so I'm not going anywhere soon :o(
That's unfortunate, but not surprising about Cincy. I think the city has a lot of potential, but it's being held hostage by a bunch of reactionaries.
I wouldn't mind moving back there myself, but that's mainly because I grew up there, I still have a lot of family there, and it still feels like home. Maybe after I've been back there for a few years I'll run screaming back to NYC or elsewhere... Who knows.
Here's an interesting article in The Atlantic: How the Crash Will Reshape America
The movie, Revolutionary Road, is talking a story that people want to live in another "better" place.
There is always a DREAM place to live; and there is always a REAL place to live.
i'm trying to move back to detroit....
well, we can't all live in Westwood or Soho... there's just not enough room.
Interesting topic as just this weekend I was driving about with the spouse when she said how much she absolutely loves living where we do. I do fully think the desire to move is a complex with the "grass is greener" thought. All the places I've lived have their unique and good attributes, but I've learned not to fool myself into thinking one place is magically everything I've been missing where I'm at now.
Regarding climate I've found myself very adaptable. I've experienced cold that is unimaginable to the hardiest Minnesotans in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I'm not planning to start digging into the perma frost, but in all relativity MN is quite temperate. Spent several years living in the heat and humidity of Houston Texas. Loved living down there and felt quite comfortable at 90 degrees and 100% humidity. Recently was chatting with a co-worker that just got back from the caribbean. About the cold he said, "at least I can always put another sweater on...in the heat you only have so many clothes you can take off." Interesting POV.
Oddly enough Denver is my hometown and a place I view as higly overrated. It's a fun town, but everytime I go back it just seems like a dirty and congested version of Calgary.
No where is perfect. I've lived in CT, Boston, Providence, Virginia, Kansas, Oregon, Los Angeles, Denver, Gainesville Fl (perfect place for school, I'd hate to be there in the summer) and visited tons of places in Fl growing up.
It all comes down to the your social circle and your job. I'd live anywhere with a good social life and good work.
That said, I don't see myself staying here for too long. I can't stand the desert. I'll take bugs, poison ivy or dreary weather to be able to swim in a nice lake or river.
I will say Denver would be perfect if it were somewhere else ;-).
Native Floridian myself, went to school in Gainesville as well (summer is a burning hell but the quiet town is a gift from god) so I've don't the South-East - now living/working in the North East and looking to jump to the West Coast. I can't see myself living any one place for the whole of my life - I don't understand that sentiment either.
You can just call me a rambling man.....Lived up and down the rockies South Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming ( 2 places), South Dakota (3 places) then in the Land of Lakes Minnesota....then bumped to the Massachusetts, back to South Dakota( 3 places), Wyoming, then back to Arizona and I have called Connecticut Home for the past 20 years. My feet are iching again but first I have to win the Lottery.
another apropos Dylan lyric
Everybody's moving, if they ain't already there
Everybody's got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now
Haven't moved that much myself (have stayed in one city) except one big move from one country to another.
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