What do you love and hate about where you live?

[jenn D]

I'm having wanderlust lately. Lol! We live in New Mexico and have all our lives. I long for actual weather not sun all time. Not slot of variation. Why do you love or hate where you live? I need to live vicariously through all of you right now.
For me, love: the fact that we have no humidity ever and the fall when the sunny days cool off. Hate: constant sunshine, no variation. No snow, not a lot of rain or clouds.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Thanks. It is kind of pretty during the night (still gross, but dramatic looking) but during the day everything is just hazy and smog filled.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I was born and raised in SE Montana where we had all four seasons! Great place to grow up, get married and have kids.  Moved to Seattle in 1990, and nearly froze to death the first year because of all the moisture.  I grew to love the misty days, grabbing that cup of Starbucks and heading up to the 58th floor of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle.  We lived near Puget Sound in Edmonds by the ferry dock and our little bedroom community had a wonderful quaint downtown area within walking distance from our home.  After my husband retired he got asthma and the moisture was killing him!  We retired early in 07 and moved 3.5 hrs east of Seattle over the Cascade mountain in the Washington wine area.  We are in the tri-cities where the Columbia, Snake & Yakima rivers meet.  I like the smaller community - over 300 days of sunshine and about 10 inches of rainfall a year.  I love it here in the Columbia River Basin, but the winds can be a challenge for me at times.  In the fall, there are days, the doodles do not want to go out! We usually head to AZ for Jan-Mar, but this year we have decided to stay home and experience the winter months here.  I really think there is a beauty to every location, but as I get a little older I seem to like the warmer areas so much better!

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Good luck. I hear you get a lot of snow over there in the desert. My fiancee's brother also has severe asthma and he had to be hospitalized recently. 

[Adina P]

I took the kids to the Playground of Dreams this summer and almost tried to contact you to see if we could meet. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Vancouver, WA

The good: Easy access to Portland, OR, but I would ultimately rather live in Portland. Portland is the most livable city in the US and I can see why. I commute there on weekdays for university. Other than that, it is quiet and a well spread out community with various neighborhoods. You're not out in the boonies by any stretch of the imagination.

The bad: I don't mind the rain, but when it really rains I don't like it. My pants get wet, Orwell gets wet, so you always have to dry off. We also get about 2 inches of snow a year, but the days we do get it are miserable because everyone seems crippled and either don't go anywhere or when they try to go somewhere, they don't know how to drive in the snow (no chains). I do much better in a warm and dry climate. I have cold-induced urticaria (in other words, I have the equivalent of an allergic reaction when it is under 45 degrees), so my fiancee and I plan on moving back to California after we finish our bachelors and start our careers there with Orwell. I was born in Orange County, so I still have family friends and am familiar with life down there. 

[Rita and Fazzy]

I live in Vancouver as well....as pretty as this area can be, I'm so more than done with the rain that we've already had since the beginning of October.  It IS beautiful here, Portland is pretty cool itself.  Very dog friendly here as well.  I'd move to Boise, ID today if I had the chance....lovely city, feels very small town, not as much rain, a little more snow than here...maybe someday.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I WILL take the rain over snow... haha. I hate the snow, but each his own. I hate the weather we are having right now. Idaho is nice during the summer.

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Love this thread!  We live in northern NJ. With the exception of Boston for college and Paris, France for five years after college, NJ has always been my home.  I love the proximity to NYC and the beach in the summer.  I love the town we live in - it's diverse, has great restaurants, a great independent movie theater, good schools and super interesting people. I love that we can fly nonstop almost anywhere from one of the nearby airports. Because we live near the ocean and can easily travel from one place to another, I don't feel land-locked or too far from anywhere, which is important to me - as I'm in a perpetual state of wanderlust.  

I hate the property taxes. They're out of control. I greatly dislike our governor (and that's all I'll say about politics!). I hate that the cost of living in this region is so high. I love spring, summer and fall but can't stand the winter.  It's also very congested here - during our trip to Utah this summer, I very much appreciated the wide open spaces and endless horizon - land is at a premium here.

[linda]

Not happy with the governor either, a big disappointment...I live in Ocean County!!

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Hi, Linda. We're in Essex! I grew up in Monmouth County and still have a couple of friends there.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

We're in Essex County, too!

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Got your message, Cindy. Maybe we can meet & get the pups together one of these days!