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BEST CITIES TO LIVE: Hypothetical, if you could move anywhere, where would you move?

Vancouver, BC. Santa Fe, NM.

I like a lot about Chicago, DC, and Seattle having lived in each. No need for hot weather, and would love to have access to some sea run cutthroat fishing.
 
I live in Seattle and I can't imagine living anywhere else. But if i was forced to move, I'd pick San Diego or Denver.

Internationally, I'd pick frankfurt, vancouver. or dusselldorf.
 
La cuisine de Philippe - Paris
Lunch was Mushroom soufflé, whitefish terrine followed by
Almond soufflé desert or a custard tart with plums. Owner comes around to meet you.
It's a small place near Odean which specializes in soufflés.

At Bastide Odean - Paris in same area of Latin quarter. Had the
Pickled mackerel entre
Then Veal liver with honey brown sauce for the main. Best liver I've ever had - they don't slice it and serve it about 2 inches thick.

At Le Petit Prince Paris near the Sorbonne. Started with
smoked salmon with beet sorbet, followed by the
Roast duck with cherries and finished with
vanilla and chocolate profiteroles. If I went back I'd start with the snails in puff pastry which looked great. They also offer an assortment of 3 mousses for desert. Very few tourists here if any, and it's a bit hard to find on a small street near St Michel. Spent about 3 hours eating and drinking wine there.

I also went to one or two places you told me about a few months back, thanks.


Was also in Cannes and the best meal of the entire trip was at L'antidote. Slightly off the beaten path and non- touristy.
Started with ratatouille with creme fresh, then fois gras with mango chutney (Wife had snails in cream), champagne sorbet, roast lamb for me, veal for My wife, and deserts - mine was a meringue filled with vanilla ice cream, Hers was some molten chocolate cake with a raspberry sorbet, plus a few little extra sweets to make sure we didn't leave hungry.

A la Potiniere - also in Cannes
Starters: Stuffed mussels or gazpacho
Main dishes: Grilled whole sea bass
Or Grilled octopus. Everything was great.
Went to another place for ice cream desert

Bon appetit

But do they put fries on top?
 
No one has mentioned Belize, Costa rica, etc.

I'd like to know where in South/Central America you can live like a king for 10C on the dollar. Any ideas? Access to beaches would be nice
 
Tokyo. Don't know what it is, but when I'm there I feel so alive. Being around that many people doesn't bother me the least bit which is weird because my wife always tells me that I need to live on a secluded island because I'm always complaining about how people drive.

Would probably be #2 or #3 for me; New York City would be my other finalist.
 
Rome Italy, London, or Paris France. Not knowing the language in London, would be a negative for me though. lol
 
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Second on my list was Austin Texas. But, downtown is simply too expensive, now. I've read and heard that Austin grew too fast; traffic has become horrendous; population has become too high.
Be careful about what you read online about Austin. Yes, we are lacking some road and public transportation infrastructure due to rapid growth and a city council that had a "if you don't build it, they won't come" mindset that was horribly, horribly wrong. But people that live in Austin and post online love to complain about living here for some reason, giving off a bad look. It's still a great city.

Downtown is expensive and is getting more so. There has been a conscious effort to create housing density downtown, most of which is coming via high rise condo buildings that are very pricey to live in. But in the suburbs and even outskirts of the city housing is still pretty affordable relative to many parts of the country. I live 15 minutes from downtown (when there's no traffic) and homes in my neighborhood run $250k-$400k. I have an Austin address, not one in a surrounding town. Good luck finding something in a city like San Fran for that price and only 15 minutes out.

If you plan your home and work locations right, you might be able to manage the bad traffic. I have an opposite rush hour commute, it takes me 15 minutes to get to/from my office. Many companies here are in the tech industry and also embrace working from home.

Austin isn't without it's problems and it was probably more attractive as an affordable city 20 years ago. But despite the increase in costs it's still a great place to live and people are continuing to flock here in droves every year.
 
In US: Charleston SC, Savannah, Tuscon, State College
Overseas: Singapore, Galway, Seoul, Brugge, Barcelona, Garmisch, Christchurch

No way would I want to live in Singapore. The place is one giant shopping mall and the government restrictions are oppressive. I know people that have enjoyed living there and I have been there many times but it is not for me.
 
New Orleans is a great city to visit but I don't hear of many people wanting to retire there.

I'm quite sure the way most people visit New Orleans (Bourbon St, etc) is not indicative of how residents experience New Orleans. I've spent a lot of time there for work and it is an amazing city. I will make sure to do a fair amount of traveling during the summer months to escape the humidity, but it's the only southern US city I would consider living in.
 
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I read a book that talked about moving to college towns like State College. The notion is that the college drives entertainment (sports, concerts, ongoing education) without the traffic and high cost of living. Champaign IL is also considered a cool place to live.

Moving on from there, and knowing Austin has kind of outpaced itself, I suggest the rocky mountain areas. Provo comes to mind, as do Salt Lake and Idaho Falls. Here you have great mountains and vistas. At the same time, you have great state and national parks. Flagstaff as well.
 
Gainesville Fl is not a bad option.

Univ. town and all that has to offer. Great health with a univ health center. Nice univ. theater that gets some decent infotainment, Close to east and west coast shores, 2 hours to Orlando, Jax and tampa. Great weather. Housing is relatively inexpensive.
 
United States San Diego/Coronado Island
Europe Tuscany Italy
Central America Tamarindo Costa Rico
Far East Sydney, Australia
 
Prescott, AZ and it still may happen. Ireland if they boot me out of the states.
 
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Has anyone listed the city that has been chosen as America's most livable city numerous times?

A man in Topeka ,Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there.

Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes.

He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read “Calls: $10,000 a minute.”

Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to GOD.

The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver, Oklahoma City, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Finally, he arrived in Pittsburgh and upon entering a church, behold – he saw the usual golden telephone but THIS time, the sign read “Calls: 35 cents.”

Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor. “Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to GOD, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call.

Why?”

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, “Son, you’re in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home of the 6-time Super Bowl champions, the 4-time and current Stanley Cup Champions, where three rivers flow to meet nestled in a valley surrounded by hills with warm, friendly ethnic people everywhere you go. Son, you're in God's country, it’s a local call.”
 
2706ec5a4ca9419a15c461a6618c146b.jpg
Has anyone listed the city that has been chosen as America's most livable city numerous times?

A man in Topeka ,Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there.

Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes.

He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read “Calls: $10,000 a minute.”

Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to GOD.

The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver, Oklahoma City, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Finally, he arrived in Pittsburgh and upon entering a church, behold – he saw the usual golden telephone but THIS time, the sign read “Calls: 35 cents.”

Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor. “Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to GOD, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call.

Why?”

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, “Son, you’re in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home of the 6-time Super Bowl champions, the 4-time and current Stanley Cup Champions, where three rivers flow to meet nestled in a valley surrounded by hills with warm, friendly ethnic people everywhere you go. Son, you're in God's country, it’s a local call.”

It's cool that you have pride in Pittsburgh, and it's a nice town, but how it's in anyone's top 100 is either blatant homerism or ignorance of the rest of the world/country.
 
Ouch. Alden, I was just driving through on the way to State College, but I thought their downtown was pretty damn attractive.
 
Ouch. Alden, I was just driving through on the way to State College, but I thought their downtown was pretty damn attractive.

It's a really nice place. But people from there saying it's the best place in the world to live? That's plain ignorant. Get out more and aspire to something better. There are 20 cities in the US objectively nicer, let alone the world.
I have a hometown too, and it will always be "home". But I don't pretend it's the best place to live on the planet. Good grief.
 
It's cool that you have pride in Pittsburgh, and it's a nice town, but how it's in anyone's top 100 is either blatant homerism or ignorance of the rest of the world/country.

I can't agree. I travel all over the country and feel that Pittsburgh is a nice a city as their is in the country. It doesn't have an ocean or rocky mountains but it does have three rivers. Just as with any city, there are places you'd NOT want to live. For example, not sure you'd want to live near the Bataclan in Paris but if you live on the river, its all good.
 
I can't agree. I travel all over the country and feel that Pittsburgh is a nice a city as their is in the country. It doesn't have an ocean or rocky mountains but it does have three rivers. Just as with any city, there are places you'd NOT want to live. For example, not sure you'd want to live near the Bataclan in Paris but if you live on the river, its all good.

Top 100 in the world? Ok.

Rivers....yippee!
 
I didn't rate it America's most livable city numerous times. I just threw it out there for discussion.

There are certainly worse places. It does have the advantages of a city but not the disadvantages of a very large city. The weather is moderate not severe. It definitely could use a beltway and improved public transportation.
 
I didn't rate it America's most livable city numerous times. I just threw it out there for discussion.

There are certainly worse places. It does have the advantages of a city but not the disadvantages of a very large city. The weather is moderate not severe. It definitely could use a beltway and improved public transportation.

I agree with all of that. "Livable" to me means it's not the best at anything but good at many things. That's wonderful, it's a really nice place. If that is the place you'd live over any other IN THE WORLD, good for you, but you should get out (a lot) more.
 
Healdsburg, California. Close to The City and all it offers. Inside wine country. Not as cold as The City but never hot. Great restaurants. Small town feel. A fraction of the tourists in Napa but bigger than Sonoma. Sonoma might be my #2.
 
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