What do you like best about where you live.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by noonereal

I know I am different than most but I have always liked tough industrial smoke stack areas.
The old mills and grit around them have always suited me just fine.
A few blocks from the palatially restored row houses of the urban areas has always made me feel at home.

There was a time when you might have liked Detroit a great deal but that time is no more.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Noone, your post could almost have been mine.

I live in "wine country" too. The area is still pretty rural with a lot of open space and even some more or less wild lands still to enjoy. Like your area, we have a lot of the same gourmet foods produced locally and the wineries are great patrons of the arts.

The little town of Healdsburg has a world class (but not world reknowned) jazz festival every year that lasts a couple of weeks. The impetus behind it is several winery families in the area. Other wineries hold concerts throughout the year.

We have Marin County to act as a buffer between us and San Francisco. That protects us from urban sprawl but we're still close enough to get there for the symphony or museums, etc. Best of both worlds.

This is some of the prettiest country on the planet. There are hills and mountains, some bare save for a scattering of black or live oak, some cloaked in coastal redwoods. The ocean is never farther than an hour away.

The weather is pretty fantastic. Never gets really hot and never really cold. From April to October we get no rain at all, just six solid months of perfect days. For the second six months we get enough rain for things to grow.

John

I am less than an hour from Bethel Woods (site of the Woodstock concert) and the town of Woodstock (artists community) where Levon Helm plays in his home/auditorium most weeks.

Still, for retirement I might just find me a small city to settle in.
I kinda like Albany very affordable in the city proper and all the conveyances of both the suburbs and city.

[HatchetJack]

Super nice spread Merrylander. I see lots of potential garden spots. Is that a
greenhouse out back or solar panels on a shed? I would love to have my place
manicured like that but two kids keep me inside when I'm not at work.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Boreas

There was a time when you might have liked Detroit a great deal but that time is no more.

John

Being born and raised in the heart of a big city, I love city life, other then the people

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Being born and raised in the heart of a big city, I love city life, other then the people

I always end up either in a downtown area or the sticks. I love things about both but the 'burbs don't do a thing for me.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

I always end up either in a downtown area or the sticks. I love things about both but the 'burbs don't do a thing for me.

John

Same here.

I never liked the burbs. I just don't get their allure.

[Writewing]

I live in Ohio on 2 acres out in the country where its peace and quiet, great neighbors and no crime or drama. It can be a little slow from time to time but its very relaxing and I am one hour away from Pitts and Cleve so fun is not far away. I grew up in Cleve burbs and dont think I could go back full time but love to vist, go to concerts and events.
I made it to see Cleve Orchestra a few times this year, a couple Operas and some Jazz also. My next big event is Govt Mule Feb 2 at House of Blues and I am friends with Devon Allman (Gregs son and leader of band HoneyTribe) and looks like I am gonna get to meet Warren and the gang from Mule. Thats gonna be a great show!
Lake Erie is great for fishing and boating, other than winter its a great area to be in.

[HatchetJack]

A few pics from back in the spring, this is how the poor folks live.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by noonereal

I had always though highly of the Rouse Company projects of the 80's.

Jim Rouse was a visionary. He did some really good and ambitious stuff. In you're neck of the woods he did South Street Seaport and he also did Fanueil Hall in Boston and Harbor Place in Baltimore. All really good projects.

Before any of that, around 1970 I think, he undertook the building of an entire city from the ground up. It's Columbia, located in Rob's Howard County, Maryland.

Rouse bought up something like 15 - 20% of the whole county, using straw buyers picking up a parcel here and a parcel there so as not to drive the price up. Then he set about building his city, complete with housing at all levels of affordability, businesses of all kinds and even an industrial base. (GE's appliance division and Head Ski & Sportswear are examples.)

It worked and it didn't. Columbia, last I heard, was a good place to live but funny stuff happens when you add people into the mix. Rouse's idea of having a city where people both lived and worked fell victim to reality. People living in Columbia tended to work in DC or Baltimore and the factories and businesses tended to draw their workers from outside.

John

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by HatchetJack

Super nice spread Merrylander. I see lots of potential garden spots. Is that a
greenhouse out back or solar panels on a shed? I would love to have my place
manicured like that but two kids keep me inside when I'm not at work.

We keep the garden close to the house because of the white tailed lawn rats, an 18HP tractor with a 60" deck keeps the grass under control and yes that is a greenhouse, sort of styled like a New England salt box. We also have a Dutch barn down behind that grove of trees behind the house. There is something in the grove that looks like Ayers Rock in Australia so they never farmed that bit. Biggest darned rock I have ever seen. Got the barn from the Amish and keep garden tools and other stuff in it along with the golf cart. That sounds funny but with a drop of 50 feet front to back hiking around here can get to you.

Jack those pics look great!