What cities have you lived in?
 

So, what cities have you lived in? What city did you like the best/least? I was reading through a thread recently and it seems where people have lived strongly influences how they view that city(obviously) and how they view other cities. So I thought it would be interesting to see where everyone has lived or lives as to understand how they view urbanity.


If there has been a thread like this before, please delete. If it belongs somewhere else, please move. Thanks!

Bucharest, Romania 0-5
Iowa City, IA 5-8
Ames, IA 8-9
Reno, NV 9-18 (one year was in Sparks, NV)
Stanford, CA 18-22
Cambridge, MA 22-27
Chicago, IL 27-


Chicago, Cambridge are the best but Cambridge was too expensive on a grad student stipend to live super well. Bucharest is nice too but obviously my impression of Bucharest is mostly from subsequent visits.

Waukegan
Chicago
Madison Wi
NYC
DC
Oak Park Ill.

Which is the best depends on the phase of life, at the moment it is Oak Park.

Discounting the suburbs I had no choice in living in as a child, and college towns (which were not cities):

Detroit
Washington DC
New Haven, CT
Pittsburgh

Dublin 1981-1984
Calgary 1984-2007
Medicine Hat, AB June-December 2000
Shanghai 2007 - Present

As a kid:
Pensacola/Tallahassee/Tampa/Orlando/Atlanta


As an adult:
Atlanta/Tallahassee/Detroit/Fort Worth

Edmonton: 1972
Seattle: 1972-1976
Lloydminster, AB: 1976-1977
Calgary: 1977-1981
Dallas: 1981-1984
Sylvan Lake, AB (part-time 1982-2001)
Calgary: 1984-1988
Toronto, London, ON: 1988-1990
Edmonton: 1990-1995
Vancouver: 1995-1996
Calgary: 1996-2001
Seattle: 2001-2004
Hong Kong: 2004-2007
Perth: 2007-2010
Seattle: 2010-2013
Calgary (part-time): 2010-2013
Perth: 2013-present
Singapore (part-time): 2015-present

Reston, VA
San Antonio TX (Lackland AFB)
Chicago, IL (Albany Park/Gold Coast/Rogers Park)
Grover Beach, CA (few months)
Los Angeles, CA (Koreatown/North Hollywood/Van Nuys)

Los Angeles and Chicago the best, Reston, Grover Beach, and San Antonio last.

1. Small swamp town not on a map
2. Baton Rouge
3. New Orleans
4. Houston
5. Miami Beach
6. Fort Lauderdale
7. Washington DC
8. Baltimore (present)

I would move back to New Orleans in a heartbeat if the money was right. I would never move back to Texas or Florida. I'm happy I got to experience them, but they are not for me.

since i've spent the vast majority of my life in chicagoland (with a college stint up in the twin cities), i'm gonna do all of the neighborhoods i've lived in. i'm also including streetviews of all the buildings i've called home because why not.



1976-1994 - Wilmette, IL (Chicagoland) - https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0697...7i13312!8i6656 (my childhood home, from birth until i left for college)

1994-1997 - St. Paul, MN (Macalester College) - https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9401...7i13312!8i6656 (my dorm from freshman/sophmore years, lived off campus later on)

1997-1999 - i moved back to my childhood home in Wilmette

1999-2001 - Chicago (Little Italy) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8714...7i16384!8i8192 (where i lived when i first joined SSP all those decades ago)

2001-2004 - Chicago (Lakeview) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9510...7i13312!8i6656

2004-2006 - Chicago (Lakeview) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9456...7i13312!8i6656

2006-2007 - Chicago (Rogers Park) - https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0007...7i16384!8i8192

2007-2011 - Chicago (River North) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8870...7i13312!8i6656 (the first home that i ever owned. a small studio condo on the 33rd floor, but it was all mine!)

2011-2014 - Chicago (West Loop) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8845...7i16384!8i8192

2014-2018 - Chicago (Edgewater) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9908...7i16384!8i8192

2018-present - Chicago (Lincoln Square) - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9657...7i16384!8i8192 (not our exact 3-flat, but close enough to it to get the idea):



so while i haven't lived in many cities, i have lived in a pretty good variety of different chicago neighborhoods.

our plan is to now stay in Lincoln Square for the next couple decades as we raise our kids.

wow!

Battle Creek, MI
E. Lansing, MI
Albion, MI
Philadelphia, PA (Center City)
Nashville, TN
Chicago, IL (Hyde Park)
Washington, DC (Georgetown)
NYC--UWS (Manhattan)
NYC--Forest Hills (Queens)
Racine, WI
Libertyville, IL

Los Angeles, CA
Cerritos, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
South Pasadena, CA

Hampton, VA
Cheyenne, WY
Miami, FL
Boston, MA
Miami, FL

NYC too if 2.5 months counts.

i never got to live the city life, both these cities are very suburban. unless you live close in and then you have to pay a crazy amount.

portland or
bend or

Maquoketa, IA 1974–1988
Pearl City, IL 1988–1992
Davenport, IA 1992–1994
Beaverton, OR 1994–1995
Iowa City, IA 1995–1996 (after a failed stint in Fairbanks, AK)
Portland, OR 1996–1999
Carlsbad, CA 1999–2000
Forest Park, IL 2000
Chicago (Edgewater) 2000–2006
Lost Nation, IA 2006–2011
Rock Island, IL 2011–2012
Moline, IL 2012–2016
Davenport, IA 2016-Present

Growing up my parents always had to live in the furthest flung suburb of whatever city we lived in because they associated cities with crime and icky brown people probably, not really sure. Maybe they just loved the boring ass suburban American dream. After college though I've lived in urban settings. Anyways...

-Chicago (St. Charles) 1987-1990
-Dallas (Plano) 1990-92
-Chicago (Batavia) 92-93
-Dallas (Plano) 93-97
-Houston (Kingwood) 97-06
-Nacogdoches, TX 06-07
-Beijing - part of 07
-Russellville, AR 07-2011
-Lafayette/New Orleans, LA 11-12
-Houston (downtown) 12-14
-Pittsburgh (Millvale) 14-16
-Pittsburgh (Oakland) 16-19
-Pittsburgh (Carnegie) 19-now

Id love to move to Philly, but there aren't any oil and gas jobs there, so Ill be stuck here in Pittsburgh until the drilling out in Ohio and WV dries up. Don't really ever want to go back to TX, but Id for sure move back to New Orleans
as drilling around there won't end anytime soon.

Aside from a few months of "extended vacation" London I've always lived in Toronto. The first 24 years in the same house, and the years since split between just 2 apartments. I don't move much.

Army brat here.
Kansas City, KS
Mt. Vernon, Virginia
Detroit, Michigan (Mt. Clemens to be exact)
Berlin, Germany
Detroit again (Selfridge Air National Guard Base)
Newport, Rhode Island
Davenport, Iowa
Rock Island, Illinois
Huntsville, Alabama
Orlando, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
New York City, NY

New York is probably my favorite but I also have a lot of fond memories of Berlin and Newport.

Cincinnati, OH
Phoenix, AZ
Orange, CA
Flagstaff, AZ