The-where-should-RyanD-move thread

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Scottk

Sure, but I don't think anybody actually wants to live in the conditions I described above

Except of course the six million people who do live there.

Hard to imagine there's a city with more people than the entire state of Colorado, all sitting around pining away, wishing they lived in Colorado.

[mhays]

Philly isn't perfect, but it does "urban" in some ways better than any other city in the US, starting with the south half of Downtown (oops, "Center City") and extending miles into its townhouse neighborhoods. The combination of narrow streets and density make it extremely walkable, and it's relatively cheap.

With a grand total of a few days there, I don't recall much of the problems noted above, whether in slummy neighborhoods or prosperous ones.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Scottk

Sure, but I don't think anybody actually wants to live in the conditions I described above...

Philadelphia is certainly a better city than Denver for urbanism, but in terms of lifestyle, safety, etc, there is no comparison. It is scuzzy, plain and simple

'nuff said. Cheaper than Denver and more urban? That's the evaluation criteria that Ryan is looking at when comparing cities. Not smelly dog-poop.

What you described, while not as sterile and Pleasenville-esque as Denver, isn't Baghdad, Kabul, or Aleppo. I'd have no problem moving my family to Philly should the opportunity arise (though I'd probably have to factor in the cost of private school in the evaluation).

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by Scottk

in terms of lifestyle, safety, etc, there is no comparison.

I agree. I much prefer the more walkable and diverse Philly lifestyle, where there's much less danger of getting killed in a car accident. See, here's the thing: "Lifestyle" means different things to different people, and "safe" is not a synonym for low crime.

It's true that Philadelphia is grimy. It's not pristine at all. And sure, all other things being equal, cleaner would be nicer. But avoiding griminess is far, far less important to my personal happiness than being able to walk for most daily needs. I'd rather shop here than here, 99 times out of 100. Not everyone agrees, and that's A-OK.

[RyanD]

Yep, to all of the above. Same reason why 9 million live in Chicago and 18.5 million in LA; all of those people are there for a reason. They're most certainly not moving to Denver for affordability anymore.

Anyways, we're probably going to be trying in 2016 because everything is not lining up for us this fall, which is fine. This also gives us a good opportunity to explore a little bit more and check out what we really truly want. Get all the ducks in a row.

Hell, LA might even be on the radar again, since we're giving ourselves a little more time. I'm learning that it's Maria's spirit city: a strange urban sprawled city that's weirdly cozy and bidding for the 2024 Olympics. Who am I kidding, I love that place too! Let's throw it into the pot of places!

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I agree. I much prefer the more walkable and diverse Philly lifestyle, where there's much less danger of getting killed in a car accident. See, here's the thing: "Lifestyle" means different things to different people, and

And that naïve uninformed attitude is why we here in Colorado are better than you and your ilk. You are clearly wrong, and it is sad that you don't know it. #denvercolorado #bestplaceonplanetearth

#sarcasm

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

And that naïve uninformed attitude is why we here in Colorado are better than you and your ilk. You are clearly wrong, and it is sad that you don't know it. #denvercolorado #bestplaceonplanetearth

#sarcasm

You forgot: #mediocoreisbest #yaymediocore #imintouchwithmyblender

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I'd rather shop here than here, 99 times out of 100. Not everyone agrees, and that's A-OK.

Interesting and contrasting places to shop. I could see myself doing the same.

Originally Posted by RyanD

Hell, LA might even be on the radar again, since we're giving ourselves a little more time. I'm learning that it's Maria's spirit city: a strange urban sprawled city that's weirdly cozy and bidding for the 2024 Olympics. Who am I kidding, I love that place too! Let's throw it into the pot of places!

That I would envy.

If you've never lived in the upper Midwest it takes a good couple of years to adjust. I'd say the same about moving to the desert. Eight months of pleasant weather makes the change easier to tolerate however; weirdest part was that's it backwards to most seasonal locales.

[mojiferous]

Firstly I love Philly. And Chicago, and LA... And I think if I was choosing for price I would also look at Pittsburgh, Cleveland, New Orleans and Minneapolis.

Originally Posted by Cirrus

It's true that Philadelphia is grimy. It's not pristine at all. And sure, all other things being equal, cleaner would be nicer. But avoiding griminess is far, far less important to my personal happiness than being able to walk for most daily needs.

I walk or bike everywhere, have shared a car for 10 years, and didn't own one for 5 years before that. Walkability is key to every place I have lived in Denver for almost two decades. But grimy is no good either, especially if you are buying. At least I'm assuming that ScottK was talking about "Someone poops on the stoop while they tag the first floor" kind of grime that I remember from parts of Philly and not just "it's kind of dirty" that you're implying.

Grimy is great when you are young or poor, but once you start talking about making an investment it 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵. You can get a place cheap in the grimy parts of any city, but it might not be a great buy -- doesn't matter if it's Philly or Omaha or Paris.

And not ALL of Philly is grimy, but those non-grimy neighborhoods and buildings can be a lot more expensive. So I think Ryan should take grime into account, especially since he's moving from a place where grime has been priced out.

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I'd rather shop here than here, 99 times out of 100. Not everyone agrees, and that's A-OK.

And this is just silly. Those are two completely separate shopping experiences. You don't go shopping for work shirts at a street market (unless you work in a Narcocorrido club, and then Santee Alley in LA is perfect) nor would you want to pick up produce or meat at Cherry Creek. A better comparison would be this and no, we can't get there by transit either.

I know this was about how you'd rather walk to a grimy store than be forced to drive, and I agree 100%, but personally I would rather buy the place where I might have to drive to Target than the one next to a boarded-up building and drug trade on the corner. On the plus side, both are available in a lot of places more affordable than Denver.

[Scottk]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Except of course the six million people who do live there.

Hard to imagine there's a city with more people than the entire state of Colorado, all sitting around pining away, wishing they lived in Colorado.

Detroit metro has a population of 4.3 million people. Larger than Denver.

Does that mean Detroit is also an amazing city?


Look, you guys can defend Philly all you want but I spent enough time there to know that Philadelphia is not a place that anyone sane would want to raise a family..... Unless you enjoy having your car regularly broken into, stepping over heroin needles, random homeless people attacking you, and street urchins harassing you

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Scottk

Detroit metro has a population of 4.3 million people. Larger than Denver.

Does that mean Detroit is also an amazing city?


Look, you guys can defend Philly all you want but I spent enough time there to know that Philadelphia is not a place that anyone sane would want to raise a family..... Unless you enjoy having your car regularly broken into, stepping over heroin needles, random homeless people attacking you, and street urchins harassing you

"Amazing" wasn't the standard you set. You said "I don't think anybody actually wants to live" there. Followed up now with it not being a city where "anyone sane would want to raise a family."

So basically, you just called 10 million people stupid and insane. That's the Denver arrogance I can't abide. Just because we have sun and mountains... really?

[Cirrus]

Scottk's mindset is a significant part of why I left Colorado. Diverse opinions about what constitutes "the good life" are not acceptable. I'll tell you what, not dealing with nonsense like that on a regular basis has definitely improved my quality of life.

So thanks for reminding me what a good decision it was to leave.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Scottk's mindset is a significant part of why I left Colorado. Diverse opinions about what constitutes "the good life" are not acceptable. I'll tell you what, not dealing with nonsense like that on a regular basis has definitely improved my quality of life.

So thanks for reminding me what a good decision it was to leave.

Just admit that you don't like sun, mountains, and beer and we'll accept your decision to defect from your home soil and become an East Coast elitist.

[mojiferous]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Scottk's mindset is a significant part of why I left Colorado. Diverse opinions about what constitutes "the good life" are not acceptable. I'll tell you what, not dealing with nonsense like that on a regular basis has definitely improved my quality of life.

So thanks for reminding me what a good decision it was to leave.

And the endless complaining about how mediocre this place is while not enjoying the good parts is why I encourage people to leave and am so happy some people have. No one is happy if all we ever talk about is how unhappy someone is about living here.

I also get the feeling that sometimes it's not that people don't like the opinion on what makes life worth living, it is because the opinion is that nothing here is good enough, or that everywhere else is better. No one likes to be told again and again that their decisions or views on something are foolish or unjustified.

But I'm glad you are happy in DC, many people are and are just as annoyingly vocal about how great the place is. Ditto any place in the world. I was just in Sioux City Iowa, and a couple locals (despite having been all over the country and all over the world) preferred Sioux City and wouldn't move for anything. Everyone has their happy spot, and instead of turning this thread into an endless complaint fest about Denver or Philly or wherever we should be actually proposing places we like that Ryan might enjoy too. Maybe that's a little too shiny-happy for everyone, but the mood on here is getting a little dark lately.

[seventwenty]

Damn bunt hit a nerve with that mediocre comment. Good.