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Do you "fit" where you live?


Randomguy

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There have been times where I felt that I did, but watching those cool videos makes me think otherwise.  I usually adapt really well to where I am, but have yet to find the perfect place for me, if such a place even exists.  I primarily like the first year or so where I am, but after a couple of years I want to go somewhere else to live.  I definitely would like to be out of NYC.  I fit in NYC really well for the first few years, I think it helps to be younger and have a few bucks in your pocket.  

Do you fit where you live to the point that you wouldn't prefer to go elsewhere?

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Difficult to say.  Circumstances were different in each location as you pointed out about age and income.  I fit well in VA but I was single and when I was not involved in Navy business there was racing.  I liked Orlando but I was a contractor living in a hotel and making enough money to send my paychecks home and live on the extras in a town with lots of interesting things to do.  I might not like those places now or I might.  Who knows.

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I'd say yes we fit.  (the short answer)

It took years for WoBG and I to find a place to live.   First we looked at homes in MANY locations.   We'd find a home we liked but the location was horrible.  Or there were locations we liked and none of the home were something we liked.    Then we switched to looking for empty lots.  So location became the only concern.   We looked at MANY locations.    During these searches... I'd find several possible locations and WoBG and I would have a road trips to see the homes or lots.   You can see pictures on the internet, but many are staged with the 'perfect' picture of a location.  I'm old school and want to SEE the site. 

When we did find our lot.  Then it took me a LONG time looking at hundreds (or more) of plans for homes on the internet.    WoBG would get the short list (which over time was rather long) for her input.  Eventually we found 'our' home to build.

So we built our home on our lot and we survived that process.  (If you have built a home you know what I mean.)   We have no plans on leaving anytime soon.  

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Yes I fit in.  

As someone who gets moved around the country on a regular basis as part of the job, I have learned is that I can be miserable in the best posting or happy in the most isolated places, it was just a matter of me 'making the best of it'.

I have lived in cities of over a million and small isolated villages of under a thousand and always felt like I 'fit'

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I pretty much fit here, but the fit is slowly degenerating as the urban areas push out into Eastern CT.  It's an "interesting" mix here with the old school farm descendents and the urban starter castle crowd.  I can get along because I mostly just ignore everyone.  Others have more difficulty.  One group wants more of everything from the town without more taxes and the others can't afford more taxes.  There is still a lot of open land and farm country away from the communities of starter castles so bike riding can still be great. (except now when the trails are ultra crowded with the homebound).  It makes for some nasty politics but generally I ignore that because womaxx works in a visible public position.

I'm thinking that in other times I might like to move someplace different but at this age and in retirement finances that's probably not going to happen.  Maybe someday I'll fit into a nice "home".

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13 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

Hmmm SoCal...  as long as it's not a black bloody glove...  :runcirclsmiley:

I think to be more specific, I am Coastal OC.  It’s a cosmopolitan area with an outdoors bent. Where else could a Dutch Indonesian surfer boy, fisherman, cyclist & general outdoorsman fit in?

LA sucks, OJ and his bloody glove belong there.

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When I was in my early 30’s I lived in a community where I didn’t fit in. I’d go in a bar and everyone talked about very blue collar stuff: Sheetrock, transmissions, 4 wheelers, and stuff I just couldn’t relate to. 
 

But I usually don’t care that much about fitting in with my neighbors, so I’m fine with it. My current neighborhood is kinda blue collar, and it’s fine. 

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I've enjoyed everywhere I live, but I'm not surprised I ended up back in the NY area since my family and my parents were here.  I was glad I lived nearby for the last part of their lives and could be there for the last part of their lives.   My problem is that when one of my sister retires, I don't think she'll stay here.  For me, it's really the people and friends nearby rather than the actual location. If my family moved, I'd consider moving as well, even though I like where I am.   I'd also consider moving at some point to a cheaper location.  The taxes in this area are high and I only expect them to get worse.  If I didn't need to be here for work, and my family moved somewhere else. I'd consider moving too, although it's such a hassle, especially since I've lived in this home for a pretty long time now.

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24 minutes ago, Kirby said:

I've enjoyed everywhere I live, but I'm not surprised I ended up back in the NY area since my family and my parents were here.  I was glad I lived nearby for the last part of their lives and could be there for the last part of their lives.   My problem is that when one of my sister retires, I don't think she'll stay here.  For me, it's really the people and friends nearby rather than the actual location. If my family moved, I'd consider moving as well, even though I like where I am.   I'd also consider moving at some point to a cheaper location.  The taxes in this area are high and I only expect them to get worse.  If I didn't need to be here for work, and my family moved somewhere else. I'd consider moving too, although it's such a hassle, especially since I've lived in this home for a pretty long time now.

That is a pretty similar story for me. Probably depends on where the kids wind up, but all indications are they will stay here in uber-expensive NJ.  Taxes are high but so is the pain of moving!

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1 hour ago, Zephyr said:

Alberta..., pretty much Texas but with winter and way less guns

But more Albertans like their guns compared to other provinces.  Anyway, we have lovely summers and falls.  It rarely gets humid. Yes, it can be hot but it's because the prairies sometimes lack tree cover. One thing, we get probably more often in summer....is wildifire smoke for a few days each summer in last few years...because there are millions of acres of wilderness land and strong winds blowing towards the hinterland of province. 

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3 hours ago, Randomguy said:

There have been times where I felt that I did, but watching those cool videos makes me think otherwise.  I usually adapt really well to where I am, but have yet to find the perfect place for me, if such a place even exists.  I primarily like the first year or so where I am, but after a couple of years I want to go somewhere else to live.  I definitely would like to be out of NYC.  I fit in NYC really well for the first few years, I think it helps to be younger and have a few bucks in your pocket.  

Do you fit where you live to the point that you wouldn't prefer to go elsewhere?

I feel I don't quite fit where I am. It's not the worst and it has taken me a looooong time  compared to Vancouver or southern Ontario.

If I didn't work for the municipality I definitely would feel isolated/ignorant /relying on inaccurate info. I'm sorry but working for the municipality and surrounded by employees who have lived in same city for decades, gives a newbie like myself a much more well-rounded understanding of the city.  You learn alot about the services, programs, their strengths and weaknesses...as well as budget deficits.  

You also learn how private sector plays games with municipalties and cheat them out of property tax, what causes urban sprawl from greedly developers.   It's not pretty and wrong.

Then you hear citizens, who don't even understand what it means to deliver services and they bitch forever. 

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3 hours ago, Randomguy said:

There have been times where I felt that I did, but watching those cool videos makes me think otherwise.  I usually adapt really well to where I am, but have yet to find the perfect place for me, if such a place even exists.  I primarily like the first year or so where I am, but after a couple of years I want to go somewhere else to live.  I definitely would like to be out of NYC.  I fit in NYC really well for the first few years, I think it helps to be younger and have a few bucks in your pocket.  

Do you fit where you live to the point that you wouldn't prefer to go elsewhere?

RG, sometimes it's finding the right neighbourhood to live in. Maybe a place further out ...via commuter train for you.

I dislike the current politics in the province where I am now. Just desperate and old fashioned thinking.  Previous govn't had promise and healthier attitude to its people in planning and service execution.

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Wo46 and I were both born and raised with in 10 miles from where we live now. We sometimes think about moving south but then again we like where we are. I guess the grass is always greener somewhere else. 

 Winter is not my favorite season but we do try to make the best of it.

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Yes, everything we enjoy is here. The only place I’d go would be the Lake Champlain valley where i grew up. We’ve also made our home/property our sanctuary. We always look forward to being home.

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I fit in where I am.  I love the local cuisine, I like doing the things the locals like to do.

Most of all, my close relatives live close and we are a very close family and also close to some of the in-law families.  As the oldest sibling and our parents have passed, I'm the substitute grandparent for a lot of my nephews' activities.

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20 hours ago, BuffJim said:

When I was in my early 30’s I lived in a community where I didn’t fit in. I’d go in a bar and everyone talked about very blue collar stuff: Sheetrock, transmissions, 4 wheelers, and stuff I just couldn’t relate to. 

The problem I have when I to the bars people try to talk to me about football, baseball and basketball. I have no clue about any of these things.

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6 minutes ago, BR46 said:

The problem I have when I to the bars people try to talk to me about football, baseball and basketball. I have no clue about any of these things.

Same here. I don’t go to bars, but any conversation at all is always spectator sports. That gets old. And one of the things I don’t like about my neighborhood is all the z{##^* engines that seem to be running at least 70% of the ]]}#>£ time!  Now it sounds like a pressure washer. Those are a scourge of spring and fall because they usually stay on all {}%^* day!  :angry:

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6 minutes ago, BR46 said:

The problem I have when I to the bars people try to talk to me about football, baseball and basketball. I have no clue about any of these things.

My cross country bike trip was the year Brett Favre went from the Packers to the Vikings. No problems striking up a conversation with a stranger in either state. 

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I've always lived in the burbs, and feel like it fits me. I never want to move to the city, that's not me at all.  If anything, I'd like to live as little more removed, but not much. I live close to a couple good restaurants, get to chat w/ good local peeps...that's fun to me.

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12 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

any conversation at all is always spectator sports.

Well, it is definitely good to be able to bloviate about a bunch of other random things.

9 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

I've always lived in the burbs, and feel like it fits me. I never want to move to the city, that's not me at all.  If anything, I'd like to live as little more removed, but not much. I live close to a couple good restaurants, get to chat w/ good local peeps...that's fun to me.

Hmm, your local city is Detroit, right?  I have no idea what it would be like to live there, other than houses are cheap.   Plus, culturally, it is all different from other big cities I have been to or lived in.   Access to decent restaurants and riding is definitely a plus if you lived in the middle of nowhere.

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Just now, Randomguy said:

Well, it is definitely good to be able to bloviate about a bunch of other random things.

Hmm, your local city is Detroit, right?  I have no idea what it would be like to live there, other than houses are cheap.   Plus, culturally, it is all different from other big cities I have been to or lived in.   Access to decent restaurants and riding is definitely a plus if you lived in the middle of nowhere.

Detroit is the closest big city yes. I'm aboot 20 miles south of Downtown Detroit. The area I live in is called "downriver" because it's well...down the river. Detroit River that is. Housing downtown is extremely costly like any big city, but there are a slums too. As you know I've ridden thru Detroit a lot and there are a lot of little niche areas, coffee shops, restaurants etc. That's the cool part.

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