Where in the world are my enchanted pants?

[penfield]

"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes


You may already know that J. and I will soon be moving out of our apartment. Where we're moving to is still rather fuzzy. We could be setting up camp as close as across the street or as far away as Mars.

Leaving aside for now the high-level relationship negotiations and career aspirations underpinning such a momentous life decision, I am still sorting out the criteria for my next city of residence. I now have a tentative list of ten candidates, though the list is in no particular order and by no means final.

Some things to keep in mind:
- My parents live in Western New York and will be there for the forseeable future; being able to see them regularly is important to me.
- I'm not particularly fussy about the weather but I have a strong preference for seasons; generally speaking, the longer autumn lasts, the better.
- I hate driving and I don't even own a car; this makes the availability of public transportation a significant factor.

WASHINGTON, DC
Pros: Inertia, decent weather, public transport, friends in the area
Cons: Cost of living, imminent threat of socio-political terrorism

ROCHESTER, NY
Pros: Family, familiarity, cost of living, minor league baseball, beautiful summers
Cons: Soul-crushing winters, tanking economy

SEATTLE, WA
Pros: public transport, friends in the area
Cons: Way the hell across the country, thousands of miles from family, cost of living

BALTIMORE, MD
Pros: Decent weather, still close to Washington DC, cost of living
Cons: For some reason, people keep making bleak and grimy television programs about the city's endemic criminal element

MADISON, WI
Pros: Plenty of civic pride, friendly citizens, cost of living, pleasant summers
Cons: Rough winters, may actually be "too young" for me

PORTLAND, OR
Pros: I've never actually been there but I hear nice things, fair weather
Cons: Way the hell across the country, thousands of miles from family

CHARLOTTE/RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC
Pros: I've never actually been there either but it seems nice, fair economy
Cons: Bible-belt biases, hurricanes

CLEVELAND, OH
Pros: Civic pride, great lake coastline
Cons: So-so economy, rough winters

PITTSBURGH, PA
Pros: Another city on the rebound
Cons: Questionable weather


So, bearing all of this in mind, where do you think I should live? Feel free to lobby. Comments in haiku form will be weighted heavily.

Where should I live?
	Washington, DC
	Rochester, NY
	Seattle, WA
	Baltimore, MD
	Madison, WI
	Portland, OR
	Charlotte/Raleigh-Durham, NC
	Cleveland, OH
	Pittsburgh, PA
	Other (please specify in comment section)
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Comments

[pooplord.livejournal.com]

I voted for Seattle. My J. and I may be moving there at some point maybe 8 or so years from now, so maybe we can meet up when we're in our slow death phase.

[(Anonymous)]

Allow me to alleviate your concerns about Pittsburgh's "questionable weather". It's like a slightly warmer version of Rochester, with the same 4 seasons, but without all the lake effect snow. Cost of living would be another big-time plus. Going carless is do-able, but you'd have to choose a neighborhood carefully. And if you were serious in that first paragraph, there is a suburb here called Mars.

Also, I'd like to point out that Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are over 150 miles apart geographically, and although I've never been to either place, I get the impression they're even farther apart in spirit. It's probably not reasonable to lump them into a single entry.

-GDM

[enchanted-pants.livejournal.com]

I read or heard somewhere that Pittsburgh has the second-least sunshine per year than Seattle, although that could be second-hand crap.

I knew your point about the N.C. cities going in, but since I've never been to either place I thought I could get away with it. J.'s brother lives in Raleigh-Durham, which is both a strike and a ball against it.

Sunny days

[village-twins.livejournal.com]

According to this table, Pittsburgh has 59 completely sunny days per year, while Seattle has 71.

(On a personal note, Marnie & I honeymooned at #3 on this list.)

[mearth.livejournal.com]

As a Pittsburgh native, I say the city is indeed on the rebound, but it's still not D.C. The scenic drive up Mt. Washington, for example, won't ever rival the GW Parkway.

They do have real seasons, but longer winters. Fall cools down quickly and Spring takes forever to warm up. Your kids would have to wear snowsuits to go trick-or-treating. And your woman will have to double up on the Vitamins D and K, lest she get early osteoporosis from the lack of sunlight.

I dunno about NC, but my aunt & uncle live in SC, which is at least better than Florida in terms of hurricanes. I didn't vote in the poll because my first bias would be that you remain in the DC area, but if I were picking objectively from your list, I'd go with NC.

[enchanted-pants.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the scouting report. The "anonymous" commenter GDM above is a close childhood friend and current Pittsburgh resident, so the city also has that going for it.

Luckily for the plurality of voters and your biased self, DC appears to be the leader in the clubhouse. Still a few laps to go, though.