do you like where you live?

ME - posted on 03/31/2011

I moved back to IL for my family (parents, sisters, extended fam). I miss Colorado terribly, and would move back there in a heartbeat if I could convince my family to go back with me/us.

Casey - posted on 03/31/2011

I love the little town that we live in I have lived here since I was a kid and the girls that I met when I first moved here I am still best friends with today (nearly 20 years later) we live 45 minutes from the beach but during winter I can walk out my front door and look up and see snow on the mountains which are only about an hour away maybe even less. When I go down the street to do shopping it should only take 20 mins but ends up taking an hour cause you see everyone you know lol, I already know most of the kids my 2 year old will be going to school with and we're friends or at least acquantences with their parents.
I think I am very lucky to live here and we bought our house here two years ago (over the fence from my mum and dads house) we love it :)
I think if you have really put the effort into trying to make a go of it in this town that you live in for example get involved with the community by checking out what courses and stuff are on offer at the community center, or get involved with your kids school, kinder or daycare centre, talk to people and see if there is a social group or mothers group, take your kid to the park and talk to other parents, see if there is any online groups from your community or neighbouring communities, or if all else fails make some flyers and put them around town and see if you can get other mums interested in having a coffee group one morning a week cause I am sure you are not alone and that there is other mums out there in your community who are paddling in the same boat as you but have just been to scared to put themselves out there, hang in there darls but just remember you'll only get out of it what you put in :)

Joanna - posted on 03/31/2011

I like it enough... Orange county, CA. Close to the beach, mountains, and dessert, an hour from both Los Angeles and San Diego, lots to do, great weather. The people are kinda snotty in my neighborhood though. And no family around.

Alexis - posted on 03/31/2011

Volunteer, or take up a new hobby, maybe even take a class in something. Put yourself out there and ask someone to go have coffee with you, or even have a BBQ and invite your neighbors over as a meet and great thing. I have been your shoes before, I am lucky now that I live where I love the most. The weather, the people, the opportunities....but when I did live where I didn't know anybody and was lonely I really had to learn how to make new friends....its a lot like dating! LOL

Celeste - posted on 03/31/2011

I've always wanted to go to Australia, except I am terrified of planes!

Sal - posted on 03/31/2011

erin move the the table lands if you never want to get over 35, a hot summer day is 30 and people complain about the heat as 24 is about tops usually and winter 10 is about standard top during the day, we had snow in novermber and the fire on christmas day, during winter we got down to-11 the water freezes so you can't have a bath in the morning or even get water for a drink....and the summer before we were in the cental west and it got to 52....huge change.....

Vegemite - posted on 03/30/2011

I'm sorry to hear you are not happy where you live Sal
Yes anywhere in Australia is awesome. Well maybe except NSW, it's a hole.....Yeah QLD! hahaha cockroaches who'd want to be one.

Rebecca - posted on 03/30/2011

Yes, I do.

The city I live in is the first one I've ever had a serious long term relationship with. I've moved so much, my whole life. This city is the only one I've returned to and lived in for several years. There's just something about it.

I keep coming back to Canada, even though people say I should stay in the states because it would be better for my career. However, I've only ever been rewarded by returning. Mostly, by the people here, the men specifically. Canadian men, for me at least, have made up most of my major long-term relationship. They are one of Canada's best natural resources. I highly recommend people of all nations to buy Canadian when it comes to husband, boyfriends, fiances or baby daddies.

Stifler's - posted on 03/30/2011

oh god. i don't even know how low it gets here but i hate it. i hate jumpers and rainy weather and closed in shoes.

Shannen - posted on 03/30/2011

Do not move here then. Our max atm at 2:30pm is 23C, Winter is on its way which means tops of 14C.

Stifler's - posted on 03/30/2011

*shudders* anything below 25 is hell.

Shannen - posted on 03/30/2011

Tassie barely gets above 25C.... Even for me thats a little to cold.

Erin - posted on 03/30/2011

Yeah when your AC is spewing warm air, it's not a good sign lol. I would be happy if our temps never got above 35C. Where do I need to move for that to happen? Tassie? lol

Tara - posted on 03/30/2011

I genuinely love where we live. I love our town, it's small, not a lot of traffic but busy enough not to be boring, lots of culture, a great library, a wonderful librarians. :)

There is a real community feel here and everyone watches out for everyone else.

I love our home home, it's huge which is what we need with a family our size, but old and has a lot of it's own charm and personality, our yard is large enough to have a small veggie garden, lots of perennial beds, a small water garden and our pool. Plus we have a small greenhouse where right now I am busy starting our annual flowers and our veggie seeds. I miss having chickens but it's a small sacrifice for having places to walk to instead of living in the middle of nowhere (which I loved when my kids were younger).

We have great neighbours and I think what makes a town is its people.

Charlie - posted on 03/30/2011

I LOVE IT !!

I live in a fishing town on the coast , it is beautiful , the people are great , the weather is great , it has a real community feel .

Love it , In fact I love Australia .

Jenny - posted on 03/30/2011

I love where I live. The weather is overall mild although we do have our ups and downs. And I could do with less foggy, gray skies but it is a valley so that's what happens.

We have a ton of outdoor things to do all year round. We can drive 30 minutes in any direction and go camping but still be close to the city. We have all the amenities one could want and just had a medical school open at our university this year.

We have great ground and can provide a large amount of food locally. Our water is clean, our air is clear. Hunting is close by and there is a ton of great fishing.

The people are not as friendly as I'd like but I think it's because most of them grew up together and it has been just recently that we have turned into a city. Our population is 100K so it's not big, not too small.

I will concede it is expensive to live here. Our median house price is 450K-ish and wages do not make up for that.

There are a ton of Mommy groups and activies for those who wish. I'm more of a homebody though.

Stifler's - posted on 03/30/2011

I'm taking it that it gets really humid for the 23C to be hot LOLOLOL

Kate CP - posted on 03/30/2011

I'm originally from Georgia and I thought it got hot there...I was *WRONG*. When the friggin' AC can't keep up because it's so hot...yea. It's bad. :/

Shannen - posted on 03/30/2011

@ Sa, i do attend Uni there but i'm not yet a full time student i'm hoping for next year for that but with 3 young kids to raise i don't think there will be much partying! lol

Celeste - posted on 03/30/2011

Erin, OH yeah, it gets pretty hot in Texas, even hotter in parts of the USA. Here, it can get above 38C! Scorching at 73F?? It's barely spring and we're supposed to get to 90F degrees (32.2C)

Emily, uggh, that's really scary!!

Emily - posted on 03/30/2011

I hate where I live. It'd be hard not to. We have gangsters and drive-by shooting, drug dealing in the streets and AK47s. Nobody speaks english, unless they're cussing. It's not a good place to raise children.

I want to have a little property with some land and a few animals. Have a nice big veggie garden. Instead I do intensive gardening (you would not believe the amount of food you can grow in a 10x11 foot space) and dream of owning some chicken. They are illegal here. You can't even have a pet one. :( I want to move SO BADLY!!!

Erin - posted on 03/30/2011

Kate I didn't realise it got so hot there! I always laugh when I hear people from other countries complain about the heat, but maybe I shouldn''t lol. I was watching a doco last night where a British narrator talked about the 'scorching 23C heat' (73F)! ROFL



I'll tell you how I deal with the extreme heat... I stay inside with the a/c cranked! It never used to bother me, but I really hate it now. So I'd rather pay the astronomical power bill than sit around being miserable and hot.

Celeste - posted on 03/30/2011

That's exactly how it is, Bonnie! LOL If we were to move to my hometown, that would not happen. My town is fairly small so I'm glad that my kids are growing up where they can do that.

Bonnie - posted on 03/30/2011

Celeste, I know what you mean. When I was growing up, we would always be outside and our parents would be standing in a group gossiping. I miss those days. It was fun.

Laura Zoey - posted on 03/30/2011

I like where I live........I think! I have lived my whole life in this area, one hour from thenlongest apart houses! I was born in shorewood wisconsin, and moved to New Berlin when I was 3. Moved to Waukesha when I was 16, and finally to Posrt Washington when I was 18. I liked new Berlin the best for a few reasons, there was tons of shopping around, four malls to go to in 20 minutes apart. Lots of restaurants. Cheapys and expensives :) and lots of parks and hiking trails close by.
Waukesha sucked but just because I was moved there against my will :( but port Washington is pretty awesome! It's on lake Michigan so that's a huge plus to me, I love the water and adore seeing the sun rise over the lake. I love everything about the lake except for the nasty fish smell, but once you get used to it its not so bad :) the things I hate about port is there is almost no stores, no malls, no restaurants around! I mean sure there's a few, but not like what I was used to. There's tons of bars, and I don't drink nor do I like the drunks. So that's a downer. But I think the biggest perk of living here is my parents in law live here too, they are great help when ever we need them and always there to enjoy Eric and play with him.
Weather wise I like it, but I don't know any different. I love summer til about august then I'm wanting it to snow and be cold! Then I love winter til about march when I start dreaming about summer! The rain isn't bad, and I'm not scared to drive in blizzards. We don't get tornadoes or hurricanes much, thunderstorms are common but they don't scare me!
Winter gets to about -10 in the worst of it but usually sticks around 15 F and summer can get to 110 but usually is in the 90s. So I like the variables in temperature cuz it's never boring and its always changing month to month.

We are in an apartment now so I don't love our house, but when matt graduates college and gets a nice job I hope to find a nice sized house in the country, close to the city but far enough away that you feel like you are in the middle of nature. My dream would be to have a few horses, some chickens a cow and a ton of fruit trees and a big garden. Lots of work, but I adore being outside and I'd love to make/ grow more of our food.

Celeste - posted on 03/30/2011

Kate, with a pool or something with water LOL My neighbors have a pool and we just have a kiddie pool and like a slip n slide of some sort..

Kate CP - posted on 03/30/2011

Just saw that some of you ladies live in Dallas, too. How the hell can you stand the heat?!

Kate CP - posted on 03/30/2011

I live about 10 feet from the arsehole of the sun. I hate living in Dallas. I love my house and my neighborhood and having family close by but having to deal with 110 F heat in the midst of summer is horrible. I hate it.

Celeste - posted on 03/30/2011

Bonnie, that sucks. Totally opposite here. All the kids are outside from after lunch til dark. If the parents are hanging out, the kids will continue playing outside..During the summer, they hunt for bugs, geckos and other little creatures.. Only thing I don't like about it is that some people seem to speed down the street!

Bonnie - posted on 03/30/2011

I love where I live. Everyone seems to be nice in my neighbourhood. I just don't care for the fact that there are some kids in this area, but never really see them outside. The weather in the winter sucks for the most part, but the summer is nice.

Sal - posted on 03/30/2011

i never lived full time in sydney loved being there when i have been there for extended times, but i wouldn't want to bring kids up there, it is a great place if you have lots of freinds and money....i think it is mostly about the weather here, the summer is beautiful but short, and during winter no one goes outside, i take the kids to the park, and no one is there, i take them to the shops and people run in and out and leave the kids at home if they can, i feel very isolated, shannan, do you go to UNE? i went there out of high school and loved it then, heaps of freind and fun (drinking and partying) was quiet excited to be comming back to this area, it is just so different now with kids...

Nikki - posted on 03/30/2011

I have a love hate relationship with where I live. We moved 9 months ago back to my hometown, I love being closer to my mum and dad and family but I really miss my friends. I haven't made a huge effort as of yet to meet new friends because life has been pretty hectic.

I am also a bit nervous about meeting new friends here, from what I have seen the mums here are very different to me, all of the ones I have met are a lot more old fashioned and traditional where as I am not. Not that that it really matters but I would like to have a few parenting philosophies in common. I maybe stereotyping and I have only met a handful but I am yet to meet people I click with.

Shannen - posted on 03/30/2011

Well if it's the football team thats the problem then i think i need to move to cronulla! lol.
Sal i live about 3 hours inland from Newy and i have been there a bit recently because of friends who think the place is the best. Anywhere has gotta be better then Sydney though and thats where i grew up.

Sal - posted on 03/30/2011

thanks girls, nice to get some other peoples views, nice that i'm not alone in this, shannan, i am wondering if you live near me.......and juilanne marie, i got the most wonderful louis vuiotton bag for $2 at the salvos.i assumed it was fake, but the right size and shape for what i wanted (and looked like a good fake) got it home done a little research and it am almost convinced it is real.....and i know people who live in newcastle and love the place, but i have never been a fan, i think it is the bloody knights, and back in the day we were so sick of the earthquake, i think 10 years it was on the news every freaking night!!!!

April - posted on 03/30/2011

So true Shannen! :)

Shannen - posted on 03/30/2011

There is no place like home!

April - posted on 03/30/2011

Originally from Sydney but moving down to Melbourne to be with my mum, I'm already excited :D

Erin - posted on 03/29/2011

Where in Aus are you from April?

April - posted on 03/29/2011

I'm sick of where i live. Same old same old. I can't wait to go back to Australia!! and i'll continue screaming that until my husband buys us the tickets!! :D

Erin - posted on 03/29/2011

Yeah rent is a killer... that's the city for you. You would meet people here in no time, especially being a student. Though I understand it would be daunting moving somewhere new with 3 kids on your own. If you do, we could have play dates!

Shannen - posted on 03/29/2011

Erin, That is my plan. I like Newy and i hear such good things about it. I should probably move sooner rather then later but it's scary to think that there i have no one over there but it would be easier for me to attend uni...... Oh decisions decisions! LOL. ( Rent is so high in Newy)

Lindsay - posted on 03/29/2011

I love where I live 90% of the time. During the last month or so of cold Winter I always dream of moving more South but then Spring arrives and I am happy once again. This is home. I've lived in the same town my entire life minus a few months away. My family is mostly here, and the ones that aren't meet up here. I don't go anywhere without running into people I know. It can get irritating when I'm trying to get in and out of somewhere but there's also a certain comfort in it.

Our town is big enough that we have everything we need within a 10 or 15 minute drive but all small enough to give that small town vibe. We are surrounded by rivers which I love. And we have all 4 seasons very defined. I can't complain too much.

Lady Heather - posted on 03/29/2011

That's why we left Vancouver. Couldn't afford it. :( We used to live at Davie and Denman. It was the best. Vera's across the street, Cupcakes across the other street, English Bay right there. We could just pick up some gelato and stroll to the beach for a good sit. Ooo...this is making me sad.

Johnny - posted on 03/29/2011

I love where I live. I love the city and my neighborhood. Vancouver isn't the friendliest of cities, but it is beautiful. Luckily, my neighborhood is very friendly. It's the kind of place where I know all my neighbors and people always chat passing on the street. It took me a while to get used to that when we moved here. We are right on the edge of a very large park, I've got room for a small garden, it's very quiet, and close walking distance to all the shops. Also on a good transit route. It takes less time to take transit downtown than it does to drive. We live in a co-op, and plan to stay here for quite a while. But one day we would like to buy. I think that unless we want to move to a condo downtown when we're too old for home maintenance, we will probably stick to this neighborhood.

We definitely won't be moving from the city though. My husband's job is very specified and there are not a lot of other places where he could do it. Literally only one other in Canada in the middle of Saskatchewan. My only real complaint about the city is the high real estate prices. I keep thinking they'll slow down, but they just keep getting crazier.

Erin - posted on 03/29/2011

Shannen, where are you going to move to? Come to Newy ;)

Erin - posted on 03/29/2011

I live in Newcastle, AUS and I love it! I moved away to the Gold Coast in my early 20s but only lasted 6 months before homesickness compelled me to come home.



Newcastle is a big enough city to have lots to do, but not so big (like Sydney or Melbourne) to have some of the downfalls of such large metropolitan areas. Except for the traffic. The traffic here is so bad now that I want to trade my manual car in for an auto. Changing up and down gears in traffic jams is a pain in my ass!!!



I can't really imagine living anywhere else, although as I get older I do find myself craving a smaller town. I would never move away from the coast though.

Shannen - posted on 03/29/2011

I like where i live but i don't like the people in this town. I'm lucky i only rent and once i have finished my study i will be moving away. I'll be here for around 4 years more then i'm out.

Good Day! - posted on 03/29/2011

Krista, your home sounds like our dream home. We would love to build or buy a historic home to renovate on the river front on acres of property. Oh to dream.

But to answer the OP, yes, I love where I live. Even though it's not our "dream home" I'm very content. We live in the town that my husband and I both grew up in. Therefore, we have tons of family and friends nearby. In a 1 mile radius we have...1 grandma, 1 aunt (and family), 2 cousins (and families), 2 of my mom's best friends, at least 4 childhood friends of mine or husband's, an adopted grandmother, and my old pastor and his wife. I can't take a leisurely walk around the neighborhood without seeing one of these people and stopping to talk. It also makes me feel very safe knowing that I have someone nearby to call in an emergency. And I'll feel safe letting my daughters roam the neighborhood when they are older. My house and property are small, but I love the location of it.

As far as geographical and cultural location, I'm also happy. I love the southern/Louisiana culture and food. I "lived" in Calgary for two months in college. While I loved having easy access to the Canadian Rockies and enjoyed the mix of cultures that Calgary had to offer, I found myself very homesick. Of all things, I missed oak trees. And I missed spicy food.

To Sal and all the others that are unhappy with where they live, I'm sorry I have no practical advice. But I do find that when I'm in a crappy situation, if I write down all the good things about that situation (no matter how small or insignificant) it helps. You can't change location, but you can change your attitude. I don't mean that to sound rude, honestly I don't. But surely there is something positive?

Krista - posted on 03/29/2011

That's insecurity talking -- a lot of we moms are so desperate for proof that our little snowflake is so much more special than all of the other snowflakes, so we brag up any of their achievements in the hopes that other people will be impressed. 'Tis human.

Do I like where I live? It depends on the day.

I love our property, hands down. We live on 3.5 acres, with over 500 feet of riverfrontage. In the summertime, I love to sit out on our front porch with a glass of wine and look out on the water, seeing the boats go by and the birds fly overhead. It's very serene and peaceful.

In the winter (especially this winter, with all that snow), I would have given my eyeteeth to move. I have a 45-minute commute from work. And our village has sweet-fuck-all. We have one restaurant, a gas station and a hardware store. That's it. So in the cold weather, I can't walk outside with him, but I can't even bring him to a play area or a mall and walk with him there. So in the winter, we're essentially housebound, and yeah, I was going slowly insane.

We'll be trying for another soon, and part of me is dreading maternity leave, and being stuck at home all day every day, with only the odd walk up our boring old dirt road to alleviate the tedium. I'm going to have to make a better effort, though -- there IS a playgroup every Tuesday, so I'll have to make a point of going to that.

But yeah...if we hadn't been given this gorgeous property and built our house here, I probably would have pushed to live elsewhere.

Women DO tend to outlive men, so when I'm a little old lady, I'm moving to New York, and will spend all of my retirement money shopping and going to shows. :)

Lady Heather - posted on 03/29/2011

I think the next time I encounter mothers like that I will just tell them that my baby has a degree in quantum physics.