We Live Here

Ohio and Michigan should be a great place to live because they all come to visit Gatlinburg, TN. I don't mean to be rude but good grief, go visit some other place for a change. I don't know what's so appealing about Dollywood and Gatlinburg for you to travel so far.

If you're going to visit east TN, there are much better places. The mountains are nice but go to Townsend which is near Gatlinburg but without all the airbrush t-shirt shops and putt-putt courses. Or visit Crossville/Cookeville TN for the best golf in the state. Or Fall Creek Falls state park....or camp at Indian Boundaries. Just do something different than Gatlinburg for once...

Marion, IN

Marion is a slow town. Not much goes on around
here. With the acception of crime and drugs.
Just about like any other city here in the U.S.

Marion is a small town and it seems to be getting
smaller. From what I have been hearing more
people are leaving Marion. Because there aren't
any real jobs here.

Just this past year a brand new Dollar General
Distribution Center had opened up on State Road
18. The last mayor we had wanted to build a
prison in the same location about five years ago.
Thank God that never happened!

Then there is local Chronicle-Tribune newspaper.
used to be a great newspaper. The local paper had
to make it share of cut backs and layoffs as well.

Meanwhile, at the south end of Marion we have our
Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, and Hobby
lobby stores. Looks like they are also planing on
build a water park to. Sounds great for the kids.

There are very few real places to shop here in
Marion. Lot of times we would shop in Muncie or
Fort Wayne. Marion does have its North Park Mall.

When I was growing up the North Park Mall had a
lot of nice stores. Today it is sad to go to the
Marion North Park Mall. The mall and Marion are
both going down hill.

Muncie is a lot nicer than Marion. Guess Yvonne
who commented about Muncie had never to Marion.
I'am so glad we had moved to Fort Wayne. More
oppertunities. The people of Fort Wayne are a lot
nicer and friendly.

The people in Marion are cliquish, gossipy, narrow minded bunch of SOB's. Guess I could go on for
ever about how bad Marion. Fort Wayne, or Muncie
would be a better place to live. Wish more people
from Indiana would post there comments here.

Marion, IN

Marion is a slow town. Not much goes on around
here. With the acception of crime and drugs.
Just about like any other city here in the U.S.

Marion is a small town and it seems to be getting
smaller. From what I have been hearing more
people are leaving Marion. Because there aren't
any real jobs here.

Just this past year a brand new Dollar General
Distribution Center had opened up on State Road
18. The last mayor we had wanted to build a
prison in the same location about five years ago.
Thank God that never happened!

Then there is local Chronicle-Tribune newspaper.
used to be a great newspaper. The local paper had
to make it share of cut backs and layoffs as well.

Meanwhile, at the south end of Marion we have our
Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, and Hobby
lobby stores. Looks like they are also planing on
build a water park to. Sounds great for the kids.

There are very few real places to shop here in
Marion. Lot of times we would shop in Muncie or
Fort Wayne. Marion does have its North Park Mall.

When I was growing up the North Park Mall had a
lot of nice stores. Today it is sad to go to the
Marion North Park Mall. The mall and Marion are
both going down hill.

Muncie is a lot nicer than Marion. Guess Yvonne
who commented about Muncie had never to Marion.
I'am so glad we had moved to Fort Wayne. More
oppertunities. The people of Fort Wayne are a lot
nicer and friendly.

The people in Marion are cliquish, gossipy, narrow minded bunch of SOB's. Guess I could go on for
ever about how bad Marion. Fort Wayne, or Muncie
would be a better place to live. Wish more people
from Indiana would post there comments here.

I totally agree with Glad to be outta there... and I was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. It wasn't until I moved away for 7 years and returned that I realized what a horribly cliquish culture it is not to mention annoying when you're constantly bombarded with "Swedish this" and "Norwegian that" and the same people won't even drive down Lake Street because of "all the Mexicans." Everyone has their little life and their boundaries and don't need you or anyone else stepping over their white picket fences. Making friends here? Not easy. I've started looking for friendships with non-Minnesotans in order to actually have a conversation that goes beyond the shitty weather or their cabin up north.

Detroit is definately a love-hate relationship. There is a great music scene here but you have to be in the know. Everything great about this city is hidden. Also, surviving a night in Detroit feels just like that- a survival. You feel lucky if the windows in your car were not smashed or you wern't harrassed by a bum. BUT! The summer is fantastic. The most fun are the street parties and weekend festivals. Authentic, dirty, laid-back but with serious edge and working class-hipster vibe. Grab a stroh's, hit the curb and watch all the block party madness. Too bad the rest of the year is buried in snow.

Coastal SoCal - all of it. 'Only thing it's got going for it that isn't leaving is the weather (with global warming keeping the hills brown and burning, even that's changing).

20 years ago there was room for everyone here: real-estate has all but destroyed the state in the last 7. Most of the nation's sticker shock is laughable since an average condo here goes for $350,000, far from any water. The middle class has all but vacated; those remaining are literally stressed out, in-debt, depressed, SUV-bound lemmings. Yet, until last year the population was growing: rich retirees, and illegal immigrants and their kids.

I'm in the process of ejecting from Ventura County, and it's long overdue. It took medical leave from work for me to see the light: outside work, churches, and homes, unless you're Latino, no one has any use for other people. If someone speaks to you on the street, they either want you to join their evangelist church, or are about to hand you a business card. The Latinos are happy, whatever their income, because when the white retirees are gone, the meek will re-inherit the Earth, and they can raise the Mexican flag at school like some did last year.

So I live in a "cow-town"? Well not really. It was more of one when I got here, actually; ag' and Navy bases. Now its ag' and retail, a veiled tourist destination and supposed art mecca. But I'm single, and everyone around me not in a church is over 40 or under 21 and dressed in black with piercings, looking like animals. Someone told me I should move to "the city" - meaning Lost Angeles, which used to be an hour away by car but is now double or triple that. Culturally, it's got nothing on San Diego, and with traffic, that's now a hopeless four hours from me.

Don't be a bonehead statistic and even think of moving here.

Comments on Atlanta-- true. Traffic is THE WORST in the country. Unless you can leave your place of residence before 5 a.m. to get to work. Be sure to leave before 3:00 a.m. to get home. No one wants to do anything about it. It's really sad. MARTA also needs some major help. It doesn't even go to where it's really needed.

Sadly, racial issues abound- both "reverse" discrimination and "traditional" discrimination, seems like a never-ending cycle. Raised in Louisiana with all kinds of races, I have never been exposed to such a place. It is awful. It is a place of major racial unrest and I wouldn't be surprised if something really bad happened there due to it.

It is like a war zone because of all the construction. If the city dwellers can survive it, perhaps the "downtown" area may become the next Michigan Avenue (which is what the current dream is). I surely hope that Donald can turn that place around.

Oh -and if you suffer from any type of allergy or asthma, breathing problems, etc. absolutely DO NOT go to Atlanta in the spring, summer, fall, and sometimes even winter. Pollution, bad air, etc. etc. due to car exhaust, factory fumes, and just plain smog. By the time you leave there, your chances of developing one of these problems will increase.

There is lots of room for improvement as you can see. The "Capitol of the South" needs it.

I think that Deland, Florida is a great place to live,raise a family or vacation. We are right in between Orlando and Daytona which is great for visiting friends or relatives. Deland is only short drive to the beach but we are also surrounded by beautiful natural springs that stay the same temp all year round. During the winter months the manatees migrate to Blue Springs and you get to see them up close in their natural habitat. The area is surrounded by beautiful historic homes and a quaint downtown area. Deland is also the home of Stetson University which was named after famed hatmaker John b Stetson.
The 9000 sq ft Stetson Mansion was one of the first homes in the entire world to be designed and built with electricity and has hosted presidents Grant,Cleveland and King Edward the XII as well as several other noted people. Stetson was an amazing man and his estate will be open in October after an extensive renovation. If you get the chance our little town of Deland,originally called the Athens of the South, for a slice of Americana at its best.

Believe it or not, Woodstock, N.Y. has become one of the nastiest places in the northeast. The town is filled with digruntled hippies, not happy ones, angry ex-yoker, money-centric types of a particular ethnicity, and a cloud hangs over the city. The weekenders are anti-social, rich and snobby. The place is kind of a mess.

The worst place to live ...Savannah, GA. The traffic is terrible, the homes are way over priced and the schools are just aweful. The River Walk is nothing but a strip of junk shops for tourists. The Historic District is just that. Historic and you cannot see the inside of any of the buildings for free. Try $8 - $10 a person per building. It has a smell of paper mills which stinks all the time..especially during the summertime. Could not wait to leave and went to a small County called Citrus County in FL. Now there is very laid back living. Can go to the Homossassa River and see the Manatee, eat out on a deck overlooking the River or even go to the Gulf for some really good fishing.

Wisconsin has to be the worst place to live. The doctors are bleeping idiots who don't know what they are doing. The people are rude,greedy,arrogant, have no manners and are idiots voting a horrible govenor back for another term. The govenor wants to tax smoking and have a state wide band on smoking yet being one of the worst states in the country he does absolutely nothing about all the drunk drivers on the roads. He put into law the 3 strikes rule, but all you hear on the news is people who are the cause of accidents, having more than 5 DWI's under their belt. Wisconsin is also in the top 3 states in the country for having the highest taxes. The govenor wants to now tax the oil companies on the gas they want to sell in the state. How stupid is that.

I could go on forever about this state but, I won't. I will however give you fair warning do not ever live in Wisconsin!

I stayed in Atlanta for exactly 7 months. I got there and was okay the first week, but suddenly became homesick. The traffic is crazy ridiculous! It takes too long to get anywhere in Atlanta, especially if you have to get on I-85. If a person hangs mainly with family, no outsiders are allowed. Be cautious of the fake ones because they may pretend to be down with you, but in the end, they aren't.

Many of the out-of-towners that come there to live are escaping the person that they were back in their hometowns. My best advice is quit living a fantasy and trying to be like those in the videos!

I took for a total stranger to help me see the light. I decided to hang out on Peachtree one night and I ran into this older man, who was an engineer for Emory university Hospital. He was from North Caroling and he really schooled me on the ATL. He said that the unemployment rate is extremely high and people are on material things there and not about getting it the right way. In the black community, mainly the hood, you are either a hustler or stripper.

Atlanta is not a good place to raise your children. I definitely will never go back, not to live. I can appreciate the visit as long as I know that I am returning home to Maryland.

Atlanta. After 35 years, I finally got out. (I think I was sitting in gridlock for 28 of those). Atlanta is a beautiful place... parts of it. The poor parts are awful, but the middle class to upper middle class parts are pretty, but lets face it, there are tons of beautiful places in America. It's the people you have to live with that make a place great or unbearable. Atlanta isn't *completely* unbearable (unless you're poor), but there are things that drive me crazy about it. On the southside, Ebonics is the primary language. There is a big division of the haves and have nots. The city is racially divided, geographically (but I suppose this happens most everywhere). I can't stand riding Marta (the local subway/mass transit system) because there is always a group of loud young people talking way too loud about things little kids shouldn't be hearing, that is if you can understand the ghetto speak enough to make it out. Atlanta is half gansta land, a quarter bass ackwards conservatives, an eighth non English speaking (and no desire to learn) ethnic groups of various descent, and an eighth yuppy jerks driving BMW's whose road warrior attitude can only be matched by the suburban Lexus SUV driving soccer Moms. (Yes, I will bash everyone equally lol).

And let me reitterate: the traffic SUCKS. There is no worse traffic in the country. For the pain of getting to point A to point B (God forbid it be more than 15 miles, it will take you 2 hours, no joke), you might as well live in a real city, like LA. At least if you have to put up with thugs, gangstas, drugs, crime, poverty and assholes, you might as well have a better choice of ammenities to go with it.

I moved to Phoenix, AZ and while it reminds me of a town that has a good 25 years to go until it turns into a "real" metropolis, it's not that bad. Sure, it's hot, but so is Atlanta, and at least it's not humid. And everyone seems to be willing to come 2,000 miles to visit me here, whereas no one wanted to make the return trip to Atlanta. There really isn't that much to do in Atlanta. It's a "fake" big city.

I've lived in Las Vegas for the past 4 years, and I've been waiting to leave since week one. I've got about 4 more years to go, hopefully those will go fast. The natives of the city pride themselves on growing up here and never having lived anywhere else. Uhh, good for you? It doesn't matter what social class, the people of Vegas lack manners, class, decency, and culture. You cannot have a decent conversation with anyone. It's all about drinking, clubbing, and MONEY! When I first moved here, everybody treated me as if I had an arm growing on my head; they were puzzled! Then I figured out that they just weren't used to people being nice for no reason. I guess I'd be P.O'ed too if I never took a break from immoral, unethical, Stink Town- And was proud of IT! Sorry Vegas! I'll work on my good attitude and maybe you could reward me with a chip to wear on my shoulder, too! Sound good?

Bellingham, Washington
Don't be fooled that this is the second most desirable city in the U.S. I have lived in North Carolina, Texas, and New Mexico and they are far superior areas.
Jobs - most of the jobs are service related with low pay. People with extensive job experience and education have a difficult time finding a job. If they succeed, the pay is much lower than other areas of the U.S.
Schools - low standards with the attitude, "Don't hurt their feelings".
Weather - miserable, gray sky's, with too much rain. If you have problems with depression, this is not the area.
Water - Puget Sound, lakes, and rivers are too cold to really enjoy.
Medical - there are not enough medical personnel because of the high mal-practice insurance rates. Doctors leaving for better areas and senior have a difficult time finding doctors. Residents voted against having fluoride in the water. Never mind, that other areas of the U.S., fluoride occurs naturally and it hasn't killed the people. Children have a high rate of cavities.
Downtown area - full of mentally ill people causing problems on the side walks. Drugs are being sold on the streets and alley ways. To many old hippies and hippie pretenders who demonstrate against everything.
Housing - the homes are extremely expensive, very poor quality, small yards and high taxes.
Restaurants - very limited.

Washington, DC is the absolute worst city: The second worst rush hour trafic in the county, rude self-important people, the constant demonstatrations and national festivals that shut the city down, one of the highest tax burdens in the country, a cost of living that rivals NYC and on and on......I have lived in Washington for 16 years and am planning my exit. It's nothing but a southern town pretending to be a big city. To paraphrase Kennedy: "Washington is a city of northern charm and southern efficiency" (get it?!)

LAS VEGAS! Worst ever! White, black, brown, purple, whatever you want to call it, TRASH everywhere! Still a small city, therefore, spend as much money on your house as you want, the "bad neighborhood" is just around the corner. CRIME is unbelieveably so close to your home and work, there is no SAFE part, for your loved ones or your self. NO ON VEGAS!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!-- Not! I am posting Las Vegas as the all time WORST PLACE TO LIVE. Live- not vacation, live. Potential residents beware. In a nut shell, Vegas is nothing but a fraud of a town. To be blunt, the PEOPLE are uneducated, rude, slack-jawed yokals. It's like a giant trailer park, with money! And you know what they say - "Money can't buy class." People here are professional scam artist without an ounce of morals, ethics, or decency. I almost think it's gotta be the air that people are breathing here. The locals (I refuse to call myself a local) have nothing to do but bad-mouth everyone that visits or moves here, yet don't realize that is exactly what has made this city the booming city it is now. WEATHER- It's either extemely hot and dry for six months or extremely cold. Either way, you will always be uncomfortable, and any plants or grass you hope to have will not survive! There is probably one month (April) when it is just right, that's it. CULTURE- What culture? SCHOOLS - My advice, plan on home-schooling. Vegas has the all time lowest standard testing scores IN THE NATION. From the school bus's daily route through the porn drenched STRIP, the "it's not what you can do, it's who you know" employment policy, to the 7-day access to underage and 21-over clubs, it's no wonder why school isn't a priority. The way children and teens talk out here is a reflection of just how bad the education is, let alone their child rearing (See "adult behavior" at top). The "good ones," God bless their souls, want to get the heck out of here! HEALTH CARE - Good Luck! In five years, I have not been able to find a good hospital, doctor, or dentist. TRAFFIC - Strip is only good for visitors, bad for people that work there. Freeway system is a joke. Constant construction, poor traffic structure, and the most dangerous, moronic drivers you will ever come across. I know Los Angeles gets a bad wrap for bad driving, but there is a difference. Out here, my dog could get her liscense. Therefore, you got people that don't understand basic traffic laws, and drivers that actually want to die before letting you in their lane. People don't know how to merge either, so they'd rather just STOP while getting onto an on-ramp! No Joke. I'm the or at least I was, the nicest person ever, and now I have a black belt in Defensive Driving! So much more on that subject, but no, I must move on. RECREATION- Lake Mead is your water front escape from this grimey city. A man-made lake, you will find a funny smell in the air, what's that you ask? Only the odor of sewage and garbage that lines the shore! Get in the water with caution, either by boat or jet ski. Like seals or walrusses, it's difficult to take your eyes away from the under-shirt wearing, non-English speaking, loud obnoxious music blowing patrons of the lake. ONE GOOD THING Vegas has to offer: REAL ESTATE- (I'm not a Realtor) Good size houses for under $300k, and "Landlord friendly" laws; Unlike California, if you have unruly tenants, the laws out here allow you to evict within a week! BOTTOM LINE, If you're looking for a location to raise a family and lead a normal life, LAS VEGAS is not your town. If gambling or clubbing is NOT your forte, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO IN VEGAS. No scenic parks or promenades, or at least none worth going to, no ocean sides, no theme parks, no carnivals or fairs. Just expensive groceries, a disgusting excuse of a lake, and the rudest and seediest people you will ever come acrosss. The holidays don't even feel like holidays here. MY final advice, BRING A COMPANION to keep your sanity and your morals and values grounded. It's hard to make decent friends here. Bringing someone here, is the only way I've been getting through the last five years. Good Luck and remember, MARK VEGAS OFF YOUR LIST!

My job has me moving around every few years, so I've compiled quite a list. Internationally, my fave is Frankfurt, Germany. Truly a world class city and very underrated. In terms of the USA, my favorite cities have been Seattle (beautiful location and great food and arts scene, Milwaukee (fun place with lots to do - it is Chicago light), and Charleston SC (on the bigger side, but with small town feel, gorgeous seaside town). Indianapolis is OK, too (good shopping, lots to do).
The crap festivals are happening in Atlanta (congested, expensive, and sprawling to the point of being ridiculous), Miami (Hell, only with hurricanes), and St. Louis (nice, but there is SO MUCH CRIME there). The WORST city of all, though, is Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is smack dab in the middle of a cow pasture and has some of the most closed minded, cliquish people ever. Nepotism is a favorite sport here, so if you're an outsider forget about getting a job or a nice house. Per capita, you will see more Dodge truck driving hicks here (complete with mullet and mustache) than any place in the country. Add to that a sky high tax bill and it pretty much makes you want to move. I was glad when my stay was over.

Well I should keep this a secret but... I am proud of where I live. Beautiful Beaumont, in Southern California. Setting is inbetween to large mountains and small town feel. It is close to everything you wish to be near and love to see. Only a half and hour to Palm Springs, and hour to the mountain villages, and hour to beautiful beaches.... oh do not get me started on San Diego awsooommmeee. LA is 90 miles away and I am glad. I love the 4 short seasons we recieve, some snow, sun, cool fall weather and yes very warm summers. You can see those beautiful stars that God so lovingly displays for each of us. Traffic is very little. The 10 Freeway runs through it and can take you to anyplace you desire, how about Disneyland only a little over an hours drive. The town is growing.... UGGG But it still has a wonderful feel of pride and as for the people who live here, good and bad but mostly good. The schools are better than most. If you decide to come and stay please remember to say hello to people you meet, and help the ones you have never met. Do I feel lucky, yes I do. I have been here for almost 40 years I am in my mid forties, and very proud of my home town. God Bless from Beaumont California!

I've lived alot of places, but the worst is El Paso, TX. No one there even bothers trying to learn English. It's very smoggy, very dirty and not at all friendly.

HOME, LIFE, FAMILY,SINGLES, VARIED NIGHTLIFE A FEW GREAT DINING ESTABLISHMENTS, SEVERAL UNIQUE TAVERNS AND WONDERFUL PEOPLE, THAT'S PARKERSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA. I MOVED HERE TWO YEARS AGO AND WORK FOR A LARGE COMMUNICATIONS/CABLE COMPANY, HERE I HAVE MADE FRIENDS, REAL TRUE FRIENDS AND BEEN ADOPTED BY MY COMMUNITY AND CO-WORKERS, THIS IS A GREAT PLACE NOT TOO FAR FROM THE BUSTLING CAPITOL OF CHARLESTON, WV AND ONLY 5 MINUTES FROM HISTORIC MARIETTA, OHIO AND THE BEAUTIFUL AND MYSTERIOUS BLENNERHASSETT ISLAND, I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT WEST VIRGINIA TO BE FULL OF ILL MANNERED ILLERATES AND I WAS AND AM VERY WRONG, THE GREAT KINDNESS OF THE PEOPLE, THE CARE GOVERNOR MANCHIN TAKES OF HIS STATE AND ITS PEOPLE IS TO BE COMMENDED, THE SCENERY IS BEAUTIFUL AND EVER CHANGING WITH GLORIOUS SPRINGS,WARM SUMMERS,COLORFUL FALL MOUNTAINS,AND CHRISTMAS CARD QUALITY WINTERS, YES, I AM IN LOVE WITH WILD, WONDERFUL WEST VIRGINIA!

Living in Houston and especially, Conroe, TX was the most horrific experience I have ever had, and I have lived all over the USA. Its hot, sticky, dirty and the PEOPLE are insane. Too close to dragging knuckles on the ground for me. Never have I been inundated with so many clueless, bible-thumping, mentally stunted, narrow-minded morons in my life. I had always heard about how backwards Texans were, but I never really believed it. Houston breathes life into every steroetypical negative statement about Texans. I now live in Dallas, which is miles better than Houston, but Dallas has its own issues. Not perfect, but livable.

DEEETROIT! Well, first I wish everyone in this country quit bashing Detroit unless you've lived here. Five hours from Chicago and there's no way I'd live there. Detroit's image on TV is gangsta' rap, drive-by shootings, etc. Good God it's no different than any other urban city. By the way, I worked 10 years Mr. M&M on 8 mile, one mile away from your last recording studio and the communities planted flowers along it to beautify 8 mile every spring. It's a major 5 lane highway that goes east and west along the northern border of Detroit. And I've never seen the trailer park in the movie. The rap place in the movie, "the basement" is a place in a restored church-turned-nightclub in Greektown where rap, hip-hop, and yes, new age, and rock stars are born. Greg M wrote about devil's night and the burning of houses. Well, it did happen years ago and the vast majority of the burnings were abandoned homes where neighbors had enough of Mr. Coleman Young doing nothing but blaming the suburbs for killing his city. Well, he's gone and so has been the burnings. Now called, "Angel's Night" the city sees little to no foul play with thousands of volunteer residents patrolling the city.

Here's what's good... Detroit and it's suburbs are culturally diverse and economically joined. U of M's Ann Arbor ranked 5 of the 10 safest cities and best places to live in the U.S. is 30 minutes drive down I-94 from Detroit. Detroit's center is comparatively small to Chicago but it still has it's great museums, food, etc. It's not all on one street and a person needs to chat with the locals to find the good places. Aside from Greektown and Mexicantown you will not find segregated areas. Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, a dominantly Arab-American community is my no.2 all-in-one museum only to the museum of industry and technology in Munich. The restaurants change every year like the city itself. I spent three days downtown walking at night through the city during the Grand Prix. Didn't cost me a penny except for the beer the small shops were selling along the way. Then they moved it to Belle Isle, an island park aged from it's glory days of the 20's and 30's. As a kid, I camped the weekend, yes, in Detroit, on Belle Island for a bike marathon. One summer I stayed home every weekend and every weekend there was a celebration or event going on downtown. The parking is cheap downtown compared to other cities to there's no reason to stay away. Even if you're broke. Atlanta? Jeeze, you ever been there during the freaknic? The police adimately tell white people to turn around and go home. I experienced it once and was apalled.

Detroiy IS connected to it's burbs and you'll find the very rich subs right next to the poor ones. Why, the award winning Detroit Zoo (who now has a new baby polar bear)is not in the city proper. Myself, I live in a huge 2 story limestone old house that would be worth 3 times as much in Chicago this close to the city center. I have every race and religion around me. It's not an artsey, bohemian, or liberal comminity trying to prove something to the world. We're just neighbors. That's all. And the blend of neighborhoods are everywhere. Unlike the noted segregation of other cities, its difficult to find borders here. By the way, I run or walk my dog every night without fear. You will find every language in the city and it's stereotypes. But you won't find the rudeness you get in other cities from the very people who serve you. Well, the only time is when I get the socalled "Detroit attitude" from highschool girls at McDonalds or the checkout at the grocery store. Proud people? The Pontiac silverdome, outside Detroit, was a perfect place for traffic to get to see the Lions. Detroit would not put up with that and built Ford Field. Resourceful? How about lining the field base under the grass with thousands of ground up recalled Firestone tires.

It seems the further away from the city into the suburbs, the more snobby and rude people get. The small towns like Rochester, Birmingham, Plymouth, Northville, Novi are filled with self-serving people and road rage. I lived there as well and not going back. I really think it comes from their stress-related lives. Mom and dad working long hours to pay for their big homes and high taxes, putting kids in day care, only "quality time". Yuck!!

Speaking of traffic, only bad during rush hour. Otherwise liveable and lots of options to get around accidents or backups. Unlike other cities with concrete walls that keep you put until the traffic clears. I've driven in Newark and it's 80-90mph on ten wobbly layers of ten feet wide asphalt trenches.

The down side...

I will never call Detroit a rosy place to live. It definetly has its faults like other cities. Detroit still depends on the auto industry and it's associated businesses. With that it rides it's economy like a rollercoaster. The high crime areas are the stereotypical run down streets with unemployment, illiteracy, bad schools, drugs., etc. are just like other cities. Down side here is if you don't have a car you're not getting a good job. There is no mass transit and the city busses don't go where the good schools and jobs are. The people here do what they can but when there are no jobs where you live, you suffer miserably and its difficult to get out. Unfortunately the repression goes on for generations. Yes, the top ten places to live are truly beautiful but you need top dollar incomes to live there. Unfortunately it's the American way. I get a little bit frustrated to see so many with blinders on. The doctors and lawyers who's income rely on income from the local people drive home to their mansions in their BMW or Mercedes. Detroit is a survival city. The majority of the people here still have good values. They voted down casinos here at least four times I remember from a city council and a crooked mayer who insisted it was the perfect solution to economic growth( in his pockets). The casinos here is not the answer. It's a bandaid and I hope it doesn't grow like a cancer similar to Atlantic City. The city will not sit still and is constantly trying new things to offset the low times of the industry.

The weather here is as diverse as the people and we get extreme hot in July to extreme cold in February. But everyone here has all the toys. And if you don't your mneighbor does and is looking for a friend to join in the fun. We have the Great lakes which is like the ocean without the salty taste. And dispite what people say, Michigan cares dearly about its waters and the environment. The difficult thing here is finding a public place near all the inland lakes and waterways. The real estate goes for a premium and public beaches can be packed. The shoreline is private in most areas and do not have public access like in many states. That needs to change. Unfortunately I've been unemployed for too long and it's time to move. Maybe one day I'll be back but I'm getting older and enjoy more summer than winter.

Best and worst are hard to generalize - for example, coastal CA has great climate but depressingly leftist politics.

Hmm...have to say overall worst from where I've been is definitely a tie between Cleveland, OH or Newark, NJ. Never been to Detroit, thankfully, but can't imagine it wouldn't be a oontender for worst here as well. All ugly cities, horrible weather, crime, polution, high taxes, leftist politics and pro-union business climate depressing their weak economies even further. In short, Hells on Earth (at least here in the States - there are some absolutely rancid places abroad, but I won't go there).

To end on a high note, anyone who hasn't been to Lugano, Switzerland and the Italian Lakes region on the Swiss border needs to go when the Euro falls. Simply GORGEOUS! Lugano has weather almost like Santa Barbara, CA (a little colder in the winter) but is a fairy tale village of palm trees (yes, in Switzerland), a lakeside garden park, ferries around the lake with little villages clinging to the steep hills. A great town with Italian charm but Swiss cleanliness and safety. Highly reommended.

If you want to know where all the lifes rejects go to live, try coming to Las Vegas, Nevada. All the people who never made it big or was a complete nobody would find themselves here. This town is full people who has the same type of bad attitude that would LOVE to SHOW YOU A TRICK OR TWO!!!! With that in mind, 9 out of 10 people think they should be worshipped as the only living GOD on earth because of their planet sized chip on their shoulders. This town is all about ONLY MONEY!! LAS VEGAS is only about ME!ME!ME!ME!GIVE!GIVE!GIVE!SUE!SUE!SUE!SCAM!SCAM!SCAM!STEAL!STEAL!STEAL!LIE!LIE!LIE!CHEAT!CHEAT!CHEAT! If you want to professionally road rage, come here, theres no need to be fully licensed or having the need for sponsorship to do.

I've lieved in AZ, CA, CO, HI NY and PA -- Colorado is by far the WORST state! My daughter was transferred from San Diego to Denver and I warned her just quit and find another job YOU WILL HATE COLORADO! Three years later, she quit her job, sold her house for a loss and it's worth even less now, but she said it was damned well worth it to escape the hicks and bad weather in Denver!

Without a doubt Waikiki Beach is the best (where I live now) followed by Newport Beach (where I was raised and would return IF I ever had to leave Hawaii for some reason! Manhattan was wonderful when I first graduated from grad school but it's too cold. AZ is ok but awfully hot in the summer and the desert is miserably cold at night. PA was marginally better than CO cuz it was close to NYC!

The West Coast has got to be #1!

Muncie, Indiana

A city lost in time, not a friendly town, extremely cold, like Chicago. The city has about 3 blocks of businesses. The newspaper is 6 pages long, and the story of the day is usually the price of corn, lima beans. Occasionally you will see Amish riding across town in their covered wagon---that was a sight to see. The food sucks, no museums, drunken drivers. A lot of pregnant women, I guess that's all you have to do during the winter months. Corn fields and Silos as far as the eye can see. The biggest store is KMART. Strange churches. I return to New Orleans and so glad I did, Great Food, Great People, Great Museums, Great Weather--no snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To: Erin S. in Pittsburgh. MOVE! Get out of the city of Pittsburgh and move to the outlying areas. I'm in Slippery Rock (about 30 minutes from you) and it's wonderful. People are great; little university town; food is cheaper; great restaurants,etc. Oh, by the way, I moved here three years ago from CA. If you want to live in a place where you cannot go out at night (without a gun) live in the Los Angeles area of sunny CA. Yes, the weather is better than PA, but you can't enjoy it unless you speak Spanish, especially to those rude, rude Mexican clerks.

Minneapolis, MN... not the city, but the people...uggh! The City, is working it's way to becoming a Minny-Apple (Big Apple, get it?) or something to match the coasts, with culture and the arts, lots of live bands and tons of outdoor activities when it's not 32 degrees, of course... However, watch out for the 'Minnesota Ice' (as opposed to their self-proclaimed 'Minnesota Nice') if you're not Minnesotan. Take the knife out of your back right after you get the big smiles of 'How are you? Nice to meet you?' ...and the 100 other personal questions you will be bombarded with on every introduction, closely followed by the caddy glances up and down to see who you are wearing. Because of the many Fortune 100s headquartered there, a large percent of the population is comprised of transplants, who after realizing 'Minnesota Nice' is not so nice, end up socializing with each other. Minnesotans are cliquish, never invite you in, education-haters, and begrudge your worldliness, even though they themselves refuse to leave the state (except to go to WI). 'A Day in the Life' is comprised of working all week, going to the same cabin every single weekend, then up to the Wisconsin Dells for vacation. Diversity means having a friend who is not Scandinavian.

Pittsburgh,PA.-Have to agree with Pgh. comments. Gray skies almost year round. Most people here have no life outside of the Steelers. The Steelers are 24/7 around here. If only this city spent as much time on getting businesses & jobs here as much as they do on the sports teams getting everything they want, maybe things would improve. But the weather still stinks! 5 more years & I'm out of here! Can't wait!!!!!!

MIAMI, FL. If you want to be pushed around by Spanish speaking, VERY rude people (Spanish-Americans who refuse to speak English), move to Miami, FL. Gangs, Gangs, Gangs. Dangerous, over-crowded public schools. If you are a teacher, you had better know Spanish to communicate with parents and understand the insults the students are yelling at you. Also hire a body-guard. The traffic is almost as bad as Atlanta. Some of the worse drivers I have every seen. Make sure you don’t take the wrong exit off I-95 or you will end up in one of many “Bad” sections where you will be car-jacked. Their train is a joke since it doesn’t go west where most of the people live. We lived there for 6 years and were very happy to finally be able to leave.

I live in the Akron/Cleveland area. Parts of the state are beautiful but the politicians have ruined the state. Jobs and younger people are leaving. We are taxed to the hilt and do not get much for it. We have mayors who think they run a kingdom, not a city. We had a govenor who rated last in 50 states. We are the 3rd highest taxed state in the US but have the poorest city. My husband just got another masters degree but is looking out of state for a decent paying position.

Waterloo, Iowa is the armpit of America. It is a dirty, ugly, rundown city where racism rules. Many white folk actually believe "those people" on the east side aren't worthy. There are many interesting cultures in this city, and I met many more friendly non-whites. Sadly, many of "those people" on the west side of Waterloo and the next-door city of Cedar Falls sport an attitude of selective entitlement that is meanspirited and selfish. The City of Brotherly Hate. Add to this a long grey winter, very short spring and fall, high winds, few trees or hills, pollution, lots of seemingly-drunk drivers, rows of corn, and John Deere Co as the God of Economy, and you will wish you lived anywhere else. One positive note: no helmet law and Harleys are the preferred motorcycles.

I live in orlando, and it is the most beautiful
city, I've ever seen.

Birmingham, Alabama is definitely a place I wouldn't recommend. For starters this "metropolitan" city is not exactly progressive. I find it funny that people compare Birmingham to Atlanta in a good way and I want to say "Have you even BEEN to Atlanta?!?!?!" Most people that live here are actually from here which I find odd compared to where I lived before. Had live in Nashville for several years before relocating here 3 years ago. Must say that Music City is much more progressive that this silly city. For a city at the center of civil rights it is still pretty segregated. Shopping is bad, radio choices are horrible (thank God for XM and Sirius), drivers are pathetic (interstates are also very poor), airport is a joke. I could go on but I'd probably need to see a therapist...

Rock Island Illinois (well, actually most any part of Illinois!). First, you have a long summer of HOT, HUMID weather with bugs, bugs, bugs, a nice 5-9 days of fall and then a freezing winter of COLD, MISERABLE weather. You do get a beautiful 5-9 days of spring before your miserable summer begins again. The attractions include the largest number of bars per capita at one time and the major farms machinery companies (i.e. John Deere, International Harvester, Case, etc...). Like much of the midwest, you can also experience your fair share of tornadoes, snow storms and other wonderfully extreme weather patterns. I left 14 years ago and only go back to visit relatives, but then again, I now live in California, so they are always coming to visit me!

I am so in agreement with Kat about Kansas. I lived there for seven years and spent every spare moment going elsewhere, as soon as I found out how it was. My experiences were the same and I am so glad to be gone from there. I too, do not want to ever live in "Dorothy Land" again.

Cleveland, Ohio.

TO BE AVOIDED.

7 month winters. The city proper(Cleveland) has become one large ghetto. Crime, drugs, and the majority asking for another "government program"

Residents and Visitors Taxed to Death.

Businesses leaving right and left. Also Taxed to Death!

Brain Drain. The talent goes elsewhere. I know I did.

Mayor Frank Jackson is so proud of his city that he wants to pass it on regionally. So those Solon, Pepper Pike and Westlake suburbanites with homes valued in the high 6 figures can look forward to your real estate values plummeting. Oh that's right. There are so many homes in the high 6 and low 7 figures for sale that there is more than a 3 year inventory on hand. Does that mean that those who know have already put up the "For Sale" sign??? They're not just moving to Geauga or Medina County, the real money is leaving Ohio!

Then at the Congressional level these intellectual nimrods continue to re-elect Dennis Kucinich. The Don Quixote of Congress. He runs for President in the last election and gets less than 1% of the vote, while ignoring his district the entire time. What do his constituents do? They re-elect him! He repays them by announcing he will run for President again in 2008! That shows the entire country how foolish these Clevelander's are. As a result it's no wonder the rest of the country laughs at Cleveland.

It's no wonder they have no support at the Federal level. Their elected officials have alienated everyone that might have been inclined to help.

Here's a little known factoid. The Fed's have relocated the Federal Bankruptcy Court from Youngstown to Cleveland. Well obviously Youngstown ran itself into the ground years ago so there's nothing left to bankrupt. So, the Fed's who are very astute look 70 miles West and realize that the "Mistake On The Lake" is the next Youngstown.

There is one positive! Cleveland has a great Orchestra, but I can see them in Miami so that's no reason to stay in Cleveland either.

Did someone say "Ohio sucks"? Without doubt!!!I've lived in Columbus for over 10 years, and don't have a single good thing to say about it...oh! except for the the Buckeyes, that's it! Good jobs are non-existent, even with a college degree. The taxes are ridiculous! Every way you look, TAXES! No wonder businesses don't survive here. Can the new governor do something!? I don't see how they tax so much, yet the state has nothing to show for it, add the fact that they over-tax minimum wage earners!

Philadelphia, Pa

Dirty and Dirtier! Murder Centeral! It's building Condos everywhere in hope of a Casino. Mens clubs and prositutes and Did I say 100 murders in 3 months.

WORST City- MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA! I grew up there, I moved out and I never go back unless I just have too! Crime is a big issue! Nothing much to do either, unless you want to go look at museums or shop and if you shop, keep an eye out for some trashy thug who might rob you. This city lost an entire Mall because of the crime issues! It still has a racial problem too! Anyone who can move out, is doing so!

Red Lion, PA, the true center of hell. Three years there and thank God we were transferred out. Red Lion is a dinky little town...if you blink, you've passed it. It did make national news a few years ago thanks to a fatal shooting at the middle school. Otherwise you'd never know it existed. The "downtown" area is nothing but tattoo parlors, bars and body piercing joints. The general population is crabby old people and gothic teens, and none of them are one bit friendly. If you've lived there less than 20 years, nobody wants to know you and this is true of nearby York PA also. It's the land that time forgot and I am happy to forget it as well.

Miami, Miami - diverse? Yes. Bilingual? Yes, but only if you are English speaking. BILINGUAL in Miami means that an English speaking person must also speak Spanish (preferably Cuban Spanish). However a Spanish speaking person is not required to speak or learn English. What is amazing is that a person can come to a country where every opportunity,aid and kindness is offered and accepted, and that even after 15, 30 or 40 years of living and becoming successful not have a basic knowledge of the language of the country that offered them so much. This city is crippled not only by language,but by many of the problems associated with 3rd world countries, such as the lack of democracy basics: working together for the greater good, keeping the peace, following traffic laws,etc. Miami is a ME FIRST town, therefore it is totally lawless!! I grew up in this town and love it, but hate what has happened to it.

MEMPHIS! It's the armpit of the country. Crime & traffic! If you can get in and out without being hussled, robbed, carjacked or killed you've had a good visit. I wish that Tennessee could give Memphis to Mississippi.

Has anyone mentioned the awful city of Philadelphia?

Food - you call a cheesesteak something to be proud of? And with all of the Italians, none of them make a decent pie or gravy? Don't get me started. Here is something positive - a very short visit to Terminal Market downtown (you can see it all in less than 30 min) yielded me one lovely, succulent turkey sandwich. Otherwise a bunch of crap to look at/eat.

The art museum is so-so. It made me long for the Met in NYC.

There are about 3 blocks of great historical sites worth visiting and the rest of it is a racist (toward whites) mess. Not very brotherly.

Sorry to be so negative. I try to give all the cities on the eastern seaboard the old college try. I actually liked Baltimore a lot !!

NYC is the ultimate pit. I always wonder about people who travel to the big overpriced apple. Hotels and taxis are notoriously expensive. You can't use public transporation as it's too complicated, dirty and dangerous to figure out. Everything starts at $20 and works its way up up up. NYC has 10 nice days a year so if you're lucky, you might get one or two. Most of the time, it's unbelievably hot and humid, rainy or cold and windy. It's also dirty. The air and streets etc. I once did New Year's Eve. Talk about misery. Freezing cold, drunk people and millions of people saying how great all this is. Sex and the City tried to make it seem like this ultimately cool place but in reality, it's a big pretentious rip-off.

I can tell you where not to visit, Casablanca, Morocco. FILTHY! Absolutely dirty and nasty to the very core of it's existence. The residents in Caza, pee on the streets, the streets are infested with ants, and you will seet huge rats every now and then, dive into a corner or storm drain, the homes are infested with ants, and cockroaches. The people are only kind if you are giving them your money, otherwise, they are rude, rude, rude! There are no traffic rules, so you can be easily run over crossing the streets, people run red lights often. The sidewalks are pretty much non-existant, all broken up. Caza looks like it's in a constant state of construction. Americans are very welcome, but don't expect special treatment, why? Because you're not Moroccan! The whole guest concept is nil and void! Morocco in general is extremely poluted, there are no laws governing emissions from vehicles, or factories. You can't tour any of the palaces either, and there's allot of them, you can however take a picture with the guards,woooooooohoooooo! Thrilling, NOT! The food is alright, eat in hotel restaurants though, they will have higher standards for cooking, and don't drink city water, drink bottled, you will suffer if you don't:)

I have to agree w/London re Atlanta. When I first arrived, my hopes and spirits were high. But once you spend 90 minutes on the expressway (to travel 23 miles) you start to pull out your hair. Sure, there is ALOT to do...but how do you get there? MARTA needs more railways (there are only two lines), there are so many bottlenecks I refuse to count (although I would have plenty of time since I have to travel 23 miles to & from work--which takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours give or take). No one knows how to drive, hearing about murder/robbery is so common people don't blink twice when they hear it on the news...but I "love" Atlanta....

ORLANDO - Beyond the Theme Parks

We get over 27 million visitors a year to the Orlando area and no one ever sees that real Orlando that residents enjoy. Maybe, keeping the tourists isolated in one area of town in a good thing, but it is a bit frustrating when I try to describe why I call this wonderful place home and why it makes a great place to visit even if you never go to a theme park(although we want you to do that too). I live in a wonderful, diverse, walkable, dyanmic city with a vibrant arts community and wonderful local shops and restaurants. If you want to try something a few great days in Central Florida, try visiting some of these places:
1. Little Saigon - every type of Vietnamese restuarant of shop that you can imagine
2. Orange County Regional History Center - yes, there is an amazing history in this area, even before the Mouse
3. Thornton Park - a wonderful neighborhood with shops and restaurants, stop for a drink at HUE
4. Winter Park - go to Central Park and stroll a beautiful shopping district that dates back to old Florida, go on the Winter Park Boat Tour, and the Morse Musuem
5. College Park/Ivanhoe Row/ViMi District - wander through antinque stores and search for treasure for hours
6. Loch Haven Park - visit the Orlando Science Center and the Orlando Musuem of Art (go now and you can check out the amazing "Bodies" exhibit)
7. Visit the Downtown Orlando Farmer's Market on Sunday at Lake Eola
8. Take in one of the many festivals in Downtown Orlando, especially if it is a weekend with a Latin festival
9. Well'sbuilt Musuem of African American History - find out about Orlando's African American Heritage
10. Zora Neale Hurston Musuem in nearby Eatonville - the nation's oldest Black Community
11. Take in some nature - visit Wekiva Springs Park, go for an airboat ride, take on the West Orange Bike Trail

Stay at the Grand Bohemian Hotel! This hotel is designed around arts and culture and it will give you a bit of the authentic Orlando experience and you can walk to the Mad Cow Theater, bars along Orange and Central, or nearby Church Street.

After that, you can move on some more predictable areas:
- Orlando is a shopping mecca, from high end art to outlet malls, you can find it here
- Orlando is a golf mecca - courses for all types and all skill levels
- Gatorland - an old style Florida tourist attraction that is still great fun
- visit the University of Central Florida (UCF) - which is now the 7th largest university in the nation - UCF is the reason that Orlando is now home to a bustling biomedical and electronic simulation community.

I hope the producers will get in touch with me because I live here and I love it!

It is by the grace of God that I no longer live in Medicine Lodge, Kansas! Cliquish people!

Santa Rosa Ca. The most livable city? My neighborhood is filled with people who are mentally ill and can't take care of themselves that state & feds won't do anything for. I can't walk through the park without"johns" approaching. There is a huge crack/meth problem. Traffic is unbearable. There has been 15 years of opposition to a commuter train from knee jerk tax proponents. A contractor's special costs half a million. P.S. We hate Ahnold!

The Virgina-Highlands area of Atlanta.
Good food, art, music, festivals.
Great walking areas, parks, Freedom Walking Trail.
Shady.
Atlanta Running Club.
Manuel's Tavern - 50 years old, you can meet attorneys, undercover agents, politians, college students, area natives, and homeless people. Never dull.

Chicago- Everybody always raves about this city and it was a wonderful livable city - about 15-20 years ago. Trouble is everbody else thinks so too. Take the lakefront and Lincoln Park a nice place to take a walk or a bike ride, except that the City government now encourges everyone to come down there in the summer making it impossibly congested and parking a nightmare. The Taste of Chicagoin July has degenerated into a Pizza/Rib/Turkeyleg/Waffle Cone fest except the prices are sky high and the service lines are unbearably long. As for the weather, we alternate between bone numbing cold winters and Southern like scorching, humid summers. Spring, summer and fall usually have enough rainy weekends to spoil most outdoor activities and encouage the mosquito growth. Chicago averages 37 inches of precipation annually, with some of the heaviest amounts in the warmer months. As for traffic, the rush hour on the Xways lasts is 12-14 hours long and rivals LA. If you are a tourist, allow at least 90 minutes to get to O'Hare via a $50 cab ride, Or take the subway - just be prepared to hold your nose and your wallet and try to avoid the panhandlers and don't even think about waking the residents of the subway who sleep in the cars with their wordly possesions on the next seat. If you do you are in for a lively discussion. Yes there is a lot to do in Chicago: Museums, theatre, profesional sports other cultural events but much of it is spread out over the city and it takes an expensive cab ride or a car to get from one place to another with any kind of reliability or safety. Finally food - too many Chicago restaurants operate on the principle that that quantity is a substitute for quality and therefore pile on the fries or the pasta. That is why we have become the City of the Wide Bottom instead of the Broad Shoulders.

If anyone can figure out something nice to say about Hartford, Connecticut... tell me? Worst year of my life!! A river city with NO access to the river, zero entertainment/nightlife/culture and some of the rudest people I've ever met. Yet, I understand why they might be rude, because the weather is so miserable!

I have to agree with Renegade about El Paso, TX. However, I would also like to point you to my web review of Columbus, OH (http://www.epinions.com/content_224000511620). This is a fine place to live if you like overpriced homes, gray skies, production builders, housing values that disintegrate, and taxes that will beg you to move to Sweden (joke b/c Sweden has extremely high taxes). The state of Ohio is in shambles and if you want a good blog, go to the web and type "ohio sucks" into google. This will tell you about Ohio and all it DOESN"T have to offer. Avoid this entire state like the plague. As soon as our house sells we will be moving to Amelia Island, FL and will never look back.

Kansas. The entire state. I Lived there for over a decade and never found a town worth a da*n. The people are cliquish, gossipy, NARROW minded bigots. Small towns friendly? Not at all. Everyone is an outsider unless you were born there. Everyone is related (go ahead, read something into that). Then there are tornadoes. You can die several times a week. I will never cross the Kansas border again.

I was born and raised in the deep, mosquito-infected woods of Alabama, and for some reason everyone told me I was crazy when I moved to New England. I was told the "Yankees are awful" and "too liberal." However, after my first year, (granted you have to deal with the cold and higher rent) I have to say I have found more culture here than where I grew up. The grocery stores are definitely better and if you live in New Hampshire like I do, the people are much nicer.

I know the joke is that New Hampshire is just as redneck as Alabama, but with the ocean 30 minutes to the East, mountains 30 minutes to the North and Boston, a 45-minute ride South (if you go at a good time), there is LOTS more to do than in geographically-challenged Alabama.

West Palm Beach, FL

OK ... the beach is nice but that's not even in West Palm -- it's Palm Beach. West Palm has to be one of the most unsophisticated and aesthetically ugly places I've ever been to. Housing Developers took the once beautiful natural Florida foliage, including big pine and shady oak trees and mowed them all down in favor of grass and skinny palm trees. Two story condo units with brown roofs are everywhere and it's hard to find a good restaurant. Chain eateries are the order of the day. The job market is pathetic. Though if you like making $10/hour or less, you should have no problem finding work.

El Paso, Texas. No place worse in America. It's ugly, it's poor, it's boring, and it will never get any better.

WHY WOULD ANYONE LIVE IN GEORGIA? SURE, THE PEOPLE SEEM FRIENDLY, BUT ONCE THEY REALIZE YOU'RE NOT FROM THEIR OWN KIND IT ALL CHANGES. ALL SPANISH SPEAKERS ARE CONSIDERED MEXICANS. WHAT IGNORANCE! THE TOWNS ARE BORING, AND UNEVENTFUL, HOW MANY CRAFT SHOWS CAN YOU VISIT IN YOUR LIFETIME? WINDER, GA IS ONE PLACE WHERE THERE IS LITERALLY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO. YOU CAN ALWAYS DRIVE 20 MILES TO GO TO THE 'MALL' WHERE THE REST OF NORTHEAST GA HANGS OUT AT. BLAH!!!!

I have to wholeheartedly agree with an earlier post by Erin S. about Pittsburgh. Everything that the city officials try to push as positive about the place is a lie. Don't believe them. I have had the misfortune of living in this area for the past 5 years and I can't wait to leave. Most of the people here make a sport of being provincial and xenophobic. If you're not from Pittsburgh already and don't love the Steelers, you're pretty much out of luck. There is no culture, at all. The sad attempts made to have things like theatre or a symphony or museums are really poorly run. Traffic is miserable. There is no road maintenance, particularly within the city limits. Public transportation is a joke. There are buses, but all they manage to do is clog up the roads because the geniuses that designed the routes made it so that every route must eventually go to the same places, so there are usually 4 or 5 buses in a row on these very busy streets. The really sad thing is that no one really has any interest in changing anything, and quite frankly, I think that this crap is how most people want it to stay. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the weather. Nine months of cold, rainy and grey, followed by 3 months of blistering heat. I've been to Ireland in January, and the weather was much nicer there.

Have to agree with Atlanta being one giant parking lot. I ran screaming from the city after 2 yrs, tired of listening to lies about diversity when the city is totally divided. If you like a great mix of people, Atlanta is NOT the place for you.

Springfield, Mass., is a place that must inspire many suicides. A decaying 19th century industrial town in the hinterlands of a dreary Northeastern state, it was home to Machine Age American wonders like Indian motorcycles and Springfield rifles. Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, was born in Springfield when in its prime, and there is a nice sculpture garden devoted to Seussian characters at the city museum.

But that was then. The home where Dr. Seuess was born into an upper middle class family now sits in a ghetto, the factories are abandoned and the city is a place to get out of as fast as you can.

Honolulu, HI.
As a news producer here in Honolulu--and originally from NYC-- I can safely say this is one of the most unique cities in the US. When taking a long look at it's culinary, lifestyle, entertainment, cultural and sporting (hello...North shore?) events, there really is not comparison. It's the closest you're going to come to living in a foreign city while residing within the US.
Drop me an email, Fine Living, and let's shoot a show.

Lancaster, PA---People think Amish, although we do have out Amish, Lancaster city is a great place to live. Cost of living is low, there is a growing art community, people are friendly and there is culture if you are adventurous enough to search for it. The racial make-up of Lancaster has totally changed over the last 30 years and there is a huge Latino community here. The community is safe and there is a huge sense of opportunity where most people do not expect it. Lancaster is not for everyone, it is small but it is close to other major cities, Baltimore, Philly, NYC, DC. If you are willing to make the most of it, Lancaster could work for you.

Houston - all of the drawbacks of a large city with few of the advantages. Unbearably, oppressively hot and humid almost almost year round, traffic just as bad or worse than L.A. and D.C., mosquitoes, scary mega-churches, some, but not enough cultural life, interminable urban sprawl, massage parlors and strip joints galore. There are good aspects, however, and a good life can be carved out here: people tend to be kind (if culturally bereft), great shopping (port city), great eating (fattest city in the U.S.), relatively low housing costs, and there are isolated pockets of cultural life in the museum district, the Heights and in Montrose at the city's center.

Pittsburgh...Yeah Well i could go on forever..ive been stuck here, literally for 40 years....If you cant visit here in July or August, dont bother!!. Its barely Sept. 1st and im getting out my sweaters and coats..its been cold and rainy... like always, You cant go outside for most of the entire year with out running to the car and freezing to death while it trys to warm up. I have a 400 grand house, stinks like moldy earth and rain most of the year! Someone is always sick with cold or flu all winter thanks to the weather. There is nothing at all to do here from October to the middle of June other than eat and shop at malls. The wheather is awful! I think Crayola Crayon should rename the color grey to be called pittsburgh... hope i can get through my 41st winter without killing myself! Its a struggle every year... Ill be hibernating now till July...see ya then if im still alive!

Boston, Boston, Boston, If I hear how great it is again I'll be sick. I lived most of my life in the Philadelphia Suburbs, but 2 years ago I moved to just outside Boston. Where should I start first? Weather, traffic, horrible nightlife, bad attitudes. I was living with my boyfriend for about a year an a half in this horrible place. The winters are so bad, they don't bother to tell you on the forecast it is going to snow, because it is rare when it doesn't. Usually at least 6 to 12 inches once a week. When not trying to get killed on the interstate by the insane drivers, one constantly feels the icy chill from the people around them. I worked in an office where No One(I mean it!!!) spoke to me or said hello for 4 months of my year and a half employment. When they did, I wish they didn't. Rude, lacking class, and stuck up! Oh, What night life. The theatre district was crawling with prostitutes in the middle of summer. Everything is expensive, and if you go to Newbury street to shop, you better have a printed report of your bank statement, or they won't even wait on you. I cried for the first month, tried to make the best of it, but then started flying back to Philly every other week just to keep my sanity. When my boyfriend proposed, I told him I would not marry him if I had to live in Massachusetts at all. We are now married living in Delaware..

El Paso may be in the same zip code as Hell, but then San Antonio must be Hell's Town Square. For those who have been raised in SA it might not be such a bad place, but for those who have lived elsewhere it is definitely lacking. With the months of unbearable heat and yearly drought which is still touted as "unseasonable" by local news stations, SA is not a place for lovers of the outdoors. It is near the Hill Country, and Austin (comparably a cool city) is only one hour away, but this doesn't make up for the HUGE number of uninsured/illegal drivers who do not understand traffic laws. Add to this the broken highway system and the fact that SA is among the fattest/most alcoholic cities, and the Alamo and Riverwalk just aren't enough to make it livable.

If El Paso, Texas, isn't hell, surely it is in the same area code. That's the ugliest city I've seen in this hemisphere.

What is the bid deal about Tybee Georgia. they call that a beach? give me a break. actually give me a jelly fish sting and a broken ankle from stepping on oyster beds.

Stay away from central Fla.and Daytona Bch. It's way to overcrowded, the interstate(I4) is a mess ALL THE TIME! Sure, there is Disney, (and other theme parks, but when it feels like a 110, who wants to wait in long lines and crowds of people to ride a ride you can find in less overcrowded parks in different states!and you better know the Spanish language very well).
People are so rude there, you're lucky if cashiers and sales people "grunt" at you.
As for Daytona Bch., well uh,,, what beach??? The beach town is run down, the sea walls have all but disappeared, and your lucky if you can find a spot in the sun w/ all the condos and hotels overshawdowing the beach. If you are lucky enough to find a "sunny" spot, watch out for those cars! I prefer not to wear tire marks home. Also, good luck finding a decent gift shop.
The hotels in the entire central Fl. area are way over priced, and most smell like mildew!
(think hurricane damage!)
Traveler beware, your money and time will be better spent anywhere else!

People rave about Detroit. Okay, well actually they don't. It needs help like Cleveland got about ten years ago. Go Detroit. Actually, don't go to Detroit, just "go Detroit" -- maybe if you guys did a city guide for Detroit it would help, but otherwise, I'd stay away. Especially on Devil's night which is the night before Halloween. On Devil's Night they burn the town down. Real Smart Detroit.

The joke in New Mexico is that Albuquerque is Spanish for "strip mall."

Savannah is a cosmopolitan metropolis compared to another decaying Southern seaport: Mobile, Ala. O. My. God. Mobile is rife with white trash, chemical plants, scary Protestant evangelical churches and enough ugly sprawl for a city three times its population. It's a shame, because the physical setting of Alabama's port city is beautiful; it's situated where a massive river delta meets Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The locals just don't appreciate the place.

I get so tired of hearing Denver boosters tout that place as a city to be taken seriously. Puh-leeze. Denver is a Stepford City. Too clean, too pretty, too white, too mall-y sprawl-y. The place needs some grit to go with its granola.

It could borrow some grit from Albuquerque, a smaller city to the south that has crime, grime and urban blight to spare. Spare me the Land of Enchantment crap. Albuquerque is dirty, poor and homely.

Atlanta has everything you want. NFL, NBA, MLB, theatre, restaurants, musueums and more. The problem--traffic is so bad you can't get to any of it. The transit system is a joke. If the city keeps growing it will become one big parking lot.

I'd have to say that I'm not a big fan of Denver. The nearby Rocky Mountains are beautiful, and Boulder is quaint. But Denver felt as if it had too much sprawl and not enough character. Not worth a return visit for me.

Okay, I gotta let the cat out of the bag. Savannah, Georgia is a great place if you are single, drunk or both. If you have kids and want to call this place home you gotta be nuts. Sure the papermill smell might be less toxic these days, but the humidity, the bugs, the public schools, ugh. Send your cameras over to Bluffton in South Carolina... that's where it's happening!

(Sorry Savannah-ites, but it's time to wake up and smell the sweet tea.)