Home Sweet Home

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Home Sweet Home
19
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 7:25pm
Ladies,

Tell me about where you live. Why do you live there? Do you have family roots there or did you choose this place on your own? What keeps you there? What do you like about it? Dislike about it? If you had a friend visit what are the places you would want her/him to see? What would it take to get you to leave? (i.e. Wild horses? A great job offer? A relative? Boyfriend/husband potential? A miracle?)

Thanks for sharing!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 7:57pm
Tell me about where you live.

I live in Las Vegas. And it's not what is portrayed on t.v.

Why do you live there?

Right now - the only reason I live here is because I am unable to move out of state with my oldest son. If not for him, I would have moved immediately following my divorce.

Do you have family roots there or did you choose this place on your own?

I do have family roots here. I left as a young woman, and moved back - so I did choose it on my own in some ways.

What keeps you there?

A divorce decree.

What do you like about it?

Lucky for me I love it here - but I'd like to live other places, as well. :) I love the desert. I love the mild winters. I love the mountains, the forest, the lake. I love the city itself. I love the nightlife, the restaurants, the culture that is all it's own. I love that my family is here. I love the opportunities and the low cost of living. I love NO STATE TAX! The expression I see on people's faces when I tell them "I live in Las Vegas." I like the mild winters, I like the desert wildlife (and lack of amphibians!)

Dislike about it?

That it's a transient city. People do not move here with plans of staying. That it's shallow - high on materialism, power and vanity - and lacking in real substance. The perception the rest of the country has of it. The school system stinks. The traffic. The wind. The lack of rain. The total disregard for living in a desert, i.e. wasting water, expecting it to be a lush, green oasis. The total disregard for the environment. The proposed nuke dump in my back yard - the nuclear waste for the proposed nuke dump that will be hauled right through the center of my city. Being on the list of potential terrorist targets. The sexual "buzz" in the town that is evident to my boys. The expression I see on people's faces when I tell them "I live in Las Vegas." The constant question of "OH! Are you a cocktail waitress? Or a stripper?" when I tell people I live in Las Vegas.

If you had a friend visit what are the places you would want her/him to see?

Mt. Charleston. The Bellagio. The Venetian. Lake Mead. Red Rock Canyon. My home. :) Elvisarama. The show Mystere. The view from the Ghost Bar or Voo Doo Lounge. The Dolphins. The pools at The Mirage, The Mandalay Bay. Light nightclub. The Hookah Lounge. Nora's.

What would it take to get you to leave? (i.e. Wild horses? A great job offer? A relative? Boyfriend/husband potential? A miracle?)

My oldest son turning 18 and going to college. POSSIBLY when he turns 14 and can choose where he wants to live . . . but I think he would choose to stay here with his dad and his circle of family and friends . . . and I would feel like I was abandoning him if I left.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 8:07pm
I live in Seattle, WA. I moved up here from Southern California in 1998 with my then husband who got a really great job offer. My family roots are in South Orange County, CA near the now famous Newport Beach, thanks to THE OC.

What keeps me here now is that my SO is here and (for DD) my ex-husband & his family are here. What kept me here before meeting my SO is my genuine love of this area. When I separated from my ex, I could have moved back home...but I chose to stay here. I love the clean air and the mountains and all the green of this beautiful place. The fact that it is surrounded by water really helps because I grew up in a beach community, and wouldn't like living in a landlocked area. I don't like the terrible traffic and the limited ways to get from point A to point B. The sales tax is a bear too!

If friends came to visit I would take them to Gasworks Park, the fountain and the Space Needle at Seattle Center, and the Seattle City Underground Tour for a really neat history lesson! I would take them on a ferry across the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula, maybe take a trip to the Olympic Game Farm where they can come face to face with real buffalo! Depending on the time of year, we could go to Alki Beach, or a Mariner’s baseball game, or skiing at Snoqualmie Pass. And we could eat at some of my favorite “hole in the wall” restaurants in Belltown, like Mama’s Mexican Kitchen and The Noodle Ranch.



I really like it here. I would only leave if a really good and logical opportunity presented itself and SO was in agreement and something could be worked out with the ex. I still visit OC about once or twice a year to see my family and stay in touch with my roots. It keeps me grounded (and greatful for the smog free skies)

:)

Avatar for comountainsprite
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 8:12pm
I'm in a western suburb of Denver. I live here because it's a nice suburb, fairly close to the mountains while still being very much in the city, with our favorite grocery store, favorite wine store, fabulous local (to our suburb) cultural arts center that's known throughout the area all right here and convenient. Plus, the metro area is really made up of a bunch of kind of small towns that together constitute a big city so there's a real feeling of community. I don't have family roots right here but do have them in the northeastern part of the state. As for what keeps me here, everything! I went to college in Denver, foolishly went to grad school in MN (no slam against MN but the mountains kept calling me home), and came back after dd was born.

What I would want someone to see, hmmm, have to go with Mindy on the "my house" (new homeowners are the worst LOL, especially if we're second timers because the divorce resulted in not still owning our first home.) Other than that, Trail Ridge Rd. It's a beautiful mountain drive and you never forget the awe of the first time you go above timberline.

What would it take me to leave? I think you'd have to take me out in a bodybag. Seriously, I've told dh that I'll visit any where he wants to go and if we ever got rich and famous, I'd love other vacation homes but don't try to take me out of my mountains. And he feels pretty much the same, although occasionally does get a bit nostalgic about the San Francisco bay area where he grew up.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-29-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 11:09pm
Tell me about where you live. Why do you live there?

I live here because I love New England.

Do you have family roots there or did you choose this place on your own?

I have all my family here, it seems cool to be able to walk down the street and check in on my mom or to swim in her pool or just to say hello. This is a little tid bit of my family life...my sis and her kids and mine and my kids always had Thursday dinner togther (including mom & step dad) and this all came about because I would have her kids every thursday and I'd just say stay for dinner, no big deal... This kind of stuck with us through the years and when school is done, we congregate to my moms and have Thursday dinner and pool night. (it's great!)

What keeps you there?

My family.

What do you like about it? Dislike about it?

What I like about it is the seasons, I love each one of them or a certain reason: Winter, I love the feel and look of the snow, I love hot chocolate after comming in from playing in the snow. I love Spring (my fav) you can wear shorts and a sweatshirt and it doesn't matter. Then the summer, you can swim, you can get a tan go to the beach, hang out in the back yard. The last season is Fall, which you can do the same thing at Spring but it's closer to winter and you can always see beautitful leaves forming.

If you had a friend visit what are the places you would want her/him to see?

I would definatly go to the white mountains, see the deformed "Man of the Mountain". Depending on what time of year, I would have to see.

On the flip side, I hate the hot..hot weather and the really snowing, icy days but you adapte....and work with it...

What would it take to get you to leave? (i.e. Wild horses? A great job offer? A relative? Boyfriend/husband potential? A miracle?) I would have to say a

miracle...i really do love it here, this is where my roots are and I hate change!

Lori

Lori
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-25-2004
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 7:28am
Tell me about where you live.

I live in South Florida near Fort Lauderdale.

Why do you live there? Do you have family roots there or did you choose this place on your own?

I grew up here and my family is here. But I lived in Arizona prior to this. I did not want to leave AZ because I really loved the mountains and activities there (camping, hiking, outdoors, etc.). But my ex (was husband at the time) wanted to live on the east coast to be closer to family after the birth of my son. At first I hated it but now I love it.

What keeps you there?

My network of friends and this weather and outdoor/active lifestyle plus my family is here. I am settled here with my son and business and do not have a choice to leave because of the divorce decree.

What do you like about it? Dislike about it?

There is everything to love - being near the ocean, great winter weather - I can be outside 365 days a year and always see the sun. There really isn't anything I don't like at the moment.

If you had a friend visit what are the places you would want her/him to see?

I would take a friend to the beach or South Beach, visit the beautiful keys and see the parks in Orlando. There is always so much to do here. They might even get to go on an 80 mile bike ride through the Everglades National Park or on a 1 mile ocean swim ;-)

What would it take to get you to leave? (i.e. Wild horses? A great job offer? A relative? Boyfriend/husband potential? A miracle?)

I would not leave the way I see it now.

Avatar for cl_tcranky1
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 9:56am

Hi there


I live in Worcester, MA.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2002
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 10:15am

I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota I live here because well- its where I have always lived and my family and freinds are here. I stay for the same reasons plus my career and general love for the state and people here. Minnesota offers so many things that people do not realize

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2004
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 11:11am
I live in a suburban/semi-rural area in NW New Jersey. Basically I've lived in the same county of NJ for my whole life, so my family - parents, grandmother, aunts/uncles, cousins are all in the general area.

Right now, I'm kept here by the presence of my family and by a joint custody arrangement with my ex husband. I need to live close to him in order to bring my daughter to school. Plus, my daughter is a competive dancer and her studio is local. That may seem a minor consideration, but she's been going there 6 years, with the same friends/teachers/etc. and, especially during the divorce, that was her main stable point in the world (her school changed, we moved three times). I would'nt take that away from her without a good reason.

I dislike my commute to work (can be an hour in traffic), that all I can afford right now is an apartment not a house.

For people who picture NJ as an extension of New York City, they'd be surprised. We have beaches (obviously), mountains (a portion of the Appalachian Trail cuts through NJ), farms (lots of apple picking), camping/fishing/boating; plus NYC is less than an hour away.

If my custody arrangement changed, I still would not go farther than South Jersey, or Pennsylvania because my family is here (although my only brother lives in Florida). I may make a move that far for a husband or a very good job.
Avatar for cl_tcranky1
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 11:29am

Oh yeah, forgot to add.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-05-2004
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 11:51am
This is cool. It's nice to find out about where everyone lives.

Tell me about where you live.

I live in Burbank, Illinois, which is a southern suburb of Chicago.

Why do you live there? Do you have family roots there or did you choose this place on your own?

My parents lived in Chicago and we moved to the suburbs when I was 5. I lived in Calumet City, Illinois, which is a south suburb of Chicago until I got married. Then I moved a little more west, but not much, to Oak Lawn, IL. When me and my ex were looking for houses, we bought one in the next suburb over, Burbank, because we couldn't afford Oak Lawn.

What keeps you there?

My house. I love my house. It truly is mine. I bought my ex out when I got divorced. I'm in the process of rehabbing it, and when I finally get it done, I want to stay there and enjoy it. I have four sisters: one lives on the south side of Chicago, one lives in a nothern suburb of Chicago, my parents are still in the same house in Cal City and my other sister lives just over the border in Indiana, so everyone is close. The farthest anyone is to me is about 45 minutes.


What do you like about it? Dislike about it?

I like Chicago because I grew up here and I don't know anything else. I also like all the things that there are to do here. But I HATE the winters. Too much snow and too much cold (I really hate the cold). At one time I considered moving to Florida, where my best friend lives, but I know I could never move that far away from my family.

If you had a friend visit what are the places you would want her/him to see?

I would take them downtown to see the museums, Sears Tower, the great restaurants.

What would it take to get you to leave? (i.e. Wild horses? A great job offer? A relative? Boyfriend/husband potential? A miracle?)

The only way I would move would be if I got married and we had to move away because of a job offer, etc. I wouldn't mind leaving my town to live in another suburb of Chicago, but I wouldn't do that unless I had a ring on my finger and we were buying a house together.

Donna




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