OT: Since your schooling ended, where have you lived? Your likes/dislikes of those places?

[john4psu]

With the post about relocating to Florida, which I hope to do in a few years as well (at least a 6-month plus snow birdie), it got me to wondering after your schooling ended (high school, undergraduate, post-graduate, whatever) where have you lived and what were your likes or dislikes of that area?

My sons have moved to Virginia and Colorado and both are doing well and like living where they are. It definitely helped their careers to do so.

For me after Penn State:
-Southwest PA
-Harrisburg area - missed being around passionate professional sports fans. It was nice being close to Baltimore and Philly. Moved back to SW PA for family medical reasons
-Southwest PA - I like that Pittsburgh isn't too big of a city yet offers the amenities of a big city. I never feel overwhelmed or overcrowded.

So where have you lived and what were your likes or dislikes about that area?

 

[LionJim]

Washington, DC. Practically my entire extended family is here in Washington (my parents were the only pair that moved away), so that’s nice.

 

[Ian]

Atlanta
Raleigh
Atlanta
Dayton
Boston
Ft. Lauderdale
St. Simons Island
St. Petersburg
Long Beach
San Francisco
San Clemente
Pittsburgh
Ft. Lauderdale
Eden Prairie
Herndon
Carlsbad
Stowe
State College

All wonderful places and each with its own virtues and weaknesses but have always made the most of the areas I’ve called home. But I’m back where I belong and love it in SC, especially now.

 

[fastlax16]

New Haven, NYC, Austin and Chicago.
Was miserable in New Haven. Small city that feels small and I was right out of school working for a small startup so making friends/meeting people was tough since I wasn’t from their originally.

Loved NYC, had a large contingent of friends there from psu and high school, but didn’t make enough to really enjoy it. Housing was always a nightmare my entire time. At times you feel trapped on an island as going anywhere outside the city takes real planning. Wouldn’t move back at this point although I miss the bagels and pizza. Love going back for work.

Austin is awesome. All the good things about it are true in my opinion. Ppl bitch about cost of living but after NYC I felt rich as hell. I was in my mid twenties and UT girls are/were fantastic. I’d do that time of my life over again in a heart beat. It can feel like a small city after awhile if you’ve lived in one of the really big cities. Not as much culture as NYC or Chicago.

Chicago is great, weather sucks. Offers 99% of what NYC does at significantly more affordable cost of living. Great food, nightlife, experiences, lots of outdoor activities, getting outside the city isn’t difficult since owning a car is doable. Big college football town. Just bought a house here which I would never have been able to do in NYC. I miss quick access to the ocean and I think Midwest nice is a load of bs.

 

[sluggo72]

After college
Annapolis Md. loved it ( or was it because I was 25?)
College Park Md. I thought was dumpy
huntington Wv- time warp place
Davidson Nc nice place. At the time not many fun places to go. Lake Norman hadn’t really caught on nor had Charlotte, it was still recovering from the 60 riots and this was the mid 80s. Downtown had like 1 tall building
Huntington Wv. Still the same as it was in the early 80s.!! Maybe that’s why I like it

 

[PineIslandLion]

Harrisburg
Philadelphia
Williamsport
State College
Dallas
Houston
Washington DC
Harrisburg
Houston (The Woodlands; great master planned community)
Harrisburg

The above represents primary home location. Also had homes in the OBX over 20 year period (Corolla), until earlier this year. Also have had 2nd home in State College past 5 years.

As far as likes & dislikes, will cut to the chase: will retire with primary home in State College (it’s a special place) & a 2nd place somewhere warmer for the winter months, likely NC or SC coast.

 

[Big 0]

North Canton, OH (good - nice suburb of Canton, bad - NE Ohio crappy, cloudy weather)
Birmingham, MI (good - nice downtown within walking distance of home, bad - suburb of Detroit)
Hazleton, PA (good - 2 hours from State College, bad - dying old coal mining town)
Canterbury, DE (good - out in farm country, bad - out in the middle of frickin’ nowhere)
Milford, DE (good - nice small town close to beaches, bad - far away from airports)
Powell, OH (good - nice suburb with good school system, bad - nearly everybody are Buckeye fans)
Sarasota, FL (good - great all year weather and resort like backyard, bad - snowbird season)

Also lived in Ravenna and Akron, Ohio after graduation from Penn State to attend school. From a previous thread awhile ago, someone else who posts on this board lived in Ravenna around the same time I did, but I don’t remember who.

 

[BobPSU92]

I lived in Michigan for 11 years. Need I say more?

 

[Nitwit]

All suburbs of Philly - Upper Darby, Springfield, West Chester, Wenonah, Nj, Yardley Pa, and central Bucks County. Plus the Jersey Shore summer home. They were all good places to live given the times and my circumstances, but once I left my job in Philly for one in Princeton NJ it made a huge difference in my lifestyle. I appreciate the country atmosphere or rural Bucks County, the restaurants. quaint towns, great schools and the amenities, especially not having to deal with commuting into Center City Philly every day, or getting to the beach on a Friday night in the summer. I’ve become a converted suburbanite. The country around me looks like a post card with farmland and houses on 5 acre lots all preserving the colonial atmosphere. I’ve got Newtown , New Hope, Lambertville, Princeton, and Doylestown for dining and shopping once things are opened up. It’s very pristine.

 

[zubrus1]

Raleigh
Lisbon
Cary, NC
Moscow
Singapore
Tokyo
Jacksonville, FL
Charlotte

enjoyed them all as they had their own nuances

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Greensburg, PA
Clarkston, Mi
Strasburg, PA
London
Tokyo
Spring Hill. Fl
Tellico Plains, Tn
Englewood, Tn

 

[CDLionFL]

New Britain/Hartford area -- great area to raise a family, crappy area if you're just out of college and single and the world rolls up its sidewalks at 8pm.
Ocala, FL -- in a very blah location between Orlando and Gainesville. Kind of out on an island by itself that's not close to any beaches either. But if you like horses, it's great.
Orlando -- all depends where in town you live and what your normal day-to-day life is like. Traffic is terrible no matter if you're in the tourist area or downtown. A lot of that is due to various construction projects. Proximity to beaches on both coasts is decent. Airport crazy crowded during normal times (was in there Monday for the first time in 5 months and it looked like a regional airport....and it was GREAT). There's a chance in the near future that I can still do my job but wouldn't have to live there and I'm certainly considering it.

 

[PSU Mike]

DC/MD/NoVA for 12. Chicago for 3.5. Seattle for 1.5. Back to Chicago(land) for past 11.

 

[liquid0623]

Charlottesville, VA - just an awesome place
Tampa - not much I liked
Philadelphia - close to Phila sports
Manhattan for 12 years - the hot women
Fort Myers, FL - weather and beaches
Philadelphia - sports
Punta Cana - just winter weather and cheap

I loved Manhattan and really like Fort Myers, but if I moved back it would be around Bonita Springs.

I think I will retire in Europe... Maybe the Nice, France area in Summer and St Maarten in the winter.

 

[LauderdaleLion]

Central Jersey
Atlanta
Orlando
Fort Lauderdale
Philadelphia
Atlanta

Not a fan of Central Jersey at all (cost of living, local area, weather, etc), we like Atlanta the most - cost of living is great, weather is great, very outdoorsy with access to lakes and mountains which we love and semi close to the beach, liked Orlando but the touristy factor and the mouse can sometimes wear on you, Fort Lauderdale was great but pricy housing and not a lot of industry and sometimes your a foreigner in your own country, liked Philly a lot too but couldn't bear the weather and cost of living after living in the South so long. Atlanta is our favorite by far, then probably Lauderdale then Philly.

 

[UncleLar]

State College
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Harrisburg
Darien, CT
Chicago
Stanford, CT
State College

All of the moves were job related promotions, save the last. That was a retirement move.

The most telling thing about Pittsburgh and Philly was that my Pgh friends would congratulate me on the promotion then add "don;t you hate having to move to Philly?" while my Philadelphia friends would congratulate me then add "aren't you glad to get out of Pittsburgh?". Enjoyed both the towns very much. They were very similar in the intensity of their sports fans and how much they hated the other.

I fully agree with fastlax16's assessment that Chicago has pretty much all of the amenities that New York does but at a significantly more affordable price. Loved living downtown for the two years that I was there.

Fairfield county CT was just prohibitively expensive for a retiree. I had to choose to either find another job or move to State College. Moving was the wisest decision I ever made.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Atlanta
Raleigh
Atlanta
Dayton
Boston
Ft. Lauderdale
St. Simons Island
St. Petersburg
Long Beach
San Francisco
San Clemente
Pittsburgh
Ft. Lauderdale
Eden Prairie
Herndon
Carlsbad
Stowe
State College

All wonderful places and each with its own virtues and weaknesses but have always made the most of the areas I’ve called home. But I’m back where I belong and love it in SC, especially now.

You either lived out of a suitcase or have a bunch of friends that hate you.

 

[Nittany_93]

State College

Fishertown, small totem living. Liked the seclusion, but not much to do

Alaska, multiple remote locations. An adventure. Felt like a frontier.

New Orleans, pre Katrina. Neat town. I miss it in many ways.

Wheaton MD. (DC burbs) liked the area, didn't like the apt or the traffic

Santa Monica. Never understood the allure of LA, but Santa Monica was gorgeous

Lewisburg PA. A nice town to settle down in

 

[Delco Lion]

Bensalem
King of Prussia
West Chester
Chester Heights
Chadds Ford

 

[Ian]

You either lived out of a suitcase or have a bunch of friends that hate you.

A great life in the hotel/resort business. See the world! Glad I’m out of it now and back in Happy Valley. 9/11 changed how we fly. CoVid 19 will change where and how we stay when we do travel.

 

[PrtLng Lion]

Allentown, PA
Parkland, FL

Was close to family in Allentown and loved short trips to Jim Thorpe, NYC, Philly.

Moved to FL to get away from the northern winters. Pros and cons, for sure, but overall the weather and proximity to water activities are why I've stayed.

 

[Ward Hog]

Harleysville, PA - great area, close enough to Philly
Bethlehem, nice town, good people
Akron, weather is just bad, but area not bad
White Plains, NY tons to do, but it'll cost ya
Trumball, CT great area and close to everything
Hilton Head, SC, nice for vacations but the weather is not for me year round.
Poconos, love the beauty of the area, but winter can be a bit tough.

 

[Air Force 1]

Sacramento, CA In my 20's exciting just living in Cali
England The Bitters were awesome
Back to Sacramento Couldn't wait to leave this time
Hawaii Never wanted to leave
Smithsburg, MD love small town living

 

[jp3272]

Philly
Bensalem, PA
Wilmington, DE
Southampton, PA
Bordentown, NJ

few job hops in/around Philly and Princeton areas

 

[Nitt1300]

At sea- various locales, no where you'd want to live with one exception- Halifax Nova Scotia
Philly
Central PA
On the MA/VT border
Upstate NY
Back on the MA/VT border

I'd take northern New England - ME, NH, or VT over any of the others- belter scenery, air, less crowded, freshwater lakes, best seacoast, seafood- the list goes on. Yeah, it gets cold in the winter, I've got a coat.

 

[psuro]

State College, Pa
Voorhees, NJ
Marlton, NJ
Mt Laurel, NJ

 

[Big 0]

I lived in Michigan for 11 years. Need I say more?

I spent a lifetime one year in MI. One of my best friends from Penn State still lives in the Rochester Hills area.

 

[Jerry]

After college:

Beaufort, South Carolina: At the coastal resort of Parris Island. Shared a large apartment building with 50 guys. Vivid memories but not recommended.

Monterey, California: If God made a more gorgeous piece of real estate than the central California coast, I haven't seen it. The weather is also perfect. My favorite place in the world.

San Angelo, Texas: Could take or leave this town. Decent, down-to-earth people, but neither the landscape nor weather of west Texas did much for me.

Northern Japan: Beautiful in its way. The difference in oriental culture and temperament is striking and for some appealing. If you like snow in the winter, this is your place.

Baltimore-Washington corridor: Wouldn't have been my first choice to settle down and raise a family, but it has a lot going for it -- NOT to include cost of living, steamy summer weather, and decaying urban centers.

 

[psuro]

After college:

Beaufort, South Carolina: At the coastal resort of Parris Island. Shared a large apartment building with 50 guys. Vivid memories but not recommended.

Monterey, California: If God made a more gorgeous piece of real estate than the central California coast, I haven't seen it. The weather is also perfect. My favorite place in the world.

San Angelo, Texas: Could take or leave this town. Decent, down-to-earth people, but neither the landscape nor weather of west Texas did much for me.

Northern Japan: Beautiful in its way. The difference in oriental culture and temperament is striking and for some appealing. If you like snow in the winter, this is your place.

Baltimore-Washington corridor: Wouldn't have been my first choice to settle down and raise a family, but it has a lot going for it -- NOT to include cost of living, steamy summer weather, and decaying urban centers.

If I had 6 months to live and had to stay in the US, Monterey would be my choice.

 

[PhilaNit]

Conshohockon, PA (Busy but okay)
Skippack, PA (Peaceful and nice, but not near anything)
Lansdale, PA (Nice)
Doylestown, PA (great area, historic area, great for bringing up kids)

 

[PSU_Chicago]

Grew up in Philly Suburbs. Since High School

Lewisburg PA - College
Steamboat Springs CO - year of skiing
State College PA - Grad School
Philadelphia PA - 8 years
Corona Del Mar CA - Co Transfer. 1 great year. Loved it.
Chicago IL - 1 year
NYC NY - 2.5 years
Chicago lL - 5 years
Philadelphia PA - 18 years so far

 

[Chickenman Testa]

North Canton, OH (good - nice suburb of Canton, bad - NE Ohio crappy, cloudy weather)
Birmingham, MI (good - nice downtown within walking distance of home, bad - suburb of Detroit)
Hazleton, PA (good - 2 hours from State College, bad - dying old coal mining town)
Canterbury, DE (good - out in farm country, bad - out in the middle of frickin’ nowhere)
Milford, DE (good - nice small town close to beaches, bad - far away from airports)
Powell, OH (good - nice suburb with good school system, bad - nearly everybody are Buckeye fans)
Sarasota, FL (good - great all year weather and resort like backyard, bad - snowbird season)

Also lived in Ravenna and Akron, Ohio after graduation from Penn State to attend school. From a previous thread awhile ago, someone else who posts on this board lived in Ravenna around the same time I did, but I don’t remember who.

Can I ask what you were doing when you were living in Canterbury and Milford? Canterbury was a sleepy little town on my secret route to the DE beaches - along with Goldsboro, Felton, etc.

 

[PSU87]

Newport News, VA.....loved the historic triangle, Yorktown Williamsburg Jamestown. Newport News/Hampton area...not so great. Weather was the worst of both worlds...steamy summers but could still get quite cold in the winter. Traffic way worse than the population warranted because of the geography of the Virginia Peninsula. Proximity to VA Beach and Outer Banks was great.

Palm Coast, FL...cost of living and proximity to St Augustine was great. Lack of industry/tourism focus in economy made job mobility difficult. Too many cold days in winter to suit my tastes

Space Coast of Florida. Love it here. Cost of living is good. Live 2 blocks from the beach. Traffic is not bad. Lots of space, defense, aerospace companies for good job prospects. Weather is awesome. Good place to raise a family. Hurricane season can be stressful.

 

[BigWesley]

New Britain/Hartford area -- great area to raise a family, crappy area if you're just out of college and single and the world rolls up its sidewalks at 8pm.
Ocala, FL -- in a very blah location between Orlando and Gainesville. Kind of out on an island by itself that's not close to any beaches either. But if you like horses, it's great.
Orlando -- all depends where in town you live and what your normal day-to-day life is like. Traffic is terrible no matter if you're in the tourist area or downtown. A lot of that is due to various construction projects. Proximity to beaches on both coasts is decent. Airport crazy crowded during normal times (was in there Monday for the first time in 5 months and it looked like a regional airport....and it was GREAT). There's a chance in the near future that I can still do my job but wouldn't have to live there and I'm certainly considering it.

With the post about relocating to Florida, which I hope to do in a few years as well (at least a 6-month plus snow birdie), it got me to wondering after your schooling ended (high school, undergraduate, post-graduate, whatever) where have you lived and what were your likes or dislikes of that area?

My sons have moved to Virginia and Colorado and both are doing well and like living where they are. It definitely helped their careers to do so.

For me after Penn State:
-Southwest PA
-Harrisburg area - missed being around passionate professional sports fans. It was nice being close to Baltimore and Philly. Moved back to SW PA for family medical reasons
-Southwest PA - I like that Pittsburgh isn't too big of a city yet offers the amenities of a big city. I never feel overwhelmed or overcrowded.

So where have you lived and what were your likes or dislikes about that area?

Springfield, Ohio - flat, boring and a rude awakening to life beyond college.
Dallas, TX - Good food, good economy. Chose a job there to be near family only to see them all move away.
Vienna Austria - Simply amazing. Central european location with short trips to many amazing places. Would love to go back.
Dallas, TX - Been back for 5+ years and looking for an opportunity to move elsewhere.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Charlottesville - loved it as a grad student and during a post MA goof off year or 2. Gorgeous area and hot UVA girls

Rockville/Falls Church/Capitol Hill - fun for a few years as a young Hill staffer, but grew to loathe the traffic and the whole vibe. Left in Dec 2005 and have never been back. That town lives off the rest of the country and attracts many who want to feast. At least it’s close to beaches

Austin - glad I moved here. Great vibe, solid weather except for a few summer months. Bustling economy, but still fairly small and easy to navigate. You can live in flip flops for the most part. The people are far less elitist and judgmental than DC and the NE - no one gives a shit where you went to prep school down here; if they do, they’re some lame new arrival from NYC or something

 

[harbest]

My wife and I were born and raised in Wilkes-Barre. I grew up in the North End, her in South Wilkes-Barre, right across from Meyers High School. We met as a result of mutual friends of ours who were going together at the time, I was starting my senior year in high school, she her junior year. After a 6 year "courtship", we married and spent the first year in an apartment complex on the west side of the river. Around the time we had to renew for our second year, an aunt of my wife's told us about a widow she knew who was selling her house in the Back Mountain and moving to Florida. Long story short, we bought the house and for the last 41 years, I have been a happy resident of Shavertown, PA. My only complaint is reserved for my next door neighbors who have taken it upon themselves to take in EVERY stray and feral cat in the city. The smell of the cat waste makes it impossible to set foot outside my door without a gas mask, this after we have spent thousands of dollars building a deck and upgrading our front porch. But I have seen the zoning officer (who I know very well and have expressed my concerns to)and a cat rescue person around lately so I hope the problem is being resolved. Other than that, I have come to love suburban living and if I ever had to move, it would be farther away from the city. I have fond memories of the town I grew up in, but hate the fact that I need two things to go back into it: 1 a gun, 2 a multi language translator.

 

[Big 0]

Can I ask what you were doing when you were living in Canterbury and Milford? Canterbury was a sleepy little town on my secret route to the DE beaches - along with Goldsboro, Felton, etc.

I worked at Milford Memorial Hospital. We lived in a rental house on Barratt’s Chapel Road (Rd. 371) near its intersection with Canterbury Road (Route 15) for a year. Then moved to a permanent home in Milford in the North Shores Development near the corner of SR 14 (Milford Harrington Hwy) and US 113.

 

[nittanyfan333]

After college:

Beaufort, South Carolina: At the coastal resort of Parris Island. Shared a large apartment building with 50 guys. Vivid memories but not recommended.

Monterey, California: If God made a more gorgeous piece of real estate than the central California coast, I haven't seen it. The weather is also perfect. My favorite place in the world.

San Angelo, Texas: Could take or leave this town. Decent, down-to-earth people, but neither the landscape nor weather of west Texas did much for me.

Northern Japan: Beautiful in its way. The difference in oriental culture and temperament is striking and for some appealing. If you like snow in the winter, this is your place.

Baltimore-Washington corridor: Wouldn't have been my first choice to settle down and raise a family, but it has a lot going for it -- NOT to include cost of living, steamy summer weather, and decaying urban centers.

I too spent time in San Angelo, TX at the Buddy.

 

[JWB389]

I've lived in the Eastern part of the Lehigh Valley since '91. I loved it here for about the first 10 years. Close to family, the shore, major cities, close proximity to several major airports for easy travel, easy drive to PSU for game day, etc.

We've experienced the uncontrolled growth from the westward migration out of New York/Northern New Jersey. Schools are now overcrowded, the districts are poorly run and it takes a half hour to get across town because there's a red light at every corner. Every corn field now holds a new million sq ft distribution center/warehouse.

 

[nittanyfan333]

San Antonio TX - No idea. I got 1 day off base. However been back to visit since and I liked it. Small town-big city feel

San Angelo, TX - I love rural, so smaller towns are right up my alley. This is a typical west-Tejas town

Anchorage, AK - I'd retire here if my wife weren't averse to the cold. I'd explain what I love about it, but it would take hours to do so. This has been my favorite place to live and it's not even close

Las Vegas, NV - nope nope nope.... i'll never go back. The people are rude, the houses are crammed together, traffic is horrible.... if i HAD to pick something good about it, i'd say that with the weather, there is PLENTY of softball to play

Hope Mills, NC - Home for the last 11 years. Again, I like the country, and Hope Mills is on the outskirts of Fayetteville, close to the country so it's good living as far as i'm concerned. I'm always looking to move further out though.