S/O of travel thread...how would you characterize your home city?

Resa77

What city do you live in?  Do you live in the city, or suburbs?  How urban is your area?  How would you describe your locale?  What makes your city different from other areas?

professorscience

I live in a kind of suburban/rural area.  My town is rapidly getting developed, but there's still lots of farmland, so a neighborhood might back up to someone's farm.

The greater metro area (OKC) is definitely urban.  It's certainly more laid back than some of the other "big cities" I've been to, though.

Resa77

I live in the suburbs, definitely not urban but not rural either.  The overall area of Northern VA is full of transplants.  Lots of military families retire here (Pentagon), and there are so many government jobs (and gov contracting jobs) that people tend to move here from all over.  I guess our culture is that it's diverse.  The traffic is horrendous, and people really don't seem to know how to drive.  The lifestyle is very rushed, and people are very career-focused, while at the same time, family-focused. 

erin5286

I live in the downtown area of Fargo, ND.  It's no "big city" (Fargo is just over 100K people I think, while the greater metropolis area of Fargo/West Fargo/Moorhead, MN is around 200K).  There's condo buildings, bars, restaurants, shops, businesses, etc. and it does have an urban feel (although certainly less hustle and bustle than other cities I've visited.)  It's defiintely not a tiny po-dunk town like a lot of people would expect for a state like North Dakota though 

Resa77

Erin, are you from ND? 

itzMS

I live in a suburb about 15 minutes west of downtown Milwaukee. Which also means 15 minutes from the western shore of Lake Michigan. I am about 5 minutes east of the nearest farm.

Though some people will try to deny it, it really isn't an exageration that all people do here is drink. And go to Brewers games. It's just the culture! Brew City!

I love living in this area because you can get to ANYTHING within 20 minutes. From the beach to forests/hiking trails, to farmers markets and high-end stores, to fancy restaurants and the neighborhood pub & grill.

erin5286

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_so-of-travel-threadhow-would-you-characterize-your-home-city?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:e5ce32b9-9019-4442-91f9-fdf4fb7fb5a5Post:70d24b73-03fd-4a9d-8eef-b14b8f7a3622">Re: S/O of travel thread...how would you characterize your home city?</a>:
[QUOTE]Erin, are you from ND? 
Posted by Resa77[/QUOTE]

Not originally, I grew up in SD and came up here for school about 8 years ago (yikes!  It didn't seem that long ago until I typed it out...)  My parents have since moved to WI (pretty near the Twin Cities) so I don't get back to SD much anymore.  FI is from the western part of ND, so right now we're exacly in the middle of where both of our families live, which is kind of nice, rather than being really close to one and really far from the other.

ElleB87

I live in the downtown area of a major city. I love how convenient the location is but the neighbour isn't exactly the safest (it's not the worst though either). I'm super close to work too which is nice.

H and I both want to leave Canada asap because we're not fans of how our country is being run into the ground but we know that that's going to have to wait for a while. I'd love to move to either Montreal (I am francophone but H doesn't speak more than 5 words of French so that's pretty much out the window), Ottawa or the East Coast if we choose to stay in Canada.

I think the main reason why people come to my province is for the hunting/camping and to see polar bears in the fall. My ethnic culture has been nearly wiped out (as I said, I'm francophone (no, not Metis)). Most people forget this is a francophone province and completely disregard the extremely important historical events that took place here and it makes me stabby.  Poverty is also a pretty big problem here.

lv2011

I live in St. Joseph, MI. It's a smallish touristy city right on Lake Michigan, about an hour and a half away from Chicago. It's pretty typical of tourist towns- lots of cute little shops that cater to the visitors. But we also have amazing beaches. Silver Beach was actually ranked 2nd best beach in the world after Nice, France. I love that we get all the seasons here in pretty equal measure, although lake effect snow can be brutal. There's a lot of rural space around, and the nearest real urban city is 45 minutes away.

I grew up in a similar town 30 minutes north, and always thought I wanted to live in a big city. Then I moved to one and 10 years later realized I prefer a much quieter life. Strange how that happens. I like were I live now sooo much more.

ootmother2

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_so-of-travel-threadhow-would-you-characterize-your-home-city?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:e5ce32b9-9019-4442-91f9-fdf4fb7fb5a5Post:a8ee7938-7e80-46d5-b4ef-6d28c8c5fc53">S/O of travel thread...how would you characterize your home city?</a>:
[QUOTE]What city do you live in?  Do you live in the city, or suburbs?  How urban is your area?  How would you describe your locale?  What makes your city different from other areas?
Posted by Resa77[/QUOTE]

Right now I would characterize it as hell on earth.  I had to get my hair cut the the salon is one block from the Lybian Embassy and two  cab fares added to the price of a haircut here is not fun.

I live ina residential are of Manhattan and it's pretty much like any other neighborhood.  I know the dry cleaner, the butcher, the cheese shop, the wine store owner, etc.  My BFF was very surprised at the "smallness" of each area of the city.

My city is different from other areas because tons of people want to live here because they think it's glamorous in some way.  I guess it is but in an odd way I can't explain well

random4180

I live in Queens. There's a ton of stuff that totally obnoxious (cost of living, etc.) but I always come back to it. My husband and I are currently apartment hunting so it's exciting but completely infuriating too (my sister just moved to Hawaii for $850 a month rent- I couldn't find a shoebox here for that!) I love it and honestly can't wait to have my kids grow up here too. I feel like I don't need to describe it because so many movies and TV shows take place in NYC and they do a pretty good job of capturing its spirit. I like Queens because it's super, super culturally mixed and as a multi-racial person who's married to a Caucasian, I want that for my kids too! Obviously, I can't help being the "one of these is not like the other" when I go to some rural places (and I do like to visit the country, my husband and I love camping and the outdoors which you can't really do in an urban area) but it's a big reason why I like coming home. I also love all the tourist attractions around here that I could go to whenever I want to, if I want to (Statue of Liberty, Broadway, the Met) but you'll never catch me in Times Square on New Year's Eve, lol. 

[Deleted User]

What city do you live in?  We live west of Columbus, Ohio

Do you live in the city, or suburbs?  I would call where we live the country as the town we live in is not very big and about 20 minutes away from central Ohio.

How urban is your area?  Not very
 
How would you describe your locale?  Quiet, farm fields, tractors, not a lot to do without driving about 20-25 minutes east

What makes your city different from other areas?  Farming and agriculture is a big part of the town and has been for years. It is also away from the city, but yet also close enough, too. Really low crime and traffic, too.

bibliophile2010

We live in fairly central Phoenix. We are about 10 mintues from downtown and 5 mintues from both of the uptown business districts and about 2 minutes from the freeway. We love that we are centrally located and close to everything, yet are in a great neighborhood and very close to a fantastic parish. It is, needless to say, very urban, but in the west-coast sprawl sense. Phoenix is definitely a driving city, probably too much so.

Overall, things are pretty casual here -- part of it has to do with the weather, part of is has to do with the "western/cowboy" heritage, part of it is the overall culture of the country as you move west. In some respects, I think things are too casual, but in others, I appreciate it.

We're unique, because we're smack-dab in the middle of the Sonoran desert, which is, itself, unique. We think about things like water and weather much differently than others. And people who move here love to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside, just because they can.

sarahdactyI

This made me think way too long about where I "live." FI and I are moving to NYC in... two weeks, hopefully. I grew up in suburbs and went to schools in smaller cities, so I'm sure it will be a giant change. FI loves the city, and I'm really just excited to move and start work and see where our future takes us!! 

newlyseliski

What city do you live in?  

A western suburb of Minneapolis, MN... right at the edge before you hit more rural area!

Do you live in the city, or suburbs?  

Definitely suburbs.

How urban is your area?  

Not too urban... but I don't mind because I get more than enough of it working in downtown Minneapolis every day.  I can walk to the bus and get into downtown in 20 minutes.

How would you describe your locale?  

Tons and tons of lakes and woods around the metro area... I'm within walking distance of Lake Minnetonka!  The town we're in is pretty walkable and our apartment is right next to a grocery store and a bunch of restaurants.  I don't think we could afford a house in this area, though... a bit too rich for my blood.

What makes your city different from other areas?

The Twin Cities as a whole are pretty compact metro areas and the downtowns have just enough skyscrapers... but not an overwhelming amount like Chicago... if that makes any sense?  There are a lot of beautiful historic neighborhoods around Minneapolis and Saint Paul and a lot of the cities around the area tend to make it on a lot of "top places to live" charts.  We usually have four distinct seasons and can occasionally get tornadoes.  Our winters can be a bit rough and provide the opportunity to hone driving in snow skills... but ours don't get quite as bad as North Dakota, though!

ootmother2

btw, I love reading the other descriptions of your hometown.  I grew up in a very small town in Massachusetts and moved to NYC for college.  The places couldn't be more different!

AlexaNP

What city do you live in?  We live east of Pittsburgh and west of Harrisburg, but a little closer to Pittsburgh

Do you live in the city, or suburbs?  We live in a very rural town technically called a "village" as in about 11 sqare miles, population around 500, but I love it!

How urban is your area?  It's the opposite of urban   See above.

How would you describe your locale?  What is present in the town besides houses and farms and NO traffic lights?  One Catholic Church, which 90% of the town belongs to, 2 restaurants which feature mainly pizza and are also bars, post office, and church hall.  Oh, and we have a Catholic gradeschool and community center/gym that are associated with the church!  The high school is about 15 minutes away and is for kids from all the 8-10 surrounding gradeschools. The closest gas station or grocery store is a 10 minute drive, and the closest mall/bigger city is 35 minutes away.

What makes your city different from other areas? Almost everyone is Catholic and Caucasian with German background, so not much diversity, but it is a very close knit community where most people still hold to Catholic values and a great place to raise kids! Everyone knows everyone and is very possibly related! FI's & my children will definitely have to travel out of town to meet some spouses when they grown up. FI and I are related very distantly, but between both of our sides together, they will be related to most of the town!!