(July 6, 2016 at 2:16 pm)Bella Morte Wrote: Part of me would like to move abroad in the future. Canada seems quite nice.

Have you learned nothing from South Park? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhahahahahahahaha

(July 6, 2016 at 3:49 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote:

(July 6, 2016 at 3:40 pm)Alex K Wrote: Heidelberg is pretty sweet...

Germany and Spain are at the top of my list of must see destinations.  My wife travels internationally a lot more than I.  We shall see.  Any gardens you'd say are must see around Heidelberg?

Oh, and of course the Schwetzingen castle, how could I forget that

(July 6, 2016 at 3:20 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote:

(July 6, 2016 at 2:21 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote: I'd like an option saying "this is the best place to live FOR ME" or something along that line - I'm sure there are many amazing places to live. This one just suits me very, very well.

But I'm being pedantic.

Yeah, for you is sort of what it's all about.  Still I've had the sense in the past that you'd pull up stakes and head for europe given the right circumstances.

South of France and parts of Germany have floated through for me, and I think I probably could be convinced by an Irishman to pick up and go to Ireland if he married me. But why the fuck would the Irishman do that when he can live in green hills here? That's what a large number of them did, which is why the mountainous areas of the south are still filled with fiery clannish rednecks of the scots-Irish persuasion. In the sunset, the Appalachians look like mounds of melting amber, like so many sidhe mounds filled with secrets. In any other time, they're the setting of a Lovecraft or Tolkien tale - the third oldest mountains, worn down smooth with age and time, riddled with caves and covered in mists - you see how a Hobbit loving woman would find them hard to move away from. They're close enough to drive to from Charlotte, which, for so many reasons, is a good place for a young single person to live.

Quote:I've never been to Charlotte but given the number of my religious relatives who have moved to North Carolina (sorry about that) I think it wouldn't suit me in at least that regard.  Likewise with the humidity assuming it is anything like it was in Maryland, outside of DC.  Likewise with the heat, I'm a fragile flower.  For that matter while an occasional snow sounds romantic it is also inconvenient and would limit what I can grow.  (I'm not that good a gardener really, the location has to meet me more than half way.)  All my cousins rave about their buying power there.  "Living large" they call it.  I'd rather be a little frugal in balmy coastal California though.

The humidity is teh suck, I won't lie. I exist in a state of 'moist' right now, and unfortunately it's not sexual (most of the time). But while the rest of the state of NC is pretty religious, most of the time Charlotte isn't worse than the rest of the country, honestly.

Wife and I had to spend agonizing hours in the back room of immigrations at Charlotte airport while they took our IDs because of some made up visa problem. That kind of tainted the city a bit for me, I'm sure it's wonderful to live in.

I live in Spicewood, Texas, about 30 miles outside Austin. I live here partly by choice and partly by circumstance; the 08 recession killed my career as a low/middle manager for a Fortune 500 company. The ensuing lengthy unemployment sucked out my 401k and nest -egg, so i had to hit the reset button. I stayed with my mom while I got back on my feet, working up to 70 hours a week at the crap jobs that are on offer here. Now I'm back down to a reasonable 50 hours weekly and while not secure for the future like I'd like to be, it's a damned sight better than it was.

I like it here. The people are friendly. Stereotype notwithstanding, they are religious but not mouthy about it, and don't begrudge me my open atheism. The education level here is low, not many have attended college, and they're not cosmopolitan by a long shot. But the folks here aren't stupid. If I had to pick a word, I'd say they're canny -- don't bring bullshit, it will be sniffed out.

I live a ways out in the countryside, which is beautiful, rolling hills sheathed in various types of oak, juniper ash, mesquite, and along the waterways, towering bald cypress which are simply majestic. Our wildlife sees many species of birds, being under a migratory route. Mammals run from cougars as apex predators and coyotes to deer, possum, jackrabbits, and raccoons, as well as the omnipresent armadillo. And buzzards -- lots of buzzards. Living out in the hills, it's not uncommon for me to pull into my driveway and scare off a whitetail deer or three ... and once I had a bald eagle perching on my mesquite tree. Roadrunners keep the plentiful snakes in check.

It's not my favorite place I've ever lived, but it's goddamned good, and I'm happy with where I am.

Indifferent; I can take it or leave it.

I'd like to move to DC someday.
Or maybe Baltimore.

I love Manchester, I am proud to be a Mancunian, and Manchester is the best city on the planet.

TO MY TOWN

More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That's how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That's how much you I love.

I love you more than a wasp can sting,
And more than the subway jerks,
I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch,
And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above,
And below, if such there be,
As the High Court loathes perjurious oathes,
That's how you're loved by me.

Boru

(full disclosure: the above poem was stolen, part and parcel, from Ogden Nash's 'To My Valentine'. It express my feeling about Kerikeri to perfection.)

Let's put it this way: I moved to Baton Rouge, LA for work. I like my job. I like living an hour's drive from New Orleans. But Baton Rouge sucks ass, and I doubt I'll ever get used to the fucking humidity. They can have the Deep South as far as I'm concerned.

I came here from northern Nevada, where I could leave my house and drive to South Lake Tahoe in 30 minutes. I miss the mountains. I miss the desert. I dream about it almost every night.

(July 6, 2016 at 4:16 pm)thesummerqueen Wrote:

(July 6, 2016 at 3:20 pm)Whateverist the White Wrote: Yeah, for you is sort of what it's all about.  Still I've had the sense in the past that you'd pull up stakes and head for europe given the right circumstances.

South of France and parts of Germany have floated through for me, and I think I probably could be convinced by an Irishman to pick up and go to Ireland if he married me. But why the fuck would the Irishman do that when he can live in green hills here? That's what a large number of them did, which is why the mountainous areas of the south are still filled with fiery clannish rednecks of the scots-Irish persuasion. In the sunset, the Appalachians look like mounds of melting amber, like so many sidhe mounds filled with secrets. In any other time, they're the setting of a Lovecraft or Tolkien tale - the third oldest mountains, worn down smooth with age and time, riddled with caves and covered in mists - you see how a Hobbit loving woman would find them hard to move away from. They're close enough to drive to from Charlotte, which, for so many reasons, is a good place for a young single person to live.

There was that movie recently about a man who hikes from Maine or New Hampshire most of the way down the Appalachian trail.  Looked very scenic and definitely more Shire than Rivendell.