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  #81  
Old Posted Jun 8, 2019, 9:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Sun Belt View Post
Just stop already.

What you fail to understand is America is not Europe. North America is not Europe. And here's the kicker, Americans don't want to be a Europe. It's really that simple.

This is a huge country. California is 3,000 miles west of Manhattan and has developed independent of what New Yorkers might think is best for them as has every single other town, city, state.
No one is saying America should be Europe. It can’t be. But there are things that are done better in Europe, or other parts of the world, than in America. And vice versa. YOU don’t want To learn from anywhere else but many Americans do.

America isn’t monolithic either. I hate the places you like, and you probably hate the places I like.

Anyway, Europe generally has much better, more walkable city centers than America. A good rail network is essential to this. Making a place like Oxnard more like a French or Spanish city with a similar climate would be a massive improvement.
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  #82  
Old Posted Jun 8, 2019, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
No one prefers Gary, IN.
Actually there are over 76 thousand people, most of whom disagree with you.
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  #83  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 12:59 AM
jtown,man jtown,man is offline
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Originally Posted by harryc View Post
Actually there are over 76 thousand people, most of whom disagree with you.
And those 76,000 are prosperous and a growing number right?
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  #84  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 1:52 AM
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Originally Posted by jtown,man View Post
And those 76,000 are prosperous and a growing number right?
No, not growing, though the population loss is slowing.

In 1970, Gary was home to 175,000. In 2017 it was estimated at 76,000, a loss of 99,000, or 57%, in a little over 4.5 decades.
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  #85  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 2:00 AM
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The number who live in a place isn't the same as the number who want to.

Likewise the expensive cities probably have more want-tos (if cost wasn't an issue) than actual residents.
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  #86  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 2:29 AM
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somewhere here, maybe Yountville..

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  #87  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 3:58 AM
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Great picture!
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  #88  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 10:41 AM
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  #89  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 11:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays View Post
The number who live in a place isn't the same as the number who want to.

Likewise the expensive cities probably have more want-tos (if cost wasn't an issue) than actual residents.
There was just some interesting discussion going around about just this: Basically, it may not be that people are moving less than before, but that, in past decades, moving may just have been more attractive or necessary for various reasons (eg. marriage, career necessities).

Maybe there are just fewer regional differences than we'd like to think? I don't know.

People have some stickiness in their choices, I suppose. It's another reason why so few Americans move abroad? In fact, I'd think that would be true of most people anywhere, which is why the punitiveness of immigration laws seems silly to me.

But ultimately, it's a big reason why I think mass transport is so important; particularly, a functioning, national, passenger rail network: It probably works to mute the psychological impact of moving great distances because it lowers the costs of traveling?

Then again, maybe there's something to be said about the manner in which cities cluster v. disperse in various countries.

Interesting topic.

Anyways, I live in the NYC metro area, and turned down a job in Anchorage even though I was pretty interested in the idea of living there, have no family nor a home, and the pay would have been better.

Plenty of tiny - and honestly, major - inconveniences tho...Maybe one day I'll revisit the idea.

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  #90  
Old Posted Jun 9, 2019, 11:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harryc View Post
Actually there are over 76 thousand people, most of whom disagree with you.
As you know, the fact that people are there doesn’t mean it’s where they would prefer to be.
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  #91  
Old Posted Jun 11, 2019, 6:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Obadno View Post
I know you addressed Iceland, but Santa Barbara is far from small. The City may be 90k but the Metro Area is 430k
Sort of. The county really has two halves, divided by a huge mountain range. The South Coast urban area is about 200k. It really is a unique area.

For reference, it’s generally about 2 hours from SB to downtown LA or LAX. Depends on traffic.
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  #92  
Old Posted Jun 11, 2019, 1:57 PM
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Hrrm...missed this thread earlier. Looking at MSAs under 150,000, there is really thin pickings:

Eureka, CA
Key West, FL
Pittsfield, MA
Missoula, MT
Boone, NC
Plattsburgh, NY
Athens, OH
La Crosse, WI
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  #93  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2019, 9:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sun Belt View Post
Just stop already.

What you fail to understand is America is not Europe. North America is not Europe. And here's the kicker, Americans don't want to be a Europe. It's really that simple.

This is a huge country. California is 3,000 miles west of Manhattan and has developed independent of what New Yorkers might think is best for them as has every single other town, city, state.
I suppose you think high speed rail is a bad idea too?
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  #94  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2019, 9:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
here's a true story.

years ago a college friend of mine was doing a post-grad intern gig driving all over new england doing some on-site documentation work of historic churches for the NRHP.

he came to one small town in new hampshire that didn't have street signs (this was in the pre GPS navigation era) and he spotted an older man raking leaves on his lawn, so he stopped and rolled down his window and asked:

"excuse me sir, i'm trying to find such and such church, but there don't seem to be any street signs in this town, would you be able to help me find it?"

the old guy's actual reply:

"if you need to street signs to get around, then you obviously don't belong here".

and then he walked away.

W? T? F?
Mean old people are everywhere but perhaps in New England they are in higher concentrations? Perhaps an English thing?
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  #95  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2019, 9:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by destroycreate View Post
A lot of (often liberal) North American folks fetishize life in Western Europe but they do indeed fail to take into consideration life as an expat/immigrant in these countries. Most European cultures are far more closed, exclusive, and difficult to penetrate vs. over here, where we are used to making new friends all of the time and moving around. We are used to creating new communities out of necessity due to the nature of job relocations or significant others requiring moves. I also think in general, North Americans are more open to change and adapting to new settings, whereas in much of Europe it's not as common to uproot oneself (we also cycle through friendships a lot faster lol). Speaking from my experience in Denmark, most non-Danes I've met who moved there especially in adulthood are miserable. They love the lifestyle and way of life but socially, they often feel extremely isolated. Danes for example generally have the same friends since high school or University and have little interest in expanding their circles, let alone to people who don't speak the language. You can certainly attempt to relocate to a small town in Switzerland and the quality of life may be better but social life (which is a huge contributor to anybody's happiness) could easily be miserable.

This is precisely why I can't really imagine moving back to Europe, even though I can as I am dual. Aside from London, I'm not sure where I'd really fit in realistically.
Good to know.
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  #96  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2019, 10:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Hrrm...missed this thread earlier. Looking at MSAs under 150,000, there is really thin pickings:

Eureka, CA
Key West, FL
Pittsfield, MA
Missoula, MT
Boone, NC
Plattsburgh, NY
Athens, OH
La Crosse, WI
I lived in Plattsburgh, NY as a kid. Quaint town but shadow of its former self since the AF base closed. Damned cold but within an hour from Montreal and a ferry ride away from Burlington VT. Plus a short drive to White Face mountain, Mount Marcy and Ausable Chasm and...if you drive like I do...you can get to Manhattan in about 4 hours...
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  #97  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2019, 10:54 PM
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For the ones I’ve been to. I also don’t care about metro area affiliation since I’ve lived in big metros most of my life.

Stuart, FL
Gainesville, FL
Chattanooga, TN
Asheville, NC
Miami Beach, FL
Newport Beach, CA
Redlands, CA
Galtlinburg, TN
Palm Springs, CA
Palm Beach, FL
La Jolla, CA ( may not count if it’s considered part of San Diego).
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  #98  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2019, 5:47 AM
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Originally Posted by jd3189 View Post
For the ones I’ve been to. I also don’t care about metro area affiliation since I’ve lived in big metros most of my life.

Stuart, FL
Gainesville, FL
Chattanooga, TN
Asheville, NC
Miami Beach, FL
Newport Beach, CA
Redlands, CA
Galtlinburg, TN
Palm Springs, CA
Palm Beach, FL
La Jolla, CA ( may not count if it’s considered part of San Diego).
None of the bolded ones are “small cities or towns”.
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  #99  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2019, 6:00 AM
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Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is where I live now. It's has a beautiful location, and sits in between two lakes. Is it doing well economically? ]
New Mexico is an Economic black hole from which there is no escape but death.
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  #100  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2019, 7:11 AM
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I already live in a place that fits the criteria, Shrewsbury in the West Midlands region of the UK, population of the urban area around 75,000, it is about one hour from Birmingham by car/train, 90 minutes from Manchester or Liverpool.



We made it onto the annual Times newspaper '100 Best places to live in the UK' list this year.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...imes-3qkwjnvrm
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