What State or Country are you from?

[BayRaider]

This is the thread where we will discuss where you are from and describe what you like about the state/place.

These are some optional questions you could explore when replying here:

1) How is the scenery?

2) How is the culture?

3) Affordability?

4) Things to do?

5) Demographic

I live in California. Many places here are absolutely beautiful. The Bay Area and coast in general along with parts of LA. and San Diego. I fully believe San Diego is the most beautiful city in America. There are tons of things to do here, especially in the big towns of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It is quite expensive to live here, unless you're in the Central Valley. Also beautiful weather year round in the Bay Area/San Diego. L.A. and the Valley can get pretty hot. The one thing I enjoy about California above most is the demographic. You have just about most ethnicity's pretty equally here. Asian, Hispanic, White, African American, Middle Eastern, etc. I love diversity.

Another reason for this thread is I may be moving to South Carolina for a job opportunity. I was wondering if anyone is from the Carolinas and can contribute to this thread

[MacReady]

North Dakota:

Also known as God's country.

Scenery is not so great.  It's very flat, few trees.  You know how when you're in an airplane and you can see the patchwork of the Earth?  That's what North Dakota is like.  Lots of water though, great recreation on that water, too.  Some great fishing, boating, swimming, whatever. 

2. Culture is very conservative.  You do something weird and you're a weirdo.  Weird to North Dakotans is a single tattoo.  Even if they can't see it. 

3. Affordability.  Nope, not so great.  A 100,000 dollar house in Texas costs 300,000 there. 

4. Things to do?  Nothing.  Outdoor stuff.  That's it. 

5. Demography?  As white as the snow, and there's a lot of snow. 

[TheChancellor]

Representing Croatia.

I don't even know where to start.

It's a small country with a small place mentality, which is bringing us down economically and politically which is a shame because our natural landmarks alone should make us heaven on earth. It is however completely insane how we're able to produce many sports stars and superstars considering that our population is only about 4 million people.

Bill Beličić's family originates from a town that's about an hour away from me. So it's pretty cool that one of the most brilliant minds in the history of football is of Croatian descent. Pete Carroll is too. Can't forget the champ, Stipe Miočić either.

We have the perfect DNA for sports. It's awesome and weird, really.

Sport usually unites us, politics divide us.

 

[Tetsujin]

From the Fort Lauderdale area, now in the ATL area.

Both areas are very diverse. More hispanics in the Fort Lauderdale area, and maybe some areas where it's 50%, but they're mainly Cuban, Carribiean, South American.

Metro ATL area has a large Mexican population and Asian population. 

As you'd expect, the cost of houses is much higher in Fort Lauderdale. But there's no state income tax in FL

Fort Lauderdale has the tropic beauty, but the ATL area is a more interesting place to live.

It takes 5+ hours just to drive out of the state from Fort Lauderdale. In the ATL, you can hit up a bunch of good places driving in any direction in 8-10 hours.

Politically, I think metro ATL is much more sensible.

More economic opportunity in the ATL area

Summers in the ATL are actually a little hotter, but they have seasons. Fort Lauderdale has very warm winters, but no seasons. It just stays stupid hot in South Florida in the spring and fall.

I prefer living in the ATL area.

[ET80]

Houston, TX checking in.

1. Scenery is varied. You have spots that are very modern and big-city like, then you have a ton of suburban areas. The burbs have parks and stuff, but don't expect too much green. Flat roads and trails everywhere, no real high elevation spots.

2. Culture is all over the place. Houston was deemed the most diverse city in the US in 2017, and it shows. There's a live and vibrant Hispanic community, a very large Asian community (predominantly Vietnamese and Filipino, but a growing Japanese and Korean population) and perhaps one of the biggest Indian communities outside of India. There are massive "Little India" and "Little China" areas in the city, with more and more cultures finding their own area. 

3. Fuel is right now about $2.18/gal. A 4500 sq ft house in a nice neighborhood will set you back about $300,000. Houston is incredibly affordable.

4. Houston seems to get a major event every year or so: Super Bowls, Final Fours, NBA All Star Games, WrestleMania's - you name it, it's been hosted here. The nightlife is pretty great, with several central hubs (Downtown, Rice Village, Midtown, Washington Ave) where there are bars and restaurants all over the place. Surrounding areas (The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Memorial, Med Center) are starting to develop City Centers, with a large area with restaurants and live music venues. Houston is also home to the Houston Texans, Houston Rockets, Houston Dynamo, Houston Sabercats (Major League Rugby) Sugar Land Skeeters (1A Independent baseball) and YOUR 2017 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION HOUSTON ASTROS.

5. Spring and Fall in Houston are perfect, with 75 degree weather pretty much all day, every day. Winter can get colder than expected, due to the humidity (with is pretty much at 90-110% at any given moment). From late July to the end of September, the heat and humidity in Houston boarderlines on unbearable; Temperatures of 115 with 110 humidity set off warnings to stay indoors unless necessary. Lately, Houston has had a "100 year flood event" every year, with Hurricane Harvey representing a 1,000 year flood event.

[Ty21]

Michigan:

1. Scenery- Pretty nice imo. A lot of woods and beaches in my area that are pretty. 

2. Culture- changing. Touristry is through the roof in my area as wealthier areas are recognizing it for what it is and turning it into something more. 

3. My particular town is getting pricey. My house I'm renting is $800 a month. But if you live in some of the less desirable areas in the state there are okay apartments in the $500-600 range. Housewise, all houses are very affordable. My cousin got a 3 br 2ba house on 8 acres I think it was for $125k

Edit: and gas is $2.69 a gallon rn thought u shud kno

4. Things to do: beaches, hiking in woods, tons of relatively recent breweries and distilleries in the area. Cheap movie theaters. Uhh. Yeah. Golfing and stuff. 

5 county is a bit all over the place. Three towns are significantly white and wealthy, two are really ghetto and run down, the rest are kinda just there. Super white county outside of the two ghetto towns. It's not very diverse at all here. 

[Dome]

Washington, The Evergreen State

 

1) How is the scenery?

Some of the best in the country. 

 

2) How is the culture?

Most people around here have a small town mentality. Other than Portland and Seattle, small towns is about all we have for a long long ways. I'm sure Seattle and  Portlanders feel differently but I'm not the one to comment on them city slickers. There's a pretty strong hippy/surfer(well, windsurfing/kiteboarding)/stoner culture here for pretty obvious reasons, that extends to all the rural areas as well. I think the West Coast as a whole is more of a laid back area and Washington is no exception.

3) Affordability?

Seems to be affordable. No issues there except maybe parts of the bigger cities. I'm sure mileage will vary based on where specifically you want to live. Good minimum wage too... $15 an hour, so even if you're at the bottom of the totem pole you're doing alright.

4) Things to do?

Lots of outdoor recreation. Lots and lots of outdoor recreation. I personally like fishing and camping. The Pacific Crest Trail is really popular, 2500+ miles from Mexico to Canada. Seattle has a very good music scene (or so I've been told) and Portland has coffee snobs, beer snobs, really anything you want to be a snob about, Portland has a group for you.

5) Demographic

Quite bland. As a state we're 77% white, 7% Asian and less than 5% any other race. My specific area has quite a few Native fishing reservations so we've probably got a higher Native population but yeah we're still in the process of diversifying. 

[Sugashane]

Illinois - NOT CHICAGO

1) Lots of farmland, so peaceful on drives and several lakes to enjoy near where I live, great for motorcycle rides. Winters suck.

2) Meh. Too many fake rednecks and wangsters, but whatever. Most people here are pretty nice.

3) Cheap enough. Some places can be rented for as little as $300 a month. Not a ton of jobs worthwhile here though so it levels out some. I got a big, old 4BR for $65K and have done a fair bit of work to it.

4) Lakes, 2 small colleges and 2 high schools for plenty of sporting events, and monthly town-sponsored events. Nothing great but always something, it is just a slower paced town.

5) Mostly white. but we have at least a few of most major nationalities.

[animaltested]

Someone already did Washingtion, so Ill do my current "home"

Hanoi, Vietnam

 

1) How is the scenery?

Depends were you are. Parts of Hanoi are beautiful [around the lakes], others are a dump. Besides that there are some spectacular areas Ninh Binh, Mai Chau, Da Nang. Still need to make it places like Ha Long and HCMC.

 

2) How is the culture?

Depends on if you are in a touristy area or not. But overall, food culture is great [local and foreign], Nightlife... is eh. Best part is driving around the city on a motorbike. Awesome stuff (Besides the MadMax traffic).

 

3) Affordability?

Its pretty cheap here. Food is usually around 25-40K [1-2 dollars]. Even foreign food is like 5-7 dollars for a meal + drinks.

 

4) Things to do?

Hanoi... nuthin. Eat and drink I suppose. Outside of Hanoi there is tons of things. Adventurous types paradise.

 

5) Demographic

Well, Im sure you can guess. It is a incredibly young country. And it also a very international country as well. Not very many Americans, but tons of Auzzies, Germans, Russian, South Africans and Brits. Alot of them are Ex-Pats as well. My area has a huge population of Ex-Pats [Tay Ho].

[vikesfan89]

14 hours ago, TheChancellor said:

Representing Croatia.

I don't even know where to start.

It's a small country with a small place mentality, which is bringing us down economically and politically which is a shame because our natural landmarks alone should make us heaven on earth. It is however completely insane how we're able to produce many sports stars and superstars considering that our population is only about 4 million people.

Bill Beličić's family originates from a town that's about an hour away from me. So it's pretty cool that one of the most brilliant minds in the history of football is of Croatian descent. Pete Carroll is too. Can't forget the champ, Stipe Miočić either.

We have the perfect DNA for sports. It's awesome and weird, really.

Sport usually unites us, politics divide us.

 

Pretty sure I'm part Croatian

[TheChancellor]

1 minute ago, vikesfan89 said:

Pretty sure I'm part Croatian

That's pretty cool to hear man. We've had a few emigration waves in the last 100 years, and a lot of our people went to the States, naturally.

[tom cody]

Newfoundland, Canada

1) How is the scenery?

Wonderful; People come from all over to see our scenery

2) How is the culture?

Great. Lots of songs about the place.

3) Affordability?

High cost of living, high taxes.

4) Things to do?

Not much. Chronic high unemployment. Many rural towns here

5) Demographic?

Mainly older. Lack of jobs here have robbed us of many people for generations. Doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. 

[TENINCH]

Atlanta Georgia

1) How is the scenery?

Amazing scenery until you get below Macon and then the rest of the state becomes what you are shown in movies when they are trying to scare you.

2) How is the culture?

It's awesome where I am. Atlanta is full of things to do and the outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, and camping are as good as anywhere I've lived. Fishing is better in Minnesota though.

3) Affordability?

Very cheap. Big reason why this state has taken over for Hollywood as the top place to film movies

4) Things to do?

See above. 3 Major sports franchises and a ton of college football. Some amazing restaurants too.

5) Demographic?

Black, Asian, White, Mexican. We got it all!

 

[Tetsujin]

38 minutes ago, TENINCH said:

Atlanta Georgia

 

Which part of ATL you at?

[Dome]

Wish I had a stronger ethnic background of some kind. We’re a little Scottish, Irish, German, Russian and Italian but not enough of one for it to stand out.