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.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I used to live an hour from work.  In SW MO you can drive in and out of a storm.  I-44 seems to be a line where storms stop or start.  You live in beautiful country but I understand the gray.  Last winter was two years long.  I hope this winter is better.  I miss my pretty flowers already.

[Jaime + Oliver]

I love San Francisco and having access to a diverse & vibrant city.  I love the energy of a big city.  The scenery and food is amazing.  There's always a lot to do, and there's easy access to Napa, Lake Tahoe and other great destinations nearby.

What I dislike: the cost of everything.  It's one of the most expensive places in the US, and the housing market is just insane.  The geography of the area also creates traffic nightmares.  I wish I had wings or the ability to fly.

I grew up in WI, don't miss winter, but miss fall terribly.  I still wouldn't consider moving back though.  I am a certified weather wimp now :)

[Linda Kwiatkowski]

No humidity? Sunny days cool off-fall? Constant sunshine? No snow?  I'm moving to your house, tomorrow :)  

I grew up in northeastern PA (near Poconos) - cons=in winter--cold, snow, ice; depressed economically; pros=seasons; low cost of living 

I live in DC suburbs (about 13 miles from DC) - cons=high, very high cost of living; in winter- cold, snow, ice; politically charged (I am not into politics); pros=close to culture, museums; decent school system; diversity; 3 nearby international airports to choose from should I want to 'wander'  :) 

Thanks for posting - I'm enjoying reading the responses from everyone.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I forgot about scary things about SW MO is that we live on the edge of tornado alley.   We are 65 miles away from Joplin, MO.  They are still recovering from their tornado.  School and hospital rebuilt.  Devastaing storm.  A tornado touched down just north of here but only tree damage.  It is when sky looks weirdly yellow or gets really calm during a storm that is worrisome.  The upside is that living in the middle of the woods you can see and hear nature.  One day I had severe migraine.  I went outside and got sick and pretty soon the coyotes were howling in sympathy.  The ice storm coated our trees and when you opened the doors and listened the crackling of limbs and ice was deafening.  It's alive here and beautiful.

[Wendy and Myla]

I live in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada - I know, everyone thinks of Canada as igloos!  I love it here - we have mountains surrounding us, wonderful ski hills surrounding us and where I live, in Vernon, there are three lakes within 10 minutes!  We do a lot of camping in our motorhome and we go everywhere - there is so much wilderness country in BC and we also can go to beautiful Banff or Jasper National Parks in a three hour drive.  What we love the most is the nature - changing seasons, the mountains which look different every time you look at them, sunsets, full moons over lakes and all of the wildlife!  We go kayaking and have loons pop up beside us, beavers and otters swimming nearby, ducks, loons, eagles overhead, deer grazing and just can't get enough. We have had bears in our yard which is a bit disconcerting but comes with the territory!  I know I sound like a commercial, but we have travelled to a lot of different places - Alaska, Europe, Mexico, Caribbean, Philippines', etc. and I still love BC the best.  We have very hot, dry summers in BC which we love but I do hate the long winter!  I could tolerate it better if we had longer daylight hours, but when it gets dark at 4:30pm and it's cold outside, it is hard to do anything!  We just started our cold weather last week and we don't get spring until March, so it is a bit long.  I do like the different seasons but I would like winter to be officially over in January!  When DH retires, we might be snowbirds but only if we could take Myla! 

I absolutely love this thread Jenn - It's been fun to listen to everyone's opinion! 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]