Where do you live and what do you like /hate

crapmanjoe

Hey,

As a change of pace from the usual ask a specific question threads, i thought it might be fun for all us US living Boardsies to provide the following info about where we live (to get things rolling I have filled it out for me)

Where you live: New York
How long you lived here: 4 years
What you like : The variety in bars, food, people, backgrounds (really is a melting pot), not having a car and the subway
What you dislike :mad:: The amount of people, not having a car, the subway and how expensive everything is.

At this point where I am ready to move out of new york so just need to decide where next (which is part of the reason for this thread)

iusedtoknow

Where do you live: San Francisco
How long have lived here: 18 months
What do you like: The variety of food, the pace of life, how close you are to nature, and how walkable/livable the city is
What do you dislike: the expense of day to day living (esp rent), how far away it is from Europe, the amount of homeless/people with mental health issues...(not their fault), the lack of much social care for people that need it.

Mississauga

Where do you live: Phoenix, Arizona. I presume there will be a few Irish living in nearby Chandler due to the location of the Intel plant there.
How long have lived here: 7 months
What do you like: The desert, the cacti, the palm trees, the fantastic weather all year round, low cost of living, big wide open roads and ample parking space everywhere.
What do you dislike: lack of public transport although it's slowly improving; the city is huge so it could take an hour to visit friends on the other side of the valley

Overall I'm very happy here. I don't think I could live in any of the freezing cold East Coast cities where you pay $1000 a month to live in a shoebox beside a noisy railway line.

Dave1442397

Where do you live: New Jersey (suburbs of Philadelphia)
How long have lived here: 13 years
What do you like: The weather, amenities, restaurants, pace of life. Although I'm in the most densely populated state, I can get on my bike and cycle 7 miles east and be in the countryside. It's about an hour to the beach by car.
What do you dislike: The property taxes (and they're worse in north Jersey), the traffic (forget going anywhere around here between 4pm - 6:30pm).

If I could live anywhere in the US, from what I've seen so far I'd be quite happy with Incline Village, NV (on the north shore of Lake Tahoe). It's got everything for me - amazing summers, plenty of winter activity, low taxes, most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. And hey, Leonard Nimoy lives there...

ProudDUB

Where do you live? - Atlanta, Georgia (and Dublin on and off) and before that Florida and Tennessee.

How long have you lived there? - Nearly 17 years.

What do you like? - The great weather, how heavily forested the city is & how beautiful it is, especially in Spring time when the azaleas are in bloom, swimming pools being bog standard in all apartment complexes, living/working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ethnicities (it really does broaden the mind,) the low cost of living compared to the rest of the US, the diversity and cheapness of the food, the proximity to Florida and the likes of New Orleans, Savannah, Charleson etc, direct flights to/from home and anywhere else in the US, due it being the Delta HQ, how up for the craic Southerners are, proximity to the Great Smokey Mountains, the great musical tradition.

What do you not like? No proper downtown that you'd want to hang out in, pollen season, the traffic on 285, how up their own arses a lot of white Southerners are & how Republican it is, how far it still has to go in racial equality (the whole county does to be fair,) the nearest beach is a 4-5 hour drive away & the nearest decent sized lake over an hour, the poverty once you get out into rural areas.

pgmcpq

NJ (across the river from Manhattan) - and now also NJ/Pennsylvania border - for 24 years :eek:, prior to that London. To the OP - if you like the area but want to get out of NY ... look at Hoboken or Jersey City.

Like: American optimism - in contrast with Irish fatalism ! NY directness - people tell you what is on their mind like it or not. Sun light - I forget how dark Ireland, London are in winter. Life in NYC (especially as I don't have to live in in full time!) - you can sit in Central Park and enjoy round the clock people watching. Public transport 24 hours a day (well this was a great thing when I was younger - cannot remember my last late night ). Driving - though I did not have a car for my first 14 years here. I should add Mrs P in here too in case she reads this.

Now I'm spending weekends on the Delaware River - I love the area - the 130 miles of canal tow path and starting to spend a little time in Philly.

Dislike: American optimism : the endless get-rich-quick infomercials on network channels, the periodic waves of stock market bubbles. The weather mid-summer, mid-winter. Hurricane Sandy :mad:. Fox News and the mind-set that goes with it (though I live in Democrat land - well except for Christie). The unthinking nationalism that requires the nation anthem be played for every single public event, and the "bleeding" of that nationalism into militarism that chokes off rational debate.

cena

pgmcpq wrote: »

NJ (across the river from Manhattan) - and now also NJ/Pennsylvania border - for 24 years :eek:, prior to that London. To the OP - if you like the area but want to get out of NY ... look at Hoboken or Jersey City.

Like: American optimism - in contrast with Irish fatalism ! NY directness - people tell you what is on their mind like it or not. Sun light - I forget how dark Ireland, London are in winter. Life in NYC (especially as I don't have to live in in full time!) - you can sit in Central Park and enjoy round the clock people watching. Public transport 24 hours a day (well this was a great thing when I was younger - cannot remember my last late night ). Driving - though I did not have a car for my first 14 years here. I should add Mrs P in here too in case she reads this.

Now I'm spending weekends on the Delaware River - I love the area - the 130 miles of canal tow path and starting to spend a little time in Philly.

Dislike: American optimism : the endless get-rich-quick infomercials on network channels, the periodic waves of stock market bubbles. The weather mid-summer, mid-winter. Hurricane Sandy :mad:. Fox News and the mind-set that goes with it (though I live in Democrat land - well except for Christie). The unthinking nationalism that requires the nation anthem be played for every single public event, and the "bleeding" of that nationalism into militarism that chokes off rational debate.

Isn't Hoboken expensive to live in?

Dave1442397

cena wrote: »

Isn't Hoboken expensive to live in?

It is, but it's gotta be cheaper than Manhattan.

I have a neighbor who takes the bus from here to NYC every day, and there are others who take trains to NYC from as far away as Pottstown, PA.

If you can handle the commute, you can make an NYC salary and spend a lot less of it than you would living in the city.

cena

Dave1442397 wrote: »

It is, but it's gotta be cheaper than Manhattan.

I have a neighbor who takes the bus from here to NYC every day, and there are others who take trains to NYC from as far away as Pottstown, PA.

If you can handle the commute, you can make an NYC salary and spend a lot less of it than you would living in the city.

What would it cost to be living there?

pgmcpq

cena wrote: »

Isn't Hoboken expensive to live in?

Well it has changed a fair bit since I arrived. That's why Jersey City is becoming popular. But nowhere around here is cheap. To be honest I was amazed at how small some of the apartments people I knew lived in Manhattan.
If you want to know where to live I always tell people to follow the artists. It's generally a sign of an interesting place to live ... and now there are only one studio left in Hoboken (well two, but the second caters to commercially very successful artists - the late Richie Havens had a place there where I am told he offered guitar lessons!). I've actually just left Hoboken and moved a little further south along the river in part because I am concerned that we will learn no lessons from Sandy, and because we wanted a bit more space.

Dave1442397 wrote: »

It is, but it's gotta be cheaper than Manhattan.

I have a neighbor who takes the bus from here to NYC every day, and there are others who take trains to NYC from as far away as Pottstown, PA.

If you can handle the commute, you can make an NYC salary and spend a lot less of it than you would living in the city.

The big thing about the North East is that public transport is good - certainly compared to elsewhere in the US. Hoboken is 15 minutes to midtown, 10 to the World Trade Center. Now there is a light rail system that roughly follows the Hudson linking Bayonne, Weehawken in. I managed to avoid driving for years (actually I had never driven on a motorway!!) until I finally ended up working in the 'burbs for a few years.

Palmy

Where, Sarasota Florida 3years before that Dublin 13 yrs and New Zealand 23yrs

I love the Weather and beautiful beaches in Florida, the cost of living is cheap compared to other places in the U.S.
Being just over 45 min to Tampa and an hour to Orlando and everything it has. Hardly anyone you meet is a Floridian native and have moved here.A lot of good people you meet. Low taxes.

What I don't like, Rude Old people who think they are owed everything later on in life. (This May be a Florida thing ). The wages are pretty bad to live in Paradise.How the Health system is just one big money grabbing scam.( How many medical companies adds can you watch on T.V.) How you are practically looked down on if you don't have a College Degree which is another scam so Universities can rake in the money to pay there Football coach $3mil a year.

Palmy

Where, Sarasota Florida 3years before that Dublin 13 yrs and New Zealand 23yrs

I love the Weather and beautiful beaches in Florida, the cost of living is cheap compared to other places in the U.S.
Being just over 45 min to Tampa and an hour to Orlando and everything it has. Hardly anyone you meet is a Floridian native and have moved here.A lot of good people you meet. Low taxes.

What I don't like, Rude Old people who think they are owed everything later on in life. (This May be a Florida thing ). The wages are pretty bad to live in Paradise.How the Health system is just one big money grabbing scam.( How many medical companies adds can you watch on T.V.) How you are practically looked down on if you don't have a College Degree which is another scam so Universities can rake in the money to pay there Football coach $3mil a year.

Palmy

Where, Sarasota Florida 3years before that Dublin 13 yrs and New Zealand 23yrs

I love the Weather and beautiful beaches in Florida, the cost of living is cheap compared to other places in the U.S.
Being just over 45 min to Tampa and an hour to Orlando and everything it has. Hardly anyone you meet is a Floridian native and have moved here.A lot of good people you meet. Low taxes.

What I don't like, Rude Old people who think they are owed everything later on in life. (This May be a Florida thing ). The wages are pretty bad to live in Paradise.How the Health system is just one big money grabbing scam.( How many medical companies adds can you watch on T.V.) How you are practically looked down on if you don't have a College Degree which is another scam so Universities can rake in the money to pay there Football coach $3mil a year.

whitey1

Boston MA. (West Hartford, CT.....Jupiter, FL.....Boston, MA.....Chicago, IL)

6 Years

Like...the Change of Seasons, variety of cultural and sporting activities, upbeat positive attitude, world class healthcare, vibrant diversified economy

Dislike...cost of living, traffic, moronic Democratic politicians pandering to low and no-information voters, poor public transport

iusedtoknow

whitey1 wrote: »

moronic Democratic politicians pandering to low and no-information voters, poor public transport

ha! I'd say the same about moronic republican & tea party politicians pandering to low brow red-neck fox watching voters

But fortunately I live in San Francisco where the public transit is pretty good and the democrats have held sway for the last while.

Mississauga

I'm laughing reading those living in Democrat cities complaining about high taxes. You made your bed, now lay in it.
Interestingly, Democrat controlled cities are also the most violent...82 people were shot in Chicago at the weekend.

iusedtoknow

Mississauga wrote: »

I'm laughing reading those living in Democrat cities complaining about high taxes. You made your bed, now lay in it.
Interestingly, Democrat controlled cities are also the most violent...82 people were shot in Chicago at the weekend.

I'll be honest...California has a high state tax, and SF has relatively high sales tax, as well as other levy's but we also have a high employment, a higher minimum wage and a very high standard of living. We also (at least in SF) have a good enough transit system and a medical system that helps the people that need it.

Give me Jerry Brown's high employment, coffer surplus and liberal California any day over Schwarznegger's close to bankrupt and socially backward republican California any day.

pgmcpq

Mississauga wrote: »

I'm laughing reading those living in Democrat cities complaining about high taxes. You made your bed, now lay in it.
Interestingly, Democrat controlled cities are also the most violent...82 people were shot in Chicago at the weekend.

Interestingly many of the most consistently Republican states are actually heavily subsidized by federal funds ! So no wonder those states can get away with lower taxes. Who says Americans dont have a sense of irony.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/states-federal-taxes-spending-charts-maps

Speaking for my own neighborhood (NY metro) - most illegal guns here are trafficed in from primarily Republican states with lax gun control - often purchased legally. http://www.tracetheguns.org/#

But don't let the facts get in the way of opinion - right ?

Still I think we're going off topic.

spideog7

Where you live: Pittsburgh, PA

How long you lived here: 5 years

What you like: I have job, Positive attitude and opportunity, Low cost of living, Decent weather and proper seasons, City isn't too big and it's easy to get out of

What you dislike: See previous 4 posts (i.e. idiotic bickering from both sides of this highly polarised highly non-representative 'democratic' system), Brainwashing advertisements, Glorification of the military, Lack of vacation time, Winter can drag on a bit here, Too far away from the sea

Hazys

Where you live: Boston, MA

How long you lived here: 6 years

What you like:

• Very easy city to get around in, whether by public transport, bike, uber, etc.
• I love my neighborhood in the North End, such much energy between the tourists and the old traditional neighborhood
• Very safe, i have never once in 6 years felt in danger or witnessed a crime
• Within short distance drives to ski resorts in the winter and phenomenal beaches and camping in the summer
• A very beautiful and historic city
• A lot of international people in the city, I don't know if its the colleges or what but the World Cup has been a lot of fun because of it and general its nice to meet people from all over the world

What you dislike:

• Nights out are poor, its like the city is run by Fun Nazi's; 2am closing time, no happy hours allowed, nowhere to eat past 2am. The new Mayor is trying to extend drinking hours to 3am but it looks like the proposal is almost shout down now
• Downtown area is a bit rough, but there is a lot of redevelopment going on and it should be a nice as the rest of the city in a couple of years
• Not owning a car which would be great for weekends away, as its too expensive in the city, but i walk to work so its a nice trade off
• Rent is very expensive (although i think the cost of living is reasonable)

cena

How did everyone here get going to the states to be able to stay?

iusedtoknow

cena wrote: »

How did everyone here get going to the states to be able to stay?

It's always the same answer...

1. Greencard Lottery
or
2. Married an american and got PR status
or
3. Worked hard in Europe for a while and got transferred over on L1 visa as an expert in their field
or
4. Got lucky and a company sponsors their H1B visa

all take a lot of work and some luck

cena

iusedtoknow wrote: »

It's always the same answer...

1. Greencard Lottery
or
2. Married an american and got PR status
or
3. Worked hard in Europe for a while and got transferred over on L1 visa as an expert in their field
or
4. Got lucky and a company sponsors their H1B visa

all take a lot of work and some luck

I guess no.3 would have to be an american company or company with an office in the states. .

I wish I was lucky to be able to work in the states.

Any single american ladies out there. Lol

iusedtoknow

cena wrote: »

I guess no.3 would have to be an american company or company with an office in the states. .

I wish I was lucky to be able to work in the states.

Any single american ladies out there. Lol

Well...it's sort of implied that it's an american company. I got lucky in that the company I worked for in the EU bought over a US company and kept them independent.

shamrock55

iusedtoknow wrote: »

It's always the same answer...

1. Greencard Lottery
or
2. Married an american and got PR status
or
3. Worked hard in Europe for a while and got transferred over on L1 visa as an expert in their field
or
4. Got lucky and a company sponsors their H1B visa

all take a lot of work and some luck

You forgot the main one which is - over there and working illegally of which i know a shedload

ProudDUB

shamrock55 wrote: »

You forgot the main one which is - over there and working illegally of which i know a shedload

Yes, but the question was how people got there "and were able to stay". If you are an illegal alien, you are not able to stay there, because the very second you pop up on the NCIS's radar, your butt is getting kicked out of the country.

To answer cena's question, I got a green card in the annual diversity lottery.

Ewa24

Where you live: San Francisco
How long you lived here: 6 months
What you like : The variety of everything eg. food, clothes, shoes, activites. I love the weather, how out spoken the American's are and the majority of them are very open minded.
What you dislike : How the place is full of Asians. They are extremely rude and have no manners, not to mention they are EVERYWHERE. Even some Asian friends I've met tell me themselves that they are natural very rude people.

iusedtoknow

Ewa24 wrote: »

What you dislike : How the place is full of Asians. They are extremely rude and have no manners, not to mention they are EVERYWHERE. Even some Asian friends I've met tell me themselves that they are natural very rude people.

I was driving with my asian-american colleague, he got cut up by an old asian woman driving a prius...all he said was "stupid asian drivers"

Ever tried getting on any of the X busses from downtown? it's a free for all when some of the asian are trying to get on, the line at the stop is meaningless

That said, I live in the inner sunset (mostly Old Irish immigrants and new Vietnamese/Chinese immigrants), a walk from home brings me to Ebisu sushi on 9th, san tung on Irving, and AMAZING vietnamese food on Irving below 19th (you need their hearty pho with weather like ours)....not to mention durty nelly's and the shamrock.

Durty Nelly's had an amazing blowout last chinese new years - the mix of nations in there was only possible in America. Chinese (mandarin, canton and taiwanese), North/south Viet, North/South Korean all in one bar - each nationality trying to outdrink the other

ProudDUB

I really miss good pho.

Buford Highway...holla !

The Chamblee Tucker neighbourhood of Atlanta (that Buford Hwy runs into, hence my shout out) is famous for its ethnic restaurants of the South East Asian variety. (Locals call it Chambodia.) The ability to get seriously, seriously good eats for under a fiver, never mind a tenner, compared to the muck that is served up here for three times the price, is one of the things that really depresses me about eating out back in the aul sod. :mad:

Hazys

I used to think i was a fan of Asian food (basically just "Chinese" food) when i lived in Ireland, the currys, the kung pao, etc.

Then I went to Chinatown in Boston for the first time and i was like "WTF is this sh1t? where's my sweet and sour chicken balls and fried rice?". I couldn't understand why Chinese food in the US was so different to Chinese food in Ireland.

But after awhile I have developed a love for real Asian food and i couldn't go back to the bastardized "Asian" food we have at home. I love Hot Pot especially, Korean BBQ and Vietnamese Pho.

I don't think there is even one authentic Asian food place in Cork when i lived there, any idea if there is now? if not its a shame.

FatherTed

Where you live: Connecticut
How long you lived here: 22 years
What you like : Spring/Summer/Fall weather, get whatever I want whenever I want, customer service, melting pot of people, different foods, career opportunities, no small townish attitudes(e.g. like everybody knowing everybody's business back in Ireland) my wife(should have put that first:p)
What you dislike : Winter sucks, politics, too much work and not enough vacay
How did everyone here get going to the states to be able to stay? L1 visa transfer, then lottery visa:)

SHOVELLER

ProudDUB wrote: »

Yes, but the question was how people got there "and were able to stay". If you are an illegal alien, you are not able to stay there, because the very second you pop up on the NCIS's radar, your butt is getting kicked out of the country.

To answer cena's question, I got a green card in the annual diversity lottery.

There are thousands of illegals there and have been there for years. I'm not advocating it here but its a reality.

pgmcpq

SHOVELLER wrote: »

There are thousands of illegals there and have been there for years. I'm not advocating it here but its a reality.

There are (apparently) 50,000. I know of one (not local). In the early 90s I felt I bit out of place as one of the very few legals around ! The construction downturn in the 90s, and the rise of the Celtic kitty reduced the numbers (although a few moved to the west coast). But 9/11 really finished any illegal community here. Several were deported after unpleasant encouters with what was then known as the INS. The last guys I know left about 2003, as post 9/11 it is practically impossible to live any kind of decent lifestyle illegally here now - especially if you have kids. It is a reality but it is a grim one, and I see little prospect that it will improve.

ProudDUB

SHOVELLER wrote: »

There are thousands of illegals there and have been there for years. I'm not advocating it here but its a reality.

Yes, there are. And their quality of life is piss poor, compared to those who are there illegally.

Anyone can get to the US if they can afford a plane ticket, or can walk across a border. Cena asked how people were able to stay once they got there. That is a different thing entirely.

SHOVELLER

pgmcpq wrote: »

There are (apparently) 50,000. I know of one (not local). In the early 90s I felt I bit out of place as one of the very few legals around ! The construction downturn in the 90s, and the rise of the Celtic kitty reduced the numbers (although a few moved to the west coast). But 9/11 really finished any illegal community here. Several were deported after unpleasant encouters with what was then known as the INS. The last guys I know left about 2003, as post 9/11 it is practically impossible to live any kind of decent lifestyle illegally here now - especially if you have kids. It is a reality but it is a grim one, and I see little prospect that it will improve.

9/11 made things harder obviously but to say it finished any illegal community is inaccurate.

ProudDUB wrote: »

Yes, there are. And their quality of life is piss poor, compared to those who are there illegally.

Anyone can get to the US if they can afford a plane ticket, or can walk across a border. Cena asked how people were able to stay once they got there. That is a different thing entirely.

I'm aware of what was asked and not all illegals have a piss poor quality of life.

ProudDUB

Well I used to work in the restaurant biz, which had a fair few of them working in it. I got to know them quite well. The day to day issues and challenges that they faced from being illegal, were pretty grim. Their ability to earn a decent living, get a decent job that wasn't washing dishes or picking vegetables, do basic things that we take for granted, such as buy a house, open a bank account, buy, insure & drive a car, get decent & affordable health insurance, get an education etc etc, was all greatly hampered by their illegal status.