Share Something About Where You Live…

[ANNML]

Something I love about this forum is that members come from all over the world. But I always wonder about their specific area / surroundings. Big city? Small? Middle of nowhere? Mountains? Water? Do you like it? Is there something unique about it? Would you rather live somewhere else? How did you end up there? Blah blee blah etcetera…? Just whatever.

I live in Phoenix AZ (4.8M metro population) which is considered a low desert area of the Sonoran desert. Lived here for 20yrs. Grew up in Midwest US, then Colorado for 7 years (looooove), then Midwest again, then Phoenix. Not a fan of AZ in general except the Flagstaff area or other mountain areas. It’s HOT here and blazing sun almost every day. Most people are thrilled when there’s a cloudy day and when it sprinkles everyone is all “omg did you see it’s SPRINKLING outside?! So fabulous!” — but the downside is that people then proceed to drive as if it’s black ice on the roads lol. In my opinion, Phoenix is a very odd big city — no real personality, no vibe, no vital downtown. It’s not like other big cities such as NYC, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Seattle — all of which have a unique charm and vibe.

The only thing I love about Phoenix are the haboob storms during monsoon season in the summer — coolest storms ever! If you’ve never seen a haboob, search Phoenix haboob 2011 on youtube.

Ultimately, I want to live in the mountains by a river or creek of some sort. I want to feel cold weather again, put on layers, utilize my neglected coat collection . Okay , that’s all I got for now!

 

[Jeremy996]

I live in Melton Mowbray, a market town for over 1,000 years and currently home to about 27,000 people. Famous for pork pies, stilton cheese, "painting the town red" and where Edward VIII got it on with Mrs Simpson, (at a foxhunting lodge not too far from town). There are a few buildings in the town that were part of Anne of Cleves settlement from Henry VIII, (one is a public house, The Anne of Cleves, surprise surprise!), and the town boasts a huge, old church. A bit more detail and a few decent photographs from the Wikipedia page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melton_Mowbray Painting the town red, https://www.meltonmuseum.org/painting-the-town-red

I'm in England, so the weather is a permanent subject for discussion, usually too 'something', wet, cold, warm, windy, but in reality, it is never than bad, although at the moment it is 10.8C, with 'light rain'.

 

[Tazzieman]

I live 10km south of Hobart ( Tasmania) on 7 acres of part hillside native forest and part grassland , the latter of which I've developed into a mixed garden over the 28 years since we built our house.
Being on a hillside it's sometimes very windy and certainly bushfire prone...we had a big one 6 months after the house was built.
First view from the upstairs balcony, and 2nd pic looking back toward the area from our holiday shack on Bruny Island (over for a spot of maintenance the past 3 days)

 

[Coullabus]

Isle of Islay, Scotland. (Pronounced eye-la). Lying off the west coast of Scotland - around a two hour ferry ride through the islands from the mainland. Queen of the inner Hebrides, due west of Glasgow. Around 25miles north to south, 20miles west to east. Population a tad over 3,000 - except in festival week at the end of May when it boosts to over 10,000. No extreme weather. Never reaches the heat of southern England; and certainly not the dessert heat of Arizona! Summer, mid 20'sC. Rarely do we see snow, or even a heavy frost. No real extremes; but we do get wind and rain on occasion! Today, 10C and blowing a hoollie!

Earliest habitation site is a Mesolithic hunter gatherer campsite from around the end of the last ice age (12,500 years old?). A lot of Neolithic and iron age sites including standing stones, hill forts and hut circles. Even the parish church is round! The island formed the heartland for the historic 'Lords of the Isles', a virtually independent part of Scotland, a Norse /Gaelic mix of peoples. Lasted from the 12th century to almost 1500. Gaelic is still spoken, and taught on Islay; although English is the main tongue for everyday use. We are served by two ferries and a small airport.

We currently have ten working malt Whisky distilleries - two more are almost finished. So a LOT of tourists! And a lot of wildlife. Maybe not in the accepted USA/Canada/European big animals and predators style, but good for the over-built and over-populated UK.

The land is hilly rather than mountainous. A lot of rugged coastline and a few amazing beaches. Some woodland. A fair amount of barley is grown, but predominantly it's sheep and beef cattle.

Warm, wonderful, welcoming and friendly people.

It can all be summed up with one word for me. Home.

 

[Tazzieman]

@Coullabus sadly we only made it to Skye and the Outer Hebrides recently. But we shall return to Scotland again one day!

 

[Coullabus]

@Coullabus sadly we only made it to Skye and the Outer Hebrides recently. But we shall return to Scotland again one day!

Contact me when you do! I would be delighted to show you roynd

 

[ADVAW8S]

I live outside of Seattle. We moved here almost 16 years ago. Never had been to PNW, company said we need you there on Feb 1. Moved and will never live anywhere else. We love access to outdoors, the coffee, enjoyable climate.

 

[AngusMacG]

New England:

Living in the New England all my life and not being well travelled but travelled I find that NE offers a lot in a small area. We have mountains, coasts, rural, cities, and farmland. The area also has the luxury and curse of 4 seasons. You look forward to the change of seasons but dread them when you are in the middle of one. Spring brings warmer temps but rain and raw days. Summer brings the true warmth but the dreaded heat and humidity. Fall is probably one of the best seasons for weather but also brings with it colder temps and raking your lawn. Winter seems like the longest season with limited daylight, cold temps, and winter storms.

New England also offers close proximity to NYC so you can take in a Broadway show and spend the night or make it home the same day (Southern New England). Many things in New England are very close. Worcester MA area is a great location as you are an hours drive from the coast (MA, CT, RI), Hartford, Boston, Southern NH (tax free shopping, cheaper liquor and tobacco).

Of course with the small geographic area and origination of the US there is lots of history AND traffic. The interstate system came in so late to the area that it is not efficiently laid out and wasn’t designed for the current population levels. The public transit (if you want to call it that) is horrible if you value your time. Sometimes it takes you 30 minutes to drive 2 miles….Some of the drives are absolutely amazing. Driving the Kancamangus Hwy in NH, the Berkshires in western MA, Route 1 in Maine, and Route 7 in VT are amazing.

Pics: View from Mount Washington in NH, Sunset from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park ME, estuary in Essex MA, Switchback on the Mohawk Trail in MA

 

[ADVAW8S]

New England:

Living in the New England all my life and not being well travelled but travelled I find that NE offers a lot in a small area. We have mountains, coasts, rural, cities, and farmland. The area also has the luxury and curse of 4 seasons. You look forward to the change of seasons but dread them when you are in the middle of one. Spring brings warmer temps but rain and raw days. Summer brings the true warmth but the dreaded heat and humidity. Fall is probably one of the best seasons for weather but also brings with it colder temps and raking your lawn. Winter seems like the longest season with limited daylight, cold temps, and winter storms.

New England also offers close proximity to NYC so you can take in a Broadway show and spend the night or make it home the same day (Southern New England). Many things in New England are very close. Worcester MA area is a great location as you are an hours drive from the coast (MA, CT, RI), Hartford, Boston, Southern NH (tax free shopping, cheaper liquor and tobacco).

Of course with the small geographic area and origination of the US there is lots of history AND traffic. The interstate system came in so late to the area that it is not efficiently laid out and wasn’t designed for the current population levels. The public transit (if you want to call it that) is horrible if you value your time. Sometimes it takes you 30 minutes to drive 2 miles….Some of the drives are absolutely amazing. Driving the Kancamangus Hwy in NH, the Berkshires in western MA, Route 1 in Maine, and Route 7 in VT are amazing.

Pics: View from Mount Washington in NH, Sunset from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park ME, estuary in Essex MA, Switchback on the Mohawk Trail in MA

I should say, I am from Scituate Ma and my wife is from North Reading. When it's time to retire, we will get a second home back in New England.