What's it like where you live?

[girlsmiley]

I often find myself wondering what it's like where you guys and gals are. You know. The culture. What you get up to. The weather and things you do for fun.

Most of you know by now I live in Sydney. The city of brides. Despite living in a busy city I enjoy the quiet of our "town" home. I share an apartment with my daughter. 3 beds, 2 bathrooms and a walk in robe for me. It's nice. Modern, comfortable (expensive as hell luxury) living. Not too far away from the beach and walking distance to the shops. Saying that, my daughter is a teenager now and with everything we have going on these days we are at home less and less. The weather is all over the place at the moment. Cold. Like 6 degrees in the morning. Key your car with your nipples material. We're heading into winter and it's starting to get very hard for me to get out of bed at 3.30 AM What can you do we all have to work, right?

I love to cook but we eat out a lot. There are a katrillion places here to choose from. Bars, Cafe's, restaurants, clubs. A huge variety to choose from. Food is cheap, so that's good. Booze isn't. Sometimes (very rarely) we have McDonald's because my daughter loves her Maccas. I'm not particularly fond of it but to her it's like... child crack.

For fun I like to have sex lol jokes (I'm not joking) and cuddle and sleep in. I like to go to the movies if there's something good showing. I like music and the festivals and art. The beach. I love the water. Always have. There's HEAPS on in Sydney all the time so it's all good.

https://youtu.be/QiCG5Ne0gH8

Now tell me yours.

 

[Tigersman]

The Woodlands

I moved to 'The Woodlands' over 20 years ago. I had never seen so many trees before except in books. Shopping centers were hidden behind trees as we're walking paths and housing subdivisions. There are birds and squirrels aplenty. I see regularly possum and raccoon. It's not uncommon to see deer, including in my yard. The winters are mild, but the summers are super hot and muggy.

 

[Saint Peter]

I live near DC. Half of my commute is traffic and brake lights. The other half is lush farm country. It is a nice combination of both worlds. Trails and quiet when I want that. Shopping and entertainment when I do not. The winters can be cold and the summers hellishly humid and hot. Most of the time the weather is very agreeable. Plenty of rain to keep things growing.

Houses are expensive. Food is expensive. Strippers are expensive. It would be a tough place to live on minimum wage.

 

[Lancecastor]

I am sitting in the living room of my house. Most of the wood is light oak and pine; i think the floor is oak as well, though it could be maple. I guess my decor is more danish modern than anything else. My acoustic guitar is over by the stereo armoire and my bass is next to where i usually sit.

I have feature walls on each level and the stairwell filled with paintings and drawings of various sailing ships my grandfathers owned, artwork by artist girlfriends, places i have been and photos of family and friends at various ages.

Ha, just realized i have several 1950s car hood ornaments on the fireplace mantle as well as fresh flowers, so i should say eclectic.

The house is 18 years old, 3 levels, 2400 sq ft, 4 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms, with south west exposure at the back, where there is a large raised deck off the kitchen.

Quiet neighborhood of single family detached homes, lots of maple trees, on a bluff.

Lots of birds hang out in the trees. Everything from hummingbirds to eagles.

The water is a few minutes away; i have always lived on or near a body of water.

Super convenient in terms of nearby shopping and services, and an airport is within 20 minutes, as is the downtown core.

The cottage is an hour and fifteen minutes away, so i live back and forth depending on weather and activities.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Idyllic, quite, a small clearing in a great towering forest in which gardening occurs and flowerbeds abound. There is a college town within driving distance, but we are rural folk and tend towards cooking.

Our entertainment is work, friends and a bit of internetting.

People here are polite and well intentioned, rare is the neighbor who will not pitch in in your time of need and visa versa.

There is a rich abundance of wildlife and we raise chickens, which sometime fall prey to the rich abundance of wildlife and which time wildlife often falls prey to me. Generally we eat what we kill, except for some of the nastier dishes such as coon. It rains a lot here in the spring and fall, while the other two seasons are generally dry.

Evenings, I like a good book and an adult beverage to sip on.

It is a good life.

 

[Adre]

<<<------ That's the view from where I presently sit. I live on the harbour within a largish barrier island in the Southeast. I moved here some years ago from the Northeast, going from blue to red in politispeak.

We have trees galore (one needs permission from the town fathers to cut one down), as well as much wildlife. Herons, egrets, cranes, osprey, gators, deer, otters, well it's like a zoo without admission fees. Pleasant weather most of the year, though one perspires plenty in July and August. The crowd swells in the summer as families head to the beach from the hotter inland areas. With literally hundreds of bars and restaurants to choose from food and drink is always close at hand, but we also take pleasure in cooking at home and do it pretty well.

It's a nice pace of life and I consider myself lucky to be here to enjoy it.

 

[Wings]

It's quite lovely where I live, I'm working on making it feel like we actually live here though.

I have a 3 level, 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. There's 3200 sq ft of living space here but we use about 1200 of it. Our lowest level is just for excess belongings we haven't decided where to put yet. There's also one bedroom down there and I'd like to put in a nice bathroom as well. The other 4 bedrooms are on the top floor where the huge windows always give us so much light. The master bedroom is amazing, the room is large but the bathroom and the walk-in are my favorite things about this house. Every time I wake and start my day I remember that my first apartment when I was 18 was smaller than my bathroom/closet. The walls are all neutral though and that just won't work forever for me. I'm slowly starting to get our art on the walls, including some garish stuff that my mom told me to have reframed but I actually love the bold gold, whacky look. It makes me smile.

The neighborhood is tight, we all have city lots which is new for me. There are really great walking trails and ponds everywhere stocked with fish, although I don't know what kinds yet, I'll find out soon. My neighbors are gems, there are kids everywhere which my two love, instant friends to play basketball and go skateboarding with. I like that they don't insist on coming over though, I can take the dog for our nightly stroll and they accept that I just nod and wave and don't stop to chat. It's a very diverse area and we love that a whole lot.

I'm 18 miles from my work, 27 miles from downtown Chicago but there's people EVERYWHERE here. It's been an adjustment from my country living. I live near the river but not having lakes everywhere is also an adjustment. I love the diversity, I love that it's regularly 15-20 degrees warmer here than Minneapolis, and I love my job. I don't love the traffic at all times, and I'm not fond of the fact that no one pays attention to speed limits. That is rather alarming at first.

 

[Kaybug152]

I live in the country, on a dead end road. You always hear my neighbors geese. alot of bear sightings. as for the town its a small town steadily growing nothing fun to do (no skating rink or anything) there is two karate buildings, and a boxing class. Due to the fact that panama city isnt far away there is alot of traffic

 

[NOIRTRASH]

At Tampa 2 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Tampa was paradise 60 years ago now its a Nigger shithole and Gay Mecca. Almost all our high wage industries are gone. The phosphate mines are gone. The citrus groves are gone. The great ethnic restaurants are all gone. Replaced by chain Italian fare. 99 folks oitta 100 are transient snowbirds.

LAKE WALES is near. Its Old Florida.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocLStmOubk

MORE OLD FLORIDA NEAR ME.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x-Kmr24WgA

 

[jaF0]

^^ That's the biggest thing I noticed last time I was in FL ... the reduction of citrus groves. When we used to go in the 60s and 70s it was all citrus or strawberries. Last time I was there in '04 or so, it was all adobe and stucco tract houses.

------------------

I'm 20 miles from nowhere. Nearest other house is 1/2 mile or so. Only about 10 houses on 3 miles of road. I have an old 2 story farm house built in the 40s on about 3 acres. Lots of times I can stand outside and not hear a single man made noise. Nothing but birds and other critters.

Aside from being in the heart of Redneckville, it's quite tranquil most of the time. I don't intentionally leave doors unlocked, but there's never a problem when I do accidentally. Tools and yard machines can be left outside unsecured for weeks or longer without fear.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I moved to 'The Woodlands' over 20 years ago. I had never seen so many trees before except in books. Shopping centers were hidden behind trees as we're walking paths and housing subdivisions. There are birds and squirrels aplenty. I see regularly possum and raccoon. It's not uncommon to see deer, including in my yard. The winters are mild, but the summers are super hot and muggy.

Ditto. Except where I'm at the possum and raccoon are replace by feral cats and stray dogs. I live a little south of The Woodlands, closer to the city.

Nice in the winter, unbearably hot in the summer with a humidity in the high 90's% to 100%.

 

[Greypowerful]

The house is comfortable. Large enough, but not so much that cleaning becomes a burden. Wonderful garden room with a cathedral ceiling, skylights and a gas fireplace that's newly decorated in "Coastal" colour scheme/furnishings. The view is close, but the trees and suburban wildlife give a Serenity that's borderline "cottage country ". The deck and barbecue grille will be well-used for the next 4 months!

The city is big enough to have all the amenities, without the agony of Toronto 's gridlocked roads. The countryside is filled with vibrancy. Large prosperous farming operations, destination villages with markets theatres artisan cheese and smokehouse operations - a wonderful world to explore, with THREE Great Lakes comfortably within a one-hour drive. If the supermax city is needed, Toronto and Detroit are under two hours' drive on the motorway.

Did I mention that I love where I am?

 

[Ms_Ann]

My nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away...which is too fucking close.

 

[HisArpy]

So Cal. I live a couple of miles from the beach. Inland far enough to miss most of the fog and close enough to the ocean to miss most of the high summer heat and moderate the winter chill.

It's beautiful here. I'm surrounded by hills. A gentle morning sea breeze around 11am comes up the valley from the ocean. Sunsets over the hill across the way are spectacular. In the summer evenings Coyotes call, bats fly and catch bugs and the stars come out to play when the sky finally goes dark.

Town is at the beach. Lots of small bistro's and restaurants for dining. We have a large mall (I never go there) in the middle of town but tons of smaller shops everywhere selling everything imaginable. We have a store that sells socks. Just socks.

Surfing, sailing, sun bathing, hiking, camping, fishing, bicycling, nature watching, it's all here. When I step out my front door I'm recreating.

On the flip side, crime is rising and government services are deteriorating. Taxes are going through the roof with nothing to show for it. Graffiti is spreading everywhere along with those roadside candle and cross memorials. Illegal drug use is open and visible in public. The homeless population is increasing (but it does that anyway every summer). Road maintenance has gone from bad to really sucky.

Even with all of that, it's still paradise.

 

[Colonel Hogan]

Medium urban area on the border of a neighboring state. Plenty of dining and shopping options. Easy to get around by car but poor mass transit. About a 30-minute rush hour commute from most areas which consumes a 90-minute window in the AM and PM. But you can be out in horse farm country in a 25 minute drive.

Hey, Smiley, why do they call Sydney the "city of brides"?

 

[InternationalFunboy]

I love it in Austin. People here are tuned in and warm; most random people you meet will impress you with how aware they are. Most folks keep it light and funny. There's money here, and people who are afforded an elevated lifestyle, but I prefer the working class people in my mid-level deep south cookie cutter neighborhood. To be fair though, even the rich possess a certain likability here...I think it's due to the overall bohemian quality of the city which you can trace back to its hippie roots. It's a DIY city too, which suits me. Overall you are likely to meet someone here who has "it". And you know it when you see it.
Outdoorsy stuff! Hiking and biking and water pastimes... I was thinking about going paddle boarding this weekend for the first time. I need an accomplice I ride a sporting motorcycle and the roads in Texas are well maintained, hilly, and curvy. Bombing the Hill Country, like say a trip out to Gruene complete with Chicken Fried Steak at the Grist Mill, is a fine way to spend a Saturday.
Over time Austin has added a locally brewed beer scene that is outta site. I don't even buy beer that isn't made here anymore. On top of this these breweries are building these....I'm not sure what to call them, the breweries have become "hangs" out in the country where I can only imagine the scene as like the high school keggers I used to go to in Mississippi that were held in the middle of nowhere in a field after the hay was harvested.
This goes perfectly with the food scene. Too large a topic to go into .... but my latest pursuit is BBQ. Foodies will know Franklin's, which I've never had, but there are great alternatives. BBQ is a culture with long history and brutal rivalries. It's as Texas a story as you'll ever hear.
Oh and the music....

 

[Liar]

A comfy condo in a sleepy neighborhood on the outskirts of the city centre, waterways and an abundance of ducks in one direction, local shops and lush parks in the other.

With a little run-up, I could dive from my balcony. Or I could if the water wasn't a feet deep just there and it'd break my neck.

My nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away...which is too fucking close.

My nearest bar is 1/2 mile away...which is too fucking far.

 

[Ms_Ann]

A comfy condo in a sleepy neighborhood on the outskirts of the city centre, waterways and an abundance of ducks in one direction, local shops and lush parks in the other.

With a little run-up, I could dive from my balcony. Or I could if the water wasn't a feet deep just there and it'd break my neck.



My nearest bar is 1/2 mile away...which is too fucking far.

I feel your pain.

 

[Comshaw]

I live in the farthest northwest part of the lower 48, a land of micro climes, mild weather, rain and green. I was raised here. As a kid this place was blue collar: logging, fishing, farming were the three things that powered the economy. At one time there were three pulp mills, 6 lumber mills and a dozen shake/shingle mills along the water front. Now that's all gone and has been replaced with gifty stores and tourist crap.

I live i n a 2000 SF house my father in law and I built 32 years ago. It sits nestled under a few evergreen trees, on the edge of a canyon sandwiched between a year around creek on one side and seasonal one on the other.
I've visited most of the lower 48 and although this country is beautiful, I've never found another place I wanted to live. The country is fabulous and the people are of the mind, I'll leave you be and you leave me be.

I use to tell people how fabulous it was here. Now? I tell them it rains all the fucking time, we have slugs bigger then cats, the economy is crap and drug dealers have taken over the place.

There is a grain of truth in all my exaggerations. Micro climes: it rains 15 " a year right here where I live in the rain shadow of the mountains, but for every mile you go west it grows about an inch a mile. The next town west of here get's 30" (or there abouts) a year. The town 70 miles west get's 70" of rain a year and the Hoh rain forest get's 160" to 170" (yea 14 feet!) of rain a year. And the slugs? Banana slugs aren't as big as cats, unless you count kittens, then they are, 8" to 10" long.

For all that I wouldn't live any where else. It's home.

Comshaw

 

[BotanyBoy]

I live deep in a dark, magical forest in the mountains of northern California.

Somewhere between the Trinity Alps.
https://icons.wxug.com/data/wximagenew/t/travelingrose/203-800.jpg

And the Humboldt coast.
http://sheltercoverv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ShelterCoveRV4.jpg

If I hike up my mountain I can see both B\

Hillbilly hippies are my people.
http://twimg.edgesuite.net/images/ReNews/20140830/640_fbf917628cd474572a87db4a8c8b5139.jpg

 

[Ms_Ann]

I live deep in a dark, magical forest in the mountains of northern California.

Somewhere between the Trinity Alps.


And the Humboldt coast.
snip

If I hike up my mountain I can see both B\

Hillbilly hippies are my customers.

IFYP.

 

[hashtag34]

According to a few Blurt thread posters, I live in squallor
while they live in the most awesome headquarters. .

 

[yossi]

What I love most about where I live is the nature - it's not built up, though definitely moreso than when I was a kid - and it's quiet outside of tourist season. I love exploring and adventuring, spending my time recuperating in the ocean or wide open spaces.

 

[Not Normal]

Nice thread, Smiley. Only 2 trolls and they are mostly not fucking it up.

I live about half way between Chicago and St Louis. There are 2 colleges and 2 fairly large insurance companies. WE have a small 3 bedroom on the west side of town, which is the poor, old part of town. We are a ways away from the new construction and subdivisions, which makes me happy. We're about 2 1/2 block from the largest park, which has a lot of space, a lagoon and a small and charming zoo. Generally thee are good midwerstern people here, though they lean a little conservative. The universities balance that out, though.

There used to be more local things, but lately it seems like more corporate stores and restaurants. I wish that weren't the case.

Its a very affordable place to exist. I can own an independent business, and make due.

 

[hashtag34]

Nice thread, Smiley. Only 2 trolls and they are mostly not fucking it up..

Who? You and Greypowerful?
But I wouldn't call you a troll; more like a head too far up his ass kindof guy.