Best place in US to live?
May 7th 2008, 1:57 am
#31
Who?
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Location: Stepford
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Seriously....we find the cost of living much higher than where we were in the UK and the healthcare depends on your policy and ours is crap.
Last edited by jumping doris; May 7th 2008 at 2:00 am.
May 7th 2008, 7:29 pm
#32
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Funny how people have totally different experiences of the same place! I meant healthcare facilities are good, not necessarily individuals' coverage.
May 7th 2008, 7:39 pm
#33
Who?
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Location: Stepford
Posts: 3,098
Re: Best place in US to live?
But if you don't have good coverage you may not be able to use the good facilities.
My personal experience is the Magee Womens. They don't take my insurance. It looks a fabulous place, just the kind of womens facility I am used to and I can't use it.
We are pleased with the education here. Culture...it's Ok but not as vibrant as where we used to live. The problem I find with Pittsburgh is nothing is central.
You can only get to Shadyside etc if you have a car and several hours to waste at the dreadful traffic lights. The public transport is poor.
My teenagers were used to city life and good transport, being able to hop on a train into the city and then walk to everything.
There is very little downtown and it is hard for them to get to the other places.
Last edited by jumping doris; May 7th 2008 at 7:42 pm.
May 7th 2008, 8:23 pm
#34
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Re: Best place in US to live?
There are of course many surveys and rankings available, but I am primarily interested to see what expat experiences are. There must be some people living in Florida, or the Carolinas, in Savannah, or Beaumont. What about Hawaii?
May 7th 2008, 11:58 pm
#35
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Re: Best place in US to live?
I'm currently in North Carolina and I like it here...
Go Tar Heels..
Go Tar Heels..
May 8th 2008, 12:07 am
#36
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Anybody in New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona?
May 8th 2008, 12:50 am
#37
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Im loving Ohio!
May 8th 2008, 1:08 am
#38
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May 8th 2008, 1:31 am
#39
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Re: Best place in US to live?
I've lived in Arizona for 8 years and like it a lot. It's clean, modern, has great weather, and has a California influence in the nicer places like Scottsdale and Chandler. Tucson is quite nice too, and is a great University town. It's growing very quickly and there are still some ghetto/rough areas in Phoenix, but compared to other towns it is very modern, clean, and safe. Oh, and it's also very cheap, so you can get a nice house with a lovely garden and pool relatively easily compared to house prices elsewhere in the country, especially California and the other major cities. If I could afford it though, I'd probably live in San Diego.
May 8th 2008, 2:41 am
#40
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Re: Best place in US to live?
I've lived in Arizona for 8 years and like it a lot. It's clean, modern, has great weather, and has a California influence in the nicer places like Scottsdale and Chandler. Tucson is quite nice too, and is a great University town. It's growing very quickly and there are still some ghetto/rough areas in Phoenix, but compared to other towns it is very modern, clean, and safe. Oh, and it's also very cheap, so you can get a nice house with a lovely garden and pool relatively easily compared to house prices elsewhere in the country, especially California and the other major cities. If I could afford it though, I'd probably live in San Diego.
May 8th 2008, 2:46 am
#41
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Re: Best place in US to live?
I know this is a very broad question, but I'd be interested to see how answers are grouped. As a framework I've drawn a short list of what I think are some fundamental criteria that a British expat may consider:
1) Employment
2) Standard of living
3) Education
4) Cost of living and taxes
5) Health Care
6) Entertainment
7) Culture
8) Assimilation
I have visited other places but have only lived in California for a few years. There seems to be plenty of work (though unemployment on the rise), but then it is the economic power house of the US. Standard of living is high. If measured by disposable income, I'd say higher than most of Europe, but if measured by quality of life, the same or less. Education is not something I have experience of, but an American teacher told me it's lower than in Europe. Cost of living can be high, mainly due to housing but also food and eating out on a par with major European capitals. Taxes definitely lower, unless you get caught out by AMT, which is a silly tax as is the property tax. I saw Michael Moore on CNN saying he thinks France is lower tax than here if you add health care and school fees etc. I like Moore, but I'm not sure I agree with him on that on. The health care still freaks me out, and I just can't seem to get my head round why the US is the only major industrialized nation not to have socialized health care system. Living in the entertainment capital of the US (notice I didn't say the world), there's no shortage of things to titillate the senses, but they nearly all involve parting with hard earned bucks. No nice walks or drives in the countryside, villages, towns, mountains, lakes, swimming, or romantic getaways. Culturally, around LA is a vacuum. San Diego gets a bit better, and San Fransisco has almost a British feel to parts of it. Marin County reminds me of Kent. Assimilation is fairly easy in LA because there's so many different nationalities here, that you never feel singled out. I still feel a little like a guest in someone else's country, which is perfectly normal, but never that I don't belong.
On balance, had I moved to LA in when I was much younger, it would have been easier to accept things like the health care, lack of culture, and desolation of arid countryside, but I'm certain this isn't the best place for me in retirement, or even now in semi-retirement.
1) Employment
2) Standard of living
3) Education
4) Cost of living and taxes
5) Health Care
6) Entertainment
7) Culture
8) Assimilation
I have visited other places but have only lived in California for a few years. There seems to be plenty of work (though unemployment on the rise), but then it is the economic power house of the US. Standard of living is high. If measured by disposable income, I'd say higher than most of Europe, but if measured by quality of life, the same or less. Education is not something I have experience of, but an American teacher told me it's lower than in Europe. Cost of living can be high, mainly due to housing but also food and eating out on a par with major European capitals. Taxes definitely lower, unless you get caught out by AMT, which is a silly tax as is the property tax. I saw Michael Moore on CNN saying he thinks France is lower tax than here if you add health care and school fees etc. I like Moore, but I'm not sure I agree with him on that on. The health care still freaks me out, and I just can't seem to get my head round why the US is the only major industrialized nation not to have socialized health care system. Living in the entertainment capital of the US (notice I didn't say the world), there's no shortage of things to titillate the senses, but they nearly all involve parting with hard earned bucks. No nice walks or drives in the countryside, villages, towns, mountains, lakes, swimming, or romantic getaways. Culturally, around LA is a vacuum. San Diego gets a bit better, and San Fransisco has almost a British feel to parts of it. Marin County reminds me of Kent. Assimilation is fairly easy in LA because there's so many different nationalities here, that you never feel singled out. I still feel a little like a guest in someone else's country, which is perfectly normal, but never that I don't belong.
On balance, had I moved to LA in when I was much younger, it would have been easier to accept things like the health care, lack of culture, and desolation of arid countryside, but I'm certain this isn't the best place for me in retirement, or even now in semi-retirement.
http://www.findyourspot.com
May 8th 2008, 5:29 am
#42
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Re: Best place in US to live?
We've lived in Santa Barbara, California since 1990 and love it here. The only downside is that housing is outrageously expensive. It's a great mix of a small town (if approx 90,000 is small?) with some big city amenities. Other than the cost of housing there is a lot to do that is free - outside stuff like the beach, hiking in the local hills, fishing, cycling, plus loads of great parks and City-sponsired events like summer evening free concerts and a thriving Adult Education offering all kinds of great classes - take your pick - art, singing, yoga, cooking etc. The climate is ideal - other than the occasional flood, fire or earthquake. The schools (like everywhere in California) are chronically short of money but there's a lot of choice within the SB School District with at least 5 charter schools. It has an incredibly diverse population (in addition to the quarter or third who are Mexican) which is probably partly because of the universities that are located here - UCSB, Westmont, Antioch, the Fielding Institute, and the Pacifica Graduate Insititue - until last year there was a College of Oriental Medicine. So - of you don't mind renting or moving down from a large home to a tiny home it's got a lot going for it. We live in a 1200 square foot townhouse and consider the trade-off for everything SB has to offer, well worth it. Northern Santa Barbara County has less expensive housing but you'll pay for it with a long commute to the south coast where most of the jobs are. One of the things I really love here are the Farmer's Markets - there is one held everyday in and around SB.
May 8th 2008, 3:17 pm
#43
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Manx, thanks for the piece on Santa Barbara. I notice that housing has taken a real tumble there. I was surprised since I assumed it was all old money, but I guess there are quite a few holiday homes that got hit. What is the nicest neighborhood in your opinion, and does that train help a commute to LA. OT: You've got to be from IoM right?
May 8th 2008, 3:41 pm
#44
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Hi Qwerty007,
There's very few neighbourhoods I wouldn't live in. Your choice might depend on whether you have school age children and are trying to put yourself within the catchment area of a particular school. There are a few dodgy areas - lower Westside and lower Eastside, close to downtown - but even in those areas gentrification has taken a hold. The downtown has quite a lot of new, really high-end condos - 1m plus. We live on the upper westside, close to downtown, a neighbourhood of small, 1940's era single family homes and infill townhomes. I think it's still probably one of the lower priced areas in SB proper. The outer reaches of adjacent Goleta still have some older tract homes that are on a par price-wise.
Commuting to LA is not possible by train. My husband used to drive to Thousand Oaks and take the commuter express from Wendy Drive. I've met quite a lot of people who work in LA and they make it work by either staying down there or working a compressed week. There is a train service from Oxnard but the morning start time doesn't fit with many people's schedule.
And, yes, I'm Manx. Born and raised there.
There's very few neighbourhoods I wouldn't live in. Your choice might depend on whether you have school age children and are trying to put yourself within the catchment area of a particular school. There are a few dodgy areas - lower Westside and lower Eastside, close to downtown - but even in those areas gentrification has taken a hold. The downtown has quite a lot of new, really high-end condos - 1m plus. We live on the upper westside, close to downtown, a neighbourhood of small, 1940's era single family homes and infill townhomes. I think it's still probably one of the lower priced areas in SB proper. The outer reaches of adjacent Goleta still have some older tract homes that are on a par price-wise.
Commuting to LA is not possible by train. My husband used to drive to Thousand Oaks and take the commuter express from Wendy Drive. I've met quite a lot of people who work in LA and they make it work by either staying down there or working a compressed week. There is a train service from Oxnard but the morning start time doesn't fit with many people's schedule.
And, yes, I'm Manx. Born and raised there.
May 8th 2008, 5:07 pm
#45
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Re: Best place in US to live?
Snap. Its laid back and a great place to bring up the kids. Cheap cost of living means that there are more and more people from other states making the move here as you get more house for you money.