There's No Place Like Home

[Snow]

One of the things I enjoy here is reading posts from people who live in different places describe their surroundings. I'd like to know what it's like where you are.

As for me... I live in a sea of people, millions upon millions in the greater metropolitan area, city, next to city, next to city almost without end, criss-crossed with a lattice of freeways. My city is seemingly nothing but roof tops, telephone poles, palm trees and asphalt. However, just a mile away I've got the blue Pacific Ocean and mile after mile of beach and surf.

I live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, modest homes but costing well in excess of 500 k... the same money would get you a McMansion elsewhere. My house is two stories and one of the things that I like most is that my study is on the second floor overlooking the cul-de-sac where I can watch the kids play. The yard is modest sized, but well-laid out and full of foliage, all newly planted in the past year. My ward is a block away.

I live in Southern California - Orange County - Downtown Los Angeles is 30 miles away. Every night we hear the fireworks at Disneyland at 9:30pm

Where do you live?

[Lbybug]

I live in a small town that's growing. my townhouse is across the street from the highway, which is next to the railroad which divides the town into the "northside" and the "southside".

I grew up on the northside of town. The far north side of town. When the house I grew up in was built, there were only 3 other houses on the block. Now, there are new houses everywhere.

Most people in my town work either in factories (we have 5 factories in a 30 minute radius...3 which are in the 'industrial area'). We also have a lot of people in town who work on the oil rigs. My town is built over an old mine, and there is a lot of horizontal drilling still going on in the area. There is also a lot of farming in the area. Across the street from the hospital (which is still in town), there is farmland, which is still farmed. Although many people who have farms in town are selling so houses can be built. Our main crop here is corn, we have a festival every summer celebrating the corn.

Houses in my town sell from anywhere from 120,000 to 1.2 million (yeah...really...and there's more than one that are worth that price). not bad for a town that takes 5 minutes to drive from one side of town to the other.

There are less than 8000 people who live in my town. Rent for pretty much anything in town ranges from 500-800/month.

I know this post is choppy....but so is my town.

I live in southern Alberta Canada. Calgary is 3 hours north. The American border to Montana is 1 hour south.

I hear the trains go by at least once an hour....but i'm so used to it now (i've lived across the street from them for 4 years) that i hardly notice it.

That's where I live.

[Snow]

I live in a small town that's growing. my townhouse is across the street from the highway, which is next to the railroad which divides the town into the "northside" and the "southside".

That was great Lbybug - just what I wanted. I found myself wanting to skip to the bottom to find out where you lived but resisted until the end.

Thank yoiu

[spiritseeker]

I live in city or so it is called but in reality a big town. It is an eclectic community with three major colleges. They are the lifeline of the community. We wouldn't be a city if they were not here. Where I live is a pretty rural area. Across the street from our two story colonial is rolling fields with beautiful mountains in the distance. It is nothing to see deer on the front lawn or a large flock of wild turkeys roaming through our back yard! I love it!! And yet 2.6 miles up the road there is a city. With shopping malls and restaurants ect.

We are home to the National Soccer Hall of Fame and 15 minutes away is theNational Baseball Hall of Fame! I guess you could say we have the best of both worlds , country and city....Right behind the house is a large forest that I love to walk through and imagine the sacred grove....:) The Susquehana river runs through the city and is great for fishing and rafting.

The other wonderful thing about this area is we are only two hours or so (depending on how fast you drive:lol:) from the beginnings of our wonderful Church!!! Palmyra is close and thats why the scenery around this area just makes you feel as if you are walking in the footsteps of Joseph Smith. There are many similiar groves.... And if any of you get the chance to go to the Sacred Grove , GO!!! I cry everytime I am there. There is something holy about it...:wub:

I live in Oneonta , New York Otsego County

[hordak]

Things change but are always the same.

Home has been an 1800sqft, 4 bedroom, 3 bath with a large fenced in yard. Overlooking the runway you are either lulled to sleep by the nightly engine runs or kept awake buy the same. Outdoor phone calls are occasionally drowned out by a c-5 or f-15 flying overhead.

Home has been a 900sqft 2 bed town home that the government got for cheap because it was section 8 housing. You might see more cows then people and a night on the town mean a 3 hour drive to San Francisco.

Home has been in a metro of 3 million people. Where driving 15 minutes east, west, or south takes you to the beach. Where amusement parks and music or sports entertainment (hockey,football, baseball) is no further then a 20 minute drive.

You make friends with the neighbors fast knowing because your extended family is a minimum of 4 hours away but usually 4 states away and your spouse will likely be gone for at least 6 months.The real good friends you make are forever and worth it (even though your phone bill filled with calls to Japan might shock you) but many get lost on the way side during PCS season.

You can spot the Texans from a mile away as there home/car/kids/selves are adorned with with flags and shirts to announce to the world they are Texans. (i don't get it).

Home can be a place you love but have to leave, or a place you hate but can't get out of. The saying goes, the best base is the place you just left of the place you are going.

Some days i hate it and others i love it. It does make seeking an education difficult.

For me home is my immediate family. We have lived all around the county in places we hated (California is not what it is cracked up to be, at least up north :) ) and places we should have never left ( Go Bucs ) but together we try to make the best of it.

[Hemidakota]

One of the things I enjoy here is reading posts from people who live in different places describe their surroundings. I'd like to know what it's like where you are.

As for me... I live in a sea of people, millions upon millions in the greater metropolitan area, city, next to city, next to city almost without end, criss-crossed with a lattice of freeways. My city is seemingly nothing but roof tops, telephone poles, palm trees and asphalt. However, just a mile away I've got the blue Pacific Ocean and mile after mile of beach and surf.

I live in a relatively quiet neighborhood, modest homes but costing well in excess of 500 k... the same money would get you a McMansion elsewhere. My house is two stories and one of the things that I like most is that my study is on the second floor overlooking the cul-de-sac where I can watch the kids play. The yard is modest sized, but well-laid out and full of foliage, all newly planted in the past year. My ward is a block away.

I live in Southern California - Orange County - Downtown Los Angeles is 30 miles away. Every night we hear the fireworks at Disneyland at 9:30pm

Where do you live?

Then you must of felt the ground shaking on Friday and Saturday.

[Hemidakota]

Things change but are always the same.

Home has been an 1800sqft, 4 bedroom, 3 bath with a large fenced in yard. Overlooking the runway you are either lulled to sleep by the nightly engine runs or kept awake buy the same. Outdoor phone calls are occasionally drowned out by a c-5 or f-15 flying overhead.

Home has been a 900sqft 2 bed town home that the government got for cheap because it was section 8 housing. You might see more cows then people and a night on the town mean a 3 hour drive to San Francisco.

Home has been in a metro of 3 million people. Where driving 15 minutes east, west, or south takes you to the beach. Where amusement parks and music or sports entertainment (hockey,football, baseball) is no further then a 20 minute drive.

You make friends with the neighbors fast knowing because your extended family is a minimum of 4 hours away but usually 4 states away and your spouse will likely be gone for at least 6 months.The real good friends you make are forever and worth it (even though your phone bill filled with calls to Japan might shock you) but many get lost on the way side during PCS season.

You can spot the Texans from a mile away as there home/car/kids/selves are adorned with with flags and shirts to announce to the world they are Texans. (i don't get it).

Home can be a place you love but have to leave, or a place you hate but can't get out of. The saying goes, the best base is the place you just left of the place you are going.

Some days i hate it and others i love it. It does make seeking an education difficult.

For me home is my immediate family. We have lived all around the county in places we hated (California is not what it is cracked up to be, at least up north :) ) and places we should have never left ( Go Bucs ) but together we try to make the best of it.

We were looking at houses outside of the Camp Pendleton back gate last year, where the square footage starts at 4500 sqft. Looking at the smallest lot, the price was going for a meager 750K dollars. Then there are ones that reside on 3-acres and 7800 sqft going for 1.4 million dollars. Homes over a year ago had dropped more than 55-percent.

[pam]

Home to me is a very large mobile home in a small older park. Three bedroom, 2 bath, family room, livingroom. Large lot with a large built in shed in the back with a work bench. There are so many trees in the park that I love the look during the summer. Just hate the raking when fall comes around. Never thought I'd be one to live in a mobile home..but hey..it's paid for and I pay very little for space rental.

I live in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley. City called Sandy. We sit between 2 mountain ranges, the Wasatch Mountains and the Oquirrh Mountains. Right now they are snow capped and are really beautiful. (As long as the snow stays in the mountains I am happy).

We are just about 3 hours drive from some of the most amazing National Parks. Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. There is also the Arches National Park which is about the same distance.

As many are familiar with the Salt Lake area you know it's the Church' headquarters. Also home of the largest geneological library in the world.

Oh I forgot to mention. We live about 50 feet from train tracks. Numerous trains go by daily. I will never be able to tell if we are having an earthquake or a train is going by.

Edited April 28, 2009 by pam

[Hemidakota]

I think that is where my son-in-law works for the Park Services....:)

[Wingnut]

Every night we hear the fireworks at Disneyland at 9:30pm

I used to watch them from my backyard every night. It drove my dad nuts that even at two years old, I was already a night owl.

[Guest Alana]

I'll try to be succinct as possible but there's a lot to tell about my town and the area. On a typical day I wake up in my rented duplex that is surrounded by towering redwoods. I have a huge deck out front that the kids spend most of their day on. The houses on my steep and curvy road aren't set very close together and are rather large. At the top of our road is a small christian college, at the bottom is one of the towns two elementary schools. The town I live in is about 10k and is one of the more expensive places to live in the county, it avoids the usual morning fog and has a lot of redwood trees. There is a smattering of local restaurants, a couple of fast food joints and a few choices for grocery stores.

If I'm going to go 'down town' or 'into town' that involves leaving my sleepy crime free (as much as can be hoped for in a small suburban town)town and heading 5 minutes down the highway. There I'll find myself in the center of our county. The ocean is gorgeous and sports awesome surf spots. The water is usually cold and wet suits are required but we host many surf competitions including annually the O'Neil cold water classic. Occasionally the winners are someone we know or went to school with. There is a University of California. This brings a lot of younger people to down town, which boasts a population of about 80k. I often will cruise along west cliff, a road that boarders the ocean, enjoying both the Victorian houses and the ocean. At the end of West Cliff is a grove of Eucalyptus trees that monarch butterflys migrate to. At the right time of the year there will be lumps of thousands of butterflys int eh branches.

At the other end of West Cliff is the wharf. We went to the wharf this last week and had some great sea food. We also enjoyed watching the sea lions that like to lay along the tressels of the wharf under neath. Sometimes they would bark at us. From the wharf you can see people surfing, sun bathers and sail boats. YOu can also see the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is an amusement park that has one of the countries best arcades. We go there at least once a month, even before we had kids. After playing video games we'll walk along the part with the rides. Admission is free (just costs per ride) so we'll walk along and people watch. The Boardwalk is over a hundred years old and still has it's original wooden roller coaster and carousel. There is enough there to take up most a day. I find myself at the boardwalk at least once a week during the summer when the weekdays have 75 cent night. Rights, hot dogs, drinks and cotton candy are only 75 cents after 5pm on those days:)

If I was to head to the heart of 'downtown' it's be an other atmosphere. We have the best downtown for a city our size that I've ever seen. Most things stay open until 2 am. There is a lack of chains and a plethora of local businesses. Down town you'll see a lot of dread locks, homeless people and tourists. You'll be asked for change at least a half dozen times. You'll see a lot of young punks, complete with mo-hawks. There are of course the university students and the local hippies. Being downtown and seeing a group of naked people completely covered in mud run by has happened more than a few times. There is the scent of marijuana in the air and there are as many gay bars as not.

Down town has upscale restaurants and restaurants sporting vegan/raw/organic menus. There are drum circles and lots of classic cars (a few I drove myself) Down town is very eclectic to say the least. It caters to the many rich retired folks and to the very liberal earth conscious yuppies/hippies/crazy people (i'm not saying yuppies are crazy lol) It's usually in the 70's even in the winter. If it rains more than 3 days in a row everyone freaks out and yet everything is really green.

My town, the on up in the hills with 10k population is Scotts Valley, but when asked where I live I usually say Santa Cruz, California. Santa Cruz is the county and the name of the city downtown.

Edited April 27, 2009 by Alana

[talisyn]

My little family lives in a trailer in a valley between the mountains and the Snake river. It always amazes me when I drive home from Twin how those mountains can look so big from afar and yet small and comfortable when you're only 10 miles away. It's beautiful in the spring and summer with all the very green farms. I have tons of gratitude for the pioneers who tamed this high desert. Where else are you gonna get 5 pound potatoes? Trust me on this, I'm shoveling them up at work all the time

There's hiking in the hills and swimming in the river at Dierke's Lake in the summer. Skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding, and hitting the hot springs in the winter. Nature all over the place. My fiance came over last summer and was amazed. He's a city boy, never ever lived outside of Philly his entire life, and is thrilled to pieces to move here this summer.

Huge LDS population, we just got a temple only 45 miles away My daughter and I drove past it last night and we agreed it looked like nothing earthly, but I guess most temples are like that. Before it was built people had to drive 3 hours to either Boise, Logan, or Idaho Falls. Most of my extended family lives in the southern Idaho area, you could throw a rock and hit one of my relatives (sometimes I've been tempted, believe me).

Not a bad little area. Burley is the biggest town in the county with about 15,000 people. Most places are like Oakley with 600 or so. But if you visit Cassia county make sure you pronounce it with a 'j'

I miss Santa Cruz, Alana. I have half of my heart there and the other half here.

Edited April 27, 2009 by talisyn

[pam]

I have friends that live in Burley

[talisyn]

I have friends that live in Burley

If I may be so bold, now you have another one

[pam]

If I may be so bold, now you have another one

Ahh but my dear..I had already considered you a friend. :)

[bytor2112]

I live in a relatively small southern town. We are often referred to as LA.....lower Alabama or the Redneck Riviera. If you like the sun and the sand, year round golf and find the Gulf Coast beautiful, you might enjoy it. I live in Panama City, Fl. My family has been here since 1824, so I am pretty much as native Floridian as you get. Florida is an interesting State. After you pass Gainesville, the culture is not really southern anymore. It is a mix of Hispanic culture and Yankee transplants. Florida is very hot and balmy....lots of humidity, but you can wear shorts at Christmas time. I would much prefer to live out west in Colorado........someday

Edited April 27, 2009 by bytor2112

[Madriglace]

I have lived many places in my life Oregon, California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Montana, Idaho ... it comes with the territory of being a government brat. Now home is a large one bedroom apartment above the garage on my folks property ... both my building and theirs are log homes. I am care taker during their missions.You can't see our place from the road we are 1/4 back in the trees and at the end of the road. I can see Mt St Helens every morning when I wake up. As well as Mt Rainier and on a good day Mt Adams. Things are finally getting green here and starting to grow. We get alot of rain and we say that we don't tan ... we rush. I have my dog kennel down the back of the yard next to the garden that dad decided to finally put a fence around after the elk trashed it last summer. On any given day we have bunnies, elk, deer, possum, and racoon running through the place. The claim to fame for our town is that we have the biggest egg in the world. Our town is basically a wide spot in the road ... an old logging town like most in the area. We do not have lumber jacks we have loggers! I live outside Winlock, Washington which is almost dead center between Portland, Or and Seattle and about 2 hours from the beach.

[Guest Alana]

I miss Santa Cruz, Alana. I have half of my heart there and the other half here.

I do love Santa Cruz, there are so many neat little things to do, little treasures tucked into spots all over the place. What you described sounds like a slice of heaven though. As much as I love it here, there are many things that aren't family friendly. Plus, it's about as liberal as you can get and I'm fairly conservative. Which is fine, but it's a bummer knowing that if I let my opinions be known, especially about something like abortion or taxes I better be ready for random people who hear what I'm saying to attack me and call me names. Plus, the cost of housing, whoa. I mean, rental prices have gone up since the economy has been faltering. I know there are a lot of beautiful places out there, they might not be santa cruz, but they can be their own kind of awesome.

[Elgama]

I live in a part of town that is very old most of the houses were built 1900-70s but we have ruins and buildings that are around 6-700 years old - I have good views to hills and woods, Although I live on a main road its very peaceful, the River Lossie is 3 doors up near a football field and I live near a very old church yard and famous woollen mill (people fly in from USA and Japan when they have a sale).///

Where I live has a long history and used to be a major city on a world scale, it used to house some of the Worlds top academics they were Darwin's contemporaries like George Gordon, or famous adventurers like General Anderson, they are very much forgotten now, and it was world famous for its silver and gold smiths Elgin Silver is very expensive. Now its a very small city most people have not heard of. I love where I live services are fantastic, the air is very clean and the place is quite safe (and I live in roughest part of town), we lack some amenties but I believe the United Nations did a survey that decided where I live has the highest standard of living certainly in Europe and possibly the world which has meant its growing and we now have a theatre etc

Only sad thing is town planners of the 60s and 70s destroyed the beautiful high street you now need to look up to see the buildings the oldest of which dates back to late 1600s

This is 5 minutes walk if that from my house

-Charley

[talisyn]

Wow. Living by that much history is almost unimaginable to me. The oldest building in this area is about 120 years old

[Elgama]

Wow. Living by that much history is almost unimaginable to me. The oldest building in this area is about 120 years old

here its kind of normal we live on the castle trail - Elgin used to have a castle but the people knocked it down because they didn't want the king visiting,. the Cathedral was burned down in 1300s by Wolf of Badenoch and then in the 1600s its lead was sold during the reformation its been a ruin for a very long time.; we have loads of old walls around lol

-Charley

[Tarnished]

My home is in northern Illinois near the Wisconsin border. Our town is set within a countryside of farms, forests and prairie land. We live near a forest preserve which happens to be an exquisite melding of Midwest prairie and lush forests. Near the middle of the preserve is a marsh. On Spring days (like today) you can hear the chirp of the frogs as they emerge from hibernation, in Summer the “cree, cree” of the cicadas winds a heated song, Fall brings the call of geese and other migratory birds winging their way south, and Winter brings the stillness of the snow and the howling of the wind.

The downtown area of our small town is very old fashioned, little shops line our main street and on certain days the road is closed for the local Farmer’s Market. Though larger than the town I grew up in our town still holds the quaint small town feel I have grown to love. Near us are many other suburban towns, most of which have better shopping options than our little town, and just an hour and a half drive north or south will bring you to either Milwaukee or Chicago, allowing us to live the small town life with the big city close at hand.

From the building I work in I can see the Chicago skyline, today the clouds hung low over the city casting the skyline into shadow, creating an effect much like the shadow of the city cast onto parchment. It reminds me that all four seasons visit us here, something I am grateful for.

[Soul_Searcher]

This is a cool topic!

I live in a big town, about 185000 people. Its a London overspill so it has a London feel. I.E lots of empty vandalised buildings ghetto-type areas, high crime rates and a football stadium. 20% of the population are unemployed and on benefits. Its very multicultural. 33% of the population are asian, 10,000 are Polish and another 5,000 are Eastern european. The town is very industrial and working class and right next to one of the main motorways in the country, the M1.

The main thing about the town is the famous airport, which we live half a mile from.

Needless to say, I hate the place but its location is very central with good travel links. 25 mins to London, 40 mins to Paris.

We live on the very outskirts of town about 50 yards from the next county. We have a little 2 bed cluster house, 3 houses joined together. Its a nice estate and our house overlooks country side and empty fields. You can see the planes fly into the airport from our house but we are not in the flight path as theres no noise. Its peaceful and the walks in the countryside are beautiful. We back onto some of the most beautiful green English countryside for miles.The chapel is in the flight path so its pretty noisy but u get used to it.

Oh yeah..the oldest building in the town dates back to the 1540s-when Henry VIII was on the throne. Its a pub and we eat there probably once a fortnight. It has beams and open fires. The church in the town centre was built in the 1100s so the town is 900 years old. I know u Americans love the historic side of Britain!

Edited April 27, 2009 by Soul_Searcher

[Palerider]

I grew up in a big city in the midwest. I have always lived in the midwest. Growing up in a city was probally like most. Small house very close to the neighbors house not alot of space. My Dad was a Teamster Truck Driver and often worked very hard and long days.

When my wife and were married we lived in St Louis for a bit. She is from St Louis. After a few years we bought our first home and moved south. We moved about 60 miles south of St Louis to a small town called Desloge Missouri.

Population in Desloge is about 5000. About 15 yrs ago we had a house built in the city limits of Desloge. We have a home thats 4 Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms and you can see my house on my homepage. We have about an acre lot and its very quiet. Our Ward is about 10 miles away and our Stake Center is about 90 miles away. We love living in a rural community and would not have it any other way. I have always drove to St Louis for work. I am a commuter.

[pam]

This is a cool topic!

I live in a big town, about 185000 people. Its a London overspill so it has a London feel. I.E lots of empty vandalised buildings ghetto-type areas, high crime rates and a football stadium. 20% of the population are unemployed and on benefits. Its very multicultural. 33% of the population are asian, 10,000 are Polish and another 5,000 are Eastern european. The town is very industrial and working class and right next to one of the main motorways in the country, the M1.

The main thing about the town is the famous airport, which we live half a mile from.

Needless to say, I hate the place but its location is very central with good travel links. 25 mins to London, 40 mins to Paris.

We live on the very outskirts of town about 50 yards from the next county. We have a little 2 bed cluster house, 3 houses joined together. Its a nice estate and our house overlooks country side and empty fields. You can see the planes fly into the airport from our house but we are not in the flight path as theres no noise. Its peaceful and the walks in the countryside are beautiful. We back onto some of the most beautiful green English countryside for miles.The chapel is in the flight path so its pretty noisy but u get used to it.

Oh yeah..the oldest building in the town dates back to the 1540s-when Henry VIII was on the throne. Its a pub and we eat there probably once a fortnight. It has beams and open fires. The church in the town centre was built in the 1100s so the town is 900 years old. I know u Americans love the historic side of Britain!

Okay I want to come visit you.