No Going Back

There's a TV show here in Britain called No Going Back, which is about people fed up with living in Britain that want to move abroad. It seams most of the people featured in the show move to France, Spain, Australia, Canada, or the USA. The reasons these people move from Britain are, the bad weather, the high cost of living, the traffic especially here in the South East of England, crowded living conditions, high crime rates, poor work life balance etc. According to polls taken of the British Public more than 50% of the population would move abroad if given the chance. My wife and I have some close friends who have moved to Atlanta, Georgia and they like it so much they never want to come back to Britain. People seem to think the grass is always greener elsewhere.

My Question is how many of you out there don't particularly like where you live and where would you like to move to and why?

On the other hand, if you really like where you live,what makes it special?

For our Texas CPFers, One family on this show fell in love with Beeville, Texas. What do you think of that?

i don't like where i live 'cause it's not Hawaii..

kidding..

where i live, diversity is very lacking.. it makes me wish i lived closer to a city, as larger cities seem to be culture magnets..
i'd never live in a city tho, i need the woods..

also where i am, the youth is completely ignored.. outside of school sports, there is absolutely nothing for kids to do here.. if you're under 21 you're pretty much left with nothing, which leads to the majority of kids here basing their free-time around drugs and alcohol.

i'd like to live somewhere with more cultural diversity and somewhere kids can entertain themselves legit'ly.

also somewhere that has more than 3-4 months of warm weather a year!

like.. Hawaii!

I will move.

From: Berlin, Germany
Why: Too many architects in Germany already.
To: Some place with a nice climate and not too many architects. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have lived overseas before and moved approximately every four years. After a while I get bored and feel like moving on.

yes, I only have one life to live, and I'm not going to live here my whole life. As soon as I have the means (money) I will be outta here. Going to Florida, it's nice, I've been there before, and it's not a huge and crazy as say California. Missouri here is so freaking whack. Nothing goes on, and there's a lot of corrupt things going on I don't like... And the weather completely blows. So muggy in summer and so cold every other time. No nice sceneery... etc.. I love the beach !! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ryan, I hear you, I live in the capital city, and so they have whack laws like no "clubs" or anything. Most exciting thing that is allowed in the town is a pool hall, which is now getting overrun with white-trash and gettho scum. Big time. And to walk from end to end without someone trying to start a fight with you now is impossible. I'm afraid if I go there I'm going to get fed up and actually teach someone a lesson. There is a TON of drugs in this town, which is whack, because there are like more city cops here than there probably is in St. Louis!! When someone is pulled over you see 4-5 squad cars around them. There is that many of them. It's redicoulous. And they are corrupt themselves. You have to avoid the cops like you do the bullys, even if you are doing nothing wrong because they will get you for something because they are bored/nothing to do/etc. But yet they never bust any of the drug dealers, etc. They also have the biggest cocky/showoff/jock/whatever mentalitly it's terrible. And women, heh, yeah, I guess they all move away, because wherever you go, bar, party, school, there is like 30 guys to 2 girls. You literally have to fight if you want to talk to a girl. It's ridcioulous. I'd like to move to the town 30mins away, it's a college town and people don't screw with you, and there's tons of girls everywhere you look. And not just plain girls, but HOT girls. I went to a bar there once and I swear ever girl looked like she should be in playboy!

Off my rant now... resume your normal scheduled life!

I'm fortunate to be able to live and work anywhere I choose so I'm in South Texas.

BIGIRON

Gonna move too. I live in New Jersey and work in NYC. It's a 3.5 hour commute daily. NYC is cluttered and crazy and NJ is worse. There isn't a place in NJ where you can go off road in an SUV without driving on somebody's lawn or backyard, but everybody (it seem like anyway) owns one, except me. Winters are miserable, cold, raining half the time, jammed roads, jammed stores, cars everywhere, houses everywhere, people everywhere and crazy drivers that will run you down without a thought if it means they'll save a few seconds.

Had a woman right turn in front of me last year when I was on my bike. Was on a fast down grade with a tail wind riding my aerobar at over 30mph when she passed me, jammed on her brakes and right turned maybe 25 feet in front of me. She was furious at me for scratching and denting her Range Rover, wanted to know if I had insurance or not and what was she going to tell her husband. Wasn't at all concerned that I broke a collarbone, two ribs, fractured a wrist, popped a disk in my back and lost a bunch of skin, said I should have yielded (like that was possible). She was really ticked when the police showed up with the ambulance and she got a four point ticket for failure to yield. She offered to pay for my bike so it didn't go into her insurance but backed out real quick when she found that it would cost over 7k to replace it. Her insurance paid that and lots more in the end.

The whole North East is like that, wet, crowded and crazy. I'm tired of it and want out.

I'll be retiring in about 5-6 years and maybe it'll be near Savanna, Georgia or maybe Florida's west coast. My wife doesn't like to travel much so she'll get to stay home a lot because I'm going to be off on my bicycle as soon as the move is done. Got maybe 5-10 years left at that point and I've worked for those years all my life, gonna do some "real riding".

The Ride Across America the first year and maybe the Great Divide route from Canada to Mexico, after that it's Europe for a couple of years then Russia, South America, especially Chili, and so on for maybe 8 months a year until I get too old to peddle or (more likely) creamed on the road by another crazy.

That's my idea of fun although my wife and others are convinced I've had one too many crashes and gone round the bend in a big way; but then, they've always thought that anyway so what the hell!.

Looking forward to it in a big way though.

Al

Welllll, let me tell you something...
I was fortunate in my younger years to have been the son of a member of the US Air Force.
We moved around a lot.
We went everywhere.
Did I mention we moved alot?
Anyway, when I say "Been there, done that!", I probably have been there.
Did I mention we moved alot?
OK, back on topic now. Right now I live and work just outside Rochester New York. Been here about 15 years. This place just plain sux. When I retire (10-15yrs max) I am outa here. Im moving south. Way way south.
What would it take for me to stay here? A bullet. Even then, my ashes are not staying.
Other than that:
Taxes on my modest 1800 sq ft home would have to be a lot less than the current $4900/yr.
My state income tax form would not ask for sales tax on internet purchases
Hillary would have to elope to France with Schumer.
Sales tax wound have to drop from 8.5% to <5%
It would have to snow less than 140 inches/year. 140 inches/century is too much. I hate snowblowers. It snowns so much that I have to clear an area so my dog can take a crap
My car would have to last for more than 5 years without rusting out.
My car would not need annual wheel alignments from pothole damage.
Gasoline alot less than $2.05/gal.
My once a week trash collector would not charge me $80 every three months.
A fishing license wouldnt cost $30 and you could actually eat the fish you cought. Would you believe they actually have a law here that says you cannot clean your fish where you catch them. You gotta do it at home.
I could go on but you get the idea. NY sux (IMHO). Yea, there is some good stuff about NY. Not enough though.
My family is originaly from Georgia & Alabama. Im going back.
One other thing. You dont have to tell me that I have it better than you because you live in PRK or you live on the south east side of Northwestern Pooba's Buttcrack. Yea we all have it rough.
Thats not the point of this thread. Ny sux and I am moving ASAP.
One last thing...Yes, the grass IS greener anyplace but here. Really!

Hey guys -- life's too short for the crap you're into. I know. I fought the corporate battles for 20+ years --Dallas, St Louis, DC, etc ----

I walked away years ago and don't regret it. Try it -- you CAN always go back if you must. No neckties or shiny leather shoes here.

BIGIRON

BIGIRON,
You know what?
You are right!

[ QUOTE ]
Frame57 said:
For our Texas CPFers, One family on this show fell in love with Beeville, Texas. What do you think of that?

[/ QUOTE ]

I could understand that for someone who's tired of cold, rainy weather and congested traffic could come to love a country lifestyle--now lets just see if they love scorpions, waterbugs and 115 degree highs in the summer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'd love to do an extended visit in the UK. Just waiting on enough time and money...even considered trying to get my wife to get us stationed at an AF base there.

-Jason

Different strokes. I've passed thru Ft Hood. Killeen has it's good points too -- mainly it's fairly near IH35 so you can choose north or south when you decide to get out of town!

Actually Beeville is a pretty neat place. Located where the rolling hills w/hardwood forests meet the coastal plain. Twenty minutes to saltwater fishing, very good hunting all around, low cost of living (3br brick home around $80K), an hour to San Antonio if you need a big city fix and a laid back lifestyle. Not much nite life, tho. (but I hear they're about to geta SuperWalmart.)

BIGIRON

I said just the other day that I thank my Lucky Stars I was born in Texas!

I want to get the he77 away fron Houston!!! Either Northest of here or Southwest (Examples San Jacinto county >Cleveland etc.< or Brazoria county >Alvin etc.<)

City politics and taxes are a killer! And we are being over run by South of the Border types!

But I am NEVER moving out of state!

I love where I live and hope I never have to move. It's on a Great Lake next to a state forest with low population, little traffic or pollution. I like the snow in winter and swimmable lake in summer and cool climate otherwise. The only downside is high unemployment.

I live about 40 minutes from Beeville. The only draw back with south Texas is the summers. July through September of last year had 95 F and higher every day for 40 days. The AC alone added over 200 a month. But I moved ger to get out of the rat race in Houston. My wife has lived all over the US and has been overseas and she prefers the small town scene. We do not have rush hour, we have rush minute

I, like a previous poster, was an Air Force brat...got to live all over in garden spots like North Dakota (and Paris, France, too, so on average I guess it was OK.) Lived in the South, went to school and worked in New England. When I finally had a choice I moved sans job to Northern California and the rest, as they say, is history.

The pluses:

Fantastic weather. Not too hot, not too cold. You get to actually pick your climate if you want. No humidity. Few bugs. Outdoor activities virtually year around. Ocean, forest, and mountains close by.

Very pretty, scenic.

Near San Francisco, culture abounds. Plays, operas, nightclubs, big time sports. You name it, it is here.

Lots of top drawer educational opportunites. Diverse job market. Reasonable public transportaton system.

The minues:

It has already been discovered. Bring $$$ and lots of them. A quote from today's paper: "The median price for a single-family home in the nine-county Bay Area climbed to $476,000 in February." That's not a big house on a big lot, either.

If you don't plan well, traffic congestion will get to you. Much like most large U.S. metropolitan areas, I suspose.

If you aren't very liberal (in a political sense) better not have a thin skin. It is not called the "left coast" for nothing.

Interesting stories from interesting places. Either too hot or too cold, too conjested or not enough culture. Truly the grass is always greener on the other side. I grew up in Vermont and would easily summer there but don't like the climate, for about six of the 12 months. Northern California sounds interesting from Dougnel's post but away from the big cities and crowds. Doesn't it rain a lot in the winter there, though? Well it snows a lot in the winter here so I guess I'd rather have the rain, lol. The bottom line is that money talks I guess and most of us don't have enough of it to live and travel where we please.

Intersting also is that most posts thus far are from people in the states and don't want to leave the states, just live in another part.

I don't really have too many complaints about where I live except it's getting a little crowded around Madison, Wisconsin. I've said for a long time if I chose to move away, I would go to the Green Bay area. I've visited there enough to really grow to like the city.

Interestingly, I work with a gentleman who immigrated from the UK. His story was he met his American wife overseas (former RAF) and they lived in the UK for a while after marrying, then moved back to her hometown area about 15 years ago. He's staying, became a naturalized citizen around 4 years ago so he can vote. He says the taxes and regulations were just too much in the UK and he feels obligated to try to stop the USA from making the same mistakes.

[ QUOTE ]
geepondy said:
.... Northern California sounds interesting from Dougnel's post but away from the big cities and crowds. Doesn't it rain a lot in the winter there, though? Well it snows a lot in the winter here so I guess I'd rather have the rain, lol. The bottom line is that money talks I guess and most of us don't have enough of it to live and travel where we please.

Intersting also is that most posts thus far are from people in the states and don't want to leave the states, just live in another part.

[/ QUOTE ]

As for rain, yes it does rain in the winter (lucky for Southern California that it does, too, as that desert down there would not support life otherwise /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif) As for "a lot", I guess it depends on the definition. We get about 25 to 30 inches a year mostly between about mid-December and the end of March. Usually there are a couple "big" storms that will drop 3-6 inches over a couple of days. It almost never rains week after week, however.

I should add one more item to my "minuses" list: Better not have an earthquake phobia. There will be earthquakes (although maybe not in my lifetime). I lived in Kansas for awhile and will take the earthquake risk over the tornadoes.

As for living elsewhere in the world, I really think it comes down to who you are. I have known and worked with several immigrants, and they are the most pro-American people I know. Guess they don't take some things for granted that us native born do. In general, if you believe that you are master of your own fate and for better or worse want to make your own way in the world, the U.S. is the place to be. If you would rather not have what happens to you tied so much to your own efforts and instead prefer a more equal, social outcome (in income, medical care, vacations, pensions, etc.) then one of the European countries is probably a better fit. No one wants to live in the third world if they can avoid it.

Hey BF. Mad Town is a wonderful place too. I almost feel more at home there than near G.B. where I live (getting too conservative).

Your UK gent is welcome to try to save us but we seem to want to be told how to think and act. Those pols who claim to abhor more laws & regulation are the very same ones passing such legislation. God save the queens.*

*This statement means nothing political. I'm just trying to be witty - not homophobic. (In case that was inferred)

For most of my life I was drawn to frontiers. I spent a lot of time in sub-arctic regions. I've worked in many places in the Third World. Now I'll probably stay in SE Louisiana forever. It's very much like the Third World -- only with better health care.

It's not so much that I like it. It's just out of the way. There are many targets here for al-Qaida -- but no sexy targets. It's not the end of the world -- but you can see the end of the world from here. We have precipitation -- but we never shovel it.

Most of all, I just want to live where the poor people are FAT.