heh... posted at the same time.

As I mentioned earlier, I picked Seattle/Portland. However, I can't imagine living in ANY of the cities listed. Of course, I hate cities. The only city I've lived in that didn't make me want to kill people - or myself - was Denver. Denver has a lot going for it.

NYC - I'd rather live in Frog Balls, Tennessee than in NYC. I can't even imagine growing up in that kind of environment.

Chicago - cold, windy, dirty....yeah, it has SO much going for it.

Boston - Imagine 500 people in a VW Beetle - that's Boston. "I'm goin' to the bah in my cah to get a beeah."

San Francisco - Except for the outrageous cost of living, I really don't have anything against SF except that it's in California. I enjoyed it, actually.

LA - not a chance in hell. No way, no how. Been there, driven there, ain't gonna happen. Ever.

Jersey City - Contrary to popular belief, New Jersey is mostly a very pretty state. JC is not included in that.

Considering the cost of parking and transportation in NYC, I think I'm better off living out in the boonies here and driving to Indy every day. It's quiet here, there are trees - lots of trees. If I want to go for a bike ride, there are hundreds of miles of roads here that are only lightly travelled. If I want to go shopping, Indy is only 40 miles away.

I know some people like living in cities, but I just can't fathom it.

I also don't want to live in a big city. I like living close enough to drive to them within an hour. I was born in NYC but moved away when I was real little, my parents have never regretted leaving Queens and NY's crowds and insane traffic and costs. My mom grew up there.

Not all, I've seen some pretty good apartments.


True, but you do need lots of money, which is the "Disney" equivalent of "tough".

It's called a joke, one no one except Robin got.

or a rent controlled apartment



Although I would never say LA is not expensive. I do think it compares favorably on the apartment front with NYC. It is possible to get a nice 1-bed apartment (by nice I mean it's not the walk-in closet that pass as a livable space in NYC) for around $1000-$1200 a month. However, you would have to off-set that with the need for a reliable car. THe problem will be making certain the apartment is a decent commute from work - you don't want a nice apartment on the west side if you have to commute to Burbank and vice-versa.

i agree...i move to seatlle or portland

now if you want all 4 seasons I'd recommend Curitiba

Chicago is my favorite city in the U.S. I'd move there in a heartbeat if the situation was right.

Don't ask the man to do something you can't do yourself!


Don - I'm pretty sure you are not a hippy.

We're moving away from NYC and to Boston, but it's not for a decrease in cost of living (looks like it will increase, actually).

Exactly. I'm out in the middle of nowhere, however it's an hour drive to Indy, an hour to Terre Haute, 2.5 hours to Chicago, 2 hours to Louisville, and 2.5 hours to Cincinnati. If Indy has jobs in your field, you can live in one of the rural areas for less than $800/month in rent (3BR house) and commute. You get the "city" jobs with a relaxed homelife.

Boston is super-expensive.

I love Chicago too - I love Chicago - but I just don't know if I could take another winter there

Winter? I've gone in different months each time I've gone, trying to find a warm time to swim in Lake Michigan. I'm convinced there is never a warm time in Chicago!!!!!! I swear to God, I thought I was going to lose my toes to hypothermia in June one year.

I'll tell you when - summer of 1995! When that horrible heatwave hit. The water was very fine during those 2 weeks.

come back in July and August when the heat index is in the 90's and the humidity matches....GAH!

But c'mon, winter's not that bad...you put on another layer and deal with it. Yeah, so it gets cold...all the more reason to want to snuggle up. Who wants to snuggle when it's bleeding hot on the other hand?

You need to be "Disney-tough" to get one of those as well.

I was talking about buying an apartment though. A very decent 3BR (1,200 sq ft or so) apartment
can be had for a measly $1.2M. $2M will get you an amazing view and a balcony.

Next time you Chicago guys need to call me during a heatwave. I can be there by plane in about 45 minutes.

I suppose you have to be tough if you don't come from money and have to earn it yourself - the trouble is, NYC has been overrun with trustafarians and fauxhemians buying out condos in the Lower East Side and thinking it's edgy



My tough midwestern upbringing has been totally compromised by 3 years in LA - I can't do those kinds of winters any more!

Indeed. There aren't any struggling artists here anymore, only struggling stock brokers.

Kansas City has all 4 seasons and it's not that expensive you can have a big house, a big backyard for all your 6 kids to play

I've only been to Portland once and I thought it was beautiful! I vote Portland

I don't think Alex would move to KC, though....

I heard it rains all the time in Seattle...

I'm changing mine to Seattle because.........

Reuters
Seattle Starbucks tests $1 coffee, free refills
Wednesday January 23, 1:03 pm ET


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (NasdaqGS:SBUX - News) is testing $1 coffee and free refills in its Seattle outlets as the global gourmet coffee chain grapples with slower consumer spending and rising competition from fast-food rivals.
ADVERTISEMENT


Company shares were up at midday on the Nasdaq, rising 2.3 percent, or 43 cents, to $19.11.

Starbucks is experimenting with a smaller, "short" $1 cup as well as free refills for brewed coffee. Starbucks charges around $1.50 to $4.00 for a coffee, depending on size and flavor.

In a statement, Starbucks said, "This test is not indicative of any new business strategy."

The company said testing is part of its ongoing business and that the company will not comment on specifics of its test campaigns until a final decision is made.

Shares in Starbucks have lost around half their value over the past year amid worries about U.S. consumer spending, over-expansion and competition from fast-food rivals such as McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD - News) that offer specialty coffees.

Regular coffee prices at both McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, a unit of Dunkin' Brands Inc., start in the low $1 range.

Starbucks announced a management reshuffle earlier this year, bringing Howard Schultz back into the chief executive position. It also said it would close underperforming U.S. outlets and speed up international growth.

Starbucks has around 15,000 stores around the world including over 10,000 in the United States.

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Brian Moss)

I don't like Starbucks...

I think D D is way better...

So many things to respond to... I really like the point about snuggling in a cold winter. It's definitely true (as long as you've got workout equipment in your house/building/block) that it's cozy to stay at home when it's cold out. Unfortunately it's not that great if you have a dog...

Everyone has such good things to say about the Pac NW...

Mark: I totally agree about the trustafarians and fauxhemians. I sort of hate them. I mean, how much money do you need to make to have a nice apartment? I think 300,000 a year is what we might need to get the kinds of apartments we can get in Chicago. It's frustrating and it makes you feel like you'll never do well enough to get a freaking built-in dishwasher.

If I had bought an apartment in Chicago when I first moved there in 1993 (something I investigated and could surprisingly afford on my crappy salary at the time) and held on to it until now I would be LAUGHING

it does rain a lot in the Northwest but usually it rains more in the winter months.. the summers usually are pretty nice...

I love Chicago, but can't really imagine living there. I think it is too expensive for me. Plus, I am not sure how much difference in climate and scenery it would be from the Twin Cities for you. I would also say the PNW is a good choice for something different.

Portland weather is 3 weeks freezing cold, that is right now. Where is that Global warming when you need it. About 2 snows a year of about 2 or 3 inches, gone in a day or so. Rain from Feb to April. Then May , June rain and sun intermixed. July, August, Sept and half of Oct No rain at all, not a drop no how, no way. About 3 weeks around 100 in there too. Then about Halloween time the rain comes back off and on until Christmas.

Well, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston are too cold and gray. Los Angeles, San Fran, Portland, and Boston are too expensive. And Jersey City is ... Jersey City. It has very small, nice, expensive areas fenced in with barbed wire, surrounded by places that I personally wouldn't want to live.

I'd actually choose Jersey City because I hate bad weather and traffic, but that's mostly for professional reasons--lots of good work opportunities for me there and in Newark and New York City.

I vote for Albuquerque. All 4 seasons, over 300 days of sun a year but we still get decent snowfall, and no traffic. We're up in the mountains so at the hottest point of the summer it's usually 95° with 15% humidity and a heat index of 85°, and still gets down to 70° at night. Cost of housing is about half what it is in New Jersey and a third what it is in Los Angeles or New York City. You can easily find a nice 3-BR, 2-bath house for under $200K.

Oh, also I just saw a thing about Boise on TV and it looked AMAZING. Absolutely beautiful, with mountains and everything.

I think I'd pass... it's more fun to have weather a bit more unpredictable. LOL It was 60-65 degrees here in Chicago Jan 5-7 this year...hehehe

It was the same here in Greencastle. 67° if I remember correctly.

It's currently -3° with a wind chill of -21° WTF?

Portland, OR in terms of weather and cost of living. Boston, NY, LA have very high cost of living and Chicago can be very cold. I know, MPLS is much colder than Chicago.

yup...about the same here....

Wow! No one has voted for L.A. that's really no surprise. I'd have to say Boston or Chicago. Don't really care for the "left" coast.

I chose Portland/Seattle without reading anyone's answers as well. I've never been to either...but I do have friends there and have heard alllll about it. I would have chosen Boston or SF over it if they weren't both so expensive! You might as well stay in NYC if you don't care about price.

But for Seattle its beautiful AND is cheaper than NYC by far. My friend has an ocean view apartment in Seattle for $1200/mo! I wouldn't choose Chicago because I personally didn't love it that much there...And too damn cold! And I definitely wouldn't choose LA because it is expensive also and just not that great.

Jersey City (or any other subburb of NYC that is cheaper) might be a good option if you really want to stay near NYC and happen to have good jobs there already. I was considering that option for myself in the future. OR a city outside of Boston. I have a friend who lives 15 min outside of Boston in a huge old charming house on the water that is very cheap considering!

Something to think about...