Disclaimer: this might be a bit of a stretch. I'm going to St. Joseph, MI (via Chicago) near the end of August for a wedding. Any tips on what to do in that area the night before the big event?
I'm in Atlanta. Help me find a good pizza joint. You will be rewarded with liquor if it passes my stringent pizza tests and you live in the Atlanta area. That is all.
I'm in DC. Anyone know of anywhere in the surrounding areas that I could escape to for a few days? Preferably near water, but if not, it's fine. I just need to reclaim a couple pieces of my soul for a reasonable price.
Well, the stars have reverse-aligned for me. The company I worked for just closed, my lease is up, and my roommate is moving back home. I have no desire to stay in Orlando, FL so I'm getting the fuck out. I worked in the videogame industry so I'm moving to LA to continue pursuing that, and hopefully moonlighting doing stand-up. Any advice, housing leads, temp job leads, neighborhood suggestions, any single thing (I found out about the job yesterday and I'm pretty sure I need to vacate by April 1st, so my plan is still amorphous) you can advise or give for a 24-year old moving to LA would be appreciated on the deepest level. I've been a regular of the RMMB/TMMB/TiB crowd for 7 years and this is the first time I've asked for anything like this, make it happen!
I'm going to be in Jacksonville, FL next week for business. It looks like I won't be too busy so I'd like to know if there are any quiet bars where I could get a couple beers in the evening. I'll be limited to the downtown area (near The Landing). And please, no clubs!
I'm going to Chicago this weekend with my girlfriend. We're staying with one of her friends up there but will probably have all of Saturday to ourselves. What are some fun things to spend the day doing (other than Shedd Aquarium, Sears Tower, and Navy Pier)? I definitely want to experience Wiener's Circle and I know that's up towards Wrigleyville, so are there any cool nightspots nearby that aren't too overcrowded with yuppie Cubs fans?
Going to be in the city of Mineral Wells, TX for my annual tour, starting tomorrow. I'll be around for about two weeks. Anyone here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area know of any good places to eat/drink, etc.. let me know.
A plea to all the Johnny Canucks living on the board. I will be in Vancouver in Late June, in the West End area, for work, and I'm looking for some good bars/restaurants. Preferably place that serve amazing food and local beers. Not looking for fine dining, mind you.
This seems like the most appropriate thread for this, so I'll throw this to the wall and see what sticks: I'm in the business of relocating, possibly sometime next year when I can afford to move. I don't necessarily care where, so long as it caters to what I'm looking for in an area of residence. I'm not limiting my search to a particular region in the US or, for that matter, to the US itself. I'd jump at the opportunity to live outside of the United States, as long as it's feasible. I have a few specific cities in mind that I'm interested in for various reasons, and plan on visiting them early next year to get a closer look. If anyone who's lived in/near these cities can weigh in on anything about them - both good and bad - please PM me. Any input on things like the weather, food, people, transportation, and costs of living would be greatly appreciated. Additionally, if you know of a city that's not listed here, which might appeal to me as much as the ones below, please let me know. I'm kind of making this up as I go, so I don't know the "proper" way to evaluate a potential place of residence. I've been re-reading this thread again in hopes of getting some useful information out of it. Some of my criteria: Spoiler Good climate and geography. This means no barren places or areas where, as Lewis Black would say, "I should have put deodorant on my balls." I'm partial to Mediterranean climates, such as in southern California. Museums, parks (state or theme), zoos, and/or beaches. It doesn't have to be a tourist hub, but I'd like to live in a place that has plenty of such cultural enrichment. I'm a sucker for museums, particularly for science and natural/military history. Same goes for zoos; I fucking love animals. I'll be 23 in July, so I'd prefer an area that's great for 20-somethings. I have a social and sex life to keep in mind. Urban area, at minimum. I grew up around rural towns of 20-30k, and have long grown tired of it. I want to live in a place where the acquisition of a Wal-Mart isn't considered noteworthy. Reasonably priced. I want to be in a city, but not in a place with abnormally high costs of living. So no Silicon Valley or Greenwich Village. I'm not that rich (yet). Relatively open-minded, somewhat liberal culture. I don't want one extreme or the other on the political spectrum, but someplace that's fairly progressive would be ideal. My litmus test is how kindly an area looks upon interracial and same-sex relationships. Examples of what I don't want: San Francisco (too liberal) or Salt Lake City (too conservative). Traffic is reasonable or a non-factor. I don't want to live in a metro that's notorious for shitty traffic everywhere, like DC or Atlanta. Reliable public transit is a plus. In fact, I'd prefer to travel via rail, depending on the cost/availability of monthly passes and reliability of service. Diversity would be nice. I grew up in a military culture (because of my dad), so I'm used to being around people from all walks of life. I'd like to keep it that way, if at all possible. I realize I'm describing some kind of utopia here, but none of the above things are deal-breakers. For example, I'm looking at some cities in Texas and Arizona, in spite of their heat and humidity. I spent my entire life in eastern North Carolina, with a couple random years in Okinawa, so I'm used to that sort of climate. I'd even reconsider the SF Bay Area, if anyone here can change my mind about the New Age, hippie stereotype I have of everyone who lives there. My current, approximate order of top choices in the US, with cities I currently have planned visits for in italics, are: [*]San Diego, CA [*]Denver, CO [*]Anaheim, CA [*]Austin, TX [*]Phoenix, AZ [*]Santa Ana, CA Portland, OR San Antonio, TX Orlando, FL Additionally, I'm starting to look at some places outside of the States, of which I know not a goddamned thing about. I have lots of research ahead of me here. It's not something I'm particularly knowledge about, due to my lack of international travel, so any input here would be especially helpful: Madrid, Spain Barcelona, Spain Berlin, Germany Melbourne, Australia Sydney, Australia Athens, Greece Istanbul, Turkey Brisbane, Australia Perth, Australia Adelaide, Australia Santiago, Chile Cape Town, South Africa There are a few other places overseas, but these are all the ones I've been looking at over the last week or so. As long as I'm young and independent, I might as well go somewhere fun.
Your "no shitty traffic" criteria knocks off just about every major city in the US, plus Athens and Istanbul (I don't remember the traffic in Berlin one way or the other, probably because I took the subway everywhere when I was there, and haven't been to any of the other international cities on your list). Your US cities other than Orlando (which I haven't been to since I was 12 but have heard nothing but awful things about) are all out west, is that by design?? I would add Philly and Raleigh, NC to your list. Philly is the only affordable city in the northeast and while I'm admittedly biased it's one of the more underrated cities in the country in my opinion (most of the people who talk shit about it haven't actually spent any time there). Fits most of the criteria on your list other than climate (cold in winter, hot and humid in summer) and close enough to DC (2.5 hours), NYC (1.5 hours), and Boston (5.5-6 hours) to make weekend visits. Raleigh (or Chapel Hill/Carrboro) is great, not exactly NYC but it's a decent-sized town and probably my favorite city in the country outside Philly and Boston (which you could also take a look at but it's insanely expensive).
I'll be in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia for about a year, beginning next week. Shoot me a PM if you have any vacation plans to that area of the world (we'd love to host some bule's), or if you've been there and have suggestions/stories/advice.
I can't believe Hartford, CT isn't on your list. The good thing about Boston is that you can live in a cheap area like Allston/Brighton/Southie/converted mansions in Brookline or outside of the city in Somerville or even parts of Newton and still be able to get everywhere by train, as long as you're ok with roommates you can keep costs pretty low. It also hits all the other things he said he's looking for in a city, minus traffic, but that's why you live near the T. That said, if he's a real Nancy boy about the cold, Boston winters will be a whore. One piece of advice, if you do end up looking at places in Boston, I don't care how good the deal sounds you stay the fuck away from Dorchester.
Heh, I guess I was expecting too much there. I don't necessarily mean I want 4 empty lanes at any given time, but relative to a big city, I want the traffic to be manageable in some way. That's why I specifically mentioned DC and Atlanta - those cities, as it's been told to me by people who've lived there, are notorious for some of the worst gridlock in America. Which is why I noted my desire for a good intracity rail/bus system (such as the Washington Metro) to make traffic a "non-factor" as I initially stated. If I don't have to worry about traffic, it'll open up my options a bit more. I also remember the few times I've driven around DC. Ugh. Exactly. This is an area of priority for me. If I can help it, I'd travel exclusively this way. Great question. And while I didn't intend it that way, it partially was by design due to some of my criteria (weather and culture). I've spent most of my life up and down the east coast, and I've grown quite bored of it. And while I haven't been to (but would love to visit) NYC and Boston, I know enough about them that they're not places I would care to live. Not that they're bad places, but the lifestyles there wouldn't suit me. I've spent enough time around New England to know that I simply don't care much for the northeast, for a litany of reasons. One of them being... Pretty much. It's not my only reason for avoiding the northeast, but it's a damned big one. I fucking hate that kind of cold. I'm also avoiding MN, WI, MI, Canada, and most of northern Europe for the same reason. For what it's worth, my parents grew up in CT, and even they have said, many times, that they'd never live there again, due to the cold. I have considered Philadelphia, actually. I'd be remiss to eliminate it entirely without visiting, but I get this impression that it's a very hostile place to live. Perhaps I'm judging it unfairly due to my experience with boisterous Eagles, Sixers, and Phillies fans. Is that just a horrible stereotype I need to get over? Raleigh, while a great place, I purposely kept off of my list because of my desire to live somewhere other than NC. It has very little to do with any misgivings about the city itself, and mostly about my wish to live in another part of the country. If I were moving from out-of-state, I'd definitely give it a look. But moving 2 hours from where I grew up wouldn't much feel like the change that I'm looking for. Due to a PM response I received, I have also knocked Orlando and San Antonio off of my list, for the same reasons I was initially concerned about.
That's the only one I can speak about. My folks have been to Cape Town a few times (they have timeshare there). It is a kickass city with plenty to do and many historical places to visit (e.g. The Castle, Muizenberg, etc.). There's also some decent sporting facilities. However, the traffic is not awesome, and the concept of the Minibus taxi is completely foreign to anyone that lives outside S.A. or has not visited this country. The minibus taxi is a scourge on S.A.'s roads. They often stop for passengers in places where it is not safe or wise to do so, use their horns constantly in an attempt to attract passengers, fail to use indicators, often not roadworthy or have working lights and often driven by guys with no drivers license. This youtube video shows what it's like, bad music and dancing (?) Coloured guy (and yes, he'd tell you to call him Coloured - does not have the same derogatory meaning as in the U.S..) included for accuracy: Note how the minibus taxi doesn't once actually pull over but rather stops in the middle of the road to let out passengers. Only in South Africa.
Very true and Boston is a pretty small city geographically so it's easy to live pretty much anywhere in Boston/Brookline/Somerville/Cambridge and get to anywhere else you need to be within a half hour or so. Rent is definitely reasonable in certain areas (last place I lived in Allston was $550/month, decent place and I loved the location but it's not for everyone) but I was speaking more to the cost of living in other respects--food/drinks, gas, cabs, etc. It's not NY/SF bad but it's still bad, definitely more expensive than Philly (and no real reason it should be). I wouldn't worry about the Philly sports fan reputation. Especially since you're a fan of the Broncos (and presumably the other Colorado teams) which aren't in the same division or aside from the Rockies even the same conference as any of the Philly teams, no one will give a shit. Yeah, if you show up to a game wearing Broncos/Rockies/Avs gear you'll catch some shit but unless it's the playoffs not nearly what a Cowboys/Giants/Rangers/etc. fan would get. If you really can't stand it, just avoid bars during Eagles games or Phils/Flyers playoff games and you'll be fine. Sporting events aside I wouldn't call it a hostile place at all, not as friendly as the south but definitely more friendly than Boston/NY. And I don't know where you ran into a "boisterous" Sixers fan, no one gives a shit about the post-Iverson Sixers.
How long are you going to be there? Are you looking for touristy things to do more than places to drink? Looking to hit clubs? The one thing that is universally awesome across all demographics is going to the bar at the top of the Prudential for a drink. If you go during the day you should have no problem getting to see out the window there, best view of the city.
I'm not the most active member on this board, but figured it couldn't hurt. I'm graduating this summer (taking 1 online course now) with a BS in Mech Engineering. Looking for work in/around Aberdeen, MD; Newark, DE, Philly area. I've been working part time or full time depending on class load for the past 2-3 years, doing design, prototype, R&D work. Strong Solidworks skillset, as well as things like MathCAD, Minitab, labView, GD&T, matlab etc. Some ANSYS, java/vbasic programming. If you or anyone you know is looking for someone like this, hit me up and I'll forward you my resume. As well as any general comments, suggestions, etc for the area, companies to look at, etc. Thanks all, appreciate it.
Jacomo's in the North end for Italian. Then go across the street to Anthony's for dessert and a cappuccino. Been a while but Commonwealth Brewery served some great microbrews. I remember an outstanding stout. The Black Rose at Faneuil Hall is a fun Irish pub and it's close to the Old Union Oyster House if you like a raw bar. At Fenway, get a sausage and peppers sandwich from one of the carts outside the ballpark. Better than anything inside.
Whatever you do, don't order an oyster shot there, unless you want to drink a droplet of vodka in cocktail sauce with an oyster in it.