Where do you live, and would you recommend it?

[Az]

You'd be immediately targetted if you look like a tourist, and are at risk if you're a woman.
Police is becoming more and more facsist since a few months

you see? the problem , and it's cure.

[TheBirdMan]

Sjælland - Denmark.

North of Copenhagen - close to the socalled Whisky-belt, where the rich - no, not true anymore - where those who still hopes they are rich lives.

Nice place - in the outskirts of a nice village. Have a good job (well, close to anyway).

I guess I'll stay 'round here until my last breath. And if that moment would be close to the local inn, then that would "ok" too.

[Datajack Franit]

It was a naked man being spanked by a model with her shoe

Hehehe I like your website

BTW the new advertising "a la mode" is Lacoste's - a naked man dropping scent.. in a very.. private place
But tourists seem to enjoy that

You're right about the Japanese. They were cool, though

Actually the funniest activity for every inhabitant of Milan is giving false information to them

[Spiffor]

Well, two others :

Bordeaux
Located in Southwestern France, along the Gironde river, just before it gets in the Atlantic Ocean. ca. 700.000 inhab. Capital of Aquitaine region.

The good
Pretty beautiful city and architecture. Huge contrast between the left and the right shore of the Gironde river though.
Most regular houses are pretty old, so you may find an interesting architecture everywhere, not only by the monuments.
Rue Sainte Catherine is the longest pedestrian street in Europe, and is very lively.
Many students = some nightlife, but don't expect too much.
Correct cultural life for a French city far from Paris (which tends to monopolize all culture). Some museums, alternative theaters, big opera.
It's near to the Atlantic, and you can get to beautiful beaches nearby. The campaign nearby is also pretty cool, and you can find many varieties of wine (Bordeaux wines aren't my favorite though)

The climate can be pretty good, but it's pretty wet (it's located in an former swamp), so winter is worse than in most places along the Atlantic.

The bad
The city grew way too fast these latest decades, and the transporation system doesn't fit the population. Roads are always crowded, and mass transit sucks (only buses for now = they'retaken in the jam as well, and they suck even when there is no jam). The utter horror that is transportation in Bordeaux really ruined the 2 years I've spent there.
There are now massive constructions everywhere on the streets to build the tram. It blocks circulation even more than before, but should be worth it in the end.
The city is dirty, and many buildings seem to have never been cleaned, and are full of black pollution's dust.

I don't recommend Bordeaux to anyone. It basically sucks for students, who have to work far away from the center in a dead campus, it sucks for people who work far from their homes, and it sucks for tourists because what there is to see isn't worth the jams. I don't exaggerate how bad the traffic is, it really ruins the day.

Stuttgart
Located in southwestern Germany. ca. 500.000 inhab. Capital of land Baden-Württemberg.

The good
Room. It's the least crowded city I lived in. The complete agglomeration spans on a huge surface for its pop., and there is even agriculture in the territory of Stuttgart itself (not a far fetched suburbs).
There are plenty small-sized hospitals, schools, supermarkts etc. which help feeling a sense of community.
There is a relatively small but cute Christmas Market. Probably not the best in Germany, but impressive for the ignorant French I am.
The transportation system is top notch. I've yet to see a jam, and buses / subways are never late
There are many forests very nearby (you can access them by walking from the city center), which make good Sunday-walks when the weather allows it.
Southern Germany obviously means good beer Besides, it's 2 hours away from Munich, which means you can go to Oktoberfest from there (the local beerfests don't even near Munich's Oktoberfest, but aren't dull either)
City of Mercedes, Porsche and Bosch, which means the city has tons of money to invest. These can provide well paid jobs, even for workers (a friend used to be worker at Mercedes, and got about $3000 a month).

The bad
Provincial. You wont find many things to shop : once you've exhausted the semi-malls of the center, and know all the Kebap dealers, you won't have anything to buy. Theatres mostly show American or French crap, and they are very rarely in original version.
The locals don't speak German, but the local dialect. It's sometimes extremely hard to understand them when you're stranger (i.e from anywhere in the world except Schwabenland), but I've seen people from the countryside are much worse.
Not much to do on the cultural level. Some museums, including a big one, and some concerts, but nothing particular.
The city is ugly, and I don't know more than 3 buildings that aren't cubic. It has been razed by allied bombs during WW2, and that's obvious whenever you walk in the streets.
The locals aren't very open to unknown people. But once you made an acquaintance, it will last long.
Germany means much paperwork. If you come, make sure to bring everything : ID pictures like crazy, passport and ID, bank papers, social security papers, and everything you could grab here.

I really recommand Stuttgart for anyone who wants to discover Germany, whether you're student or employee. There is everything you might want, from well paid jobs to a fairly good environment. The edges largely outweight the flaws.
However, if you're a tourist, I recommand you don't even enter Stuttgart. There is almost nothing to see, except for the big Staatsmuseum. You might find something interesting in the suburbian Baroque city of Ludwigsburg (home of Schiller)

[Serb]

Omsk, Russia.
1,5 million, about 300 years old city in the middle of nowhere known as Siberia. Would I recomend it to you?...No. I don't want to be responsible for your deaths. Today it's Dec 1- first day of winter and already -30C. Nice start, this year. (well, actually winter started about month ago here)
Oh...almost forget....I love my city.

[Zero]

I live in NYC.

I dare anyone to live in here at least once in their life. No, I'm not suggesting stereotypical stuff about how NYC is ghetto and all that... Its actually quite safe now adays. But this place is defintely weird. It's a city none like any other I believe.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Yes, I have a good friend who's mother is from Detroit and he said he visits his relatives there...I remembering him describe the place as 'a f**king sh*thole'...or words to that effect, probably more blue however

Detroit - the only place in the contiguous US where crossing south of the border means going to Canada.

[Worthingtons]

Calc, I'd love to live in NYC for some time, but it's getting there, how on earth does one GET IN? , What are the propery prices & rent like there?
Cheers
Matt

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Serb
Omsk, Russia.
Today it's Dec 1- first day of winter and already -30C.

Iiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!

[Inverse Icarus]

I lived in five places so far (some only for summers), all in New York State:

NYC: crowded, dirty, diverse, blah blah blah you know about NYC.

Nowhere Upstate: Somewhere between NYC and Albany, 12 acres of land, corn, and stuff. Mor of a summer house. wouldn't recommend it.

Long Island - Nassau County: Suburbs. We have some of the cleanest water and some of the best police officers in the country, and the taxes relfect that. lots of stuff to do, a little diversity, blah blah blah. It's a great place to live if you have a car.

Long Island - Suffolk County - The Hamptons: Summer house. Nice beaches, quiet, you know, all sorts of good stuff. I'd love to live there but for some reason i think it would get boring in the middle of the winter. beautiful, yes, but boring.

Troy, NY (close to Albany) - I live @ a uni, so i'm not really a judge of the surrounding area i guess. the houses areound the uni itself are pretty crappy, but a few blocks from campus the houses are pretty damn nice. one frat here has a 1.4 million dollar house. Again, this place is pretty cool if you have a car, which i dont. My friend just got one though, yeeha.

[Starchild]

Toronto

The most cosmopolitan, largest, and so totally coolest city in Canada. Truly a world class city, unlike some certain provincial villages that shall go unmentioned (*cough*Calgary*cough*). Every street brings a new aspect to the city. It feels like dozens of distinct pieces assembled into this beautiful mosaic. The shopping of Bay, Yonge, and Queen St! The colourful gay mecca of Church Street! The street markets! The exotic fresh food (and semi-legal imports) of Chinatown! The bustling Little India! The bright greens and yellows of the West Indies and South American parts. Greekville! The U of T campus!

The CN tower soaring above the skyline while you eat in a backalley pho resturant. Buying fresh chinese fruits in a street market for pennies! A clean and speedy subway system with connections to street cars and buses. A safe city. A vibrant city. The city I love.

Oh, but avoid the lake like the plague. It's liquid death.

[Provost Harrison]

And now you live in Felixstowe

[Paul Hanson]

Well, I sort of live in two places, so I'll describe them both (although Mr. Harrison has probably already given you a good description of Hull).

Hull

Northern port city in the UK. A bit of a **** hole by all accounts; the estates of northern Hull are infamous for being complete and utter dumps. Local schools organise field trips to them in order to show their pupils of the effects of urban decay.
Has been run as a virtual dictatorship by the Labour council for the past 50-odd years, and is sometimes known as "The People's Republic of Hull" for this reason. Everyone in Hull is exceptionally ugly and speaks with an extremely annoying accent.

Scawby

My home village, where I spend the weekends away from university, could not be more different. Quiet and rural, yet close enough to various towns not to be considered a backwater, Scawby is a very pleasant village in all respects. I've lived there since I was 2, and my dad clearly likes the place so much that he's spent all but 12 of his 47 years on this earth living there. Much better than Hull, all in all.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Paul Hanson
Everyone in Hull is exceptionally ugly and speaks with an extremely annoying accent.

*ahem*

Do we get your opinion on S****horpe though?

[Paul Hanson]

S****horpe's almost as bad.

Anyway, I thought you were from Beverly?

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Starchild
Toronto
The colourful gay mecca of Church Street!

mecca? Church?? [Zkribbler's brain tries to take in this mixed metaphor...but can't...and explodes ]

[Provost Harrison]

I went to school in Beverley but I originate from Hull...

[Paul Hanson]

Well, you're excluded from my previous statement.

[Provost Harrison]

Excellent

I am still working at moving out of Hull, quite frankly, I don't know how I have been able to endure the past three years here...probably by going somewhere else most weekends

[Lars-E]

What's so nice about those churches, Franit? You must be there for every Sunday mass by the sound of it.

[Felch]

Germantown, Maryland, USA

Large, unincorporated suburb (no city government) of DC, in Montgomery County.

Pros
Lots of new stores, housing, and places to eat are built all the time. The population has jumped from around 5,000 in 1980 to roughly 80,000 today, IIRC.

Primary industry (government) is always growing. The economy is well insulated from market pressures, since most people either work for the government, for a government contractor, or provide services to people who work for the government or government contractors. In other words, the economy of DC and its suburbs is subsidized by the rest of the US.

Crime is low, and mostly limited to a fantastic array of drugs. There are only a few murders and rapes per year. The snipers never came to Germantown.

Excellent school system, and a diverse community of filthy rich white people, and the El Salvadoreans who mow their lawns.

Cons

Prices are generally high - especially for housing. 1200 dollars a month will get you a two bedroom apartment in an okay neighborhood. 180 grand can buy you a townhouse in an equally okay neighborhood. Living in the nice places starts in the 200s.

Most of the cute girls are jailbait.

The police have too much free time, and love setting up speed traps and drug busts.

[Datajack Franit]

Those churches ARE awesome.. most are built in romanic style, while the cathedral, symbol of the city is the largest gothic cathedral in the world. Yet, no one is so stupid to waste his sunday evening going to a mass so we hire them to japanese tourists coming to Italy to get married for some extra cash

[Starchild]

Provost Dude, stop reminding me. I've had a major pho craving all day and the most i can get here is cheap chinese chicken stirfry.

[Provost Harrison]

Well you need to take advantage of London more often...shame you don't have the money to really do so on a regular basis...

[Worthingtons]

Yes, Hull is indeed a very poor city to say it's from Yorkshire, that's why we tried to disown it :/

Grimsby has many fishermen

Cheers
Matt

[MRT144]

pho is god!

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Rothy
Yes, Hull is indeed a very poor city to say it's from Yorkshire, that's why we tried to disown it :/

Says the man from Rotherham

[Dis]

Las Vegas

and I dont' recommend it. We don't need more people to move here with their fancy good morals.

I like sin.

[Lord Merciless]

Palo Alto, California
I'm going to school at Stanford so my stay may only be temporary. But so far I really like this place, and will stay if I find the right job.

The Good:
- The heartland of Silicon Valley, has an almost unlimited career opportunities. People are still optimistic despite unemployment rate hitting 8%.
- Great weather: not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, and not too dry. Sunshine for most of the year.
- Interesting place to live: SF is not too far away, and cultural diversity is excellent.

The Bad:
- Exorbitant real estate prices. A sh1tty house can cost up to $800,000. 1 Bedroom rent usually costs around $1000.
- All bad things related to overcrowding: traffic, open spaces, etc...
- Ever-present danger of earthquakes.

[ThePantaloonDog]

Baltimore, MD
Good-Pretty good nightlife at Fells Point. Damn nice baseball stadium. Lots of good restaurants when you get away from the Inner Harbor. SOme nice neighborhoods if you know where to go. One of the most diverse places I've lived in with Arabs, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Indians.

The really bad-Heroin capital of the country. Irritating tourists in the Inner Harbor. Lots of crime. Some really really bad neighborhoods. Traffic is miserable with worthless mass transit.

I would recommend it but probably because its my hometown. If you do visit make sure you have somebody from the city to show you around or you'll end up eating at the shiity tourist spots.

Portland, ME
Good-Quiet relatively green and crime free. Pretty good schools when I was up there. Not crowded. Close to Boston for easy access to civilization. PLenty of hiking, skiing, and camping around.

Bad-Damn cold. The people and the weather. Pace of life is extremely slow. Very provincial.

This is one of the nicest cities I've been too but the pace of the life was too slow for me.

New York City
Good-I think everybody knows about NYC

Bad-Everybody knows about this too

If you like living in an interesting city this is it. There's always something fun to do. I would love to go back.

Norfolk, VA
Good-Generally warm weather. CLose to the beach. Cheap.

Bad-Very provincial I don't think I've ever had so many people take offense to me being a (non-practising) Catholic. There is absolutely nothing to do in the winter. The lack of hills is very creepy.

I hated this place. If you enjoy living in a hot humid swamp filled with lots of "country-folk" then this is a great city.