The places I have lived...

Howdy Ya'll,
I just got back from visiting Raleigh Durham,NC. Anyhow, my Wife and I saw a lot of small towns around the area that we liked. While seeing them, it made me think of all the places I've lived. I thought I'd start a thread. I'll go first.

1: Powell, TN. That's where I grew up, on a large farm. We had a gravel driveway and a huge lawn that required a tractor with a bush hog to mow. People would drag race their cars at 3:00 AM and the lifestar helicopter came out a lot to clean up the messes. Loads of people owned large quantities of firearms. It wasn't uncommon for people to get drunk and shoot guns off the back of their porches at cans and stuff. Dogs ran around loose. People would come down our driveway for the hell of it. For some reason we got visited a lot by 7th day Adventists. They were brave.

2: Harriman, TN. Small town between Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN. It was a former coal mining town. I rented the entire upper floor of a Victorian house for $200 a month. The neigbors downstairs fought all the time. A lady lived across from me who drank 40's of Cobra malt liquer and filled up garbage cans full of the bottles. I liked it there. Pretty laid back.

3: Boston, MA: I lived in a Jewish community. Real learning experience because there's probably 20 Jews in all of TN. Some were from Russia. I rented a crappy run-down apartment in a series of buildings. I hung out with some old Jewish guys who had fought in WW2 and played cards in the boiler room. I drove a crappy motorcycle that broke down all the time. I repaired windows, lawn mowers, lamps, and other stuff in the basement of a hardware store while going to school. Boston was expensive and the winters sucked.

4: Berkeley, CA: Another "learning experience". People there are pretty eccentric and suspicious of most everyone except for people that -surprise- live in Berkeley. Stuff got stolen from our parking lot all the time.

5: Oakland, CA: I lived in a old neighborhood in an old house. I rented a room upstairs. You could walk anywhere. The housemate was a neat-freak. I'm pretty neat myself, but he got on my case all the time and I eventually had to move.

6: Berkeley... again. I rented a room in an 8 bedroom HUGE house with a bunch of other people, most who had drinking problems. We had lots of fun though. We would load up my truck and my Romanian housemate's Buick with firewood and junk and burn it on the beach. That and one time we took out all the old, years-old frozen food in the freezer and went bowling down the street. The neighbors hated our guts too. The landlord was a crazy pack-rat.

7: Oakland, again, and where I currently live. We rent a whole house in a old, quite neighborhood. We have a garden, a workshop, and small yard. We like it because its safe, and the neighbors are nice

8: Where to next? Not sure.

 

1) Born in Wingham,Ontario Canada and only lived there for 4 months.
2) Dover, N.H. for 17 years of my pathetic existance.
3) Erie, PA (only lived there for a year when I was in 6th grade)
4) Harrisonburg, VA (my parents currently still reside there)
5) Millersville, PA (college days)
6) Lancaster, PA (college days)
7) Landisville, PA (currently live there)

 

London, UK
Sacramento, CA
Ft. Worth, TX
Albuquerque, NM
Las Vegas, NV
Phoenix, AZ
Nacogdoches, TX
Lufkin, TX

 

1. Fort Lee, Va 18 months
2. Fayetteville, NC Fort Bragg 7 yrs
3. Petersburg, Va 6 yrs
4. Stony Creek Va 3 yrs
5. Permanent address as of now Disputanta Va
6. Living in Richmond VA have moved into a diff apartment each year if been in college 4th place right now

 

where in oakland is safe??

 

1. San Ramon CA
2. Danville CA
3. Rohnert Park CA
4. Santa Rosa CA
5. San Diego CA

I heart CA

 

1. Houston, TX
2. Pasadena / Deer Park, Tx
3. Austin, TX
4. Downtown Houston, TX
5. Katy, TX

loved living in downtown, but not really a good place for a married guy. i'm in the burbs now. my body thanks me.

 

@SecretSquirrel,
Do you have property on the coast already? My Wife's Mother owns some off the coast of NC and even though she's owned it for 30+ years and it rents almost 90% of the time, the insurance and property taxes are eating her alive, and she paid it off decades ago. I'd look into what the actual costs would be before making that choice because that kind of expense in retirement is tough.

Lastly, not to sound nasty, but I don't get all the people who live in cold climates who wait until they're old to move down somewhere they'd "really" want to live versus spending most of their life in an area they don't totally love. Perhaps its worth it just to go ahead and move there and make the life choices to make it work. I know me and my Wife are making that choice probably when we're still in our early 30's because I'd rather live where I want and be young to enjoy it. Just my 2 cents.

 

I see your San Ramon and raise you with another San Ramon. The quaint "little" town that nobody has ever heard of...except for us. It's where I grew up and reside today!

 

I was born in walnut creek and lived my first years on Santander Dr!

 

Born, Dallas
Moved about 10 times around Dallas before I was 10
Moved to Maryland for 6 months
Moved to LA, and again moved around 10 times in 5 years before I landed in Hermosa Beach, CA.
I've lived here for about 4 years. The most consistent house of my entire life. Sad... LOL.
I didn't move because I wanted to, but because my mom liked to move. I love it here though and I'm now on my own and not moving!

 

I've been everywhere you've lived except London. I have been to Europe though! Close, but not quite.

 

NO WAY!

 

San Francisco, Ca
San Pedro, Ca
Napa, Ca
Lodi, Ca
Stockton, Ca
Concord, Ca
Reno, Nv

 

I'm imaging that Padre Island doesn't have hurricanes. That's the issue my Mother in Law's place has. That and the salt air eats EVERYTHING. Just got back from there and spent several days replacing tons of stuff.

As far as the Bay Area, another area that local seem to be unaware of is Livermore. Love it out there. I'd live there if it wern't for the fact that the traffic would suck.

In regards to where I want to retire, Asheville, NC would be my 1st choice, but Yankee retirees have overun the place and now its overpriced. In fact, seemed like Raleigh Durham was the same. I'm basically interested in some sort of small town that I can walk to and not having to pay out the ass to live there. That and I can't deal with nasty, cold weather period after living in Boston. I'm just so-so with ocean property. I've spent enough time to see that the bulk of folks living in coastal retirement areas are old farts waiting to die. I'd kind of rather not be around that if I can help it. That and I'd get bored pretty quick. Only so much you can do on the beach. That is unless I just stayed drunk all the time. Not a bad thought actually.

 

Small world! It was 476 santander drive san ramon ca AND if you do a google maps streetview theres a second gen tacoma sitting in the driveway..
Im trippin out hereee

 

Me too! Did you go to Bolling Elem. too? Cal high? I went to Iron Horse middle, not sure if it was around then...

 

Elgin, IL - 14 years. NW suburbs of chicago. fun childhood.
Stevenson, AL 6 years and counting - Way less populated. But great people.

 

Went to bollenger and moved to danville where i went to golden view and then Los Cerros, then Monte vista!

Iron horse wasnt around then, its pretty new (like, within the last 5-7 years i believe??)