kimrachell said:

Cerebus said:

San Diego is awesome. I have close friends in La Jolla and its one of my favorite places to visit. But like Stoned said, its expensive. Plus, its hot. Plus, depending on where you are in Cali, the demographic is TOTALLY different. As a person who never plans on leaving the Bay Area, the San Diego area as whole is just WAY too SoCal for me. I'm not sure its really any more expensive than many parts of the Bay Area, though. And maaaaan there are some beautiful areas down there (and close by). But the heat and the different vibe are just too noticeable for me to ever move there.

I never been to Des Moine and haven't visited Dallas or Miami in over a decade, so I don't really have anything to say for or against those choices.

Oh, why are you leaving the Bay Area? I've lived a lot of places and I can say with CONFIDENCE that there is no place like it.

OK, I read a little more. First, I don't have kids so I can't judge cities in that regard. Second, SD has quite a few great "scenes" (or terrible ones if you ask one of my friends ). In other words, they have things for adults to go out and do at night. A lot of them.

the bay area is very beautiful, i love it here, you can never get bored living here, because there is always some place you can go for entertainment. so many fun places to take kids. it's really a perfect area for us. but the cost is just too much. we can't afford it here.

I live in the Bay Area and there really is no place else I'd rather be I have considered moving to other places like Atlanta (where my mother and sister live) or Chicago (a wonderful city with so much to see and do) but I can never bring myself to leave Califonia.The weather is amazing! It never really gets too hot or too cold here.It IS expensive,though.

SCNDLS said:

vainandy said:

Miami: If I were to ever move, I wouldn't want to be anywhere in The South. However, if I had to stay in The South, Miami probably would be the only place I would want to be. From what I've seen on TV, they have modern contemporary style like a motherfucker which I love. I could never afford it though.

Dallas: If I want to be in a city or state full of rednecks, I can stay right here in Mississippi.

Iowa: Oh hell naw! I may be white my damn self but Andy ain't going to live nowhere that ain't got hardly any blacks. Living someplace like Iowa would be as dull as being in a 24 hour Shitney Houston concert.

San Diego: All I know about it is it is in California and I always said if I ever had the money to get the hell out of Mississippi, it would be either New York City, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. Well, at least San Diego is in California so that probably would be where I would consider moving. Only after doing some research on the city first though. I wouldn't want to end up being in some area of California that would be as dull as Iowa.

Boy, you really need to quit! Are you seriously comparing Dallas to ANYWHERE in Mississippi???

I'm black and love the gay mens and I can tell you Dallas is NOT full of rednecks. I've lived here for almost 20 years and in Texas for 30. I can live anywhere in this country and own a home in Panama and would always pick Dallas as my homebase. Folks need to actually come here and visit and stop assuming a lot of bullshit about a place and group of people.

I've always wanted to visit Dallas.There was one year when we were gonna have our family reunion there but it got cancelled.

veronikka said:

I wouldn't leave Cali, that leaves San Diego as my choice

StonedImmaculate said:

I live in San Diego and it is the place to be just for the weather alone.

We start complaining when it gets in the 50s, so that tells you how spoiled we are. I bullshit you not...several Christmas days where its 80 outside without a cloud in the sky.

But it is ridiculously expensive. Housing I wont even get into, but gas prices? FUCK!!!!!!

I paid $4.09 for regular unleaded yesterday and have seen it as high as $4.23 recently.

So if you got money, come on!

Now my parents live in Greenville, TX, just 45 minutes east of Dallas. I visit at least once a year...very, very, very nice except for the fact that you die from the heat in the summer. The money you spend on heating and air is almost as ridiculous as the gas prices in San Diego.

Never been to Miami. Des Moines? Remove it from the list immediately.

I don't think I could ever live in a state that gets too hot.I can barely tolerate the heat in Atlanta during the summertime I go there to visit my mom and the heat is unbearable.

SoulAlive said:

SCNDLS said:

Boy, you really need to quit! Are you seriously comparing Dallas to ANYWHERE in Mississippi???

I'm black and love the gay mens and I can tell you Dallas is NOT full of rednecks. I've lived here for almost 20 years and in Texas for 30. I can live anywhere in this country and own a home in Panama and would always pick Dallas as my homebase. Folks need to actually come here and visit and stop assuming a lot of bullshit about a place and group of people.

I've always wanted to visit Dallas.There was one year when we were gonna have our family reunion there but it got cancelled.

Well, come on down! But be prepared it's hot as hell in the summer. Again, it don't bother me I'm from down by the equator so i'm used to hot as long as it's some AC in close proximity.

I love to visit Cali. I was in LA for 3 weeks in February and had a blast. But everytime I think about living there the cost of living/gas/real estate, smog (I have asthma so that's a huge NO) and earthquakes make me shudder.

Years ago when P was in Vegas, I was sitting in line waiting for the show and I struck up a conversation with a couple from SoCal. Turns out the wife worked for the builder I used for my house here in Texas. We were both closing on new homes with the same builder that month. So we were describing our homes, and after awhile she asked how much I paid for mine.

Ordinarily I wouldnt answer a ? like that but you know I wanted to know how much she paid for hers which she was happy to share. When she told me, you coulda bought me for a penny. Their house was SIX times more expensive than mine (even with her employee discount), built by the same builder, LESS sq ft, smaller lot, higher utilities did not include landscaping and her hubby was making a 2 hour commute. Plus they had to pay for private school.

Then she told me they were making an $800k profit by selling their current home. I told her, "Guuuurrrrl, I would transfer with that builder to the offices in Dallas, use that money to move to Texas, and buy a house CASH!!!"

She's prolly not even working now due to the real estate crash and saddled with an upside down mortgage on a house she can't sell.

[Edited 4/1/11 7:05am]

RenHoek said:

kimrachell said:

carmel would be perfect for me, maybe one day we can retire there if we hit the lottery?

orlando looks like a good option, i don't know much about it, so i need to look more into the area.

right now i'm really split between texas and florida. we are going to visit both places during the summer and then make up our minds.

sorry but the thing that keeps us from moving to Florida is it's Florida...

It would appear that every time some crazy ass news story comes out about some shockingly depraved criminal shit goin' down there is always a higher proportion of that stuff going down in Florida...

Truly the ONLY good thing I can think of in Florida is JerseyKRS, PunkMistress and that soon the Mdiver/Shanti clan will be moving there... (sorry if I forgot anyone...)

This is, of course, all tempered by the fact that it's also the former home of Sagsway2low/TheVoid/Imago and he may return someday...

i've been looking online and the crime rates are very high in both miami and orlando, orlando is even worse than miami in-fact.

SCNDLS said:

SoulAlive said:

I've always wanted to visit Dallas.There was one year when we were gonna have our family reunion there but it got cancelled.

Well, come on down! But be prepared it's hot as hell in the summer. Again, it don't bother me I'm from down by the equator so i'm used to hot as long as it's some AC in close proximity.

I love to visit Cali. I was in LA for 3 weeks in February and had a blast. But everytime I think about living there the cost of living/gas/real estate, smog (I have asthma so that's a huge NO) and earthquakes make me shudder.

Years ago when P was in Vegas, I was sitting in line waiting for the show and I struck up a conversation with a couple from SoCal. Turns out the wife worked for the builder I used for my house here in Texas. We were both closing on new homes with the same builder that month. So we were describing our homes, and after awhile she asked how much I paid for mine.

Ordinarily I wouldnt answer a ? like that but you know I wanted to know how much she paid for hers which she was happy to share. When she told me, you coulda bought me for a penny. Their house was SIX times more expensive than mine (even with her employee discount), built by the same builder, LESS sq ft, smaller lot, higher utilities did not include landscaping and her hubby was making a 2 hour commute. Plus they had to pay for private school.

Then she told me they were making an $800k profit by selling their current home. I told her, "Guuuurrrrl, I would transfer with that builder to the offices in Dallas, use that money to move to Texas, and buy a house CASH!!!"

She's prolly not even working now due to the real estate crash and saddled with an upside down mortgage on a house she can't sell.

[Edited 4/1/11 7:05am]

yep, it's nuts how much a nice house costs in cali! and rent isn't any better.

SoulAlive said:

StonedImmaculate said:

I live in San Diego and it is the place to be just for the weather alone.

We start complaining when it gets in the 50s, so that tells you how spoiled we are. I bullshit you not...several Christmas days where its 80 outside without a cloud in the sky.

But it is ridiculously expensive. Housing I wont even get into, but gas prices? FUCK!!!!!!

I paid $4.09 for regular unleaded yesterday and have seen it as high as $4.23 recently.

So if you got money, come on!

Now my parents live in Greenville, TX, just 45 minutes east of Dallas. I visit at least once a year...very, very, very nice except for the fact that you die from the heat in the summer. The money you spend on heating and air is almost as ridiculous as the gas prices in San Diego.

Never been to Miami. Des Moines? Remove it from the list immediately.

I don't think I could ever live in a state that gets too hot.I can barely tolerate the heat in Atlanta during the summertime I go there to visit my mom and the heat is unbearable.

i don't think the heat would be that big of an issue for me, i lived in brazil and that country is very hot and humid. where i lived we had no AC either, only a fan. i got used to it after a while.

jone70 said:

SCNDLS said:

Best Places to Live

I'd like to point out that Ames, Iowa (which I mentioned being very close to Des Moines) is #9 on that list.

#9. Ames, Iowa

WINNER

Top 100 rank: 9
Population: 60,000
Unemployment: 4.3%
Compare Ames to Top 10 Best Places

Unemployment at 4.3%? That's not a misprint: Ames is the home of Iowa State University, which employs 9,000, and there are lots of biotech and agriculture jobs nearby. Like many states, Iowa has trimmed university funding, but the school has not had to make drastic cuts.

If the people who live here get bored, they have only themselves to blame. Besides Iowa State's cultural and athletic offerings, Ames boasts 36 parks, a bustling shopping district, and a new aquatic center.

Sports are big in this town: The high school boys basketball team, girls tennis team, and girls golf team are state champions. But the friendliness of the community is what newcomers tend to remark upon most.

Says Craig McFarland, 55, a financial adviser who moved here with his family in 2006: "Our first day, a neighbor came over with cookies." --Anne Lee

sounds nice!

kimrachell said:

help me decide, we might have the chance to move to one of these cities Miami Florida, Dallas Texas, Des Moines Iowa, San Diego California. If you could/had to pick one to live in for the next several years which one would you choose? and why? i've been looking up info. about each place, such as crime rate, cost of living, schools, etc...but can't seem to decide. right now we live in the bay area of california.

San Diego.

I have a friend out there...

kimrachell said:

RenHoek said:

sorry but the thing that keeps us from moving to Florida is it's Florida...

It would appear that every time some crazy ass news story comes out about some shockingly depraved criminal shit goin' down there is always a higher proportion of that stuff going down in Florida...

Truly the ONLY good thing I can think of in Florida is JerseyKRS, PunkMistress and that soon the Mdiver/Shanti clan will be moving there... (sorry if I forgot anyone...)

This is, of course, all tempered by the fact that it's also the former home of Sagsway2low/TheVoid/Imago and he may return someday...

i've been looking online and the crime rates are very high in both miami and orlando, orlando is even worse than miami in-fact.

I definitely did not know that. Does it break down what types of crime are being commited?

Cerebus said:

kimrachell said:

i've been looking online and the crime rates are very high in both miami and orlando, orlando is even worse than miami in-fact.

I definitely did not know that. Does it break down what types of crime are being commited?

Orlando, Florida Orlando Crime Data

Violent Crime Comparison per 1,000 residents

MURDER RAPE ROBBERY ASSAULT REPORTED TOTAL

18 182 965 2,430 RATE PER 1,000 0.10 0.98 5.19 13.07

[Edited 4/1/11 10:56am]

"This city is safer than 1% of the cities in the US." Do you have a website link? I want to see what it says about Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, etc.

Well, I was hoping it would break down how much of the property crime related to homes vs businesses. And that it would have some sort of a neighborhood guides. Regadless, safer than 1% doesn't sound very good.

Cerebus said:

"This city is safer than 1% of the cities in the US." Do you have a website link? I want to see what it says about Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, etc.

Well, I was hoping it would break down how much of the property crime related to homes vs businesses. And that it would have some sort of a neighborhood guides. Regadless, safer than 1% doesn't sound very good.

i know, i was like 1%? what the hell! that's nuts! here's the link http://www.neighborhoodsc...ndo/crime/

kimrachell said:

RenHoek said:

sorry but the thing that keeps us from moving to Florida is it's Florida...

It would appear that every time some crazy ass news story comes out about some shockingly depraved criminal shit goin' down there is always a higher proportion of that stuff going down in Florida...

Truly the ONLY good thing I can think of in Florida is JerseyKRS, PunkMistress and that soon the Mdiver/Shanti clan will be moving there... (sorry if I forgot anyone...)

This is, of course, all tempered by the fact that it's also the former home of Sagsway2low/TheVoid/Imago and he may return someday...

i've been looking online and the crime rates are very high in both miami and orlando, orlando is even worse than miami in-fact.

That's surprising, but then again, it's prolly related to the high level of tourism which tends to attract criminals looking for easy marks. According to stats, Dallas seems to have high crime rates but I never felt unsafe anywhere.

My city specifically was listed as the safest city in Texas and 9th safest in the US for it's size (pop 80k) last year. I think we had 1 murder last year but the perps were from Dallas. But there've been many years with no murders and the few committed were usually the murder-suicide type.

kimrachell said:

Cerebus said:

"This city is safer than 1% of the cities in the US." Do you have a website link? I want to see what it says about Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, etc.

Well, I was hoping it would break down how much of the property crime related to homes vs businesses. And that it would have some sort of a neighborhood guides. Regadless, safer than 1% doesn't sound very good.

i know, i was like 1%? what the hell! that's nuts! here's the link http://www.neighborhoodsc...ndo/crime/

I don't know how current that info is tho cuz it says my city has a pop of 43k when it's really almost twice that.

kimrachell said:

SCNDLS said:

Well, come on down! But be prepared it's hot as hell in the summer. Again, it don't bother me I'm from down by the equator so i'm used to hot as long as it's some AC in close proximity.

I love to visit Cali. I was in LA for 3 weeks in February and had a blast. But everytime I think about living there the cost of living/gas/real estate, smog (I have asthma so that's a huge NO) and earthquakes make me shudder.

Years ago when P was in Vegas, I was sitting in line waiting for the show and I struck up a conversation with a couple from SoCal. Turns out the wife worked for the builder I used for my house here in Texas. We were both closing on new homes with the same builder that month. So we were describing our homes, and after awhile she asked how much I paid for mine.

Ordinarily I wouldnt answer a ? like that but you know I wanted to know how much she paid for hers which she was happy to share. When she told me, you coulda bought me for a penny. Their house was SIX times more expensive than mine (even with her employee discount), built by the same builder, LESS sq ft, smaller lot, higher utilities did not include landscaping and her hubby was making a 2 hour commute. Plus they had to pay for private school.

Then she told me they were making an $800k profit by selling their current home. I told her, "Guuuurrrrl, I would transfer with that builder to the offices in Dallas, use that money to move to Texas, and buy a house CASH!!!"

She's prolly not even working now due to the real estate crash and saddled with an upside down mortgage on a house she can't sell.

[Edited 4/1/11 7:05am]

yep, it's nuts how much a nice house costs in cali! and rent isn't any better.

Cra-zay! My first apt in Dallas was only $380/month, 750 sq ft and hella cute. When I moved out 5 years later I was paying $425. I don't know how ya'll do it.

The first time I visited a friend in LA I was trippin' cuz her apt didn't come with a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. All of that is standard in MOST apts in TX plus AC. Yeah, I'm good right where I'm at.

^^^ Well, what is the average income for TX versus CA? Or Dallas versus SF? I don't know the answer to that, but I think that has something to do with it. If I could make what I make in CA in a state where houses cost $100,000 I'd seriously consider moving there. But I can't... and I wouldn't move anyway.

I agree with SCNDLS about the data being used on that website. I'm not sure its very up to date. You may want to try some others that provide a similar overview. However, I checked several places in the Bay Area and they were all at LEAST 25% safer than the rest of the country. Which makes that 1% look pretty awful.

I live in San Jose,which is listed as the "safest big city" in America...or at least it was a few years ago very low crime here

SoulAlive said:

I live in San Jose,which is listed as the "safest big city" in America...or at least it was a few years ago very low crime here

i live in the san jose area too. where i live is very nice, and i feel pretty safe.

Cerebus said:

^^^ Well, what is the average income for TX versus CA? Or Dallas versus SF? I don't know the answer to that, but I think that has something to do with it. If I could make what I make in CA in a state where houses cost $100,000 I'd seriously consider moving there. But I can't... and I wouldn't move anyway.

I agree with SCNDLS about the data being used on that website. I'm not sure its very up to date. You may want to try some others that provide a similar overview. However, I checked several places in the Bay Area and they were all at LEAST 25% safer than the rest of the country. Which makes that 1% look pretty awful.

my husband will make the same amount of money wherever we move with his job, he doesn't have the kind of job that changes based on location. so that part is a good thing for us, cause if we move to texas for example our money will go so much further.

Evidently you need to mov...th Dakota.

Or any of these cities if... be happy.

Or these states.

And I sincerely hope about half the people in the Bay Area do so immediately.

Edit: half, not have. I need more coffee.

[Edited 4/1/11 13:08pm]

Cerebus said:

Evidently you need to mov...th Dakota.

Or any of these cities if... be happy.

Or these states.

And I sincerely hope about half the people in the Bay Area do so immediately.

Edit: half, not have. I need more coffee.

[Edited 4/1/11 13:08pm]

that's so funny! i just read that on yahoo about north dakota.

Hey, wait a minute now before you start making too much fun of ND!

I was born and raised there

Now I live in Minnesota, so I should be "happy as a clam", don't ya think?!

SCNDLS said:

vainandy said:

Miami: If I were to ever move, I wouldn't want to be anywhere in The South. However, if I had to stay in The South, Miami probably would be the only place I would want to be. From what I've seen on TV, they have modern contemporary style like a motherfucker which I love. I could never afford it though.

Dallas: If I want to be in a city or state full of rednecks, I can stay right here in Mississippi.

Iowa: Oh hell naw! I may be white my damn self but Andy ain't going to live nowhere that ain't got hardly any blacks. Living someplace like Iowa would be as dull as being in a 24 hour Shitney Houston concert.

San Diego: All I know about it is it is in California and I always said if I ever had the money to get the hell out of Mississippi, it would be either New York City, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. Well, at least San Diego is in California so that probably would be where I would consider moving. Only after doing some research on the city first though. I wouldn't want to end up being in some area of California that would be as dull as Iowa.

.

.

.

[Edited 3/31/11 14:35pm]

Boy, you really need to quit! Are you seriously comparing Dallas to ANYWHERE in Mississippi???

I'm black and love the gay mens and I can tell you Dallas is NOT full of rednecks. I've lived here for almost 20 years and in Texas for 30. I can live anywhere in this country and own a home in Panama and would always pick Dallas as my homebase. Folks need to actually come here and visit and stop assuming a lot of bullshit about a place and group of people.

Hey, all I know about Texas is from what I've seen on TV which seemed to be the same type of folks as Mississippi but just more of them in a bigger "city" type setting. Well, except for the TV show "Dallas" but they lived an ultra rich lifestyle that I could never afford but even on that show, when they left the ranch, they were in the redneck bars getting in fights and going to the little diners with the folks sitting around in the cowboy hats and boots. Those would be the type folks that would drag a whore from a pickup truck.

I know what you're saying though because every state has a certain way it is portrayed on TV and TV usually just shows the "cowboy" side of Texas and none of the other groups of people. Just like all the movies and TV shows about Mississippi all seem to either take place during the civil rights era or in some small town like "In The Heat Of The Night". Hell, I had a motherfucker on the internet once ask me if we had indoor plumbing down here.

http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

The only thing this site gives out for free are the 1999 school rankings. You can compare State by State or county by county.

SoulAlive said:

kimrachell said:

the bay area is very beautiful, i love it here, you can never get bored living here, because there is always some place you can go for entertainment. so many fun places to take kids. it's really a perfect area for us. but the cost is just too much. we can't afford it here.

I live in the Bay Area and there really is no place else I'd rather be I have considered moving to other places like Atlanta (where my mother and sister live) or Chicago (a wonderful city with so much to see and do) but I can never bring myself to leave Califonia.The weather is amazing! It never really gets too hot or too cold here.It IS expensive,though.

See, I'd love to live somewhere like San Francisco that has a very large gay population. I would assume that with a large gay population would also come a variety of gay nightlife. Down here, it's one black gay club and one white gay club (anyone can go to either club of course). If you don't like shit hop, you're going to be bored in the black club and if you don't like trance, you're going to be bored in the white club. There's nothing to do for the whores that are older than the shit hop generation and we're too young for the down home blues generation (not that there are any gay clubs for them anyway). There are straight clubs for the over 35 or 40 crowd but no gay clubs for us in that age group. Also, if they were to open one for us, there wouldn't be enough of us to keep it open because most of us are either dead or don't have a mind of our own and have lowered our standards and sold out to dull music and nightlife. Hell, the most fun I have these days are at house parties with gay folks around my same age with similar interests. The only thing is, the men are limited. We end up all sleeping with a new guest of a friend.

vainandy said:

SoulAlive said:

I live in the Bay Area and there really is no place else I'd rather be I have considered moving to other places like Atlanta (where my mother and sister live) or Chicago (a wonderful city with so much to see and do) but I can never bring myself to leave Califonia.The weather is amazing! It never really gets too hot or too cold here.It IS expensive,though.

See, I'd love to live somewhere like San Francisco that has a very large gay population. I would assume that with a large gay population would also come a variety of gay nightlife. Down here, it's one black gay club and one white gay club (anyone can go to either club of course). If you don't like shit hop, you're going to be bored in the black club and if you don't like trance, you're going to be bored in the white club. There's nothing to do for the whores that are older than the shit hop generation and we're too young for the down home blues generation (not that there are any gay clubs for them anyway). There are straight clubs for the over 35 or 40 crowd but no gay clubs for us in that age group. Also, if they were to open one for us, there wouldn't be enough of us to keep it open because most of us are either dead or don't have a mind of our own and have lowered our standards and sold out to dull music and nightlife. Hell, the most fun I have these days are at house parties with gay folks around my same age with similar interests. The only thing is, the men are limited. We end up all sleeping with a new guest of a friend.

sounds to me like YOU need to open a club...

you'd have more money and dick than you could handle (not necessarily in that order and I'm probably wrong, you could handle it...)...

morningsong said:

http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

The only thing this site gives out for free are the 1999 school rankings. You can compare State by State or county by county.

thanks!

obsessed said:

Hey, wait a minute now before you start making too much fun of ND!

I was born and raised there

Now I live in Minnesota, so I should be "happy as a clam", don't ya think?!

yes you should!