How satisfied/dissatisfied with your city are you?

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Boisebro

there. now it's a poem.

Makes a man shiver, it does.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

I love New York but am starting to get over it.

No doubt it's a world class city, tourism Mecca, has lots of opportunity, ect. That goes without saying.

I will say I'm really tired of the constant bad weather, the fact that it's getting really dirty, the transportation becoming unbearable, ect.

I'm considering moving somewhere else, but own property here so I'll never be 100% out the door, considering I won't ever sell it. It's a great asset. But yeah, it's been a good run of many years here but I'm ready for something different with less stress, better weather, ect.

People all over the world dream of living in New York and that's cool, but I think for the majority it's a place where you live a few years, burn out, and then leave. I'm starting to get the idea that it's a better place to visit sporadically than actually live.

Ditto with SF but I got out of there after 12 years.

[bossabreezes]

^^Funny, if I stay in the US, San Francisco is my #1 choice. I work in Tech, and will likely be accused of destroying SF, but honestly I think SF is what I need at this point. I understand the goods and bads of SF and for me personally, it edges above NYC.

If not there, I'm going to back to São Paulo or Rio.

[austlar1]

Now in my mid 70s, I am comfortable enough in Austin. There is something exciting and interesting about watching the city center explode with new construction. The core areas outside of downtown are pleasant in a low key way. There are lots of creative type people living here. There is enough to do culturally to keep me engaged, but a better museum scene would certainly be nice. The food is excellent and keeps up with all the latest trends. The parks, trails, and lakes are terrific. The city has lots of trees and parts of it have a nice hilly topography. Summers are hellish, but the rest of the year is fairly pleasant. I do like a mild winter. I no longer have much interest in night life, but it is nice to know that there is so much of it here to keep young folks and visitors entertained. Most people (even the rednecks) are fairly tolerant and open-minded. There is a strong 'Hippy" tradition that persists to this day. I feel comfortable here as a gay person, and, overall, the political vibe of the place (mostly left of center) works for me.

I think living in Austin is about as good as it gets in the Sunbelt, but that may also be the rub. I guess I am always going to regret the decision I made 23 years ago to return to my native Texas. I know Austin, despite of all its striving ambitions, will never be the kind of city that I want it to be. It might happen one day, but I am not going to live that long. So much is needed to pull this place together. Low density SFH-only zoning has to disappear in the central sectors of the city, and we have to come up with real transit solutions to move people around this place. Affordable housing issues are causing Austin to lose so much of its bohemian vibe, and Austin branded itself in many ways on that vibe. So far, we are too immature politically, hamstrung by NIMBYS and a hostile state government, to come up with real solutions. If I had it to do over again, I would have stuck it out in one of the large east or west coast cities I lived in prior to moving here. Oh, well......

[pdxtex]

I'd rate Portland 8 out of 10 right now. Its growing in all the right ways I'd say. My gripes are probably common for the west coast too - high housing costs, hobos, traffic..housing costs arent a hindrance yet but if I were single it would probably be a different story. Portland is fun but it hasn't cornered the leisurely market. There are lots of fun cities where housing is much cheaper. When I get invited to Toronto, then I'll move.

[kool maudit]

Stockholm:

"At first I was like...




...but then I was like..."

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Stockholm:

"At first I was like...




...but then I was like..."

^^^
Affordable look alike cookie cutter housing projects may be boring to live in, but it is better than the tents on sidewalks and people living in their cars that we have out here in California and elsewhere because of the lack of affordable subsidized housing. A bit of socialism is a good thing. Be grateful. Now...if they could only design the affordable housing to be less cookie cutter and more interesting.

[kool maudit]

I don't mind the policy, only the planning.

There is nothing about social housing or affordable housing that mandates Corbusian spatial norms.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by badrunner

This is a healthy attitude to have. Some people don't know how good they have it. If you live in a major US/European city, you're luckier than most humans who ever lived. As for me, I'm very satisfied living in SoCal. In fact, the more I see of the world, the more I appreciate living here. It's not perfect, but it also does not get much better.

I guess you need to travel more abroad as this is very inaccurate. You have plenty of great cities outside US/Europe.

I, for one, could leave my current neighbourhood for very specific spots even in major cities like London, New York or Paris. For most part, they strike me as boring or uninspired or rundown. Obviously, the same thing might be said about the city I currently live, but in that regard there's nothing specially "lucky" about living in Bronx or Hackney or in a Saint-Denis banlieue.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by mousquet

That's why the UK's a bit less racist nowadays. Definitely the least racist of all English-speaking countries indeed.
.

Do you really think so? I think "Anglo"-Canada is probably as good or even slightly better than the UK in this respect.

Australia and NZ are not perfect but also pretty good - at least on par with the UK.

Even the much-maligned US is actually a lot better than people give it credit for.

Preferences based on a number of factors can vary from person to person, but I know minority people who for a variety of reasons like living "as a minority" moreso in the US than they do in Canada or the UK. (Where they've already lived and/or grew up.)

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Affordable look alike cookie cutter housing projects may be boring to live in, but it is better than the tents on sidewalks and people living in their cars that we have out here in California and elsewhere because of the lack of affordable subsidized housing.

CA doesn't have homeless because of "lack of affordable housing", as if the dude pooping on the corner is just a few dollars short of a down payment in San Bruno.

If you covered CA in deeply subsidized commieblocks, the scene in the Tenderloin would be unchanged.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Affordable look alike cookie cutter housing projects may be boring to live in, but it is better than the tents on sidewalks and people living in their cars that we have out here in California and elsewhere because of the lack of affordable subsidized housing. A bit of socialism is a good thing. Be grateful. Now...if they could only design the affordable housing to be less cookie cutter and more interesting.

The people in tents have an addiction problem. They live in a tent because they spent their money on drugs and alcohol became addicted and lost everything, including family that were at their wits end dealing with an addict.

Don't do drugs and it's very very difficult here to become homeless.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

The people in tents have an addiction problem. They live in a tent because they spent their money on drugs and alcohol became addicted and lost everything, including family that were at their wits end dealing with an addict.

Don't do drugs and it's very very difficult here to become homeless.

I wish that were the case. Unfortunately is is very easy to become homeless in CA, with many people a paycheck away from being on the street or in their car on the street. Statistically the majority do not have addiction problems and that is most certainly true when they first become homeless. Additionally there is a large segment of the homeless population that is employed and still cannot find housing. There are many reasons why were in this situation and multiple solutions to end it including affordable housing and going back to State or Federally run hospitals/institutions for the many who are mentally ill and have drug alcohol addiction IMO.

But yeah, I love both SF and LA but the homelessness really is frustrating.

[iheartthed]

There is a lot that I like about NYC, and some things that I hate. I'm mostly ambivalent about it.

I have no immediate plans to leave, but it is unlikely that I'll still be here in 10 years. But, I probably said the same thing 10 years ago.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

The people in tents have an addiction problem. They live in a tent because they spent their money on drugs and alcohol became addicted and lost everything, including family that were at their wits end dealing with an addict.

Don't do drugs and it's very very difficult here to become homeless.

However the excessive number of drug addicts probably underlines broader issues on society: low wages, lack of job stability, lack of social/family security, poor education, untreated depression, etc.

[Handro]

My feeling towards Chicago fluctuate frequently. For the record, I’m aware of just how subjective all of this is and I mean no offense to my fellow Chicagoans:

On the one hand, it’s a world class city in most of the categories that define world class cities (cultural institutions, top-tier universities, restaurants/nightlife, history, great public transportation (relative to other US cities), etc.)

On the other-- beyond the well-publicized problems with the city’s violent crime and finances—it feels very stagnant. Sure, there is some great development going on in neighborhoods like Fulton Market/West loop and some north side neighborhoods, but the overall vibe of the city feels so provincial and stuck in the 1980’s. Residents fight for strip malls and parking lots, and against more development to increase the vibrancy of the city to what it was before the awful period of urban renewal. Aldermen largely aid them in that fight. No bold plans for new infrastructure or transportation. It feels very much like the city as it is today is the best it will ever be, and that it will continue to decline as people move away and infrastructure withers away. The financial situation is dire and so many people in places of leadership seem hell-bent on keeping it that way, for various reasons.

The overall attitude of Chicagoans is very conservative, if not politically at least culturally. There doesn’t seem to be much of a cultural scene (art, music, entertainment etc.) beyond the bare minimum that you would expect of a city of Chicago’s size. The days of Chicago as the “second city” are long gone and nobody seems particularly keen on trying to get back to those days.

So while it holds the title of a “world class city” it does so tenuously at best and largely rested on it’s laurels and population size (which is bad, because it’s shrinking). If just one or two things in my life had gone differently, I probably would have moved away, to be quite honest.

Also the winters suck and are way too long.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Affordable look alike cookie cutter housing projects may be boring to live in, but it is better than the tents on sidewalks and people living in their cars that we have out here in California and elsewhere because of the lack of affordable subsidized housing. A bit of socialism is a good thing. Be grateful. Now...if they could only design the affordable housing to be less cookie cutter and more interesting.

Totally agree.

West Oakland has like 3 of these buildings which are not public housing but Im certain they take section 8.

Not too tall, not too bulky.

If we built oh 100 buildings with these dimensions and folks can pay according to their income, I wouldnt be mad at all.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Crawford

CA doesn't have homeless because of "lack of affordable housing", as if the dude pooping on the corner is just a few dollars short of a down payment in San Bruno.

If you covered CA in deeply subsidized commieblocks, the scene in the Tenderloin would be unchanged.

Agree, but lots of homeless people have jobs but they cant afford exorbitant increases in rent.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

You forgot to mention that whole late-May-thru-October problem that Houston has.

The older I get, the less I mind the heat. It's the cold and ice that I am less tolerant of. And as soon as the sun begins to set, the temperature is pretty reasonable.

[badrunner]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

I guess you need to travel more abroad as this is very inaccurate. You have plenty of great cities outside US/Europe.

Who said there weren't any great cities outside of US/Europe?

I hear about them all the time, from people who had the means to leave.