What do You Love About Where You Live?

Thank you, gentlemen!

Jeff, yes, Leamington was a lovely place to grow up, but a tad challenging to live in for me. It did provide easy access to Detroit when it was thriving with good music and a downtown nightlife!  

Ha! I just realized you are in Ferndale! We used to drive on the I-75 going to many football/soccer games and concerts in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas.  

And, Jeff, when I lived in Toledo, I would go to places like Point Pelee National Park and Windsor. Most Americans don't realize that Windsor, which is just across the Detroit River from Detroit is actually south of the Motor City and that Point Pelee National Park, which juts into Lake Erie, is the southernmost part of mainland Canada. A favorite three day weekend was driving the 50 miles up to Windsor from Toledo and then taking the train to Toronto.

I live in Seoul, South Korea and I'm originally from the US. One of the greatest benefits to living here is the fact I don't need a car. I absolutely detest driving and the costs of time and money associated with it. So being here has allowed me to rid our family of all our vehicles. We are car-free since May of 2015. The Seoul subway is the best subway I have ever used in the world. It's clean, well-maintained, and very cheap. Seoul's bus service is top notch as well, though at times the buses can be too crowded. Taxis are great and surprisingly cheap. All in all, I bet we're saving thousands a year by not having vehicles anymore.

Another great perk of Seoul is the delivery culture. You can get *anything* delivered. We don't go to the grocery store anymore. My wife just gets online, orders the groceries, and the delivery man brings them to our apartment door that day or the next. It's so nice. We also utilize a restaurant delivery service called Shuttle Delivery. Again, we get online, find a restaurant we want food from, order it, and a motorcycle-riding delivery man brings it to our apartment door within 30 minutes or so. Amazing!

I've been to NYC, Houston, Seattle, DC, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, London, and Toronto (Canada), and by far Seoul is my favorite. Crime is exceptionally low, it's clean, growing, vibrant, and they have a budding, but strong craft brew culture. What more could I ask for? (Actually, clean air would be nice.)

I'm from Southwestern Ohio. And SPQR showed us some fine pictures of this area.

I like it here because there are lots of trees here. And trees bring us shade.

Here's the Loveland Castle. This is about 2/3 of what it should be. It's size is smaller. I hope this makes sense.

And, Jeff, when I lived in Toledo, I would go to places like Point Pelee National Park and Windsor.  Most Americans don't realize that Windsor, which is just across the Detroit River from Detroit is actually south of the Motor City and that Point Pelee National Park, which juts into Lake Erie, is the southernmost part of mainland Canada.  A favorite three day weekend was driving the 50 miles up to Windsor from Toledo and then taking the train to Toronto.

Back in the day when dating my wife we would go to Point Pelee, Windsor and London for dates or even dinner.  I lived in Toledo and she was in Michigan.  It was a quick trip over the Ambassador Bridge.

We used to go to Windsor to drink legally before we were 21. Their legal drinking age was 19. Not sure if it still is or not. Oh yeah, and to get french fries from Taco Bell. Haha

Wow! Surprising how many of you have been to Point Pelee and Windsor!

"I grew up in southwestern Ontario in a very small farming town, which happens to be the tomato capital of Canada, called Leamington..."

Celestino,

Thank you for the Ketchup.

Where would the world be without it?

Mickey

I lived in Suwon (~25 KM from Seoul) for a short period of time. I agree with almost everything you mentioned. Loved that place. Only problem for me was language. But people are really friendly, so even sign language was enough.

I know exactly where Suwon is. Were you in the US military on TDY or stationed there? Language is also a problem for me. But I am coming to understand more and more of the spoken language. I can't speak much at all and I can't read anything.

What a great post. Living in Rural SD there are many things I love about it


1. I can walk out my front or back door and hop on one of our ATV's and ride down to the river and fish

2. My kids can do things people can't do in town, this time of year shooting off fireworks comes to mind. Have a fire in our fire-pit area, shoot their BB guns, etc. etc. My kids can do kid stuff and I don't have to enroll them in a camp to give them something to do other than be plugged into an electronic device.

3. I don't have houses on either side of me with a tiny lawn. I like having a lot of room between me and my neighbors. I'm not anti-social but having space is nice even if caring for and landscaping seven lots isn't always fun.

4. The hunting and fishing are magnificent right by my house, I don't have to travel or spend exorbitant amounts of money to do either.

5. Small town atmosphere means someone is always willing to help when you need it and people generally are still kind to one another, hold the door for one another, say have a good day, say thank you, and treat people with respect. A couple of years ago we had a bad storm that blew a ton of trees and branches over all over town. The next morning people began to emerge after they had their coffee and everyone had their chain saws in tow and some farmers brought side dump trucks into town to help remove the debris everyone worked until everyone's property was clean again.... that type of behavior is normal, expected where I live, but sadly, has become a rarity in America today.

I live in rural Maine now, we moved from NJ in 1980 and I haven't looked back. I don't even like going there when I have to, and I'm out of there in 24 hours. I was born and raised in suburbia outside of NYC.

I like the outdoors and Maine has plenty of that. I like the clean air and the pine scent that it has. I also like the freedom. We are one of the freest states on the east coast and not to be compared at all to NJ. My brother was just up here and we went into a certain store, and he saw items he can't even hope to own. I can buy them as easily as buying a can of soda.

I like that I can go into my forest, yes mine, and be surrounded by a cathedral of trees. I can walk that forest with a firearm and no one tells me that I can't. Everyone up here does that. I also like that unless land is posted that it's free to be used by others for their enjoyment (not hurt or consumed). If one wants to bird watch on someone else's land, go for it. Want to hunt there? Go right ahead. Permission isn't required, but it's always nice to be asked as a courtesy.

I like that I can go to the top of our glacier worn "mountain" and get a view, or see raptors circling to gain altitude as they migrate or hunt. Or I can drive a few miles and be at the rocky and rugged Maine coast.

If I want to shoot I just go out my door. I have a 15-100 range on my land. If I want to shoot tannerite I just do it (another thing that surprised my brother, from the size of the explosion, and no one cared). I like that others allow others to just be themselves. Most folks here treat that freedom with respect and don't step on others. We don't try to force others to conform to our ideas, mostly.

I like that the state has attractions, but that they need to be mostly sought out and are of a natural variety. There is very few bright lights to draw attention to things. The cities that we do have are quite livable for cities, and are of the right scale to visit for a day.

I like the very distinct seasons that we get. I especially like the cold winters that keep the non-hardy folks from making our state their year long residence. Outsiders always want to change things and make Maine just as screwed up as the hell hole that they left. I like our low crime rate and the ability to keep it low. ( case in point: http://www.centralmaine.com/2016/06/27/a...n-augusta/ )

I've been elsewhere and I chose Maine because of those things. We've been here for 36 years and I'm still quite in love with it. I don't like leaving it and when I cross the bridge on my return I still get very emotional about it.