Rock it Grill⊠god I hated that place. But Old town will always have a special place in my heart. I got married there, our rehersal was at Union Street Pub. Love that area.
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I like the place that makes Detroit-style pizza in Frederick.
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Almost exact same path. Its a fantastic place to be in your 20s, still a very good place to have a baby or toddler, but then rapidly gets a lot worse as the kids (and you) get older.
When kid #2 hit about 3, my wife looked at me one day and said âWant to move out of the city?â and even though I hadnât seriously sat down and thought about it, my brain just instantly was like âYep, sounds goodâ. We used to go to clubs and close down bars, now we just wanted to have dinner with the kids and watch TV. It was time to hand off our spots in the big city to young folks.
We poked around the burbs a bit, but I had recently gotten some geographic flexibility and sheâd changed gears after years of working for a big bank so we didnât really have to stay close to the city anymore. Settled on Charlottesville, which weâd both loved, and never looked back.
Less than 3 months after we moved, an old friend had twins. They asked us to be god parents to one and the christening was in the city. Took the train into Grand Central and I was struck by how crowded it was, the pushing and shoving. Almost had to fight someone to get a taxi. In the taxi otw to the church, it struck me that in 12 years of living in NYC I never once thought about the pushing and shoving and crowds of NYC because of course that was what it was like. Itâd be a fish complaining about being wet.
3 months in Charlottesville had briskly shaved my NYC armor right off. Been back a zillion times for lots of reasons, and I like visiting, especially if its just me and I can wander around even a little. But I canât imagine actually living there again.
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Itâs funny how family and kids esp can change how you feel about a place.
DC was my base throughout my 20s minus a few jaunts to the UK and I loved it and was a staple in the night scene. Met my wife in my 30s and we still went out etc but it slowed.
When looked at starting a family suddenly DC wasnât as desirable mainly do to space and cost. We had some flexibility and so Atl became the spot. Lived intown went out to bars etc loved it. Then covid and 2 kids and suddenly being intown and going out wasnt a priority.
And now itâs out in the burbs living on 3 acres and embracing our country roots. Never thought that would be the journey. And miles away from going to after hours at Club 5 on 19th. &M.
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Adding to the list of cities I donât like. Iâm back in Scottsdale nxt week for work. The Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe/Messa region does nothing for me. Used to go out there to visit the MIL and now I go a few times a yr for work. Never saw the appeal
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I hated San Francisco before it was cool/political to hate San Francisco.
Outrageously pricey. Foggy and 55. Douches with Patagonia vests. Hilly. Dirty.
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Went in to NYC yesterday to hang out with best friend from Kentucky. It was Santa Con and i have never ever seen the place so packed. Literally couldnt even walk the street so many people
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Ugh yeah I was in Phoenix for a conference in the Fall and did not like it. Granted, I was in the hotel district by the baseball stadium and basketball arena, but I did not enjoy it. Especially contrasted with Chicago, where I often go for conferences, where the downtown hotels are right near the lakefront.
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Iâve had the weirdest experiences in SF. Been 3 times.
First time was late 90âs. Stayed a couple of blocks from the Moscone Center, so not a sketchy part of town. City just looked dirty and I couldnât walk 20 yards from the hotel without getting hit up by 5 homeless people for money. Didnât like it at all.
Went back again 6-7 years later, and totally different. Weather was better that time, so did more tourist stuff, but city didnât feel as sketchy. Even rode their subway several times and felt as safe as the DC Metro.
Then just went back like 4 years ago (so about 15 years between visits) and it was closer to how it was the first time I went. Havenât really had a desire to go back since.
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I think East Coast cities and West Coast cities are in different categories.
East Coast cities have no room, so they build up instead of out. Density instead of space. It can come out very cool or not so much.
West Coast cities build out instead of up because there are no space constraints. Definitely changes the dynamic of where everything is and how you get around.
So i think most people will be in one camp or the other in which type they like better.
- East Coast city - build up and dense
- West Coast city - build out and sprawl
- Suburb
- Country
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voters
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Other big variables are natural borders (SF is a peninsula vs LA is a huge basin) and central core and development before or after cars
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Yeah, but SF is the anomaly. Most, though not all, cities in the mid-west and west are basically built like LA, just a question of size. LA nuked itâs own mass-transit which probably makes it a little more-so than everyone else.
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If we are going beyond the top 10 cities, I would add Greenville SC (not the miserable one in NC). Only downside is the extensive Clemson love in that region.
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Great town. Clem heavy but plenty of others from elsewhere.
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so true
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Oh that brings back some memories. Or it would if I could remember them.
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Yeah, Phoenix is tough.
There are a handful of distinct reasons people come to the Valley and on the whole relocators find their niche. A lot of folks come later in life (snowbirds, but also professional telos, Mormons et al.) and the draw is different than say moving to NYC in your 20s. The appetite to be a part of some common civic identity is just different.
People bring their hometown teams with them and maybe also root for PHX teams, but often donât. In a way, thatâs the best metaphor I can give.
Iâve moved here twice. Once was in my 20s when my wife and I picked Paradise Valley for access to stuff folks in their 20s like. Again in my late 30s when schools made our choice for us. Landed in totally different places.
Leads to a weird lack of civic identity and cohesion. The spatial piece doesnât help either; a coworker invited me to a holiday party at her home in Glendale. She might as well have invited me to a party on the moon.
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You raise an interesting point. I always thought I prefered the open spaces of west coast cities more and that the East Coast ones were too on top of each other. Then I started spending time out west evening living in LA. And I realized the sprawl sucks more than the over congestion.
Give me southern cities as the happy medium. Usually have been rebuilt thanks to the War so they have hints of the old but were able to incorporate more space and openness and since the big cities were already established there wasnât a need to build up and imitate.
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Obviously not in the US, but if youâre looking for a happy medium between dense city living and things being sufficiently spread out with adequately integrated green space, I would present Berlin as almost the perfect happy medium. Obviously many European cities could make a great case - but Berlin I think is notable for how big it is but how it often feels more like four or five cities connected together.
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The middle part of Berlin is surprisingly walkable.
In Germany, Leipzig is also a surprisingly underrated city.
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