Findyourspot.com’s Top 26 Places for Skennedy to live.
I took this test once, a number of years ago. I was impressed with their large array of lifestyle questions.
I am -not-, however, impressed with the length of their log-in time. I intended on looking up info about each city and writing commentary, but after the first few, I ran out of time, and I refuse to give them a valid email address and set up a permanent log-in. I’m just that kind of curmudgeon.
I’m sure my commentary for these cities will say quite a lot about my natural biases. The cities recommended to me changed, of course, as my own answers have changed since then. Feel free to lodge your own thoughts on these cities.
| Portland, Oregon | City of Roses |
| Population: 2,000,000 | Average Home Price: $259,000 | Precipitation: 36″ | Snow: 5″ | |
| 5,000 acre forest? Nearby water? Performing Arts? High Tech? This city always shows up as #1 on my list. I’m starting to think I need to visit and find out why. The citizens of this city actually voted to tear up parking structures and buildings to create a riverside park. 3 hours from Seattle. Voted #1 city for Small Business, Entrepreneur Mag. | |
| Providence, Rhode Island | New England’s Best Kept Kept Secret |
| Population: 1,213,000 | Average Home Price: $242,000 | Precipitation: 48″ | Snow: 32″ | |
| Rhode Island School of Design… and my session ran out, so I’ll have to go on what I know. Which isn’t much. It’s a smaller population, but it ain’t Sheboygan. Waterways and progressive city works projects. | |
| Hartford, Connecticut | The Insurance Capital |
| Population: 871,500 | Average Home Price: $148,000 | Precipitation: 41″ | Snow: 42″ | |
| New Haven, Connecticut | Home of Yale University |
| Population: 542,000 | Average Home Price: $175,000 | Precipitation: 43″ | Snow: 30″ | |
| Water, yay. Yale: is that good or bad? | |
| Baltimore, Maryland | The Sparkling Harbor City |
| Population: 4,750,000 | Average Home Price: $215,000 | Precipitation: 40″ | Snow: 18″ | |
| I lived in Maryland for 6 months. Great climate. Obviously water is high on my list. | |
| Little Rock, Arkansas | Where America Comes Together |
| Population: 584,000 | Average Home Price: $150,000 | Precipitation: 48″ | Snow: 5″ | |
| No. Just… no. | |
| Boston, Massachusetts | America’s Walking City |
| Population: 3,400,000 | Average Home Price: $461,500 | Precipitation: 43″ | Snow: 41″ | |
| I have friends who -hate- this place. They say it is unfriendly in the extreme. Everyone ignores everyone. | |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | The Genuine American City |
| Population: 1,500,000 | Average Home Price: $125,000 | Precipitation: 31″ | Snow: 47″ | |
| I was in Wisconsin once or twice, but I didn’t have much time to see the sights or experience downtown. | |
| Sheboygan, Wisconsin | Wisconsin’s Jewel on the Lake |
| Population: 51,000 | Average Home Price: $125,000 | Precipitation: 29″ | Snow: 45″ | |
| Too small, way too small. | |
| Chicago, Illinois | The Windy City |
| Population: 2,869,000 | Average Home Price: $237,000 | Precipitation: 32″ | Snow: 40″ | |
| Of all major cities, I have experienced this one the most. I’ve driven all over, taken the L, come in by train. I’ve eaten all sorts of food, visited the museums, and sat on the beach. I like Chicago. | |
| Worcester, Massachusetts | The Heart of the Commonwealth |
| Population: 502,500 | Average Home Price: $215,000 | Precipitation: 48″ | Snow: 45″ | |
| Washington, District of Columbia | The World’s Greatest Capital |
| Population: 572,000 | Average Home Price: $300,000 | Precipitation: 39″ | Snow: 16″ | |
| Good: Smallish large city, fairly clean, public transportation. Bad: Politics, big business, corruption. | |
| Eugene, Oregon | The Emerald City |
| Population: 138,000 | Average Home Price: $179,000 | Precipitation: 48″ | Snow: 7″ | |
| Again, really small. Don’t know anything much about it. | |
| Corvallis, Oregon | Heart of the Willamette Valley |
| Population: 50,000 | Average Home Price: $185,000 | Precipitation: 43″ | Snow: 6″ | |
| Tiny. It would have to really be something special. Don’t know much about it. | |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | America’s Tropical Paradise |
| Population: 876,000 | Average Home Price: $445,000 | Precipitation: 23″ | Snow: 0″ | |
| Good: Hawaii, you fool! Bad: Hot. Humid. Astronomically expensive. ISOLATED. | |
| Eau Claire, Wisconsin | Clear Water, Clean Living |
| Population: 62,000 | Average Home Price: $122,000 | Precipitation: 29″ | Snow: 42″ | |
| Tiny. It would have to really be something special. Don’t know much about it. | |
| Oshkosh-Appleton/Neenah, Wisconsin | The Paper Valley |
| Population: 358,000 | Average Home Price: $131,000 | Precipitation: 31″ | Snow: 43″ | |
| B’gosh! Cursed with a name I could never take seriously. | |
| Champaign-Urbana, Illinois | High Tech in the Heartland |
| Population: 180,000 | Average Home Price: $140,000 | Precipitation: 40″ | Snow: 23″ | |
| Good – two nearby, good friends. Bad – I’m not looking for smalltown feel. | |
| Madison, Wisconsin | Athens Of The Midwest |
| Population: 426,500 | Average Home Price: $202,000 | Precipitation: 30″ | Snow: 44″ | |
| Good: Isn’t this where the Goddess Squad hails from? Bad: erm… dunno. Makes me think of an 80’s song? | |
| La Crosse, Wisconsin | Jewel of the Upper Mississippi |
| Population: 52,000 | Average Home Price: $120,000 | Precipitation: 30″ | Snow: 46″ | |
| You’re very small, Zim. | |
| San Francisco, California | The Golden Gate City |
| Population: 751,700 | Average Home Price: $785,000 | Precipitation: 21″ | Snow: 0″ | |
| This is on the top of my must-visit list. Too many good things to mention. Bad: Expensive as fuck. | |
| Medford, Oregon | Gateway to the Pacific Northwest |
| Population: 190,000 | Average Home Price: $238,000 | Precipitation: 19″ | Snow: 8″ | |
| San Jose, California | The Silicon Capital |
| Population: 898,350 | Average Home Price: $640,000 | Precipitation: 16″ | Snow: 0″ | |
| See San Francisco. | |
| Danbury, Connecticut | Small-Town Charm Near the Big Apple |
| Population: 75,000 | Average Home Price: $280,000 | Precipitation: 39″ | Snow: 50″ | |
Portland, Oregon
Best city evar. It is always in the top 10 best cities in the US for a reason. You get everything you would want out of a big city without living in a hell hole. The only city in to increase its tree canopy cover while still growing in population, so trees every where. I am just a bit biased but i would not want to live anywhere else. Also best beer in the world. Also note that outdoor activites abound in the area. Skieing, hikeing, campeing, fishing, boating, running, bikeing, whatever you like, we have it.
Corvallis, Oregon
Nice town, small but friendly. It is a college town. You better like black and orange and stuffed beavers. Not too far from Salem, and only about an hour drive to Portland.
Medford, Oregon
The area is growing but still influenced by their logging traditions and conservitive leanings. Not close to anything save Ashland that has the best Shakespear festival in the US.
ooo I missed Eugene, Oregon.
I went to school there at UofO. I enjoyed the town, also a college town direct rivals with Corvalllis so you had better like green and yellow and stuffed ducks that specificaly do not look like Donald Duck even though the mascot is in fact Donald Duck. So indeed Eugene has a long tradition of pissing off major corporations. But it is a nice town with lots to do. Its growing and is friendly. It has a very hippy lean to the place and the smell of pachuli is often in the air. You had better like the rain, or the mist. It dosent rain very hard just light rain for days.
Sister lives in Portland — great city without being overwhelming like, say Chicago where the city just goes on and on and on . . .
Also, unlike alot of cities (Seattle being another exception although the sprawl is getting worse and worse) in the PNW, there’s actually a vibrant arts and culture community, unlike say, Spokane or Boise.
Medford is a cultural abyss.
Portland, Oregon:
Been there a couple times for work, but only for a couple days at a time.. Really liked it. Downtown seemed rather alive, rather clean. Thought about moving there, too.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Been here on several different occasions for a couple months of cumulative time. Very nice, reminded me a lot of Detroit, still very blue-collar and with actual things happening downtown, like commerce, and people. The city still had a lot going for it.
Eugene, Oregon:
Again, been there a couple times for work, and a couple times visiting friends who went to school there. Think Ann Arbor hippy-esque (at least the parts I saw, being that I was either doing work for the college or visiting friends at the college), but with a west-coast flair. Only about an hour away from the ocean and plenty of mountains and parks nearby.
Madison, Wisconsin:
Again, just a couple visits… but rather forgettable, to me at least. Good cheese, I hear.
I would like to live in a place I love sometime, instead of in a place I sortof “ended up”. Moving cross country is a bit intimidating, though the west coast is quite appealing to me…
*nod* I’m not necessarily packing my bags this moment, but it’s good to experience your world, your options, and make your environment something that works for you.
Heh, looks pretty similar to my list. I’ll address Milwaukee and Madison, as I’ve actually lived in both, after the others.
–Providence, Rhode Island
Beautiful, but IIRC from last time we stayed there, rather expensive.
–New Haven, Connecticut
Again, as I recall (because I would love to live there), pretty high cost of living.
–Little Rock, Arkansas
Are they INSANE?
Arkansas?
Sheesh.
–Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Ew. Ew. Ew. Crappy little town with lots of hicks.
–Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Nice little university town. The poor man’s Madison.
–Oshkosh-Appleton/Neenah, Wisconsin
UGH!
Oshkosh is the armpit of the world. Appleton is only slightly better. Neenah has upscale parts, but is stunningly provincial.
And there’s not a restaurant worth eating at in the entire Fox Valley.
–La Crosse, Wisconsin
The poor man’s Eau Claire.
–Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Well, as a resident, I can tell you plenty about Milwaukee. :-)
I went through a stage where I was just *sick* of it. I’d been traveling on the East Coast often, and to Chicago, and I just wanted to be elsewhere.
I couldn’t figure out why so many people came here and *stayed.* Or left and came back.
And, recently, having spent some time in Boston and spent a fair amount of time in Chicago, I think I’ve figured it out.
We had just taken a family trip to Chicago and on the way back, my mother remarked about how poor she felt while she was there. Here, she can shop at any clothes store she’s interested in. We can eat in any restaurant in the city. We can afford to attend most of the social events.
We are by no means rich, but Milwaukee has a deep-seated German practicality. There’s a definite cap on how expensive something can be, here, and still survive as a business.
We have world-class chefs that run restaurants. But the entrees don’t go much over $30. If they did, the restaurant would go out of business. Even the people who could afford it probably wouldn’t eat there.
This also seems to me to be a possible explanation for Milwaukee’s philanthropy. The city supports more 2nd- and 3rd-tier arts groups than any other city its size. It donates more to the arts than any other city in the U.S. Including New York and L.A. Furthermore, the donations are not just large donations from wealthy patrons — they’re $50 and $100 donations from blue-collar families on the South Side.
I’ve always wondered why. I mean, I love the friendliness of the city, and its down-to-earth practicality, but I’m under no illusions that Milwaukeeans are more virtuous than anyone else.
I think it’s because after a certain point, there’s just a limit to how much money you can practically spend on yourself. I mean, you reach a certain income level (significantly less than in most comparable cities) and voila, you are upper-middle class. And so you buy the clothes you want, you have a nice house in Mequon or Brookfield or Fox Point and you get a Mercedes or a Jag or a Lexus, and you go out to dinner when you feel like it, and you get season tickets to your favorite arts groups or sports and…
you buy a boat and…
um…
you travel and…
hmm…
You donate.
In Boston and Chicago, I was constantly amazed at how much potential there was to spend more and more money.
In Boston I looked at a machine-made silk camisole that was $295.
That wouldn’t fly here. You could maybe charge $40. Tops.
Nevertheless, our salaries are comparable with other cities.
(cont’d)
So, there is Milwaukee’s primary attraction: low cost of living. I’m not sure why it doesn’t get ranked more highly in the cost of living vs. salary comparisons — whatever criteria they’re using aren’t really representing the reality.
The main reason I hear from people who’ve moved back is that here they can live well on a reasonable salary, whereas they found out they couldn’t wherever they’d moved to.
My cousins in California visit, occasionally, and are awed at our house. Which is nice, but nothing special for the area.
You *can* get bored with the city. I do. But then I drive an hour and a half to Chicago, or an hour to Madison, and find plenty to do.
So, basically, to sum up Milwaukee: lots of arts, cost-of-living to salary ratio very beneficial. Also, we have both a small inland freshwater sea (i.e. Lake Michigan) and a river.
–Madison, Wisconsin
Paradise for those who wish they’d been born in the 60s.
Affectionately known as “Madtown.” Motto: 40 square miles surrounded by reality.
Madison is permeated with the university. It’s not a large city, but it has an extremely sophisticated populace. The restaurants are excellent, it gets more big name musicians to visit than Milwaukee, it has an excellent annual film festival, and did I mention the FOODOMG?
The ambient pot fumes make everyone very mellow. If the Badgers win, strangers on State Street will hug you. As I once said to Krystyn, playing the smiling game in Madison is like playing a video game in god mode. Everyone will smile back. Most people will engage you in conversation. The panhandlers play the piccolo (well), quote poetry, and will teach you to roll a joint.
Sitting on State Street with a sampler platter from Athenian garden and people-watching = the closest thing I’ve ever known to heaven.
I miss it desperately, if you can’t tell. ;-)
And no, the Goddess Squad hails from Milwaukee, but we both lived in Madison for 4 years.
*smiles* Well, I knew it was a crap-shoot between the two, and as it was, I couldn’t go too wrong with either, since you’ve lived in both. :)
Thank you very much for your detailed opinions *beams*. Good stuff, indeed.
I got Little Rock, Honolulu, Portland, Chicago, Milwake, San Fran, San Jose, and Providence.
The rest are a total miss. The rest of mine are deep South (New Orleans and Baton Rouge- shocker- are teo big ones on the list) and I had several more out West as well.
I just like it hotter than you do ;)