Obviously, don't tell me exactly where you live, no actual addresses please! You can be as vague as you like.
I live in Central Missouri in the U.S.
Pros:
This is an absolutely beautiful place, green rolling hills, lots of rivers, lakes, ponds, and natural springs, cool caves to explore.
Lots of farming here, so great access to quality fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy.
It's relatively inexpensive to live here compared with other states, because it's a "flyover".
I'm close enough to three major cities, that it's an easy day trip, and I'm about halfway to anywhere in the U.S.
We have one of the best Conservation departments in the U.S. and this is one of the few things that is a bipartisan issue. Lots of awesome nature programs that are free or cheap, state parks, conservation areas, bird watching, hunting, boating, foraging available to everyone.
Cons:
Yeah, it's a big one, it is a RED STATE, while a lot of the cities are blue, there is a large rural population, that votes red. Abortion is not legal here. People often vote against their own self interest.
While I'm not against responsible gun ownership, lots of people aren't responsible, and people have access to guns that definitely should not.
We have very few employee protections here, while the cost of living is relatively low compared with other places, it's taken years to get to a $12 minimum wage, and it's still not enough.
@RickiTarr
I LIVE IN ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, WITH MY HUMAN GHOSTWRITER AND HIS FAMILY.
PROS: NATURAL BEAUTY UP THE WAZOO. IT IS LITERALLY NEVER HOT HERE. THE CITY ITSELF IS SO DIVERSE THAT NOBODY REALLY THINKS A BIG ALIEN LIZARD MONSTER ARGUING WITH A CASHIER ABOUT COUPON EXPIRATION IS THAT REMARKABLE. ENOUGH TOURISTS AND PEOPLE JUST PASSING THROUGH TO KEEP ME WELL FED WITHOUT JOHNNY LAW GETTING TOO INVESTED, IT'S ALMOST NEVER DARK THIS TIME OF YEAR, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NOTABLY VENOMOUS UP HERE. MOUNTAINS.
CONS: WINTER LASTS FOREVER (IT SNOWED YESTERDAY), THE DARKNESS AND THE ATTENDANT SEASONAL DEPRESSION CAN EAT A BAG OF WHATEVER GENITALS YOU FIND MOST DISTRESSING, WE WILL NEVER HAVE A WHOLE FOODS OR A TRADER JOE'S, IT'S A 3.5 HOUR MINIMUM FLIGHT TO ANYTHING RESEMBLING CIVILIZATION, OUR POLS ARE DICKHEADS, AND THE CITY HAS RESPONDED TO A HOMELESSNESS CRISIS WITH AS MUCH CRUELTY AS IT CAN POSSIBLY MUSTER. EVERYONE HERE HAS A HUGE CARBON FOOTPRINT. THERE'S A LOOMING AND OVERBLOWN SENSE THAT THE COMING DEATH OF THE OIL INDUSTRY WILL RESULT IN MAD-MAXIAN GANGS OF SNOWMACHINERS RAMPAGING IN THE STREETS, SO PEOPLE ARE SOUR ON THE FUTURE.
@RickiTarr I just moved to a house in the mountains in CA.
Pros: It's an open minded small town hippieish community that while not as diverse as it could be (I grew up in Berkeley/Oakland so I have a high bar for this) is not bad. It's absolutely beautiful, and is a reasonable drive to more populated areas and only about an hour from the ocean.
Cons: I have to drive for an hr over winding mountain roads to get to work, it gets super hot in the summer & is very cold in winter, for CA at least
@RickiTarr Before this I lived for 20 years on the coast, where a hot day is is like about 75 and and a cold day is 40 so 90 degree summers and 30 degree winters are going to be an adjustment.
@RickiTarr Mentality, I break the drive down into three parts. The ridiculously winding part, the less winding, more straight part, and the I’m almost back in civilization part. It helps to make it seem less long.
Pros: loads of natural beauty, hiking trails, amazing growers (both weed and food kind), vibrant arts and music scene, community spirit, easy to be a wierdo
Cons: shitty healthcare, loads of tweekers and MAGAs, illegal grows, travelling here and leaving here not straightforward.
@RickiTarr@HumToTable Northern CA and Southern CA are very different culturally, geographically and weather wise. Central CA is its own thing too. Norther CA is very Blue, diverse and people love to read books. Hiking is big, the ocean is too cold to swim in but people surf in wetsuits. We have a techbro problem. Southern CA is dominated by the entertainment industry. People swim at the beach. It’s more Purple than Red these days. Central CA is Red and agricultural.
@RickiTarr@HumToTable CA is culturally dominated by L.A. (Hollywood, plus more people live in Socal), but other population centers have vastly different cultures. San Diego, very proximate to L.A. relatively speaking, is a different place.
We call where I live NorCal (S.F. Bay Area) but Northern California is huge, and we share very little cultural affinity with actual Northern California. For example, my sis has to deal with meth heads, whereas I have to deal with tech bros.
California's politics are often painted as extremely blue and progressive, but it really isn't. There's more conservatives per square foot. Reagan was California's governor, Schwarzenegger was a Republican too. Don't let his demeanor fool you either, the guy was installed by Enron to get them off the hook and they managed to fuck themselves over before they could call him in for support. He got off scot free from his obligation to them, but he was all about that money.
The thing is though, California represents the millionaire end of the conservative spectrum. Farmers and ranchers aren't the salt of the earth fat guy in overalls. Here they're centi-millionaires who own thousands of acres of premium land, with sprawling compounds next to those owned by the tech bros. And don't forget oil. California isn't loud about it but we produce a shit ton of the stuff. Same money, same politics behind it.
California's politics are best described as liberal capital. Sure there's a couple dumb racists who put up Trump flags on their sorry run-down properties they've lived on for decades. A few pockets of sundown towns up in the mountains, all with an awful reputation and no reason to travel there.
But back when Nunes was running for reelection, you saw thousands of signs for him. You see thousands of signs for Republicans. Democrats claw out victories here and there in the big metro areas but the state certainly doesn't hand it to them on a platter like the rest of America and all the media would have you believe.
@RickiTarr Northwest PA-
Pros: Everything is green in the summer. Love my little pony farm. Cost of living is manageable. Some days are beautiful and sunny with crisp blue skies.
Cons: trump flags block out the sun on sunny days.
@Ponygirl@RickiTarr
Im from southwest pa. What kind of ponies do you have? I do love the lush nature coming out of spring, it smells amazing!
🥰
If you can manage to zen out to it you’re lucky. My neighbor says I see the world differently than most. I appreciate for what it is.
On a side note I’ve noticed less signs than January, or perhaps I’m just biased 😅.
I prefer the simplicity of nature.
@EVDHmn@RickiTarr We actually have a large quarter horse, a medium sized Fell Pony (Billy), and a miniature. Our equines come in 3 sizes lol! I'm originally from Beaver County. Perhaps close to your domicile. I graduated from Ambridge in 1982 and moved north in 85.
@RickiTarr Bangalore. I very much like it here. Of course it has its problems, but they are no bigger or weirder than the problems that other Indian cities have as well.
I grew up in north India, in a state called Haryana (one of my friends jokingly calls it the Indian Texas - he's not entirely wrong). Fell in love with a Bangalore man. Shifting to south India made me realize how oppressively misogynist my birthplace is. In Bangalore, I don't have to look over my shoulder all the time.
@RickiTarr I live in a small city/town in a little european country.
Pros: Great landscape. Everything is laid out for the era before cars were a thing, so you can easily walk to anywhere. Quiet and peaceful.
Cons: If you need anything non-trivial, it's at best an international delivery (takes 2+ weeks) and at worst an international flight away.
Need a doctor? She is an overnight train ride away.
Need a visa? Closest consulate is 2 hour flight away.
Trans healthcare? Another continent, please.
@RickiTarr Massachusetts. Lived here most of my life.
Upsides: Great standard of living.
Rich history everywhere.
Lots of museums, live music, arts.
Seafood.
Four seasons of outdoor activities (beach in summer, skiing in winter).
Breathtaking fall foliage.
Amazing higher ed opportunities.
Wicked good sports teams.
Downsides: High cost of living (taxes and housing costs are FOR THE BIRDS).
Crumbling infrastructure (public transportation is historically bad right now).
Wicked bad drivers.
@RickiTarr Chicago-ish. I've lived in both the suburbs and the city so I'm going to lump them together.
Pros:
Chicago is a beautiful city with anything you could probably think of available to do. Like it's too much to list but a few: world class restaurants to family run dives with equally delicious food, diverse AF, tons of history, tons of cultural things to do, etc.
Lake Michigan - big, calm (usually) and fresh water with golden sand beaches
Mostly progressive, though there are red pockets in the suburbs with your usual nonsense. But you don't see a lot of Trump regalia or flags flying, so there's that.
Cons:
The rest of the state of Illinois is mostly farms of corn and soy as far as you can see. So road trips from here require driving considerable distances to get anywhere interesting.
Winters can suck, but with climate change they're getting easier (yay?)
Fucking flat as a pancake. If we had some hills to hike, this place would be perfect.
@RickiTarr Notice I didn't say crime because that whole narrative is a load of conservative talking point bullshit. Yes, we have crime. Yes, it's bad. But we're not even in the top 25 per capita in the US.
Pros:
The food is great, cost of living is reasonable and we have a lot of nice parks.
Cons:
High crime rate, deeply conservative. Houses are always built without insulation and heated water is considered a luxury.
To sum it up, I have three neighbors, respectively known as The Drug Lord, The Money Launderer and the Criminal Defense Lawyer (who incidentally speaks exactly like Janice from Friends).
@RickiTarr I live in the Connecticut River valley. As you probably know, this river begins near Canada, constitutes the Vermont/New Hampshire border, then runs right through Massachusetts and Connecticut to the sea. My life has led me up and down its length. It is a fascinating valley, with both rural/scenic and urban stretches, and well into my seventh decade I'll just say that it has treated me well.
@RickiTarr I live in Mito, Ibaraki. We are 130 kms NE of Tokyo. This region is famously flat but mountains where you can hike and ski are 2-3 hours away. Mito has a lake and 300 hectares park (Kairakuen) which is the second largest urban park after Central Park. Good galleries, concert halls, good food. It’s peaceful. This beach is a 30 minute drive.
Cons: earthquakes. https://mstdn.social/@wilpercy/112387302373922238
@RickiTarr have tried to type a response several times and failed each time. Considering how tiny the UK is there are so many variables about it that it's difficult to condense it all succinctly whilst remaining neutral.
@RickiTarr 1) I live in, New Westminster British Columbia.
Pros:
Part of metro Vancouver but a small enough municipality that it feels like a neighborhood.
Oldest city in BC with a deep history and wonderful historic buildings.
Very walkable.
Stunning natural scenery, mountains, river, and close to the ocean.
Temperate climate but still descernable seasons.
Diverse population.
Good municipal investment in parks and rec facilities.
Great amateur sport culture. World epicenter of Lacrosse.
@RickiTarr
2) New Westminster Cons:
The cost of living though lower than Vancouver proper is still astronomical.
Building density is starting to strain infrastructure. New West is becoming a very vertical city.
There is an underserved homeless population.
New West is a traffic bottleneck for cars travelling east/west in Metro Vancouver.
The minor hockey association is overly politicized.
@RickiTarr also living in Missouri, I would say that I agree with you. Living in a deep red state is a real bummer! Though I do live in one of the large cities so I’m not seeing the insanity every day.
@RickiTarr I live in a relatively small town in Finland, within somewhat long-but-reasonable driving distance from the capital area.
Pros:
It’s a small place with not that many people
The kid loves it here
There’s a forest just a small bike ride away
There’s a lot of squirrels and birds living on the nearby tree and those are super fun to watch
Cons:
Services are limited (but not insufficient)
It’s a longer commute for me and my spouse
No good cafes nearby (we usually like to go to a cafe for a coffee and pastry from time to time)
The local politics is becoming a mess along with rest of the country due to two major right-wing parties fucking things up for everyone except themselves
But overall the pros over which the cons in my book. The kid really loves it here so that’s pretty much all the reason I need to stay here. And the easy access to a forest is also a very huge thing for me.
The Good: I have woods behind my house, and a small creek. Lots of birds to watch. Pretty quiet. Nice folks.
The Bad: My neighborhood was better though, before the developers noticed all the woods around us could be cut down and houses put in their place. Traffic is bad because everything is built along one road. Most of the restaurants are fast food.
The Ugly: It’s northwest Georgia. Land of rebel flags, guns, and MTG.
Pros: So many! Weather best by government test, beautiful walkable neighborhoods, lovely gardens. Amazing restaurants, Small city feel with SF just a train ride away for entertainment-all the plays and bands and comedians and what not show up there eventually.
Cons: It is so expensive to live here. I have cheap housing and I'm still working two jobs to make ends meet. Not only is it expensive, but everyone else in the world thinks you're lying about not having any money. Some guy in a bar in LA ask me to be his sugar momma when he heard the name of the town I live in.
I'm sure there are other cons- some would say the lack of seasons, but I can see and appreciate all the variations here and I'm not a cold/snow fan.
We do have a lot of unhoused people in and outside of SF, but that also seems more of a world problem than a local issue.
Really is just f-ing expensive, although right now I'm slightly bummed I'm not see the aurora borealis everyone else in the county is seeing...
Pros
About the same area as the US' contiguous states
Not many people
Lots of "empty" space
IMO beautiful
Weird animals
Life's good for the privileged
Strong gun laws
Not a religious state
Not as insane as the US
Cons
A long way from everywhere, even the rest of Australia
Lots of racists/systemic racism
Life's not so good without privilege
Insanity increasing
A strong push to destroy existing societal safety nets
Murdoch media
Fossil fuel producers own our governments
I live in the very northwestern tip of the US state of Washington, and let me put it this way...
When the apocalypse comes and everyone loads up their land cruisers to search out the the paradise that lay beyond the destruction, they'll all be headed in this direction.
@RickiTarr I have lived all over but most recently fled Austin to Eugene Oregon and we absolutely love it here. Pros: absolutely beautiful, close to coast and hiking, not crowded, eclectic. Cons: little industry and wages are incredibly low, very expensive to fly out of. Lots of homeless and drug issues. We moved here for safety against red laws, but it’s rural and red encroaching. This is everywhere, I believe.
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